Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio
{SINCE 1981}
S.A. Although San Antonio has not declared itself as a “sanctuary city,” it has the characteristics of one. Chief of Police William McManus stated in a meeting last week that, while his officers do not ask people about their immigration status, if they arrest someone with a federal warrant who emigrated to the U.S., then they will notify the federal government. Governor Abbott supports banning sanctuary cities and has urged the Legislature to do so in 2017.
Texas The UT System has announced plans to build a new campus on 300 acres in the southwestern region of Houston. It has not yet been decided if the land will be used as a branch campus or as a hub for the UT System’s 14 academic and health institutions; it most likely will not be used for a new university.
U.S. Dallas Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones has reiterated his support for defensive end Greg Hardy in a statement posted on the team’s website. The statement comes in the face of a thorough investigative report by Deadspin, detailing the 2014 assault on Hardy’s ex-girlfriend, Nicole Holder. The report includes photos of Holder, severely bruised. Jones has called Hardy “a real leader” on the team.
World
An Egyptian member of the team investigating the Russian plane crash in Egypt told Reuters that they are “90 percent sure” the noise heard in the final moments of a cockpit recording was an explosion caused by a bomb.
Health The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a group of cases presented by religious hospitals, schools and charities that object to the “opt-out” system under Obamacare devised to accomodate instiutions opposed to contraceptives. The regulation requires religious nonprofts to report their religious objection to the Department of Health and Human Services; the groups argue that this burdens their faith.
Science
New York’s Attorney General has launched an investigation into whether Exxon Mobile suppressed climate change research and properly informed its investors of the profit risks that might arise as countries cut back on fossil fuels.
Volume 52
Issue 13
November 10 - November 17, 2015
UTSA hopes to phase out CAP program by 2017 Andrea Velgis, The Paisano
Andrea Velgis Photo Assistant
@ThePaisano news@paisano-online.com The Coordinated Admissions Program (CAP) allows students who were not immediately admitted into UT Austin to complete their freshman year at another UT school, then transfer to the flagship Austin campus their second year. CAP students must meet a minimum 3.2 GPA while taking 30 credit hours in order to transfer. Participating schools include UT El Paso, UT Arlington, UT Permian Basin and UTSA. Students who meet these requirements are offered automatic admission into UT’s College of Liberal Arts. Those who wish to major in anything outside of liberal arts must apply as an external transfer into that college,
such as the Cockrell School of Engineering or McCombs School of Business. According to UTSA Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. John Frederick, students who begin at UTSA and then leave without graduating lower the university’s four year graduation rate of 11 percent because CAP students count as “starting at UTSA” but do not count as “graduating from UTSA,” they affect the institution’s graduation rates negatively. “It is worth noting that CAP students do not count as a positive factor in graduation rates for UT Austin since they did not start at UT Austin. And CAP students who decide to stay at UTSA and graduate within six years from UTSA do count positively for us,” stated Frederick. UT Austin’s four year graduation
rate is currently 52 percent. Because graduation rates are one of the factors considered among Tier One institutions, UTSA’s journey to Tier One status has been affected by students who just pass through the university with no intention of graduating from there. In an attempt to decrease participation in the program, UTSA has implemented a limit to the number of potential CAP students. During the fall 2015 admission period, the limit was met within
the first two hours that the program was open for applications. According to the provost, roughly 30 percent of CAP students opt to remain at UTSA rather than transfer to UT Austin, “but some may have subsequently transferred or dropped out.” Currently, there are 499 freshmen CAP students at UTSA. While the program is detrimental to both campus’ graduation rates, it benefits CAP students like Kristen Wight, who see the
program as an opportunity “to make it to their ideal college.” “It truly proves that higher education is the top priority for students and college admissions counselors at UT Austin,” Wight added. CAP helps students transfer to UT Austin after one year since the acceptance rate, currently at 40.2 percent, at UT lowers every year. UTSA has an acceptance rate of 60 percent. Despite the buzz surrounding the fate of the program, See CAP, page 3
Thirty percent of CAP students choose to remain at UTSA rather than transfer to UT Austin. Andrea Velgis, The Paisano
Campus Carry update:
Survey to be distributed to gather student, faculty and staff opinions Matt Frost Staff Writer
@ThePaisano news@paisano-online.com The UTSA Faculty Senate met last Wednesday on the fourth floor in the library to discuss a multitude of topics and to vote on a pair of resolutions that could affect the implementation of campus carry on the UTSA campus. As most UTSA students are aware, the campus carry law will take effect on UTSA’s campus Aug. 2016. Since the law has passed, the debate raging on campus right now is over which areas President Romo should designate as gun-free. The UTSA Faculty Senate is now involved in the
debate, doing their best to represent the interest of the faculty. During the October Faculty Senate meeting, an ad hoc committee was created to provide the task force with further input concerning the law’s implementation. Wasting no time, the committee authored two resolutions to be voted on during the following meeting. The first resolution urged President Romo to designate classrooms, faculty offices and laboratories as gun free areas. “The final vote from the committee (on the resolution) was ten ‘yes votes, zero ‘no’ votes and two abstentions,” said committee member and University College Profes-
sor Dr. Greg Hazleton. Though the vote by the committee was nearly unanimous, the resolutions were heavily debated. “We debated quite a bit about the scope of the resolution,” Hazleton said. Hazleton explained further, saying that the committee suggested that the President designate places of formal teaching and research as gun-free spaces. According to Hazleton, the debate in the committee focused on whether the language “places of formal teaching and research” was too vague, or whether choosing more specific language might allow some areas to be forgotten. The Faculty Senate spent
a large amount of time debating this as well, eventually settling on replacing the words “research laboratories” in the official resolution with the phrase “laboratories, studios, and practice rooms,” thereby including a wider range of areas instead of limiting the zones to only prototypical science and engineering laboratories. After debating some other minor language changes, the Faculty Senate voted on the resolution itself and voted overwhelmingly in favor of adopting the resolution. “The second resolution asked the senate to consider developing a survey to be sent to students in order to gauge how the student body feels about
UTSA’s implementation of the law,” said Hazleton. Political Science Professor Dr. Walter Wilson offered his support for the survey at the meeting, saying, “The law does mandate consultation with students, and having a stratified random sample of student opinion on the matter would be very valuable for understanding where students are on the issue.” The Faculty Senate elected to widen the resolution’s scope and will distribute a survey to faculty, staff and students instead of students only. The Faculty Senate then voted on the resolution as a whole, and the vote was resoundingly in favor of the resolution.
Participation at Model UN event doubled last year’s Gaige Davila Staff Writer
@ThePaisano news@paisano-online.com Points were raised, gavels were pounded and issues were resolved at the Alamo Model United Nation’s second annual conference that occurred over the weekend. This year’s conference sought to simulate the U.N. Economic and Social Council concerning issues like immigration, the global refugee crisis, methods for sustainable development, the global
energy crisis, gender equality and empowering women. Tensions were high as student-delegates silently conferred fiercely with each other using tiny yellow notes that sailed through a sea of raised hands. The event exuded an ambiance of professionalism that, as the student-delegates collectively devised solutions, resembled an actual United Nations conference. Throughout the three-day weekend, See Global, page 3
The delegate for the U.S. passionatdefends his country’s resolution during the conference. Photo Courtesy of Heather Riddle