A fair variety
Road win
Bobcats make their way to SLC tournament with Nicholls victory/Sports/Page 10
Multicultural females Images of Women conference brings arts to the forefront/Trends/Page 6
Clear Channel fails to balance out its syndicated content/Opinions/Page 5
TUESDAY
VOLUME 93, ISSUE 58 www.universitystar.com
MARCH 2, 2004
Proposal could add Tram routes
T E X A S
By Amelia Jackson News Reporter Students may soon be able to ride the Tram without the worries of overcrowding or the possibility of being left behind. The Associated Student Government heard from Brad McAllister, Texas State Tram System representative, during its Monday meeting. McAllister detailed a proposal to the Senate that would add additional bus routes and manhours to the system after a $10 increase in student fees per semester. Bus fees are now $42 during
The American Sign Language Club will host Deaf Awareness Week as part of Diversity Month at Texas State to highlight solutions and services available to those suffering from the inability to hear. The events, which take place across campus today through Friday, will also highlight the importance of bringing ASL classes back to the university, which were discontinued in Summer 2001.
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the fall and spring semesters and $21 during the summer sessions. The new plan would raise long-semester fees to $52 and short-semester fees to $26. The new routes would be implemented along North LBJ Drive and additional buses would go to Aquarena Springs. “I was surprised because I stood up in most of my classes this week and people were for (the new proposal) because of the additional routes on Aquarena Springs,” said Jeremy Boucher, biochemistry senior. This proposal would serve as a temporary solution to the g See ASG, page 3
ASL Club hosts Deaf Awareness Week on campus By Kassia Micek Assistant News Editor
S T A T E
“Our goal is to increase deaf awareness on the campus community,” said Lisa Bothwell, ASL Club president and premass communication junior. Bothwell said these programs have a large impact because onethird of the United States population will have some sort of hearing loss by the age of 60. Krystal Minter, Deaf World Committee co-chair and political science sophomore, agrees with Bothwell. “It would be very beneficial g See DEAF, page 3
Andy Ellis/Star Photo. Emmitt McCoy receives a standing ovation from a full house Friday after it was announced the he and wife Miriam had donated a record $20 million to Texas State University. The money will be used for a new College of Business Administration building and other increases in the program.
McCoys donate $20 million to College of Business Administration By Nikki Dawson News Reporter and David Doerr News Editor University administrators, students and faculty rejoiced Friday as the announcement was made that Emmett and Miriam McCoy pledged $20 million toward the Texas State College of Business Administration. In return for the gift, the Texas State University System Board of Regents agreed to name the College of Business Administration in honor of the McCoys during its Thursday meeting in
Beaumont. The gift will be used to establish endowed chairs and professorships, undergraduate and graduate scholarships and program development for students and faculty. President Denise Trauth said the gift is “transformational” for the university and that it will benefit the university for generations to come. “To have the McCoy name on our College of Business Administration is a mark of distinction for Texas State,” Trauth said. “The McCoy name has come to mean the highest standard of ethics for business practice, and we are proud to be associated with that name.”
C-SPAN bus educates students in The Quad Representatives aim to engage young people with civil affairs
By Jennifer Wisnoski News Reporter Typical school buses don’t have plasma screen monitors, onboard TV cameras or production equipment, but the yellow C-SPAN vehicle parked in The Quad Monday was not an average bus. Since November 1993, the Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network has driven its two educational buses across the country to raise awareness of
its operations and to encourage young people to become engaged in civil affairs. According to the C-SPAN Web site, the buses traveled to all 50 states and their capitals, all nine presidential libraries and logged 30,000 miles in 2002. Michael DiSerio, C-SPAN account representative, gave tours of the bus to students Monday in The Quad. DiSerio showed students the mobile classroom and the working television production studio housed on the bus. “There are TVs in front and a stage in back,” he said. “We also have two robotic arms that
Tony Ramos/ Star Photo Students in The Quad wait in line to get a tour from an account representative for C-SPAN of the C-SPAN School Bus.
we can put cameras on.” SPAN but do not dictate what In addition, the bus has should be broadcast. The main soundboards and editing sys- goal is to keep a balance, espetems housed in the front half of cially politically. The network the bus. The will go so far bus is as to change equipped the order of with two political hotHDTV plaslines as well ma screen as their nummonitors, two bers to remain DVD players, fair and unbitwo computased. DiSerio ers and two said the netD V C P r o cameras with — Michael DiSerio work is differplaying and C-SPAN account representative ent than other news chanrecording nels because decks. it “shows an C-SPAN has been on the air event as if you’re in the audisince 1979 and reaches about ence.” 89 million homes, DiSerio To illustrate his point, said. DiSerio showed a DVD of four “We are out there to be the stations covering one event. eyes and ears for people to see Fox News, CNN, C-SPAN what’s going on,” DiSerio said. and MSNBC all covered Major DiSerio said many people Gen. Ray Oderino’s press conthink C-SPAN is funded by the government, but it is actually ference when Saddam Hussein was captured. Only C-SPAN funded by the cable industry. C-SPAN charges 5 cents a showed a full screen of month per subscriber, which Oderino while the other three directly funds the network. stations had picture-in-picMost cable networks charge tures, as well as scrolling news on the bottom of the screen, about $2 a month. Representatives from net- which can distract a viewer.
“The bus is a good tool to show our concern with the public and for the public to learn about what we do.”
works like Comcast and Time Warner sit on the board of C-
g See C-SPAN, page 4
Emmett is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of McCoy’s Building Supply Centers. The university also recognized him Friday on his 81st birthday. The new building that will house the Emmett and Miriam McCoy College of Business Administration, which has been renamed McCoy Hall, is scheduled to open January 2006. The new building will feature high-tech classrooms, student and team areas, an academic advising center, a trading laboratory and state-ofthe-art computer labs. g See MCCOY, page 4
Congressman visits to discuss his re-election By Erin McGowan News Reporter Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, DSan Antonio, met with a group of local supporters at the San Marcos River Pub and Grill Friday to discuss his re-election for the 28th District of Texas. Melissa Seckel, Rodriguez’s field director for Hays County, arranged the event with the help of the congressman’s friend Laura Flores. Seckel said Flores was instrumental in making sure the event ran smoothly. “I wanted to do something special for the congressman so that he could meet a lot of people from Hays County,” Flores said. “I personally know congressman Rodriguez from
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working with him in the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., and I think he’s a great man and an effective leader. I’m supporting him 100 percent, and so I thought I would come to San Marcos and try to help him get the vote out.” Seckel recently graduated from Texas State and immediately began working for Rodriguez in his campaign in the recently augmented district, which stretches from Hays County to Zapata County. Rodriguez was only able to stay at the event for a short time because of his busy schedule, but he made time to give a short speech and meet with potential voters. g See VISIT, page 3
I N S I D E
High: 71 Lo w : 61
Classifieds........................8
Wind: From E at 11 mph Precipitation: 20% Max. Humidity: 74% UV Index: 3 Low
News.............................2-4
AM Clouds/PM Rain
Wednesday’s Forecast Isolated T-Storms 75/64
Comics/Crossword........7 Opinions...........................5
Sports...........................9,10 Trends...............................6