9 things to do in '09

If you haven’t been on campus in a few years, now’s the time to visit.
If you need a good reason, here are nine.

By Jessie Milligan

1. Grab an all-you-can-eat meal at the fabulous new Brown-Lupton Student Union. The union (some call it the BLUU) is home to Market Square, a giant indoor-outdoor eatery served by multiple vendors, and the 1873 Café & Sports Grill, a great spot to eat before or after campus events. While you’re there, check out the Heritage Center and or swing by the spirit shop for the latest in Horned Frog clothing and kitsch. For menus and hours go to tcudiningservices.com.

2. Cheer the Frogs to victory. There’s a lot of excitement about new basketball head coach Jim Christian and plenty of seats are still available in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, so get your tickets now. And with 20 athletic programs on campus, there’s always some team scoring big. To see a full schedule of games, go to gofrogs.com.

3. Absorb some culture with cutting-edge creative works at the new Fort Worth Contemporary Arts at TCU art gallery. Housed in an old shopping center at 2900 W. Berry St,, the gallery is free and open to the public from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. The latest show “Warhol and the Shared Subject” runs Dec. 20 – Feb. 1. Call 817.257.7638, or go to theartgalleries.tcu.edu.

4. Pick up the latest best seller, enjoy a cup of joe or find that perfectly purple Polo shirt amongst racks of TCU gear at the expansive TCU Barnes & Noble Bookstore at the corner of Berry Street and University Drive. There’s a special section for little Frogs, gift items and more purple than you’ll find anywhere else. This new building, which opened in January 2008, is the largest facility Barnes & Noble has built on any college campus. Call 817.257.7844 or go to tcu.bncollege.com.

5. Pose for a picture at the refurbished Frog Fountain. After an 18-month hiatus in storage, this campus favorite has been redressed in copper and given a larger pool with more accessible walkways. Anchoring the east end of the new Campus Commons, the fountain is the perfect place to meet friends or just contemplate the mysteries of the universe.

6. Touch a piece of Mars (yes, really!) at the Monnig Meteorite Gallery, where three of the 30 known chunks of the red planet are on
display. They are part of a renowned collection of 22,000 meteorites housed in a cozy museum-quality gallery in the Sid Richardson Building. An informative new movie and new meteorites have been added recently, so come gaze into space in this free public museum. Open 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday – Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Call 817.257.6277 or go to monnigmuseum.tcu.edu.

7. Sip a latte at the Mary Couts Burnett Library’s Bistro Café. Even thought the library has a new digital emphasis, the stacks in the basement and second floor still look and smell the same. And now that the library is open 24-hours-a-day most days of the week, you can stop by at any odd hour. Just be sure to sign in at the front desk and tell them you are alumni. Call 817.257.7117, or go to lib.tcu.edu.

8. Find romance -- or just a good laugh at the inaugural season of the Trinity Shakespeare Festival Theater that begins this summer. The tragic romance “Romeo and Juliet” and the comedy “Twelfth Night” are on the playbill. That’s just a sample of what TCU has to offer in performing and visual arts. Keep up by checking the College of Fine Arts events calendar at
www.cfac.tcu.edu/calendar.pdf.

9. Meet some future captains of industry when the Neeley Entrepreneurship Center hosts the Texas Youth Entrepreneur of the Year awards on Feb. 9. This annual competition draws talented high school-age entrepreneurs from around the nation and provides scholarships to the winners. Call 817.257.6544 for information.

Comment at tcumagazine@tcu.edu.