Let me shoot!
Season high
Men’s basketball gains momentum with win against Indians/Sports/Page 10
Try it on
Some jeans-buying advice from one heterosexual to others/Trends/Page 11
Right to bear arms is an amendment not to be forgotten/Opinions/Page 5
TUESDAY
VOLUME 93, ISSUE 53 www.universitystar.com
FEBRUARY 17, 2004
CHEMIS-TRYING
T E X A S S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y- S A N M A R C O S
New Chartwells plan includes meal rollovers By Amelia Jackson News Reporter
Andrew Nenque/Star Photo Cody Bayley, undecided freshman, pinches sand into a bowl and heats up a glass of water in order to remove all mustier from sand for his chemistry lab assignment. Bayley enjoys working at his own pace and at the same time having help from a lab instructor.
Students lose belongings in trailer fire
By Katherine Eissler News Reporter
Most people would have a hard time dealing with the loss of nearly all of their belongings, but two Texas State students are coping with help from the community. Skye DeZafra, recreational administration senior, and Bonnie York, Hays County resident, lost almost all their possessions Feb. 3 in a fire that consumed their rented trailer located at Don’s Fish Camp on
Nelle Road. All that is left are a few journals that York grabbed at the last minute and some heirlooms DeZafra said “miraculously survived.” The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. DeZafra suspects it was an electrical problem with a recent addition to the trailer. Both girls believe wires were improperly connected during the renovation, but the Martindale Fire Department has not officially filed a report. The only report filed was the one made by York at the scene
Internship fair provides potential for employment By Jennifer Warner Senior Reporter Career Services will be holding an Internship Fair Wednesday in the LBJ Student Center Ballroom for students looking to get their foot in the door of potential employment opportunities. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes representatives from 63 companies nation- and statewide. “There’s a very diverse cross-section of businesses
attending,” said Karen Julian, Career Services assistant director. “So it’s not just for one major.” Julian said that although not all majors require internships, it is an important experience for students who wish to enter the work force. “It provides students with a foundation to know what a career field is like when they enter it,” Julian said. “It gives them marketability and it really g See FAIR, page 3
of the incident. “More than likely the cause of the fire was an electrical short,” said Jerry Dickerson, Martindale Fire Chief. “No foul play is suspected.” Dickerson said that if the fire is deemed as “suspicious activity” then it is up to the state or county fire marshal to investigate, but without suspicion it is a civil matter between the occupants and the owner. DeZafra said Don Nelle, owner of the trailer, has not taken any action, but he is not
necessarily responsible. She said he has three empty trailers on the same lot, but offered them to the girls with no discounted rent. This leaves DeZafra and York considering the “frustrating legal route.” “I talked to the Texas State attorney for students to get legal advice, but unfortunately we did not have insurance,” DeZafra said. After a week of staying with family and friends, the girls are
Panel discusses affirmative action By Nikki Dawson News Reporter
Affirmative action took center stage with a symposium hosted by the Black Student Alliance titled “Affirmative Action: Now? Or Never?” Thursday evening. The symposium began with an introduction given by Texas State President Denise Trauth, who outlined the university’s goals on affirmative action. Following Trauth’s introduction, panelists discussed the positive and negative effects of affirmative action. Trauth began her speech by dismissing the idea that affirmative action is about quotas,
g See FIRE, page 3
but rather a way of correcting certain discrepancies. Trauth highlighted some of the most important initiatives the state of Texas is facing. Among them she mentioned the Closing the Gap initiative that has the goal of bringing 500,000 more Texans into higher education before 2015, which would bring Texas to the national average of students enrolled in higher education. Trauth said in order to meet this goal, the university would have to aim particularly toward Hispanics. By 2010, Anglos will no longer be the g See PANEL, page 4
Speaker to shed light on Middle Eastern affairs today
By Amber Conrad News reporter
The director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies will give a lecture titled “After Saddam, Then What?” today at 3:30 p.m. in Flowers Hall, Room 341.
Jon Alterman, who often appears on national television to discuss American foreign policy and the Middle East, will talk about the future of Iraq in the postALTERMAN Saddam era during the lecture. “I’m really looking forward
The Associated Student Government approved a resolution that would extend the Chartwells food service contract until the year 2013 and implement meal trade rollovers between semesters during Monday night’s meeting. The ASG’s debate during last week’s meeting resulted in the consensus that senators would not agree to renew Chartwells’ contract unless the company agreed to implement rollover meal trades between the fall and spring semesters. Catherine Reed, communication studies sophomore, was strongly against the contract extension last week, but this week voted for the resolution. “With roll-over meal trades, Chartwells is making wide strides to accommodate students’ needs,” Reed said. “The Senate will be working to extend the hours of meal trades, which Chartwells seems open to.” In response to requests from the Senate last week, Charles Blackwell, Chartwells representative, has agreed to post health inspection results and suggestion boxes in all dining areas. “You’re eating there and you should feel comfortable,” Blackwell said. ASG Vice President Justin McGarry was extremely pleased with the approval of the Chartwells contract renewal. “I think it’s great that we came to a consensus with
Chartwells, and students in Fall 2004 will begin to have roll-over meal trades,” he said. “We really appreciate the administration working with us on that.” In other business, Cassie Holman, interdisciplinary studies sophomore; Vanessa Scott, interdisciplinary studies sophomore; and Carley Gibler, sound recording and technology sophomore, were approved as new members of ASG. The Senate approved a resolution titled “Gateway to the Past,” which calls for Senate support for revival of The Pedagog, Texas State’s yearbook. Also, ASG President Ernie Dominguez announced the target enrollment for the fall is 27,400. The enrollment for spring is currently 24,980, which is 992 students more than Spring 2003. Enrollment at the Round Rock Higher Education Center is up by 28 percent, and graduation enrollment is up by 12 percent. The Senate will be concentrating efforts on rewording a resolution to implement an honor council at Texas State. ASG has been working on this for the past two years. The idea of an honor council was initially approved last year. However, when the document went to the Texas State University System Board of Regents, the wording had been changed from what ASG and Faculty Senate agreed upon. To avoid further problems with the resolution, Dominguez has presented the issue to the Senate’s Academic Affairs committee.
to this because you can get away with less on a college campus, because people are smarter and, in many ways, people are interested in trying out new ideas,” Alterman said. Alterman, who has lived in Egypt, speaks Arabic and travels to the Middle East several times a year. He believes his unique experiences will help
shed light on an otherwise difficult topic. “I think people are often looking to hear something they are learning about or can tie into something they already know,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll tell them some things they don’t learn in the papers that g See SPEAKER, page 4
Andy Ellis/Star Photo History professor Dwight Watson, joined by Barbara Lyman and many other distinguished faculty members, voices his opinions and concerns Thursday about affirmative action on a national level as well as here at Texas State.
I N S I D E
Amusements....................7 Classifieds........................8
Comics/Crossword........7 News.............................2-4 Opinions...........................5
Sports.........................9,10 Trends...............................6
Today’s Weather
High: 68 Lo w : 37
AM Sunny/PM Clear
Wind: From N at 16 mph Precipitation: 0% Max. Humidity: 51% UV Index: 6 Moderate Wednesday’s Forecast Sunny 71/48