Wise up
Demonic weekend
Softball team faces Northwestern for a doubleheader this weekend/Sports/Page 18
Spring Break hot spots
A few recommendations on where to spend your week off/Trends/Page 10
Austin Music Network should clean house in management, not shut down/Opinions/Page 8
THURSDAY
VOLUME 93, ISSUE 60 www.universitystar.com
MARCH 4, 2004
T E X A S
S T A T E
U N I V E R S I T Y - S A N
M A R C O S
Fraternities face troubles Texas State SAE chapter gets charter revoked IFC loses fraternities to grades, suspension
By Kirsten Crow News Reporter
Two fraternities being investigated at Texas State have received final decisions, while another fraternity’s future at the university remains influx. The national Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter decided to close its Texas State chapter on Jan. 31. After the national chapter conducted an investigation, the university and the fraternity issued a joint statement to revoke the chapter’s charter, said Robert DeMarco, assistant executive director
of the Western Region for the National Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Lanita Hanson, LBJ Student Center associate director, said the closing of the chapter was not the university’s decision, but DeMarco disagreed. “If we did not close the chapter, it’s certain that the university would have,” DeMarco said. “This chapter has been in trouble over the years for alcohol policy, pledge policy and academic-scholarship policy. Given the circumstances that we had,
By Kirsten Crow News Reporter
The Texas State Interfraternity Council has lost eight fraternities from its organization after seven were placed on academic probation and one was suspended from campus. IFC President Noe Vela said it was difficult to accomplish with seven fraternities what could be accomplished with 15. “It’s hindering our programs, but we’ll make do with what we have,” said Vela, exercise and sports
STEEL DRUMMING
g See SAE, page 5
University looks to up Hispanic enrollment
g See HISPANIC, page 4
TAKING A LOOK
Andrew Nenque/Star photo Yoko Yaneda, geography junior, examines minerals and curvatures in several different rocks to determine their geological name.
g See IFC, page 5
Faculty Senate may triple its size next year By Julie Daffern News Reporter
By Ruby Rizo Special to The Star As part of an effort to expand the university’s cultural borders, Texas State is looking to increase the Hispanic student population. The university is working to join the ranks of 35 other Texas universities that are classified as Hispanic Serving Institutions. In order to receive this classification, 25 percent of the student population must be Hispanic. This will mean an increase of more than 3,000 students for Texas State. To reach this goal, the university faces two problems: location and initiating a combined effort of increased recruitment and retention. The competition for the right location is fierce in Texas. Federally accredited Hispanic Serving Institutions, such as the University of Texas-San Antonio and Texas A&M International University, effortlessly attract Hispanic students because of the universities’ prime positioning in largely Hispanicpopulated cities. “They have the location, so it’s harder for us,” said Joanne Smith, associate vice president of Student Affairs and director of enrollment management. Recruitment is closely tied with the university’s competitive location, but retention is also an issue watched closely by university officials. In 2002, the overall university retention rate for first-year students was 77 percent. Hispanic retention rate for that same year was 75 percent, while the black student retention rate was 86 percent. In comparison, the overall university retention rate for transfer students was 79 percent, while the retention rate for Hispanic transfer students was 82 percent. To be considered a Hispanic Serving Institution, the university is going to students for ideas. Focus groups made up of sophomore and senior Hispanic
science senior. “It will take some time, but it’s working.” Kurt West, IFC recruitment vice president and advertising senior, said the organization was working to make grades a priority. “IFC is really stressing academics right now,” West said. “We don’t want to lose any more people than we already have.” The fraternities facing academic probation Phi Delta Theta, Delta Chi, Delta Tau Delta, Tau Kappa
Andy Ellis/Star photo Music education freshmen Matt Erickson and Ryan Pride, along with the rest of the Texas State Panorama Steel Band, performed Friday in the University Bookstore. The cool Caribbean sounds have been directed by music professor Genaro Gonzalez since 1989.
The Faculty Senate may triple in size in the next year if a petition, originating in the geography department, succeeds. Richard Earl, geography professor and departmental Senate liaison, and Fred Shelley, geography professor, submitted a petition to the Faculty Senate on Wednesday. “We feel that a larger body would be a bigger voice for the faculty,” Shelley said. The changes proposed would increase the Senate from 15 to 46 faculty members. Currently, the Senate is representative of the number of faculty in a department rather than the number of departments. The amendment modifies the constitution to state the following: “The Senate shall be composed of one voting senator from each academic department and one voting senator selected at large from each college.” Earl said the Faculty Senate would operate similarly as larger senates at other universities. The senators would meet in subcommittees weekly but with the entire Senate on a less regular basis. If Earl obtains enough support, the Faculty Senate will decide whether to endorse the amendment. The final decision would be put to a vote by the faculty in April. Currently, there is approximately one senator for every 45 faculty members in a department. The proposed amendment would establish six senators each in the Applied Arts, Business Administration and Fine Arts and Communication colleges. The College of Health Professions and the College of Science would each have seven senators. The College of Education would have four senators, and the College of Liberal Arts would have the most representation with 10 senators. According to its Web site, the University of North Texas enrolls just 1,000 more students than Texas State and its Faculty Senate is composed of 47 senators. g See SENATE, page 4
Real estate company plans new development I N S I D E By Amber Conrad News Reporter
In a part of the state where suburban sprawl has defined the latest wave of housing development, steps have been taken to ensure the protection of the indigenous ecosystems threatened by human expansion. A total of 1,539 acres of ranch land will be developed along U.S. 290 in the Dripping Springs area, with as much as 1,000 acres of the tract going toward a nature preserve, which would include the confluence of Barton Creek with Little Barton Creeks. The proposal entails that Flying L Land and Livestock, a real estate company that specializes in enabling its clients to see their property from helicopter view, will develop a land tract named Hazy Hills Ranch. In the proposal submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Lower Colorado River Authority,
Flying L proposed that 185 acres be set aside for commercial use along U.S. 290, 300 acres for residential use and 1,054.5 acres for conservational habitat. The entirety of the property lies within the Edwards Aquifer Contributing Zone, with a substantial portion of the conservation site embodying the confluence of the two creeks. Water permits for the development would be attained by Flying L through the city of Dripping Springs because of the subdivision’s location in the city’s potential service area. However, Ginger Faught, City of Dripping Springs secretary, said the parties involved are still negotiating. “They need to make an actual formal request to the city, which hasn’t been done yet,” Faught said. “If they do ask the city for water service, we’d have to turn around and ask LCRA if they had the capacity to source them.” Michael Lugis, ranchland buyer and seller, was unavailable for com-
ment, but the city expects Lugis will file more requests for permits in the upcoming months. The Hill Country Conservancy, which has been consulted in planning such developments in the past, is also waiting for its role in the project to be determined. “We are very interested in the proposal, but right now we’re just trying to lay out all the elements concerning what it might look like,” said Fred Ellis, Hill Country Conservancy government and community affairs director. Because the role in the planning of Hazy Hills Ranch has not been defined yet, Ellis said there are many preliminary topics to consider, but he is not worried about the validity of the project. “Michael Lugis has a strong nature background. He’s the one that put the entire proposal together,” Ellis said. He said Lugis expects to make a decision on the future of the development in the next several months.
Classifieds....................15
Comics/Crossword......14 Film.................................12
Music..............................13 News..........................2-5,7 Opinions........................8,9
Sports........................16-18 Trends........................10-13
Today’s Weather
High: 74 Lo w : 50
AM Rainy/PM Cloudy
Wind: From S at 17 mph Precipitation: 40% Max. Humidity: 78% UV Index: 5 Moderate Friday’s Forecast Partly cloudy 78/59