CHEAP THRILLS
To read stories from The Star’s back to school issue, which was on newsstands earlier this week, log on to www.universitystar.com.
The new Red River Pass can get you into shows all month long for a few bucks SEE TRENDS PAGE 5
DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
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JANUARY 18, 2007
THURSDAY
VOLUME 96, ISSUE 42
Winter blitz
Tornado touches down in San Marcos By Paul Rangel The University Star
Icy conditions warm the hearts of oncampus residents By Alex Hering and Paul Rangel The University Star
Christen Motz said being cooped up in her dorm this week because of icy weather has reminded her of snow days in elementary school. “It feels like snow days when we were younger and we didn’t have to go to school — except this time we have all our friends around and no parents,” said Motz, pre-interdisciplinary studies junior. “Everyone is running around having fun and smashing the ice off cars.” Since Saturday, San Marcos residents and people nationwide have experienced freezing temperatures and hazardous conditions in what is being called a “Winter Blitz” by the National Weather Service. With temperatures dropping to freezing levels and the area receiving a mix of rain, sleet and snow, the National Weather Service has issued several winter storm and flash flood warnings since Saturday, causing the campus to be closed for two days. “Last Saturday, a strong low pressure (trough) system from the West, combined with an arctic cold front from the North, produced heavy rains, thunderstorms and the apparent tornado in San Marcos,” said Rebecca Brown, doctoral instructional assistant and instructor of a meteorology and climate class. For students, the freedom from school and work is a big factor in the happy morale around the dorms, Motz said. “Nobody has to work, nobody has school and nobody has any worries yet,” Motz, who is in her first year at Burleson Hall, said. “We are all just relaxing.” “When I walked outside this morning, there were about 20 people picking the ice off all the cars in the parking lot,” she said. “They were all pretending to destroy property, but really they were just having fun.” The icy road conditions have posed a hazard for those wanting to purchase groceries, said Ana Lisa Alvarado, who has not bought any groceries since her arrival Sunday night. “I kind of want to buy some food, but
Danny Rodriguez/Star photo PUSH OFF: Former student Cody Foster sends alumna Jackie Davis sliding down the iced-over ramp on the top level of the Pleasant Street parking garage Tuesday afternoon. PAST ICE BLAST: Students play in the snow on the then-South West Texas State campus Jan. 12, 1985. Seven inches of snow fell in San Marcos, causing the school to cancel the first day of classes for the spring semester. According to the Jan. 17, 1985 University Star, four inches of snow fell in Austin and 17 in San Antonio, a record for the region.
it’s dangerous to leave,” said Alvarado, industrial technology freshman. “If you walk outside you’re going to fall, and if you drive on those roads you’re going to crash.” Alvarado, an El Paso native, has never seen conditions like these. “Where I’m from, we have never had to cancel school because of weather,” she said. “We don’t have ‘snow days’ in El Paso.” The slippery ice and close accidents have caused residents at Burleson Hall to attempt to remove the ice from entrance steps. “My hammer just broke; that’s how thick the ice is,” Motz said. “We were trying to pick the ice off the stairs out front. We only got like half off.” Not having access to grocery stores is
an inconvenience when cooking in the dorms is an imperative, Motz said. “The first night of the ice a bunch of friends and I tried to order pizza, but every place we tried was closed due to the weather,” she said. “We were forced to eat a lot of oatmeal and sit around and complain about our hunger all night.” Driving is out of the question for Motz, but not because she’s not acclimated to driving on icy roads. “Of course I don’t want to drive to get food — not because I don’t know how to drive in this weather — it’s because I know other Texans are out there,” Motz, an East Coast native, said. “I don’t want them to freak out and crash into me.” Kelly Price, communication design sophomore, said she has found ways to stay busy.
“We went to the hill behind Alkek Library and Arnold and we made these sleds out of plastic and slid them down the hill,” Price said. “We also slid down the hill by San Marcos Hall. It doesn’t sound too exciting, but it really was. It was really cool being on campus when everyone else was out there having fun.” Motz said the extended holiday break was relaxing, but she is looking forward to class resuming its regular schedule. “I was excited about school,” she said. “It was nice not having work or school, but at the same time, it’s time to get the ball rolling.” Jonathan Mabrito, undecided sophomore, found the ice to be an excuse to See ICE, page 3
Proposed bill would freeze tuition at first-year rate By Bill Lancaster The University Star As the new Democratic-controlled Congress plans to reduce the interest rates on student loans, the Texas legislature will vote on a bill that could relieve some of the financial pressure students face. State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, has introduced a bill in the Senate that, if passed, would freeze the price of tuition for incoming college freshmen during the first four years of their
higher education. “Right now tuition is extraordinarily high,” said Katherine Tims, pre-mass communication sophomore. “Your scholarships and grants don’t go up in relation to your tuition so it really isn’t fair.” State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, said he supports the bill, because it would allow students and their families to plan college budgets for four years, which has been difficult to do ever since the state legislature deregulated tuition in 2003.
“I voted against regents setting tuition rates in 2003,” Wentworth said. “It was our understanding they wouldn’t raise tuition significantly, but I think it’s gone up an average of forty percent.” According to a report by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, tuition rates at public universities have increased an average of 40 percent since deregulation in 2003. Between Fall 2003 and Fall 2006, Texas State’s designated tuition increased by 52 percent.
Josh Smith, studio art senior, said the freeze on tuition sounds great. Smith is enrolled in 12 hours, has just gotten engaged and is trying to work more hours at Blockbuster Video. “Tuition seems to be rising and rising,” Smith said, “and (it) doesn’t seem to be slowing down.” Jeremy Hellums, history senior, also enrolled in 12 hours, has to plan class choices around his work schedule. “I needed to get a job,” he said. “I
San Marcos residents along the 700 block of MLK and Centre Street awoke Saturday to the sound of a tornado in their backyard. “(My husband and I) woke up and could hear the wind making a roaring sound,” said San Marcos resident Priscilla Medrano. “It was a noise that you have never heard before.” It was a fight or flight situation that the couple faced as one dashed for their two young daughters and the other went for their son. “I was just worried about getting the kids,” Medrano said. “We grabbed them from their beds and put them in the closet near the middle of the house.” No damage was done to the Medranos’ property. However, the carport was torn from the small apartment complex behind the house, said Saul Medrano, Priscilla’s husband. The carport landed on top of several cars parked underneath, severely damaging some of them. “It happened so fast,” he said. “At 7:08 I was watching this happen, then at 7:15 I was running outside to make sure that everyone was OK.” The storm hit the San Marcos area around 7 a.m. Dispatch had called Howard Williams, San Marcos police chief, at 7:08 with reports from local residents that a tornado had hit a neighborhood, the police department and a few businesses along Interstate 35 South. “I’d been woken by the storm and was watching the rain when my phone rang,” Williams said. “It was dispatch calling to inform me that something had happened. I was worried that it was something severe.” An officer was parked at the police department logging into his computer preparing to begin his shift when the winds picked up, Williams said. As objects began to hit the cruiser and the winds increased, the officer called in to dispatch. “We were lucky that this wasn’t any worse than it could have been,” Williams said. “My heart goes out to all the people that may have lost their homes, but the situation could have been much worse and we were grateful there were no fatalities or major injuries to citizens.” Police cruisers parked behind the station were damaged by pieces of roof coming from the Thermon building next door. An estimated 12 to 15 cruisers sustained some type of damage — some more than others, Williams said. “This is going to be costly to fix, and an inconvenience,” Williams said. “But we can work around it. This is not going to stop us from doing our jobs. If we have to relocate some workers then we’ll do that, but it won’t shut us down.” Along IH-35, little signs of the storm are left. Cleanup crews quickly restored power to the station and have cleared the mess left behind on MLK and Centre Street. Residents who were unable to return to their homes Saturday had help from Red Cross along with the Dunbar Recreation Center, Williams said. Western Cowboy Furniture, a busi-
See TUITION, page 3
See TORNADO, page 3
Police arrest vending-machine thieves holding $18,700 in quarters By Christina Kahlig The University Star The phrase, “Got any change?” took on a new meaning Jan. 8 when two men were arrested at Englebrook Apartments while robbing the vending machines in the laundry room. After responding to the call at 12:14 p.m. from apartment managers, police found approximately $18,700 worth of quarters in the van along with apartment guides from Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina and Louisiana. $18,700 translates to 74,800 quarters, weighing about 935 pounds. “They probably had more but
Boyadzhiev
were probably spending it along the way to stay in hotels and for food, but we can’t be sure exactly how much they spent,” said Sgt. Byron Mobley of the San Marcos Police Department. Tracy Yanta, Englebrook Apartments employee and in-
Today’s Weather
PM Showers 45˚/36˚
Ivanov
Precipitation: 30% Humidity: 84% UV: 3 Moderate Wind: N 5 mph
terdisciplinary studies senior, caught the two men. “I was eating my lunch in here and when I heard noise on the screens that the cameras were picking up, I called 911,” Yanta said. “They just put the quarters in a black Adidas bag.” She said this is the second time the Englebrook Apartment laundry room has been robbed, but vendors will get their money back this time. The suspects arrested were Plaman Ivanov, 31, from Clearwater, Fla., and Ilko Boyadzhiev, 27, from Myrtle Beach, N.C. Police are looking for a third suspect identified as Ivylin Ivanov, age 23.
Two-day Forecast Friday Showers Temp: 48°/ 35° Precip: 80%
Saturday Showers Temp: 41°/ 36° Precip: 70%
“We have not made the third arrest yet but are in the process (of getting a warrant),” Mobley said. “(We) have good leads.” The two men are charged with burglary of a coin-operated machine, a Class A misdemeanor, and engaging in organized criminal activity and possession of a criminal instrument, both state jail felonies. To break into the vending machines, Mobley said the robbers used burglary tools like keys and lock-picking type instruments. Brett Baldwin, vending manager of the Waco Dr. Pepper Company, said breaking into a vending machine is no easy
task. “Vending machines have locks and bolts so they’re pretty hard to break into,” Baldwin said. According to Amonline.com, a vending MarketWatch Web site, “these are no run-of-themill vending burglars.” “The vending industry needs to address ways to combat external theft more aggressively,” said site editor Elliot Maras. “A national initiative is needed.” He said local police departments do not make vending machine theft a high priority because it is a seemingly victimless crime, but that vending operators are losing money due to the expensive equipment that is
installed into the machines. “Fighting machine burglary should be on the agenda of every local vending organization since it’s an issue that requires action at the local level,” Maras said. Baldwin said vending machine robberies are a bigger problem than most people think. He said the Dr. Pepper Company has talked about it on numerous occasions, and he has pointed it out to some local police. “People who rob vending machines usually tear them up pretty bad,” Baldwin said. “Our company loses the money because it is our products being stolen out of these machines.”
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