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starsof texas state
The University Star
The Star would like to congratulate the winners of the engineering and technology department’s third annual Product Development Competition. At the end of the fall semester, Julio Mata, Naureen Wahed, Dillon Doyle and John Morgan presented their Capstone Design project, an automated curb-making machine called Flex FORM, before a panel of faculty and engineering professionals from Wide-Lite, Thermon, Motorola and Applied Materials and received first place in the competition, beating four other teams.
Tuesday in Brief
January 17, 2005
The Flex FORM team with department chair Robert Habingreither (third from left) and course instructor Bahram Asiabanpour (fourth from left).
News Contact — Kirsten Crow, starnews@txstate.edu
Calendar of
Doc talk
STARS OF TEXAS STATE POLICY
Byron “Doc” Augustine speaks tp Paws Preview participants during his note taking workshop.
EVENTS Clubs & Meetings Saturday Student Volunteer Connection will be spreading native grass seed at the Water Quality Protection Lands west of Austin from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To volunteer, call Gail McGlamery at (512) 263-6437, or e-mail gail.glamery@ci.uastin.tx.us.
Events Wednesday Texas State’s 22nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Ceremony and march begins at 6 p.m. in the LBJ Student Center Ballroom.
Campus Sports Wednesday 2-for-1 student green fees at the Texas State Golf Course.
Arts & Entertainment Saturday
City accepting block grant applications The City of San Marcos is accepting applications for 2006 Community Development Block Grant projects from local agencies through Feb. 17. High priorities for CDBG projects are housing, economic development for job creation and public facilities. Projects must fall into one of these categories to be eligible for funding. The city has not yet received word of the 2006 allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said Janis Hendrix, CDBG technician. Last year, the city received $587,708, continuing a trend of decreased funding during the past several years. City staff will hold a workshop to receive citizen input on the proposed use of CDBG funds for program year 2006 at 6 p.m. on Feb. 2 at the Georgia Street Senior Citizens Center, located at 810 Arizona St. Projects funded through the
Christopher Neel’s junior bass recital at 8 p.m. at the Recital Hall. Free admission.
Do you know someone at Texas State who has recently celebrated a great achievement? Nominate your choice to appear in The Star as a “Star of Texas State.” Write an e-mail to starletters@txstate.edu with the subject line “Stars of Texas State,” and include your nominee’s name, his/her relationship to the university, contact information for yourself and your nominee, and a brief description of the achievement. Also include a photo of your nominee if available. Accepted nominees will be featured at the top of Page Two.
Tuesday Citizens can voice their visions at Town Hall meeting
Free Week of Fitness & Wellness Group Exercise Classes begins and continues through Sunday at the Student Recreation Center.
Miscellaneous Aqua Sports Center and SRC resume regular hours. CALENDAR SUBMISSION POLICY Calendar submissions are free. Send submissions to Calendar of Events at starcalendar@txstate.edu, or call 245-3487 for more information. E-mailed press releases will not be accepted. If using e-mail, please submit as a simple bulleted list of essential information. Submissions are on a firstcome, first-served basis and notices for weekly meetings need to be submitted every week they will take place. The University Star reserves the right to refuse entries or edit for libel, style and space purposes. Deadline: Three working days prior to publication.
CDBG program must meet a national objective and one of the priority needs identified in the 2005-2009 Consolidated Plan. CDBG funds are used to benefit the city’s low- to moderate-income residents. This workshop is open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Janis Hendrix of the Planning Department at 630 E. Hopkins St. or by phone at (512) 393-8147. The City of San Marcos does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to its services, programs or activities. Individuals who require auxiliary aids or special assistance should make a request at least 48 hours in advance to the City of San Marcos at (512) 393-8244 (voice) or (512) 393-8229 (TDD), or the hearing impaired may call Relay Texas at 7-1-1. Requests can also be sent by e-mail to cityhall@ci. san-marcos.tx.us. — Courtesy of the City of San Marcos
MAKING THINGS RIGHT
A.D. Brown/ Star photo
CRIME BL TTER University Police Department Jan. 10, 9:53 p.m. Public Intoxication/ Fredericksburg Street A police officer made contact with a student who appeared to be intoxicated. Upon further investigation, the student was arrested for public intoxication and was transported to Hays County Law Enforcement Center to await magistration. San Marcos
Police Department Jan. 11, 11:08 a.m. Fraud/1204 Thorpe Lane A counterfeit check was located at a local bank. Jan. 11, 2:54 p.m. Theft/1000 Civic Center Loop Employee theft.
Jan. 12, 12:43 a.m. Possession of Marijuana Under 2 Ounces/1300 Aquarena Springs Drive Warrant served.
Jan. 11, 7:55 p.m. Burglary/1908 Castle Gate Circle Attempted burglary of a habitation.
Jan. 12, 2:11 a.m. Public Intoxication/1647 Post Road Officer made an arrest for public intoxication.
Crime stoppers: UPD 245-7867
City council seeks various board volunteers The San Marcos City Council has created a new Beautification Committee to help improve the attractiveness of San Marcos and is seeking seven volunteers for appointment to the board. The council is also seeking volunteers to fill one vacancy each on the Ethics Review Commission, Minority Tourism Development Board and the Youth Commission. Residents may fill out board volunteer forms available at the City Clerk’s office or online at www. ci.san-marcos.tx.us/cityhall/ citycouncil/volunteer.htm. The Beautification Commission was established by ordinance in December to serve in an advisory capacity to the city council, staff and other boards
Jan. 11, 8:30 p.m. Theft/1015 Highway 80 Theft of more than $20,000.
SMPD 353-TIPS
and commissions on ways to improve the visual quality of the city. The board will promote awareness, education and outreach in beautification, identify resources to support beautification programs and advise city officials about the appearance of public, commercial and residential properties. In addition, the new board will recommend incentive and award programs to recognize beautification efforts and encourage recognition of diversity and standards for maintaining the quality of San Marcos. City Council also seeks to appoint a citizen who lives in the city limits to the Ethics Review Commission. The board oversees application of the city’s code of ethics as well as state laws concerning conflicts of interest, ethical conduct and
financial disclosure of city officials and employees. The Minority Tourism Development Board needs a city resident to serve on this board that provides advice and oversight to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for programs that promote minority tourism to San Marcos. A volunteer is needed to serve on the Youth Commission to fill a vacancy. The position does not require residency in the city limits. The Youth Commission promotes resources and goals to encourage the healthy development of the youth of San Marcos. For more information and volunteer opportunities, contact the City Clerk’s office at (512) 393-8090. — Courtesy of the City of San Marcos
San Marcos residents are invited to share their vision for the community at the second annual Citizens Summit Town Hall Meeting scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 26 at the San Marcos Activity Center, located at 501 E. Hopkins St. President Thomas Jefferson, portrayed by Colonial Williamsburg interpreter Bill Barker, will be a special guest. Jefferson, the chief author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States, will express his views on citizenship and participating in government as the cornerstone of American democracy. The meeting will be hosted by Mayor Susan Narvaiz and the City Council. It is the first step in creating goals that will guide the development of the 2006-2007 municipal budget. “We invite citizens to share their thoughts about what San Marcos should be today and what we should become in the future,” Narvaiz said. “City government is a reflection of the expectations and dreams of our citizens. This is a great opportunity to share ideas, hopes and inspirations for San Marcos.” The meeting will be followed on Jan. 27 with a daylong visioning workshop for the City Council. The session, slated for 9 a.m. at the Grande Communications Conference Room, will help the council develop broad goals that will become the basis for the city budget. On Feb. 24, City Council will hold its annual Budget Policy Statement workshop, during which it will draft specific policies to guide the 2006 budget process. The council will adopt the budget policy statement after a formal public hearing in March. — Courtesy of the City of San Marcos
www. UniversityStar .com
NEWS
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
The University Star - Page A3
University switch to Police train for crisis at hostage negotiation competition on campus BobcatMail updates Officers converge on San Marcos from across nation By Jason Buch The University Star Deputy Phillip Taylor of the Hays County Sheriff ’s Department hunched over a table and strained to hear the voice coming through his headset. A woman who called herself “Rabbit” cussed at him from the other end of the line. “Rabbit” was threatening to kill her husband, Charlie Bergman, and his three dogs. The Bergmans had been married for many years. Charlie Bergman was a former member of a biker gang. On Wednesday, Melody “Rabbit” Bergman learned from her doctor she had contracted a sexually transmitted infection. She came home, lit her husband’s bike on fire, taped him to a chair, stabbed him repeatedly and began threatening to castrate him and his pets. Taylor asked Bergman questions to keep her on the line. He asked about the dogs. “I took care of them,” Bergman said. When Taylor asked what she meant by that, Bergman said, “I killed them.” The line went dead. Heads hung and the other members of the hostage negotiation team started brainstorming their next move. Deputy Terry Carter sighed, walked over to the chalkboard that took up one wall of the room and wrote “dead” next to where he had written the word “dogs” earlier in the afternoon. Taylor and Carter were taking part in a hostage negotiation and training competition hosted last week by Texas State and sponsored by the department of criminal justice, the San Marcos Police Department and the Hays County Sheriff ’s Department. For the last 16 years, law enforcement officers from Texas, and more recently from around
A.D. Brown/Star photo Officers listen intently during a hostage negotiation training and competition program hosted last week by Texas State. San Marcos, the Hays County Sheriff’s Department and the San Marcos Police Department have hosted the event for the last 16 years.
the country, have converged on San Marcos to attend classes on hostage negotiation and participate in a competition where negotiation teams test their skills against actors working from a detailed script. Wayman Mullins, the Texas State criminal justice professor who created the seminar and helped write the scenarios, said it all began as a friendly rivalry between the Austin Police Department and the San Antonio Police Department. “I told them, ‘I’m between you, and I have a way to settle this,’” said Mullins, who was a reserve officer for SMPD at the time. Mullins invited APD, SAPD and the Killeen Police Department to San Marcos for a hostage negotiation competition, and the event has been growing ever since.
Mullins, now a reserve officer for the Hays County Sheriff ’s Department, coauthored the book Crisis Negotiations: Managing Critical Incidents and Hostage Situations in Law Enforcement, published in 2001. This year, almost 300 negotiators from 27 teams attended the competition. Mullins said teams came from Oklahoma, Kansas, Washington, Colorado and California. Government agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI sent personnel to act as judges for the competition. “We bring in the best of the best to do this,” Mullins said. “They all have the experience. They’re top-notch people.” The seminar and competition were held in the Hines Academic Center. Participants
attended classroom sessions on Tuesday, and the competition was held on Wednesday and Thursday. Most of the teams gathered in classrooms for the competition. Three teams operated from their own mobile command centers, vans or trucks containing electronic equipment needed by teams in the field. Four scenarios were created for the competition, and actors playing the part of hostages and hostage takers worked phones in one room that were patched through to the hostage negotiation teams. While half the teams negotiated, the other teams provided actors and judges or watched the proceedings, trying to learn what they could. Each team worked two of the four scenarios. In other classrooms or in their command vehicles, the negotiation teams spent hours speaking with the actors, trying to resolve the scenarios without violence. In Hines Room 205, the Hays County Crisis Negotiation Team, composed of SMPD officers and Hays County Sheriff deputies, became concerned about the health of Charlie Bergman, and team commander Detective Jeri Skrocki told Taylor to hang up the phone and ordered a tactical resolution. “That means we’re making an entry into the residence,” Skrocki said. “She’s not going to come out, so we’re going in.” In the team’s previous scenario, involving another domestic dispute in which the subject accidentally killed his spouse and threatened suicide, the subject took his own life. The Hays County team lost the competition, but there was something to be gained. “This is a good training day for us,” Skrocki said. “It’s an opportunity for us to hone our skills and get feedback from judges who have a lot of years in law enforcement. Getting critiqued by others makes us better at our job.”
e-mail technology By Ashley Richards The University Star Changes to the e-mail service provided by the university were set in place more than a week before classes began, giving students, faculty and staff members an upgrade in technology, using Microsoft Outlook Web Access as the client for service. “It’s very user friendly. It is the largest (commercially) used mail system that’s out there in the industry today,” said Bob Goss, project manager for the exchange project and special assistant to the vice president for information technology. “Students will find it much faster than WebMail.” The information technology department’s exchange project developed the BobcatMail email service to include numerous upgrades from WebMail, the largest being the new interface and greater storage space. WebMail allowed users 25 megabytes of storage, which BobcatMail quadruples. “The functionality has changed considerably and has considerably improved,” Goss said. “The old system was primarily just mail.” BobcatMail includes options for posting a calendar, contacts, journaling, scheduling and other tasks. “The underlying part is it’s an update of technology. It’s just time to update the technology. WebMail has probably been
around about 10 years,” Goss said. When BobcatMail is initially accessed, a message in the inbox instructs users on how to move messages from WebMail accounts into BobcatMail. Goss said there is no deadline set for when WebMail will no longer be accessible, but said that by the end of the spring semester BobcatMail will probably be the sole e-mail service. Users signing onto BobcatMail can choose the premium or basic interface and indicate whether they are signing in on a public access computer or private computer. The premium option shows more elaborate graphics and uses slightly more bandwidth. Goss said users signing in on an older computer or using a modem to access the Internet should select the basic interface, which will take less time to load. By choosing the public access, login users’ information is removed once the e-mail window is closed. Private access is meant to be used while using a personal computer. “It cleans up after you get out on public access, whereas if you’re at a home computer you may not want to leave that session,” Goss said. Leah Steinbrink, mass communication graduate student, said when she received her undergraduate degree in 1992 there See E-MAIL, page A4
A screenshot of the new BobcatMail interface, which is based on Microsoft Outlook and enables users to access additional features not available with WebMail.
Page A4 - The University Star
NEWS
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Agency selected to investigate AALC conflict between students and police By Ashley Richards The University Star Texas State has selected an agency to carry out an investigation into the conflict that erupted between students and law enforcement officers at the African American Leadership Conference on Sept. 11. “In terms of progress, we did receive two proposals and we have made a preliminary selection, and we’re just waiting on a signed agreement,” said Joanne Smith, vice president of student affairs. According to the request for proposals that was posted on the Texas Secretary of State’s Web site, the investigating party will study the events that took place while police were dispersing students from the LBJ Student Center parking garage following the AALC after-party. By the end of the incident, three students were arrested, two were detained and then released and at least one student was shot with a stun gun. Eyewitness
accounts from officers and students contradict each other. Keemon Leonard, president of the Black Student Alliance and pre-mass communication senior, said he was pleased to see the university taking the issue seriously. “I hope that, when the investigation comes to a conclusion, that the truth comes out,” Leonard said. “I want a better means of communication between the black students and Texas State, as far as our president and our high-level officials.” Leonard said he also hopes for better communication between the University Police Department and the entire student body. The request for proposals also specified that the investigation should assess the strengths and weaknesses of UPD. Smith said a group of university officials reviewed the two proposals on Dec. 15, and on Jan. 4, after returning from the winter break, they had a faceto-face, pre-award meeting with
the selected investigators. Before releasing the name of the agency selected and specifics about the contract, Smith said the university wants to finalize the paperwork to assure that no incorrect information is released. She declined to say when the information would be released. “We are now in the ‘we can actually begin’ process,” Smith said. Under the contract, Smith said, the group will have up to 60 days to complete its investigation, but she is unsure whether or not investigators will use the entire time allotted. Because four months have passed, Leonard said he is concerned that witnesses’ recollections of the events may be unclear. “The only thing that I regret is that it took them so long to assign an investigation company,” Leonard said. “I just hope that everything is still present, as far as key paperwork and memories.”
E-MAIL: New service adds features CONTINUED from page C3
was no e-mail service provided by the university. “When I came back to (graduate) school there was this WebMail. Honestly, it seemed sort of archaic to me,” Steinbrink said. Steinbrink, a training specialist for the university’s Administrative Information Systems department, said she thought it was time for new technology to be brought into the university’s e-mail service. After logging into her BobcatMail account, Steinbrink said she thought the new interface would be something easy for most students to become familiar with. “It’s easy to use; it’s very intuitive; it’s a lot more like a lot of other e-mail,” Steinbrink said. “Students for the most part are technologically savvy. I think it’ll be a great change.” If students and faculty use the new system’s functions to the fullest, Steinbrink said, students
will be able to view their professors’ schedules and check for availability of an appointment with them, a feature she believes will become convenient for all users. “I think it’ll be fun for people to go in and just check what different functions it has,” Steinbrink said. “I’m sure it’ll take time for everyone to get up and running.” Goss said the first day users were able to access BobcatMail, the computer help desk received slightly more calls than is usual at the beginning of a semester, but most problems were easily solved. Throughout the first week, some students were having trouble moving messages from the old accounts because of corrupt messages, but Goss said those issues were being handled on a case-by-case basis. “It’s a major change to get 30,000 users moved,” Goss said. “So far it’s gone smooth. We’re pleased with the way it’s going.”
For information or technical assistance with BobcatMail, call the computer help desk at 245-HELP. Lab coordinators at all labs on campus are prepared to assist users with difficulties as well.
NEWS
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
The University Star - Page A5
Former executive director sues university for San Marcos expected to upgrade traffic PLAYSTATION UNPLUGGED SETTLElights THE SCORE alleged misuse of $1.2 million endowment With PSP, you’ll never “Mrs. Parr was atogood lady,” again “He have to talk people
By Jacqueline Davis The University Star
Wiley said. “She left her total esSEE TRENDS PAGE tate to the Texas State University A former Texas State employee Development Foundation, and has filed suit against the univer- she left instructions on how that sity for violation of the whistle- money was to be used. We’re just blower act after he reported the disappointed that it didn’t work alleged misuse of a portion of out that way.” an almost $1.2 million endowUniversity attorney William ment. Fly said this is the first time there Carroll D. Wiley, who filed theSTATE has UNIVERSITY been a lawsuit concerning TEXAS lawsuit in mid-December, was improper use of donated SAN the MARCOS formerly the executive director funds since he has been with the of the University Development university. Fly said that Linda Foundation. The university ter- Halpern, Texas assistant attorney minated his employment on general, who is working with him Nov. 16, 2005. Wiley claims that on the lawsuit, prepared a docuTexas State retaliated against ment stating the university’s pohim for reporting an unlawful sition concerning the matter. lack of integrity by the universi“Basically, it denies everything ty’s use of the late alumnus Reed that Wiley says,” Fly said. “It inB. Parr’s donation by demoting dicates that we had independent him and eventually terminating reasons for terminating his emhis employment. ployment. His reporting a vioTexas State employed Wiley for lation of law had nothing to do approximately 28 years, accord- with his termination.” ing to documents from Gregory Fly also said that Wiley had D. Jordan, Wiley’s attorney. The worked in the development documents report that during office, but was transferred to these years, Wiley received good academic affairs, and then to inevaluations and never received formation technology, positions any significant warnings or rep- in which Fly said Wiley showed rimands until the reputed retal- insubordination and job abaniatory actions. donment.
wouldn’t come to work, and the cabinet decided they and he refused to follow the would cause the foundation to 7directives of his superiors,” Fly transfer Parr’s funds from the said. foundation’s books to the uniGregory Jordan, Wiley’s at- versity’s books, call it a gift and torney who was only available then be able to receive the NEH for limited comment, echoed matching funds, a move that Wiley’s disappointment with Wiley strongly opposed. Texas State’s alleged mishandling Fly wrote in an e-mail that the of the Parr donation. University Development Foun“The university, instead of dation first intended to use the cleaning up the house, ultimate- interest and income from the inly terminated Wiley’s employ- vestment as a gift to the univerment,” Jordan said. “It really is sity. However, it ultimately made a story that I think is incredibly a gift of the entire endowment, sad.” and the university accepted According to Jordan’s docu- the gift. He did not know what ments, Texas State was involved Wiley thought was illegal about in a matching grant program this. Fly wrote in the e-mail that APRIL 7, 2005he believes that the university with the National Endowment for the Humanities, where the did use the gift from the foundaNEH would give the university a tion for the matching grant, but grant if the university could raise still did not see anything illegal $1.3 million. When the univer- about the university’s actions. sity was still $560,000 short of Fly also said in the e-mail that this amount after the time limit, the full amount of the Parr enthe documents indicate that the dowment has been restored to president of the university tried the development foundation. to use Parr’s endowment to “The next step in the lawsuit make up the matching portion. is the discovery phase,” Fly said. Upon discovering that the NEH “Each party will submit docuwould not recognize this bequest ments, but it will take time to as part of the match, the docu- flesh out.” ments state that the president No court date has been set.
THURSDAY
Fite Nite returns to seperate the contenders from the pretend
with new sychronization SEE SPORTS PAGE 12
By Leah Kirkwood The University Star
is not often seen in smaller communities like San Marcos,” Bishop said. “You guys have a lot of daily For the rest of the year, 44 traf- traffic with not only the residents fic lights around San Marcos will but also 12,000 students that combe undergoing some changes. The mute everyday.” Texas Department of Transpor“If they would synchronize tation and the City of San Mar- (traffic lights), I think it would be www.UNIVERSIT cos are at work on a project with great,” said Katie Handley, Spanhopes to alleviate some of the ish graduate student. “Especially traffic problems in the city. the one at Highway 80 and 35.” Chris Bishop, a Texas State Many of the traffic lights along alumnus who the city’s highworks for the way systems will Public Inforbe upgraded and mation Office s y n ch ro n i ze d , VOLUME 94, ISSUE 71 at the Austin along with lights District Txon several city DOT, said the streets such as two goals of Hopkins Street, the project are Sessom Drive and to upgrade exThorpe Lane. isting stoplight The project equipment is not expected and connectto create many ing all lights to — Chris Bishop traffic problems a central conAustin District TxDOT while lights are trol center. The being worked on. project will also “There may be add pedestrian signals to many of some temporary street closures the city’s intersections. depending on what needs to be “Some (lights) have old or an- done,” Bishop said. “In general tiquated controllers, so they will work on controller, for example, be replaced with something more would be done off to the side.” modern,” Bishop said. Kenneth Bauer, an exercise and The upgrades made to each sports science senior, said he thinks light are dependent on their exist- the current stoplights in San Maring features and equipment. cos are very slow. Bauer said they Bishop explained that the traf- frustrate him all the time. fic lights will be “interconnected “Whenever I hit a red light, I via radio” to the central control just throw (my car) in park,” he system for the city to monitor and said. operate. Currently, each stoplight Bishop said that theCassie decision to operates independently, and they change the timing onHolman traffic lights will continue to do so. The advan- would be left to the city. After the 51.9% tage to the radio controlled lights project’s completion, the San Maris that city officials will be able to cos will take control of the whole manually control any light when traffic light system. necessary. TxDOT is spending $1.16 mil“If they notice a problem, they lion acquired by the gas tax on can clear out the area,” Bishop the project, and San Marcos must said. “The main concern is con- provide the other $1.1 million to gestion, San Marcos is a growing cover the cost of the upgrade. The town.” project, which began last summer, “This system is common in should be completed by the end large cities like San Antonio, but it of the year.
his system “T is common in large cities like
Holman wins, SRC passe ✓
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Jordan Anderson Student Recreation San Antonio hired for Rec Center andarchitects Cassie Holman Center feeexpansion passes
San Antonio, but it is not often seen in smaller communities like San Marcos.”
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RESU Graduate Senate BY T NUMB
to be bicameral
By Jason Buch The University Star
Adam Brown/Star photo
Andrew Nenque/Star photo illustration
Joanne Smith, vice president of student affairs, said $35 of the $47 increase will go toward paying off bonds Texas State has taken another step floated for the expansion and other Expanded toward expanding the Student Recre- construction costs. The remaining $12 weight room ation Center. The university hired Mar- will go to maintenance and operation mon Mok Architects of San Antonio costs for the new center. to design the SRC expansion, which is The current proposal calls for an 1st Floor slated for completion by the Fall 2008 89,000-square-foot expansion as well Pools semester. as 20,000 square feet to be created Climbing Wall The Texas State University System through renovation of existing faciliBoard of Regents authorized the uni- ties. New recreation center additions versity to hire the firm during its No“I think it will be a much-needed vember meeting. addition to the campus because the faThe project is estimated to cost cility we have right now is so crowded,” Existing recreation center areas around $22 million. Smith said. “We’re talking about doubling the The Department of Campus RecreRecreation center rennovations size of the current facility and doubling ation released a graphic rendering of or tripling the size of activity space,” the projected expansion for the April said Marvin Hanley, director of cam- referendum, but Hanley said with the pus recreation. addition of Marmon Mok to the projOpen to In a student referendum in April, the ect, that design is now obsolete. GraphBelow Misc. university received overwhelming sup- ics of the new design will be available Rooms port for the SRC expansion, which is in March. part of Texas State’s 2006-2015 CamHanley said the expanded SRC will pus Master Plan. More than 90 per- include a swimming pool, an expand2nd Floor cent of students who came to the polls ed weight room and expanded cardio voted to double the campus recreation facilities, four more basketball courts, fee, in what Hanley said was the highest four more multi-purpose rooms, a golf turnout for a student referendum theThesimulator and a climbing wall. President Jordan Anderson and student body ViceMatt Above left: newly elected student body President Rael/ Cassie Holman will take office by June 1. university has seen. TheAbove fee increase Hanley saidgraduate he expectsstudents work onStewart the far right: Geography Moser, left, and Xueqin He will gain Star more representation now that the amendment to the Associgraphics will go into effect in Fall 2008. expansion project to begin this fall.a Senate of undergraduates and a House of Graduate Representatives passed Wednesday. ated Student Government constitution creating ����������������� ��������������������� ������� ������� ���� �������� ������������������������������ ����� ���������� ���� ���������� ������� ���������� ����� �������� ���� ����������� ���� ��������� ��������������������������������� ����������������������������������� ������������ ������� ���������� ���� ����
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Faculty Senate discussion concerns lack of ethics code, conflicts of interest
Relay to raise funds for cancer prevention American Cancer Society to benet from team donations
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See SENATE, page 5
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Today’s Weather:
Mostly Sunny
Temp: 78°/ 51° Precipitation: 0% Humidity: 47% UV: 9 Very High
Saturday: Partly Cloudy Temp: 80°/ 60°
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Students Texas Sta tial Arts C during the nese Sak tival Wedn night in th Student C Ballroom. was hoste Japanese and Cultu and featu variety of cuisine an tainment.
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To Contact The S
Inside:
Two-day forecast: Friday: Mostly Sunny Temp: 79°/ 52°
Japanese culture to
Classifieds Comics Crossword
11 10 10
Opinions Sports Trends
6 11,12 7-10
Old Main, Room 102 Phone: (512) 245-3487 Fax: (512) 245-3708
NEWS
Page A6 - The University Star
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
20
THE YEAR
February 10 Members of the group Campus Ministries USA spoke to and debated with more than 150 onlookers and countless other passers-by in The Quad. Campus Ministries USA leader George Edward “Jed” Smock and associate Ken Dornhecker used the Fighting Stallions statue as the background for a sermon intended to preach their views about Christianity. The two men claimed students who did not follow God were “doomed to hell.” Smock, also known as “Brother Jed,” used a style he called “confrontational evangelism” to address marriage, sexuality and a number of other topics with a special focus on college students.
T
April 2 Pope John Paul II, the world’s 264th and third-longestreigning pope, died in the papal apartment overlooking St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. He was 84 years old.
March 10 As Spring Break approached, students bound for Acapulco, Cancun and other resorts across the Mexican border faced added dangers because of the recent murders and kidnappings of American tourists. Twenty-seven U.S. citizens had been kidnapped since August, according to an article posted on cnn. com.
exas State and San Marcos saw a big year in 2005, from the university laying out the welcome mat for students displaced by Hurricane Katrina to the criticism of the local police agencies’ use of force. The University Star dug through its photo and news archives to portray some of the defining moments for students throughout the year. To read the articles in full, visit universitystar.com to view the archives.
May 19-22 Texas State opened its doors to the Special Olympics for the third consecutive year, hosting more than 3,000 athletes. Star file photos
Spring
February 17 The American Friends Service Committee honored fallen U.S. military personnel and Iraqi civilians with its traveling memorial exhibit “Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of War” at Zilker Park in Austin. The exhibit opened January 2004 in Chicago’s Federal Plaza with 504 pairs of boots representing the current number of U.S. casualties in Iraq. Each pair of boots displayed the name of the soldier, his or her rank, age and home state. As of February, there were 1,466 pairs of boots. Boots were added to the exhibit as the death toll rose.
Summer March 22 Citing a lack of institutional control, the National Collegiate Athletic Association placed the Texas State athletic department on a threeyear probationary period due to illicit activities at the University Bookstore dating back to 1997 and NCAA rule violations committed by former football Coach Manny Matsakis during his one-year tenure. After Texas State investigated the violations, the school then enacted several penalties to correct the violations, including the dismissal of Athletic Director Greg LeFleur and Matsakis in January 2004.
March 28 The performance of the Stations of the Cross, a longstanding Catholic tradition to tell the story of Jesus’ life in its entirety, was performed in The Quad. The last 14 stations performed encompassed the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Normally performed within the quarters of a church, the Catholic Student Center opted to deliver the ceremony in public.
June 15 Police at Texas universities, including Texas State, searched black and Hispanic suspects at higher rates than whites in 2003, according to a recent report by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
July 3 After San Marcos resident Dave Newman pulled Abed Duamni, 35, of Houston, from the churning waters at Spring Lake Dam on July 3, he was arrested for interfering with public duties by the University Police Department. UPD claimed Newman disobeyed their orders, while Newman contended he saved a man’s life. The controversy made national news, and the charges were later dropped by the university.
NEWS
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
005 IN
REVIEW:
August 31 Texas State physics professors Donald Olson and Russell Doescher released their findings on Ansel Adams’ “Autumn Moon” with the use of what they call forensic astronomy. The team was able to determine the exact time, date and place Adams was standing when he shot the famous photograph.
The University Star - Page A7 September 21 San Marcos residents prepared for the consequences of Hurricane Rita, which was projected as a Category 5 storm that would barrel down the Interstate 35 corridor, leaving widespread flooding and tornadoes in its wake. Students and residents rushed to H-E-B and Wal-Mart to stock up on canned goods, water and gasoline, and many housed family members evacuating from the Houston and Corpus Christi areas. The path of the hurricane changed, however, and had little effect on San Marcos.
September 11 The African American Leadership Conference after-party in the LBJ Student Center was disrupted after a confrontation between multiple law enforcement agencies and students in the early morning. Students attending the event described the confrontation, which involved officers using Tasers, displaying beanbag shotguns and the arrest and detainment of several students, as “excessive force.” Student leaders later described the incident as possible racial profiling. Police officials said the force was warranted. On September 20, black student leaders held a press conference and vigil to protest what they called “overzealous” police action at the AALC after party. Students donned T-shirts that read, “There was no fight” to show solidarity. The university has since chosen an agency to to launch an independent investigation of the events.
Fall
August 29 Hurricane Katrina, a Category 4 storm, lashed the Gulf Coast, ravaging Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The levees protecting New Orleans from the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain were breached by the strength of the storm, flooding the city. Although 1.2 million citizens were ordered to evacuate, many stayed behind and suffered from a lack of food, water and medical care. The combined death toll was one of the highest in the history of United States natural disasters, with 1,383 lives lost because of the hurricane. The high casualty rate sparked a nationwide debate about which government agency — local or national — was to blame for the catastrophic effects. As of Dec. 20, 4,000 residents in the devastated areas remain unaccounted for and are feared dead. September 28 Maya Angelou, acclaimed novelist, poet and professor, greeted a crowd numbering in the hundreds. Students, faculty and community members gathered to hear the Nobel Prize-winning author discuss courage, sing and recite poetry.
September 1 University President Denise Trauth authorized the admission of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina to Texas State. About 15 uprooted students became temporary or permanent Bobcats in the aftermath of the storm. On September 8, The Crystal River Inn (above) housed several New Orleans families who evacuated the decimated city.
November 19 Texas State won its first Southland Conference title championship since moving up to Division I-AA in an overtime win against Sam Houston State University. The same weekend, the Bobcats saw the volleyball team win an SLC Championship of its own, the team’s second consecutive title.
December 6 Chris Jones (center), a public administration senior and former ASG vice president, won the San Marcos City Council seat against professor Moe Johnson, in a runoff election. Jones is the first student to sit on the council in 35 years. Jones is shown here with Earl Moseley (left), the first African-American to sit on City Council, and Bill Cunningham, the student who last sat on the Council.
November 5 More than a dozen members of the American White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the Imperial Klans of America rallied in support of Proposition 2, a proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution that would ban gay marriage. Barricades were erected in a 50-foot radius surrounding Austin City Hall to prevent an estimated 3,000 protesters from confronting the Klan members. Hundreds of police officers lined the perimeter, some wearing riot gear and holding clubs.
Page A8 - The University Star
NEWS
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Mathworks grant provides better opportunities for the community By Ashley Richards The University Star A mathematics center at Texas State that strives to provide innovative teaching and curriculum methods received a big financial boost over the winter break when the Ronya and George Kozmetsky Foundation, which has supported the university’s Mathworks summer camps and the foundation for more than 15 years, granted $50,000 to Mathworks’ new curriculum development program. Participants in the program include students ranging from elementary to graduate levels as well as existing teachers and those in training. After beginning an honors math camp and adding a junior camp along with other projects for teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, Mathworks is now launching a pilot curriculum program. The new program expands the material taught during summer math camps into a year of curriculum. Hernandez Intermediate School students will be taught using the new algebra curriculum at Miller Junior High. “It introduces them into algebraic thinking and reasoning at a younger grade,” said Max Warshauer, Mathworks director. “A lot of times, they have algebra in the eight or ninth grade, and this prepares them to be ready for it at fifth and sixth grades.” Terry McCabe, assistant professor of mathematics and co-developer of Mathworks’ curriculum, said the professors involved in Mathworks are using the material from summer math camps and the new curriculum project to make a textbook for sixth and seventh graders. However, McCabe said the material covered in the book can be successfully taught to and learned by younger students because of the way they have developed the curriculum for teaching algebra. “We’re using it in a very natural way,” McCabe said. “It’s kind of tricky to write it in a flexible way like that.” To test the students’ success in understanding the material
taught in the math camps and the curriculum development program, pre- and post-tests are given. Warshauer said the tests have shown the students are truly successful in learning higher level mathematics at a younger age.
e think “W this could be a great curriculum for all students throughout the state.”
— Max Warshauer Mathworks director
“When we’re finished with the curriculum, we expect the students to be to complete Algebra I in the seventh grade,” Warshauer said. “It’s really raising the mathematics for the students in public school.”
For more information about Mathworks, and to get an application for the summer math camps, visit www.txstate.edu/ mathworks. Warshauer said the curriculum is a pioneer program because it is exposing students to algebra at a younger age. “We think this could be a great curriculum for all students throughout the state,” Warshauer said. In addition to the pilot mathematics curriculum, faculty members consult with public school teachers on their upcoming math curricula in order to come up with fresh teaching ideas. The math inquiry groups help make teaching and learning math more exciting, Warshauer said. Mathworks is using the math inquiry groups to help teachers in San Marcos, Hays
County and New Braunfels public schools. “We don’t come in with a preset program. We actually look at what they’re doing in the next two to three weeks, and we analyze their curriculum and we design workshops based on what they’ll be doing the new few weeks,” McCabe said. “(Teachers) find it very helpful rather than abstract journal activities.” As the Mathworks center broadens its horizons in providing math training, the summer camps will continue, which include the honors and junior programs. The honors camp caters to high school students and consists of six weeks of undergraduate level math training. “I teach them the highest level undergraduate math courses; I teach these courses to high school students, and they do fabulous,” McCabe said The junior camp lasts two weeks each summer for third to sixth grade students. It is also used to train public school teachers so they may earn graduate credits and learn to teach their own math camps. McCabe said he has had a teacher tell him they could spot the kids who participated in a math camp over the summer because of their excitement toward the subject. Mathworks also chooses 40 undergraduate students each semester to be Meadows Fellows where they work with teachers and young students in the classroom to get first-hand experience. Mathworks is beginning a new program this spring for undergraduate students who are enrolled in regular math courses. The program connects the undergraduates with public school students over the Internet where they will mentor and tutor the students throughout the semester. “We’re allowing students to find that math is a very active, exciting thing — it’s not a passive thing,” McCabe said. The Kozmetsky Foundation has also provided financial backing for the program with a $30,000 grant last summer and an additional $5,000 donated in December.
NEWS
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Registered sex offender, student arrested for sexual assaults By Kathy Martinez The University Star Texas State University student Matthew Todd Ferguson, a registered sex offender, was arrested on Dec. 6 by the San Marcos Police Department and charged with sexual assault, a second-degree felony. Police say the alleged assault occurred off campus property. Ferguson, who transferred to Texas State in August 2005, is charged with the sexual assault of a 23-year-old San Marcos woman. On Dec. 15 a search warrant was issued for Ferguson’s San Marcos residence on the 1200 Block of North LBJ Drive. Additional charges were filed after investigators discovered multiple videotapes with recordings of women, and charges were filed for improper photography/visual recording, a state jail felony. Both SMPD and Waco Police Department investigators have been attempting to locate the women found in the videotapes to find out if they had knowledge of the recordings. SMPD Sgt. Penny Dunn said that after reviewing the videotapes, police suspect the women might not all live in the San Marcos area. “Just by the nature of contents of the videotapes, we were able to suspect that they may have been videotaped at previous residences,” Dunn said. Dunn said police recognized one of the women in the tapes as a San Marcos resident based on the content in the videotape. SMPD discovered Ferguson was a transfer student from Baylor University and had resided in Waco the previous spring semester. “We contacted the Waco police to help us identify any of the women in the tapes on the probability that some of the videotapes occurred at the time he resided in Waco,” Dunn said. WPD used local media outlets to encourage anyone who may have had a sexual encounter with the suspect to come forward and try to identify themselves on the tapes. WPD Officer Steve Anderson said that three women have officially come forward to identify themselves on the tapes, and on
Jan. 4 they filed charges. “During this investigation, another victim in Waco has come forward to file charges against Ferguson for sexual assault,” Anderson said. Ferguson, a registered sex offender since his release from a Michigan prison in 2000, was arrested on April 29 in Waco for failure to comply with the registered sexual offender conditions. Ferguson, who registered as a sexual offender with SMPD in August, served a five-year sentence following his conviction for sexual assault in Michigan. Dunn said that the coverage of the case has cooled down now and that the case is wrapping up, but there was media coverage about the videotapes from the San Antonio to Waco corridor. “It was important to get these women identified on the videotapes immediately to strengthen our case, and we utilized the media outlets to get responses from potential victims,” Dunn said. She said that there were immediate responses from women following the broadcast of Ferguson’s arrest. University Police Department Chief Ralph Meyer said Hays County Justice of the Peace Margie Hernandez issued Ferguson a protection order that prohibits him from being on university property. The order is valid from Dec. 8 to Feb. 9. On Dec. 21 Joanne Smith, vice president of student affairs, sent Ferguson a letter of temporary suspension from the university until he appears before the Student Justice Board. Meyer said that Ferguson has rights as a student, and the university will make sure that the appropriate procedures are taken to guarantee him those rights. “The university takes this matter very seriously and we have taken the proper precautions in the proper order to ensure the safety of our students,” Meyer said. Ferguson is currently awaiting prosecution on charges of sexual assault and improper photography/visual recording in Hays County and Waco. Ferguson is being held at the Hays County Law Enforcement Center on $650,000 bail. He could not be reached for comment.
The University Star - Page A9
Fall 2005 a busy season for ASG By Clayton Medford The University Star In the Fall 2005, the Associated Student Government held more than a dozen meetings and oversaw plans to create a Multicultural and Gender Studies course designation, stood behind the campaign of a former ASG vice president for a San Marcos City Council seat and officially opposed the statewide banning of gay marriage. The senate along with the executive board debated these and other important issues in meetings open to all students at which representatives elected by their respective colleges expressed the views of their constituents and made decisions based on the debate as well as their knowledge of the issue. One matter taken up by ASG early in the semester that caught the attention of the student body was an incident resulting in the arrest of three students and one being shot with a stun gun following an after party held at the LBJ Student Center during the African American Leadership Conference. University Police Department Chief Ralph Meyer attended the Sept. 20 ASG meeting one week after the incident and addressed concerns of senators and members of the black student population. The early morning incident of Sept. 11 drew close to 15 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies and, due in part to ASG’s emergency legislation passed at the Sept. 20 meeting, triggered an independent investigation. ASG also addressed statewide issues. Last November, Texas voters overwhelmingly voted to ban legal gay marriage in the state. Prior to the vote, accounting senior and then-Sen. Jeff Moody authored legislation opposing Proposition 2, which would amend the Texas Constitution and ban gay marriage. Moody’s legislation included more than
150 cosponsors, including several senators, faculty members and student organizations. The legislation was read at a meeting with dozens of students from both inside and outside the gay and lesbian community participating in the discussion. The legislation passed after an hour of debate about the significance of the issue and whether or not ASG had the authority to oppose or support statewide propositions. Ultimately, ASG President Jordan Anderson decided that the legislation did in fact go beyond the powers of ASG and vetoed it. Immediately following the veto, Moody resigned his post. “Whether Anderson admits it or not, the student body did speak out. I hope that ASG and the student body realize that Anderson’s actions have undermined the faith and trust of the student body,” Moody said in his resignation letter. Anderson responded to Moody’s resignation, and The University Star printed both his response and Moody’s letter. “I made the decision to veto (Moody’s legislation) based on specific content from the legislation and from responses from many students who felt that they were misrepresented. A veto is an executive privilege that I deemed necessary to use as chief officer of the Associated Student Government,” Anderson said in his response. While the issue over Proposition 2 was settled in the fall, some ASG business remained on the table. One piece of legislation that carried over from the fall semester advocated creating a Council of Student Organization Presidents. Bill author and senate clerk Kyle Morris believes COSOP would go further than the current Student Organization Council in advocating policy to the university administration. “If you look at what SOC
does, it mainly deals with actual funding issues and leadership training development,” Morris said during discussion on Nov. 28. “But nowhere in their charter do they discuss policy advocacy, and that’s what COSOP is designed to do.” The senate voted at that meeting to table the legislation and will resume debate early in the spring semester. Seemingly unrelated to the content of the legislation, the first reading of Morris’s legislation was read during his absence at the Nov. 21 meeting and eventually led to the censuring of Cassie Holman, student body vice president. At that meeting, senators attempted to vote on the COSOP legislation. Prior to the vote several senators left the meeting together causing the senate to lose quorum, the minimum number of senators needed to carry out a vote. A group of senators met with faculty advisor Ismael Amaya after the meeting, presumably to discuss allegations that Holman signaled the group to leave the meeting. At the following meeting, communication studies senior Sen. Cat Reed made a motion to suspend the rules of the senate to immediately address the censuring of Holman. After an explanation of the allegations against Holman and a brief debate, the senate voted to censure Holman. Holman denied the allegations and stated that the censure granted her license to run the ASG meetings “as strictly as I wanted to all semester,” said Holman after the meeting, referring to Reed’s accusation that Holman stepped down from the chair and participated in the debate, leading to disorder. Anderson said in a recent interview that he plans to meet with Student Organization Council leaders soon to help create a “united body, a united
front to take on issues” of students to the university administration. Another issue carrying over from the fall is the creation of a Multicultural and Gender Studies graduation requirement. According to the legislation authored by Morris, such a requirement is important to students because “an understanding of multicultural and gender issues is important in an increasingly globalized world and this same understanding is important for the completion of a well-rounded education.” ASG is seeking to designate Speech Communication 1310 as an MCGS class. Such a designation “is an excellent starting point for establishing a multilayered system of MCGS classes,” according to the resolution. Anderson said that currently “there are no roadblocks” to the establishment of the MCGS requirement, claiming the support of Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Perry Moore. “The next step (in the creation of the MCGS requirement) would be to speak with the curriculum committees and continue to work towards our goal, to have a graduation requirement in place,” Anderson said. The spring semester promises to be a busy one for Anderson and the ASG. “I’m really interested to see how our Graduate House (of Representatives) forms in its second semester,” Anderson said. “We’ve established a code of laws and already passed two pieces of legislation.” Also on the possible agenda for this semester is the continuing work of the student better business committee. “The better business committee will categorize businesses student friendly and student supportive, and we will recognize and reward them for their treatment of students,” Anderson said.
NEWS
Page A10 - The University Star
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Texas State professor Teen shot after brandishing gun on school campus receives national criminal justice award By Gary Taylor and Rene Stutzman The Orlando Sentinel
By Kathy Martinez The University Star The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences has named Joycelyn Pollock, criminal justice professor and graduate advisor, this year’s recipient of the Bruce Smith Jr. Award. The annual award is based on two criterions, including a demonstration of leadership in the administration of criminal justice as an academic or professional discipline and research contributions in the field of criminal justice. “It was a very proud moment for me and it is such an honor to receive this award, because it was from one of our national organizations,” said Pollock, who found out about the award before the Christmas break from the ACJS president. Pollock was nominated for the award in March 2005. She is the first professor at Texas State to receive the accolade, which is awarded to one professor from a different state each year. Julia Martinez, criminal justice graduate student, who has taken Pollock’s women in criminal justice class, feels she is more than deserving of the award. “She is practically a pioneer in women’s study, especially in the research of woman prisons,” Martinez said. Pollock has researched ethics in criminal justice, female criminality, women in corrections and law and prisons in general. “I’m not currently involved in any active research, however I am trying to complete a bunch of books,” Pollock said. Pollock is working on a community corrections book, a criminal law book and finishing the fifth edition of her ethics book. These books are texts to be used for various criminal justice courses. “Dr. Pollock is a busy woman and always has some sort of project going on. She’s just a brilliant professor and woman who encourages her students to
work hard,” Martinez said. Before joining the Texas State staff in 1993, Pollock received her bachelor’s in sociology from Whitman College and both her doctorate and master’s in criminal justice from State University of New York at Albany. She then went on to earn her doctor of jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center. Pollock, who began her career as a probation and parole officer in Washington, decided to go on to graduate school to do program evaluation but ended up teaching after receiving her doctorate. “I obtained my law degree while I was teaching at the University of Houston and thought briefly about leaving the university for the prosecutor’s office but decided I liked teaching too much,” Pollock said. Pollock, who has written more than 20 books in the area of criminal justice, also received the Fulbright Scholar Award in 1998. The award allowed her the opportunity to teach a semester at the University of Turku Law School in Finland. Pollock says that all her accomplishments and awards throughout her career mean a great deal to her, but the Bruce Smith Jr. Award came as a pleasant surprise. “I would say that this comes pretty close to being the most rewarding experience of my career, but it was also a great honor to receive the Presidential Seminar Award here at Texas State two years ago,” Pollock said. Jeremy Roth, who will begin graduate school in the criminal justice department this semester, said that Pollock is someone who sincerely takes an interest in the academic pursuits of her students. “She was extremely influential in my decision to attend graduate school. She will always promote a continuance of education,” Roth said. Pollock will be presented with the Bruce Smith Jr. Award at the annual ACJS spring meeting in March in Baltimore, Md.
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Milwee Middle School eighth-grader, who last year threatened to blow up a school bus, showed up for class Friday with a pistol in his backpack. However, classmates of Chris Penley, 15, didn’t know it was a pellet gun. Neither did a veteran Seminole County deputy sheriff, who made a split-second decision to open fire when Chris pointed the weapon at him. Penley will die of his injuries and his organs will be harvested for transplant. Once tests determined that Chris was brain dead, his parents began the process of donating his organs. The midmorning incident plunged the Longwood-area school into chaos, as frightened and weeping students gathered outside, awaiting anxious parents or school buses to take them home. While investigators were trying to figure out what prompted the boy’s actions, classmates said a dispute over a girl might have led to the tragedy. Chris told a student at breakfast in the cafeteria that he was going to beat up another boy and then was spotted carrying a gun in his backpack, according to the sheriff ’s office. Several minutes later in a classroom, Chris told a student “to tell the teacher ‘I have a gun,’” said seventh-grader Deiend Dilworth. Chris then lifted his shirt to show the handle of the handgun protruding from his waistband, she said. “He pulled it out, and he cocked it.” As another student yelled, “He cocked it, he cocked it,” the teacher asked Chris if he had a gun and he replied, “Yeah, I have it right here,” Dei-end said. “She (the teacher) went to the phone.” Chris got up and turned out the classroom lights, Dei-end said. “He told everybody to sit down.” But the students were already fleeing the classroom, she said. Most raced out the front door, though Dei-end and another student took refuge in a teacher’s planning room. Seminole County Sheriff Don
George Skene/Orlando Sentinel
Eighth grader Luna Rodgriguez is hugged by her mother, Natasha Difarnecio, following her release after police shot 15-year-old Christopher Penley when he aimed what appeared to be a handgun at police in Longwood, Fla., on Friday.
Eslinger said Chris struggled briefly with a student before running from the room. For the next 40 minutes, deputy Matt Parker, a school resource officer, and other officers chased Chris throughout the campus. At one point, Chris pointed his gun at his neck and said, “I’m going to shoot myself or I’m going to die some other way,” Eslinger said. The boy took off again as more officers — including SWAT deputies — arrived and a lockdown was ordered. Dei-end said a teacher ushered her into a classroom with five or six students, and they huddled together. Chris raced into a bathroom and was confronted by Lt. Mike Weippert of the SWAT team. “They pleaded with him to drop what appeared to be a 9 mm Beretta handgun,” Eslinger said. Chris then aimed the gun at Weippert, who was between the boy and two occupied classrooms. The deputy fired once. Weippert, a 20-year veteran of the agency with more than 16 years on the SWAT team, was placed on restricted duty, a routine procedure when a deputy is involved in a shooting. The incident is under investigation by
the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It would have been difficult to tell it was a pellet gun under any circumstance, but Weippert had to make a split-second decision when Chris pointed the gun at him, Eslinger said. At the time, Eslinger said, Weippert was positioned between the boy and two occupied classrooms. “It was a terrible situation.” The pellet gun is powered by a carbon-dioxide gas cartridge. Barrels on such guns are normally red or pink, to distinguish them from real guns, Eslinger said. But the barrel on Chris’ gun, he said, had been painted black and was virtually identical to the real thing. Friends in the mobile-home community in Winter Springs, Fla., where Chris lives said he loved playing with pellet guns and he had two: a handgun and a rifle. Chris had left Milwee last year after an altercation with another student he felt was bullying him, said Adrianne Medlock, a neighbor and school-district employee. Chris threatened to blow up the student and everyone else on a school bus, she said, though he did not have a bomb. Seminole schools Superintendent Bill Vogel could not say
how that incident was handled. However, Chris missed two to three weeks of school and later enrolled at Rays of Hope Charter School in Sanford, Fla., said Medlock, who puts together specialized education plans for students. Chris re-enrolled at Milwee and had only been attending about two weeks. After the shooting, hundreds of parents converged on the school, creating a traffic nightmare. Many were frustrated, running along the sidewalk in front of the school before being directed to a parking lot at a Progress Energy facility north of the campus. “I didn’t really know what happened,” said parent Eddie Mandaz of Altamonte Springs, Fla., who got a call from the school. “That’s why I’m scared.” A fleet of school buses was rapidly organized and sent to the 1,100-student school about 11:30 a.m. But many left with just one or two students aboard because so many parents had come for their children. Vogel said the district had two teams of crisis counselors on campus Friday to work with faculty and staff. He said the teams would be available Tuesday to meet with students when classes resume after the holiday weekend.
NEWS
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
The University Star - Page A11
CIA missile hits compound thought Little revealed about Judge Alito at confirmation to contain a bin Laden deputy By Ron Harris St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By John Walcott and Jonathan S. Landay Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON — A CIA-controlled unmanned aircraft fired a missile Friday into a compound just inside Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan after the CIA received intelligence that Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenant and other senior al-Qaida members were inside, U.S. intelligence officials said. At least 17 people were killed, but it couldn’t be immediately confirmed if al Qaida’s No. 2 leader, Ayman Zawahri, or other top members of the Islamic terrorist network were among them, or were even present at the time, the officials said. The officials said that killing Zawahri or bin Laden would be a “major victory in the war on terror,” as one put it, but they acknowledged that it probably wouldn’t cripple al-Qaida or significantly reduce the threat of new terrorist attacks. The reason, they said, is that terrorist cells now operate independently rather than on orders from bin Laden or Zawahri, and that Iraq has become a new training ground for Islamic extremists. The U.S. intelligence officials spoke
on condition of anonymity because the operation was top secret and they weren’t authorized to discuss it. A CIA spokesman declined to comment. The attack targeted a compound in the remote village of Damadola, about four miles from the border with Afghanistan, after intelligence indicated that Zawahri and other top al-Qaida operatives were there, said the intelligence officials. The operation was carried out by a CIA-controlled Predator surveillance aircraft armed with a Hellfire air-to-ground missile, a method the spy agency has used in the past to kill “high-value” terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen and Iraq. The agency is believed to operate a few dozen Hellfire-equipped Predators. Video shot by the Predator during the attack in Damadola, which is also about 125 miles southeast of the Pakistan capital of Islamabad, indicated that 17 people were killed in the strike, said the intelligence officials. News reports from Pakistan confirmed that an attack took place and quoted local officials as saying that 18 people, including women and children, were killed.
WA S H I N G TO N — A f ter a grueling 18 hours and more than 700 questions by a panel of senators over two and a half days, what did the nation learn about the judicial philosophy of Samuel A. Alito, Jr., the man who is almost assured to become the nation’s next Supreme Court justice? And the unanimous response from a number of law professors and legal scholars who observed or listened to much of the hearings was equally clear. “I don’t think we learned anything of substance,” said Eric Cleys, an assistant professor of law at St. Louis University who clerked for the late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Lisa Crooms, professor of law at Howard University in Washington, D.C., agreed. “I don’t think we necessarily learned anything that might predict what kind of justice he’s going to be,” she said. It was the same response
from professors Sam Bagenstos, at Washington University, Howard Gillman, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and Roger Goldman, at St. Louis University. “I think nominees have learned how to get through the hearings without revealing any substantive positions on important issues. Judge Alito has really perfected the art form,” said Bagenstos, who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Chief Justice John Roberts was similarly vague when he went through his confirmation hearings four months ago, they said. And the nation can expect the same in the future, because the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, they said, have been reduced to a show, a mere public display, a scripted dance that committee Chairman Sen Arlen Specter, R-Pa., described as “a minuet.” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a member of the committee, agreed. “It has limited value,” he
said. “If a nominee is specific and definitive on the issues that are in controversy in this country, they will alienate as many senators as they win over” and so be far less likely to be confirmed. The reason the hearings reveal so little began with Robert Bork, who was rejected as a Supreme Court nominee by the Senate in 1987 after he openly gave his opinions on right to privacy and other controversial legal issues. “What was refreshing about the Bork nomination is that he had a clear constitutional vision that he was willing to defend,” Gillman said. “So, he didn’t think the Constitution had a right to privacy, and he defended his public record. What was great about that is that the public had a debate. Bork didn’t survive, but we knew where he stood.” Supreme Court nominees got the message. Cleys and Goldman said the repeated sidestepping by Alito during the hearings was choreographed. Abortion was the most
glaring example, Cleys said. In a 1985 job application for a position in President Ronald Reagan’s administration, Alito said that he did not believe the Constitution guaranteed women a right to an abortion and boasted about his efforts to help overturn Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that granted women that right. Alito was questioned repeatedly whether he still held that opinion, but deftly talked around the question. Law professors say the hearings are so politicized that the terms thrown around repeatedly by both parties have become functionally irrelevant. Each side, for instance, repeatedly decries “activist” judges who create new law instead of simply applying the Constitution and judicial precedents. Sen. Chuck Grassley, RIowa, also a committee member, said the proceedings allow senators to accomplish what some founders thought was their purpose — “to make sure that the candidates are competent and that they’re not political hacks.”