09 20 2005 by The University Star

UNITING THE BANDS

CARDIAC ’CATS

Beneﬁt concert hosts variety of shows to aid Katrina victims

Texas State volleyball brands the Mavericks in heartstopping ﬁve-round showdown

SEE TRENDS PAGE 6

SEE SPORTS PAGE 8

TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS

www.UNIVERSITYSTAR.com

TUESDAY

SEPTEMBER 20, 2005

Vietnam vet author shares his common experience on courage

VOLUME 95, ISSUE 10

STUDENT LEADERS

REACT

Student Sen. Shanika Ware discusses Sunday’s controversial incident that took place after the African American Leadership Conference with University Police Chief Ralph Meyer during the Associated Student Government meeting Monday evening.

By Nick Gilmore Special to The Star

great conversation,” Frost said. O’Brien made clear early in the conversation what he thinks Author Tim O’Brien headed courage is — the ability to carry a conversation with more than out his duties in a war he never 400 people on Thursday about wanted to be part of and to enhis career in writing, feelings dure in times that strained him on war, political views and the both mentally and physically. similarities between the wars in “Courage is the silence I mainVietnam and Iraq. tained in the face of Texas State’s unisuch evil,” O’Brien versity seminar insaid. “I stayed silent structors are teaching while looking at racO’Brien’s novel If I Die ism of the most vioin a Combat Zone this lent sort. It was less semester. The objective than human, less is to engage students in than animal, less than a campus wide discusa rat’s.” sion on how the story O’Brien warned demonstrates courage, that his views on Tim O’Brien which is the theme for subjects might be the 2005-2006 Comdifferent than those mon Experience. of audience members. He isChristopher Frost, university sued an advisory concerning college professor, led the team the content of his speech and to create the 2005-2006 Texas said the audience needed to try State Common Experience. The its best to not be offended. team decided on the theme of “I’m a novelist and a storycourage portrayed in If I Die in teller, not a sociologist or a poa Combat Zone from a number litical scientist,” O’Brien said. of proposals it was considering, “I’m just a guy who believes and and strengthening the choice of trusts in the power of stories in Tim O’Brien was his position our lives.” in the Roy F. and Joann Cole Many of those attending the Mitte Endowed Chair in cre- night’s affair did so because of ative writing and his ability to requirements set by the univerrelate well with students. Frost sity seminar course. said O’Brien did a wonderful “I have to attend two out-ofjob during the event. class sessions with speakers,” “His stories are incredibly said Brady Robles, undecided compelling and I think the way freshman. “This one happened he uses his experiences in the to be at a convenient time for Vietnam War as a metaphor on See VET, page 3 how to approach life makes for a

Danny Rodriguez/Star photo

ASG confers with officials regarding AALC incident By Sean Wardwell News Reporter Monday’s Associated Student Government meeting was host to a packed house as students and senators awaited an explanation for the actions of the University Police Department took in an incident in the early morning Sept.

Texas State is celebrating Constitution Day on campus with a series of educational events that began Monday and will continue through Thursday. On Dec. 8, President George W. Bush signed Public Law 108447, which established Sept. 17 as Constitution Day. This legislation included an educational programming component for all federally funded institutions of higher education. During any year that Sept. 17

cers they should come outside because there was a disturbance.” From there, Meyer recounted how police responded to an incident near the payment booth of the LBJ Student Center Parking Garage. Meyers said an ofﬁcer was struck and had to go to the hospital, leading to the calling of backup from the San Marcos Police Department and Hays County Sheriffs Department. “That’s basically how the night went,” Meyer said. Students questioned Meyer, even See ASG, page 3

Yahoo! presents ‘Big Idea Chair’ to NSAC

Constitution Day celebrated as a new federal mandate through events and lectures By Silver Hogue News Reporter

11 from UPD Chief Ralph Meyer. Meyer was asked to address the Senate to account for allegations that UPD officers used excessive force when dealing with an alleged disturbance at the African American Leadership Conference. “I appreciate the opportunity to be here,” Meyer said. “As we all know, it has been a troubling week.” Meyer then went on to give UPD’s version of that night’s event. “We had two officers working the party plus three others on routine patrol,” Meyers said. “Someone from the group came in and told one of our offi-

By Jason Buch Special to the Star

falls on a weekend, colleges and universities may present the educational program on the week before or after that date. “This is the ﬁrst time it has been mandated for all schools, but there is no speciﬁc mandate on how to observe it,” said Ismael Amaya, campus mentoring program coordinator. Amaya and various student organization members started out this week’s festivities by offering free pieces of cake and beverages to students in The See CONSTITUTION, page 3

The Texas State University National Student Advertising Competition team was awarded the “Big Idea Chair” by Yahoo! Inc. Monday night in the LBJ Student Center Teaching Theater. The “Idea Chair,” a large purple plush chair, was awarded to NSAC team for placing ﬁrst in the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition at the AAF National Convention in Monty Marion/Star photo Nashville, Tenn., in June. Yahoo! Inc. was the sponsor of Having placed ﬁrst in the 2005 National Student Advertising this year’s competition. Competition, the Texas State American Advertising Federa“We give out the purple chair tion Team receive their reward of the Yahoo! “Big Idea Chair” to companies and to ad agenMonday evening in the LBJ Student Center Teaching Theater.

cies that do the best job,” said Yahoo! Vice President of Brand Marketing and keynote speaker Murray Gaylord. “We call it our Alice in Wonderland look.” Gaylord said the idea of the “Big Idea Chair” came from a book by Seth Godin named The Purple Cow. The idea of the Purple Cow is that a purple cow is a new and different idea. A purple chair is Yahoo!’s embodiment of The Purple Cow. The NSAC team is not part of the Ad Club but a class, Marketing 4397, which students must submit to an application process in order to be enrolled. Students in the fall class take part in the research phase of the See YAHOO!, page 3

Hazardous intersection should have bicyclists checking their safety manuals Student receives minor injuries in accident Thursday By Ashley Richards Assistant News Editor Trafﬁc at the North LBJ Drive and Sessom Drive intersection was brought to a halt Thursday around 5:45 p.m. when a female driver in a silver, two-door Saturn car was making a right turn onto North LBJ and struck a female bicyclist who was riding down hill on North LBJ, trying to cross Sessom via the pedestrian crosswalk. “I looked up and saw that her bike was right in the middle of that intersection,” said Katie Bryant, education graduate and witness to the incident.

The driver, Melissa Landers, was facing west on Sessom, and the bicyclist, Katie Forrest, psychology sophomore, was cycling on the far left side of North LBJ moving southbound. Bryant was stopped at a red light on North LBJ, trying to make a left turn onto Sessom. She said as she was approaching the stop light at North LBJ, it was green but had turned red before she could make a left turn, which Bryant said meant Landers would have had a red light. “The girl that hit her would be making a right on red while I was still there,” Bryant said. Soon after the accident took place, Bryant said a University Police Department ofﬁcer arrived. Later, a San Marcos Fire Rescue unit arrived to help recuperate the bicyclist. Forrest was moved to the

Today’s Weather

Sunny 98˚/69˚

Precipitation: 20% Humidity: 53% UV: 9 Very High Wind: S 5 mph

sidewalk after she was hit, where police and ﬁre ofﬁcials surveyed her physical condition. She was given an ice pack for her knee but was later released on the scene. She said both her back and knee were sore, and she was shocked from the incident. Forrest was bicycling with Taylor Collins, athletic training senior, at the time of the accident. After Forrest was released, the two walked their bikes away because Forrest’s rear tire was bent from being hit by the car’s front fender, damage that a UPD police report estimated at $100. “She did a really good job of protecting herself when she fell,” Collins said. Collins said he has heard of several other car-bike accidents happening at that intersection because of vehicles not paying attention.

“One of the things that I have noticed is that many, many drivers try to make a right on red, and they don’t stop,” said Gordon Sabin, League of American Bicyclists member and former university bicycle safety instructor. “I think that is becoming a very critical factor.” According to a UPD report prepared by Ofﬁcer Mark Morris, Landers said she stopped at the red light before making a right turn; however Forrest and surrounding witnesses said in the report that Landers failed to stop at the red light before turning. “I’d like to clarify that she didn’t stop at the light,” Forrest said. A diagram in the police report indicated that all lights at the intersection were red at See SAFETY, page 3

Two-day Forecast Wednesday Sunny Temp: 100°/ 71° Precipitation: 10%

Thursday Sunny Temp: 101°/ 72° Precipitation: 20%

Adam Brown/Star photo Taylor Collins, athletic training senior, ices down the knee of fellow bicyclist and psychology sophomore Katie Forrest after an accident between her and an automobile at the intersection of Sessom Drive and North LBJ Drive on Thursday afternoon.

Inside

TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS

Classiﬁeds Comics Crossword News

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Opinions Sports Trends

To Contact The Star: 4 8 5,6

PAGE TWO The University Star

Tuesday in Brief

September 20, 2005

starsof texas state T. J. Marcum, a Winsboro native, joined the Bobcat men’s basketball coaching staff recently as the new assistant coach. Head Coach Dennis Nutt announced Marcum’s addition to the staff two weeks ago, stressing his experience and his expected contribution to the basketball program’s recruiting efforts in the Houston area. In addition to his coaching experience, Marcum has

spent the last year working for Kellogg, Brown & Root in Iraq, developing health and ﬁtness programs for troops at six military bases. Marcum has served as assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin State University, as director of basketball operations at Texas A&M and as assistant coach at Denton High School. The Star welcomes T. J. Marcum to the Texas State community.

News Contact — Kirsten Crow, starnews@txstate.edu

Calendar of

EVENTS Clubs & Meetings Tuesday The Moonlight Float will be at 8 p.m. Sign up at the Outdoor Center. The LBJ Debate Society will be having the ﬁrst Great Society Debate of the semester at 5 p.m. in Room G02. The issue will be “The Blame Game” and discussion will be public. War Support Group: Helping Students Cope, a drop-in support group for students dealing with a loved one or friend serving in the military, meets from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the LBJ Student Center, Room 5-1.10.

Wednesday 2-for-1 Wednesdays at the Texas State Golf Course. The Student Organization of Geographic Information Science will hold its ﬁrst meeting of the fall semester at 5 p.m. in the Evans Liberal Arts Building, Room 312. The Association of Information Technology Professionals meets from 5 to 6 p.m. in the LBJSC, Room 3-3.1. ACOA/Dysfunctional Families Group meets from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. For information or to sign up, call the Counseling Center at (512) 245-2208.

Thursday Communications Club meets at 5 p.m. in Centennial Hall, Room 318. FREE salsa dance class from 8:10 to 9:10 p.m. at the Student Recreation Center.

Events Thursday FREE Writing Center Workshop “Professional Writing” will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. in Flowers Hall, Room G09. It is open to students, staff and faculty. Please contact Bearden Coleman at (512) 245-3018 if you plan to attend.

Friday Kayaking workshop is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Faculty Artist Ian Davidson will play the oboe at 8 p.m. in the Recital Hall. Tickets are $2 for general admission and $1 for students.

Saturday The Hill Country Rally for a Cure Golf Tournament will be held at 7:30 a.m. at the Texas State Golf Course. Kayaking Workshop at 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

CALENDAR SUBMISSION POLICY Calendar submissions are free. Send submissions to Calendar of Events at starcalendar@txstate.edu, or call (512) 245-3487 for more information. E-mailed press releases will not be accepted. If using e-mail, please submit as a simple bulleted list of essential information. Submissions are on a 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.

Touring the ACC

STARS OF TEXAS STATE POLICY

Do you know someone at Texas State who has recently celebrated a great achievement? Nominate your choice to appear in The Star as a “Star of Texas State.” Write an e-mail to starletters@txstate.edu with the subject line “Stars of Texas State,” and include your nominee’s name, his/her relationship to the university, contact information for yourself and your nominee, and a brief description of the achievement. Also include a photo of your nominee if available. Accepted nominees will be featured at the top of Page Two.

WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES In Thursday’s edition of The Star, there were historical inaccuracies in the story titled “Dieciséis de septiembre events honor Mexico’s independence day.” The article incorrectly identiﬁed Cinco de Mayo as the ofﬁcial date of Mexico’s independence from Spain. May 5 actually marks the day in 1862 that Mexico defeated imperial France at Puebla. The article also stated that ‘a group of local conspirators’ sounded the church bells on Sept. 16, 1810, to begin the revolt against Spain. It was actually one priest, the Rev. Miguel Hidalgo, who sounded the bells in the town of Dolores. Also in Thursday’s issue, the ad for Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant had the wrong phone number. The correct number is (512) 392-5665. We apologize for any inconvenience.

CRIME BL TTER University Police Department

Sept. 14, 9:37 a.m. Driving While License Invalid/ Aquarena Springs Drive A police officer made contact with a vehicle for a traffic stop. Upon further investigation, a nonstudent was arrested for driving while license was invalid and was transported to Hays County Law Enforcement Center to await magistration. Sept. 15, unknown hours Burglary: Habitation/Bobcat Village Apartments A student reported to a police officer that her personal

property had been stolen from her residence. This case is under investigation. San Marcos Police Department Sept. 17, 1:22 a.m. Public Intoxication/1101 E. River Ridge Parkway Male and female arrested for public intoxication and minor in consumption. Sept. 17, 2:16 a.m. Driving While Intoxicated/1610 N. Interstate 35 One female was arrested for driving while intoxicated and possession of controlled substance. One male was arrested for public intoxication.

Crime stoppers: UPD: 245-7867, SMPD: 353-TIPS

www.UniversityStar.com

Armando Sanchez/Star photo Austin Mayor Will Wynn gives U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn a tour Saturday of the Austin Convention Center, which still houses Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Health Beat

Campus Recreation offers variety of new activities

Campus Recreation is constantly trying to provide a broad spectrum of sports, recreation and leisure activities for students, staff and faculty, as well as members of the local community. There have been quite a few additions to the department this semester. Insights, ideas, critiques and compliments from the students, faculty and staff are always welcome. The Fitness & Wellness program area is offering a new group exercise class called Below the Belt. Below the Belt is a 30-minute class geared to strengthen, deﬁne and sculpt the gluteus, leg and abdominal muscles. This is not a cardio class but a muscle challenge class. The Student Recreation Center also has new cycle ﬁt bikes, more treadmills, more EFX machines and other cardio equipment. Just when faculty and staff members thought Fridays couldn’t get any better, the Texas State Golf Course added something else to jumpstart a great weekend. Fabulous Fridays are for faculty and staff. With a Texas State ID, faculty and staff receive student green fees on Fridays. The Outdoor Recreation pro-

gram has announced its second annual ski trip to the Rocky Mountains this winter break. Steamboat Springs, Colo., is the destination of choice. The registration deadline is Oct. 10, and registration requires a $100 deposit. Steamboat is a big mountain with lots of different terrain features. The terrain varies from double black diamonds with steep bumps, to cruising or tree runs, to wide open bowls. Sport Clubs T-shirt Day is a newly added day to the campus calendar. If you’re a participant in one of the 23 clubs offered, make sure you wear your Sport Club T-shirt the ﬁrst Wednesday of every month. The second annual dodgeball tournament will take place this semester. Entries are due Nov. 10, and playing begins Nov. 14. The Campus Recreation programs are all striving to provide the best for their participants. Drop into any Campus Recreation facility, and take advantage of all they have to offer. For more information, visit www.campusrecreation.txstate.edu, or call (512) 245-2392. — Courtesy of the Student Health Center

Volunteers Needed for Healthy Relationships Week Steering Committee ■ All interested students may apply. ■ This is an opportunity to develop a program that includes the components that make a relationship healthy, as well as information on sexual assault and sexually transmitted infections. ■ Must be willing to attend monthly meetings in the fall and spring semesters.

Application Deadline is Friday, September 30th. Pick up applications at the Student Health Center, or online at www.healthcenter.txstate.edu. For more information, please call (512)245-2309 or e-mail HealthEducation@sa.txstate.edu.

STUDENT HEALTH CENTER

��

NEWS

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

ASG: UPD chief answers questions about conflict CONTINUED from page 1

overriding Vice President Cassie Holman’s decision to limit questioning to 30 minutes. The thrust of many student questions dealt with why so many officers were called out to the event. Meyer attempted to answer by pointing out that most of the officers that were called out were actually not participating in the incident. “From everything we saw on the tapes from the cars, most of the officers were actually hanging back,” Meyer said. At that point, another student asked what else the videos from the car showed. “The videos show nothing but people walking around and a lot of noise,” Meyers said. Meyer also pointed out that UPD cars did not have their cameras turned on and that the only video of the event was from SMPD cars and the district attorney has custody of them and will distribute it at their pleasure, although The Star attained copies of the dispatch tapes and video tapes from SMPD late Monday. Meyer attempted to reassure students who feel that the incident was racially motivated. “There was no racial overtones,” Meyer said. “The last thing I want to do is get into a shouting match with anyone. Race was not a factor in this. It’s very frustrating on our part and I’m sure on yours. I believe we have a good relationship with the students of Texas State, but if something happens we have to do something. We can’t let disturbances go unchecked.”

Black Student Alliance Presi- needing her car unlocked at the dent Keemon Leonard asked LBJSC Parking Garage. Meyers about the comments of “This has been a very trouone of his officers at the event. blesome week for all of us,” “The officer asked me how Meyer said. “It is not my intenmany of you all need to get tion to malign any member of tased before you leave,” Leon- this university. It’s unfortunate ard said. it ended the way it did, but I “I don’t know how to answer want to work with all groups that,” Meyer said. “Only one here.” person was The Senate tased.” questioned Meyer deMeyer for the fended his ofbetter part of ficers’ actions an hour and and expressed thanked him confusion for his time. about why the However, the students reSenate heard acted the way as emergency they did. —Edward Sinclair business leg“I’m having a student senator islation callhard time puting for an ting my hands investigation around what into the acyou mean by unsafe,” Meyer tions of law enforcement persaid, responding to a statement sonnel that evening. that African-American students “Feelings are hurt, and we felt unsafe on campus. “Nobody don’t know what the truth is was beaten with nightsticks. No right now,” said legislation aucars were turned over. No rocks thor, Senator Edward Sinclair. were thrown. This was not the “It hurts when things like this Watts Riots. Nobody was man- happen, and we just want the handled.” truth to come out.” “Please enlighten me as to “This happened on campus, how you feel unsafe,” Meyer this happened to students, to said. vote for this legislation is to Meyer also addressed other vote for the truth,” said Senator events of that evening, includ- Jermaine Jackson, the co-sponing possible other crimes com- sor of the legislation. mitted. The bill passed unanimous“It’s more important to pay ly. attention to a crowd of that size In other business the Senthan someone dropping some- ate heard debate on a bill that thing off a building,” Meyer would recommend a multiculsaid, alluding to another event tural and gender studies class of the evening. Meyer also stat- be required for graduation. ed the only other event requir“This would not be an addiing police attention that he was tional cost,” said ASG President aware of was a female student Jordan Anderson. “There are

“I

t hurts when things like this happen, and we just want the truth to come out.”

several courses here at Texas State that could be used.” Anderson also said that this was similar to a course substitution rather than a whole new course. “It’s not an addition to the number of hours you are taking,” Anderson said. “It’s not a speciﬁc class.” “What would happen is that somewhere along the line you would have to take a course on multicultural issues in the same manner that the university requires you to take three writing intensive courses,” said Senate Clerk Kyle Morris. Anderson said that current Texas State students would not be required to take this course if approved. The Senate approved the legislation with only one abstention. The Senate also approved legislation that endorsed former ASG Vice President Chris Jones in his race for the San Marcos City Council and endorsing the establishment of a student service fee sub-committee to look into the budgets of permanently funded programs. For students interested in seeing The Star’s articles regarding this incident, “Students report excessive force in early morning arrests” and “Contradictory accounts of confrontation leave questions” are available on our Web site at www.universitystar. com. These articles may be located under the “search” button. There are also many extra copies of these editions in The Star ofﬁce, located in the Trinity Building. For further coverage including SMPD videotapes, look to Wednesday’s edition.

CONSTITUTION: University honors democracy with events CONTINUED from page 1

Quad. The organization consists of students from the civic responsibility team of Student Affairs in collaboration with the Associated Student Government. The organizations displayed a replica of the U.S. Constitution in The Quad. “I’m glad they’re celebrating this with drinks and cake and everything,” said Ashley Del Rio, advertising senior. “It’s a nice gesture because it gets so hot walking between classes.” A second replica was available for students to “sign” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and an audio recording of the Preamble

was read during class breaks. Miniature replicas and related handouts were also included for students. The Hays County Elections Ofﬁce staff was in the LBJ Student Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday as well, giving students the opportunity to register to vote. “We’ll mostly be doing demonstrations with the new voting equipment to make sure all present and future voters are in the know, no matter what county they live in,” said Elections Administrator Joyce Cowan. Elections Ofﬁce representatives urged students to familiarize themselves with the

new electronic voting systems. The deadline for registering to vote in the Nov. 8 election is Oct. 11. The American Democracy Project, the political science department, the Discourse in Democracy Grant and the College of Liberal Arts will hold the Philosophy Dialogue Series in observation of the week. The series will focus on the constitution and democracy and will feature several different lectures that explore philosophical ideas in a format that includes open discussion. Among the discussions are, “Democracy In Peril: Panel Discussion with Senator Rob-

Yang. “We came up with the entire campaign in eight days,” said team account executive and Texas State alumnus Albert Nance. “We’d been working on it for a year and nothing seemed to be working. Eight days before the book went to print me and the creatives sat down with research…And our heads just clicked together at the same time.” The book Nance referred to is the ﬁrst part of the project, a 32-page brief containing the team’s creative process, research, media campaign and an executive summary. After completing the book the team started on the campaign itself. “It was fun, like you and a couple of your buddies hanging out,” said Texas State alumnus Matt Kuhles, who portrayed Dave in the campaign. “John (Livingston) was creative director. We shot at Sewell Park, at apartments, really just having fun, running around, asking each other ‘hey, what do you think about this?’ It was a blast.” After taking ﬁrst place against teams from around Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and

Oklahoma at the District 10 competition, the Texas State team advanced to the national competition in Nashville. In Nashville, the team not only faced schools from around the country, but also had to pitch their campaign directly to Yahoo! executives. “The clients, Yahoo!, were so fun to work with because they wanted out of the box and our team gave them that,” Stutts said. The Texas State team beat out fourth-place University of California, Berkeley, thirdplace Loyola University of New Orleans and second-place University of Virginia. “I would never say this to Virginia, but they were the clear winners, no contest,” Gaylord said during his speech on Monday. The next day the team made presentation to AAF members. “We had to give a breakfast presentation to professionals, all members of the AAF,” Nance said. “At the end of the presentation Dave says ‘When do I start?’ I told them ‘We all just graduated and are willing to re-locate.’” Yahoo! even invited the presentation team to their head-

ert Krueger,” a student-led dialogue called “Is America Ready for Democracy?” and “Moral Issues Facing Politicians” with Ed Mihalkanin, political science associate professor and San Marcos City Council member. The dialogue series will run from Monday through Thursday, beginning with a panel discussion at 10 a.m., in the LBJSC Teaching Theater, Room 4-16.1. For more information, contact Philosophy Department Chair Vincent Luizzi at (512) 245-2285. For additional information on the week’s events, contact the Dean of Students Ofﬁce at (512) 245-2124.

The University Star - Page 3

VET: Mitte chair discusses courage in Common Experience CONTINUED from page 1

my schedule.” Cristen Hamilton, biology sophomore, is also enrolled in the university seminar course. She said going to a campus event is required, and she was glad that listening to Tim O’Brien was one of her options. “I think there’s a lot of similarities between how people view the current war and the war in Vietnam, so I wanted to see if he touches on that,” Hamilton said. “I also wanted to hear him speak about Vietnam and war in general.” O’Brien talked about the Vietnam War and why he decided to start writing about it. He said he started writing while still in Vietnam during dusk before it got completely dark. He said he was trying to capture his daily experiences and his state of mind while serving as a foot soldier, which turned into the bulk of If I Die in a Combat Zone. O’Brian never thought he could be a writer growing up in “a small town where nothing moved,” but “Vietnam collided with a desire to write.” He said to continue writing was an inevitable course of action. Myia Barton, business administration freshman, said the novel was written well, but she would not have read it had it not been assigned reading. “I’m not a big war person,” Barton said. “It kept me interested, but I wouldn’t have chosen to read it on my own.” Cody Sims, public administration senior, agreed that If I Die in a Combat Zone is a wellwritten book. “I thought it was great,” said Sims. “I wish O’Brien would teach here more, but it’s mostly upper graduate classes.” O’Brien teaches a graduate workshop in creative writing, in addition to serving as Mitte chair in the department. When questioned by a member of the audience about the similarities of the war in Vietnam and the war in Iraq, O’Brien had answers. He said false claims were used by the

government to engage the wars. O’Brien said the presidents of then and now treat the issues of why America is fighting very similarly, and the biggest similarity, he said, is that both are not real wars. “You don’t have front lines, back lines or really know who your enemy is until they start shooting at you,” O’Brien said. “Frustration quickly turns into rage and anger to obliterate the whole place.” There were times during the questions and answers when O’Brien got laughs from the audience. When asked what his favorite song was during the war, he responded with “I Want to Get out of This Place.” He said the next closest was “Hey Jude” by The Beatles and told a story of 100 men walking through a field singing the song together, guns in hand. Members of the audience also laughed at O’Brien’s response to what advice he would give someone if he or she was drafted into the war in Iraq. “I wouldn’t give advice,” O’Brien said. “I would just say buy my book, decide for yourself and then buy a bunch of my books for your friends.” Wearing a heavily worn-in baseball cap and stricken by a cold that impaired his hearing, O’Brien drew an audience that could not be contained inside the Alkek Teaching Theatre. Every one of the 388 seats was filled and there were still people wanting to be seated who could not because of university fire code. About 80 people stood in the lobby and had to listen to the speech and questions and answers through the facility’s sound-system. O’Brien said his first year of college was when he became an “A” student, and to have the freshmen on campus read his novel is an honor. “I want to say how flattered and honored I am the book is being used by the freshmen, first-year reading program,” O’Brien said. “To have my book read by all you is especially meaningful to me.”

SAFETY: Bike crashes YAHOO!: Texas State ad team recipient of purple chair not uncommon on streets of San Marcos CONTINUED from page 1

project. Students in the spring class must interview with the team’s faculty advisors, mass communication instructor Jody Gibson and marketing professor Mary Ann Stutts. The NSAC team acted as an advertising agency with the event’s sponsor, Yahoo! Inc., as their client. The team of 19 students from the College of Fine Arts and Communications and the McCoy College of Business Administration named themselves i5 Advertising and chose a presentation group of ﬁve people to go to the District 10 competition in San Antonio. All ﬁve members of the presentation team have since graduated. “Our goal was to create an advertising campaign to get teens to switch to Yahoo! from AOL and Google.” said the team’s account planning director and Texas State alumna Lacey Edgar. “We created a character named Dave to portray Yahoo! as a fun older brother and give the idea you can do anything with Yahoo!.” Dave and his pet rabbit Jerry were named after Yahoo! cofounders Dave Filo and Jerry

quarters in Sunnyvale, Calif. “They came out to Sunnyvale, where we are headquartered, and gave a presentation to our marketing department and they were just blown away,” Gaylord said. “Our messenger people wanted to run with the idea, but unfortunately we didn’t have the money in the budget.” Miniature “Big Idea” chairs were set on the arm rests between the seats in the teaching theater Monday night. Representatives from all over District 10 as well as from Yahoo! and the AAF were present. After the team was congratulated and the “Big Idea Chair” was unveiled, Gaylord presented Texas State with a yellow pillow that had the name of the school and the year of the team’s victory written on it. Nance made a speech, thanking Yahoo! for the honor and the teammates shared their experiences at the Yahoo! headquarters. At the end of the ceremony, Gaylord and Yahoo! Marketing Manager Gladys Nortey passed out hats to any individual who would yodel the company’s name, then led the crowd in one large Yahoo! yodel.

CONTINUED from page 1

the time of the accident, and it said that witnesses noticed the north/south crosswalk was signaling “walk.” The report concluded that the driver, Landers, failed to stop at the red light and turned right. The bicyclist, according to the report, failed to cycle on the right side of the road and did not stop at the red light, per the established codes for cyclists. Sabin said drivers must keep in mind that even if there is a green light, they must ﬁrst be sure the intersection is clear before crossing it. Cyclists, Sabin said, must follow the rules of the road just as motor vehicles do. “I think cyclists, generally most of them, don’t seem to understand they need to ride on the right side of the road with cars, that way they will be more predictable (to drivers),” Sabin said. “If everyone would do that, there wouldn’t be that many car-bike accidents.” In his nearly 35 years as a cy-

clist, Sabin said he has not personally seen an accident at the North LBJ and Sessom intersection, but his experience has lead him to believe the area is a potentially hazardous intersection. Cyclists often tend to move from the roadway to the sidewalk and back again, Sabin said, and if they would ride in a more predictable manner, drivers would respond better to them. “I think accidents have to do with how you approach cycling,” Sabin said. “You have to assume you’re invisible, and people aren’t going to give like they should.” Sabin said he rides his bicycle about 100 miles per week; he follows the rules of motor vehicles and uses signals, which he said makes drivers less weary of him. “It’s called vehicular cycling; you are a vehicle on a public road,” Sabin said. Sabin said cyclists should go by the motto he used to use in his bicycle safety course, “Same roads, same rights, same rules.”

OPINIONS THE UNIVERSITY STAR

quoteof the day

Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - Page 4

“I think any intelligent, healthy, smart human being should use every resource in order to maintain his or her freedom and independence.”

”

— Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the possibility of Iran provoking a rise in oil prices in retaliation if the United States and European nations try to prevent Iran from pursuing a nuclear energy program. In a speech Saturday before the U.N. General Assembly, Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran’s nuclear program is not aimed at developing weapons. (Source: CNN.com)

Opinions Contact — Joe Ruiz, staropinion@txstate.edu

THE MAIN POINT

Recent events show American judgment is still race-based The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and, locally, the confrontation between students and police after the African American Leadership Conference on Sept. 11 suggest that race is still a significant source of conflict in our society. Many commentators have suggested that the poverty and minority status of many of the victims of the hurricane contributed to the federal government’s slow response time, and media coverage of the aftermath has concentrated heavily on looting by survivors of color, with highly racial overtones. Here in San Marcos, many students have come to believe that the police response to the situation following the AALC event was so forceful in part because of the race of the participants. It appears that we in the United States are still uncomfortable with and suspicious of those who look different from ourselves. And, whether justified or not, the fact that we cannot shake the suspicion that race plays a part in these types of conflicts shows that we are not quite ready to judge others based solely on the content of their characters. After Sept. 11, 2001, it seemed that all Americans would finally be able to recognize one another as just that — Americans, regardless of race or ethnicity. That is with the exception of Americans of Middle Eastern descent, who quickly became a common scapegoat. Four years later, the trauma of that event has left us, and the old divisions have resurfaced, with the new mistrust of Arabs and Muslims firmly planted among our national racial neuroses. Even on this campus, a self-proclaimed bastion of enlightenment and higher education, one can walk through The Quad on a busy day and see many students segregated by race de facto by their choice of acquaintances. Venture out of the public square, and it is easy to find students making racist jokes or simply prejudging others based on race. Is it because we don’t like each other? Or is it because we don’t know about each other? As students at this university, we should focus not only on learning for our major and core curriculum but also on learning about the people around us. Some of us may come from small towns where there were not many different races, ethnicities or religions. Some of us come from large cities where we were surrounded by many different types of people, but out of habit, we clung to those who were like ourselves. At a university, it is so easy to find an organization where you can easily feel comfortable, where the people are very much like yourself. That’s OK. But don’t be so caught up in your comfort zone that you never get the chance to explore what’s around you. The university offers us, as students, a unique opportunity to interact with and learn from people who are very different from ourselves. If we don’t take that opportunity here, it may never be available to us again. This is the place where lifelong friendships are formed and ways of thinking and living solidify. If there is a place to begin to see past the cloud of suspicion that separates Americans from one another, it is here. 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 one reason the federal government was slow in rescuing Katrina victims was because many of them were black? 86%

Blacks Whites

60%

37% 12% Yes, was a reason These results are based on telephone interviews with 262 blacks and 848 non-Hispanic whites, aged 18 and older, conducted Sept. 8-11, 2005. For results based on the samples of 223 and 230 blacks, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±7 percentage points. For results based on the samples of 388 and 460 whites, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points.

1,110 People Polled

The University Star 601 University Drive Trinity Building San Marcos, TX 78666 Phone: (512) 245-3487 Fax: (512) 245-3708

No, was not a reason In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difﬁculties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the ﬁndings of public opinion polls. The sample for this survey did not include the areas of Louisiana and Mississippi that were declared federal disaster areas following Hurricane Katrina. This accounts for about 0.75 percent of the U.S. population.

Gallup Poll Released Sept. 14

Megan Kluck/Star illustration

The philosophy of multitasking Do you remember we draw the line? what it was like to Aristotle adbe in elementary dressed these quesschool? When the tions in his excess only thing that was and deﬁciency expected of us was model. What if a writing in cursive student enrolled in and understanding college but rarely how to add and subattended class and KELSEY VOELKEL tract numbers? hardly ever studStar Columnist There were no ied? Odds are that great expectations the student would for us at that time, fail. What would and now we are having to happen if that same student snap out of our summer daze enrolled in classes and studied and get back into the habit of excessively? And when I say studying at all hours of the excessively, I mean studied day. We are having to return hard for each and every asto the harsh and gruesome signment, quiz and test for practice of getting up early, each class. What kind of life drinking a couple of coffees would he or she be living? and heading to class before It would be dull, wouldn’t the caffeine kicks in. I will it? Life would be colorless never know how we do it all and boring, and all free time — go to class, study and try would be spent in isolation. to make the grades. How on But this student would more earth do we stay sane? There than likely become very sucare those of us who study cessful. so much that it turns into a The trick is to ﬁnd a balcompulsive obsession, and ance, and to do this we must there are those who open be aware of the goals that mobooks, look over review notes tivate us. So many students and think, “Why bother?” have a hectic workload; some What happens to us when might have an unusually franwe hit our limit, though? tic load — taking 18 credit Are there consequences from hours while working a partstudying too much or not time job — while some might enough? And if so, where do have a load of 12 hours and

no job. Some students’ workload might be more gruesome than others, but the point is that we are all under the same stress, and we all must deal with it in our own way. I have been struggling to keep up in each of my classes, and every day when I come home to my single apartment, I collapse right to the floor next to the couch and the doormat. The only thing to greet me when I get home is an answering machine that tells me, “You have no calls. Not one single phone call — not even from your mother.” But still, I am in class all day, and I am either studying or doing homework during the time I am home. I will admit, I sometimes exchange food and/or sleep for studying, but I also keep in mind that I cannot get behind on things. So each day, I wake up, and the first thing I say to myself is “OK, what do I have to get done before five o’clock this afternoon?” I keep thinking I am the only person in the state of Texas that has this problem. I study excessively, and I keep delaying peace, relaxation and freedom for the time I can hold my bachelor’s degree in one hand and my

master’s degree in the other. I keep burying myself under work and studying. I don’t really go out to see movies or take road trips to visit high school friends. But lately, it occurs to me: I don’t need to carry all of this. No one needs to carry all of this. And what I mean by that is that there is a time for everything; there is a time to study, a time for sleeping and a time for taking a break and doing something fun. There are 24 valuable hours in the day. We’re all bound to get everything done; it’s just a matter of time management and patience. A huge part of what we are doing in college is seeking an education, or course, but we are also trying to establish and seek out the goals we want to accomplish. My goal is to obtain a bachelor’s degree and work as an intern while I try to obtain a master’s degree. To me, these goals are reasonable and quite possible to achieve, but in order to accomplish those goals, I must work hard and — in so many words — I must not screw up anything. Voelkel is a pre-mass communication junior.

Citizens should not have been disarmed in Katrina aftermath Not too long ago, rounds in a neighborthe people of New hood. No one called Orleans were livthe police to report ing in fear for their the gunfire. Many live lives. They were in fear of retaliation afraid to go outfrom criminals who side because of the are easily released criminals, thugs from a corrupt legal and lack of police DEREK LEVISAY system. protection. Citizens are arming Guest Columnist Then the flood themselves to protect came. against the opporNow the citizens are faced tunistic looters and deviant with an even bigger obstacle: criminals. They are protecting how to survive when there is one another while the city lies virtually no police force at all. in chaos. And they are doing a This may seem like a chal- good job of it. The Times-Picalenge for a city like New Or- yune (New Orleans) reported leans. The Big Easy has one of on Sept. 8 of militias being the highest murder rates in the formed in the city to protect world, even higher than the the residents who have not yet “murder capital,” Washington, evacuated. Citizens were takD.C. According to FBI statis- ing shifts patrolling the neightics, the New Orleans area mur- borhoods, using guns of their der rate was 57.7 people per own and abandoned by neigh100,000 in 2003. This is high, bors. Most had not even fired especially when compared to a shot. nearby Houston, which has a With residents being promurder rate of 13.6. tected arguably better than Or it might just be a re- before the flood, what do you prieve. think the brain trust of the The police force has long government (from the top been marred by officers com- down) would do? mitting criminal acts and not Disarm the citizens, of responding promptly to calls course. for help. According to an Aug. Local police, federal mar18 Associated Press article, re- shals and the National Guard searchers last year performed have been confiscating all firean experiment in New Orleans arms from the citizens and in which police fired 700 blank their homes. As captured on

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

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video broadcast by KTVU-TV in San Francisco, authorities went as far as gang-tackling an elderly woman in her kitchen to take a small pistol. It is doubtful the woman was going to use her firearm to go looting or jack someone’s spinners. Nevertheless, she had to be disarmed. This makes no sense. The police are obviously busy with rescue efforts all over the city and have little to no time to protect and serve. It is questionable how much protection they offered before the flood. Plus, there have been reports of police looking on as looters ravaged stores and even joining in. And with residents disarmed and the police force elsewhere, criminals can act without fear. The Times-Picayune article reports that before he armed himself, one resident was beaten over the head with a sledgehammer by two men who stole his van full of supplies and money. Stories of criminals roaming the streets, armed or not, are too many to count. So it only makes sense to disarm the law-abiding citizens, right? If it was not apparent that the police had little regard for resident safety before the flood, it is blatantly obvious

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that they have no regard for the law after the flood. The Louisiana Constitution allows each “citizen to keep and bear arms.” Louisiana state law allows for citizens to carry concealed firearms. It does not give the government authority to confiscate weapons, even in a state of emergency. The confiscation of firearms in New Orleans is illegal. And even if it were legal by some twisted interpretation of the law, it is not smart to do so. Citizens can do a better job of protecting their lives and interests than the police force. Murder rates have plummeted nationwide in the past decade, thanks in large part to nearly 40 states allowing some form of concealed carry. Citizens have a better chance of protecting their lives if faced with danger than waiting on a police force that is stretched to the max — and that’s if the phone lines work to contact them. The scariest part of all of this is that gun owners can no longer wonder what kind of government would disarm its own citizens under threat of imprisonment or death. It is here, and it is now. Levisay is a political science graduate student. 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 Sept. 20, 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

releasesof the week music

Bob Dylan: No Direction Home – (Unrated) Dir. Martin Scorsese The Longest Yard – (PG-13) Adam Sandler, Chris Rock

Have a Nice Day – Bon Jovi Ten Thousand Fists – Disturbd The Weight is a Gift – Nada Surf Clothes Drop – Shaggy

Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - Page 5

dvd

Mallrats (10th Anniversary Extended Edition) – (R) Jason Lee, Jeremy London Desperate Housewives (Complete First Season) – Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria

Trends Contact — Christina Gomez, starentertainment@txstate.edu

A SMALL town contributes in a LARGE way United We Jam collects more than $5,000 for Katrina victims By Maira Garcia Entertainment Writer Hanging out, listening and dancing to a live band with friends in a packed venue may seem like one of many ways to spend a weekend in San Marcos. On Sunday, it was a little different since it was for more than pure entertainment. San Marcos bands took the opportunity to contribute their musical talents free of charge to help raise several thousand dollars for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Lucy’s on the Square, skytravel.org and Outhouse Designs played host to Sunday’s benefit concert titled United We Jam. According to their press release, all proceeds from the event, which included donations taken at the door and tips received by service staff, would be donated to the American Red Cross. The lineup for the benefit was filled with some of San Marcos’ favorite bands. Acts who played the show included the following: Jackson Parten, JR Castro, Jared Francis, Bernie Calcote, Plinko, Kallisti Gold, Five Dollar Friend, Meatwood, Subtle Creeps, Rebecca Creek, Cari Hutson Band, The Word Association, Oceanus, Clap!Clap!, A Year in Exile, 57 State and Eleven Fingered Charlie. This is not the first benefit show of its kind. Skytravel.org sponsored the first United We Jam concert in Austin for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. The effort raised more than $6,000. Sunday’s show raised nearly the same amount, a little over $5,000, said Lucy’s spokesperson Brian Scofield. The American Red Cross Web site stated that as of Sunday, the organization had received nearly $764.7 million. They estimate that more than $2 billion will be required to meet costs for the emergency needs of Hurricane Katrina survivors. The sum is 20 times greater than the relief provided by the Red Cross for all hurricanes in 2004. The all-day show started at 2 p.m. and continued until midnight. The event was free, but donations could

be placed in a bright orange bucket at the entrance. James Sartor, history senior, was one of many students willing to give a contribution. “I’m proud to be here. I gave ten bucks,” Sartor said. Sartor also experienced a form of tragedy from Hurricane Katrina. “Our family cemetery in Lafayette, La., was flooded, and the coffins came up and opened. So our whole ancestry, the bodies of our ancestors are gone,” Sartor said. The bands playing the benefit were happy to be a part of cause. “Lucy’s asked us to play and they told us what it was for, so we said ‘yes,’” said Jody Wood, vocalist of the metal band Oceanus. Wood also has ties to the catastrophe. “I know some of my family whose houses may be gone in Mississippi,” Wood said. “I don’t know anyone personally from New Orleans, but it’s weird; at my job, I talk to evacuees from New Orleans wanting help to set up their Internet in hotels or rooms.” The Word Association, a local hiphop group, praised fellow bands in its songs and continually asked people to donate what they could throughout the performance. The message was echoed as each band took the stage. People in the audience cheered and showed their support by giving tips to bartenders and participating on the dance floor. Some even jumped on stage. One band member was enthusiastic about playing the show and recalled similar benefit shows. “Oh. It’s great. I know a number of bands played a benefit for the tsunami,” said Levi Cory, bassist for the pop rock band Robbie and the Robots. “San Marcos is really great for pulling together in situations like this to do what they can.” Lindsey Lashway, audience member and pre-mass communication senior, had family directly affected. “I used to live in Metairie, which is right outside of New Orleans, and

I have a lot of family there,” Lashway said. “Luckily, they got out and went to my parents’ house in Galveston. Their houses were not too badly damaged because they lived on the outskirts.” Lashway was glad that San Marcos was doing its part to contribute. She said although the hurricane was a great tragedy, she was happy to know money was being raised for victims. Guitarist Jesse Hodges, also of Robbie and the Robots, had family affected as well. “My uncle’s wife’s grandchildren are all out of their house.,” Hodges said. “So they are all living with them in Corpus Christi now. They have several teenagers and two additional adults living in a two bedroom house.” The audience continued to grow as the evening progressed, and Lucy’s became a crowded house with people enjoying the music and continuing to donate money. The bar was busy, with customers leaving tips for the cause. In their press release, the sponsors of United We Jam stated that they hoped to collect at least $10,000 in conjunction with Jack’s Patio Bar in San Antonio. In addition to taking donations at Lucy’s, Outhouse Designs supplied, designed and sold white United We Jam T-shirts at the show. They featured the words “United We Jam: Hurricane Katrina Benefit” printed in black with the Texas and American flags depicted with Lucy’s Barfish. A lineup of the bands was on the back in bright red ink. Donations can still be made to the relief effort at the Red Cross Web site. Cory summarized the bands’ participation in the benefit show as a way to express their sympathy. “We may not be able to contribute thousands and thousands of dollars, but it’s all in spirit and heart,” Cory said. Brynn Leggett/Star photo Five Dollar Friend lead guitarist Matt Bell strums on his acoustic at Lucy’s on the Square on Sunday afternoon as part of a benefit concert to raise money for Katrina victims still separated from their homes along the Gulf Coast.

ONLINE: www.redcross.org

Grins offers good service, excellent eats More often ed promptly at roommate issues, I noticed his as far as his plate was concerned, restaurant than not, I am a nice window- plate was totally devoid of food one can only assume that it was review disappointed side table. Our — not one drop of soup, not one pretty good. My entrée was large with chickenserver reminded greasy smear of a sandwich. So enough to share, especially with Grins Restaurant fried steak. Yet, I Location: 802 N. LBJ Drive us about the always feel comlunch specials Hours: Monday to Thurspelled to order and informed us day: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., it. Sometimes on the difference Friday and Saturday: 11 it’s the batter, the between Grins’ a.m. to 11 p.m. consistency, the tortilla soup and Price Range: Inexpensive ﬂavoring or the other restaurants’ Forks Up greasiness that varieties. The I dislike. Other menu featured times, it’s the pounded card- standard home cooking as well board passing off as meat that as economically priced weekly is unappetizing. Luckily for me, specials. I was very impressed with the Though I was tempted to cash chicken-fried steak at Grins Res- in on the budget-friendly burger taurant. options, I, as usual, gravitated to Grins, a Texas State staple, is the unhealthiest gravy-smothlocated right across the street ered dish available. I ordered the from campus. The interior is chicken-fried steak, mashed poeclectically decorated, and the tatoes and green beans. My (more hardwood walls and ﬂoors give sensible) friend ordered a cheeseTiffany Searcy/Star photo it a laid-back earthiness, but it’s covered pita wrap and the torti- Grins Restaurant, located at 802 N. LBJ Drive, offers a varistill nice enough to take a date lla soup. Usually, we share dishes ety of Texas-style meals with economical daily specials. to. so we can get a larger sampling Since we just missed the lunch of the fare. However, as we were rush, my friend and I were seat- making the usual chitchat about

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while. For dessert, we split warm peach cobbler served in a small cup and doused with vanilla ice cream. Overall, if you are looking for a quick lunch that won’t compromise on taste or quality of service, Grins is right next door. — Christina Gomez

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the roll and side veggies falling off the plate. The chicken-fried steak was unusually tasty with a nice balance of batter and steak. The gravy was thick and creamy but not overwhelming. My only complaint was that the green beans tasted straight out of a can of Green Giant. Even so, the dish is one of the best I have had in a

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TRENDS

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

✯Star Comics THE CAT BIRD SEAT

BY JEFF COLE

The University Star - Page 6

Distinctive voices A nontraditional point of view

Random Acts of Violence

Erin Leeder

The anxiety and pressure of one cializing. I was also forever grateful exam has come and gone. I stress to one of the fraternities that came “anxiety” because I have three more to my vehicle and picked up a ton of to go this next week. I actually had to clothes that I donated to their Hurritake my watch off just so I could get cane Katrina Relief clothes drive later through the first one. As confident as that afternoon. I feel bad that I don’t I feel with what I know, I can’t help remember the fraternity name, but the flustered feeling when the actual I’m sure they remember me and my exam is put before me. To help allebags laden with children’s clothes. SUSAN RAUCH viate my fears, I have attended one My academic week ends on ThursEntertainment study session and have two more to days with back-to-back classes. Since Columnist go, as well as some self-paced study I don’t have time for a lunch break, guidelines for another class. With the I could not help indulging in the exception of one upcoming exam, I quesadillas for sale by the Hispanic feel somewhat better, but I can tell you that age Business Student Association in The Quad just does not come into play with exams. All of us outside the doors of my history class. Now, I were feeling the same pressure and anxiety. really have something to look forward to every On the brighter side of things, my oldest son Thursday afternoon! I am also looking forward won his first varsity tennis singles match this to the Comal County Fair and parade on Friday past weekend. I attended my first Texas State at the New Braunfels Fairground. It is a small Tennis Sport Club practice on Thursday. They fair, but it is a lot of fun, and my youngest son are trying very hard to get it started back up is in the parade. I think it will be a good way for since it fizzled out last year. With tennis, I don’t me to relax, have fun and unwind after what I feel any anxiety, and it was the one of two events perceive as stressful upcoming week. last week in which I felt confident in something that I was doing. The other was the ever-sucWe will be following Susan’s first freshman secessful Non-Traditional Student Organization mester in 25 years in next Tuesday’s issue of The taco and sausage wrap sale on Wednesday. De- Star. For more information on the Non-Tradispite sitting in the sweltering heat in long jeans, tional Student Organization, see www.studenit ended up being a good day for sales and so- torgs.txstate.edu/ntso.

NEED ADVICE? E-mail us at starentertainment@txstate.edu with any questions you have. Whether itʼs relationship, school or work problems youʼre having, weʼll give you our advice.

All e-mails will be kept conﬁdential.

WANTED ��

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Wednesday, August Tuesday, September 20, 24, 20052005 - Page- Page 7 33

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.

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SPORTS

southlandconference scoreboard

THE UNIVERSITY STAR

Stephen F. Austin 63 Western Illinois 36 Sam Houston State 21 Texas Tech 80 Northwestern State 28 Louisiana Lafayete 49

Tuesday,September 20, 2005 - Page 8

McNeese State 20 Southern Miss 48 Nicholls State 54 Cheney University 0 Texas State Bye

**SLC teams in bold

Sports Contact — Miguel Peña, starsports@txstate.edu

Bobcat Volleyball pounces on UT-Arlington By Chris Boehm Sports Reporter

Danny Rodriguez/Star photo Sophomore Brandy St. Francis helps secure a Bobcat victory of 3-2 in Saturday’s game against UT-Arlington. The Bobcats play Sam Houston State tonight in Huntsville.

The Bobcat volleyball team took another step toward distancing itself from preseason struggles, winning a dramatic, five-game match (24-30, 28-30, 30-23, 30-19, 16-14) over Southland rival UT-Arlington on Saturday. The Mavericks (2-9, 0-2 SLC) jumped on Texas State early, getting on top 2-0. It seemed over for the Bobcats, who had played error-prone ball up to that point, and who were previously 0-4 when dropping the first two games. “I don’t think we can make them any more exciting,” Chisum said of the tight contest. “We played great after game two.” A new team stepped on the court following intermission, as the Bobcats (3-6, 2-0 SLC) shocked UTA with short rallies to steal game three 30-23. Texas State followed with a convincing victory in game four, hitting 0.351 to the Mavericks’ 0.083. “That was an amazing victory,” said sophomore Brittany Prewitt. “We’ve worked really hard to pick up our game.” In the decisive game five, teams traded points before Chisum’s squad fell behind 12-14 on a kill by Ashley Van Antwerp, who led the Mavericks with 19. Texas State received a boost from the little-used Prewitt, playing with a cast on her left hand following an auto accident that occurred in the summer. “We needed to get back to the right side, and Brittany was huge,” Chisum said. “She hadn’t played a lot, and we wanted to give her a chance and see what she looked like.” Prewitt, who also played sparingly as a freshman in 2004, contributed four kills in the final game. She ended the match with 14 kills and 26 digs, fourth and second on the team, respectively. “It was great to play in a huge win,” Prewitt said. “I’ve just been trying to get back to where I can play and help the team.” Following the Van Antwerp score, Texas State reeled off four consecutive points to take the match on kills from Liz Nwoke, Brandy St. Francis and two UTA

juggling errors. The come-frombehind victory sent the 747 Bobcat fans into a sudden uproar. “I don’t know if the fans can handle this all year,” Chisum said. “They might have to call us the ‘Cardiac ’Cats’ all season.” Chisum said her team practiced defense all week, and it showed. The game opened with a long volley, with the Bobcats going on to out-dig UTA 111-90. Libero Amy Ramirez led the way with a game-high 31. “Hats off to (assistant coaches) Zach Shaver and Tracy McWilliams,” Chisum said. “We had to play better defensively, and during the week, they were able to get the team ready to do that.” Texas State stumbled out of the gates, giving the Mavericks 11 points on errors alone. Early on it appeared as though the miscues would do in the Bobcats. “We lost games one and two because of errors,” Chisum said. “UTA is not a ﬂashy team. They keep the ball in play and let you make the errors.” The Bobcats played it close through game one’s midpoint, leading 15-14 until UTA went on a 9-2 run to pull away, the last

two points scored on Lawrencia Brown attacking errors. Game two was another even match, with Texas State dropping a five-point lead to go down 0-2. “Our main goal we tell these kids is to win game two, and we didn’t,” Chisum said. “That’s the most important game, because even if you drop the first you can tie it up.” Chisum watched her team blow a late 26-21 lead before getting off the deathbed in game four. The Bobcats’ turnaround was triggered by Chisum abandoning her 6-2 offense in favor of one setter, sophomore Jessica Grisham. She and junior Christina Melvin had previously split time at the position, but Saturday night, Grisham was on the floor when it counted, leaving the court not once daring the final two games. Grisham notched a career-high 82 assists to lead the match. “Jessi’s just more fluid,” Chisum said Saturday. “We made some good changes tonight.” Texas State travels to Huntsville for a Tuesday match with the Sam Houston State Bearkats.

Texas State Vs. UT-Arlington Sept. 18, Strahan Coliseum

Texas State | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A | SA/SE| RE| DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 Bruggeman, S. 1| 1 2 6 -.167| 0 | 0 0 | 0 | 1| 0 0 0 | 0| 1.0 4 Ramirez, A........ 5| 0 0 2 .000 | 0 | 2 0 | 0 | 31| 0 0 0 | 0| 2.0 8 Stark, A....... 4| 7 2 17 .294 | 0 | 0 0 | 0 | 3| 1 3 0 | 0| 9.5 9 Nwoke, E.... 5| 26 13 70 .186 | 0 | 0 1 | 0 | 16| 0 1 0 | 1| 26.5 10 Grisham, J..... 5| 1 2 11- .091 |82 | 1 1 | 0 | 9| 0 2 0 | 1| 3.0 11Brown L..... 5| 17 9 45 .178 | 0 | 0 1 | 2 | 16| 0 2 0 | 2| 18.0 12 Grifﬁn, K...... 3| 10 3 24 .292 | 1 | 0 0 | 0 | 3| 0 1 0 | 0| 10.5 13 St. Francis, B. 5| 19 4 35 .429 | 0 | 2 3 | 0 | 5| 1 4 0 | 0| 24.0 14 Prewit, B.... 5| 14 3 30 .367 | 2 | 1 3 | 0 | 26| 0 3 0 | 1| 16.5 16 Kelly F...... 1| 3 1 6 .333 | 0 | 0 0 | 0 | 1| 0 0 0 | 0| 3.0 17 Melvin, C... 1| 0 0 0 .000 | 6 | 0 0 | 0 | 0| 0 0 0 | 1| 0.0 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Totals.............. 5| 98 39 246 .240| 91| 6 9| 2|111| 2 16 0| 6| 114.0 Texas-Arlington | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A | SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 Rogers, M.. 5| 9 6 52 .058 | 0 | 1 0 | 1 | 25 | 0 2 0 | 0 | 11.0 2 Marek, M...... 5| 7 1 17 .353 | 0 | 0 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 4 0 | 0 | 9.0 4 Kalb, G.......... 5| 11 3 26 .308| 0 | 0 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 8 0 | 1 | 16.0 5 Dacus, T........ 5| 6 2 25 .160 | 1 | 0 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 4 1 | 0 | 8.0 9 Van Antwerp, A. 5| 19 7 59 .203| 0 | 0 0 | 2 | 13 | 0 1 0 | 0 | 19.5 11 Smith, A....... 5| 0 0 0 .000 | 4 | 1 0 | 1 | 23 | 0 0 0 | 0 | 1.0 20 Nedderman, E.... 5| 6 1 17 .294 |45| 0 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 5 0 | 2 | 9.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Totals.............. 5| 58 20 196 .194| 50| 2 1| 6| 90| 2 24 1| 3| 74.0

Cross country pleased with second-place finishes By Adam Schoenky Sports Reporter

In the women’s race, the Bobcats also finished a strong second, behind the UT team. Marina Andruzzi led the Bobcat women with a 10th-place finish and a time of 20:28. A pack of Bobcat women who crossed the line at almost the same time helped solidify their team’s second-place finish. Among them were Andruzzi, Whitney Perkins, who placed 11th with a time of 20:48, and Samantha Evola, who came in 13th in the race with a time of 21:14. As with last week’s Texas A&M Invitational meet, this race was mostly about finding out where the team stands in comparison to competition and getting some experience under the belts of the newcomers. “We had our younger men and women racing today,” said Texas State head coach Grigori Viniar. “I saw a couple of wom- From left: Elizabeth Alexander, Whitney Perkins and Veronica Rodriguez, memen that will help us. And on bers of the Texas State women’s cross country team, cool down after placing the men’s side, I look for Jacob second in Saturday’s Texas State Invitational at the Gary Job Corps facility. Wells to come back and support our major team.” half of the season and set the roster. Vi- showing the whole team has had so far Texas State will be back in action niar said that by the following week, at this year,” Zarate said. “The younger next weekend at the Whataburger/ an event at Oklahoma State, the roster men and women are showing steady UTSA Invitational in San Antonio. The will most likely be set for the Southland improvement from week to week, and team will use the meet as one more test Conference meet. that is a good indication of things to run in order to gear up for the second “Overall, I am pleased with the strong come.”

ACCIDENT WITNESS

Did you see a bike/car accident at the intersection of Sessoms & LBJ Wednesday, August 24, about 7pm? Please call: 392-2415

Monty Marrion/Star photo

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams finished second overall at the Texas State Invitational on Saturday. It was the first of two home meets this year for the teams and was held at the Gary Job Corps Facility on Highway 21. As a donation to the Texas State track and field program, the Gary Job Corps allows the teams to use the facility free of charge for all home cross country meets. In addition to preparing for the races, the Texas State teams served as hosts and organizers of the event. Assistant coach Greg Zarate said that after all of the hard work that went into planning the meet, the coaches were very pleased with the fan turnout, smoothness of the operation and cooperative weather. Youth abounded as the high school and junior high squads warmed up and joked around while waiting for their meet to start. The morning started out with the university men’s and women’s races and continued all the way down to junior high. “We couldn’t have asked for a better day,” Zarate said. “I think it’s a really good thing for the university and the surrounding schools that participated.” While the weather did cooperate, the Texas heat was more than evident

as a young man was seen struggling to maintain his balance as his knees buckled beneath him. As two men rushed to his aid to help him walk, the young man was surprisingly intent on checking his watch. It seemed unbelievable that someone in such a condition would be concerned with his finishing time, and then all became clear. “What day is it?” the runner from Western Texas College said. One runner who was considerably less fazed by the race was sophomore Jacob Wells, who led the Bobcats with a third-place finish. Wells’ finish, at 28:15, prevented the University of Texas men’s team from posting a perfect score. Runners from UT finished first and second, as well as fourth through sixth. UT’s Jake Morse finished first with a time of 26:09. The race was the first 8K for Wells since he was injured last season. After a summer regimen of pool workouts and rehab, he said he is ready to run but that the coaches are keeping an eye out to make sure he doesn’t re-aggravate the injury. “I’m happy with my place at the meet, but personally, I was hoping to run a better time,” Wells said. “I’m looking forward to the remaining races, but mostly conference. With the guys returning and the recruits we brought in, we should have a really good season this year.”

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