The Paisano Vol. 46 Issue 7

Page 1

Soccer splits weekend games

Public Artwork in abandoned store fronts see page 9

see page 11

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

October 4, 2011

Volume 46

Issue 7

MONOPOLY ON FOOD

Unauthorized users access Honors College student records Sheila Alvarado

University’s food supplier provides commercial food but not the benefits

File Photo

news@paisano-online.com

Burk Frey/ The Paisano

Starting this semester, students will not be able to invite as many guests to the Roadrunner Café as before.

Daniel Crotty Victor H. Hernandez news@paisano-online.com

Last year, when the last worker of the 33 Chilean miners was rescued from the mine in Copiapó, Chile, Aramark, the company that provides food services to UTSA, had already fed the miners 6,000 meals under contract with the Chilean government. “First of all,” read a note sent to Aramark cooks from 2,300 feet under, “we wish to thank you for your goodwill and kindness towards us. Let there not be the slightest doubt that the service you have rendered has made a major difference in the food we eat we will soon be with you.” But in the United States, where Aramark makes most of its profit from students, inmates and sports fans, the ambience seems to be entirely different. “I can’t believe this. I don’t understand why on earth there are no independent options to eat on campus,” said Margaret Jackson, freshman political science major. “If you

Students can now access food from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday.

really think about it, there seems to be many options to eat at UTSA, but there are none. There is only one: Aramark.” Aramark is in charge of managing all restaurants on campus, having acquired the licenses for commercial purposes of Burger King, Taco Cabana, Subway and many others. Places like Starbucks often reward their customers with points and promotions, but not the ones at UTSA. This was a revelation for Jackson, who was left with her Starbucks rewards card in her hand. See ARAMARK, Page 2

For over 40 days, the personal information of 688 students and prospective students of UTSA’s Honors College was exposed to unauthorized viewers. The students were not notified until almost two months later. On Sep. 20, 2011, Richard A. Diem Ph.D., dean of the Honors College, mailed a personal letter to the 688 students stating that there was “an inadvertent exposure of student education records.” An e-mail with the same information was sent to each of the students as well. The exposure began June 20, 2011, because of a configuration change to the Automated Student Access Program (ASAP), which is used by students and faculty to access information including class schedules, advising information, fiscal services and information on the Honors College. On Aug. 2, 2011, an employee notified UTSA officials of a potential unauthorized exposure of Honors College student information. The exposure allowed employees, including those who did not have a business need, to view students’ information such as names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and GPAs. According to information reported in an article on the UTSA Today website, “233 records were accessed by unauthorized users. An additional 455 records may have been accessed by unauthorized users; the remaining 4,012 records were not accessed.” David Gabler, associate vice president for university communications, stated that social security numbers were not visible at any time.

“I want to be very clear that no information was changed. Viewing is very different than having access to change,” Gabler said. He also stated that the exposure was closed down within an hour after it was noticed; an investigation was started and the situation was rectified. UTSA’s Information Technology department was able to determine who accessed which files and determined that there appeared to be no malicious intent involved in the accessing of the students’ files. The past 10 years have seen a tremendous change in the amount of data and information that universities store online about students and faculty. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) has set standards for what student educational information is available to the public and what should be done in the case of exposure. FERPA was enacted by Congress to protect the privacy of students and their parents. FERPA does not protect against disclosing records that have a student’s name but does protect against disclosing a student’s status and educational information. The university was not required by FERPA or federal guidelines to send a letter or an e-mail to those students who were possibly affected but erred on the side of caution, even though no social security information was exposed.

See HONORS, Page 3

Slate of new state laws New VIA route makes attending going into place football games easier

The new law authorizing the attorney general’s crackdown on repeat drunken drivers is among a slate of new laws going into effect on Saturday. More than 150 of the laws that the Legislature passed earlier this year formally go into effect on Oct. 1. Most are considered minor housekeeping adjustments to current statutes. But one of the higher-profile new laws is the so-called “24/7” program that was overwhelmingly endorsed by lawmakers in April with the strong backing of Attorney General Steve Bullock. The program requires repeat DUI offenders to take a breath test twice a day, every day, at their own expense from the time of arrest until their sentence is completed. “Every day, judges in Montana require repeat DUI offenders to stay sober and to stay out of bars as a condition of their bond, but until now, we’ve had no effective program to make sure that happened,” Bullock said. “The 24/7 Sobriety Program gives communities an enforcement mechanism to

keep repeat drunk drivers off the road.” Supporters argue it has proven successful in keeping repeat offenders sober during a pilot project, and costs taxpayers nothing since the offenders pay for the tests. A few opponents at the Legislature, including one lawmaker and bar owner, unsuccessfully tried to argue that the full slate of DUI crackdowns was bad for business in small towns. The attorney general said work will continue to implement the program around the state. Within the next week, five counties should have their programs working _ Yellowstone, Custer, Lewis and Clark, Butte-Silver Bow and Sanders counties. Cascade and Flathead counties are expected to start testing sometime in the next month, and Missoula County is expected to be ready sometime after that. “With a steady rollout across Montana, I believe we can partner with local law enforcement agencies to reduce the terrible toll drunk drivers exact on Montana families,” Bullock said. See LAWS, Page 3

Christian Gamboa

news@paisano-online.com If anyone has attended a UTSA football game at the Alamodome, they have most likely noticed the hordes of fans that begin to form two lines outside the exit doors after the game. One line is used for VIA buses traveling directly to UTSA’s Main Campus and the other line is for the VIA buses traveling to Crossroads Mall. Since the first football game of the season, VIA has offered discounted rates for UTSA students who wish to travel by bus to the Alamodome. For $1.25 each way, ($2.50 roundtrip) students can park at either the UTSA main campus or at Crossroads Mall and the buses drop off students by the main entrance of the Alamodome. Students must show their UTSA ID when purchasing their special event tokens and can also purchase tokens for their friends and family at a rate of $2.50 each way. Aside from the two main park-andride lines servicing UTSA and Cross-

Burk Frey/ The Paisano

Associated Press

Students are now able to take the VIA bus from the downtown campus to the Alamodome for games at a discount.

roads Mall, Madla Transit Center on Cantrell Street also offers transportation to the Alamodome. The Yellow Streetcar line that provides regular service between the Downtown UTSA Campus and the Alamodome can also

be used to attend the game. Students can receive a discounted rate of .55 when they show their student ID, as opposed to the normal rate of $1.10. See VIA, Page 2


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.