Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio
10.05.2010 Vol. 44 Issue 7
The
Paisano Fagbug
Celebrating Thirty Years of Independent News with a Brand New Design Christopher Connell
MS Lab to move The MS Student Computer Lab and its operations will be moving to the newly expanded Library Information Commons (JPL, second floor). Both the computers and the technical support will be available at the Library, just as it is at the MS Lab. The construction that you currently see on JPL second floor will in part become the home of the “new MS Lab.” The move from the MS Lab to the Expanded Library Information Commons will occur in late October. The new facility will be available by very early November. Instead of moving the existing MS Lab computers, the university is adding new computers to the expanded Library Information Commons to bring the total number of computers in the Library to 185. “We are also in the process of completely replacing the computers in the Business Building and Downtown computer labs with brand new machines,” Carolyn Ellis, assistant director, OIT customer relations and communication, said.
Women in Communication The Association of Women in Communication UTSA will be hosting a reception on Oct. 7th at 3:00 p.m. in the University Room of the Business Building hosted by the Women’s Studies Institute
President’s speech UTSA President Ricardo Romo will deliver a “State of the University” address to students, faculty and staff at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 6 in the University Center Ballroom (1.104) on the UTSA Main Campus. There will be special remarks by state Rep. Joaquin Castro, vice chair of the Texas House Higher Education Committee. “The University of Texas at San Antonio has had a tremendous year across the board,” said Romo. “This address will reflect on what we have achieved as an emerging research university, the challenges we are meeting head-on and where the university is headed.” Although reservations are not required to attend the address, seating is limited and will be available on a first-come, firstserved basis. A reception will follow the address. Sources: UTSA Today, Women in Communication and UTSA OIT
Erin Davies with Fagbug will visit campus Oct. 19-20 discussing gay rights.
GLBTQ hosts ‘Coming Out Day’ and various gay-friendly events
National Coming Out Day is a civil awareness day to encourage discussion of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBTQ) issues. In the United States, National Coming Out Day is observed on Oct. 11. during GLBTQ History Month. GLBTQ of UTSA will host the event with local San Antonio GLBTQ organizations in the UC Paseo or in front of the bookstore from 10am-1pm depending on the weather,” Charles Miles, GLBTQ of UTSA, said. “We will also have a few members possibly read there coming out stories and the importance of making the 1st step to coming out. The goal is to spread awareness that “coming out” is still a difficult thing to do for many and also GLBTQ would like to promote hope and support once you have come out,” Miles said. See COMING OUT, Page 3
Student government under microscope Nina Hernandez
paisanonews@sbcglobal.net With turnouts for even charged initiatives like alcohol at Chili’s, it’s unknown why voter participation is still below ten percent. The Student Government Association (SGA) takes on publicizing these issues in order to raise voter turnout, but the process is slow. “We’re [engineering students] are not on the top of their [SGA] list,” Amanda Saldivar, junior civil engineering major, said. Some students are unclear what SGA does or who the president is. “They should try to include the whole student population. We hear about them when they
“If it is okay to sell alcohol on campus, alcohol should be allowed in dorm rooms.” Sabrina Macal Junior Political Science major
are running for office or when they create a Facebook group,” Sabrina Macal, junior political science major, said. “We have a significantly smaller budget than many other universities that have a smaller population than ours,” SGA president Derek Trimm said. SGA is allocated a total of $6,093.00 a year for public relations purposes, including promotional items like t-shirts,
tailgating at homecoming, supplies, booth fees for BestFrest and FiestaUTSA, and a total of $2,193.00 under the umbrella of “general PR.” “We don’t have a lot of resources at our disposal to run big ad campaigns,” Trimm said. “When you look at 30,000 students [ten percent] doesn’t at first seem like a lot, but historically that is a large sample population.” This year the SGA at University of Central Florida had a budget of over $15,000,000 compared to the UTSA SGA, which has a yearly budget of $47,650.00. “If we can advertise on Facebook, put up fliers, and use word of mouth, I think it makes our PR budget go a lot further,” Trimm said.
Although it did not equate to a sizeable spike in turnout, Trimm said he saw many students taking up the cause; he was riding the shuttle and someone handed him a flier with information about the issue. Though Macal does not want to see alcohol on campus she said that if UTSA offers alcohol it should be allowed everywhere. “If it is okay to sell alcohol on campus, alcohol should also be allowed in dorm rooms,” Macal said. Other students were more open to the idea of alcohol on campus. “I’m for it. I’d like to get a beer before class,” Gazel Montazeri, graduate mathematics major, said. See SGA, Page 4
I’m a Christian
President Obama said he is a Christian by choice.
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President Barack Obama, in a rare discussion about his religious beliefs, described himself on Tuesday as a “Christian by choice’’ who arrived at his faith in adulthood because “the precepts of Jesus Christ’’ helped him envision the kind of life he wanted to lead. Obama talked about his beliefs when he was asked, “Why are you a Christian.” The question was posed by a woman at a backyard conversation in New Mexico, part of a series of meetings Obama is holding to talk informally with Americans. Some conservatives and political opponents have questioned Obama’s Christian faith. In fact, a Pew Research Center poll in August found that 18 percent of people wrongly
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believe Obama is Muslim – up from 11 percent who said so in March 2009. Only 34 percent said they thought Obama is Christian. “I’m a Christian by choice,’’ Obama told the audience. “My family didn’t – frankly, they weren’t folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn’t raise me in the church. “So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead – being my brothers’ and sisters’ keeper, treating others as they would treat me,” he continued. “And I think also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the
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Photos courtesy of: Erin Davies
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See OBAMA, Page 5
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