VOLUME 102, ISSUE 45
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The Good, the Bad and the Tasty Clinical dietitian Heather Martin hosts “Superfoods,” a nutritional food seminar in the San Marcos Public Library. Watch the video at UniversityStar.com.
Low sales may affect Lyndon’s U Club By Paige Lambert News Reporter University dining officials are looking at ways to revamp Lyndon’s U Club after seeing a decrease in sales at the establishment. Bill Nance, vice president for finance and support services, brought the low sales at Lyndon’s to the President’s Cabinet’s attention during a November meeting. During a typical week, sales at Lyndon’s peak on Wednesdays and Thursdays. However, on Fridays, the on-campus restaurant pulls in noticeably lower sales, according to John Root, director of Auxiliary Services. “I regularly review the sales for numerous locations on campus, and I saw a pretty consistent drop,” Root said. “It’s one thing to see a slow day but another to see numbers below $100 dollars.” Mondays brought in low revenue in the past, but see a rise in sales depending on events and time of the semester, Root said. Sales can sometimes match the revenue of peak service days. However, he said sales on Friday have rarely topped $125. Chin-Hong Chua, Chartwells district manager, said the small amount of foot traffic on Fridays and students’ need for a grab-and-go meal contribute to the low revenue of the restaurant at the end of the week. In response to the low sales, auxiliary services will survey department chairs and contact Chartwells to revise menu options and hours of operation. Auxiliary services will launch a marketing campaign to revamp the restaurant. Nothing major will be changed this semester, Root said, but he is considering closing Lyndon’s U Club on Fridays. “It’s always tough on Fridays, so closing on those days will be less harmful,” Root said. To appeal to the grab-and-go student mentality, Chartwells added a salad bar and buffet to the restaurant. The buffet meal costs around $6, which is about the same price for a sandwich at neighboring Chick-fil-a. Even with the addition of a speedy option, Chua said Lyndon’s will stay true to its sit-down nature. “A restaurant that can hold 30 people in an hour can’t compete with a place like Chick-fil-a, which can service 30 people in five minutes,” Chua said. “But it can provide an atmosphere found nowhere else on campus.” To bring in new customers, Chua said a student-targeted marketing campaign is in development that will be focused more on people who have offices or classes within a five-minute walking distance. One tactic to build more interest in Lyndon’s is customer appreciation day, Chua said. “Once a week, we are going to pick a customer at random and pay for their meal,” Chua said. “We are hoping that they’ll tell their friends and get interest in Lyndon’s going around. Word of mouth is the best marketing tool.” Lyndon’s will offer a reserved space for large parties
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REC RUSH
Kristen Lefebvre, Staff Photographer
Jesus Montelongo, political science senior, works out his triceps Jan. 21 at the Student Recreation Center. Below: Students have turned out in greater numbers since the new year.
January brings spike in rec attendance By Minerva Hernandez-Garcia News Reporter January brings an increase in students to the Student Recreation Center interested in fulfilling their fitness-related New Year’s Resolutions. According to Ryan McAfee, assistant director of informal recreation, the center sees about 3,000 more students than usual per week in January, or about 500 more per day. Though the number of students visiting the recreation center spikes in January, their attendance decreases in the following months. McAfee said an average of 8,370 students visited the recreation center each week in January 2012. The number fell to 7,844 students per week in February 2012 and 6,147 per week in March 2012. McAfee said September is the
Donations, library budget fund Wittliff Collections By Natalie Berko News Reporter
Bringing authors, art and photography to The Wittliff Collections is made possible through funding from several different sources. On the seventh floor of the Alkek Library is a nearly 6,600 square foot collection of Southwestern writers, Southwestern and Mexican photography and the Lonesome Dove production archive. Joan Heath, associate vice president and university librarian, said the Wittliff Collections’ costs are funded through a combination of dollars from the library’s acquisitions budget, a small piece of its operating funds and donations from out-
side sources. Heath said of the library’s total $1.09 million operating budget, $257,692 is put toward the Wittliff Collections. The operating budget covers costs including supplies, rentals, machinery, marketing, speaker fees and travel, staff transportation, temporary employee wages and contract services. Heath said a good part of the Wittliff Collections is funded through donations, such as the “Lonesome Dove” archive and the “Las Sombras/The Shadows” photography exhibition by Kate Breakey. David Coleman, director of the Wittliff Collections, said there are
READ WITTLIFF, PAGE 3
Carlos Valdez, Assistant Photo Editor
The Wittliff Collections host a variety of events including photography exhibits, author readings and lectures.
busiest month of the year, when students are returning to school, followed by January. “We’re definitely busier (at the
beginning of the year),” said Miles Sedillo, finance junior and employee at the recreation center. “We’re filling out more paperwork, more
READ REC, PAGE 3
Student entrepreneurs sell environmental learning tools By Wil Slade News Reporter A Texas State student organization is building self-sufficient growing beds to help local high schools. Entrepreneurial Action Us, or Enactus, builds and sells aquaponic systems to high schools as a part of its “Project Growth” undertaking. The outreach project assembles the aquaponics systems, which sustainably grow produce and raise fish. The group, formerly known as Students in Free Enterprise, sells the aquaponic systems to high school horticultural programs for $250 to use as learning tools. Greg Souquette, member of Texas State Enactus’ executive committee, said one reason the project is so important is the amount of water the aquaponics systems conserve compared to traditional methods. “You use so much less water with these because you use the same water over and over again,” Souquette said. The systems are being built out of intermediate bulk containers, which are typically used to transport large amounts of water, Souquette said. The top third of the container is cut off and placed upside down on top of the remaining two-thirds of the container, creating the growing bed. Under the growing bed, the container is filled with water, housing fish. The water is pumped to the top, then it drips onto the plants in the growing bed and sinks back into the fish tank. Kinnon Martin, a recent Texas State graduate, said he originally conceived the idea for the project. After coming up with the idea, Martin had his team do some research on aquaponics and had a prototype
built. When Martin graduated with his MBA in fall 2012, he passed on the idea to Soquette and other members. “At the time I was a senior (vice president) on the executive committee,” said Martin. “I was looking for a new project idea. I’m the idea guy. But (Souquette) really has done all the leg work on it.” The project stemmed from working with Gonzalo Garza Independence High School in Austin, Souquette said. “They have a horticulture class, and they grow produce to sell at farmers markets in order to generate funds for the class,” Souquette said. “We stepped in and are teaching them some business principles and finding ways to increase the revenue.” Souquette said Texas State Enactus has been working with the high school for several years. The high school now has 33 aquaponics systems, Souquette said. For every system sold, Enactus donates an aquaponic system to wherever the purchaser desires, Souquette said. Marketing senior Oscar Martinez, a member of Texas State Enactus, sold one of the systems to a small high school near Corpus Christi. “I figured if I sold it to them it would keep the kids involved,” Martinez said. “They would look forward to going to that specific class.” Martinez said anything from tomatoes to herbs to melons can be grown in one of the aquaponics systems, and many kinds of fish can be raised in them. “The only limitation you have is that you can’t seed the plant in there,” Souquette said. “The plant has to already be rooted.”