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Texas State football takes the field for the start of spring practice SEE TRENDS PAGE 12
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DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
WWW.UNIVERSITYSTAR.COM
MARCH 20, 2007
TUESDAY
VOLUME 96, ISSUE 65
Mother of deceased student demands justice for her loss By Alysha Mendez The University Star The driver who killed Texas State student Tommy Harmeyer in a motorcycle accident Feb. 4 has yet to be charged, which mother Cynthia Harmeyer finds offensive. “It’s been a month and still no charge has been filed,” she said. “That’s not right. I lost my life that day.” Wade Parham, San Marcos police officer, said they have not
wrapped up the investigation yet. “I will finish investigating and present my findings, and in a case like this, the district attorney makes the final decision,” he said. Parham said he has no reason to believe the driver, who made an illegal left turn into the parking lot in front of Alvin Ords, was intoxicated. “It is unlikely that the driver will be charged,” he said. “In other cases like this, unless there is intoxication, it appears that this
is nothing more than a tragic accident.” Parham said there has to be enough evidence against the driver to present in a trial. “After we determine if there will be any criminal charges, the district attorney has to convince a jury to find an individual guilty,” he said. While the police handle the investigation and make the decision on whether or not to arrest the individual, the final decision regarding charges being filed is
up to the district attorney. William Stone, criminal justice professor, said one thing to remember in a case like this is in the legal system, accuracy is much more important than speed. “The entire legal system is designed to take complex situations and analyze them for the truth,” he said. “That is one of the reasons that it is so slow and complex.” Stone said just because the driver made an illegal turn does
not mean he will automatically be charged. “It will hinge on the degree of recklessness that was involved, and it could also consider such factors as, ‘Was the motorcycle operator speeding or did he in some way contribute to the accident?’” Harmeyer said the police department in their hometown of Rockwall is outraged no charges have been filed. “He was a cautious young man,” Harmeyer said. “He had
Pumped up at SXSW
jacket, he had a helmet, the weather was clear. It just doesn’t make any sense.” The driver’s Nissan Sentra turned against eastbound traffic to enter the parking lot and Harmeyer’s motorcycle struck the right side of the car. Parham said it could be a matter of days or weeks before the investigation is officially over. “It’s not good enough for the only punishment the driver to have is living with the fact that he killed my son,” Harmeyer said.
ASG must come to decision about Grad House by next meeting By Clara Cobb The University Star
Emily Messer/University Star Damian Abraham, also known as Pink Eyes, for the Toronto punk band F**cked Up participates in a mosh pit Saturday at the Austin venue Red 7 during South by Southwest. For more SXSW coverage, see TRENDS, Page 6.
Survey results show citizens San Marcos Police Department satisfied with city services year-in-review shows trends in crime By Ashley Gwilliam The University Star San Marcos citizens are generally satisfied with their involvement in city affairs and with the level of service they receive, according to the 2006 annual Community Outreach Survey. “This survey that we had was our highest rating in citizen’s feedback on overall city government,” said Mayor Susan Narvaiz. The survey identifies various demographic groups’ attitudes toward 34 major services provided by the city and on several other issues, such as growth and development. Narvaiz said the surveys are significant because they give citizens the opportunity to tell the city government how they are doing and what they would like them to place importance on in the future. About 9 percent of the 3,346 randomly selected residents responded to the anonymous mail survey.
Hassan Tajalli, political science associate professor and survey cocreator, said response rates to these types of surveys is generally low because citizens think no one will really listen to their concerns. The 2006 survey delivered the lowest response rate ever. Tajalli said the low rate could be connected to a number of things, including its proximity of the November elections and Christmas break to the surveying time period. “Another reason that might have contributed is that when people are satisfied they do not see any reason to bother themselves,” he said. “If they are angry, they are more eager to get their frustrations out.” There has been no noticeable decline in the city’s quality of service delivery since last year’s survey. The service categories receiving the highest levels of citizen satisfaction were library programs, fire
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Partly Cloudy 78˚/61˚
Precipitation: 10% Humidity: 72% UV: 5 Moderate Wind: SSE 17 mph
See SURVEY, page 5
By Molly Berkenhoff The University Star San Marcos saw a general decrease last year in the rate of crimes against a person, including murder, robbery, rape and sexual assault. The rate of crimes against property, including auto theft, residential burglary and non-residential burglary, declined in 2006 as well. These were among statistics made available to the public during the San Marcos Police Department’s briefing Wednesday at City Hall. The session, which was the fourthannual year-in-review conference for the department, provided information on trends in crime in San Marcos as well as information about SMPD’s projects and accomplishments. Police Chief Howard Williams invited the public to attend the briefing, which was broadcast live on the city of San Marcos’ cable channel. “We believe that the police department should be accountable publicly to the community we serve,” Williams
Two-day Forecast Wednesday Windy Temp: 77°/ 61° Precip: 10%
Thursday Cloudy Temp: 79°/ 61° Precip: 10%
said. Last year’s statistics did not differ much from 2005’s. “A majority of the statistics in relation to crime trends have very little change from the previous year,” said Assistant Chief Warren Zerr. “The community has remained very similar in its crime patterns.” The police department issued 296 citations to minors possessing alcohol in 2006, along with 90 driving while intoxicated arrests. Sixty-five minors were arrested or given a citation for driving under the influence. Crimes involving drugs, primarily marijuana, comprised much of the conference’s agenda. Cocaine and methamphetamines were also among the top narcotics seized last year. Police noted that the seizure of Adderall has significantly increased. The abuse of the prescription drug is a growing trend, particularly among students. The department highlighted grants See REVIEW, page 5
The fate of the Associated Student Government Graduate House of Representatives will be decided next week. ASG Vice President Amanda Oskey dissolved the Graduate House March 5. The issue was reintroduced to the Senate In legislation sponsored by ASG Sen. Megan Titus, College of Health Professions. Some senators called for a resolution Monday because the legislative body had two weeks prior to the Monday meeting to come to a consensus. The ASG Supreme Court is reviewing Oskey’s decision to dissolve the House. ASG President Kyle Morris urged senators in his President’s Report to give the referendum issue more time for research and consideration. ASG Sen. Ryan Clay, College of Liberal Arts, moved to table the graduate referendum. The senate will continue the referendum discussion next week. A decision will be made April 2, as April 3 is a timesensitive deadline for the referendum to be added to the ASG general election ballot. Elections are April 17 and 18, and if the referendum passes, it would be added to the election ballot. The referendum must be filed 10 school days prior to the election. Legislation that did pass included nominations for committee positions. Scholarship Selection Committee nominee ASG Sen. Amanda Magel, College of Liberal Arts, and San Marcos/Texas State Liaison Committee nominee Clay were voted into the respective positions unanimously. Other legislation including “Giving Greeks On Campus Housing” and “Recognition of Bobcat Build” were passed. The campus housing legislation would allow for Greek underclassmen in leadership positions to live off-campus in their respective organization’s housing. The Bobcat Build legislation confirmed the ASG support for the annual event. “Endorsement of the ‘Gay? Fine by Me’ T-shirt Campaign” passed as well, despite more opposition. Tyler Ferguson, advocate of the “Gay? Fine by Me” proposal, said backing from ASG would make Texas State the first university in Texas to show student-government support for the program. “We have a chance now to show all other Texas schools we don’t just have tolerance in our diversity policy,” he said. “We live out our policies. This is the kind of change we are wanting to make.” The program began at Duke University and includes more than 200 campuses nationwide. Approximately one-third of the ASG senators voted against or abstained from voting on the legislation. Legislation to provide carpool permits to students residing together also was addressed. Guest speaker Rick Bishop, director of Network Operations, informed senators about on-campus surveillance. Bishop said surveillance was not a life safety issue. Rather, cameras increase safety and security while reducing possible crime. “What you don’t want is a camera taking a picture two-seconds too late,” he said. “Now and for the next few years money has been set aside for this. This campus is going to grow, and cameras are a good way to watch it.”
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