08 24 2005 by The University Star

PAGE 2

The University Star Saturday Chi Alpha’s Day at the Lake, featuring water skiing, wakeboarding and food, takes place on the Pedernales River in West Austin. Aikido Club at Texas State practice from 7:30 to 9 a.m.

Calendar of

Tuesday

EVENTS

Speech and Debate team meets at 5 p.m. in Centennial Hall, Room 318. Pizza and refreshments will be available.

Campus Sports

Events

Wednesday

Sunday

Two-for-one student green fees at the Texas State Golf Course. Free exercise preview week at the Student Recreation Center continues until Monday. Friday Texas State soccer team plays Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. in Stillwater. Sunday Texas State soccer team plays Oral Roberts at 1 p.m. in Tulsa, Okla. Monday Sport club practices begin at various locations. Check the Campus Recreation Web site at www.campusrecreation.txstate. edu. Tuesday

Student Volunteer Connection assists in American Cancer Society’s “Darnd’st Du in Texas” 5kRun/30kBike/5kRun from 7 to 10 a.m. E-mail volunteer@darndstdu.com, or call (512) 326-1600 for more information.

Arts & Entertainment Monday Contemporary American Serigraph exhibit shown in Gallery II on the second ﬂoor of the Mitte Complex. Exhibition will continue through Sept. 30.

Miscellaneous Tuesday Tuberculosis tests administered from 2 to 6 p.m. in the LBJ Student Center, Room 3.13-1. Cost is $10.

SRC Fit Tour begins at the Student Recreation Center. Work out and win prizes.

Clubs & Meetings

CALENDAR SUBMISSION POLICY

Thursday

Calendar submissions are free. Send submissions to Calendar of Events Manager Nicole Hernandez at starcalendar@txstate.edu, or call 2453487 for more information. E-mailed press releases will not be accepted. If using e-mail, please submit as a simple bulletted list of essential information. Submissions are on a ﬁrst come, 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.

Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship has its annual concert and barbecue from 6 to 8 p.m. in Sewell Park. Four Star Union performs. Interfraternity Council recruitment is today. Aikido Club at Texas State practice from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at Sensei Rick Laue’s home dojo. Visitors are welcome.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR A year of changes for The University Star

As tends to happen more quickly every year, summer has drawn to a close behind us, and it’s time once again to deal with the mundane details of standing in line to buy textbooks, circling around the Bobcat Stadium parking lot in search of a spot, and trying to ﬁnd the best route across campus between classes. It’s time to welcome back all our returning Bobcats and say hello to all of our freshman and transfer students who are just beginning their university experience at Texas State. This is also a time of change for The University Star, with a new editorial board and a new building all our own. Although our ofﬁces are no longer physically tied to any one academic department, as we have been connected to the department of mass communication for so many years in Old Main, our connection and dedication to the students of Texas State whom we serve is as strong as ever. As the newspaper of, by and for the student body, we are implementing a number of new features at The Star to solidify our bond with the Bobcat community: • We know we don’t always have the space or the manpower to fully cover all of the great accomplishments of members of our community within our news section. We are only able to write stories on a small fraction of the honors, promotions and awards earned by people within our Texas State family, despite the numerous requests we get for such coverage throughout the year. To try and

correct this situation, we will begin running a regular feature at the top of Page 2 called “Stars of Texas State,” where we will announce the accomplishments of Texas State students, faculty, staff members and alumni. We invite all members of our Texas State family to nominate individuals who have achieved a great accomplishment, by sending an e-mail to starletters@txstate.edu. Instructions for sending a “Stars of Texas State” nomination can be found on the contact page of our Web site, www.universitystar.com. • Texas State students are a wonderfully diverse group of people, each with his or her own unique story to tell. To try and tap into that deep reservoir of experience, our new entertainment editor, Christina Gomez, has begun collecting columns from Texas State students with unusual personal stories to share, which will be run as regular, serial columns throughout the academic year. If you have a story you would like to share, please e-mail her at staren tertainment@txstate.edu to let us know about it. • One such story came to us this summer from Brian Patrick Henretta, a Texas State sophomore and army specialist with the 100th Mobile Special Affair Detachment of the Army National Guard, out of Camp Mabry. Spc. Henretta is currently serving in Baghdad to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, and has agreed to send The Star regular columns about his experience to share with his fellow Bobcats back here in San Mar-

Courtney Addison/Star photo

cos. His columns will run in our news section on Thursdays, starting next week. • Throughout the year, we will run pieces as we always do in our Trends section about the great places, to eat, shop and see live music in San Marcos. But we want to know what you think. Within the next few weeks, you will see a ﬂier asking you for your picks for the best local businesses in San Marcos in a number of categories ranging from best taquería to best thrift store. We will review the top picks in each cat-

egory, and print them in our “Stars of San Marcos” supplement, coming out in November. In the issue you now hold in your hands, we have tried to reach a balance between coverage of the important current events and issues that affect us all as students going into this academic year at Texas State and helpful information and advice to help you make the most of your experience here at Texas State and in San Marcos. I hope that you get as much out of reading it as we got out of putting it together.

��

NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

FAREWELL

The University Star - Page 3

Old Main

The Star leaves its home on the hill for a building of its own

By Emily Messer News Reporter

Old Main, the red-roofed Victorian Gothic building peaking above the trees of Texas State, will no longer be home to The University Star, as the staff moved to the Trinity Building on Aug. 17. With Old Main’s extensive history as the university’s first building and The Star’s long-term residency in the landmark, the move was seen as both a tough goodbye and a new beginning for the new School of Journalism and Mass Communication as well as current and former Star staff members. “Old Main is a historical building, and The Star has a tradition there. I think that tradition has been very valuable in allowing us to get where we are today,” said Bob Bajackson, Star adviser and mass communication faculty member. The journey from the top of Chautauqua Hill, which houses Old Main, to the Trinity Building represents growth that the student newspaper has experienced and will be experiencing, Bajackson said. “It was important that we had our own identity, but I think for us, this is just the beginning,” Bajackson said. “This is an important step to getting us to that goal because we actually have a building that is designed to be a news facility.” For Kym Fox, head of the school’s print sequence, seeing the student newspaper move out of the building is difficult, but she said she understands The Star’s need for relocation, both for more space for the paper and to convert the former Star offices into administration offices. “In the world of the organized campus media, the newspaper is independent of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication,” Fox said. “We’re partnered, and we embrace the student media, but it’s its own entity.” Fox said she has loved working in Old Main because, as the first building, it personifies the university. Fox, along with the mass communication program, will remain in Old Main for the time being. “I’m so privileged to have an

t was important that we “I had our own identity, but I think for us, this is just the beginning.”

— Bob Bajackson The University Star adviser

ofﬁce here and teach here, even if it’s drafty and sometimes rain drips through the window,” Fox said. “Just look at the view I have — it’s wonderful.” As the original campus building, Old Main is steeped in a rich history that has come to be a special part of the university and San Marcos, said Pat Murdock, director of development research. “(SWT alumnus Lyndon Baines Johnson) would have been in Old Main. That building was really special to him,” said Murdock, a former Star staff member who transferred to the university in 1959. “When the president made visits to the campus, he often went to Old Main.” President Johnson was also the keynote speaker for the rededication of Old Main in 1972, she said. The building’s history extends 106 years back, when a bill was proposed to locate a normal school in San Marcos in 1899. In 1901, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 142 to open Southwest Texas State Normal School, appropriating $35,000 to build Old Main and accept the gift of land, according to Up the Hill, Down the Years: A Century in the Life of College in San Marcos. Architect E. Northcraft designed the building, which opened for the fall semester of 1903. The construction proved difﬁcult because of a subterranean cave, Murdock said. “The building construction took a lot longer because of a cave underneath. They had to pour cement over it several

times,” Murdock said. Noted figures such as Johnson, the 36th president, and Jim Witt, now senior vice president and executive editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, have walked through the doors of the building and served as editors of The Star. Old Main has not always been home to the 86-year-old student newspaper. In 1965, the journalism department moved from Old Main to Looter’s Hall, which was later demolished, Murdock said. The Star was founded by student Fred Adams in 1911. He named the student newspaper after the university seal and said his choice was influenced by having witnessed Halley’s Comet over San Marcos the previous year, according to the Southwest Texan Student Handbook. A year after graduating, Murdock returned to then-Southwest Texas State University as an administrative faculty member working in Old Main. Because of her ties to the building, Murdock said it will be difficult to see the long-standing tradition change. “It was more than a symbol,” Murdock said of Old Main. “I have mixed feeling about the move. It meant so much to have classes and labs in that building.” The Star’s move out of a historical building isn’t the big picture to Witt, the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper during 1973 and 1974. “I’m not sure it makes a difference where The Star offices are; what really matters is the content that’s in the paper,” Witt said.

Courtney Addison/Star photo With the transition out of Old Main and into the Trinity Building, Star staff tries to balance settling into a new home and producing a newspaper at the same time. He said he has fond memories of working at The Star, which was printed weekly when he was a student. The story he recalls the most is the big streaking incident while he was editor in the spring of 1974. While the paper was normally printed at 10 p.m. on Thursday nights, around 8 p.m., hundreds of nude students decided to run up and down The Quad and around the Commons cafeteria. “We tore up the paper and added lots of picture pages and went on the press about 2 a.m. We delivered all the papers, caught a couple of hours’ sleep and then went to our 8 a.m. classes — only to ﬁnd that there weren’t any papers to be found anywhere on campus,” Witt said.

“We thought the administration must have pulled them from the newspaper boxes because of the content, but that wasn’t true; it was just such a hot issue that everybody wanted it. Probably the only time in University Star history to have a sellout.” Witt also said he had reviewed some of the previous papers in his time as editor. “As far as LBJ goes, I looked at some of the papers published when he was editor and concluded that he probably did the right thing by going into politics as a profession rather than journalism,” Witt said. “We expect our newspapers to be unbiased, but he didn’t see it that way.” To 2004-2005 editor-in-chief Larry “Scooter” Hendon, The

Star’s separation from the department and move to its own building will enhance staff members’ understanding of what their future experiences with a professional newspaper will be like. “Having our own building is something that any other news organization would have in the professional world,” Hendon said. The move to Trinity gives The Star more of a feeling of identity, he said. The Trinity Building includes a morgue to archive former issues, a conference room with projection capability and a room for the server, all new to The Star staff. The building also contains several ofﬁces and lab areas. Bajackson looks forward to The Star’s future at the Trinity Building. His goal is for The Star to go multi-dimensional on its Web site by offering video and audio links. “(Our) tradition was stiﬂed for a while because we had outgrown that space, and now we get to grow again,” Bajackson said. Bajackson said he hopes that one day the expanded facilities at Trinity will allow The Star to set up its own printing press, rather than printing the newspaper from the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung press as it currently does. “In the early ’60s, The Star was printed on campus,” Murdock said. “So it’s almost like going back. It’s just come full circle almost.”

C RO S S I N TO T H E B LU E C HEC K OUT THESE GREAT BENEFIT S! � EXCITING CAREER OPPORTUNITIES n

� GUARANTEED JOB, RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE

� TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES

Air Force R.O.T.C. (512)245-2182 Email: afrotc@txstate.edu www.det840.net Air Force ROTC Detachment 840 Hines Academic Center Rm. 108

30 DAYS PAID VACATION PER YEAR

� ~$27K TO START, ~$48K AFTER JUST 4 YEARS

� FREE MEDICAL/DENTAL CARE

$250K LIFE INSURANCE

� FREE BASE HOUSING AND UTILITIES

� VARIETY OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Page 4 - The University Star

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

STUDENT HEAL TH CENTER

We’ll be happy to see you! Online Appointments are now available. To make an appointment online go to www.healthcenter.txstate.edu, or call (512)245-2167 for an appointment. • Experienced doctors and nurse practitioners • Nationally accredited by Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc. • Latest technology: digital x-ray and computerized self-check in • On-site pharmacy and lab that offers discounted rates • Free patient parking • All appointments are kept conﬁdential The Student Health Center is located at the corner of Sessom and Tomás Rivera Drive.

Need a prescription? We carry a wide range of products including antibiotics, birth control, allergy, and overthe-counter medications.

To transfer a prescription from your family doctor or pharmacy call (512)245-3590. Be prepared to provide the following information off your prescription label: • Your name, address and phone number • The name and phone number of your previous pharmacy • The prescription number from the prescription label • The name of the medication We accept cash, Checks, American Express, Visa, & Mastercard. Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Car e, Inc.

NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

City Council begins adopting new zoning guidelines on residency By Sean Wardwell News Reporter The San Marcos City Council began the process of formally adopting new zoning guidelines that will bar more than two unrelated people from living in one residency in certain neighborhoods, despite objections from critics who have called the new measures discriminatory toward the student population. According to documents provided by the city at the Aug. 16 meeting, the new zoning “regulates the way property can be used and establishes the kinds of activities that are allowed. Zoning also provides standards for development.” However, the planning and zoning rules are nothing new, said Carol Barrett, director of planning for the City of San Marcos. “The new rules were adopted last September, and the council is in the process of formally accepting them,” Barrett said. The council unanimously approved the map submitted by the Planning and Zoning Commission on first reading. For the map to become official, there must be two additional readings with public comment. Citizens packed into the council chambers for the first of three meetings eliciting community feedback. “We recognize that this is a living document,” said Bob Thornton, chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission. “I think we provided a good foundation, though.” The council referred three properties back to the commission because of some property owners’ objections to having their lots rezoned for commercial purposes. “It’s up to the council to work up a process for considering these properties on a case-bycase basis,” Barrett said. Texas State students living off campus may be affected by the zoning rules. Currently, certain areas in San Marcos are designated for single-family use only, meaning that no more than two unrelated people may live in one residence. The city recently es-

tablished a Code Enforcement Office to track and fine violations of the ordinance. Barrett said contrary to rumor, the university and the city were not working in tandem on the planning and zoning laws. “The university is aware of our efforts, but we have not been working with them as far as saying where students can and can’t live,” Barrett said. “We ask the university when they are providing off-campus housing references to make students aware of these rules.” The council will be hearing resident feedback about the rules at its Sept. 6 and Sept. 20 meetings. The city hopes to have the new zoning guidelines in place by Sept. 30. Residents who lined up to address the council on Aug. 16 praised Barrett and her staff. “The university helps make San Marcos special,” Barrett said. “I’m glad to work in a college town.” In other business, the council approved, on first reading, increased rates for electric and water utilities. “The city is seeking a 2 percent raise in electrical rates and a 10 percent increase in water and sewage rates,” said Melissa Millecam, communications director for the city. The city government failed in its bid to bring a new Ikea superstore, meant to serve Central Texas, to San Marcos. “The mayor was personally involved, and there was real interest, but they opted for Round Rock instead,” Millecam said. City Council elections will be held Nov. 8. Currently, former Texas State student Daniel Guerrero and Bill Taylor are seeking re-election. Texas State student and former Associated Student Government Vice President Chris Jones is challenging Taylor for the Place 4 seat. Also up for consideration are $12.1 million in bonds for acquiring additional park space above Spring Lake, relocating the municipal court building, improving Sessom Drive and general infrastructure improvements.

The University Star - Page 5

Round Rock center opens for fall in new facility The Avery Building replaces Westwood High School and portable buildings as the home of Texas State’s Round Rock Higher Education Center.

More expansion for Texas State satellite planned By Brooke Hauser Special to The Star The newly built Avery Building will hold its opening ceremony at 3 p.m. today as home to Texas State’s Round Rock Higher Education Center, providing students, faculty and staff with a one-stop source for their academic services. Located at 1555 Chandler Road in Round Rock, the new education center will have registration, advising, counseling resources and classroom facilities. Since 1998, the center has been housed at Westwood High School and in nearby portable buildings. “This is an amazing transition,” said John Garcia, associate professor of counseling and coordinator of the RRHEC’s counseling clinic services. “I’ve never been so exhilarated about something in my entire academic career; it’s been like Christmas morning.” Garcia, who has taught at the RRHEC since 1996, said he had gotten used to the portable buildings, and the new Avery Building was an amazing stride forward. “I’ve driven out to the new campus, and it is beautiful by any standard, let alone compared to the trailer park we have had as our home,” said Frank Darby, counseling graduate student, in an e-mail correspondence. Darby said the new counseling clinic in the Avery Building will make studies much easier compared with the makeshift clinic used in the portable buildings. “Just imagine literally moving from a double-wide trailer to Buckingham Palace, and you will have the exact feeling the experience that this move brings about for me,” Darby said. Although Darby said that, from his experience, class sizes at the RRHEC are not noticeably different from those at the Texas State main campus, he said parking at the new building in Round Rock will be a much easier task than in San Marcos.

Photo courtesy of RRHEC

Round Rock Higher Education Center degrees Undergraduate Programs • occupational education • management • computer information systems • computer science • criminal justice for law enforcement • interdisciplinary studies • psychology • mass communication (under development for Spring 2006) Graduate Programs • business administration

“Switching to the new building is like winning the lottery,” Darby said. According to the Texas State 2006-2015 Campus Master Plan, the center will eventually be extended across approximately 100 acres in the area. Once the center is fully developed, it will have the ability to house 15,000 students. Edna Rehbein, director of the RRHEC, said the Avery Building has a capacity of 3,500, and 1,700 students are currently enrolled. “The center’s biggest asset is its convenience,” Rehbein said. “It will allow adult students who work full time to continue and complete their education.” Rehbein said more than half the current enrollment is made up of education majors, but the center also has many other academic programs to offer. “One of the newest academic additions to the center this fall will be the undergraduate criminal justice program,” Rehbein said. “Mass communication has been approved for 2006.” A graduate degree plan in social work is also set to begin in 2006. In addition to new academic

• computer science • counseling and guidance • criminal justice • educational administration • elementary education • health services research • healthcare human resources • interdisciplinary studies • management of technical education • professional counseling • public administration • reading education • software engineering • technical communication • social work (new for Fall 2005)

programs, the center will also offer new amenities. “There is even going to be an on-site library and a snack bar for in-between classes,” Rehbein said. Robyn Rogers, psychology lecturer, said she is excited about eventually having her own classroom and ofﬁce space at the Round Rock center. “I would truly consider teaching out there full time if they had an ofﬁce, staff support and I was able to teach all the same classes I teach on campus now,” Rogers said. The average age of students at the center, Rehbein said, is 28 years old, a decrease from past years. “It used to be 32,” Rehbein said. Rogers said teaching older students has its advantages. “The older, more mature student works harder, is more interested and more motivated,” Rogers said. “Their experiences lend them to different perspectives.” Costs and enrollment for the RRHEC follow the same guidelines as those at Texas State. One new requirement is

that students must have a Texas State parking sticker to park at the Round Rock center. Students who take classes at both locations only need to purchase one sticker. The RRHEC works in conjunction with other Central Texas institutions of higher education, including Austin Community College and Temple College. “We’re really reaching out further north,” Rehbein said. Rehbein said the smaller, more interactive classes at the RRHEC have shown to have a deﬁnite advantage over auditorium-sized classes. “You’ll get the same quality but more attention,” Rehbein said. One of the goals of the Round Rock center’s expansion is to distinguish the center from community colleges, which teach freshman- and sophomore-level classes, while Texas State and the RRHEC offer various undergraduate- and graduate-level courses so that students may pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees. According to the center’s Web site, “A key feature of the center is providing an enhanced transfer of credits from the associate’s to the bachelor’s degree, making it easier for students to complete degree programs.” Rogers said that the longterm goal of the center is to allow almost all of the courses that are taught on the main Texas State campus. “Eventually, students will be able to get their degree without ever stepping foot on campus,” Rogers said. Most classes at the Round Rock campus are usually offered in the evening, one day a week. For more information about the RRHEC, visit the center’s Web site at www.rrhec.txstate. edu.

��

Creating a Culture of Learning.

��

Distinction. Advising Center

��

�

��

� ��

�

��

� ��

� � ��

��

�

��

Leadership.

Creativity. Academic Quality

��

Page 6 - The University Star

NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Jones seeks to bring voice of Texas State to City Council Former ASG vice president is first in 33 years to run while a student By Eloise Martin News Reporter A Texas State student will be running for a spot on the San Marcos City Council in the November election for the first time in 33 years. Chris Jones, former Associated Student Government vice president and public administration senior, is running for Place 4 on Chris Jones the council. If Jones is elected, he will be the second student from Texas State to hold a position on City Council while enrolled at the university. Jones began his work in student government as a junior high school student council president and later became student council president his senior year in high school. At Texas State, Jones worked his way up in ASG as a senator before ascending to the vice president position under former ASG President Jerry Parker. Jones also worked on campaigns for state Rep. Patrick Rose, who serves parts of Hays, Caldwell and Blanco counties. “For me, it’s more about helping folks out; that’s why I do it,” Jones said. “If I wasn’t doing something, I’d be slacking on a responsibility I have.” Currently, Jones is the chairman of the Texas State University System chancellor’s advising board. The role includes speaking with all nine schools in the Texas State system and also with the Board of Regents and chancellor. Although Jones is now running for a spot on city council, he said he does not see this as a switch from school to city government. Although Texas State currently has Jessica Lynch, a nonvoting, ex-officio student representative, on the City Council, Jones said he could also work as a liaison. “As a student government leader, I can take several issues as a liaison to the city council,” Jones said. “I see it as more of a progression, the next step up.” Jones said he hopes the community will see him as working to improve the city as a whole and not just working for the university. He said he wants San Marcos to be a place where people feel they can stay for many years. Problems such as high school dropout rates, public transportation, traffic, health care and the environment are all issues Jones said he takes very seriously and feels must be faced soon. “We as a community face problems that are not going to be solved by not paying attention,” Jones said. “We’ve got to take this from a community perspective and deal with these problems.” Jones said San Marcos needs to recognize the changes going on in surrounding areas, including growing cities such as Buda, Kyle and New Braunfels.

“In 10 years, this should be San Marcos, not a suburb or a town that you just go through that isn’t worth anything,” he said. Jones also voiced his concern with the growing trafﬁc problem in San Marcos that affects both students and other residents. He said San Marcos is no longer a town that a person can drive from one side of to the other in less than 10 minutes. “We don’t want to become a mini-Austin where trafﬁc is so

son and incumbent William Taylor, and running for Place 3 unopposed is incumbent council member Daniel Guerrero. Current council member Taylor has also worked on the Airport Commission and the Street Advising Board, among others, in addition to City Council. Taylor said he stands for common sense and physical responsibility. “I am not anti-student. I represent a balanced position in which I can’t be pigeonholed,” Taylor said. “Every decision I make is an effort to apply common sense to the city of San Marcos.” Johnson was unavailable for — Chris Jones comment. Jones is not San Marcos City Council candidate the first Texas State student bad that people don’t want to to run for a position on City live there,” he said. Council. Bill Cunningham ran Jones remains involved in and won a place in 1972 before ASG as an adviser to current graduating in 1973. He served President Jordan Anderson. An- one term of three years in San derson said after working with Marcos. He was the first and last him in ASG, he feels Jones has student to earn a spot on City more experience than anyone Council. coming to City Council straight Cunningham worked as the from college. managing editor for The Uni“It is great working with such versity Star but said he was fired a dedicated leader,” Anderson for being too radical, writing arsaid. “He is successful in every- ticles publicizing anti-war demthing he does.” onstrations and criticizing the Anderson said students should university’s administration. know that although Jones is an Cunningham then turned active member of the communi- to politics in a time when he ty and will not just be a student said students felt a need to be representative, he will still serve involved in the political arena. as a connection between the stu- Texas had just lowered the legal dents and the community. voting age from 21 to 18 and al“Chris will not turn his back lowed students to begin voting on the students; he is very proud in the city where they were atof Texas State,” Anderson said. tending college. He said a challenge for Jones “It was a big civil rights time; may be getting the votes from students were dying to vote,” students that are unaware they Cunningham said. are able to register in San MarHe said Jones, as a student cos. and community member, will “It is an issue I have taken need to bring common issues very seriously,” Anderson said. that involve both the students “A major concern of mine is and the city. registering students to vote.” “Chris needs to form a platThe city elections will be in form that will energize students November this year, a change to vote but at the same time not from previous years when vot- alienate full-time residents who ing took place in May. Anderson have their own quality of life,” said May elections have been a Cunningham said. problem for students in the past One accomplishment Cunbecause many are not summer ningham remembered durresidents and leave town with- ing his time on City Council out voting. Anderson said No- is speaking with authorities to vember elections may improve prevent Texas Rangers from student voting numbers. coming in to break up streaking “This may be the greatest that was occurring on campus. chance students have had to get Cunningham served as a chair another student elected,” Ander- of the TSUS Board of Regents son said. “Chris will do wonders in the 1990s and also worked for the students of Texas State.” with U.S. Rep. James Jarrell Jones agreed that student vot- “J.J.” Pickle from 1980 to 1990. ing is important, not just for the He now owns a public relations students but also for the city. consulting business. Jones said the students should Jones has spoken with Cunbe contributing to the commu- ningham and called him a “great nity. inspiration.” He said he sees “I hope to help make them himself as fighting for some of aware of the problems in San the same issues now that CunMarcos and that they will have a ningham saw in the ’70s. He sense of responsibility and obli- said speaking with Cunninggation,” Jones said. “I have a lot ham reminded him of his need of faith in those who are aware to focus on and understand the of the problems.” community. Jones encouraged students to “He reminded me to make get involved, not only by voting sure I was doing this for the but by showing up to voice their right reasons,” Jones said of opinions at City Council meet- Cunningham. “He really moings. tivated me to try to affect and “They live here and spend change the city.” money and pay taxes,” Jones Elections will be held Nov. 8, said. “They should have a vote.” but early voting for students is Also running for Place 4 on available Oct. 26 and 27 in the City Council are Maurice John- LBJ Student Center.

or me it’s more “F about helping folks out; that’s why I do it. If I wasn’t doing something, I’d be slacking on a responsibility I have.”

A.W.A.R.E. Always Wanted A Riding Experience Volunteer Training Session Dates: • Sat., Aug. 27 from 11:00 am-1:00 pm • Mon., Aug. 29 from 6:30-8:30 pm • Tues., Aug. 30 from 6:30-8:30 pm • Thurs., Sept. 1 from 6:30-8:30 pm • Wed., Sept. 7 from 6:30-8:30 pm • Sat., Sept. 10 from 11:00 am-1:00 pm

WANTED!

Therapeutic Riding Center needs volunteers to work with horses and special people. No experience necessary.

You need to attend only one training session.

For more information or to sign up for a training session, contact: Always Wanted A Riding Experience

75-HORSE

1708 Centerpoint Rd. San Marcos East on Centerpoint Rd. 1/2 mile past Outlet Malls

NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 7

New law encourages renewable energy use in Texas Proposed ‘green taxes’ to fund schools fail as session ends By Danielle Schulz-Behrend Special to The Star A law signed Aug. 1 by Gov. Rick Perry will make Texas the second-leading state in the nation for utilizing renewable energy resources, according to an environmental advocacy group. Senate Bill 20 mandates that 5 percent of Texas energy be generated using wind, solar, geothermal and biomass resources. The bill is an extension of previous legislation signed by thenGov. George W. Bush in 1999, requiring that 3 percent of the state’s energy come from renewable resources, amounting to 2,000 megawatts by 2009. The newly-mandated 5 percent will amount to 5,880 megawatts by the year 2015, enough electricity to power 2.3 million homes and a reduction in pollutants equal to removing 1.1 million cars from Texas highways, according to the Texas Public Interest Research Group. TexPIRG originally pushed for 10 percent of the state’s energy to be derived from renewable resources by 2015, a goal it will revisit in later sessions, said TexPIRG advocate Luke Metzger. The organization credited Perry; Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay; Rep. Todd Baxter, R-Austin; Rep. Bob Hunter, RAbilene; and Rep. David Swinford, R-Amarillo, among others for passing the legislation. “Great strides can be made in these bills,” said Noah Hopkins, chair of the environmental service fee committee and geography resource and environmental studies senior, although he cautioned that while the legislation was a step in the right direction, there is still more to be accomplished. He said students should look to their lifestyles to improve the environment. “The greatest change we can make is on a personal level as far as lifestyle and consumption,”

Courtney Addison/Star photos LEFT: Josh Powell, kinesiology sophomore, ﬁlls up his car with gas at the Shell gas station on North LBJ Drive. One of the “green taxes” being pushed by the Texas Public Interest Research Group would adjust gasoline taxes to the Consumer Price Index, potentially raising $45 million by ﬁscal year 2006. ABOVE: Another TexPIRG-backed tax proposal would affect high-sulfur diesel, which has been found to contain more than 40 toxic chemicals linked to cancer and disruption of the reproductive system.

“C

hildren are overwhelmingly affected by pollution, so it makes sense that the proﬁts from an environmental tax should go back to children.”

— Luke Metzger TexPIRG advocate

Hopkins said. Although the organization described the law as “a victory” in a press release, Metzger lamented the failure of so-called “green taxes” it had proposed to pass in the recently-ended special session of the Legislature. TexPIRG proposed the green taxes to meet the dual goals of lowering pollution and providing funding to cash-strapped public schools, a key objective of the special session that the Legislature has been unable to achieve. Metzger said the newly passed renewable energy law is not directly related to the green taxes TexPIRG had proposed to the Legislature but would still generate additional revenue for public schools. He cited a 2004 study conducted by the Texas

Center for Policy Studies called “Bridging the Gap: Green Tax Options for Texas,” showing that West Texas school districts earned $15 million in revenue through local wind power projects. “Wind power projects are capital-intensive and generate money for the community in which they are based through property taxes paid,” Metzger said. Metzger said he believes the implementation of a tax on pollution output could provide even greater funding for public schools and improve the health of Texans. “Green taxes could be the environmental solution legislators are looking for to fund schools,” Metzger said. “Children are overwhelm-

ingly affected by pollution, so it makes sense that the profits from an environmental tax should go back to the children,” Metzger said. He said the proposed options would generate millions of dollars in revenue. The green-taxes bill provided for four sources of revenue: a coal use and severance tax, an electricity efficiency tax on power plants, a high-sulfur diesel and gas tax and a fee on new motor vehicles. Tom Fullerton of the public interest group TeXas Economists said green taxes would provide a lesson in consumer responsibility. “Green taxes have the potential to allow the state to address negative extraction while encouraging economic efficiency,” Fullerton said. Metzger said he believes that a coal severance tax would be the most beneficial to Texas’ economy and environment. “Coal is the dirtiest natural resource when burned, and it is important to level the playing field between all natural energy taxes,” Metzger said. According to “Bridging the Gap,” the green tax bill would raise the rate on coal purchased

or used to 7.5 percent of the purchase price. This increase would raise the tax rate on coal use to that of oil and natural gas producers. Potentially, a tax on coal use could generate $135 million per fiscal year. In addition to the financial benefit of taxing coal, Texans have major health benefits to consider, Metzger said. Currently, the top nine air polluters in Texas are all power plants that burn coal. “There are 1,100 deaths a year in Texas linked to coal in the environment,” Metzger said. An emissions tax and an energy efficiency tax would mean residential consumption of gas and electricity would be subject to a state sales tax. Although the poorest groups may pay the most, it would discourage wasteful use of electricity and water by enforcing monetary fines. A tax on emissions and energy efficiency has the potential to generate $263 million to $268 million during the next biennium, the report stated. A sales tax surcharge on highpolluting vehicles would apply to buyers of new cars with a higher pollution potential. A “pollu-

tion fee” would be assessed each year at vehicle registration. The fee would be calculated by the healthcare costs of driving per mile. “This could provide consumer financial incentive to improve mileage,” Fullerton said. Raising gas and diesel taxes to inflation and implementing high-sulfur diesel discharge tax means the dirtiest fuel used would be taxed the most. The study revealed there are more than 40 chemicals in diesel exhaust considered to be toxic, all of which have been linked to cancer and the disruption of the reproductive system. According to “Bridging the Gap,” adjusting taxes on gasoline and diesel to the Consumer Price Index, $45 million could be raised by the fiscal year 2006. Metzger said the major obstacle facing green tax implementation is moving it through the lawmaking system, a process he said is infamous for its duration. “Before any of these taxes can be enacted, legislators need to see a grassroots movement before they will be motivated to act,” Metzger said.

Crime,Terrorism, Civil Rights, Racial Proﬁling, Prison Overcrowding, Sexual Offender Registries, Domestic Violence

B.Y.O.C. (bring your own cape)

Criminal Justice Master of Science Graduate Program Is there life after college? The degree is designed to develop your skills in teaching, research, administration, critical thinking, and program evaluation.

Can I afford it? Texas State graduate scholarships and CJ Dept. fellowships available. Also available are graduate assistantships that pay $1095/month. For more information visit our website: www.cj.txstate.edu or stop by Hines Academic Center Rm 120.

Jeffrey Cancino Ph.D., Michigan State University Policing; Criminological Theory; Homicide Studies

David Perkins J.D., University of Texas School of Law Constitutional Law; Lower Court Administration Joycelyn Pollock Ph.D., SUNY-Albany J.D., University of Houston Female Criminology; Ethics; Corrections

Gini Deibert Ph.D., University of Texas Criminological Theory, Juvenile Delinquency Verna Henson Ph.D., University of Missouri Female Criminology; Poverty; Social Control Jay D. Jamieson Ph.D., Sam Houston State University Comparative Criminal Justice, Methodology Pablo Martinez Ph.D., Sam Houston State University Corrections; Criminal Justice Forecasting

Kim Rossmo Ph.D., Simon Fraser University, Canada Environmental Criminology; Geographic Proﬁling David Spencer Ph.D., University of Texas J.D., University of Texas School of Law Community Corrections; Classiﬁcation Research

John McLaren J.D., University of Texas School of Law Constitutional Law; Correctional Law Tomas Mijares Ph.D., University of Michigan Law Enforcement Tactical Operations; Organized Crime Wayman Mullins Ph.D., University of Arkansas Post-Trauma Stress; Hostage Negotiations

William Stone Ph.D., Sam Houston State University Custodial Suicide; Prediction Technology Michael Supancic Ph.D., University of Texas Historical Criminology; Juvenile Justice; Community Relations Quint C.Thurman Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Community Policing; Evaluation Research

MAKE A DIFFERENCE! BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION!

Do you feel that a Bachelor;s Degree is not enough? Have you thought of continuing your education?

Do you want to make a difference? Do you want to prepare yourself to be a productive problem solver?

Fly to the top of your class...

The Alcohol and Drug Resource Center offers a broad range of services designed to encourage and empower healthy lifestyles.

The Alcohol and Drug Resource Center Services Individual, Conﬁdential Counseling and Referral MIP, Alcohol Awareness Classes Community Service Men Against Violence (peer education) The Network (peer education) Lectures, Interview, Research Assistance Mini Grants for Student Organization Programming Internships and Practicums Students with Alternative Transportation (SWAT)

LBJSC 5-4.1 601 University Drive | Texas State University-San Marcos Phone: 512.245.3601 | Fax: 512.245.7601 | Email: jr09@txstate.edu | www.adrc.txstate.edu

Page 8 - The University Star

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Leave your old ideas of AGRICULTURE behind. This is the NEW AG! “OLD AG” Meet Billy Bob, a guy who represents your OLD ideas of agriculture. He drives ON a Mustang, herding his cattle and living on the range. He is all about spurs, boots, hoedowns and every other stereotype of AG that you can think of.

“NEW AG” Now meet Melissa. She represents the NEW idea of agriculture. She drives IN a Mustang on her way to the ofﬁce where she is an account executive for General Mills. You see, AG includes the food and ﬁber industry and the possibilities are enormous. One in six jobs in the U.S. is agriculture related and the need for AG graduates, like Melissa, exceeds the number of AG students. The careers are there, you just need one of Texas State’s AG degrees to land a dynamic one.

Texas State Department of Agriculture ag.txstate.edu 245-3322

NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 9

Blanco Hall residents may feel three is a crowd Paying electric bill now By Sean Wardwell News Reporter Residents of Blanco Hall are going to have to make a little more room than they bargained for this year as the university converts the residence hall’s previous twostudent-per-room occupancy to three. “I first heard about it from my friend who is a resident assistant at Arnold Hall,” said John Overton, philosophy junior and Blanco Hall resident. “He asked if I had heard that all of the rooms in Blanco were three-person rooms now. I said, ‘no.’ I checked the Texas State Web page and my e-mail and found nothing. About a day later, I saw the letter in my WebMail.” The letter from Residence Life states, “Occasionally, as has occurred this year, we receive a large influx of new and new transfer students to live on campus very late in the summer. As a result of this need, Residence Life is arranging rooms in Blanco Hall to accommodate three students.” The letter went on to state,“Blanco Hall rooms are the largest on campus and are the best choice for the triples. Creating triple rooms is a very common strategy across the nation for colleges and universities with this type of extraordinary occupancy. At other schools, students are frequently housed in lounges, lobbies and even in gymnasiums. At Texas State, our commitment to students includes complete sets of furniture, access to the high-speed Internet, and the largest rooms on campus.” But not all Blanco Hall residents feel fortunate about the situation. “My first impression of the Residence Life administration is that they suck,” said Brien Adkins, public administration sophomore and new Texas State transfer student. “I had been trying to get information on where I was living since late June. I was told where I was moving on Monday, Aug. 15, and then

Linda L. Smith/Star photo Three beds now occupy the space where once there were only two. This room is one of many in Blanco Hall that has been “tripled” — converted to accomodate three students. they told me this.” Adkins also explained that what he read in the letter didn’t match what he saw when he moved in. “The lofts shown on the Residence Life Web site are not the ones in here,” Adkins said. “There are only two phone jacks and two Ethernet cables. I was told that the new phone jacks would not be installed until October.” Residence Life has told students that the third Ethernet connection will hopefully be added before classes start. “Residence Life must balance the needs and requests of more than 7,500 students who send in housing contracts during the course of the academic year and summer,” wrote Jim Settle, director of Residence Life, in an e-mail. “The individual plans of students change during the summer, and Residence Life is responsive to the choices of students and their families,” Settle wrote. Settle wrote that Residence Life has taken more care to accommodate students than have other universities that have seen an unexpected inﬂux of students.

Johnny Carino’s 1st & 3rd Saturdays 9 - 3:30

Lone Star Cafe 1st and 3rd Wednesdays 4 - 10:30

DEFENSIVE DRIVING TICKET DISMISSAL & INSURANCE DISCOUNT

$35.00

Ryan’s - New Braunfels

2nd and 4th Saturdays 9 - 3:30

DriveSafe of Texas

Includes

Meal

CP315-C1116

830-935-4037

“The use of Blanco Hall as triple rooms is change but not overcrowding. Blanco Hall was designed and built to accommodate three people per room,” Settle wrote. “Overcrowding, as seen at other colleges and universities, typically means students living in lounge spaces, in common areas or gymnasiums. Texas State has placed all of our students in rooms or in temporary spaces in hotels, and we expect to have all students on campus in residence hall rooms around Sept. 1.” “That is someone spinning words,” Overton said. “You could easily say that, since Blanco Hall rooms have four closets, the rooms are designed with four people in mind. Our third roommate is moving in on Saturday, Aug. 20, and my roommate and I are throwing our hands in the air on where he’s going to store his things.” “It could be said that Jim Settle is making a bad situation look better by saying something worse,” Overton said. Associated Student Government President Jordan Anderson

suggested Residence Life develop alternative planning methods to curb the possibility of such a problem occurring again. “We found out about this just last month. Our estimate of what the freshman class was going to be was just wrong,” Anderson said. Anderson said inconsistencies and unknown factors that come into play with late registration cause difficulties. “We don’t even know if the student who signed up for late registration will be attending or staying in a residence hall,” Anderson said. “All these things have to factor in.” The inconvenience for students will come with a price; Residence Life is providing Blanco Hall residents special consideration on room and board rates as a result of the change. “The room rate is being reduced by $599 per person, per semester, from $2,249 to $1,650,” Settle wrote. Settle wrote that although there are no provisions in residence hall contracts to address situations such as an unexpected influx of students, Residence Life does not guarantee any living situations for students seeking campus residency. “Residence Life would always prefer to give every student exactly the type of housing they want,” Settle wrote. “It’s sometimes difficult to meet the competing demands for the type of housing, roommate requests and building preferences, so Residence Life never guarantees assignment to a specific hall, type of room or specific roommate.” The final shipment of additional furniture for the triple-occupancy rooms is expected to come in on Friday, he wrote. Many students still feel apprehensive about living with two other people in the same room. “My biggest concern is that I’m moving in with two people who already had this room,” Adkins said. “I feel like I’m intruding.”

��

easy as a click thanks to Online Utility Services Jake Roussel News Reporter San Marcos will have a more convenient way of paying utility bills this fall. The city has created a service that allows local customers to use the Internet to pay their utility bills by credit or debit card from home. When accessing the site for the first time, customers will need to enter their account information to sign up with the service, which promises to protect the information from other users. The customer will use his or her utility account number to view the account. Users should have their utility bill with them when setting up the service, and a personal identification number will be given when the setup is complete. Ernest Cavazos, Utility Services manager, said in a press release that the purpose of the program is to bring city services to the customers as an alternative to standing in line at the utility office’s counters. Cavazos said the site has many features that will be helpful to customers. “Our customers will be able to get detailed information about their utility bill, including electric, water, wastewater and drainage charges,” Cavazos said. “You can also view your other account information, such as previous billing statements and account

history, plus enter service requests, which includes disconnection and transferring of your current utility service.” Cavazos said the program has been in test mode for several months but should now be able to serve the needs of the customers who utilize it. “We’re confident that our customers will be pleased with the end result,” Cavazos said. Christina Epp, psychology sophomore, said she appreciates being able to pay her bills online. “I think this is a good service for people who do not have a lot of time to stand in line or who tend to forget to throw their bills in the mail,” Epp said. “I work very strange hours sometimes, and it makes it difficult to get things done during the day.” However, some say the service will not benefit them. Texas State alumnus Jason Krueger said this service does little for him. “It doesn’t help me out any because I have to pay my landlord regardless, and she takes care of the bill her own way,” Krueger said. Accepted forms of payment are MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover credit cards, and debit cards that have a MasterCard or Visa logo. To access the Online Utility Services, visit www. ci.san-marcos.tx.us.

S I G N U P T O D AY ! TA X S C H O O L !

The Jackson Hewitt® Income Tax Course Learn a skill that never goes out of style in the Jackson Hewitt® Income Tax Course. Our trained instructors will teach you how to prepare tax returns so you’ll be able to do your own taxes! And once your friends discover your talent, you could earn extra money preparing their taxes, too*!

��

311 Cheatham St. San Marcos, TX 78666 (512) 392-0207 www.jacksonhewitt.com

907 N. Loop 4, Ste. C Buda, TX 78610 (512) 295-3757

378 Landa New Braunfels, TX 78130 (830) 608-9899 email:Jh.fin@jhnet.com

*Completion of this course is neither an offer nor a guarantee of employment. Additional training or experience may be required. Most offices are independently owned and operated.

@#&%!!

Roomate Problems? Hate Where You Live? Are you Looking For Living that is Relaxing Peaceful Enjoyable ��

Vance J. Elliott Realty Group A Full Service Management Company

www.vancejelliottrealty.com 1330 Aquarena Springs Drive #105 512-353-3002 Free Locating...We Pay You to Live With US! Now Leasing! Come and see us today!

�� Sunday, Aug. 21 ~ Barbeque at 6 p.m., followed by worship at 7 Wednesday, Aug. 24 ~ Prayers at 5:30, followed by cookout at 6

�� Sundays: Holy Communion at 7 p.m. Wednesdays: Prayers at 5:30, followed by free meal at about 6 p.m. Mondays: Men’s Bible Study at 6 p.m. ~ Women’s Bible Study at 7 p.m. Based at St. Mark’s Church 510 N. Guadalupe St. (across from The Tower dorm) 512.353.1928 | www.highergroundtxstate.org | sh17@txstate.edu

NEWS

Page 10 - The University Star

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

A VISION OF THE FUTURE:

Master Plan will bring university into next decade

Images courtesy of Media Relations LEFT: A bird’s-eye rendering of how the university will appear in 2015 if all the 2006-2015 Campus Master Plan projects are completed. New buildings, the removal of parking lots and more green space are expected results of the plan, changing the face of the growing campus. ABOVE: A current image of Old Main and the JC Kellam administrative building parking lot. BELOW: A rendering of what the area will look like under the Campus Master Plan. The plan includes replacing the JCK parking lot with landscaping and installing a parking garage.

A greener Texas State: Beautiﬁcation of campus a major focus of plan By Ryan Landry Special to The Star The university grounds take center stage in the Texas State Campus Master Plan 2006-2015 in an effort to transform the appearance of campus from “gray to green” through a series of landscape renovations. Nancy Nusbaum, Master Plan project manager and assistant vice president of ﬁnance and support services, said landscape will be a major concentration of the plan during the upcoming decade. “The goal is to create wall-

to-wall green land across the campus grounds,” Nusbaum said. According to the 2003 executive summary of the Campus Master Plan, seven key areas have been designated for speciﬁc landscape improvements. These areas will include the grounds surrounding the president’s house, land east of the Student Health Center, the location of the Christian Community Center, Bobcat Trail and The Quad area. Other improvement sites include Bobcat Trail and land between the Theatre Center and the JC Kellam adminis-

trative building. Nusbaum said the campus is sectioned into three regional landscape zones: plateau, prairie and wetland. The plateau zone is the elevated, hillside region that stretches from Old Main across West Campus, while the prairie zone consists of the gently sloping, fertile land that covers the eastern part of campus and the wetland areas include the land around Aquarena Springs Drive, the ponds surrounding JCK and other areas of campus adjacent to the San Marcos River. Nusbaum said a plant palette has been arranged to reﬂect each zone by use of shade trees, shrubs, yuccas, grasses, succulent plants and a variety of other ﬂora to create atmospheric themes along the campus grounds. The landscape design,

Nusbaum said, will show a predominance of native plant life for each landscape zone, displaying an arrangement of diverse and unique colors. Nusbaum said David Lemke, biology professor, and Tina Cade, associate professor of agriculture, conducted research in preparation for the landscape establishment. The life cycles of the particular plants — when they bloom, lose their leaves and change colors — were taken into consideration for the design. The landscape plans and plant list compiled by Master Plan consultants Broaddus and Associates were reviewed by Lemke, who recommended additional native plants for each zone. “There is always going to See PLAN, page 17

Live at The Outpost – Sign a lease today!

Free

Internet Theater Room Pest Control Tanning Parking

We will match any price in town!* mes a G PS2 ntals e e r F e Re i v o &M

Billiard & Game Room

Resort-Style Pool

ub T t Ho n rso

e 12 P

ll a b t ske Vol ley

bal l

24 Hou r Cente Fitness r & Co mpute r Lab

e/Dryer e r F asher re W itu n Fur kfast a Bre er t Wa le Cab

Direction: From IH-35 South take exit 206. Go west on Aquarena Springs Dr. Turn right on Post Road. We are approx. one mile from Texas State on your left.

512-392-7678

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30-7:00 Saturday 10:00-5:00 Sunday 12:00-5:00 * comparable properties

NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 11

Looking Back: The 1996-2005 Master Plan By Kathy Martinez News Reporter

Images courtesy of Media Relations

ABOVE: New buildings, more greenery, and an opened campus entrance will be some of the changes coming to the area west of the LBJ Student Center. BELOW AND BOTTOM RIGHT: Tiled and covered walkways to protect students from rain are among the most visible changes slated for campus. Examples shown are the areas by the Hornsby/ Burleson Residential Complex, which is scheduled for demolition, and the Evans Liberal Arts Building, respectively.

The implementation of the university’s last Campus Master Plan from 1996 to 2005 saw the accomplishment of many projects that have changed the face of the campus, including the iconic LBJ Student Center, which is most new students’ ﬁrst glimpse of Texas State. Other developments were not completed within the decade time frame, but many of the Projects Completed under 1996-2005 Campus Master Plan

projects deferred from the 1996-2005 Campus Master Plan have been incorporated into the 2006-2015 plan, including a lab for the Freeman Ranch, a pool addition for Recreational Sports and many building renovations across campus. Nancy Nusbaum, assistant vice president for ﬁnance and support services and Campus Master Plan project manager, said that more than $48 million in Higher Education Assistance Funds for new construction and more than $38 million for renovation projects were spent during the 10-year period. construction, to be completed in 2006)

• LBJ Student Center, University Bookstore, LBJSC Parking Garage — Texas State University System Revenue Bonds and Higher Education Assistance Funds (1997) • Centennial Hall renovation — Higher Education Assistance Funds (1997) • Academic Services Building renovation — Higher Education Assistance Funds (1999) • Nueces Hall renovation — Higher Education Assistance Funds (2002) • Mitte Complex for Art, Technology and Physics — Higher Education Assistance Fund Bond, Higher Education Assistance Funds and Tuition Revenue Bonds (2003) • East Chill Plant renovation — TSUS Revenue Bonds (2003) • End Zone Complex — TSUS Revenue Bonds (2003) • Brazos Hall renovation — Higher Education Assistance Funds (2003) • Alumni House renovation — Unexpended Plant Funds (2004) • Strahan Stadium addition — TSUS Revenue Bonds (2004) • Education Building renovation — Higher Education Assistance Funds (2004) • Lane improvements on Sessom Drive and University Drive (2005) • McCoy College of Business Administration — Higher Education Assistance Funds and Tuition Revenue Bonds (currently under

Deferred Projects Included in Current Master Plan: • Health Science Center renovation • Aqua Sports Center renovation • Derrick Hall renovation • Jowers Center renovation • Hines Academic Center renovation • Freeman Ranch Lab • Family and Consumer Sciences renovation • Lampasas Building renovation • Music Building addition • Theatre Center renovation • Biology Greenhouse • River House renovation • Physical Plant addition • Canyon Hall renovation • Recreational Sports Phase II (pool addition) • University Camp renovation • JC Kellam Building and Education Building Parking Garage • McCarty Student Center Parking Garage • West Plant and South Plant additions • Landscaping and site work • Vehicular and bikeway improvements, bicycle parking • New pedestrian plaza

State funding creating a roadblock for new Gov. Rick Perry called the special session to solve, forced other issues to be abandoned before they campus buildings could be debated. Nusbaum said two of the four projects for By Kalenna Masters Special to The Star

University officials face many challenges before construction can begin on 2006-2015 Campus Master Plan projects because of the Texas Legislature’s failure to approve $183 million in student revenue bonds for funding during the 79th regular session and two special sessions this summer. Nancy Nusbaum, vice president of finance and support systems and Campus Master Plan project manager, said the student revenue bonds were on the list of issues the Legislature was considering in its latest special session, but the current crisis in Texas public school finance, which

which the university was initially seeking state funding include the construction of an undergraduate academic center and the expansion of facilities across a 101-acre area for the Round Rock Higher Education Center. The $183 million Master Plan calls for the addition of 10 new buildings and parking areas. Without passage of the student revenue bonds, Nusbaum said some projects in the Master Plan will have to be put on hold until state funding is available, including the main building project — the undergraduate center, whose cost is estimated at $47.2 million. “My biggest concern is about our top project on the list, the undergraduate academic build-

��

ing,” said Perry Moore, Texas State provost and vice president of academic affairs. “Our enrollment will be up this year, and even before the most recent increase, Texas State was one of the most overutilized schools.” Moore said he is looking forward to the possibility of another special session, hoping Gov. Rick Perry will include the revenue bonds as an issue. If See ROADBLOCK, page 16

��

VILLAGE ON THE RIVER ��

�� Swimming Pool 2 Jacuzzis Jogging Trail Tennis Court 2 Sand Volleyball Courts Basketball Exercise Room Gazebos w/ BBQ Pits

Patio/Balcony w/ Storage Ceiling Fans Built-In Microwaves Professional On-site Mgmt. 24 hr. Emergency Maintenance On SWT Shuttle Bus Route Pets Allowed EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES

��

Page 12 - The University Star

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

It does make a diﬀerence where you shop.

– Your Bookstore NON PROFIT: We are owned & governed by Texas State.

We are a partner in your education from orientation through graduation and beyond. University Bookstore gives back thousands of dollars each year to support campus programs, departments, events, student organizations and operations funding of Texas State University. We paid over $1.2 million to our students for books last year.

Shop at University Bookstore to reward yourself and your school. Sign up this fall for “Be True To Your School,” University Bookstore’s Customer Loyalty Program. Shop at University Bookstore in the LBJ Student Center. While you are there, sign up at any cash register station. Keep track of and then have all your purchases totalled each semester to determine your reward for being a loyal Texas State customer.

Pump Up Tha Volume! Hip Hop Congress, Clap! Clap!, and The Happy Families. Tons of free giveaways! Super loud music! August 25th from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at University Bookstore. They want us to ﬁnd out how loud we can get in the Bookstore, so do not miss this opportunity to see us ‘PUMP UP THA VOLUME’! www.bookstore.txstate.edu

Part of Texas State University-San Marcos, a member of the Texas State University System.

NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 13

New education dean sees great Bicycles may offer cheaper alternative potential in Texas State program for Texas State student transportation By Eloise Martin News Reporter

munity of San Marcos and the Texas State education program. Barrera decided to return to TexRosalinda Barrera has returned as partly to be with her ailing fato the state of Texas to fill the po- ther, but she said Texas State was sition of dean of the College of a deliberate choice because of its Education with hopes potential. of bringing change to “It is the largest teachthe department and er preparation program finding a connection in Texas,” Barrera said. with the students at “It is a source of pride, Texas State. but it calls for a lot of Barrera joins Texas responsibility and exState from the Uniercising judgment on versity of Illinois at our part. It is exciting to Urbana-Champaign, have all of that.” where she was a proBarrera also said she fessor of curricu- Rosalinda Barerra feels a great deal of suplum and instruction, port from Texas State teaching graduate and under- President Denise Trauth and graduate courses in early child- Provost and Vice President of Achood literacy and multicultural ademic Affairs Perry Moore. She children’s literature. said she agrees with their messagBarrera earned her bachelor’s es for Texas State and feels that all degree in journalism with honors the right people are in place at and her master of arts in com- the right time to maximize the munication from the University education program’s potential. of Texas in 1969. She completed As the new dean, Barrera said her doctorate in curriculum and she has no question that the Colinstruction at UT in 1978, with a lege of Education will be involved specialization in reading educa- in a change. Barrera said to be tion. afraid of change would be conHer career in education has tradictory to teachers’ mission of been extensive. Barrera assumed promoting education. the role of interim associate di“We are, as teachers, first and rector for UIUC’s Center on De- above all, learners,” Barrera said. mocracy in a Multiracial Society “We have to be willing to look at and became the interim director the world in many ways.” of the center in 2004. That year, Barrera said she wants students she also became an associate pro- to feel the same way about change vost for the university. and opening their minds to new In the time between her gradu- points of view. She said she proation from UT and her return to motes dialogue and believes in Texas, Barrera was on faculty at mature discussions. New Mexico State University and “One thing that will allow us UIUC and was a visiting faculty to move forward as a country is member at the University of Ari- to have a population aware of the zona and the University of Cali- larger world,” Barrera said. “Stufornia-Berkeley. She also had two dents need to see the world withdaughters, now ages 34 and 26. out blinders on and be aware of Barrera said she does not feel neighbors in their backyards and like she has left teaching but has in other parts of the world.” used her experiences to grow into She said she wants the students an administrative role. She said in the College of Education to while the two roles complement know they have a significant role each other, administration has al- in changing and shaping the fulowed her to reach new areas. ture within the university and “Administration allows me to society. influence more of the campus, “They will be working with which I feel is important for children’s minds,” Barrera said. growth,” she said. “Teachers are important in our Barrera has been an active society, but unfortunately, we member of the Tomás Rivera don’t value them to the degree Mexican American Children’s we should.” Book Award program for six Barrera said she looks forward years. The Texas State program to speaking with students and gives an annual award to a chil- sees them as a way to represent dren’s book that authentically the College of Education in an reflects Hispanic culture in the informed and effective way. She United States. encourages students to come to Through her work with the her with any information they award program, Barrera said she want to share. became familiar with the com“I like the fresh perspectives

that students bring,” Barrera said. “I want them to see themselves as part of the college and as getting something out of it in return.” As the new dean, Barrera hopes to make the faculty and administration working with her feel conﬁdent and successful about changes in the program. She said she will also do her best to provide clear vision and goals. One goal Barrera has is to face the challenge of linguistics of cultural minorities. Barrera said after a 30-year absence from Central Texas, it is an issue that is still present and still needs to be faced. “We can’t afford to have undereducated children,” Barrera said. “The problems are going to affect everybody; we have to work together.” One way Barrera has faced the issue is through the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award. Judy Leavell, education professor, has been working with the program since it began 10 years ago. “She is often the one who comes each year to honor the winner,” Leavell said. “She participates as a speaker, either introducing the winner or commenting as a scholar in children’s literature.” Although Barrera will be stepping down from her position as a member of the award committee, she said being at Texas State will allow her to continue to have an active if not more involved role. Leavell said she is a fan of Barrera’s work. One of her favorite publications is Kaleidoscope: A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, for which Barrera was an editor. “It offers such a comprehensive multicultural bibliography of books published from 1993 to ’95,” Leavell said. “It is an excellent tool for teachers.” Leavell said Barrera will not only be a good addition to the school’s administration but also a dean the students will appreciate. “Students will ﬁnd her very approachable and interested in their development into excellent teachers,” she said. Barrera summed up her philosophy of education with a quote she heard during her years of teaching, which she believes encompasses two powerful ideas that students should understand and pass on to others. “When you learn, you teach,” Barrera said. “And when you get, you give.”

By Kellie Haynes Special to The Star Glancing left and looking right as cars go flying by, Kevin Schier, history junior, is often burdened with tough trafficmaneuvering decisions while biking to and from school. Schier said he realizes the potential risks in bicycling to school, but he is willing to make a sacrifice because he believes there are more advantages in bicycling than in driving a car, especially as gas prices continue to rise. With the cost of gasoline reaching a record-breaking average of $2.50 a gallon, Schier is one of many students who opt for alternative and arguably cheaper modes of transportation. The average cost of gas can add up quickly for any student, while the cost of a bike is about one month’s allowance for gas. James Piper, owner of the Pedal Power bicycle shop, believes his business has benefited from increased gas prices. “Students come into the bike shop complaining that it is too expensive to drive and pay for gas,” Piper said. He said students would rather pay for a bike than have to pay for gas all year. “The average cost for a bike is about $200,” Piper said. “We have a student bike with a lock for $249. We try to help students out as much as possible by adding things like a lock so they will be ready for school.” Piper said bicycle sales are cyclical, increasing during warmer weather and declining when it becomes cold. “I usually notice a slight increase in sales during the spring,” Piper said. “This spring, I noticed a substantial increase in bike sales.” Schier said his own transportation decision coincided with this cycle. “I decided that when spring came around I needed to get more exercise, and I needed to get to school quicker,” Schier said. Schier believes he receives special privileges as a student who bikes to school every day. “I not only get to school whenever it is convenient for me, but I also get front-row parking in The Quad,” Schier said. Piper said the the health benefits of biking as well as savings on gas have influenced many students to buy bikes.

Courtney Addison/Star photo With gas prices continuing to rise, many students are trying to save money by riding their bicycles to campus and around San Marcos. The University Police Department recommends that students register their bikes to prevent theft. “Biking has also become a general trend in fitness; people are looking for better and healthier ways to stay fit,” he said. For students wishing to bike to campus, the University Police Department offers safeguards to protect bike owners from theft. Bike registration with UPD is one option. It is free, and filling out the form takes only a few minutes. After the bicycle is registered with information such as the measurements, tires and serial number, along with the owner’s personal information, students receive a sticker to put on their bike to identify it as a registered bicycle. The information from the registration form is then entered into a database. The database is also available for use by other law enforcement agencies, so even if the stolen bicycle is taken to another city, the database may aid in its return. In addition to bicycle registration, UPD offers Operation ID and the Tact Label Program to prevent bike theft. The Operation ID program allows students to borrow engravers to inscribe their driver’s license number on any valuables, such as bicycles, computers, television equipment and stereos, to help identify stolen property. Students should be aware, however, that a driver’s license number, not a Social Security number, should be used as identification to guard against identity theft. UPD also offers the Tact Label Program to discourage bicycle theft. For $6, students can acquire 12 stickers to mark their property. If the sticker is re-

moved, it leaves behind a mark that can only be seen under an ultraviolet light. Although biking to class is a popular mode of transportation, some students look to alternatives to save gas money. Lacey Wright, a commuter student, began carpooling with friends who attend Texas State because she couldn’t afford to drive from La Vernia to San Marcos every day. “I commute from La Vernia three days a week,” Wright said. “It takes me about one hour to get to Texas State. I commute because even though gas is high, it still costs me less than paying for an apartment and utilities.” “We try to make our schedules similar,” Wright said. “I really have to ﬁnd dependable friends to carpool with. Otherwise, it gets expensive because I would always have to drive by myself.” But class and job schedules don’t always make carpooling an alternative, she said. “Carpooling is hard because my friends and I don’t always have the same schedules, and we don’t always have to go straight home after class,” Wright said. “The people I carpool with have jobs in San Marcos or Seguin, so it is better for them to drive themselves to school. Some members of the carpool are not always on time, so occasionally we are late to class.” Although carpools provide an option for commuters trying to save gas, Piper said the biking trend is increasingly popular among locals. “As San Marcos’ population increases, it seems biking will too,” Piper said.

Welcome Back Commuter Breakfast

Aug. 31st 8am - 10am

Time is running out for the great deals at Mosscliff and Campus Colony Apartments!

Student Center Ballroom

Free Coffee & Doughnuts Sponsored by: Great rates at great locations!

LBJ Student Center

Call Diane at: 353-2026 mosscliff@austin.rr.com

� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

WELCOME BACK! ��

NEWS

Page 14 - The University Star

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Writing Center gets increased Campus Recreation offers outdoor funds to meet student needs adventures in the Texas Hill Country e want to improve the “W student’s fundamental writing skills and help them better express By Chris Boehm News Reporter

By Adrianna Garza Special to The Star

Texas State’s Writing Center has been awarded an increased budget this fall, despite ongoing disputes over educational finances. The increase will be used to hire additional counsel— Joshua Book ors to meet increasing demand Art and literature graduate student for the center’s services. and Writing Center counselor Located in Flowers Hall, the center offers one-on-one counseling to students in writing, just a tragedy. We worked so The program aims at closranging from help on essays hard to publicize, and then the ing the gap between students’ and research papers to tips on buzz was ‘Well, it’s a great place, given writing skills and professubmitting résumés and cover but you can’t get in.’” sors’ expectations. letters. Counselors also offer The writing center oper“The professor expects his tutoring on placement tests ates mostly by appointment or her students to come out of like the Grammar, Spelling and but accepts walk-ins when high school with basic writing Punctuation test and the Test of available. Students are given skills, but that isn’t always the English as a Foreign Language. 30 minutes to an hour of one- case,” Musgrove said. “As stu“I’ve been associated with the on-one counseling. The center dents ourselves, we know what Writing Center since 1987, and sets no limits on the number they are going through. I think every year the standards go up of appointments a student can that creates a good environalong with the student popula- make. ment and contributes to our tion,” said Nancy Wilson, Writ“I like to use the analogy of success rate. The students are ing Center director. “We were a doctor’s clinic,” said Joshua more at ease sitting down with growing so fast and turning Book, art and literature gradu- someone who’s had the same away so many students. Those ate student and writing center problems before.” factors warranted an increased counselor. “It’s not just having Wilson said helping students budget to better meet the needs a proofreader. We want to im- understand a subject well of the university.” prove the student’s fundamen- enough to write about it can be Wilson went to the student tal writing skills and help them difficult. service subcommittee last year better express their ideas. We’re “A professor might be at a seeking the increased funds, looking at long-term goals.” loss as to how to bring his stuwhich she said were surprisWhile the counseling process dents’ writing skills up, to say ingly easy to acquire. includes grammar and style nothing of the history lesson,” “I came to them with 25 pag- correction, Writing Center Wilson said. “It’s a roadblock es of prepared documents, but spokesperson Shannon Mus- and quite a daunting task for they told me, ‘Your reputation grove said the center is not out the professors.” precedes you. You don’t need to to play editor, and will not acWilson said the center benwork so hard,’” Wilson said. “I cept works that are dropped efits multiple parties, including think what helped us was hav- with no owner. the students, university and ing (student) clients and ad“There are no points where counselors looking for careers vocates every step of the way. the student is just sitting there in teaching or editing. Some of the members on the while we mark up his or her “It’s a great resource, just for subcommittee were students paper,” said Musgrove, public editing and communication,” who had come to us in the past relations senior. “There is a lot Musgrove said. “I’m going into and knew how useful our ser- of interaction, and we let the PR, but this is still a good exvices are.” students tell us what they are perience for learning editing, The center will work un- trying to get across.” style and grammar, and, of der an approximate budget of The new funds may also course, it looks good on your $75,000, which is 50 percent be used to send counselors to resume.” higher than last spring. Wilson classes when a professor is not The Writing Center is loestimated that as the 2004-2005 able to attend. cated in Flowers Room G09 school year came to a close, the “We’ve got ideas for more out- and is open from 9 a.m. to 9 center was turning away an av- reach programs,” Musgrove said. p.m. Monday to Thursday and erage of 20 students a day. “When a professor can’t make it from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday. “Last semester, we were really to class, a counselor could come For more information, visit busy. Students came in needing in and teach that day. Everyone the Writing Center Web site help on projects or essay exams, can use these skills, whether at http://writingcenter.english. but we were booked a week in 8/10/05 learning 6:33 how PM to doPage a thesis txstate.edu/index.htm, or call P56687A_EB_V4-5.45x10.5 1 advance,” Wilson said. “Turn- statement or entering a writing- (512)245-3018 to make an aping away so many students is intensive history class.” pointment.

their ideas. We’re looking at long-term goals.”

If you didn’t buy your textbooks at Half.com, you paid too much. Half.com has all the textbooks you need like chemistry, astronomy and history for a lot less. FOR A LIMITED TIME, SAVE AN ADDITIONAL $5 ON PURCHASES OF $50 OR MORE.* SIMPLY USE THIS CODE: SAVEBIGNOW *$5 off promotion open to legal U.S. residents 18 years of age or older who are first-time buyers on Half.com. $5 off promotion good for first-time purchase of $50 or more, excluding shipping and handling, on Half.com only. Limit one offer per user ID, and offer may not be combined with any other offer, coupon or promotion. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted. Offer expires September 30, 2005 at 11:59:59pm PT.

From climbing Enchanted Rock State Natural Area in Fredericksburg to whitewater rafting down the Guadalupe, the Outdoor Recreation Center offers Texas State students a diversity of Adventure Trips across Central Texas during the fall. A branch of the Student Recreation Center, the Outdoor Center, located in Sewell Park next to the Jowers Center, offers activities that can help participants get fit, lead a healthier lifestyle, learn a new sport or just have fun. Although the SRC provides traditional forms of exercise such as a variety of cardiovascular machines and a weight room equipped with free weights and machines, students can also take advantage of the Adventure Trip Programs, which includes a Texas State favorite — midnight tubing. Kristy Caldwell, associate director for Facilities and Operations for Campus Recreation, has been in charge of managing facilities, programs and sports fields for Texas State for seven years. “The float has been around for longer than I have worked here,” Caldwell said. The Moonlight Float is a nighttime float down the San Marcos River on Sept. 20 and Oct. 27. Andrew Carlson, Adventure Trip staff member and Outdoor Recreation assistant manager, said 20 to 30 people are loaded onto tubes, rafts or kayaks to float a few miles down river. “There are so many interesting things to do this fall,” Caldwell said, “but the most popular by far is the (Moonlight) Float.” Starting out at Sewell Park, the Moonlight Float takes place in the last warm months of the fall. Participants must be signed up by 5 p.m. on the day of the float. The float passes by the tube chute next to the River Pub and Grill and stops there to allow everyone to play in the water for a bit before continuing. Usually the night ends near Rio Vista Park, depending on the weather.

Matt Swanson climbs to the highest point of Enchanted Rock during a hiking trip with Texas State’s Outdoor Recreation Center last fall. Rock climbing is just one of many Adventure Trips offered to students. Bradley Sherman/ Star ﬁle photo

Students can sign up for any of the scheduled trips at the Outdoor Recreation Center in Sewell Park, which is open seven days a week from noon to 6 p.m. until Oct. 8, when reduced hours begin. “The ﬂoat is so popular, we offer the option for large groups to set up private trips for the day before and after,” Caldwell said. “The idea is so everyone can beneﬁt from the full moon.” The Adventure Trips program also has various rafting, rock climbing and backpacking trips planned throughout the semester. “We’ve got some canoeing trips coming up, a backpacking trip to Enchanted Rock, a backpacking trip to Lost Maples State Park and a skiing trip,” Carlson said. Backpacking trips are usually limited to about 10 people to give the trip enough participants, but not too many, Carlson said. “The Enchanted Rock trip is great because you get to do some backpacking and some rock climbing,” Carlson said. “plus that place is just great.” A newly added program to the Adventure Trips will take participants on a two-day canoeing trip on the upper Guadalupe River and through Guadalupe State Park. During the spring semester, Outdoor Recreation will revive its Whitewater Wednesdays, which takes students to either the Guadalupe or San Marcos Rivers to ride the rapids. For those who can’t

wait that long, there will be one Whitewater Wednesday trip for the fall taking place Sept. 7. For students interested in camping, Basics of Camping Skills is offered at University Camp, a campground available exclusively to Texas State. Campsites, cabins, hiking and biking trails are all set in the beautiful forest outside Wimberley. The trip departs Nov. 1 and returns the following morning. The class includes discussions on picking the right tent, cooking equipment, “leave no trace” principles, personal clothing options for the outdoors, locations to camp and basic camping etiquette. “The University Camp is probably the least-used resource of Campus Recreation,” Caldwell said. “A lot of students don’t know it’s there.” Carlson said all Adventure Trips are led by student workers in the Recreation Center. “It’s a great way for students to meet other students and get out of San Marcos,” said Chris Burnet, assistant director of Campus Recreation. “They’re very affordable.” The price for all programs includes any equipment needed for the trip. Participants are required to attend a pre-trip meeting for information and planning. For more information on Adventure Trip programs, go to www.campusrecreation.txstate. edu.

NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 15

Associated Student Government serves as voice for students By Kelly Merks News Reporter

Associated Student Government functions as a liaison of the student body to the university administration, the Texas State University System Board of Regents, the City of San Marcos and several organizations on the state level. “We’re a governing body for students at Texas State,” said Kyle Morris, ASG chief of staff and economics senior. “We articulate the thoughts and opinions of the students to the administration and beyond.” ASG has played an important hand in university policies in the past, including passing the Rose Amendment and supporting unprecedented legislation to place a nonvoting student representative on all Texas public university systems’ boards of regents. ASG worked closely with state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, to push the Rose Amendment, which passed the Texas Legislature amid controversy regarding tuition deregulation. The amendment requires that 20 percent of a university’s

Jordan Anderson

Cassie Holman

tuition increase must be set aside to fund scholarships for middle-class students. Citing the lack of ﬁnancial aid for students in the middle-income bracket and arguing that these students may suffer the most from tuition increases, Rose and former ASG President Jerry Parker offered the amendment as a solution to relieve students who did not qualify for ﬁnancial aid but still struggled to afford higher education. More recently, the 79th Legislature approved the addition of a student representative to Texas university systems’ boards of regents, a goal that was nearly 40 years in the making for state Sen. Jeff Wentworth. The legislation had been heavily supported by ASG.

In addition to these victories on the state level, ASG also created a campus ordinance last year making The Quad a smoke-free zone. The policy originated during the 2004-2005 academic year under Parker. Legislation was passed in an ASG session and then approved by university administration, although the item was never sent to the student body via referendum. For a policy change such as the smoking ban, two-thirds approval in the Student Senate is required. Other items, such as the decision in the spring to increase the student service fee to expand the Student Recreation Center, are ﬁrst voted on by the Senate to place the item on the referendum, where it is then voted on by the student body. Additionally, the approved legislation is sent to university President Denise Trauth and the TSUS Board of Regents for ﬁnal approval. For the 2005-2006 school year, incoming ASG President Jordan Anderson and Vice President Cassie Holman serve as the chief administrators of ASG.

GET YOUR BODY IN SHAPE

Holman, as vice president, presides over the Student Senate, while Anderson represents the ever-growing student body in external affairs. For each academic college at the university, there are a number of student representatives that are proportionally delegated based on the enrollment within each college, totaling 40 senators. Currently, there is a vacant seat for a senator in the University College and open seats for freshman and transfer-student advisers. Advisers do not hold a voting position but are allowed to participate in debate and discussion. A major change in the ASG structure this fall is the creation of a House of Graduate Representatives, which students approved by the referendum in Spring 2005. The graduate student body has grown in recent years and now carries more weight than it had previously. The referendum effectively makes ASG’s legislative branch bicameral, and the constitution was amended to create the subbody for graduate students. “Graduate students deﬁnite-

ly need more representation,” Morris said. The deans of each college will nominate two graduate students to serve in the House for the current term. Recommendations are to be submitted by Sept. 9 and require ASG Senate approval. Future representatives will be elected by graduate students in their respective colleges. According to the House constitution, the Graduate House will meet twice a month, tentatively set to begin in October. “Last year’s Senate had two grad students; now they have their own House,” said Samuel McCabe, senator for the University College and undecided freshman. “Cooperation of the two is important. It’s an important change from last year.” For his ﬁrst semester in ofﬁce, Anderson is prepared to push a number of pieces of legislation. One such bill would separate the athletic fee from the student services fee. As two separate fees, some ASG members hope students’ money will be spent more wisely, despite a potential increase in both fees. If the legislation is passed, the fees

will be structured so that when the athletic department needs ﬁnancial assistance, money is not taken out of student service fees. “Having it this way is fair and makes the system more transparent,” Morris said. Students will be able to vote on this legislation during the next ASG referendum in the Spring 2006 semester. Anderson would also like to introduce a requisite multicultural and gender studies course to all nine universities in the Texas State University System. “It will encourage each department to create some sort of a multicultural or history class that their students will have to take,” Anderson said. The proposition will eventually be carried up to the TSUS Board of Regents for review and approval. ASG meets at 7:00 p.m. every Monday in the LBJ Student Center, Room 3-14.1. ASG applications can be downloaded at www.asg.txstate.edu. To qualify, applicants must have a 2.5 Texas State GPA, maintain a 2.25 GPA and be a full-time student.

Go from this...

Automotive Body Repair •Assistance With Insurance Claims •Certiﬁed to Repair All Late Model Vehicles •Free Towing •Free Rental Car For First 5 Days (when not covered by insurance)

•Rapid Process Technology •Competitive Pricing

ChuckNash Auto Body Center Behind Red Lobster

I-35 N

Red Lobster

McDonalds

Chuck Nash

Monday - Friday 7:30 - 6PM

Hwy 123

396-7844

5% discounts on parts and labor offer expires August 31st, 2005 In most cases ChuckNash auto body will meet or beat competitors prices!

to this!

The Right Choice ��

��

NEWS

Page 16 - The University Star

ROADBLOCK: Tuition revenue bonds fail to pass in special session CONTINUED from page 11

rage, which will have 300 new parking spaces added. no other sessions are called, the Nusbaum said Texas State’s university will present the issue Faculty Senate has rejected again during the Legislature’s raising tuition as an option for next regular session in 2007. supplementary funding of the Moore said Derrick Hall will Master Plan. be able to provide many un“In the future, with the dergraduate academic services campus developing more and temporarily once the College of more, we might have to eventuBusiness Administration moves ally consider raising the tuition into its new building; however, again, but for now the costs will he said, that location cannot in- remain the same for the next few definitely meet the demands of years,” Nusbaum said. a permanent “We just undergraduate raised tuition building. last year, so rais“Our plan ing it again is for the Legisout of the queslature is we betion,” she said. lieve we have A tuition a great case,” marketing study Moore said. taken during the “We do a lot Spring 2005 sewith the space mester at Texas we have.” State revealed Moore also opposition to a said the unituition increase. versity is one “The study of the top had a consistent candidates for outcome — that receiving state students are not funding to aid willing to pay — Nancy Nusbaum more to attend in campus exVice president of finance a public univerpansion. Nusbaum and support services and sity at this time,” hopes any adCampus Master Plan Nusbaum said. ditional monRebecca Roproject manager ey that may be driguez, biology needed for the senior, agrees undergraduate with the study’s center’s construction costs once findings. legislative funding has been al“This is my last year at Texas lotted will be obtained by other State, so I do not think my tumeans. ition costs should be raised to “Every university in the state pay for renovations when I will receives an allotted amount of not be here to see and use the funding from the Higher Edu- new facilities,” Rodriguez said. cation Assistance Fund and the An improved Student RecrePermanent University Fund,” ation Center is also included in Nusbaum said. “The school is re- the Master Plan. The student maining optimistic in its ability population approved the SRC to secure external funding.” expansion and upgrade by 91.7 Despite the lack of state fund- percent in a referendum during ing, Nusbaum said an architect the Associated Student Governwill be hired to plan out the con- ment election in the spring sestruction of a new fine arts build- mester. The expansion will be ing in phases. Both Nusbaum paid for by an increase in the and Moore said Phase I of the SRC fee that students pay with fine arts building will be financed their tuition. The rate increases largely by private donors. begin this semester. For the Master Plan’s mainteNusbaum said two proposed nance and infrastructure proj- projects will soon be reviewed ects, Nusbaum said the university by the Texas State University will proceed without state fund- System Board of Regents for ing, using money from bonds it approval of an architect: renowill sell as well as private dona- vations on Pecos Hall and the tions made to meet those bond completion of the fifth floor of sales. Nusbaum said the funds to the Mitte Complex. repay the bonds sold are already Upon approval, the architect in place. will begin working on designing “The Harris chill plant is very and bidding the projects to finalmuch in need of replacement,” ize the construction contract. Nusbaum said. “The university is growing The transformation of Bobcat and still continues to grow evTrail into the planned Concho ery year. It started out from just Green area will move forward, as Old Main and now encompasses will the additions being made to nearly six million square feet,” the Pleasant Street Parking Ga- Nusbaum said.

“T

he university is growing and still continues to grow every year. It started out from just Old Main and now encompasses nearly six million square feet.”

www.UniversityStar.com

Disability Services urges students who are struggling to visit office ODS says half at Texas State with learning disabilities are undiagnosed By Becky Stich Special to The Star The Office of Disability Services staff has a message for new and returning students: If you are having difficulty in classes, don’t wait to utilize the services they provide. Approximately 50 percent of Texas State students who have a learning disability were undiagnosed until they began to struggle academically and sought help at the office, said Tina Schultz, director of the ODS. Schultz said students often have mixed reactions upon hearing about a learning disability. “I try and have an open dialogue with a student,” Schultz said. “If you are a student who has not been diagnosed before, it can be a hard door to walk through. But I ask them, ‘Is this what you thought?’ And most say ‘yes’ because they knew something was not quite right.” Schultz has worked with many different types of disabilities, but some of the most prevalent are acquired brain injury, general disability, psychological disability, specific learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder. “Of the 702 students we serve at Texas State, 59.7 percent are identified learning disabled or ADD,” Schultz said. “Our fastest-growing group, though, is a psychological disability. We served 111 students in this category last year.” Some students enter Texas State with no prior history of a learning or attention disability but find it difficult to pass classes even though they are working hard. They are often referred to the ODS by an adviser or faculty member. “Some signs that you may have an undiagnosed learning problem are taking courses in a specific area, such as math and English, repeatedly and failing or studying twice as hard and

? Partners will come and go in your life, but we will still be here for you!

Come see us for your female concerns: papsmear, contraception, infections, etc.

Call now for an appointment! n

Ola Gail Caverly, MD

512.353.7600 1346 Thorpe Lane, Ste. C — olacaverlymd.medem.com

��

Where Enrollment is Always Open ��

taking advantage of available Bruce Coonce, the ODS’s help such as tutoring and still general disability and visual not performing well.” Schultz imparity specialist, has known said. of students who were reluctant Students who suspect they to come into the office to seek may have a specific learning help until they are about to be disability can call the ODS and put on academic probation. set up a 15-minute consulta“Sometimes students want tion. The appointment is free to come to college and shed and may be conducted over the the special-education label,” phone or in person. Coonce said. “And because a “The consultation will help learning disability is invisible, us determine if it would be ap- they might not feel they need propriate for a student to have ODS support. But the sooner further screening,” Schultz you seek help, the better.” said. “If we ODS has 30 feel there days to review is a need documentation for further once testing is evaluation, complete. The we will student meets make an with staff memappointbers to review ment with the results. them.” “I have found The free that a diagnosis screening answers a lot of process questions for takes about the student,” an hour. Schultz said. Staff mem“The testing bers collect shows the stu— Bruce Coonce informadent’s strengths ODS staff member and how they tion about the stulearn.” dent’s backIf disability ground, qualifications educational history, distract- are met, staff members will sit ibility, concentration and then down with the student to write review the student’s self-re- a plan to accommodate the port. If the screening shows student’s particular learning a need for more testing, staff acquisition needs. members consult with the stu“The purpose of accommodent about various options. dations is to level the playing “We check to see if the stu- field,” Schultz said. “Accommodent has insurance,” Schultz dations are not to give students said. “If they do, we give them an advantage but to give them a list of examiners that work equal access.” with us. If they do not have Common accommodations insurance, we will try to meet are extended time on tests and their testing needs another measures to reduce distractions way.” while taking exams, which can In order to qualify for the be given at the ODS. Other acdiagnosis of learning disabil- commodations are made on an ity, a student must show a individual basis. discrepancy of at least 15 stanA student will try the plan dard score points between the before meeting and reporting IQ and achievement scores. In to ODS staff members on its other words, if the IQ is aver- effectiveness. ODS then genage or above average, the stu- erates a letter the student will dent should be able to perform take to instructors. typically in a subject area but is “The student is responsible struggling instead. to educate their instructor.” “Students with a learning Schultz said. “We will work as disability are bright and in- a liaison between students and telligent,” Schultz said. “Most faculty if a problem arises.” of them have been getting An instructor can legally through school with their own refuse to provide the accombuilt-in strategies, but the modation but must be able to more demanding expectations offer a comparable option that at college make their strategies is acceptable to the student. less effective.” “If, for example, an instruc-

ecause a “B learning disability is

invisible, they might not feel they need ODS support. But the sooner you seek help, the better.”

Blanco River Duplexes

$7.99 per month* Unlimited Access No Contract No Set-up Fees

Fishing , Floating , Fun! Spacious 1100sq ft 3bed / 3bath W/D Included On the River

1.800.757.2727 or 1.512.458.2727 www.asapchoice.com *Nine months paid in advance

1430-1492 River Road

Right off Hwy 80

Save $100 on LSAT prep! *

†

Enroll in the #1 LSAT course by September 8 and save $100! Last chance class for the October LSAT starts Monday, August 29th on the Texas State U. campus! Higher test scores guaranteed or your money back.** Call or visit us online today to enroll and take advantage of this limited-time offer.

KAPLAN

1-800-KAP-TEST kaptest.com/law

Test Prep and Admissions ��

tor did not like to have lectures taped and that was a student’s accommodation, then the instructor could provide a detailed copy of lecture notes or come up with a hand signal that told the student when they would like the tape player turned off,” Schultz said. ODS has worked to educate the faculty on disability equity and to encourage the staff to put accommodation statements on syllabi. There is also a proposal to increase funding from $50,000 to $75,000 to finance 88 increased accessibility projects. Schultz noted that even though the proposal requests increased allocation of funds, the university has the opportunity to increase accessibility through the new buildings and building renovations included in the 2006-2015 Campus Master Plan. ODS performs more services than addressing accessibility matters, however. “The ODS talks with faculty over individual concerns at new staff orientation and if a department invites us, we will talk to their staff,” Coonce said. “I feel we are having fewer problems with the faculty over disability issues due in part to Ms. Schultz working with the faculty.” Coonce said a common concern among students is confidentiality. All documentation and information about a student with a disability is confidential and is not reported in a student’s academic record. Even instructors do not know a student’s disability unless he or she informs them, Coonce said. “The letter that students take to their instructor is a generic,” Coonce said. “It does not state the student’s disability. If an instructor calls wanting to know the disability, we cannot tell them unless the student gives us permission.” A goal of ODS, as expressed in the office’s vision statement, is to develop a society in which individuals with disabilities thrive and participate fully. “I would like to believe that our office is open and welcoming and visible,” Schultz said. For more information on the ODS, visit www.ods.txstate. edu, or call (512) 245-3451. The office is located in the LBJ Student Center, Suite 5-5.1.

Wanna Live on the River? Try. . .

ChoiceNet Internet Back to School Special

Specializing in Gynecology

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

*LSAT is a registered trademark of the Law School Admission Council. **Conditions and restrictions apply. For complete guarantee eligibility requirements, visit kaptest.com/hsg. The Higher Score Guarantee applies only to Kaplan courses taken and completed within the United States and Canada. †Must enroll between August 1, 2005 and September 8, 2005. Cannot be combined with any other offer, rebate, discount, or promotion. Offer applies only to the LSAT Classroom Course, Premium Online Course, and Private Tutoring programs.

1.5 Miles to Texas State! Starting at $725!

512.327.5128

NEWS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 17

PLAN: Campus’ transition from ‘gray to green’ includes covered walkways, arboretum

BREAKING IT DOWN

CONTINUED from page 10

Armando Sanchez/Star photo In an effort to reduce the amount of trash that results from students moving to campus, Jessica Campbell, art education junior and member of the Environmental Service Fee Committee, helps recycle boxes outside Falls Hall on Thursday afternoon.

4 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan as insurgents step up guerilla attacks By Jonathan S. Landay Knight Ridder Newspapers KABUL, Afghanistan — A roadside bomb attack killed four U.S. soldiers and wounded three others in southern Afghanistan on Sunday as Taliban insurgents pressed an escalating guerrilla war nearly four years after their radical Islamic movement was swept from power. Also Sunday, an improvised explosive device detonated under a U.S. Embassy vehicle in a suburb of Kabul, slightly wounding two embassy staffers. The attacks come amid a growing insurgency by the Taliban that U.S. military commanders and Afghan officials describe as a campaign to impede Sept. 18 parliamentary and provincial council elections intended to put Afghanistan on a path to democracy and peace. Some experts, however, believe that the upsurge in attacks may be part of a longer-term strategy coordinated by the insurgents’ al-Qaida allies to tie down and bleed overstretched U.S. forces both in Afghanistan and Iraq. The violence in southern and eastern provinces bordering Pakistan comes just more than two years after Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld declared that major combat operations in Afghanistan were over. The four U.S. soldiers died when an improvised explosive device exploded under their armored vehicle in the mountainous Deh Chopan district of Zabul province, one of the worst hit by the insurgency, said a statement by the 20,000-strong coalition of mostly U.S. forces. A fire ignited by the first blast set of secondary explosions that wounded three others as they tried to reach their fellow soldiers. The deaths brought to at least seven the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan in four days. The unit was participating in a larger operation launched as part of an aggressive U.S.-led

counterinsurgency drive aimed at keeping Taliban fighters from disrupting the elections by hunting them down in their remote mountain enclaves. The identifications and unit of the dead and injured troops were not immediately disclosed. The statement quoted U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, operational commander of the U.S.-led coalition, as saying such attacks would “strengthen, not weaken” the determination of the force and its Afghan government allies. “These types of attacks also demonstrate the enemy’s desperation and cowardliness,” he said. “The enemy knows that he is at a race with time, a race that he will inevitably lose.” The U.S. Embassy staffers sustained minor injuries when an improvised bomb exploded under their vehicle as it was driven in a convoy on routine embassy business, said Lou Fintor, a spokesman for the U.S. mission. The attack was the first against U.S. diplomatic personnel in Kabul in months. It was not immediately clear if the strike was preplanned or if the bombers were simply waiting for a target of opportunity when they spotted the embassy convoy. It is routine operating procedure for diplomatic convoys to vary their routes to avoid preplanned strikes. An upsurge in Taliban assaults, bombings and assassinations since the beginning of the year has killed an estimated 1,000 Afghans, including public officials, soldiers, police, Muslim clerics aligned with the government of President Hamid Karzai and civilians. At least 72 U.S. service members involved in the U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan have died since Jan. 1, making 2005 the costliest year for the United States since the U.S.-led intervention ousted the Taliban in November 2001. The previous high was in 2004 when 52 U.S. service members were killed.

be year-round green plant life on campus,” Nusbaum said. “These developments will help cool the temperature.” Nusbaum said a key objective of more open green space is to provide an attractive environment while accommodating the needs of pedestrian walkers and bikers around the campus. Brad Childers, mass communication senior, agreed. “It would be nice to have more nature surrounding,” Childers said. The 2003 executive report summary revealed that an average of 75 percent of faculty, staff and students agreed that more grassy areas were needed on campus, while 55 percent wanted more bicycle pathways, another focus of the Master Plan. “The majority of the pathways will outline the campus using a blend of red brick and clay tile antique terracotta pavers with dark brown and cast stone for accent colors,” Nusbaum said. “There will be several patio areas with canopies to block the rain or direct contact of the sun for students waiting for the bus to arrive.” Bobcat Trail will be converted from a concrete thoroughfare to a tree-lined pedestrian walkway and park area under the new name Concho Green. “The Concho Green area is merely one of the landscape ideas that will add green space while creating an appealing atmosphere,” Nusbaum said. “It will provide a venue for casual student recreation and formal gatherings such as graduation. The concrete area linking Butler and Falls halls on Concho Street will be replaced with the grassy area.” Nusbaum said another proposed landscape development is an arboretum to be located along Sessom Drive. The arboretum will provide students with a “living laboratory,”

where different labeled plants baum said. can be identified, works of art She said landscape developdisplayed and ecology research ments will also contribute to inconducted. creased student participation in “It provides an outdoor lab outdoor sports recreation. The that has living plants that stu- Master Plan includes improvedents can learn from,” Nusbaum ments to existing baseball and said. softball fields and the addition Childers said more trees and of four new baseball and softplants across campus would be ball fields and a multipurpose an improverecreational ment as long field north of as alternathe Student Rective solutions reation Center. are found to “ T h o s e replace parkchanges will be ing and road made following areas that the developwould be takment of addien over by the tional space to green space. the center,” she Nu s b a u m said. “The fundsaid the deing for the fields velopment of will be related to green open —Nancy Nusbaum the center’s fees spaces would increase.” Campus Master Plan require strucAnother focus project manager of the plan is to tural changes to buildings make the outline as well as of the campus’ the removal of various surface edge more visible to the general parking lots that currently dot public and create an entrancethe campus. way to the university. According to the Master Plan, “There will be distinctions approximately 40 percent of along the borders of the camthe Texas State campus consists pus grounds so that people can of impervious surfaces, which easily notice when they are on cause storm-water runoff, creat- Texas State property,” Nusbaum ing ecological problems for San said. Marcos. This problem is largely Despite noticeable aesthetic attributable to the 85 acres of improvements that may be surface parking lots on campus. made to the campus in coming The plan will create more years, one student felt the monopen space by replacing surface ey should be spent elsewhere. parking spaces new parking gaChad Muska, directing and rages and by adding floors to theatre senior, said the uniexisting garages, without losing versity should focus more on any existing parking space, Nus- its academic programs, rather baum said. than its physical appearance, as In addition to creating more a source of prestige. Muska said and larger parking garages, he supports adding landscape some buildings will face reno- areas to the campus, but some vation to make room for the sacrifices that may be taken to planned green space. create those areas may not be “The southern wing of the worth the expense. Derrick building will be re“If getting green space means moved, opening The Quad, so getting rid of parking or taking the view from the bottom of property from some mom and Alkek will extend to Old Main pop business then the cost outwithout any interference,” Nus- weighs the plan,” Muska said.

“T

here is always going to be year-round plant life on campus. These developments will help cool the temperature.”

Staff Sgts. Cylus Jones (left) and Jeremy Brannan take up defensive positions in the mountains in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, Aug. 8. A roadside bomb attack killed four U.S. soldiers Sunday as Taliban insurgents pressed an escalating guerrilla war. Tom Pennington/Fort Worth Star-Telegram

��

THE CRITTER SHOP

��

“Your local Pet Shop” Pet supplies and advice for beginners to advanced hobbyists.

��

512.353.0707 • 360 S. LBJ • San Marcos • thecrittershop@yahoo.com

Cheatam St.

Amkon/TCS

LBJ

Guadalupe

University

��

OPINIONS THE UNIVERSITY STAR

Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - Page 18

Starsof Texas State 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 2.

Opinions Contact — Joe Ruiz, staropinion@txstate.edu

Students have better options than plastic to help pay the bills For much of our new student population, this may be the first time away from home, having to pay the bills for the first time, the kind of situation that makes the convenience of credit cards very appealing. College students are more likely than any other demographic to get in credit card debt over their heads, which is why they are such a popular target for credit card vendors. Your chances of finding yourself in a financial bind are high, especially if you rush out to purchase everything on our “Top-Five Must-Haves” lists in the Trends section. Face it; you’re going to be bombarded with credit card offers and multiple ways to deplete your respective wallets everywhere you look. Need a spiral notebook from the bookstore? You’ll get offers for magazines galore. With all the “preapproved” credit cards that’ll be clogging your mailbox, a paper shredder might become No. 6 on the list of “musthave” items. Think it’s safe to simply check your school e-mail account? Think again, fellow Bobcats. You’ll also doubtlessly get hit with credit card offers in many of the retail stores you’ll be frequenting to furnish your new dorm room or apartment. It’s very tempting to sign up for a credit card offer. Hey, you can get a free sandwich or T-shirt, but look at the numbers. The white cotton tee that says “Bobcats Do It In The Quad” isn’t worth interest rates in the high teens or even ’20s. And while the rainbow of plastic lining your wallet may be pretty, it won’t impress your future creditors. It’s easy to say, “I’ll only use my card for emergencies,” but the definition of emergency can become infinitely broad when you’re first living on your own, encompassing routine necessities like bills, food and, yes, even dates. Instead of jumping on the credit card bandwagon, why not explore some of the other financial options that are uniquely available to you as a student? Most students only consider student loans as a way to pay their tuition and fees. In fact, the Office of Student Financial Aid can help in acquiring student (or parent) loans well in excess of these expenses, enough to cover your routine living costs throughout college. Even with recently increased interest rates near 5 or 6 percent, student loans are still a far better deal than the double-digit rates and immediate payback of credit cards. You’re not required to pay them back until you’re out of college, and subsidized loans don’t accrue interest until the repayment period begins. Another less-traveled route when it comes to financial assistance is scholarships. Check with your academic adviser for scholarships for which you might qualify, and use Internet search engines or free scholarship listings like FastWeb.com to find others. If you absolutely must get an emergency credit card, be sure to get one with a low limit, like $500, to prevent you from abusing it. Another useful safeguard may be to leave the card in your parents’ possession and have them give it to you as emergencies occur. Just don’t get yourselves in deep financial trouble before you walk across the floor at graduation. The Main Point is the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board. Columns are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the full staff, Texas State University-San Marcos Student Media, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication or Texas State University-San Marcos. Letters policy: E-mail letters to starletters@txstate.edu. Letters must be no longer than 300 words. No anonymous letters will be printed. We reserve the right to edit for grammar, spelling, space and libel. We reserve the right to refuse obscene, irrelevant and malicious letters. All e-mails must include the name and phone number of the letter writer. Students should also include their classifications and majors.

Do you think that now is a good time to borrow money?

23%

Borrowing conditions are favorable

40%

Now is neither a good nor bad time

33%

Borrowing conditions are not favorable *Results for the survey are based on telephone interviews with U.S. adults, aged 18 and older, conducted June 1319, 2005. For results based on this sample of adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.

1,008 People Polled The University Star 601 University Dr. San Marcos, TX 78666 Phone: (512) 245-3487 Fax: (512) 245-3708

Gallup/CNN/USA Today Poll Released July 1, 2005

Getting ahead in the rat race Many of you returning to or entering Texas State this semester entertain high hopes that the degree or job AMANDA WILLIAMS training you Star Columnist receive while attending this university will slide you into almost any job you choose. Sorry to burst your bubble on the first day of classes, but you may be surprised to find how difficult finding a job is in Central Texas. My own job-hunting experience this summer included filling out an average of seven applications a week, starting on the first week of summer vacation, and sending a resume and cover letter an average of eight times a week. I searched for jobs online, walked into establishments, with or without the aid of “help wanted” signs, and hunted down job leads grassroots style. I easily spent my entire summer employed part time, hunting for a job in almost every industry. The rewards for my hard work: four interviews, three unreturned calls after those interviews, two consumed packs of resume paper and one reality check for my super-inflated college ego. I spent many hours discussing the job hunt with employed — and fellow unemployed — friends and found that those who were unemployed had experiences similar to mine. Whether the job search parameters included part-time or fulltime work, experience or no experience, the searches resulted in very few interviews and an even lower average for callbacks. Although I do not have all the answers to making career building easier, here are four print in the parking policy steps I suggest that may make states, your permit does not it easier to obtain a job, even if ensure you a parking space, you do not earn a degree. You just as your degree does not have already achieved the first insure employment. step to career success: attendWhile continuing your ing an institution of higher education, you have the abilor continued education. Even ity to continually network, without the sheepskin, the the second step to career sucexperience and education is as cess. You will literally meet valuable as oil when it comes thousands of people on this to your career. campus alone. If you carefully Not surprisingly, less school cultivate those contacts, many equals less of a chance for of the alliances you form here sustained employment, but will follow you through your getting a degree is hardly a entire life. You should take guarantee. Earning a degree is every opportunity to network, like getting a parking permit make friends and get involved on campus. The permit gives with some aspect of campus you a much better chance life. While sororities and fraof finding parking (without ternities, for example, can be getting a ticket at least) than an excellent resource in and somebody without a parking beyond college life, make sure permit, just as your degree you are involved in a commuwill provide you a better nity you find intriguing, not chance to find employment just for the social benefits now than those without a college but also for the career benefits education. But as the fine later. Your most profitable Pat Stark/Star illustration

THE MAIN POINT

contacts in the job market will tend to be people whose company you genuinely enjoy. In addition to enjoying your extracurricular activities on campus, you should focus your studies around subjects you enjoy, but make sure you take the courses that employers look for in future employees. This third step involves practicing skills that most employers look for in potential hires: effective written and oral communication. Even if English is not your major, and you only want to take the minimum required courses for your major, use your open electives for a technical writing or other business-minded writing courses. The job market is tight, and those who can effectively communicate will have the most advantage. One semester of a business-minded writing course is equivalent to about three

years of on-the-job writing experience. The last step and perhaps one of the most valuable that college has to offer is speciﬁc career resources. I completely ignored job fairs and interview-building seminars before this summer. Four months later, I wish I had attended these functions at least for the experience. It is important as a student to focus on your studies in order to obtain the skills needed to compete in the labor force. In addition to your studies, a part-time or intern position is a good bet to lead to a career after college. Even though many intern positions pay little to nothing, you gain on-the-job experience, and many employers will hire you full time after you graduate. Williams is an English senior.

More debt, not less: U.S. economy thrives in the red The federal govthe U.S. economy ernment — that remains the envy means you and of the world. How me — is currently can this be? $8 trillion in debt. Think of it this That’s more than way: $26,000 for every If you earn man, woman and $30,000 per year, child in the 50 states. your bank isn’t RICK BORGHESI The United States worried that you Guest Columnist hasn’t balanced its won’t be able checkbook for deto repay your cades. What does this mean $10,000 mortgage. And, if for us, our children and our your car’s engine blows up, grandchildren? I think it’s wouldn’t the bank be smart time for a serious change in to loan you even more money our thinking; I think we need for a replacement so you can more debt. continue to go to work and Sometimes what appears to earn the money you’ll use to be simple common sense is repay the mortgage? What if completely wrong. This is the you wanted to ensure yourself case for those worrying about a higher salary by obtaining a the size of the national debt. college degree? The bank may It’s true that in the past 25 be happy if you take on more years, our debt has increased debt still since it will be used tenfold, but a funny thing to improve your productivity happens if you open your eyes and enable you to increase and look around. No one has your future income. knocked on your door askThe bank loan examples ing you to repay your share illustrate exactly the same of this debt. The government principles as those we need to hasn’t declared bankruptcy. In consider when looking at nafact, Americans’ standard of tional-debt policy. The United living continues to improve States also has assets worth at a rapid rate. Furthermore, about three times as much

Editor In Chief..................David Michael Cohen, stareditor@txstate.edu Managing Editor..................................Joe Ruiz, staropinion@txstate.edu News Editor......................................Kirsten Crow, starnews@txstate.edu Assistant News Editor.................Ashley Richards, ar1225@txstate.edu Trends Editor..............Christina Gomez, starentertainment@txstate.edu Photo Editor............................Courtney Addison, starphoto@txstate.edu Sports Editor...................................Miguel Peña, starsports@txstate.edu

Copy Desk Chief............Siobhan Chapman, starcopychief@txstate.edu Design Editor.......................................Matt Rael, stardesign@txstate.edu Systems Administrator.............Chris Jeane, starsysadmin@txstate.edu Webmaster.............................Ben Stendahl, starwebadmin@txstate.edu Art Director.......................................Marisa Leeder, ml1131@txstate.edu Advertising Coordinator......................Jodie Claes, starad1@txstate.edu Account Executive......................Richard Para, Jr., rp1060@txstate.edu

as its debts, and government spending on infrastructure (schools, roads, etc.) is equivalent to you paying for routine car maintenance at the local garage to keep your car running and ensure you will get to work. And don’t forget that your children will inherit the house that you worked to pay for. Remember, our parents and grandparents took on debt to build roads enabling commerce, fund a moon landing that promptly shot the United States to the head of the global class in technology and assemble an unparalleled military to secure our liberties and wealth. They also left those assets and the beneﬁts of those nice things to their descendants — you and me. That’s not to say that all spending is good. What if you went to the bank and asked for a new loan so that you could reﬁt your home with $600 toilet seats, as the government did with its aircraft in the 1980s. That project is wasteful, as it will never improve your productivity and

Account Executive................................Ana Kulak, ak1094@txstate.edu Account Executive..................................Lindsay Lee, atlas@txstate.edu Student Business Manager................Robby Silva, rs1237@txstate.edu Publications Coordinator..Linda Allen, starbusinessoffice@txstate.edu Publications Director..............Bob Bajackson, stardirector@txstate.edu Visit The Star at www.UniversityStar.com

provides little or no utility. The bottom line is that avoiding government waste is of primary importance, and the size of the national debt is almost meaningless. So why are intelligent, sensible folks so angry about our $8 trillion debt instead of so proud about all of the productivity, security and wealth that debt has enabled? The part that makes me mad, and should make you mad too, is that many politicians fan the public’s unfounded fear of debt to springboard themselves into office. “Spending is out of control,” they say. “I’ll be the one to save us from this disaster waiting to happen.” I believe that the time has come for our elected officials in Congress to change their balanced-budget approach and fund any and all worthwhile programs that improve private sector efficiency and, more importantly, secure our nation. Recent events in Great Britain make crystal clear the importance of the latter. Borghesi is an assistant professor of finance. The University Star is the student newspaper of Texas State University-San Marcos published Tuesday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters. It is distributed on campus and throughout San Marcos at 8 a.m. every other Wednesday of Summer I and II with a distribution of 6,000. Printing and distribution is by the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Copyright August 24, 2005. All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The University Star are the exclusive property of The University Star and may not be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the editor in chief.

TRENDS THE UNIVERSITY STAR

happeningsof the weekend san marcos

Thursday The Triple Crown - The Harlots, WT Special, Turbo 350 Riley’s Tavern - Karaoke

Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - Page 19

Friday Lucy’s - Eleven Fingered Charlie Saturday The Triple Crown - Darling Sinister, Ultra-Hyde, Distempered Lucy’s - The Flametrick Subs

austin

Thursday Ego’s -Two Hoots and a Holler Friday Stubb’s BBQ - Supagroup

Trends Contact — Christina Gomez, starentertainment@txstate.edu

RecJam 2005 ROCKS OUT SEWELL PARK By Kyle Bradshaw Entertainment Writer While braving temperatures nearing 100 degrees, many incoming freshman and returning Texas State students enjoyed plenty of loud music and a massive amount of free food Saturday night at RecJam 2005. Held at Sewell Park, the fifth annual RecJam featured live music from bands such as Vallejo and the Burden Brothers and free food, which included Mr. Gatti’s pizza provided by the Alumni Association, for all students. Just inside the park fence along University Drive, tables from fraternities, sororities and many other studentrun organizations lined the park’s outer edges. The east side of the San Marcos River featured booths from Texas State’s athletic programs, as well as hot dogs and drinks. Ice-filled canoes sat along the riverside with free cold drinks all evening, and with a line that stayed long for most of the evening, Great Locations Apartments had snow cones for anyone who stopped by its table. With Autumn James on piano and Jason Cole on guitar, Autumn opened RecJam with an acoustic set of ballads, including a cover of Matchbox Twenty’s “3 a.m.,” to a slowly growing crowd. LC Rocks, a cover band from Austin, took the stage afterward just as Paws Preview ended at Strahan Coliseum and all of the incoming freshmen flooded the park. In an ode to the new college students, the band kicked off its set with “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake as

Armando Sanchez/Star photo

See RECJAM, page 27

Brynn Leggett/Star photo TOP: Hundreds of Texas State students cheer at Sewell Park while the last band of the night, the Burden Brothers, performs. ABOVE: Vallejo lead singer A.J. Vallejo rocks Texas State students with a noticeable Latino vibe during Saturday’s lineup of artists at RecJam. RIGHT: Burden Brothers lead singer Vaden Todd Lewis works the crowd as the band tops off the day’s festivities. LEFT: A group of students sits by the San Marcos River waiting for Vallejo to take the stage. Armando Sanchez/Star photo

Silo Antiques

Armando Sanchez/Star photo

GENERAL STORE BAR DANCEHALL PRIVATE PARTIES

COMING SOON

We Buy, Sell and Trade-Dealers Welcome 8 miles out of San Marcos on Ranch Road 12

Live!

Good used furniture, beds, dressers, end tables and more...

Steve and Melinda Howell

LUCKENBACH TEXAS AND THE LUCKENBACH DANCEHALL PRESENT

2005 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Tubing Mulberries Tubing Mulberries

$6 tube rental

210.386.3724

Float Pristine Comal River City Shuttle: $2 $10 refundable deposit Register for V.I.T. Card

794 Mulberry Ave. New Braunfels, Texas 78130 Reynaldo Acevedo SWT ’88-Tx State ’05

Sept. 2,3,4 & 5 - Labor Day Weekend Celebration Sept. 9 &10 - Mike Blakely - Tex-Americana Fandango Oct. 1 - 35th Annual Ladies Chili Cook-off Oct. 15 - Bruce Robison Oct. 22 - Harvest Classic & European Motorcycle Rally Nov. 5 - Hunter’s Ball Nov. 26 - Thanksgiving Dance with Jim Earl & the Cadillacs Dec. 10 - Cowboy Holiday Ball with Chris Wall & the Rhythm Wranglers Dec. 31 - New Years Eve Dance with Dale Watson & His Lone Stars

L-I-V-E MUSIC DAILY SUNDAYS - Hill Country Musicians Jam WEDNESDAYS - Wacky Waylon Wednesdays THURSDAYS - Loco Local Thursdays L-I-V-E MUSIC 7 Days A Week featuring our picker Bartenders

Adult Haircuts

$ .95

Reg. $12.95 Expires 8/31/05

with this coupon not valid with any other offer

San Marcos Plaza 320 University Dr. (near Hastings)

396-1100

(near Colloquium #1 Bookstore)

Now accepting:

396-8010

290

Fredericksburg 16

✪

Kerrville

Johnson City

290

LUCKENBACH

1888

Blanco

1623

1376

Sisterdale

Comfort

Boerne

To San Antonio

281

46 To San Antonio

To Austin

2 San Marcos Locations!

You can rent the world famous Luckenbach Dance Hall! Call us toll-free at 888-311-8990 Ext. 29 LUCKENBACH IS LOCATED: 10 miles SE of F’burg. Five miles south of the intersection of Hwy. 290 & FM 1376at the South Grape Creek bridge.

OPEN 10 - 9 DAILY (Sometimes later...)

830-997-3224 888-311-8990

OPEN EVERYDAY = NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED we accept all competitors coupons

www.luckenbachtexas.com

Page 20 - The University Star

TRENDS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Freshmen: Start your engines The race for graduation begins The oriented express: Tips for living, college style Spiral notebooks — 10 into your residence hall, for a dollar. yet you are disappointed College-ruled paper because you’re stuck in a — 50 cents a pack. community-style dorm. Computers and other Don’t get so down just yet. electronics — lower than Community dorms are the they will be until Christbest way to meet friends. It mas rolls around. may sound corny, but with All these low prices can everyone using the same ERIN BURKE only mean one thing — bathroom, you’re going Star Columnist classes are about to begin. to run into people, thus Well, in our case, they creating a friendship with started today. Summer came and someone with whom you might went as quickly as it was anticipated. share the shower stalls. Separately, of It’s time for the rushing to move into course. our homes for the next nine months, A trick of the trade I learned from time for us to look for our classes dorm decorating to hang up items. and meet the new teachers and time If you’re stuck in a dorm with brick for us to open up our minds once walls, there’s an easy way to hang up more to learn something new. posters or whatever else you might It’s something many of us return- want. I found that Command’s ading students already know about. hesive double-stick tape works wonThis year alone, there are 3,000 inders, and it won’t ruin your items. coming freshmen who are to attend It’s easy to take off and affordable. Texas State. That means 3,000 faces You can buy it at Wal-Mart or any of unsuspecting novices looking to store’s building-supply area where find out what there is to do here at the duct tape is located. Of course, Texas State. if you don’t have any posters to As a Paws Preview pal for this year, hang up, Texas State has poster sales it was my job to lead the freshmen at the beginning of each semester. around campus and help them acHere, you can buy posters ranging in climate to their new lives as college size from 8x10 up to movie-poster students. Of course, you get the few size. Different ranges in selection who still suffer from “senioritis,” but can help you find a unique style in then you get some who are excited which to decorate your dorm. Poster to actually be here. sales usually take place by the LBJ At Paws Preview, we try to cram as Student Center and in The Quad. much information as we can in just Texas State also provides many aca day and a half. But this column commandations for students. At the is especially for the freshmen who Student Recreation Center, you can didn’t get to catch everything. Even join an exercise class. If you are unreturning students can learn a thing certain which class is for you, check or two from what I’m going to tell out the Free Class Week through you. Aug. 28. Classes range from Cats First things first. You are moving Crunch to yoga to Pilates.

If you want to go off campus, Sewell Park is a popular place to hang out or go tubing. Rentals are available for kayaks or sports equipment, so bring some money. The Square is a nice place to hang out also with all of its shops and coffee joints. To check out movie listings or other fun things in San Marcos, check out www.78666.com. If by chance you are intoxicated and away from home, don’t drive. Students With Alternative Transportation can pick you up and drive you home to save you from drunken driving. SWAT is in session from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., Fridays and Saturdays, and you can reach them at (512) 805-SWAT. They are a campus organization here to help students get home safely. There are no questions asked, so don’t be afraid to call them. If you are on campus and are walking alone at night, you can call the Bobcat Bobbies at (512) 245-2805. They will pick you up at your location in a golf cart and drop you off where you need to go. Bobcat Bobbies are not a taxi service, however, and only work Monday through Friday, starting at dusk. To learn more about the school or certain things off campus, walk over to the Information Desk located on the second ﬂoor of the LBJSC. The people there will provide you with more information and tell you where to go to ﬁnd out about organizations or upcoming events. I hope this column has provided some of you with enough information to help you around Texas State. I hope you enjoy your time here, and get ready for some Bobcat fever. See you on campus.

What a fish needs: Advice for freshman Well, the best place to The crowd might not start is what you don’t be right. In fact, they need. You don’t need rarely are. I’ll take this books. You don’t need to one step further. They go to class. You don’t need have a word for those to do homework. who blindly follow the Don’t get me wrong. All leader or only do things those things help if you because everyone else want what you came here thinks they’re cool: SEAN WARDWELL cattle. for (i.e. a degree), but you don’t need those things The literal sense is the Star Columnist in the way that you need most important. Don’t oxygen or food. What be dumb, as in unable or you need, as in, need to survive, is a unwilling to speak. You have a voice. sense of humor. Use it. If your professors say someSounds simple and pedantic? thing that you disagree with, call Yeah, probably so. But when you them on it. It’s supposed to be a diafirst encounter the black hole of rea- logue. That’s how we learn. That’s son that is this place on more than how ideas evolve. You paid well over a few occasions, a healthy sense of $2,000 dollars to sit in that seat. Say humor helps. It eases the confusion. something. Make a stand. Defend an It keeps the mind limber. idea. It’s your dime, so use it. You have to be able to laugh at Reason also means being open anything and everything. There’s to new ideas, though. So be open, even a sick humor that can be found but not so open that your brain in the tragic. That off-color gut falls out. You are here to learn new laugh could be what stands between things. Some of these things you you and the abyss of cynicism. might never see coming. You might Think about it. You might have hate some of these things. They will come here a cheerleader. You might be there, though, and all of you will graduate as an art-school girl-ofget hit by them at one point or andoom, if you get my drift. other. Be open and learn all you can. Find the funny. It will save you. Otherwise, keep clean; don’t There’s one other thing you need register for 8 a.m. classes if you can though: reason. Being in college help it, stay out of parties thrown on means you’re smart. Revel in it! The Sagewood Trail, often just referred flipside of that, however, is not to be to as “Sagewood,” call your mom dumb. I mean that in the literal and and try to be a good person. the figurative sense. Oh, and before I forget, congratuThe figurative sense is the easilations. You made it. Now make the est to explain. Think about what most of it. you are doing before you do it.

The TraditiOn StartS here... TexaS State CreatinG a COmmunity fOr StudentS tO enjOy COlleGe life thrOuGh aCtivitieS, invOlvement, and ServiCeS. Great COlleGe memOrieS Start here.

www.lbjSC.txState.edu

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY 11 PM TO 3 AM ��

��

TRENDS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

MUST HAVES

The University Star - Page 21

For Computer Geeks OS X for Intel/Windows In case you haven’t heard, Apple switched CPU chipmakers on us, converting from IBM, which they’ve used since the beginning of personal computers, to Intel which runs everyone else. Of course, since Apple’s software has always only run on its own in-house-made chips, they haven’t had the problem of having their operating system run on other computers besides the Apple Macintosh. But now that they’ve switched to Intel, shouldn’t we be able to put their superior OS on our PCs and boot OS X alongside Windows? Yes, Apple, yes we should.

Xbox 360 Yeah, you know you want it. The next generation of the Xbox will be a serious upgrade to the already awesome Xbox Live service. Not only that, but Microsoft has also taken the idea of connecting everything but the kitchen sink to your Xbox to the next level. In fact, you can currently connect your iPod to the Xbox 360. Of course, you can connect any brand of MP3 player to the Xbox 360, but an iPod? Right now, there are two different initial pricing models. The $299 bare-bones model of the system doesn’t come with a hard drive or wireless controllers. Drop an extra 100 bucks, and you get the full power of the Xbox 360, including a hard drive, wireless controllers, headset and a remote. You get what you pay for — so upgrade.

MP3 Player All right, people. There isn’t an excuse for not having one of these. If you’re still walking around with a CD player, it’s time to update. You can ﬁnd MP3 players in varying shapes, sizes and colors. Most people want an iPod — it’s still by far the best MP3 player on the market, and it’s becoming more reasonably priced. Plus, students get a $20 discount on iPods at the Apple Store in the University Bookstore. But if you feel like rebelling against what is still a slightly overpriced MP3 player, there are other alternatives out there. Creative’s Zen and Zen Micro are far and away the best non-iPod MP3 players, and are reasonably priced as well. So if you’re looking for an iPod, go to the bookstore. If you’re looking for another brand of MP3 player, go to Best Buy, which has the best overall selection.

Video Card/Graphics Card and RAM If you’ve recently bought a Hewlett Packard computer, don’t try running a newer game on it. You got that DVD burner, highend CPU and unusually large amount of RAM in there at the expense of your video card. In fact, you probably have an integrated graphics chip, which, in the computing world, is the equivalent of crap. If you’ve got an older computer, you might want to look at upping your RAM ﬁrst. This directly affects computer performance and overall speed, and not just gaming and other programs. You need at least 512 MB of RAM these days, — anything less just doesn’t run very well.

Camera Phone Who wants to carry around a bulky digital camera when you can just buy a phone that has a camera built into it? These phones are starting to pop up everywhere, and the quality of the images they produce is improving. You should be able to ﬁnd 2-megapixel-plus camera phones at your local retailer. The more megapixels, the better, but again, you pay for it. Camera phones are getting cheaper, but don’t expect to buy one with the chump change you have lying around your room. The top-of-the-line Moto Razr made by Motorola runs around $350.

— Doak Gips

CasaMaria Mexican Restaurant

The Bar Is OPEN!

Bar & Bakery

706 S. Guadalupe St. • San Marcos, Texas 512-392-9302

Gu ad alu pe

Hours Mon: 6am - 10pm Tue: Closed Wed-Sat: 6am - 10pm Sun: 7:30am - 9pm

-3 5

Lo ve S

Gr ov eS

Great Mexican Food • Fresh Pastries from Our Bakery • Domestic & Imported Beer • Big-Screen TV Margaritas • Mariachi on Friday Nights

y1 23

Happy Hour: 4-7pm M-F $1.50 Domestics $1 off Margaritas

10% Discount with current student ID some restrictions apply

Weekly Lunch Specials Only $4.99! Monday Enchiladas plate (beef or chicken) Tuesday Closed Wednesday Fajitas (mixed or chicken) Thursday Carne Guisada or Pork Meat Friday Chile Relleno or Crispy Taco

TRENDS

Page 22 - The University Star

For Your Apartment

Last-minute apartment hunting can be easy By Maira Garcia Entertainment Writer Many students, both procrastinators and victims of this year’s Residence Life overload, have found themselves scrambling for roommates and off-campus housing. Despite the large number of students who signed leases in the spring, finding housing in August is not impossible. Contrary to what people may believe, apartment sites try frantically to fill up rooms as the school year looms closer and can end up slashing rent rates considerably. When it comes to finding roommates at the last minute, the pickings may be a bit slim. However, many students who already have a lease are on the hunt for roommates, and as school approaches, the thought of having to pay utilities and rent alone may become daunting. Choosing a good roommate is a big decision, as you will have to live with whomever you choose for an extended period of time. Your roommate doesn’t have to be completely similar to you. Rather, good communication skills and mutual respect are key. With the help of a few resources, finding a place to live and a nice person to live with can be made easier. Off Campus Student Services (OCSS) OCSS provides students with free listings of available housing through the LBJ Student Center Web site. The site has links to a housing search tool and a roommate finder. Unlike many apartment locaters, this user-friendly Web site gives one the option of searching for both houses and apartments. The free OCSS roommate finder has a living criteria checklist and a rent price range to help you narrow down your search.

Apartment Locaters Locaters in San Marcos are typically free of charge and easily found. Their services provide home seekers with listings of available housing and allow people to designate a price range for monthly rent, as well as any necessities or preferences for a prospective housing complex. Locaters often have special offers, like free dinner, if a person chooses to rent from one of their apartment referrals. Classified Ads Classified ads are another great way to find lastminute housing. It is as easy as picking up the local newspaper and searching the ads for the ideal living situation. Classifieds also list houses for rent in the surrounding areas if you prefer not to have other people living above or below you. The Internet Great resources for finding a roommate with similar living habits can be found all over the Internet by posting on Web sites like Rent.com, Roommates. com or on the blog site LiveJournal.com, which hosts two communities exclusive to Texas State students. Users can post and network with other students who are in the same situation. Roommates. com charges for posting additional information but could prove to be worth your money. With a little extra work and time, finding a place to live and a roommate is within reach, even with the last days of summer closing in. To avoid having to go through the scramble next year, attempt to have all Residence Life forms turned in on time, or better yet, plead with the university to bump up its admission dates to prevent another year of dormshortage nightmares.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

MUST HAVES Renter’s Insurance This is most intelligent purchase you can make as a renter — bar none. If you imagine the cost associated with replacing everything in your digs — the clothing, the computer, the TV — it could easily total in the tens of thousands of dollars. Renter’s insurance also covers you if someone is injured at your home or if someone else’s apartment is damaged, and it affects yours. Renter’s insurance covers all your bases. Some policies will even cover mold remediation. Plan to spend about $200 per year, with many companies offering discounts if you insure your car and apartment together.

Framed Art and Décor Moving out of your parents’ house or from the dorms is a big step in any student’s life. Leave the thumb-tacked posters in Lantana and opt for something a little more sophisticated. Even if you decide to decorate with posters, slapping them into a frame instantly will make your room feel more adult. At the beginning of each semester, vendors will be selling posters and prints at a reasonable rate; grab a few in a similar style, and you’ll be set. Original works of art will cost substantially more but can really set you apart from the crowd. Utilize the talents of our art students and own something original.

Pots, Pans and Kitchen Gear Now sold in convenient, all-encompassing packages containing everything from ice trays to pasta strainers, a set including everything you need for cooking in your new apartment can be found in one box. Running at about $25 for nearly 100 items, it’s a good start to any new home. If you want to invest in quality kitchen needs, try Kitchenaid or Cuisinart. If you ﬁnd that you have an extra $100 to spare, invest in a set of quality knives. Most importantly, buy a pairing knife, serrated knife and butcher knife; these are the ones you’ll use most frequently.

www.UniversityStar.com Comfortable Sofa

THE COFFEE POT

Whether it’s leather, vinyl or cloth, every apartment needs a comfortable sofa. The newest styles of sofas cater to a variety of needs. Some have cup holders and bucket seats. Others have builtin trays and massage controls. The more amenities your sofa boasts, the larger the price tag. Leather is always in style and remarkably comfortable but will require more delicate handling and care than a microﬁber suite. The Salvation Army always has a selection of secondhand sofas in kooky colors for a cheap price. For a little more money, check out Ikea. With tons of colors and styles, most of the sofas run under $700.

ESPRESSO BAR

Cleaning Supplies

Located on the Square 129 E. Hopkins 396-1689

Now that you’re out on your own, it’s time to own some cleaning tools. Apartments can get dirty quickly, and having a well-stocked cleaning bucket will keep your apartment from being labeled a biohazard. Every apartment should contain a plunger, toilet brush, broom and dustpan, mop, fabric cloths and paper towels as well as cleaners for kitchen and bathroom ﬂoors and windows. For one-stop cleaning, try the Swiffer WetJet, which could quite possibly be the best invention ever made. It cleans, sweeps and mops the dirtiest ﬂoors in half the time of traditional brooms and mops. Let’s not underestimate the value of a really nice vacuum cleaner — the kind with all the attachments. For smaller apartments, plan to spend less than $50.

��

EXCELLENT MIXED ESPRESSO DRINKS GREAT COFFEE * FRAPPES * SMOOTHIES

��

BREAKFAST & LUNCH ITEMS MUFFINS * BAGELS * DESSERTS

�� HOME OF THE BUBBLE TEAS & JET TEA SMOOTHIES Open 7:30-Midnight NO SMOKING INSIDE-OUTSIDE SEATING AVAILABLE

— Christina Gomez

The University Star is now hiring! Launch your career in journalism, advertising or design by building your portfolio at one of the premiere collegiate newspapers in Texas.

Come to our New Employee Orientation on Sunday, Sept. 11, in Old Main Room 320.

Where San Marcos SHOPS!!

Quality Vintage Clothing & New Fashion Clothing & Accessories AFFORDABLE PRICES �� LOCATED AT 129 E. HOPKINS (Next door to “THE COFFEE POT”)

Come by The University Star at our new home in the Trinity Building to pick up an application or download one at www.universitystar.com For more information, contact The University Star at 245-3487.

Positions available: News Reporter Opinions Columnist Entertainment Writer Sports Reporter Graphic Designer Page Designer Comic Artist Illustrator Copy Editor Photographer

TRENDS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 23

MUST HAVES

Fashion and Beauty Working Umbrella It rarely drizzles in Texas; it usually pours. If you’re unlucky enough to get caught in a torrential downpour, you’ll understand the merits of having a working umbrella on your person at all times. Forego the plastic poncho and the old ratty umbrella with metal spokes sticking out of it. The bookstore sells cheap umbrellas that are about the size of a plastic water bottle.

Sensible Backpack Books are heavy. Don’t throw your back out in the ﬁrst week of school by cramming 16 hours worth of textbooks into a large purse. Invest in a good backpack with padded straps. North Face backpacks are durable and, aesthetically speaking, are as nice as backpacks get.

Comfortable, Stylish Shoes Our campus has stairs – a lot of them. The most practical way to get around without having mammoth blisters and clunky sneakers is to invest in a sensible pair of flat shoes. Luckily, ballet flats, loafers and moccasins are very much in style for fall. Coming in a variety of textures and styles, they can be paired with skirts, trousers and denim alike. My higher-end favorites are the ballet flats from J. Crew, but if you are unwilling or unable to stomach the $250 price tag, check out the selection at Target or DSW Shoe Warehouse.

Climate Control If it’s 100 degrees outside, you can bet it’s only 50 degrees inside. Rather than shiver through a lecture in Centennial Hall, bring a lightweight cardigan with you. J. Crew’s ﬁtted cardigan is about the best off-the-rack purchase you can make this fall. In a close and affordable second, the Gap has stylish versatile cards for about $35.

Clean and Clear Oil Blotting Sheets With the heat and humidity lasting well into October, it’s pretty much a given you are going to get sweaty. For some of us, it means our forehead will be as shiny as a new penny. Keep oil and bacteria at bay with these handy disposable sheets.

��

— Christina Gomez

��

Breakfast•Lunch•Dinner

24 hours a day EVERYDAY 396•2447 To Go Orders Always Welcome ALL U CAN EAT PANCAKES $2.99 (Daily 10pm-10am)

Happy Hour Everyday 2pm-8pm

Wednesday Specials

Open Mic Night on the Patio Happy Hour Beer ½ Price Appetizers (Dine in only) & Drink Specials All Day Great Beer & Drink Specials

Corner of Hopkins and N. LBJ on the Historic San Marcos Square

IF YOU FEEL

1st Month Tanning only $20

��

Lock in a great price for the fall semester!

��

only

5 6 $

��

LOST

��

COME FIND YOURSELF WITH US!

2, 3, & 4 Bedroom Townhome Designs Featuring Ceramic Tile in Kitchen, Living & Dining Rooms and Individual Leases

FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE Hi-Speed Internet

w/caller ID &

Phone Service Call Waiting

Valet Trash

PICK-UP

Roommate Matching

Cable w/HBO

1441 Leah Ave, San Marcos • FAX (512) 392-8299

www.university-club.com Professionally Managed by RMI University Club is not university-affiliated but independently owned & managed

Going South on IH-35 take the Wonder World Dr. exit and turn left (East) at the 4-way stop. Go through the 2nd 4-way stop turning right directly behind Lowe’s onto Leah Ave. Continue to the end of Leah Ave. and we are on the left next to the Starplex movie theater.

TRENDS

Page 24 - The University Star

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

MUST HAVES

For Your Dorm Room

Decent Bed Sheets

If you spend one-third of your life in bed, shouldn’t you make sure it’s comfortable? Graduate from scratchy polyester twin sheets and invest in something you would actually enjoy sleeping on. The higher the thread count, the softer (and more expensive) your sheets will be. A 250-threadcount-plus Egyptian cotton is durable and can be found reasonably priced at Bed Bath & Beyond, which specializes in collegiate bedding necessities. No matter how nice your sheets are, though, you still need to launder them.

The Mini-Refrigerator The mini-fridge has long been a dorm room staple. Holding goodies too precious to entrust to communal refrigerators, it is a must for every dorm resident. Not just for storing Cokes, the newer mini-fridges have freezer compartments and can easily reside on top of specially made wire baskets designed to store dry goods. Mini-fridges can be found at any moderate to large retailer. Always chic, our favorite mini comes with a top-compartment freezer in stainless steel and can be found at Target for $199. More economical versions can run from $50 to $100.

— Christina Gomez

Lamps and Lighting Fluorescent lighting is gross. It makes everyone look a little sickly and can be a source of unnecessary stress. Instead, utilize softer table lamps to brighten the room. They can light the way just as efficiently but without the glaring brightness. Just think about the morning after a night out; do you want to be woken up by fluorescents? Neither do we. Something with a shade is always chic and always cheap. Try lightinguniverse.com for the best and most unique light fixtures.

Storage Containers There will never be enough room in your dorm to house everything you need; that’s why we have The Container Store. With boxes made to hold everything from belts to basketballs, The Container Store keeps your room looking organized and efﬁcient. Containers that can be popped up or down are especially nice when you only need to use them at rare intervals. If you can loft your bed or put it on risers, you’ll be able to store more than traditional under-the-bed boxes.

Out of the Blue Salon & Skin ��

Comfy Seating

512-754-9111

Even if you decide against bunking beds with your roommate, you should still consider seating arrangements. Instead of having a room full of people piled on beds, consider ﬂoor cushions that can be easily stored when not needed or collapsible egg chairs. The newest fad in dorm living is the beanbag lounger. More stylish than the original beanbag chair, the lounger is shaped like a bent banana and rocks back and forth.

��

Corey - Shell - Mary

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 TICKETS ON SALE NOW! BUY TICKETS AT

PACECONCERTS.COM

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT ALL TICKETMASTER OUTLETS · TICKETMASTER.COM · 512.494.1800 - TDD 210.657.8357 - Groups 15+ 877-275-3804 All dates, acts and ticket prices subject to change without notice. A service charge is added to each ticket.

TRENDS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

MUST HAVES

The University Star - Page 25

For Studying PDA, Agenda, Dayplanner or Organizer They aren’t nearly as geeky as they sound. A good organizer is essential in the ﬁght to balance school and a social life. By writing in assignment due dates, important social events and work schedules, you will be able to prioritize and manage your time more effectively. Barnes & Noble carries the best paper organizers for people who have their life scheduled outside of traditional 9-to-5 hours. They also come in a variety of colors and sizes. At about $12, it beats missing another test or showing up late for a date.

Laptop Computer Worth the expense, a laptop is invaluable to studying and working while in college. While having access to some sort of computer is nonnegotiable, the portability of a laptop makes it almost equally a necessity. With prices ranging from $500 for a Dell Inspiron to over $2000 for a top-of-the-line Macintosh PowerBook, there is a computer to ﬁt every budget. Even if purchasing a laptop is impossible, the library has a stock of laptops available to check out. Here’s a suggestion, though: Don’t be one of those students who type their notes in class. You might think it’s efﬁcient, but most of the time, it just annoys the people sitting around you. Plus, studies show that you don’t retain as much information that way.

— Christina Gomez

Noise-Canceling Headphones Whether you need complete silence or loud music to study, Bose has created headphones for you. Effectively blocking out most ambient noise, they allow those of us who need total silence — while our friends must have thumping hip-hop to jam — to study in peace. At just over $125, these headphones are a bit of a luxury item but worth every penny.

Caffeine, in Small Doses Every now and again, we put off studying for that test or writing that paper until the last minute. Whether your drink is coffee or Red Bull, imbibing a heavily caffeinated beverage to stay alert isn’t always a bad thing. But when used in excess to make up for a lack of studying, well, the results are usually poor.

Dictionary, Thesaurus and Grammar Reference Texts While most computers will catch your spelling mistakes and provide helpful synonyms and antonyms to make you sound smarter, don’t be lured into a false sense of security by relying on technology for all of your writing and editing needs. Usually packaged together, a nice set will put you back maybe $20.

��

�� Crown Royal Seagram’s VO Seagram’s 7 Jack Daniels Smirnoff Vodka Captain Morgan Polar Ice Vodka The Glenlivet Parrot Bay Rum Jose Cuervo Tequila Gordon’s Gin

$2399 $2599 $1999 $3799 $2399 $2599 $1999 $6999 $2599 $3699 $1899 $2499

750ml 1.75L 1.75L 1.75L 1.75L 1.75L 1.75L 1.75L 1.75L 1.75L 1.75L 750ml

��

Rose Garden China Bistro Daily Lunch Specials $4.95 & up 11am-3pm

��

Within walking distance from campus

��

Open Mon-Sat 11-9:30 700 N. LBJ Dr 512.805.0880 to go orders available

��

Now hiring daytime host

��

TRENDS

Page 26 - The University Star

Party and Leisure

MUST HAVES

Forget about splashing liquor into cups of ice and stirring with teaspoons. The only way to pull off a semiclassy party is with quality barware. A good set will include a shaker tin with lid, strainer, waiter’s corkscrew, jigger and stirring spoon. Target has the ultimate set from designer Michael Graves for less than $30.

Forget about playing CDs on your DVD player. Every party needs music, and the best way to showcase your taste in tunes is with a decent stereo system. For those of us who own iPods, JBL has released a few different speaker docks that are hard to beat. Running at about $100, they’re cheap and won’t be overbearing in a small apartment. If owning the whole package is more important, Circuit City has an impressive selection of home stereos ranging from the sleek and modern to the loud and ostentatious.

SWAT, Designated Drivers and Taxis When you’re having a party and alcohol is involved, be intelligent and make sure all of your friends have a safe ride home. Students With Alternate Transportation offers students a free ride home Friday and Saturday nights from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Other than that, call cabs or use a designated driver. And no, the designated driver is not the person who drank the least; it’s the person who didn’t drink at all.

Cheap Seating

Barware Decent Stereo System

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

With guests coming and going, seating is essential. If you’re the guest coming and going, be a pal and bring something to sit on. Collapsible chairs can easily ﬁt in any vehicle’s trunk and cost under $15. For a nice alternative to plastic lawn chairs, check out Ikea’s selection of ridiculously cheap and stylish chairs.

Top-Shelf Alcohol I know you can get Natural Light for a cheap price. I know a ﬁfth of Skol vodka costs less than a Big Mac combo. Exercise a little restraint, though, and purchase the good stuff. With beer having the most variety of all the alcoholic beverages, expanding your palate can lead to many different and tasty selections. Creamy ales like Boddington’s or heavier ales like Old Speckled Hen cost a little more at the pub or grocery store, but they make up for it in taste. As for the hard stuff, forgo Grey Goose in favor to Texas original Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Distilled six times, not only is it one of the best vodkas being made, but it’s also relatively inexpensive and helps out a local business.

— Christina Gomez

Simply Ritchie’s Full Service Salon

��

LEATHER CASE

FREE 3000 REGIONAL WHENEVER MINUTES®

Includes long distance & roaming in Texas & Louisiana.

With Activation.

ONLY

49.99 per month

FREE PHONE ASK FOR DETAILS 1503B Aquarena Springs Dr. 512-878-4316 (Across from Mamacitaʼs) NOW OPEN SUNDAYS Noon to 6 p.m.

Additional restrictions apply; see printed materials and T-Mobile’s Terms and Conditions, viewable at www.t-mobile.com, for details. Limited time offer and subject to change without notice. T-Mobile is a registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG. © 2005 T-Mobile USA, Inc.

TRENDS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 27

Campus organizations give attendees a preview

RECJAM:

CONTINUED from page 19

the Paws Preview-goers grabbed some food and joined in on the activities. After a series of songs by popular classic-rock acts like Bon Jovi and Queen, LC Rocks concluded its set with another jab at the wide-eyed newcomers with “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns n’ Roses. After Paws Preview, many freshmen took the opportunity to learn about Texas State’s student-run organizations at the tables set up on the park’s west side. Organizations like the Art of Living Foundation, Bobcat Build and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Society — which handed out flyers that summoned the attention of students with a passionate interest in films like The Matrix and the Lord of the Rings trilogy — all had tables promoting their groups. Along with a fully decked-out Hummer, representatives from the U.S. Army set up a 24-foot rockclimbing wall next to the river. Justin Bengtson, business management freshman, spent the evening “looking at the booths and eating good food” before he tried his luck with the wall. “I’d never done it before, so I thought I’d give it a try,” Bengtson said of rock climbing. “It was easy.” On the river’s east side, many Texas State sports clubs like men’s and women’s rugby, soccer, swimming, gymnastics and cycling had tables set up to get the word out about their teams. However, Jonathan Pliego, a member of the Texas State cycling team, felt left out when most of the students flocked to the west side of the river to watch the concert and visit the other student organizations, leaving many of the sports-club tables to go unnoticed. “Everyone is over there,” Pliego said about the west side of the river. Pliego, who has been a cyclist for three years, also added that

the cycling team was at RecJam to “help promote a healthy and positive lifestyle” and “raise awareness of cycling,” but he found himself wishing the sports clubs would be more included with the other student organizations. “If we were on the other side, we would get more of an opportunity (to promote cycling),” Pliego said. Sean Raybuck, a philosophy junior who was attending his second RecJam, found himself longing for other events like RecJam during the school year. “I think (RecJam) is a really good thing,” Raybuck said. “I wish we’d have more events like this.” As the sun set down and the temperature cooled off, many organizations began packing up their tables, and a majority of the students parked themselves in front of the stage to see Austin-based band Vallejo. With its Latin-ﬂavored brand of Texas rock, the band entertained many dancing Bobcats for over an hour. After Vallejo, singer Vaden Todd Lewis, previously of the Toadies, ﬁnished off the evening — in bright red pants — with his band, the Burden Brothers. After a set that featured a cover of the Toadies’ “Tyler.” The aggressive rock band ended the show at top volume as students cheered them on; some from their boats in the river and others from the river’s edge with their feet tapping in the water. “I’m really impressed by the booking of Burden Brothers,” said Aarin Hartwell, geography and mass communication sophomore. Hartwell, who was attending for the third time, also said Paws Preview was due the credit for RecJam’s large turnout. “I like how (RecJam) coincided with Paws Preview this year,” Hartwell said. “I think there are more people here because of that.”

Armando Sanchez/ Star photos

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Matt Brady, lead singer of LC Rocks, opened RecJam with a variety of ’80s cover songs. Although LC Rocks was the ﬁrst act of the night, the crowd still sang along with the hair-metal covers. Heath Clark, guitarist, and A.J. Vallejo, lead singer/guitarist, take a moment to play each other’s guitar during Vallejo’s performance on Saturday night. Sophomore Colin Murphy walks a tightrope set up by one of the many organizations present Saturday in an effort to recruit new students to join.

the royal vineyard inc. wine, liquor and beer to go gua pe dalu

a 204 exit

1 Hour Relaxation Massage with Peach scented lotion

Best of luck new recruits!

Honey & Cream European Facial including light snack & beverage

1 Hour 30 Minute Treatment $69 (an $85 value)

New Cabana Massage

ih-35

1208 ih 35 south phone: 512.353.2317

Peaches and Cream Summer Escape

mon ~ sat 10am ~ 9pm sunday closed

Greek Gift Shop

on the San Marcos River

Riverbend Day Spa

221 North St. 878.8436

www.RiverbendDaySpa.com 512.357.2654 by Appointment Only at 163 Riverbend Monday through Saturday 10AM - 8PM

www.cutiepi.com

Hair Removal Acne Therapy

BLU-U Laser Resurfacing

Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics Ana L. Rodriguez, MD. • Mark D. Garcia, D.O. Alpesh Desai, D.O. • Allison Martin, PA-C 1320 Wonder World Dr., Suite 108 San Marcos, TX 78666

(512)392-1411 www.skinmagic.com Better Business Bureau

MicroLaser Peels Skin Rejunevation Microdermabrasions

Chemical Peels Collagen/Restylane Tattoo Removal

Skin Care Products

TRENDS

Page 28 - The University Star

Tuesdays at Austin’s El Mercado feature great local music, Tex-Mex

Hip Hop Congress goal to raise awareness, diminish stereotypes By Sean Wardwell Entertainment Writer “Hip-hop is about respect,” said Joshua Johnson, ﬁnance senior and president of Hip Hop Congress as he opened the 2005 New Student Convocation. “It’s about Run-DMC, Bob Marley and the Beastie Boys, Patsy Cline and John Coltrane.” It’s also about an organization that was asked to open the convocation as well as perform at RecJam. “We utilize grass roots across the nation,” said Ray Cordero, or “Ray-C,” as he prefers to be known. “It’s a university organization that uses hip-hop to spread diversity and tries to correct misconceptions about hip-hop. Hip-hop can be a very powerful tool for education.” Cordero is a graduate student getting his master of arts in public administration and is Hip Hop Congress’ vice president. “We’re just trying to show the positive aspects of hip-hop,” Cordero said. “There’s so many negative stereotypes that come with it: rims and thugs and misogyny. It’s a part of hip-hop — I’m not deny-

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

ing it — but that’s not all there is with hip-hop.” With a membership of 30 regulars and growing, Hip Hop Congress is on a mission to raise student awareness through music and community service. Last year, they held a successful fund-raiser for the San Marcos Arts Council. They were also asked to host the diversity segments of Paws Preview. “One of the reasons I took such a keen interest in it is because it also incorporates social awareness, be it political or community-based,” Johnson said. “Hip-hop is an outlet for people, I think. You have a lot of people who are artists who have a battle with themselves with wanting to express themselves or wanting to sell records. So hip-hop, to me, is people expressing what they are going through, whether it be through poetry, through rapping, dance, art — it can be anything.” Hip Hop Congress can be contacted through the Ofﬁce of Multicultural Student Affairs. The organization is planning a number of freestyle battles and community service events for the upcoming semester.

By Amanda Jo Williams Entertainment Writer The only thing that makes live music better in Austin is when you can sit down and devour some fantastic TexMex and margaritas while listening to local talent. The “Writers Who Rock” series at El Mercado on South First Street offers just that every Tuesday. The restaurant showcased seven great Austin artists for the weekly event on Aug. 16. The night started with singer/songwriter Eliza Wren fresh off her Greyhound tour. Her lyrics were as colorful as the walls of El Mercado, and her voice was as soft as an angel’s. Eliza played a wonderful array of songs that showcased her diverse talents. My favorite from her set was “Rock The Bottom.” Her soon-to-be-released song is the title track of Rock The Bottom, a new ﬁlm about female skateboarders, which will be released this year at the Sundance Film Festival. Just off a Canadian tour with Clepper Pair George, Jimmy George rocked the house until he broke a guitar string, at which point he let host Melissa Mullins rock out the rest of his set. An Austinite for 18 years, George said that, although he is a world traveler, there is something about Austin that keeps bringing

him back: “the music, music, music.” On the outside, he represents the epitome of keeping Austin weird with a pair of old, dirty jeans, a T-shirt and cowboy boots; on the inside, he is a good ol’ country boy infused with a little classic rock and lightly dusted with folk. Halfway into his abbreviated set, he threw on a capo and a harmonica and sang about how he lives his life free, balanced and passionate, but also not afraid to start over. Mullins is a mesmerizing performer to watch. She not only has a beautifully powerful and dynamic voice, but she backs it with solid and catchy riffs fusing her music exponentially. Not even expecting to play this week, Mullins borrowed a guitar and sang my new favorite song, “Anesthesia.” She belted out the last lines, “It’s time to wake up,” which were truly fantastic. Mullins’ mellow, sweet and sultry song “Paint a Picture” transitioned well into the next set by keyboard/vocalist Faith Purvis. The newest edition to the Austin music scene, Purvis glided seamlessly up and down the keyboard during her song “Over The Edge” with a certain blend of seriousness and sensuality. Purvis is one of those artists who can make everyday life into a song to which everyone can relate. Christine Young, lead singer of the

Ray Corvero, aka Ray-C, dismisses the New Student Convocation at Strahan Coliseum during Paws Preview on Saturday.

Christine Young Band, added a little honky-tonk to the night. Young boasts unique lyrics and a no-holds-barred attitude that is best exempliﬁed on stage by her delivery of “Forbidden Fruit.” Gary Newcomb began wrapping up the night. His music gently massaged the crowd and offered a brief euphoric break. His guitar leads were hard enough to take center stage and keep the rhythm, but also catchy and creative. Last, but surely not least, G Fire (aka Pam Mayo) took the stage with a comedy-laden, cabaret-style act. I thought I was going to cry, I was laughing so hard at G Fire’s intro song, “Four Headed Man,” which I recommend to all the ladies. G Fire has a lot of energy and personality; those who like cabaret will enjoy this unique artist. You can catch Writers Who Rock from 7 to 10 p.m. every Tuesday at El Mercado. For an added bonus, you can eat some of the best Tex-Mex in the city, relax and enjoy the sounds of Austin music. To check out some of the performers from the Writers Who Rock series, visit: • www.JimmyGeorgeArts.com • www.ElizaWren.com • www.MelissaMullins.com • www.ChristineYoungBand.com

LEFT: Eliza Wren was feaured Tuesday as part of the “Writers Who Rock” music series. RIGHT: Melissa Mullins provided impromptu entertainment when a performer’s guitar string broke.

Armando Sanchez/ Star photo

Amanda Jo Willams/ Star photo

Want a better tanning experience? You know you want it... Memberships start at $16 a month! BRAND NEW state of the art beds! Mystic Tan Smoothie Bar Walking Distance from Campus New location opening in September 1515 Aquarena Springs next to Great Locations/Classic Cuts

748 North LBJ Dr. 558.5015

Next to Grin’s Restaurant formerly AP Tan.

�� “Come for the food, enjoy the show!”

�� Springtown Way

Lunch Starting at $6.95 Dinner Starting at $10.95

Mon-Thurs. Lunch 11:30 am - 2:30 pm Dinner 4:30 pm - 9:30 pm Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 10:30 pm Sun 11:30 am - 9:30 pm 515 Springtown Way • 396-7200

TRENDS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 29

The Chumscrubber is as fake, plastic as the suburbs it portrays

Photo courtesy of Newmarket Films Arie Posin’s directorial debut, The Chumscrubber, starring Ralph Fiennes and Jamie Bell, exposes the fractured facade of middle class suburbia. The ﬁlm has been featured at the Sundance Film Festival.

Ten in Texas features the best of Lone Star music covered by those who know Carolyn Wonderland. more than enough to Joe Ely. Terri Hendrix. send any couple twoAsleep at the Wheel. stepping on the dance Willie Nelson. ﬂoor. Do I really even need Ely performs an to write a review of Ten exquisite cover of the in Texas? This compilalegendary Kris Kristtion features Texas art- music offerson’s ode to the ists singing covers of review morning after, “SunTexas music. They do it day Morning Coming ✯✯✯✯ Down.” Gary P. Nunn’s justice, too. Wonderland burns the barn down Various Artists version of Red Steato the ground with her Ten in Texas gall’s “Lone Star Beer cover of Billy Joe Shav- Icehouse Music and Bob Willis Music” er’s “Honky Tonk Hemakes me want to run roes.” Aaron Watson’s to the Broken Spoke cover of Buddy Holly’s in Austin and, well, “True Love Ways” should be buy a bottle of Lone Star and

listen to Willis and the Texas Playboys all night. In fact, there isn’t a single bad cover on the album. You can tell the artists chosen to perform these songs approached them with a sense of reverence and love. The album closes with Nelson doing a live performance of his staple hit, “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” which was actually written by Ed Bruce. But come on, are they going to let anyone else sing that one? — Sean Wardwell

Last Days looks like Nirvana, but smells like burnt money In Last Days, Blake film (Pitt; Murder review By Numbers), ✯✯ is a burnt- Last Days out musician Dir.: Gus Van Zant who looks a Stars: Michael lot like Kurt Pitt, Lukas Haas Cobain. He Rated R talks like Cobain, and he walks hunched over in an almost caveman-like position like Cobain. Unfortunately for the movie, he doesn’t carry the same intrigue or ingenuity as the grunge-rock legend by which he’s supposed to be so inspired, and, as a result, the film falls flat. Moving at a deadly-slow pace, Last Days tells the story of Blake and his band as they spend their days in an old house in the woods outside Seattle. They all wear flannel shirts and baggy jeans, and they would much rather sleep and drink than play a rock show. As far as the story goes, that’s about as interesting as it gets. There’s very little dialogue and many long, cutless scenes depicting characters walking through the woods or writing a song on the

Michael Pitt plays a less-than-convincing Kurt Cobain lookalike in the Cannes Film Festival selection Last Days.

Photo courtesy of HBO Films. guitar. Blake’s bandmates don’t have much interest in him, and he would much rather be alone than talk to them. Blake himself is not much of a talker. He mostly mumbles inaudibly and grunts instead of speaking in complete sentences. In fact, his spaced-out demeanor evokes images of a bumbling Ozzy Osbourne more than it does Cobain, causing Blake to feel more like a shell of a character than a fading rock star. Last Days’ intentions are vague. It never attempts to explain, but, instead, weakly interprets the ﬁnal hours of a troubled musician. Van Zant’s (Good Will Hunting, Elephant) unconventional style leaves the ﬁlm feeling empty and lifeless.

His direction is overtly pretentious and pale. As Blake, Pitt doesn’t seem connected to his character, causing his rendition of a lonely rocker to come across, instead, as a boring homebody. His bandmates — played by Haas and Scott Green — aren’t given enough screen time to ever portray the feeling to the audience of actual people. Instead, they’re used as devices to take up screen time when Blake passes out. By the time Last Days gets to its obvious ending, there’s not much to talk about concerning Blake and his band. They look and sound like Nirvana, but they smell like phonies. — Kyle Bradshaw

��

A girls best friend ��

We only look expensive

302-B University Dr., San Marcos, Tx 78666 M-S 10-6 www.mycrickets.com • P:512.353.1038 F:512.396.1444• Layaway Available

The Chumscrubber Janney) is a self-cenis filled with run-of- film tered housewife and the-mill teen angst review clueless to her son’s and dysfunctionaldaily troubles. His ✯✯ family drama to the The Chumscrubber best friend is Troy point of nausea. It Dir.: Arie Posin (Josh Janowicz), the wants to be American Stars: Jamie Bell, local drug dealer who Beauty, but it doesn’t Ralph Fiennes commits suicide in have the depth. It Rated R the film’s opening segwants to be Donnie ments. Darko, but it doesn’t Troy’s death and have the mystery. Instead, it’s a Dean’s subsequent complacenwatered-down rerun of every cy set off a chain of events that screwed-up suburb drama that is implausible and relentlessly has come before it. stupid. In the middle of all the subThe Chumscrubber is also urban chaos is Dean (Bell), a buried in a mountain of subquiet loner who spends his days plots. One involves a spaced-out getting bullied by Billy (Jus- mayor, Michael Ebbs (Fiennes), tin Chatwin) and flirting with who’s planning a wedding with fellow loner Crystal (Camilla his self-involved fiancée, Terri Belle). Like every other teenage (Rita Wilson). There’s also a opus, Dean hates his parents. preposterous kidnapping subHis father (William Fichtner) is plot involving Terri’s son that a writer who keeps using Dean is never really explained or raas a subject for his novels and tionalized by its characters. Acfeeding him pills to keep him cording to the film’s themes, it’s “normal.” His mother (Allison a completely normal, fake, plas-

tic suburbia where everyone is angry, and no one is exactly what he or she seems to be. Posin, working off a thin script by Zac Stanford, never gives any of his characters enough time or space to develop, causing everyone’s motives to feel cheap and irrational. The script is so derivative and downtrodden that its characters appear trapped in their own shallowness. Bell does the best he can in a Jake Gyllenhaal-like role, but even some of his ﬁnest moments can’t help raise The Chumscrubber’s constant frown. There is never a moment when The Chumscrubber feels honest. It’s packed to the brim with cliché characters and ridiculous plot twists, constantly claiming that there’s more beneath the surface. Instead, it’s wholly ﬂat and painfully empty. — Kyle Bradshaw

Skeleton of a plot can’t hold dimwitted horror flick together The skeleton key His wife, Violet, seems opens every door in film perfectly capable of an old, rickety house review caring for him, but for just outside New Orreasons that are never ✯✯ leans. If only it didn’t even vaguely hinted at, open that one door The Skeleton Key she hires Caroline to be to the creepy voodoo Dir.: Iain Softly his caretaker. room in the attic, Stars: Kate The house creeks all Hudson, Peter we would be able to Saarsgard night and appears to be save ourselves from Rated PG-13 positioned in just the an hour and a half of right spot for a thunwatching brainless derstorm every evecharacters fumble ning. Caroline is given through a vast amount of in- that magical skeleton key and consistent storytelling in The immediately goes snooping Skeleton Key. through the house. This, of Hudson plays Caroline, a course, leads her to the attic, nurse having trouble getting where she ﬁnds the stockroom used to the frequent deaths that for Occult 101 and begins delvaccompany her job. When she ing into the magical spells. decides she can no longer work With a knack for strange as a nurse, Caroline (gasp) gets music and perfectly timed another job as a nurse to Mr. thunderclaps, Softly’s directDevereaux, an elderly man who ing leads Caroline through the has just suffered a stroke and house in a way that’s cheesy lives in the aforementioned and formulaic. Working from rickety house. a tasteless script by Ehren Kru-

ger, The Skeleton Key relies too heavily on cheap scare gags and dim-witted characters to ever create any real suspense. Hudson is tolerable as Caroline, but she seems to be going through the motions in a weakly built role. The only bright spot that the film boasts is the fine work of Sarsgaard (Kinsey, Garden State), who plays Luke, the Devereaux’s mysterious lawyer. Sarsgaard is an immensely talented character actor, and he’s able to take a seemingly worthless role and steal every scene he’s in. Along with a massive knot of illogical plot twists, The Skeleton Key ends in an unsatisfying fashion. However, if you don’t care enough about the film’s lazy first half, what’s the point in trying to figure out its indecisive conclusion? — Kyle Bradshaw

92410 8/10/05 Page 30 -5.75x20 The University Star

3:32 PM

TRENDS

Page 1

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Photo courtesy of Focus Features

The Next Stage of Banking Convenience

The wellsfargo.com bus is a mobile, state-of-the-art education and training center, and it’s headed your way. Stop by to learn more about the many convenient online financial services that Wells Fargo now offers online. Sign up for free access to Wells Fargo Online® Banking, and learn how to use Online Bill Pay right on the bus. Plan to join us at the next wellsfargo.com bus stop and experience The Next Stage of banking convenience.

Wednesday, August 31 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Texas State University Quad For more information, call 512-396-2525

wellsfargo.com

Bill Murray, continuing his reign as the king of sad comedy, stars in Broken Flowers as Don Johnston, over-the-hill playboy who rediscovers four old ﬂames while in search of a longlost son.

Murray’s subtle acting ‘fixes’ Broken Flowers Don Johnston is wild goose chase across an over-the-hill Don film middle-class America. Juan. He has made a review All through his jourfortune off of comney, Don lets out deep ✯✯✯✯ puters, but he doesn’t Broken Flowers sighs and spies the own one. He spends Dir.: Jim Jarmusch world through a pair his days sleeping on Stars: Bill Murray, of gloomy sunglasses, the couch, watching Jeffrey Wright evoking images of what television and won- Rated R his former swinging dering why life has days may have looked suddenly passed him like. He still eyes every by. Don is personified woman who walks by, with sheer brilliance by Mur- not with lustful intent but with a ray, the reigning king of the sad heavy heart and sad, lonely eyes. comedy, in the charming and It is through these droopy eyes endearing Broken Flowers. that Murray is able to convey In recent years, Murray’s more emotion than most actors career has turned toward sad- can in any amount of lines. faced roles in films like The Life Don’s voyage leads him back Aquatic and Lost in Translation to former flames like Laura that require much more depth (Sharon Stone), a hick living and precision than his early in a trailer home with her lusty roles as loose-lipped Carl in teenage daughter, the aptlyCaddyshack or the sarcastic John named Lolita (Alexis Dziena). Winger in Stripes. In Broken There’s also lonely housewife Flowers, Murray’s performance Dora (Frances Conroy) and relies on slight facial expressions animal communicator Carand quiet one-liners, creating a men (Jessica Lange). All of boldly simple presentation of the women are vastly different a depressed man that is both from the current Don but still amusing and heartbreaking. intrigued by his sudden arrival In the midst of his loneliness, during reunions that are filled Don’s life is transformed when with uncomfortable pauses and he receives a letter in a pink en- general weariness by both parvelope that informs him he has ties. All the while, Don takes a 19-year-old son. The letter is detective hints from Winston not signed and has no return via telephone, and he becomes address. Don sees it as a hoax a bizarre, Sam Spade-like invesand would rather go back to tigator himself, trying to hunt watching TV. His ever-curious down clues about his possible neighbor, Winston (Wright; The son. Manchurian Candidate), a wanEach actress is beautifully nabe detective, views the letter subtle in her performance, nevas a sign for Don to get out of er willing to give too much away the house. Using what was no too quickly. Stone gives one of doubt a Google-based search the finest performances of her method, Winston tracks down career, and Lange is unexpectfive of Don’s old girlfriends and edly funny as a doctor who the reluctant recluse is sent on a claims she can understand what

animals say. Watch and listen to the way each woman says “hello” when first seeing ol’ Donny. Whether it’s a glad smile or a suspicious stare, each woman is able to convey an entire former relationship through one simple word. It’s a magnificent accomplishment that each actress is able to give such an intricate performance in the short amount of time she is given. Broken Flowers is subtle, complex and honest. And it’s built on the slight glances, smiles and sighs of its characters. It’s not heavy on dialogue or plot, but it is anchored in realism. Director Jarmusch (Coffee and Cigarettes, Dead Man) cares about his characters too much to let them fall into old movie clichés. He’s a master scene setter, and he trusts his actors more than most directors do. He is able to turn the simplest scene into true heartbreak purely by letting his shots linger on his characters’ melancholy faces or disheartened smiles a little longer than normal, just to give us that tiny extra dose of emotion. As he always has, Murray continues to make interesting choices as an actor, especially when he downplays what would ordinarily be an over-the-top character in Don. Broken Flowers has wit and heart, and most of it is fruitful thanks to Murray’s minimalism. When it’s all over, the film’s unpredictable ending is fitting and poignant. It’s one of the most interesting and pleasantly entertaining character studies to come along in quite some time. — Kyle Bradshaw

Four Brothers packs heat, but also plenty of heart Four Brothers plays out film as a typical review gun-slinging ✯✯✯ shootout-fest. It packs very Four Brothers little surprise, Dir.: John Singleton Mark but, surpris- Stars: Wahlburg, Terrence ingly, a great Howard, Tyrese amount of Gibson depth; thanks Rated R mostly to some fantastic performances from its stars. With slicked-back hair and an excessive amount of attitude, Wahlberg plays Bobby Mercer, a street-wise former gangster who is returning home to Detroit for his mother’s funeral. Mrs. Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan) was known in her neighborhood as the “sweetest old lady in the world,” and her murder at a local convenience store causes Bobby and his three brothers, Jeremiah (Outkast’s Andre Benjamin), Angel (Gibson) and Jack (Garrett Hedlund), to seek out her killer. All of the Mercer boys were adopted by Mrs. Mercer through a foster care program. So they don’t look like brothers (a fact that is brought up many times to some minor amusement), and they appear more like a pack of hit men than a family. It comes as no surprise that Bobby and company are at odds with the slow pace with which their mother’s case

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures Mark Wahlberg leads a strong ensemble cast in Four Brothers. is being handled by Lt. Green (Howard), the lone good guy on Detroit’s police force; this forces the brothers to take matters into their own hands. As in any other gangster/ shoot-’em-up film, Four Brothers contains plenty of corrupt cops and finely choreographed street fights. However, there’s something that feels strangely genuine about the film even in its weakest moments. This is due mostly to the fine performances of its cast. Wahlberg anchors the troupe with a massive amount of intensity and is flanked nicely by Benjamin and Gibson, both musicians con-

tinuing a ﬁne crossover to acting. Following up performances in the recent Crash and Hustle & Flow, Howard is quickly establishing himself as a leading man and a solid character actor. Director Singleton realizes the talents of his actors and does well by giving them room to breathe between action sequences. In the end, Four Brothers brings more to the screen than usually meets the eye in its genre; it has plenty of heart alongside its abundance of bullets and guns. How’s that for a shootout? — Kyle Bradshaw

TRENDS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 31

Former Daily Show contributor Steve Carell stars in this week’s top box-ofﬁce hit, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, taking in $21.4 million. In second place with slightly over $16 million was Wes Craven’s horror pic Red Eye.

One last note... Words of wisdom from some Star staffers Never leave a bowl of unﬁnished Fruity Pebbles out for more than a few hours. Your roommate could make the deadly mistake of believing it is warm cheese dip with salsa. (Maira Garcia)

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Virgin proves raunch still sells at box office By Daniel Fienberg Zap2it.com (KRT) LOS ANGELES — America just loves laughing at middle-age virgins. The 40 Year-Old Virgin an R-rated Universal comedy starring former Daily Show reporter Steve Carell as the titular virgin, led the weekend box office for the period that ended Sunday, earning an estimated $20.6 million over the weekend. Opening in 2,845 locations, Undeclared creator Judd Apatow’s feature directing debut averaged $7,241 per screen to hold off Red Eye, which finished second in its premiere weekend with a strong $16.5 million. The Wes Craven-directed thriller, which features rising stars Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy, opened in 200 more locations than Virgin, but averaged $5,359 per screen for DreamWorks. While the weekend’s top two new releases were right at industry expectations, the top 12 films earned only $98.75 million, down 5.71 percent from last weekend and down 2.72 percent from the same

weekend last year, when Exorcist: The Beginning and Without a Paddle ruled the roost. Last week’s winner, the John Singleton action romp Four Brothers, slipped to third, down an acceptable 39 percent to $13 million. Mark Wahlberg and Tyrese Gibson star in the late summer hit, which has taken in $43.6 million to date. In a week ruled by a raunchy comedy, the summer’s biggest R-rated laffer, The Wedding Crashers, continued to linger, finishing fourth with nearly $8.3 million in new business, off only 30 percent in its sixth weekend. The New Line film has now taken in $177.9 million. In its second weekend, the Universal suspense drama The Skeleton Key fell to fifth with $7.4 million, a drop of 54 percent, with a cum of $30.1 million. That drop was still far smaller than the 56 percent gap for The Dukes of Hazzard ($5.75 million, 8th) and the 63 percent plunge for Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo ($2.3 million, 11th). With Virgin and Red Eye topping the charts, the weekend’s other new releases

got lost in the shuffle. Disney imported the British Valiant and took seventh with just under $6.1 million, as family audiences preferred the documentary juggernaut March of the Penguins, which reached $48.6 million overall after a $6.68 million weekend. Paramount’s Supercross: The Movie did only $1.33 million in 1,621 locations for an anemic $817 per screen. In limited release, Jim Jarmusch’s Bill Murray comedy Broken Flowers continued to perform well. The film is now in 389 locations, and took in $2.27 million, up to nearly $6 million overall. Fans of dirty jokes continued to giggle at The Aristocrats, which did $700,494 in only 172 locations, while Grizzly Man did $295,000 in 51 sites for a per screen average of $5,784. The dog days of August may hit the box office hard next weekend as none of the new releases — The Brothers Grimm, The Cave and Undiscovered — looks poised to take out Virgin. These are estimates by Exhibitor Relations, which tracks daily box office receipts.

The Weekend’s Top 10 Movies Rank 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Title The 40 Year-Old Virgin Red-Eye Four Brothers Wedding Crashers The Skeleton Key March of the Penguins The Dukes of Hazzard Valiant Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Sky High

Weekend $21.4M

$16.2M $43.1M $178M $30.4M $48.4M

$5.98M $5.91M $4.43M

$69.1M $5.91M $193M

$4.03M

$50.9M

��

Can’t get 7 down? Find the answers at www. UniversityStar.com

��

Don’t take an 8 a.m. class unless you’re an early riser. You’ll be sick of waking up while your roommate sleeps in by the end of the ﬁrst week; and since nobody will be making you attend, chances are you won’t. (Nick Gilmore) Make sure to carry a pack of gum to boring classes – the chewing will keep you awake and more attentive than yawning or biting your ﬁngernails. (Nick Gilmore) Jones Dining Hall is open the latest. If you get hungry late at night and want to swipe your I.D. for food, make sure you get there before midnight; or else you will be spending your cash on fast food instead of fun stuff. (Nick Gilmore)

Don’t be afraid to change your major. God knows I did. (Christina Gomez, a former pre-med, biology, radio, television and ﬁlm, English and, ﬁnally, journalism major) Instead of eating the same old fast food, branch out to places like Kismet Café or Gil’s. They are right off of campus and much tastier. (David Michael Cohen) Try to get involved with a club or organization on campus. It’s suprising the great people you would not have met otherwise. (Matt Rael)

Data courtesy of imdb.com

www.UniversityStar.com

With more than 27,000 students, a spring-fed river to kayak, snorkel, swim or tube, local businesses galore, countless campus activities, and Austin and San Antonio within close proximity, all you have to do is get out, meet people and just experience this place; trust me, you will have a good time. (Shawn Pearcy)

If you need to use your drop, do so. An F on your transcript is very difﬁcult to work through. (Joe Ruiz, who began his college career in 1998)

Gross $21.4M

$16.2M $12.5M $8M $7.73M $6.49M

To all dudes: You live in Texas. You’re going to sweat walking from class to class. So don’t try to cover it up with half a gallon of Axe, causing the entire classroom to smell like a junior high locker room. Just be smelly like the rest of us. (Kyle Bradshaw)

��

Map out your classes the night before. Otherwise you will get lost and be late on your ﬁrst day. (Siobhan Chapman)

Calli’s a sassy boutique

The Latest Fashion — Jewelry — Purses — Gifts Circle E Candles and Much More!

Mary Green David Kahn jeans 213 Nallie & Mille Blue Colt jeans Miss Me Yellow Box shoes ESPRIT Located opposite the Outlet Mall... Next to Starbucks! 690 Centerpoint Rd. Bldg. B Suite 213 San Marcos, Texas 78666 512.392.3842

��

Page 32 - The University Star

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

�� With Simple Choice Unlimited from CenturyTel, Texas State students can get carefree, unlimited local and long distance calling everyday – and a choice of calling features like Voice Mail, Call Waiting and Caller ID!

��

�� Plans and features not available in all areas. Plan rates available to residential customers only. CenturyTel Long Distance, L.L.C. reserves to right to cancel or discontinue the unlimited long distance plan at anytime without notice. Data and fax calls will be billed at 10 cents a minute. Long distance rates apply to direct dialed U.S. calls including Alaska, U.S. Puerto Rico, Guam and U.S. V.I. To receive long distance plan rates customer must choose CenturyTel Long Distance, L.L.C. as their IntraLATA and InterLATA toll carrier. Customer may purchase long distance plan per the terms of applicable tariffs. Additional cost may apply for operator, international, directory assistance, Calling Card rates and payphone surcharges. Stated rates exclude applicable taxes and fees. Some restrictions apply; ask your CenturyTel representative for details. Plans are subject to change. Long distance services provided by CenturyTel Long Distance, L.L.C. Simple Choice is a trademark of CenturyTel, Inc.

��

All classified ads are charged 20¢ per word. Ads may be emailed to starclassifieds@txstate.edu. Check your classified ad for accuracy. Any changes must be made by the second day of publication. The deadline for all classified ads is noon two business days prior to publication. Classified ads must be paid in advance unless credit has been established. Refunds will only be given when a classified ad has been paid by credit card. The Star reserves the right to refuse, edit, and discontinue any classified ad at any time without prior notification. Classified ads will be edited for style purposes. Classified ads that do not note heading, will be put under the appropriate heading. All classified ads are published free, on-line at www.universitystar.com. Since this is a free service, posting is not guaranteed. While The University Star attempts to screen ads for misleading claims or illegal content, it is not possible for us to investigate every ad and advertiser. Please use caution when answering ads, especially any which require you to send money in advance.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - Page 33

Email Classiﬁeds starclassiﬁeds@txstate.edu

FOR RENT

FOR RENT-HOUSES

HELP WANTED

AMAZING VALUE!! 3B/3B available at Advance St. duplex. Completer appliance package incl full W/D. What a Deal for $825 per month!! Visit jonessells.com and call Legacy Real Estate 6650350. *** ROOMS FOR LEASE off of Sagewood! 3b/3 1/2b/ common living/dining/kitchen/2 car garage/ internet access. $400.00mo call today! (512) 913-8028. *** 519 HUTCHISON DUPLEXES for rent.2/2 for $725 and a 1/1 for $450 available. Easy bike ride to campus or just walk. Visit jonessells.com and call Legacy Real Estate 665-0350. *** RENT OR RENT to own: 3/2 on 1 acre. Fenced. 8 mi from campus. Call for info 512-557-2542. *** SMALL 2/1 HOUSE close to campus for lease. 422 Blanco is available for $500 per month. Visit jonessells.com and call Legacy Real Estate 665-0350. *** PRIVACY & MORE Privacy! Bishop’s Corner at 1409 Bishop has 1Bdr. for $395. Small, quite complex. Water/waste water and trash paid. Have our Best roommate ever!! YOU! Visit jonessells.com and call Legacy Real Estate 665-0350. *** Reduced 1804 Hunter Rd. 3b/1b duplex for lease. Appr 1000 sq ft for $700 per mo. Visit jonessells. com and call Legacy Real Estate 665-0350. *** Short term contract, nice area, no pets, walk or ride to campus, 2 lg b/1b, ca/ch, range, refrigerator, WD, $670 plus utilities, 512-7380304 or 396-1004. *** 612 Mill Street duplex. 2/2 on the shuttle. $650 with W/D. Visit jonessells.com and call Legacy Real Estate 665-0350. *** 10 min. from campus, 3/2, $850.00, on 9 acres. 512-8050339. *** Next to campus, 2b/1b, $625. 206-660-7921.

COUNTRY HOME ON 5 acres, 2bdr/2ba, ch/ca, 6 mi from San Marcos, $750 per mo plus deposit, 830-379-9682 or 512-357-6271.

details. All calls are completely conﬁdential. *** ATHLETIC, OUTGOING MEN for calendars, greeting cards, etc $75-150/hr, no exp. needed, (512)684-8296. *** LIFT OFF TABLETS: Provide Energy & Focus for all your activities!! Call Denise 888-2304425. *** FLOAT THE PRISTINE Comal River, Directions to Tubing Mulberries 794 Mulberry Ave., New Braunfels, TX. From TxState, take Hopkins to Hunter Rd, Pass Gruene, TX. and under Loop 337, road turns left then turn right onto Torry St. go 6 blks to Mulberry Ave. Call 210-386-3724. ReySWT ‘88, Tx State ‘05. See Display Ad. Soft drinks $1.00, Tubes $6.00 and $8.00. Returnable deposit. Always ready to Float!!

FOR RENT-DUPLEX BRIGHT & CHEERFUL 2 br. lst mo. free, open house daily 9 to 8pm, 1 mi from West Campus. Fans, drapes, new carpet, W/D, fenced wooded yard, walk to Crocket Elem., quite, pleasant neighborhood, 807A Hazelton, no dogs, exceptional at $550. 3538384. *** HACKBERRY DUPLEXES 2/1 on bus route, ca/ch, quiet st, fncd/shady yds, carports w/storage, sm pets OK. $530 inc/water & garbage. Also 1/1’s $480. Other duplexes located in Kyle and San Marcos. 268-5032.

FOR RENT-HOUSES 3BD/2BA DOUBLE WIDE on 1 acre for sale or rent. 10 minutes from campus. $800 per month. Call 512-847-8029.

WANTED: ELECTRICIANS needed for finish out work/ Some part time until school starts/ Call Ted Breihan Electric 512-396-3300 or come by 118 S Edward GarySan Marcos. *** !BARTENDERS WANTED! $300/day potential. No experience necessary. Training Provided. Age 18+ ok. 800-965-6520 x 157. *** POOL AND SPA company now hiring. Part time $300-$500 a week. No experience necessary. 512-754-0662. *** WORK FROM YOUR computer online during your time. $20$75/hr PT/FT. www.serendipitous. theonlinebusiness.com *** NOW HIRING ACCOUNT representative at mobiltel wireless. Please call (830)4918897 or submit resume to jobs@mobiltelwireless.com. *** NANNY POSITION NEEDED for 3 small children Tuesdays, Thursdays and occasional weekends. Must have references and own transportation. If interested, call 512-858-0275. *** INTERNET SUPPORT TECHNICIAN. Telenetwork is looking for qualified technicians to troubleshoot connectivity and e-mail issues for dial up and high speed internet providers. Knowledge of windows is a must. Many position to be filled. Apply now at Telenetwork.com/careers *** BOBCATSNEEDJOBS.COM We need Paid Survey Takers in San Marcos. 100% FREE to join. Click on Surveys. *** PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR students and individuals looking for FT/PT employment. Earn $___hr (after paid training) Year Round. 1-800-809-8775 *** INTERESTED IN MOWING our lawn for extra monies? If so, call (512) 754-6184 and leave your message. *** TREFF’S TAVERN NOW Hiring girls available to work happy hour shift, 1pm-7pm. Please call 3531594.

MISCELLANEOUS GOT WASHBOARD ABS? Good looks? Hiring male models, ages 18-25, $100 to $250/hr. Call 512927-2226. *** POST ABORTION SUPPORT/ RECOVERY Group is set to begin on Sept 6 and will meet for appr 9 wks. The small group is designed to help women who have been affected by abortion move forward with their lives. For hope and healing contact Central Texas Life Care at 396-3020 and ask for Blain or Phyllis. Space is limited so call now for time, location, and other

ROOMMATES 3/2 HOUSE, 1800 SQ FT, need 2 male/female roommates, $325 ea, 1/3 bills, bedrooms, large back yard. 512-750-2335. *** ROOMMATE NEEDED, 2/1, $235 mo plus half utilities, Verandah Apts, on bus route. Call 979-229-3241. *** ROOMMATE/S WANTED

FOR SALE 16’X48” 4 YR OLD round above ground pool. New 1.5 hp sand pump. Zodiac automatic pool cleaner. Solar cover. $600. 830627-6838. *** HOUSE NEAR CAMPUS (N. LBJ) for sale. Beautiful tile & wood ﬂoors, excellent shape, about 2800 sq ft., perfect for faculty or CLIENTS 127994 graduate students, $174,000. Call owner 512-757-1943. *** NEED AN EXTRA $36000.00 a year? Vending business for sale. Sell $5000 1-800-568-1281 or vendingfriends.com *** FOR SALE 86” comfy overstuffed sofa in excellent cond. 512-847-1426/evening.

19:58

9/20/02

IRIS-1

4.25"

These shoes were found 46 yards from the crash caused by a drunk driver. Carissa Deason was thrown 30 yards and not even her father, a doctor, could save her.

SUBLEASE FEMALE NEEDED TO take over lease. $365 a month +1/4 utilities. Call 512-393-9389.

Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.

INBOUND CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES At CHECKS IN THE MAIL, our accuracy, quality and service are unmatched and our continuous innovation in products and service ensures that Checks In The Mail brands will continue to lead the industry. We are hiring professional, dependable team players to join our WorldClass Company! VARIED HOURS – FT & PT Starting pay up to $11.66 which includes: Bilingual Premiums Second Shift Premiums Weekend Premiums Requirements: • High School Diploma or GED • Stable Work History • Customer Service and Call Center Experience Preferred, But Not Required We Offer Excellent Starting Pay and Beneﬁts That Include: Tuition Reimbursement and Internal Advancement Opportunities • Immediate Vesting in 401(k) Plan with Company Matching • Paid Vacation, Holidays and Personal Time • Medical, Dental, Vision, Life and Disability Insurance • Brand New WORLD CLASS Order Entry System • Paid Training and Ongoing Professional Development • Annual Bonus and Monthly Sales Incentive Opportunities • Hiring Referral Bonus Program • Merit Increase Opportunities Based on Performance •

Photo by Michael Mazzeo

HELP WANTED

ROOMMATES LG house close to campus, huge bdr/bath, w/walk in closet, lots of privacy, W/D, ABP including cable, phone, internet. Call Elizabeth 512-497-6871.

NOTE TO PUB: DO NOT PRINT INFO BELOW, FOR ID ONLY. NO ALTERING OF AD COUNCIL PSAs. Drunk Driving Prevention - Newspaper- B&W - 4 1/4 x 7 DD202-M-07244-B “Shoe” 85 line screen film at Schawk: (212) 689-8585 Ref#: 127994

Applications are accepted Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Checks In The Mail 2435 Goodwin Lane, New Braunfels, TX 78135 Equal Opportunity Employer Checks In The Mail conducts background checks and drug screens. Located just 15 minutes south of San Marcos.

��

LOWEST TEXTBOOK PRICES

GUARANTEED!

www.bobcatbooks.com

We are looking for eager, self-motivated, and fast paced individuals!

830.609.3337

��

�

Want to make a lot of MONEY? The Gristmill is busier than ever!

��

( 8 3 0 ) 6 0 6 - 1 2 8 7 , 1 2 8 7 G r u e n e R d . N e w B ra u n fe l s

��

SPORTS

Page 34 - The University Star

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Bobcat Soccer Schedule 2005

Cycling

Location:

Time:

Contact: Joe Walker, jw1188@txstate.edu www.studentorgs.swt.edu/swtcycling/

Stillwater, Okla.

1:00 PM

Fencing

Tulsa, Okla.

7:00 PM

Contact: Crystal Thronesbery, pajicap@hotmail.com www.campusrecreation. txstate.edu/Sport_Clubs/Sports_Clubs/Fencing/homepage/web.htmla

Denton, Texas

7:00 PM

Gymnastics

San Marcos

5:30 PM

Houston

1:00 PM

Shreveport, La.

7:00 PM

Prairie View

1:00 PM

Nacogdoches

4:30 PM

Nacogdoches

1:30 PM

Norman, Okla.

7:30 PM

Nacogdoches

7:00 PM

Huntsville

1:00 PM

San Marcos

1:00 PM

Natchitoches, La.

7:00 PM

Lake Charles, La.

1:00 PM

San Marcos

7:00 PM

Nicholls State

San Marcos

1:00 PM

11/03-06/2005

SLC Tournament in Hammond, La.

TBA

Opponent: 8/26/2005 Oklahoma State 08/28/2005 Orrel Roberts 08/31/2005 North Texas

Contact: Stephanie Simek, ss1099@txstate.edu

09/02/2005 UTEP

Horseman Association

09/04/2005 Rice

Contact: Keri Percefull, horsemen@txstate.edu

09/09/2005 Centenary

Men’s Lacrosse

09/11/2005 Prairie View A&M

Contact: Max Mello, mm1397@txstate.edu http://www.geocities.com/ txstatelacrosse.com

09/16/2005 Citadel

Men’s Rugby

Louisiana Tech 09/23/2005 Oklahoma

Men’s Soccer

Contact: Grant Coffey, gc1017@txstate.edu http://txstmensoccer. tripod.com/

09/30/2005 Stephen F. Austin 10/02/2005 Sam Houston State

Men’s Volleyball

Contact: Robert Kuykendall, carrera777@aol.com

10/09/2005 Louisiana-Monroe

Powerlifting

10/14/2005 Northwestern State

Contact: Tony Dobson, td1016@txstate.edu http://swtpowerlifting. com/index.htm

10/15/2005 Mc Neese State

SPORTS CLUBS

Contact: Chris Mutschler, cm1038@txstate.edu

09/18/2005

Rodeo

Contact: Anthony Hernandez, ah1056@swt.edu

10/28/2005 Southeastern Louisiana 10/30/2005

Softball

Contact: Vanessa McConnico, vgmcconnico@yahoo.com

For additional athletic schedules, see page 38

Tennis

Contact: Mike Pool, mikepool@txstate.edu

Triathlon

Go fetch!

Contact: Gergely Perlaky, gp1018@txstate.edu http://www.studentorgs.txstate.edu/triathlon/

Ultimate Disc

Contact: Adam Foster, swtultimate@yahoo.com

Water Polo

Cecil Atkission Motors Welcome Back to School Texas State!

Contact: Craig Mason, cm1038@txstate.edu

Water Ski

Contact: Jason Thomas, wake_junkie@yahoo.com http://www.studentorgs.txstate.edu/waterski

Women’s Rugby

Contact: Ashley Mefford, am1199@txstate.edu

We would like to extend an offer of 15% OFF parts & labor on non-menu repairs with current Texas State ID.

Women’s Lacrosse Contact: Jennifer Petrzelka, jp1072@swt.edu

Shuttle service available.

Women’s Soccer Contact: Jamie Cornell, jc1169@txstate.edu

COUPON

Oil Change/Tire Rotation Special • Lube • Oil & Filter • Rotate Tires • Free Brake Inspection

Women’s Volleyball Contact: Megan Garcia, mg1132@txstate.edu

Wrestling Contact: Joe Mendoza, jm1519@txstate.edu

��

Includes lube, plus up to 6 quarts of oil and oil filter. Most vehicles, diesels & synthetics are extra plus tax. Not valid with any other offer. Please present at time of write-up. Expires November 24, 2005.

��

CECIL ATKISSION PONTIAC GMC IH 35

cecil

San Marcos

TX 8

Hwy 123

W on d

erw o

rl d

Service Hours Mon-Fri 7:30-6 Sat 8-4 Closed Sun

512-392-4300 | 800-299-8696

www.cecilmotors.com

Exit 201 l

San Marcos

��

ceci

2701 S IH 35

��

M cCa

Outlet Malls

rt h y

Ln.

��

SPORTS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 35

Golf teams gear up for new season By Chris Boehm Sports Reporter Men’s golf coach Bill Woodley said his team is starting the 2005-2006 season with a clean slate, the failures of a year ago now a distant memory. A ninth-place finish in 2005’s Southland Conference tournament concluded a disappointing season. “We were terrible,” Woodley said. “Last year, I had to let three of our top five players go before the conference tournament. I knew that would give us no chance, but it was something I had to do.” The same mentality could be applied to the women’s team. Dacia Mackey’s squad finished fifth in the league playoffs. That’s fifth out of five teams. This year the pool jumps to seven, as the University of Louisiana-Monroe and UT-San Antonio introduce women’s golf to their athletic programs. “It’s great to have more competition,” Mackey said. “I expect us to be a lot better, but first we have to find out what kind of team we have.” Men’s team: Woodley leads a young team into the fall, sporting just one senior, who has yet to play a tournament for the Bobcats. Jaime Luna, a former transfer from Baylor, will captain the squad after sitting out 2004 as a redshirt. “Jaime’s played many tournaments in the past,” said junior Colin Merritt. “He’s a good senior leader.” Still, Woodley expects every player to contend for the top spot on the team, regardless of age or experience. “Jaime has the most experience,” Woodley said. “But that doesn’t mean he’s our top player. I’m expecting quite a bit from our new guys, and I’ve tried to get them to realize I don’t care about age; it’s what you shoot.” The team will pin much of its hopes on a young and inexperienced bunch, including freshman Chris Figueroa from Andress High School in El Paso. “Chris was highly recruited out of high school,” Woodley said. “The others had some attention, but Chris was very highly thought of.” Ben Campbell, Corey Roberson and Midland transfer Bob-

by Hutcherson round out the 2005 class to complete a team Woodley can call his own. “This is the first time since I’ve been here that every player in the bunch was recruited by me,” Woodley said. “I’ve seen them all play and know what they are capable of. In the past, we’ve had some transfers here and there, but that’s all been weeded out. This is the first team I’m completely comfortable with.” Merritt, the oldest returning player, could also be counted on for leadership. “This year should be a 100 percent turnaround,” Merritt said. “Last year, we never reached our potential, but this season should be completely different.” Woodley will be holding tryouts for walk-ons Monday and Tuesday. Anybody interested must contact the coach before attending. The team also sets off for Marble Falls on Saturday and Sunday to help determine a top five prior to the first tournament, scheduled for Sept. 11. “Those that can focus well and believe in themselves will be the ones who make it,” Woodley said. “Right now, I just don’t know who is attached to that. We’ve got several players capable of making the cuts, and everyone comes in with 14 clubs and no mulligan.” Women’ team: The women are likewise looking to rebound from 2004’s finish. To speed up the process, Mackey recruited three freshmen on whom she is counting early and often. “This is one of the best freshman classes in the state,” Mackey said. “We’re going to be very young, but hopefully we can set the pace for a good fall in the North Texas tournament (Sept. 12-13).” Christine Brijalba of Hanks High School in El Paso comes in as the most touted of the three. “She’s a standout player,” Mackey said. “She was just phenomenal — one of the best.” Mackey said Brijalba could challenge junior Danielle Mask for the top spot. A season ago, Mask was far and away the squad best, the most consistent player. She finished in the top 10 eight times, leading the team in stroke average both semesters (76.9 in the spring, 79.64 in the fall).

“It will be exciting to watch them,” Mackey said. “Christine is probably a little below Danielle’s level just because Danielle is a little older and more experienced.” Also new to the team are Sarah Glass from MacArthur High School in San Antonio and Jennifer Crawford. Mackey had her eye on Glass for some time and pursued her more heavily once she began attracting more attention from other schools. “I’ve watched her grow as a golfer, and she’s improved so much since last June,” Mackey said. “Her senior year, I told her she had to dedicate herself, and she began entering a lot of junior tournaments unrelated to high school. I was looking at her as a walk-on but decided after that to give her the scholarship.” Crawford enters the fall as Mackey’s most mature freshman golfer in the group. Although a Texas native, Crawford was a student of the David Ledbetter Golf Academy in Brandenton, Fla. “She already knows what it’s like to live away from home, and has played alongside and against other elite athletes perfecting their skills,” Mackey said. “I think she was looked over by some of the bigger schools – Duke, Arizona and UT – because of her (5-foot-1) stature.” Anessa Thompson, who came in as a mid-year transfer a season ago, will always ﬁgure into the mix. In the spring, Thompson carried the team’s thirdlowest stroke average, at 83.79, and recorded four top-20 ﬁnishes. “She helped us out a lot last year,” Mask said. “I think we’re really pulling together and should be a talented team. Last year, we didn’t have any wins. We were runner-up a few times, but that story gets old.” Mackey expects her team to contend with Lamar for this year’s league tournament. Lamar enters the season as the reigning champ, but Texas State is looking to dethrone its respected but hated rival. “This is a brand new, stronger team,” Thompson said. “We’re ready to get started.” Mackey is also holding tryouts for walk-ons. Interested parties should contact her. Registration deadline is Monday.

Armando Sanchez/Star photo Junior Danielle Mask watches her ball after bouncing it out of the sand trap at the Texas State Driving Range. The Bobcat women’s golf team hopes to improve on its last-place ﬁnish in last year’s league playoffs.

�� DON’T WAIT IN LINE

START BEFORE IT HAPPENS

WELCOME BACK STUDENTS! ��

��

STUDENT SPECIALS

HEALTH & RACQUET CLUB

www.thrc.biz

MON-THURS: 5am-11pm FRIDAY: 5am-9pm SATURDAY: 9am-5pm SUNDAY: 12pm-6pm

TXH&RC

We have something for everyone! REEF, CROCS, RAINBOW, Costa Del Mar, Kenzie, Guess swimwear, Maui Jim, Boardshorts & more! 15% off on clothing, shoes, and river trips with this coupon!

Rockin’ R River Rides 1405 Gruene Rd. New Braunfels 830-625-8382

McCarty Lane

109 W. McCarty Ln. • 353.0789

Back to school sale! Rockin’ R Outfitters

We sell kayaks too!

I 35 S

Open 9-6 everyday! Expires 12/31/05

www.rockinr.com Email us: Outfitter@rockinr.com

SPORTS

Page 36 - The University Star

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Texas State Bobcats roll out for 2005 soccer season During an exhibition game between Texas State and St. Edward’s, Bobcat junior midﬁelder Delayna Spivey and Hilltopper sophomore midﬁelder Kristi Morgan battle for the ball. Played at the Bobcats’ home location, the game ended in a 0-0 tie.

Miguel Peña Sports Editor and Chris Boehm Sports Reporter

ing into the new year is the lack of a strong defensive game. Senior Kim Phillips, who was redshirted at the beginning of the 2004 season, will be making Starting on the road is no easy a return to the left onside back way to get the ball rolling, but position to give some added that is exactly what the Bobcat coverage in the Bobcat backsoccer team is prepared for, as field. Additionally, junior Kristi they kick off their 2005 season Collison will be returning at the with a long road trip to Stillwa- center defender position, showter to take on the Cowgirls of ing her range as she guards over Oklahoma State University. one of the biggest areas of the Head coach field. Kat Conner “If we would has a large rehave had those turning class two defenders of 21 letter last year when winners from we played the 2004 seaTexas A&M, son. Last year we wouldn’t saw the Bobhave lost 10-0. cats earn an 8Those two will 4 conference definitely be record and a the foundation 13-10 record of our defense,” overall, which Conner said. led them Jaynee Sherto the 2004 man has shown Southland a great deal of Conference improvement To u r n a m en t at the forward Championposition, Con— Coach Kat Conner ship. ner said, which Leading the will come in offensive charge will be Dani- handy for the team, as last year elle Holloway, who led the team marked the end of the line for last season with 16 goals and three forwards: Natalie Jackson, 36 total points scored. Hollo- Erin Oliver and Rikki Padia. way is the reigning SLC Player In their first preseason game of the Year and 2004’s Fresh- of the year, the Bobcats hostman of the Year. Kim Phillips ed the St. Edward’s Univeris also making a return to the sity Hilltoppers in a game that field. The senior defender was ended in a 0-0 draw. The match recently voted onto the All-SLC marked the first time the two second team for her outstand- teams faced each other since ing performance in 2004. Texas State’s inaugural season The loss of Kendra Kade and in 2002. Kendra Comfort at the midfield The Bobcats came out with positions takes away a total of an aggressive style of play in nine assists and nine points the first period, making five combined. shot attempts, compared with “Those two girls were major only two attempts from the parts of our offensive core and Hilltoppers. The offensive emwere a valued asset on the field,” phasis played into a deliberate Conner said. strategy of keeping the ball in Two freshmen recruits who St. Ed’s territory. have made strong progress “We were working on our in the preseason are Reagan targets, and especially defense,” McNutt and Marty Wright, Conner said. “We wanted to both showing strong offensive keep the ball on their side of games, Conner said. the field. That’s a big part of “Elyse Ehlinger is another the game we’ve worked on, and player who has really started to I think we did a good job in come along and may have the the first and third periods. We advantage in experience at the let up a bit in the second, but CMF position,” Conner said. we went for broke that last peOne of the main concerns of riod and changed some formathe 2004 Bobcat soccer team tions.” that are being addressed leadIn the second period of the

exas State “T soccer is always looked

at by the other teams. We’re circled for that date. We’re always tough, and everybody knows to bring their Agame when they play us.”

Linda L. Smith/ Star Photo match, the Bobcats slowed things down a little, only making two shot attempts. The Bobcats were never able to ﬁnd the back of the net, though, as both teams went scoreless throughout the game. After the game, Conner had time to comment on the overall play of the team and highlighted a few individual standouts. “I was very pleased with McNutt, Wright and Padia; we got some great standout performances from them among our newcomers,” Conner said. Texas State played its second preseason game in San Antonio, where the Rattlers of St. Mary’s University hosted the Bobcats on Sunday afternoon. The two teams battled it out defensively for the entirety of the ﬁrst pe-

riod, with Texas State maintaining good field position and several offensive attempts, but no shots hit their mark as the Lady Rattlers kept them scoreless through the period. “They did a good job in the first half cutting off our runs, which made it more of a game,” Conner said. Both teams came into the second period with a more focused demeanor. The Bobcats started with two shots that missed their mark, one sailing over the goal and the other falling short as it rolled into the arms of Rattlers goalie Lily Cano. Sophomore forward Jerelyn Lemmie and sophomore midfielder Kayla Thornton both made their way down the field for multiple shot attempts but

to no avail as the game clock wound down to within four minutes. As the Bobcats in bounded the ball, junior outside midfielder Amanda Machado slipped past the defense and connected with freshman midfielder Karin Henrichsen, who drove the ball in for the score and only goal of the match, giving Texas State the one-point advantage. The Rattlers were only able to move the ball into Bobcats territory once for the remainder of the game and were unable to get the right people in position to score on the Texas State goalkeeper Brittany Beltramini. “Today, we tried to stretch the field out in order to get behind the defense and connect for a

goal,” Machado said. As the Bobcats look ahead to the ﬁrst game of the regular season and the long trip to Stillwater scheduled for Friday, they are heading into practice with attention on their game strategy. “We will probably be the slower team, so we will rely on a low-pressure defense to counterattack their athletic play,” Conner said. Conner expressed conﬁdence that Texas State would be the team to beat for 2005. “Texas State soccer is always looked at by the other teams,” Conner said. “We’re circled for that date. We’re always tough, and everybody knows to bring their A-game when they play us.”

New Revolution Cycles

The ofﬁcial sponsor of the Texas State cycling team. We want to be your bike shop Texas State!

Huge back to school bike sale!!

K2 Interbay only $249.00 Kona Smoke was $349.00 Now $299.00

Located at 106A Burleson, Kyle, TX 78640 | Phone: 512.268.3200 or 512.557.0660 | Email: info@nrcycles.com | Check out our website at www.nrcycles.com

SPORTS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 37

Bobcat volleyball reorganizes in anticipation of SLC title e have a lot of depth, but do “W we have that one player who’s great? We’re so much younger than we By Chris Boehm Sports Reporter

The Texas State volleyball team takes the ﬂoor on Sept. 2, just after hitting the books, as the Bobcats begin their quest for a third straight Southland Conference title and second consecutive tournament victory. That weekend’s local CenturyTel-Classic Honda Premier marks the ﬁrst time the squad will play a meaningful game without last year’s starting seniors. “We have a lot of returnees, but our biggest concern is losing four seniors who played a great deal,” said head coach Karen Chisum. “You anticipate leadership from Amy Ramirez and Liz Nwoke, but we have some freshmen who were leaders on their high school and club teams.” A year ago, Krystal Kolkhorst, Kristy Jones, Kacee Rogers and Stephanie Torregrosa carried an otherwise inexperienced group to the NCAA tournament. Kolkhorst received academic and allconference awards as the team’s setter, while Jones and Rogers put themselves in the school’s record books for digs and blocks, respectively. Torregrosa earned All-Southland Conference Tournament honors after the team defeated Stephen F. Austin University last November. “Three of those players were four-year letter winners,” Chisum said. “They spent their college careers playing together. It’s going to be tough to replace that chemistry.” Texas State’s inexperienced squad is ranked second in both the coaches’ and sports information directors’ preseason Southland Conference polls. SFA is the conference preseason favorite. The Ladyjacks lost two players to graduation, including Brittany Burton, the 2004 conference MVP. Their departures did not prevent the team from defeating various Southland teams during the spring exhibition season, including Texas State and thirdranked UT-Arlington. “Texas State is always a tough team to play. They have a solid, top-notch program,” said SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys. “You know you’re going to get their best, and I expect good things from them this year.” As the only seniors on the club, it will be up to Ramirez and the Nwoke toAd prove the pollsters Klingmann 8/12/05 3:39

were a year ago.”

— Coach Karen Chisum

Armando Sanchez/Star photos LEFT: Fourteen days away from the opening game of the season, junior setter Erin Hickman refreshes her spiking skills during a practice Thursday. ABOVE: Coach Karen Chisum watches as members of the volleyball team run a synchronized passing drill at Strahan Coliseum.

wrong. “I think people are underestimating the returning players,” Ramirez said. “Last year, we came in ranked first and had a target on our backs the whole season. This time, we don’t, and I think that could actually help us.” Ramirez gave a strong performance during fall camp that may earn her her first starting spot. A final decision on rotation will be made before the Sept. 2 season opener. “Leadership’s not going to be an issue,” Ramirez said. “Everyone will have to know their roles. We’ve got the right mix of players to do that.” Nwoke averaged 3.97 kills as the team’s top scorer a season ago Page and will PM 1 be counted on again

to do much of the same. “She’s got the skills. As long as the mental part and leadership come with them, we’ll be okay with Lizzie,” Chisum said. “Everybody’s asking me about her. She should be our big terminator, and I hope that’s how it turns out.” Seven newcomers have arrived to help the upperclassmen, leaving lineup questions unanswered. “We have a lot of depth, but do we have that one player who’s great?” Chisum said. “We’re so much younger than we were a year ago.” Kelly Fletcher, a junior outside hitter, hopes all the new faces will not hurt team chemistry. “The big problem is people

KK LINGEMANN LINGEMAN

sticking with their class, with these cliques,” Fletcher said. “Last year, that was a concern. The freshmen really never opened up, and I think that’s why we struggled early.” The new faces include transfer setters Christina Melvin from Boise State and Erin Hickman from Jacksonville (Fla.) University. The two juniors will battle returning sophomore Jessica Grisham for the captain’s chair, empty for the ﬁrst time since Kolkhorst started as a freshman in 2001. The competition has been ongoing since the arrival of Melvin and Hickman in the spring. “That’s the big question on our minds: Who’s going to be the quarterback for us?” Chisum said. “We were hoping one of the setters would step up in the spring, but that hasn’t happened.” While Melvin has not yet earned a starting position, she has attracted her coach’s attention.

“She’s versatile, and just adds to the ﬂoor when she’s out there,” Chisum said. “We’ve got to ﬁnd a spot for her.” Hickman, at 5-foot-11, is the tallest setter on the team. Her height advantage may be a deciding factor in making the starting lineup. Kolkhorst’s height allowed the team to run a dump play, when she would fake a set before surprising the opposition with a slap over the net. “Hickman puts up a bigger block, but Jesi’s got great hands,” Chisum said. “They’ve all got their strengths.” With a little-used sophomore class, other than middle blocker Brandy St. Francis (2.10 kpg, 1.01 bpg), freshmen could play a role right away. One such player is Stephanie Bruggeman from Shawnee Mission East High School in Fairway, Kan. Chisum anticipates both her and freshman outside hitter Lawrencia Brown of Akins High School in Austin to battle for playing time. “Stephanie’s a full rotation

player that received every honor you can get in Kansas. She’s just a really outstanding young lady,” Chisum said. “Lawrencia can touch 10-foot-1. She’s a tremendous athlete.” Another player making a debut of sorts is Fletcher. The Sept. 2 game marks her first regular-season action since tearing an anterior cruciate ligament a year ago. The injury sidelined her for the remainder of the 2004 season, but she has since been cleared to play. “It’s been nine months since I had surgery, and there’s no reason I shouldn’t be ready to go at the beginning of the season,” Fletcher said. “I feel fine, and I’m working out and doing everything the other players are doing.” Fletcher was on her way to a career season at the time of the injury, starting for the Bobcats and averaging 2.93 kills and .72 blocks. “I think she’ll be about 95 percent when we come back,” Chisum said. As of Aug. 15, sophomore outside hitter Lesley Bowers was taken off the volleyball roster following an incident on July 31 involving a hit-and-run. Chisum was unable to comment on the impact this will have on the team but had previously said that Bowers was a contender for a starting outside hitter position. According to an Aug. 17 press release from the media relations office, Athletic Director Larry Teis had this to say: “Lesley Bowers has been suspended from athletic competition pending the resolution of her legal situation. Because of the possibility of further litigation, we choose not to comment further at this time.” The CenturyTel-Classic Honda Premier, which features UC-Berkley and Albany, begins a challenging nonconference schedule. Home dates include Baylor, Auburn and a late-season match with UT, the team that ended Chisum’s season in the NCAA tournament’s first round. The early tests will serve to gauge what chance Texas State has at a three-peat. “It’ll be tough at first with all the new players, but it can be done,” Ramirez said. “The real key is how well everyone gets to know each other. It’s going to take the efforts of both the newcomers and the returnees.”

CAR CARE CARE CENTER CAR CENTER . .

September 1st, 2nd & 3rd Show Your Current Student ID And Get 10% Off!

SERVING 10AM-2PM SATURDAY

Yo u r A l i g n m e n t H e a d q u a r t e rs ! Alignments to protect your investment. Up to 22" wheels. Expertise and custom proficiency. Prices no one can touch.

1 4 9 9 99

OIL CHANGE AND NEW FILTER

1499

For SUVs & Pickups

As low as

8999

4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT

4999

Limited warranty protection for 3 months/3,000 miles. Lifetime warranty slightly higher. Parts and rear shims extra if needed. Most vehicles, with coupon. Expires 9/30/05

2995

Includes 4 tire rotation, 4 tire computer spin balance, brake inspection and air pressure check and correction. Most cars with coupon. Expires 9/30/05

All Season Performance

Insignia SE 200SL As low as

Turn drums or rotors. Repack bearings if applicable. 12 month/12,000 mile labor. With coupon. per axle Most vehicles. parts extra. Lt. truck & SUV extra. Expires 9/30/05

Fits most passenger cars and vans

RIDE CONTROL SPECIAL

Includes up to 5 quarts of 10W30 oil and new filter. Disposal fee extra. Most cars with coupon. Expires 9/30/05

BRAKE SPECIAL

Q u a d ra S E

Coupon Specials

20" Tire & Wheel Package

65,000 mile Limited Treadwear Warranty

Fits most passenger cars and vans

Awesome Wet Performer

A/C SPECIAL

D u e l e r A / T R e vo As low as

2995

1 2 995

Complete system check including pressure and leak test. Most cars with coupon. Parts & freon extra. Expires 9/30/05

COMPLETE RADIATOR FLUSH

Fits most light trucks and SUVs

6995

Civilized premium All-Terrain

Never any “add-ons” or “extra charges” for mount, balance & valve stem like our competition!

THAT’S WHY IT’S CALLED OUT THE DOOR PRICING Every tire purchased at Klingmann Tire Pros includes: Installation, Valve Stems, Computer Balance, Alignment Check, Flat Repair, Lifetime Rotate, Brake Check, Preventative Maintenance Analysis

Ask about 90 Days No Interest! Æ

Bring in this ad for a s e co n d c h a n ce t o enter and win!

Tires for your Car, Truck or SUV. We’ve got ‘em all!

KLINGEMANN

169 S Guadalupe • San Marcos

512-396-2038 • www.klingemann6@hotmail.com •

Mon - Fri — 8:00 - 5:300 Sat — 8:00 - 12:00

Compare Our Prices. We Will Not Be Beat. Se Habla Espanõl. We Honor Nat’l Accts., Fleets and aftermarket warranties.

��

PRI ZE S 1st Prize 4 Tires

��

2nd Prize

��

3rd Prize

��

(max value $50000)

CAR CARE CENTER .

��

Drain fluids, leak test, inspect hoses and add coolant. Most cars and light trucks, with coupon. Expires 9/30/05

The price we quote is the price you pay!

6 months no interest We accept all major credit cards.

��

Bar-B-Q Gas Grill $50 Gift Certificate to The Outback Steakhouse Be sure to come in & register for drawings to be held at various time on Saturday! No purchase necessary. Need not be present to win.

��

SPORTS

Page 38 - The University Star

Bobcat Volleyball Schedule 2005

Bobcat Football Schedule 2005 Opposing team

Location

Kickoff Opponent:

09/03/2005 Delta State

San Marcos

6 PM

09/10/2005 Southern Utah

San Marcos

6 PM

09/24/2005 Texas A&M

College Station

TBA

10/01/2005 S Dakota State

San Marcos

6 PM

10/08/2005 SE Louisiana

Hammond, La

6 PM

10/15/2005 Panhandle State

San Marcos

6 PM

10/22/2005 NW State

6 PM

10/29/2005 Nicholls State

Thibodaux, La.

6:30 PM

San Marcos

3 PM

Nacogdoches

1 PM

San Marcos

7 PM

NW State

San Marcos

4 PM

San Antonio

7 PM

Hammond, La.

6 PM

10/11/2005 UTSA

Nicholls State

Thibodaux, La.

UT Arlington

Arlington

Stephen F. Austin

San Marcos

3 PM

Arizona State

Auburn San Marcos

7 PM

N Arizona San Marcos

7 PM

UTSA Monrow, La.

NW State

Nachitoches, La.

4 PM

09/20/2005

11/18-20/2005

SLC Tournament in Arlington

TBA

SH State

7 PM

San Marcos

7 PM

San Marcos

7 PM

Huntsville

7 PM

Lamar

Beaumont

7 PM

Lake Charles

4 PM

San Marcos

7 PM

San Marcos

2 PM

Edinburg

7 PM

09/24/2005 San Marcos

McNeese State

11 AM

Cal

SE Louisiana San Marcos

7 PM 10/01/2005

09/03/2005

10/29/2005 4 PM

Albany

San Marcos

Nicholls State

3 PM

10/04/2005

09/06/2005

11/01/2005 San Marcos

5 PM

09/23/2005

09/02/2005

San Marcos

Tempe, Ariz.

09/30/2005

10/28/2005 San Marcos

10 AM

09/17/200

7PM

UT Arlington

Morgan State

Tempe, Ariz

09/13/2005

7 PM

9/02/2005 Nacogdo ches

7 PM

09/10/2005

11/12/2005

7 PM

Tempe, Ariz.

09/10/2005

11/11/2005

12PM

10/22/2005

7 PM

11/08/2005

La. Monroe

10/15/2005

San Marcos

11/05/2005

Houston

10/14/2005 SE La.

Sam Houston St.

Stephen F. Austin

10/08/2005

Texas

11/19/2005 Sam Houston

La. Monroe

McNeese St.

11/12/2005 SFA (FSNSW)

Time:

10/07/2005

Lamar

11/05/2005 McNeese State

Location:

10/25/2005 San Marcos

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

7 PM

Baylor

Waco

UTPA

7 PM

09/09/2005

11/04/2005

For soccer schedule, see page 34

Need Some Space? ACCESS SELF STORAGE

512-805-9911

A Dozen Reasons to Store Your Stuff at

ACCESS SELF STORAGE 1 Open 7-days-a-week 2 NEW, clean facility 3 Use our Truck to move in FREE! 4 Moving Carts & Extra-Wide Aisles 5 Boxes and Moving Supplies Available 6 100% Climate Controlled Facility 7 Students & Faculty 1/2 off 1st Month

Bring Ad for Discount 8 No deposits 9 No long-term contracts 10 Professional On-Site Managers 11 24-Hour Surveillance Cameras 12 Fire Alarms

2216 S. I 35 • Wonder World Dr.• San Marcos • www.access-selfstorage.com

The Best Student Living

bobcatvillage.com 1301 Aquarena Springs

amenities

Welcome Back Bobcats

512.245.1440

*Bring in this ad for discount

private bedrooms and bathrooms financial aid friendly furnished units TXTram stop on site individual leases resort-style swimming pool 24-hour fitness center extended cable television high-speed internet access all utilities paid up to a monthly cap

P r of e s s i o n a l ly M a n a g e d by A m e r i c a n C a m p u s c o m m u n i t i e s

SPORTS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 39

Bailiff takes to the battlefield 2nd-year Bobcat football coach has long history with Texas State team

side of the ball and six of his defensive players earned allconference honors, including LaMarcus MacDonald, who earned the Defensive Player of the Year award for Conference USA and a spot on the second All-American team. Through the years, Bailiff has been a man centered on his family. He and Angie, his wife of 15 years, have been through all their moves together. As newlyweds, the couple moved to New Mexico, the first time Bailiff had ever moved outside the state of Texas. “I admit that at first, things were a little tough, but it didn’t take long to make the adjustment,” Angie said. Now the Bailiffs are wellsettled into their home in San Marcos, and around the office, visitors may regularly see different members of the Bailiff family, including twin sons Gregory and Grayson or Bailiff ’s mother, Marsha. It is that sense of family that has made it easy for Bailiff to cultivate his team’s sense of camaraderie. “He was the first coach that had ever said to us that we are going to be a family more than a team, and that has brought us closer together — being a family and playing with a heartbeat of one,” said Travis Upshaw, Bobcats starting nose guard. Bailiff has also encouraged the student body and the San Marcos community to get involved in Bobcat football, and in turn has influenced the team to become more involved in the community. “Coach played for (SWT), and he was around when they were winning. His presence here brings greater support from the community,” said starting quarterback Barrick Nealy. With a variety of civic outreach programs, including the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life campaign and Habitat for Humanity, the players and coach have made strides toward recognition as a socially conscious and essential part of the Texas State community.

By Miguel Peña Sports Editor

David Bailiff walks around the field during preseason workouts, taking notice of the players and the team as a whole. Some would say that his confidence comes from the amount of talent that has carried over from the 2004 season. Others might say that it comes from the fact that Bailiff knows that the players he has are giving their all. With one year under his belt, Bailiff takes to the field at Bobcat Stadium to study the progress and overall well-being of his players. His demeanor is one of concern and patience, as he still has 11 days before their first scheduled game on Sept. 3. In his second year as head coach of Bobcat football, Bailiff ’s strong ties to the university and commitment to the academic achievement of his players have already made a dramatic mark on the program. “He gets a lot of respect from the faculty and staff because of his attitude toward education,” Courtney Addison/Star photo said Larry Teis, Texas State athletic director. Leading the Bobcats for his second season, football head caoch David Bailiff commands a squad filled with confidence Boasting a 3-2 conference thanks to a 3-2 conference record for 2004, 19 returning starters and a coaching staff dedicated to excellence on and off record in the 2004 season, the the field. Bobcat football starts Sept. 2 against Delta State at Bobcat Stadium. Bobcats enter the new year with room for improvement but with strong signs of promise as 23 seIt was 1979 when Bailiff wit- sive line coach for the Bobcats Bobcat head coach Bob DeBeniors have carried over. nessed the changing of the guard the next year. Officially, Bailiff sse brought Bailiff back to SWT The team has 43 returning letas Jim Wacker was made head was enrolled for his master’s in 1997 to assist in recruitment termen, 19 of whom were startfootball coach after the retire- degree in organization and ad- as well as to continue as the new ers, nine on offense and 10 on ment of Miller. Bailiff was in- ministration, but once Dennis defensive coordinator for the defense, making Texas State one jured that same year in the first Franchione took over the team Bobcats, a position in which he of the most experienced teams game of the season and sidelined in 1990, Bailiff did not have the served until 2001. in the Southland Conference. for the remainder thereof under time to continue with his classes, Bailiff was hired on at TCU as “One of the main things that medical redshirt status. Deter- as he was now a full-time coach. the defensive coordinator, and Coach Bailiff brings to the team mined to play through the end He stayed in San Marcos until also assisted in recruitment. is chemistry. He really helps us of his four years, Bailiff returned 1992, when he took a position During that time, TCU made have a good time doing the hard to the field in 1980. Wacker rec- at the University of New Mexi- appearances in three consecuthings,” said Epsilon Williams, ognized the leadership abilities co as the defensive coordinator tive bowl games and started a third-year defensive back. “He that Bailiff possessed and named and assistant head coach under strong tradition of defensive exhas great attention to detail, and him one of the team captains, Franchione. It was at UNM that cellence for the Horned Frogs. he pays attention to the little The 2002 season proved to — Epsilon Williams even though Bailiff had bulked Bailiff honed his skills as a rethings before they become big up considerably in the offseason cruiter, now having to account be one of the best for Bailiff, Bobcats defensive back problems.” and made the cut as an offensive for the quality of talent on the as the team was ranked first in In February 2004, Southwest lineman, not a tight end. defensive side of the ball. the country on the defensive Texas State alumnus Bailiff players should carry themSWT made its way to the Lone left Texas Christian University, selves and strive for excellence Star Conference game and came where he had been the assis- academically, socially and, of back to San Marcos with a title. tant head coach and defensive course, athletically. After graduating, Bailiff took coordinator since 2001. He was “The seniors are allowed to his first coaching position as the signed as coach of the Bobcats change the articles according defensive line coach for New and has brought with him a life- to the season, and they are also Braunfels High School in 1982 San Marcos Athletic Club time worth of experience, tradi- responsible for making sure the and stayed there until 1984, tion and reverence for his alma underclassmen follow the code,” when he took a four-year break (Since 1976) mater. Bailiff said. from coaching. “One thing I learned at TCU “Right now, my five-year plan He went into business with is that they always have a big is to have this university compet- his brother Mike, also an SWT senior class, they graduate the ing for conference and national alumnus, who had played for majority of their players and titles and to retain and gradu- the Bobcats while his brother they go to championships,” Bai- ate our players, but my job is to was sidelined, for one year with liff continued. “That is what we win, and you have to do that one David and then for two more have to accomplish if we want to game at a time,” Bailiff said. on the National Championship be competing year in and year With his history starting as a teams in 1981 and 1982. out.” freshman in 1976, Bailiff came The brothers owned a landWOMEN MEN Bailiff and his staff constantly to SWT under Bill Miller as a scaping company and conpreach the importance of em- tight end from San Antonio’s tracted out to local real estate powerment and the necessity, MacArthur High School. companies; they also owned a for the seniors especially, to take “When I first came to San small trucking company. ownership of the team and teach Marcos, the school and the town “I was so bored. I knew after the incoming freshmen. was much smaller. It was kind of the first year that I wanted to go The team and the coaches have like Mayberry back then,” Bailiff back to football,” Bailiff said. “I created a code to follow both on said. “I was on my own for the missed the disciplines of footand off the field in the classroom first time, and I didn’t do so well ball and the relationships, and and the community. in school. My parents gave me a I knew it was only a matter of The defense calls it the Code choice: Either I get better grades, time before I went back to the OR TRAIN FOR AN ENTIRE DAY FOR ONLY $2.00 of the Claw and the offense re- or they were going to send me to field.” fers to it as Gold Strike 1, but ba- the military.” In the spring semester of New Treadmills, New Precor Elliptical & complete cardiovascular line sically it means the same thing The choice was easy, and Bailiff 1988, Bailiff joined the Bobcat New Hammer & Icarian equipment -- Friendly workout environment! with just a few minor differences committed himself to his studies football staff as a graduate asin the “articles.” and improved his GPA enough sistant coach under Jim O’Hara, It is a guideline on how all to keep his parents happy. and was promoted to the defen-

ne of the “O main things Coach

Bailiff brings to the team is chemistry. He really helps us have a good time doing the hard things.”

S.M.A.C.

392-0098

126 S. LBJ-Downtown San Marcos

• NO CONTRACTS •NO UP FRONT FEES •NO BANK DRAFTS •NO SALES PRESSURE ��

Tax Included

��

You are here... ��

Come See Your Treehouse, Today! ��

We’re right across from campus.

(earning college credit)

Learn To Fly... Private Pilot Ground School – Tech 4321 Private Pilot Flight Lab – Tech 4397 sec. 280 Instrument Ground School – Tech 4399 sec. 280 Instrument Rating Flight Lab – Tech 4397 sec. 281 Commercial Pilot Ground School – Tech 4399 sec. 252 Commercial Pilot Flight Lab – Tech 4397 sec. 282 Aircraft Rental – Rlight Instruction – Local Aerial Tours student discount for aircraft rental Technology Department 512.245.2137

Texas State Aviation San Marcos Airport 512.396.UFLY www.gryphonaviation.com

Page 40 - The University Star

SPORTS

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Linda L. Smith/Star photo Senior running back Nicholas Session leaps over the defense on his way to the end zone at practice Aug. 15. The Bobcats averaged 25.7 points per game last season.

FOOTBALL: Texas State confident with 19 starters returning this year CONTINUED from page 42

system, and he does a lot of things well at his position,” Williams said. Melvin Webber made the move to safety after playing at the cornerback slot in 2004, and Gary Shepard, who started three games in 2004 as a cornerback, will be playing at the KAT position, which is a hybrid between linebacker and safety. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bobcats are bringing to the field some significant assets. With Barrick Nealy at the quarterback position and a tandem of Douglas Sherman and Morris Brothers in the backfield, the option run and the passing game should be major hitting points for the offensive strategy. “Our major goal is to give 110 percent on the field and do whatever it takes to get that victory,” Sherman said. “If it means taking on a big old D-lineman on a passing play or running downfield for a block, I am all

for it.” With four of five starting lineman from the 2004 season returning to the field, pass protection and run blocking should be solid for the Bobcat offense. Bailiff and his coaching staff have returned to using the Power I formation, as they plan to use Luke Bomar at the fullback position, giving more versatility to the offensive arsenal. With his experience as a tight end, some may also expect to see Bomar sneaking out into the flat as a short yardage passing option. Justin Marcellus and Randy Moshier will be seeing playing time at the tight end position as well. At center, Buck Koalenz will be making the snaps and leading the line. In his junior year, Koalenz started the final five games of the 2004 season. Luke Horder will be returning at the right guard position after starting the first seven games of last season. Following an injury that left him out of the rotation

for two games, Horder returned at the right tackle position for the ﬁnal two games of the season. “We have got a great deal of experience on the O-line. I mean we only lost one starter,” Horder said. “Right now, we have got a few guys battling it out for the left guard spot, but that also means our freshmen are getting a lot of repetitions in practice, which means they will be better prepared and offer the starters more support throughout the season.” Ryne Miller is expected to start at the right tackle position after bouncing around from center to guard in the last two seasons. Returning starter K.R. Carpenter, who led the 2004 squad in receiving yards with 425 in only eight games, will lead the wide receiver core. Tyrone Scott will also be a big target for Nealy as the second receiving option. Scott gained 154 yards in the 2004 season in 11 games, played as a redshirt freshman, and started in eight.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The University Star - Page 41

Haven’t found a place to live yet...? We are giving away:

Great Specials: We’ll match any deal in San Marcos!

Drawings - Aug. 27 @ University Springs BBQ Cookoff. The cookoff is open to the public noon–7pm and will feature 11 Finger Charlie 7-10pm.

SPORTS THE UNIVERSITY STAR

sports snortsquotes from the sports world “You’ve got to score more than no runs.” — Kansas City Royals manager Buddy Bell , in reference to the Royals’ 4-0 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 19, which brought their losing streak to 19. (Source: MLB.com)

Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - Page 42

Sports Contact — Miguel Peña, starsports@txstate.edu

PLAYING AS

TEAM

Bobcats march into ’05 season working ‘with one heartbeat’

with all four frontline starters returning. The men in the middle are defensive tackle Fred Evans, coming off his 2004 season as Defensive Newcomer of the Year in the Southland ConferBy Miguel Peña ence, alongside Upshaw at the Sports Editor nose guard position, returning for his fourth year in the Bobcat As the 2005 football season football program. The tandem approaches, the focus is on team combined for 42 tackles and 10 play and working together as a sacks throughout the course of solid unit. All sights are set on the season. Game 1, scheduled for 6 p.m. At the defensive end positions, on Sept. 3 at Bobcat Stadium, Nate Langford and Nick Clark against Delta State. are expected to have big seasons Head coach David Bailiff has after a remarkable start for both made a number of on-field ad- as true freshmen in the 2004 seajustments and recruited a crop son, in which they combined for of freshmen and transfers to the 34 tackles. program. Under a mandate set In the Bobcats’ secondary, reby Bailiff when he took over the turning senior Jeff Brown will reins of Bobcat football last sea- be leading the starting rotation son, the team is working to carry in the midfield. In his 2004 seainto a second year a commitment son, Brown accumulated 24 solo to indoctrinate in its members tackles, making him one of the a high standard of social, aca- top blitzing backs in the SLC. demic and athletic achievement. Also in the linebacker rotation The coaching staff has charged are senior David Simmons, a rethe seniors with setting the ex- turning All-SLC first-team selecample of how tion, and junior to conduct Jeremy Castillo, oneself in any who led the Bobgiven situacats in tackles in tion, both on 2004 with 40. and off the D e r w i n field. On the Straughter returns to the Linda L. Smith/Star photo d e f e n s i v e side, this decornerback posiSenior quarterback Barrick Nealy looks to his right for a receiver during an evening Bobcat practice on Aug. 15. Nealy con- manding set tion after a 2004 of standards season in which nected on 84 of 148 attempts last season and threw for 1,202 total yards and 10 touchdowns. On the ground, he gained is referred to he accumulated 547 yards and two rushing touchdowns, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. as the Code of seven solo tackthe Claw, and les. offensively it Walter Musis known as grove has put Gold Strike 1. in two years as As a cona starter for the stant remindBobcats filling er, Bailiff ’s the safety posirules for his — Travis Upshaw tion. He racked players have up 38 solo tackBobcats nose guard been posted les and 20 assiston the walls ed tackles, but facing the entrance to the Bob- will now be making the move to cat locker room. All players have cornerback. signed the rules and have been Jamarqus O’Neal comes to given individual dog tags with the Bobcat defensive squad as the inscription, “We live for each a junior transfer out of Trinother.” The tags are a symbol of ity Valley Community College the commitment each player has in Athens, Texas, where he was made to the team. named to the Southwest Junior “We want to start a tradition College All-Conference team for for the future. Play every play his performance in the 2004 sealike it’s your last, and if the un- son, when he walked away with derclassmen adopt these stan- five interceptions for 78 return dards by the time they become yards. seniors, it will be that much O’Neal will be coming in bestronger,” said Travis Upshaw, hind a core safety unit led by free senior and starting nose guard safety Epsilon Williams, who is a for the Bobcats. two-year starter for the Bobcats. On both sides of the ball, the “I believe O’Neal will be a Bobcats are returning with 43 strong addition to the defense. lettermen, including 19 starters. He has already picked up the The defensive line is the most complete package on the field, See FOOTBALL, page 40

“W

e want to start a tradition for the future. Play every play like it’s your last, and if the underclassmen adopt these standards by the time they become seniors, it will be that much stronger.”

Linda L. Smith/Star photo Senior cornerback Edmund Pringle tackles running back Alvin Canady. Pringle, who got his first on-field time for the Bobcats late in the 2004 season, is credited with five total tackles last year. Canady, a freshman from San Marcos High School, was a first-team all-district running back for three straight years.