Delicious food at Bistro Bakery see page 7
Take a ride on the VIA bus see page 4
Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio
September 20, 2011
Volume 46
Issue 5
Students vote to increase transportation fee Ryan Branch
Brianna Cristiano / The Paisano
The 65 miles-per-hour speed limit is no longer in effect. What effect will this new legislation have on drunk driving in areas with high DUI and DWI rates?
How fast can Texans go? Increase in Texas speed limit signed by Governor Perry Daniel Crotty
news@paisano-online.com As of Sept. 1, vehicles no longer have to travel more slowly at night on Texas highways than they do during the daytime. The change is a result of House Bill 1353, which was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry on June 28. The bill also removes lower speed limits for large trucks. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), “Another section of the bill authorizes all state highways with a speed limit of 70 miles-per-hour to be evaluated for a speed increase of five miles-per-hour.” A spokesman for the San Antonio Police Department said, “We will enforce the law as usual.” The lower night time and truck speed limits have been repealed and
can no longer be enforced; however the 70 miles-per-hour speed limit is still in effect. The Department of Transportation must conduct studies on each individual road before the speed limit can be increased to 75 miles-per-hour. Carol Rawson, director of traffic operations at TxDOT, said, “Over 50,000 miles of roadways will be evaluated, and any increases in the speed limit are not effective until the new speed limit signs are actually installed.” All the studies and sign postings will be completed by 2013. TxDOT will study the traffic on Charles Anderson Loop (Loop 1604) to determine if the highway should have a new speed limit. Marianel Marquez, a freshman psychology major, said, “They don’t really need to raise it; people already go fast enough. It could be dangerous.”
TxDOT sets speed limits using the eighty-fifth percentile method. The department studies traffic during off-peak hours in average driving conditions and monitors the actual speed of vehicles. TxDOT monitors the speed, creates a statistical distribution of the speeds and then sets the speed at the eighty-fifth percentile of the distribution. The limit is rounded to end in “0” or “5”, usually toward the lower end. The current maximum speed limit in Texas is 85 miles-per-hour, but only on rural highways in desolate areas with little traffic. According to the National Motorist Association, this speed limit is the highest in the U.S. as opposed to speed limits in Delaware and New York that can be as low as fifty-five miles-per-hour on state highways.
news@paisano-online.com The University of Texas at San Antonio is offering several new majors and minors to keep to date with fast paced changes in industry. The new majors include a dual master’s degree program in business administration and public health and a bachelor’s degree in business administration in sports, events and tourism management. The minors are in digital forensics and network and data center management. Students interested in the dual degree plan must meet the requirements for both universities to be admitted to the program. The bachelor’s degree in sports, events, and tourism management is
replacing the previous concentration that focused only on tourism. The addition to the major gives the student more career choices. According to the San Antonio Area Tourism Council, the San Antonio tourism industry generates $11 billion in annual revenues and employs one out of every eight San Antonians. Some of the events that draw people to San Antonio include the Valero Alamo Bowl, NCAA tournaments and the annual Fiesta celebration. Spurs Sports and Entertainment also holds numerous sporting events in the city of San Antonio. These organizations can benefit from college students knowledgeable in these areas. The addition to the curricu-
lum consists of the following four courses: Event Management, Sport Management, Survey of Tourism, and Destination Marketing. The sports, events and tourism management major focuses on marketing, finance, accounting and management. The degree was first offered to students during the fall semester of 2011. The minor in network and data center management is directed towards students interested in becoming a network administrator. The curriculum consists of four knowledge areas: networks and networking protocols, network security, operations and facilities such as air conditioning and electrical power. See CATALOG, Page 2
I have to leave a lot of students behind. We just don’t have enough shuttles.” However, some students think that the university’s timing is problematic. Kiara Gradney, senior psychology major, said, “Since our athletics fee just went up because of the football team, why increase it just because we need more buses? Honestly, I don’t think the school is growing fast enough to justify the bus routes. So if I had to vote on it, I would definitely vote no.” Others think the fee is necessary to assist students in getting to class on time. Junior business management major Luke Walker said, “I feel that we should increase the fee because there isn’t enough student parking. I took the shuttle a lot last year it was always full, and sometimes I would have to wait two or three buses before I could get a ride.” Approval by the Board of Regents is the final step in the process. If the board approves the fee, UTSA can begin the process of improving the shuttle system as early as spring 2012 ,which is when students would see the increased fee on their tuition bills.
Texas redistricting trial wraps up without ruling Associated Press
University’s catalogue to adapt to changing industries Joshua Morales
Students have voted to increase the transportation fee from $20 to $40 dollars per semester with an increase of $2 per year. The vote took place on ASAP Sept. 13 and 14. The student-led initiative, in coordination with the Student Government Association (SGA), proposed the referendum to address UTSA’s parking and transportation problems. The fee will increase the number of shuttles, the shuttles’ capacity, and the number of routes the system services. Out of the roughly 31,000 UTSA students, only 1259 voted on the initiative – about four percent of the student body population. From this figure 65 percent (813) said yes to increase the fee while 35 percent (446) voted against it. Approval for the fee increase is now in the hands of the UTSA administration. Xavier Johnson, president of the Student Government Association said, “Now that the students have voted, I am going to coordinate the effort to get the fee increase passed by the Board of Regents. “I will work with UTSA President Dr. Richard Romo and UTSA Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Gage Paine to advocate for the students of UTSA to get the fee increase approved. Currently the Board of Regents is not approving any fee increases until further notice, which is why we need strong support from the SGA and the UTSA administration.” Route 43 shuttle driver Ken Johnson said, “I think it’s a good thing that the vote passed because
File Photo
news@paisano-online.com
Attorneys for the state on Friday defended new election districts drawn by the Republican-led Legislature, saying they were designed within the law, with more consideration given to county lines and politics than race and ethnicity. The Texas attorney general’s office wrapped up the 10-day trial with closing arguments before a panel of three federal judges, who indicated before adjourning that they would wait for the Justice Department to weigh in on the new Texas redistricting maps before issuing a ruling. Several minority and Democratic groups filed a lawsuit over the redistricting maps approved during the summer, alleging new voting district lines are illegally discriminatory because they camouflage a statewide surge in Hispanic growth during the past decade. They argue the growth warrants the creation of districts in
which Hispanics have enough voting strength to elect the candidate of their choice. The state’s attorney says the maps weren’t drawn with prejudice and preserve the voting power of minorities. ``The basis we have here for any race-based redistricting just doesn’t exist,’’ said state attorney David Schenck. Texas received four new seats in the U.S. House based on the most recent census population count. That was more than any other state and came in the wake of a population boom overwhelmingly driven by Hispanics. The Legislature was tasked with updating the district lines. Plaintiffs argued the surge in Hispanic growth warranted those residents getting more representation in new districts, yet the Republican plan splits Hispanic and black communities so conservative white residents would be more likely to win seats in Congress. See REDISTRICTING, Page 2