03 30 2006

THE REAL THING

BIG BALLER

Alamo Drafthouse screens original King Kong with special effects legend

Baseball Hall of Fame president hits a homerun at lecture

SEE TRENDS PAGE 6

SEE SPORTS PAGE 12

TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS

www.UniversityStar.com

THURSDAY

MARCH 30, 2006

Lambda meets with ASG candidates on Proposition 2 issues

By Clayton Medford The University Star Candidates for high office in the Associated Student Government defended their past actions to members of Lambda of Texas State on Wednesday. Members of the gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender organization grilled the candidates about their reasons for seeking office and about their opinions of Proposition 2, the amendment to the Texas Constitution overwhelmingly approved by Texas voters that made the marriage of two members of the same sex illegal.

The candidates began with brief presentations, but quickly found themselves explaining their positions on legislation authored in Fall 2005 by former ASG Sen. Jeff Moody opposing Proposition 2. The legislation initially passed the senate but was vetoed by ASG President Jordan Anderson one week later.

Presidential candidate Katie Kasprzak, who opposed Moody’s legislation, said she felt its passage would alienate conservative Texas State students and was “too biased for ASG.” “If it were a different organization, say Lambda wanted to do that or College Democrats, I think that would be great,” Kasprzak said. “I think that’s great that there are different sides to different topics brought up in the government.”

Lambda Treasurer Sarah Frey said Moody’s legislation spoke against discrimination, a view she feels student leaders should share.

“As a student body representative, you should say discrimination is not OK no matter where you come from or what your beliefs are,” Frey said. “That’s why we’re in college — to eliminate all the stereotypes and all the biases we have been prescribed by our parents and past generations. This is the new age.”

Vice presidential hopeful Amanda Oskey said she voted against Moody’s legislation because polls taken by ASG showed the student body effectively split on the issue of gay marriage.

“I voted against Proposition 2, but I also voted against (Moody’s) legislation because of two reasons. I seriously felt that because the polls were so close, it was hard for me to say as a representative to my constituents of the College of Fine Arts and Communication that they all supported a ‘No’ vote,” Oskey said. “Also, there was no call to action regarding this legislation.

We said, OK, yeah, we support a ‘No’ vote, but we can’t make people vote ‘No.’ There was no action saying we are going to educate people or we are going to pass out fliers or anything like that.”

Vice presidential candidate

VOLUME 95, ISSUE 68

Running for

Redemption Tuhabonye speaks on survival, faith in Centennial Hall

By Jacqueline Davis The University Star When Gilbert Tuhabonye approached the stage on Wednesday night with a smile on his face, it would have been difficult for the nearly 200 students in attendance to know the horrors of his past or the scars beneath his clothing.

The world-class runner, motivational speaker and current Austinite Tuhabonye spoke on the topic of Courage in the Centennial Hall Teaching Theater.

It was Oct. 21, 1993 when Gilbert Tuhabonye became the sole survivor of one of the most devastating massacres in the longstanding war between the Hutus and the Tutsis, neighboring tribes in East Central Africa.

Before the massacre, Tuhabonye had already earned national fame in his native country of Burundi as a runner, a champion in the 400- and 800-meter races while in high school. He never would have believed that his own Hutu classmates and teachers who had cheered him on would take part in the torturing, maiming and burning of more than 100 children and teachers of his

See ASG, page 3

See RUNNING, page 3

David Racino/Star photo ESCAPING GENOCIDE: Austin runner Gilbert Tuhabonye speaks about his escape from the war between the Hutu and the Tutsi tribes in Burundi, Africa on Wednesday evening in Centennial Hall.

Lecture chronicling C.S. Lewis to be relocated Relay for Life to raise funds, celebrate cancer survivors with exercise

By Jason Buch The University Star

Today’s lecture by internationally recognized C.S. Lewis scholar Jerry Root titled “C.S. Lewis’s Big Ideas: Chronicles of a Master Communicator” has been moved to the Centennial Hall Teaching Theater because of the large amount of interest the lecture has generated.

“Because of popular demand, as they say, we’re moving it to a larger room,” said Steven Beebe, department of communication studies chair. “We have had lots of inquiries, both on the university and off the university, and the original site of the lec-

ture was not big enough.”

The event, which will begin at 12:30 p.m., was originally to be held in Centennial Hall, Room GO2.

Beebe said he asked Root, assistant professor of Christian education and co-author of The Quotable C.S. Lewis, to come speak to his communication studies honors class bearing the same name as today’s lecture.

“Jerry is a friend of mine,” Beebe said. “I served as one of the appraisers of his doctoral dissertation at Oxford. For three years I’ve been teaching this course, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to

have him come speak.”

Christine Pike, communication studies senior, is taking Beebe’s class this semester. She said the class is divided in to three parts. The first part covers Lewis’s life, the second part details his communication devices and the third part explores Lewis’s use of those devices in his books.

“I think it’s going to be interesting to see a self-proclaimed and nationally recognized critical expert,” Pike said. “We can learn a few more details about C.S. Lewis and go more in depth with what we’ve already learned. I think it will be interesting for our class and for the

public as well.”

Root said the recent release of the cinematic adaptation of Lewis’s book The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe had nothing to do with the decision to invite Root to Texas State, but probably is a cause of the attention the lecture is being given.

Pike said she watched the movie before taking the class.

“It was very comparable to the book,” she said. “It was pretty much dead on for the most part. (Lewis’s) step-son was very involved in the movie-making process and I think it accurately represented what C.S. Lewis would say or do.”

By Robert Best The University Star

participate in for prizes.

The number of Americans living with a hisRelay for tory of cancer Life, an event is estimated at created by the 10 million, acAmerican Cancording to govcer Society, will ernment reports make its way available on to Bobcat Stathe American dium on April Cancer Society 7 and 8.

Web site. Relay The event for Life aims aims to raise to maintain a money for canquality of life for cer research. those who have Starting at 6 cancer through p.m., particidonations and pants will walk research. around the “Relay For stadium track Life is much until about 6 — Rankin Hardin more than a a.m. the next walk around a finance junior morning. Cantrack — it is a cer survivors time to rememwill lead off the first lap, known ber those lost to cancer and celas the Survivors Lap. ebrate those who have survived,” Meeghan Zeringue, a Relay for according to the American CanLife co-chair, is eager to get stu- cer Society Web site. dents involved.

Rankin Hardin, a finance ju“We have around 40 teams nior, plans on getting a team toregistered online right now,” said gether.

Zeringue, mass communication “Almost everybody knows senior. “Our goal this year is for someone who has been diag90 teams to sign up, so awareness nosed with cancer,” Hardin said. is really important.”

“Relay for Life is an important Each team has 15 members, step towards honoring and helpand different members will ing those living with the disease.” switch off throughout the event.

The goal is to have at least one member from each team on the track for the duration of the run.

For more information, conThroughout the relay, different tact Meeghan Zeringue at games will be hosted in the stamz1022@txstate.edu. dium. A three-legged race is one of the several games people can

lmost “A everybody knows someone

who has been diagnosed with cancer. Relay for Life is an important step towards honoring and helping those living with the disease.”

Students to put decorating skills to work at Houston design showdown

By Magen Gray The University Star

Two Texas State interior design students will begin installing their own studio apartment design plans at 3 a.m. on Friday.

The Texas Studio Showdown at Park at Voss, a Houston rental community, concludes this weekend in the last phase of the competition. With help from just three volunteers each, the student finalists have two days to install their designs in the 475-square-foot studios.

The challenge is to transform the one-room apartment into a multi-functional living space.

“The students will most like-

Photos courtesy of Ward Creative Communications (Left to right) Andrea Raffety and Crystal Vicars, interior design seniors, display their design boards.

ly be sleeping in sleeping bags in the studios. Their volunteers must be students they recruited on their own,” said Morgan

Today’s Weather

Mostly Cloudy 79˚/60˚

Precipitation: 20% Humidity: 65% UV: 9 Very High Wind: S 23 mph

Johnston, media contact from Ward Creative Communications.

Johnston said the competi-

tors must finish and turn in their studio key by 9 a.m. on Sunday, an hour before the doors open for public tours.

After viewing and voting, contest winners will be selected by a panel of celebrity judges, professional designers and the public.

Interior design senior Andrea Raffety said she had not planned on entering the contest, but she decided to enter for fun with her friends.

“I’m not sure what I’ll be doing after graduation, but this is good publicity,” Raffety said.

“I’m bringing other Texas State students from my classes to help me install my design.”

See DESIGN, page 3

Two-day Forecast Friday AM Clouds PM Sun Temp: 86°/ 63° Precipitation: 10%

Saturday AM Clouds PM Sun Temp:86°/ 61° Precipitation: 10%

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PAGE TWO The University Star

Thursday in Brief

March 30, 2006

campushappenings Theatre and Dance department hosts “Dancers in Flight” performances Orchesis presents “Dancers in Flight” at Texas State “Dancers in Flight” will alight for two performances Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Jowers Center.

Admission is $5 for the general public and students with tickets available at the door.

Sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance, “Dancers in Flight” features work by the students of the Orchesis Dance Compa-

ny at Texas State. Established in 1981, the Orchesis Dance Company has been an active part in the Division of Dance ever since. Auditions are held in the fall, with membership activities continuing throughout the school year. Past guest artists include the Hawkins Company in New York, West African Dancers from Tapestry in Austin and Body-Mind Centering expert Ray Shwartz from Austin.

For more information, please email OrchesisDanceCompany@y ahoo.com or call (512) 245-2949.

— Courtesy of Media Relations

News Contact — Kirsten Crow, starnews@txstate.edu STARS OF TEXAS STATE POLICY

Calendar of

EVENTS Clubs & Meetings

The Catholic Student Center will have The Rock Praise & Worship at 7:30 p.m. in the CSC chapel.

Facing the Fear: An Anxiety/ Panic Group will meet from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Counseling Center.

Texas State Mariachi will perform at 8 p.m. in Evans Auditorium. Tickets are $2 for general admission and $1 for students.

Tuesday

Flute Choir will perform at 8 p.m. in the recital hall.

The Catholic Student Center is hosting a Night Prayer in the CSC chapel at 9 p.m.

Events

Opera Workshop will present Poulenc’s “Dialogue of the Carmalites” at 8 p.m. in the University Performing Arts Center.

Tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for students.

Thursday

Friday

“C.S. Lewis’s Big Ideas: Chronicles of a Master Communicator” lecture will be in Centennial Hall Teaching Theater at 12:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by the department of communication studies. For more information, contact Steven Beebe at (512) 245-2165.

Orchesis Dance Company will host Dancers In Flight at 7:30 p.m. in Jowers Center, Room B178. Admission is free with a $5 minimum donation. Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

Friday Ivan Blanco, professor Judy Dietert and professor Diana Hinkson will present “Infusion of Multiculturalism in the Business Curriculum” from 2 to 3 p.m. in Derrick Hall, Room 329. The event is sponsored by McCoy College of Business Administration. For information, contact William Chittenden at wc10@txstate.edu or (512) 2459655.

Tuesday Marguerite Mayhall will host “Modern Art and National Identity in 1950s Venezuela” from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Joann Cole Mitte Building, Room 2121.

The CSC will have free lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wednesday The Disney College Internship Program Presentation will be held in the LBJ Student Center Teaching Theater at 6 p.m.

Arts & Entertainment

Bobcat Build lays foundation for strong relationship between students, community San Marcos will sparkle on April 1 as more than 2,400 Texas State students work at nearly 200 different jobsites around town as a way to say thank you to the community that has become their second home.

Inspired by Texas A&M’s The Big Event, which has been an Aggie tradition for several decades, Texas State students created Bobcat Build, a one-day community service event.

Throughout February and March, local agencies, businesses, nonprofit organizations, churches and even individual residents of San Marcos requested jobsites for spring projects that need a few extra helping hands.

These jobs include painting houses, removing graffiti, gar-

On the cue tip

Thursday Orchesis Dance Company will perform Dancers In Flight at 7:30 p.m. in Jowers Center, Room B178. Admission is free with a $5 minimum donation.

Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

Thursday

Do you know someone at Texas State who has recently celebrated a great achievement? Nominate your choice to appear in The Star as a “Star of Texas State.” Write an e-mail to starletters@txstate.edu with the subject line “Stars of Texas State,” and include your nominee’s name, his/her relationship to the university, contact information for yourself and your nominee, and a brief description of the achievement. Also include a photo of your nominee if available. Accepted nominees will be featured at the top of Page Two.

Opera Workshop presents Poulenc’s “Dialogue of the Carmalites” at 8 p.m. in the UPAC. Tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for students.

Miscellaneous International Education Fee scholarship application deadline for Fall 2006 study abroad students is April 14. For more information, contact the Office of Study Abroad Programs at (512) 245-1967 or stop by the office at the Academic Services Building North, Room 302.

On This Day...

1901 - The first federal elections were held in Australia.

1943 - Rationing of meat, butter and cheese began in the United States during World War II.

Monty Marion/Star Photo Pre-psychology sophomore Adriana Romero lines up a tough shot using a rake while playing pool in George’s, on the first floor of the LBJ Student Center, as pre-athletic training sophomore Max Govella looks on.

CRIME BLOTTER San Marcos Police Department Mach 28, 3:36 p.m.

Criminal Mischief/ 1818 Ranch Road 12 Criminal mischief under $500.

March 28, 10:48 p.m.

Possesion of Marajuana/Corner of Hopkins Street and Bishop Street Three male subjects were arrested for possession of marijuana under two ounces and tampering with evidence.

March 28, 11:38 p.m.

Possession of Marijuana/ 520 Linda Drive One female was arrested for possession of marijuana under two ounces.

Crime stoppers: UPD: 2457867, SMPD: 353-TIPS

CALENDAR SUBMISSION POLICY Calendar submissions are free. Send submissions to Calendar of Events at starcalendar@txstate.edu or call (512) 245-3487 for more information.

E-mailed press releases will not be accepted. If using e-mail, please submit as a simple bulleted list of essential information. Submissions are on a first come, first served basis and notices for weekly meetings need to be submitted every week they will take place.

The University Star reserves the right to refuse entries or edit for libel, style and space purposes. Deadline: Three working days prior to publication.

dening and landscaping, playground fix-ups and other low risk tasks.

These jobsites are then evaluated by Bobcat Build committees and allotted a certain number of volunteers and supplies provided by the organization and other donations from local businesses such as Lowe’s and H-E-B. Texas State students gather together for the largest volunteer project in the university’s history. Thousands of students will scatter throughout the community to clean and help make San Marcos a more beautiful place to live.

These students are bridging the gap between the university and the community as they develop lasting relationships with their Bobcat Build jobsites. Several of the groups that volunteer often go back to the same jobsite the next year.

“Bobcat Build gives us a

chance to give back to the community and network with other organizations, the school district and organizations on campus,” said Kandice Cruz, assistant director of the Bobcat Build Community Involvement Committee. “It gives you a wonderful feeling to do something for others, and when you see the faces of the kids or agency that it is benefiting, it’s all worth it,” she said.

With its start in 2003, Bobcat Build has continued to grow and outshine all other community projects put on by Texas State. This one-day community cleanup has proven to be successful in the past and holds great potential for the future, as it is becoming a recognized tradition between the community and Texas State.

— Courtesy of Community Relations

SCRUBBING FOR PRIDE: The Indian Students Association and the Asian and International Studies organization join forces removing graffiti from vacant buildings in downtown San Marcos at last year’s Bobcat Build.

Brynn Leggett/ Star file photo

1974 - Mariner 10, the U.S. space probe, became the first spacecraft to reach the planet Mercury. It had been launched on Nov. 3, 1973.

1986 - A court in Rome acquitted six men in a plot to kill Pope John Paul II.

Library Beat Practice exams, scholarship and grant info online Taking a college entrance or licensing exam? Looking for a college or graduate school?

Need help finding scholarships or grants?

The Testing and Education Reference Center from Thomson-Gale is a one-stop online resource providing the latest preparatory tests, as well as information on scholarships, financial aid and approximately 4,000 accredited colleges and universities across the United States and Canada.

This comprehensive database offers full-length practice tests and study-preparation e-books for college and graduate school entrance, civil service, licensing and military entrance exams.

Students can work through the tests at their own pace, on or off campus, any time of the day or night.

Tests and study aids are avail-

able for ACT, American Foreign Service Officer, Advanced Placement, Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, Civil Service, College Level Examination Program, Clerical, Dantes Standardized Standardized Test, Emergency Medical Technician, Firefighter, GED, Graduate Management Admission Test, Graduate Record Examination, Law Enforcement, Law School Admission Test, Medical College Admission Test, Military Flight Aptitude, National Council Licensure Examination-Practical Nurse, Officer Candidate, Postal, SAT, State Trooper and Test of English Foreign Language.

In the Testing and Education Reference Center, students interested in graduate study may search a database of 30,000 accredited programs in more than 450 fields of study, from geophysics to sociology.

Distance learning options, executive-education programs

and programs for international students, vocational and technical schools are included and searchable.

The scholarship search section of the database provides up-todate information on more than 1.7 million scholarships and grants. Using the special builtin search tools, students can identify each college’s unique financial-aid packages, student loans, grants and scholarships.

Users may also opt to register to create their own personal toolbox where they can save their favorite financial aid sources for easy retrieval later.

This database and many others are available via the Alkek Library Databases page at http://www.library.txstate.edu/ ref/access/e-indexes.asp.

For one-on-one assistance, ask a librarian online (see the library homepage) or call the reference desk at (512) 245-2686.

— Courtesy of the Alkek Library

NEWS

Thursday, March 30, 2006

The University Star - Page 3

RUNNING: Tuhabonye preps for summer Olympics, trains Austin runners at RunTex

PET OF THE WEEK

CONTINUED from page 1

own tribe, the Tutsis.

On that day, Tuhabonye was prodded toward his school by men armed with bows and arrows, spears and machetes who told him that his headmaster needed him. Even though he was aware of danger, Tuhabonye at first thought the men were trying to help him. After all, he had won renown for his school for his running. Soon Tuhabonye began to see firsthand the torture that was taking place against his fellow tribesman.

“There was a lot of torture.

I can’t even describe it,” Tuhabonye said. “The men kept telling me, ‘You’re about to see what Jesus saw on the cross.’”

Tuhabonye witnessed his classmates die one by one and said that the whole time he thought that he would be next.

Throughout the terrible experience, Tuhabonye said he heard a voice in his head saying that nothing would happen to him.

He was thrown into a fire, where he remained for about nine hours with the burning corpses of his friends stacked on top of him. He too was on fire.

“At that time, I didn’t care about God. When people would go to church, I thought I would rather play sports, but when I was in the fire, I thought I was about to die,” Tuhabonye said. “I said a prayer — ‘God, I’ve got a lot of sin. Forgive me.’”

Tuhabonye said he heard a voice telling him to get out, so

Spencer Millsap/Star photo CURIOUS CANINE: Duchess is a black Labrador retriever mix in need of an owner. She is 10 months old and has been spayed. If you would like to adopt Duchess or need more information, contact the San Marcos Animal Shelter at (512) 393-8340. Duchess’ identification number is 30426.

DESIGN: Contest part of a multimillion dollar renovation project CONTINUED from page 1

Raffety chose fake bamboo flooring and a graphic flower pattern for the wall.

“Since it is supposed to be for college students, I wanted to make it hip and up-to-date.

I wanted it to be like something I would like to live in,” Raffety said.

Interior design senior Crystal Vicars said she changed her design the night before she had to present it to the judges.

“I wanted something to appeal to men and women and people our age. They have to sleep, eat and entertain in one room, so I wanted something relaxing,” Vicars said.

Vicars chose neutral colors with navy blue and light blue to complement the white sofa and accessories.

Vicars said in the future she wants to practice hospitality design, which specializes in designing hotels, restaurants and apartments.

The Park at Voss competition began in February with 14 interior design students from Texas State and the Art Insti-

“I

’m not sure what I’ll be doing after graduation, but this is good publicity. I’m bringing other Texas State students from my classes to help me install my design.”

— Andrea Raffety interior design senior and one of five finalists in contest

tute of Houston.

After taking studio tours, measuring and sorting through design options, each student presented design and budget plans to a selection committee, and five finalists were chosen at the beginning of March.

Each finalist has a $1,000 budget from Park at Voss, $300 lighting donated by Lighting Unlimited, $200 from Lowe’s, a discount at Wallpapers To Go and a choice of granite countertops donated by SenSa Granite and S&S Construction Group.

KRIV Fox 26 News will broadcast the event live, and Emmy award winner and de-

signer Gil Warrick will track the installation process and presentation of awards.

Scholarships totaling $1,500, $1,000 and $500 will be granted to winners, and a “People’s Choice” winner will receive a $250 American Express gift card.

Free food from Sweet Tomatoes and New York Pizzeria will be available for the public, along with musical entertainment by Word Life Productions.

The design contest at Park at Voss, located west of the Houston Galleria, is part of a $4.8 million renovation for the apartments.

omeone who tried to kill me, “S someone who tried to finish my life, I was able to let him go. People believe revenge is the answer. No, you create a cycle. And running gave me another purpose.”

— Gilbert Tuhabonye genocide survivor

he struggled through the bodies and used the burned bone of one of his classmates to break a window and get out of the burning room. He said he immediately started running, and although he was pursued, he outran the men with machetes chasing him.

Realizing later that he was on fire, he fell into a ditch where he extinguished the flames, but not before the flames had scarred him severely.

During his recovery, Tuhabonye said he grappled with his anger and confusion with the people who had done this to him and his Tutsi tribesmen, but later in his life he decided that forgiveness was the only way to get past what had happened to him.

“Someone who tried to kill me, someone who tried to finish my life, I was able to let him go,” Tuhabonye said. “People believe revenge is the answer. No, you create a cycle. And running gave me another purpose.”

That is exactly the purpose that Tuhabonye is currently pursuing. Coming to the United

States in 1996, he gained his college degree at Abilene Christian University and is currently training for the upcoming summer Olympics, where he hopes to represent Burundi. In addition, Tuhabonye trains aspiring runners at RunTex, a store geared for runners in the Austin area.

Tuhabonye has recently written a book This Voice in My Heart: A Genocide Survivor’s Story of Escape, Faith and Forgiveness where he tells the complete story of his experience, survival and hope in God. Tuhabonye will be holding a signing of the book at RunTex on May 6 in Austin.

“I just liked how he incorporated his testimony about God,” said Matt Lyke, undecided freshman.

Another student echoed Lyke’s enjoyment.

“I was really interested in the faith part,” said Lana Jones, undecided sophomore. “It was weird sitting here as an American and seeing what he’s been through. I’m thinking about how lucky I am to be here.”

ASG: Some say Texas State image was damaged by veto of legislation CONTINUED from page 1

Israel Ruiz told the group that he abstained from voting because he did not know enough about Proposition 2 at the time Moody’s legislation was presented and could not make an informed decision. Lambda adviser and anthropology professor Kent Reilly was not satisfied with Ruiz’s explanation and said it is Ruiz’s job to be educated on such issues.

“It was your responsibility as a member of a legislative body to educate yourself, particularly on such a critical piece of information,” Reilly said. “Your job

It is delicious!

is just not to balance the view of this group as opposed to the view of this other group. Your responsibility is to lead. If you can’t lead when it comes to issues of discrimination, then how can you say you are effectively representing?”

Presidential candidate Kyle Morris does not have the ability to vote in his capacity as ASG senate clerk, but he said that ASG must draw the line when taking up issues that concern students.

“If we start going outside the auspices of what is important at Texas State University — not to say that this wasn’t important

an issue to Texas State students because it was — but if we start legislating on every single issue, where do we draw the line?”

Morris said.

Lambda secretary and communication studies junior Megan McChesney said Anderson’s veto of the legislation hurt the image of the university.

“I really think that it looked down upon our campus when we had (Moody’s legislation) passed, and our president vetoed it because he didn’t think it should be an issue that we’re addressing, even though that it was affecting every single one of us,” McChesney said.

TWILIGHT THUMP

Spencer Millsap/Star photo Music freshman Jason Van Note practices drum exercises on Wednesday night outside of the Music Building to prepare for drumline tryouts next semester.

Page 4 - The University Star

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Thursday, March 30, 2006

NEWS

Thursday, March 30, 2006

The University Star - Page 5

Abramoff sentenced to more than 5 years in fraud case

By Jay Weaver Knight Ridder Newspapers MIAMI — One-time powerhouse lobbyist Jack Abramoff will soon be trading in his pin stripes for prison stripes.

Abramoff was sentenced on Wednesday in Miami federal court to a prison term of five years and 10 months for a fraudulent loan deal to buy a South Florida fleet of gambling ships.

His business partner, Adam Kidan of New York, received the same sentence before U.S. District Judge Paul Huck.

The judge ordered both men to pay back $21.7 million to one of the lenders in the 2000 SunCruz Casinos deal. Both were allowed to remain free on bail for at least 90 days while they assist authorities in SunCruz-related criminal investigations.

Huck’s courtroom was packed with reporters, prosecutors and gawkers. Most came to wit-

ness the somber sentencing of Abramoff, whose influence peddling on Capitol Hill has spawned an array of investigations into the lobbyist’s relationships with lawmakers, especially Republicans.

Abramoff had already pleaded guilty in a parallel corruption probe in which he admitted giving members of Congress and their staffers bribes, foreign trips and gourmet meals. Several lawmakers — including an Ohio congressman who operated behind the scenes in the SunCruz deal and other Abramoff activities — may be indicted this spring, according to sources familiar with the case.

“As you can imagine, this day is incredibly painful for my family, friends and me,” Abramoff told the judge.

“Over the past two years, I have started the process of becoming a new man. I am much chastened and profoundly remorseful over the reckless and

hurtful things I have done in my life, especially those which have brought me before you today,” he continued. “I can only hope that the Almighty and those whom I have wronged will forgive my trespasses, and that God grants me the time on this earth to make amends.”

Kidan expressed similar sentiments, saying, “I’m completely remorseful and apologetic.”

Outside the courthouse, Abramoff — sporting a dark suit and a tan baseball cap — sidestepped the throng of television cameras and other media. He was accompanied by his wife, Pam, and his attorneys, Neal Sonnett and Abbe Lowell.

Wednesday’s court hearing marked a dark chapter in the lives of two men who first met in college as Young Republicans and rekindled their friendship with what has proven to be a shady business venture.

Last summer, Abramoff and Kidan were charged with lying

to lenders — Foothill Capital, a California-based unit of Wells Fargo, and Citadel Equity Fund Ltd., based in the Cayman Islands — about putting down $23 million to qualify for a $60 million loan to seal the SunCruz deal.

But the pair never made the down payment toward the $147 million purchase, though they sent bogus documents to the lenders that showed they did — the foundation of the wirefraud conspiracy case.

Abramoff, 47, and Kidan, 41, respectively cut plea deals in January and December to curry favor for shorter sentences. They faced up to seven years and three months under federal sentencing guidelines.

Both men will be allowed to remain free on bail for the next 90 days and possibly longer.

They are cooperating with state and federal authorities on two separate investigations related to the SunCruz fraud case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence LaVecchio — who prosecuted the SunCruz case along with Paul Schwartz and Guy Singer and FBI agent Susan Sprengel — told the judge that the defendants need to be free for now to travel and review documents for authorities.

Both men are supposed to help Broward County, Fla., authorities in their investigation into the February 2001 mobstyle murder of SunCruz founder Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis, who had been publicly feuding with Kidan over the future of the gambling-ship empire, which eventually filed for bankruptcy.

Neither has been charged in connection with Boulis’ death.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office has charged three defendants with Boulis’ murder — including two who had been on the SunCruz payroll and had ties to organized crime.

Abramoff, in particular, is helping both South Florida and

Washington federal prosecutors with the broader influence-peddling investigation in the nation’s capital.

Abramoff has admitted to allegations about a SunCruz bribery conspiracy as well as his collection of tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent fees from his Indian tribal clients and his payoffs to congressmen.

He faces up to 11 years in the Justice Department corruption case, but his deal with prosecutors allows him to serve the time concurrently with his SunCruz prison term.

Abramoff and Kidan paid themselves $500,000 salaries and diverted $310,000 in SunCruz money for Washingtonarea sports skyboxes for GOP fundraisers orchestrated by Abramoff. Among them: a fundraiser for Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, a target of the federal probe who could soon be indicted, according to sources familiar with the investigation. Ney denies any

2 million Americans at risk should bird flu pandemic occur

By John Fauber, Kawanza Newson and Susanne Rust Milwaukee Journal Sentinel MILWAUKEE — Results from the first rigorous clinical trial of the bird flu vaccine for humans suggest that existing manufacturing methods can not produce enough vaccine to protect most Americans.

Doctors say the trial of the H5N1 flu vaccine is a first step in preparing the country for a devastating pandemic that could kill as many as two million Americans, but it also reveals how vulnerable the nation is, at least in the near future.

“Basically, it’s back to the drawing board,” said Gregory Poland, a professor of medicine and infectious disease at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn. “We’ve been puttering around since 1997 (when the first H5N1 human cases emerged) and there still is not a viable (vaccine) candidate,” he said.

The study, reported on Thursday in the New England

Journal of Medicine, also underscores the need for vaccines that can provide broad immunity to multiple strains of flu. Researchers hope that such a vaccination could be taken once, or every 10 years, providing resistance to not only seasonal flus, but possible pandemic flus as well.

Several groups are developing such “universal flu vaccines,” said Gary Nabel, director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, a branch of the National Institutes of Health. None of these would be on the market for at least five years, he said.

A universal vaccine is just one goal in what has become a frantic field of research, slapped out of its slumber by an injection of billions of dollars in federal funding.

Scientists and drug companies also are looking at new ways of making vaccines, including producing them in dog kidney cells, or using DNA vaccines.

These methods, theoretically, could produce larger amounts

e’ve been puttering around “W since 1997 (when the first H5N1 human cases emerged) and there still is not a viable (vaccine) candidate.”

— Gregory Poland professor of medicine and infectious disease at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine

of vaccine quicker than the oldfashioned method of making vaccine in chicken eggs.

Earlier this month, Gov. Jim Doyle announced the establishment of a $9 million Institute for Influenza Viral Research in Madison, Wis. The site, which will be built in existing space at the University Research Park, will serve as a national hub for genetic research studies on influenza viruses and provide critical information needed to fight the deadly strain of bird flu that’s circulating globally.

Because pandemics strike roughly three times every 100 years and because the last one occurred in 1968, some infectious disease experts say we are

in a race against the clock.

As many as 30 H5N1 vaccine trials are going on now, said Poland, who also wrote an editorial accompanying the study.

Despite the effort, it will likely be a few years before enough of any vaccine can be produced to protect the U.S. population from a pandemic, he said.

However, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said the vaccine trial was important because it was the first properly tested human vaccine against the H5N1 virus, which has been infecting bird populations around the world.

“What this paper shows is you can make a vaccine against

bird flu,” said Fauci, whose institute funded the study. “It also points out a lot of weaknesses in the system. It’s an important wake-up call.”

Since 2003, more than 100 people worldwide — about half of those who developed symptoms — have died from H5N1. Most of these people have had close contact with infected poultry. The disease has not been able to jump easily between people.

The study reported Thursday involved 451 healthy adults who received two shots of an H5N1 influenza vaccine in the arm, one month apart. The killed virus used in the vaccine was isolated from a patient in Vietnam who was infected by a chicken.

Among those given the highest dose of vaccine — two 90microgram injections — 54 percent developed an antibody level that most likely would be protective against the virus, compared with 22 percent of people who received two 15microgram shots.

The typical seasonal flu vac-

cine is one shot designed to protect against three different circulating flu strains, using 15 micrograms of each virus strain. Such shots normally provide protection in 70 to 90 percent of those vaccinated, doctors said.

The big problem in producing the H5N1 vaccine for mass inoculations is that demand would far outstrip the world’s vaccine production capacity.

With the double 90-microgram dose used in the trial, about 37 million courses of the vaccine could be produced with existing capacity, Poland said.

“Even at that, only half the people would have protective levels of antibodies,” he said.

Lead author John Treanor said the trial’s results don’t necessarily mean that the people who didn’t receive the highest dose weren’t protected, too.

“Protection” was an arbitrary designation based on what is known about antibody levels with seasonal flu, he said.

“These are all things that will be hard to know until we learn more about the disease,”

TRENDS THE UNIVERSITY STAR

Thursday, March 30, 2006 - Page 6

happeningsof the weekend san marcos

Thursday Cheatham Street Warehouse — Texas Renegade Lucy’s — Luke Leverett Band The Triple Crown — Meatwood, Robbie and The Robots, Trash Rock Kings

Friday Cheatham Street Warehouse — The Derailers Lucy’s — Jared Francis Band The Triple Crown — Opposite Day, Fluffers Union

Saturday Cheatham Street Warehouse — Two Tons of Steel Gordo’s — Warrant Lucy’s — Ghostland Observatory, Clap!Clap!

Trends Contact — Kyle Bradshaw, starentertainment@txstate.edu

Two film giants dominate original King Kong screening

By Nixon Guerrero The University Star The Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar in Austin hosted a screening of a 35mm archival print of the original 1933 film King Kong on Tuesday night.

Kong has been hailed as an accomplishment that changed the movie-viewing experience forever. Being the first successful stop-motion film, it became the blueprint for special effects and paved the path for other great films such as Star Wars and Clash of the Titans.

With a film of this size, it was only appropriate that another film giant would be in attendance: stop-motion and special effects legend Ray Harryhausen.

The Drafthouse, known for its highly original programming, had its lobby jam-packed before the screening with an eager confluence of fans of both Kong and Harryhausen.

Born in 1920, Harryhausen was too young to have worked on the original Kong but was no stranger to its wonder and mesmerizing capability. At the age of 13, Harryhausen’s parents managed to get three tickets to a Kong screening at the famous Groman’s Chinese Theatre.

“It changed my life and I haven’t been the same since,” Harryhausen said of the experience.

After watching Kong, Harryhausen knew what he wanted to be for the rest of his life and that was a stop-motion animator. Wasting no time, he learned about the art form and immediately began making stop-motion shorts in his garage.

As luck would have it, a friend’s father worked for Willis O’Brien — the man responsible for the animation of Kong.

Harryhausen’s friend suggested giving O’Brien a call. He finally worked up the courage to do so, and O’Brien invited him to the studio where they would eventually become very close. Soon after, Harryhausen worked with O’Brien on many of his films including War Eagles (uncompleted) and Mighty Joe Young (1949).

Not too long after, Harryhausen ventured off to work on several other films as the chief special effects artist. Some of his more notable films include Clash of the Titans, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, The Valley of Gwangi and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger.

After the screening, Harryhausen, now 85 years old, was available for an intimate question-andanswer session, with Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News as the moderator.

When asked if he was ever approached to consult on any of the Kong remakes, he replied, “I don’t like to give consultation or advice to any directors too much because that’s me getting too involved in their creative process and, ultimately, the final product.”

“I don’t understand the idea of remaking Kong.

I mean, how do you remake a classic? Would you remake Citizen Kane? It’s probably a good thing I wasn’t asked to remake Kong because I would have made it exactly the same. There is nothing wrong with this movie. I certainly had nothing to do with the 1976 version.”

Harryhausen was also asked to comment on computer-generated effects and its use in film today.

“I think CGI is a great invention, and it’s a great tool. But it’s only a tool,” Harryhausen said.

“When you first see Kong in the original movie or you see fighting skeletons in one of my movies, you know it’s not real, but that’s an important part of fantasy — the dream quality to the picture.”

Harryhausen also noted that he did storyboard work on many of his films.

“Storyboards were essential,” he said. “You had to plan everything to perfection. A lot of the time when you’re shooting these types of films that have a lot of stop motion in them, it was like you were filming and editing all at the same time.”

Harryhausen then spoke about some current projects that his name is attached to.

“I’m actually an executive producer on a series of stop-motion shorts,” Harryhausen said.

“They’re actually vividly based on Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories. I don’t do any the animation, though.”

After the session was over, Harryhausen, to the surprise of the crowd, screened the first completed Poe short, which had never been screened before, from the series he mentioned earlier. Titled The Pit and the Pendulum, the film was only six minutes in length and managed to garner a resounding applause from the audience.

After the screening, Harryhausen met with his fans in the theatre lobby to sign autographs and pose for many pictures.

Mike Wood/Star illustration

Mogwai’s use of piano on new album compliments classic guitar style

By Sam Ladach-Bark The University Star Mogwai has been known for its distorted yet beautiful guitar work.

Through four full-length albums since music 1997, this has review been the at✯✯✯ traction and Mogwai draw of the Mr. Beast music. But Matador Records with Mogwai’s 2006 release, Mr. Beast, the band has finally found that the slow, hyp-

notic sound of a grand piano can also do wonders for its music. It was just a matter of time before the Glasgow-based, psychedelicrock group realized this.

Its latest album features several new approaches to its traditional climactic ensembles in an effort to keep fans on their toes and interested, as new instruments and genres are tampered with. Although the album as a whole is a very solid piece of work, some of the new ideas are hit and miss.

Old fans will definitely be taken aback by the opening track “Auto Rock,” which opens with a lengthy piano solo, slowly weaving in background guitar melodies, but just as the song

reaches its peak, it is abruptly discontinued, which goes against this band’s traditional formula.

The piano is a welcome addition though, which also plays a crucial part in setting the somber mood for “Team Handed.” With the optimistic, piano-fueled transitions on “Friend of the Night,” the band is able to create music that might have made sense with its last album titled Happy Songs for Happy People.

Another surprise instrument makes its debut on Beast in the form of a slide guitar on “Acid Snake.” The band’s music always seemed too dark to support the upbeat western melody that comes from a slide, but somehow it makes it work.

Beast isn’t without its flaws though. As I stated above, Mogwai saw the need to also experiment outside its genre. The borderline heavy-metal feel of “Glasgow Mega-Snake” and “We’re No Here” seems a bit out of place and beneath the band. And while it was probably going for a more pure sound on Beast, the scratchy background distortion we came to love on Rock Action and Young Team is nowhere to be found.

But its trial and error definitely scored some positive marks with “I Chose Horses,” in which a tranquil piano melody shares center stage with a soft yet powerfully spoken French dialogue.

Lyrics have never played a key

part in any of the band’s albums to date. And classically beautiful Mogwai is delivered in soul-satisfying fashion on “Emergency Trap” and “Folk Death 95.”

Mr. Beast, without question, cures any diehard fan’s Mogwai fix. It is not some of the band’s

strongest work, but it’s a happy blend of old and new themes.

Long time listeners should get this album, but for those looking to hear Mogwai at its best may I suggest starting with Young Team or Happy Songs For Happy People.

Courtesy of Matador Records BEASTLY SOUNDS: Glasgow-based band Mogwai’s latest album Mr. Beast uses pianos and slide guitars to diversify the band’s sound.

TRENDS

Thursday, March 30, 2006

RIX’S

The University Star - Page 7

TECHNLOGOY FIXES

EA set to reduce Battlefield series to Madden-esque franchise

the PC and has annually released a Madden game ever since, much to the chagrin of the series’ fans, who grudgingly hand over $50 every year, or $60 if they want to play on a “next-gen” console. It doesn’t hurt to also note that EA owns the exclusive rights to the “NFL” name, so if you want the real NFL gaming experience, you don’t have a choice.

It’s fortunate that EA doesn’t have such an influence over FPS games as they do sports and simulation games. Industry icons like id Software and Epic will continue to release FPS titles that will undoubtedly shape the FPS genre and the gaming industry itself for years to come.

If EA applies the same policy they gave The Sims to the Battlefield franchise, it won’t be too long before John Madden will have some company at the pawnshop.

If you want to it — they went as far know what it’s like as to buy the software for a video game sedeveloper Maxis so that ries before EA Games, they can have complete a video game develcontrol over The Sims oper and publisher, — and any Sim City — applies their tradegames. And with Maxis BILL RIX mark business design came Will Wright, one Star Columnist on it, take a look at of the most venerated the Battlefield games. developers in the inBut do it quickly. dustry, whose upcoming game EA started the Battlefield se“Spore” is all but guaranteed to ries with its hit Battlefield 1942, have a myriad of spin-offs and released in September 2002. “expansion packs.”

Three years later, in June of In addition to The Sims, an2005, EA once again contracted other franchise has been given the Swedish design company the same EA treatment. If you’ve Digial Illusions CE (DICE) and ever been to a pawnshop looking produced the triple-A FPS title for some games on the cheap, Battlefield 2. Two to three years you’ve doubtlessly seen the everis a perfect amount of time to present Madden NFL series. EA wait between releasing games, started the series back in 1989 especially games in a series like with John Madden’s Football for Battlefield, giving gamers enough time to thoroughly enjoy a game and to feel that their money was well-invested.

Battlefield 2 currently has approximately more than 1,000 servers operating at any given time, and many servers can support a 64-player load — it’s safe to say that Battlefield 2 is still considered one of the first-person shooter (FPS) heavyweight titles that will have a healthy online presence for at least another year or more to come.

That is, until EA upped their ownership of DICE to 62 percent and announced that the next game in the Battlefield franchise, Battlefield 2142, was already in production and could be expected in the fall of 2006.

Not a surprise, coming from the company that publishes the wildly popular — and wildly Image courtesy of EA Games populous — game The Sims, ON THE FRONT LINES: EA’s announcement of the upcoming a game that boasts 12 separate first-person shooter, Battefield 2142, threatens to put the Battlefield “expansion packs” of various franchise in the same category as the annually-appearing Madden sorts. EA knows its business NFL games. model design well and sticks to

Exciting events offer up an alternative weekend • The city of Buda will celebrate its 125th anniversary with music, food and many other activities, on Saturday.

The day-long festival will begin at 10 a.m. with a parade down Main Street and will be followed with music performances from Doug Moreland Band, The Gimbles and Texas Swing Kings, among others.

The group Bomba Brazilena, which features Texas State alumna Elizabeth Madrid Davis, will give a performance of its Brazilian Samba and Caribbean dance styles.

After a day full of square dancing, fishing, frontier crafts and other live entertainment, the celebration will conclude

with fireworks (weather permitting) and conclude around 10 p.m.

• Also on Saturday, boasting an entirely different brand of entertainment, hair-metal rockers Warrant will perform at Gordo’s.

Best known for its hit “Cherry Pie,” the band will arrive touting a brand new record, Born Again, released in February. Of Black ’n’ Blue fame, Jaime St. James now fronts the group’s eclectic mix of former and new members alike.

For those too anxious to hear which songs will make the cut for the evening’s show, there’s a tour set list posted

on the band’s Web site. And — well — you’ll have to wait all the way to the end to hear “Cherry Pie.” And you know what, it just might be worth it.

The show starts at 8 p.m.

• The Crockett Events Center in Austin will play host to the Austin Record Convention on Saturday and Sunday. For 25 years, the convention has allowed vinyl collectors worldwide to come scavenge for rare albums, and this year should be no different. The show room opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. both days.

— Compiled from press releases

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures STAY AWAY: Sophia Bush, Frankie Muniz, Jon Foster and Samaire Armstrong fall victim to a weak plot in Stay Alive.

It’ll be harder to stay awake than to Stay Alive in horror dud hard to make a decent horror Iwitht’smovie with a PG-13 rating, especially a weak screenplay and cast and an

By Nixon Guerrero The University Star

This may be a bold statement, but I’m go(no stars) ing to say Stay Alive it anyway.

Dir.: William Bell Alive Stars: Jon Foster, Stay withSophia Bush, and will, out a doubt, Frankie Muniz Rated: PG-13 be the worst movie that’ll stain the silver screen this year. I’m convinced. This film simply should not have been made. It’s actually just a recipe for failure.

All you need is six inept actors, a pushover, no-talent director as ripe as can be and the most un-involving, boring screenplay possible. Put the ingredients into a blender with producers Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum at the button, and you’ve got Stay Alive.

OK, here’s what the movie is really about.

film review

even weaker director.

A group of six friends manage to get their hands on an underground computer game called (what else) Stay Alive.

The rules of the game are simple: First, the players must recite the prayer/incantation presented at the game’s menu in order to start the game.

Once they start the game, they must finish it before it finishes them.

Of course, the game’s villain somehow manages to cross into their real world and kill the youngsters just as they died in the game. As for what they to do after this, I say: Who cares?

And through all this, there’s an insipid love story involving a transient female and our lead

actor, Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle)-character you wish would die gruesomely.

And there’s also the standard brother-sister, love-hate relationship, which makes for an even worse experience.

It’s hard to make a decent horror movie with a PG-13 rating, especially with a weak screenplay and cast and an even weaker director.

As for the effects, well, that’s just another aspect of the film that left something to be desired — believability.

Really folks, stay away from this film. It was hard and painful to watch. It’s nothing but an insulting rip off of Brain Scan and the original Nightmare On Elm Street.

CELEBRATING MUSIC: One of the many record vendors at the 24th annual fall Austin Record Convention, held Oct. 29 and 30, gives one of his cutomers a rundown of his inventory.

The spring Austin Record Convention will be Saturday and Sunday at the Crockett Event Center.

Tiffany Searcy/ Star file photo

DIVERSIONS

Page 8 - The University Star

my latest tunes

Thursday, March 30, 2006

✯Star Comics

Entertainment Editor Kyle Bradshaw reveals what he’s been listening to this past week.

Musicforthemorningafter Pete Yorn

Agaetís Byrjun Sigor Ros

Devils and Dust Bruce Springsteen

Favorite track: “Strange Condition”

Favorite track: “Staraflur”

Favorite track: “Maria’s Bed”

SU DO KU Complete the grid so that every row, column, and 3-by-3 box contains every digit from one through nine inclusively.

Wednesday’s solutions:

© Pappocom

Wednesday’s solutions:

Go to www.UniversityStar.com for today’s answers.

OPINIONS THE UNIVERSITY STAR

quoteof the day “This is a man, I believe, God has appointed ... to represent righteousness in government.”

”

— Rick Scarborough talking about Rep. Tom DeLay at a conference about the decline of American society and “War on Christianity.”

(Source: Houston Chronicle) Opinions Contact — Joe Ruiz, staropinion@txstate.edu

Thursday, March 30, 2006 - Page 9

THE MAIN POINT

‘Strategically unimportant areas’ still need attention

The Main Point is the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board. Columns are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the full staff, Texas State University-San Marcos Student Media, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication or Texas State UniversitySan Marcos.

Americans’ view on the use of nuclear energy as a power source

Jeffrey Cole/Star illustration

Texas State students had an opportunity on Wednesday night to hear a firsthand account of the horrors of genocide from a survivor, Gilbert Tuhabonye.

Tuhabonye, a member of the Tutsi tribe in Burundi, was the sole survivor of a 1993 massacre at his high school, in which Hutus burned more than 100 Tutsi children and teachers to death.

This act of mass murder was part of a large-scale genocide that took the lives of hundreds of thousands. The atrocities subsequently received great media attention in the West, for example with the critically acclaimed 2004 film Hotel Rwanda. Tuhabonye’s speech and films such as Hotel Rwanda bring attention to the plights in Africa that might otherwise escape the eyes and ears of students.

Despite this attention now, at the time of the atrocities in Rwanda and Burundi, the U.S. government under President Clinton did everything it could to avoid becoming embroiled in the conflict, largely because of criticism of the unsuccessful intervention in Somalia.

For the last three years, the Bush administration — hardly known for isolationism — has taken a similar approach to another genocide in Africa, the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of non-Arab residents of the Darfur region of Sudan by the Janjaweed, a governmentbacked militia recruited from local Arab tribes.

Bush may have made a move toward reversing this policy on Wednesday, when, in a speech at the Freedom House, he referred to the Darfur conflict as a “genocide (that) needs to be stopped” and called for NATO forces to back up the 7,500 African Union troops currently in the region. This is a large departure from the usual rhetoric surrounding the problems in Darfur. The Bush administration, like the Clinton administration, has shied away from the term genocide because the United States is bound by its inclusion in the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime Genocide to prevent and suppress acts of genocide. That means that if the U.S. government acknowledges the existence of genocide, it must do something to stop the genocide. So while Bush called the Darfur conflict a genocide in his speech on Wednesday and in 2005, and Colin Powell used the word before the United Nations in 2004 when he was Secretary of State, the U.S. government has yet to take any official action that would imply an acknowledgement of what all parties know is happening.

On a side note, the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948. The United States did not become a state party of the convention until 1988 and would not join unless it would be immune to prosecution for genocide without its consent.

It’s not the job of the United States to police the world, but we can’t just selectively use human rights abuses as an excuse to extend our presence into other countries, and then ignore equal or greater abuses in regions where we don’t have economic interests. We can hope that Bush is serious about ending the atrocities in Sudan and will back up his comments with decisive action. But as long as the American people are apathetic to the plight of people in strategically unimportant areas, it is likely our government will continue to ignore them.

Math problems aren’t helped by obtuse department personnel, professors Never in my Go figure. life did I think as I guess I should be a white man livgrateful it isn’t the old ing in the south days where I couldn’t I could possibly even take junior- or sebe discriminated nior-level classes until against, but here I passed the math porSEAN WARDWELL I am. You see, tion of what was then Star Columnist despite all of the Texas Academic my advantages, Skills Program. That I have a problem that some was at least a little bit of progpeople in this university fail to ress, but it was progress that understand. I have a learning was forced on the department disability in math. by the state and not because it Yet if you were to go the was, you know, the right thing math department here at Texas to do.

State, they are likely to deny I am stunned that an instituthat learning disabilities even tion of higher education would exist. According to them, if you allow this sort of blatant discan’t do math you are stupid, crimination to exist. However, lazy or, most likely, both. I say in the math department, it just this because I have been locked seems to be company policy. into the same circle since I first Despite all of the evidence set foot here in 1999. Because about how people with learnI deal with this disability, I ing disabilities simply cannot can’t pass the math portion of understand certain topics, such the TSIP. As a result of this, I as math, the leadership of the am relegated to having to take math department has chosen Math 1300, the most basic to bury their heads in the sand math course offered at this uni- and create a horribly flawed versity. I have taken Math 1300 reality. Then they openly mock no less than five times, each people with learning disabilities time receiving an F. Incidentalby saying that we just need to ly, F is the only letter grade that work harder. That’s like telling can be earned in the course. If someone with a missing leg you pass, you just get a grade of to run faster. But, then again, PR or CR. Neither of those afthey really don’t have to care fects your GPA, but the F does. because they don’t have to

deal with the consequences of having one’s academic career stalled — if not killed — because of it.

Another brilliant argument from these committed humanists is that the rules have to apply across the board. Well I couldn’t agree more. However, when those rules divorce themselves from reality, and stupidly assume that we all start from the same place with the same abilities, that argument deserves to be ripped to shreds.

So I really have to pose the question why the math department and the university allow these discriminatory practices to continue? I’m not the only one in this situation, yet when we try to bring it up outside the Office of Disability Services all we hear are the sound of crickets. If this university claims to care about student retention, if it claims to have the best interests of the students at heart, or even if this university claims to have a commitment to reason and logic, why do they allow some of the most talented students here to drop by the wayside because they can’t do math? A casual observer could chalk it up to incompetence and carelessness.

I’m not asking to be relieved

of the obligation of taking math. There is a math course here, Math 1316, that is tailored to students in my situation. However, the fact that the math department forces students to take two muchharder courses in order to get to the easier course is moronic.

It leads me to believe that they are more concerned with following rules for the sake of following rules than actually helping students succeed.

So I’m calling the leadership of the math department out. I will gladly give up my column next week to provide you with a forum to defend these discriminatory policies. I want to know why nobody in your department can understand what a learning disability is. I want to see your answer, and I want to see it here. Regardless of your response though, I’m taking you people on. I want a proverbial piece of you all, and I want a big one. I will not be denied. I am going to force this university to look at how you discriminate against students with disabilities. I will be annoying. I’ll probably be rude.

You absolutely won’t like me, but understand this, and understand it well.

I will win.

TABC does poor job of enforcing Texas law

56%

support it

38%

do not Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,000 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted March 1316, 2006. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ± 3 percentage points.

For results based on the 502 national adults in the Form A half-sample and 498 national adults in the Form B halfsample, the maximum margins of sampling error are ± 5 percentage points In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error

The University Star 601 University Drive Trinity Building San Marcos, TX 78666 Phone: (512) 245-3487 Fax: (512) 245-3708

As recent events this capacity. Howin San Marcos and ever, restaurants around Texas have and stores can be shown, the Texas extremely busy and Alcoholic Beverage hectic places to Commission is inwork. Sometimes terpreting the Texas employees make Alcoholic Beverage mistakes. I know Code very liberally.

I’ve made mistakes RUSTY REX Recently, in one at my job. ThankGuest Columnist local restaurant fully, there wasn’t — and many othan agency there to ers I’m sure — a cite me and give me waitress was heavily fined for a life-long criminal record. accidentally selling alcohol to Now as I’ve written, when minors. Also, because of the you sell alcohol you do have a pressure of criminal charges responsibility. So if you make being issued by the TABC, a mistake, I can understand only a few San Marcos bars that there will be a penalty, and clubs allow minors to but selling alcohol to a mienter. nor, whether or not it is acBefore I continue, let me cidental or purposefully, is a just say that I do not favor un- Class A Misdemeanor. That derage drinking in restaurants, means that a waitress in a bar clubs or anywhere else. I do, who fails to ask for an ID has however, favor enforcement committed a crime that is of underage drinking laws that worse, according to the penal is just and effective. code, than Driving While InWhile I’m sure selling to toxicated. That, my friends, minors does happen, most is blatantly ridiculous. When waitresses, bartenders and people knowingly speed on a convenience store clerks do highway and are caught, they not knowingly or maliciously are issued a ticket and forced serve or sell alcohol to mito pay a fine. While speednors. They work in a job that ing may seem fairly benign, involves serving or selling according to the National alcohol, and they should be Highway Traffic Safety Adresponsible when acting in ministration, speeding and

alcohol are the two largest contributors to vehicular fatalities and thus a significant threat to public safety. It’s funny though, the differences between the punishments for traffic and alcohol offenses.

If you speed, you pay money, and your insurance goes up. If you drive intoxicated and are caught, the penalty is a little worse, and you are charged with a Class B Misdemeanor.

But if you sell alcohol to a minor, you are charged with the most serious class of misdemeanors — a Class A. In my opinion, there is some obvious unfairness here.

However, that’s an issue for the legislature and not the TABC. These statutes — unequal as they are — are on the books, and TABC’s job is to enforce them. My problem with the TABC is how they enforce them. It’s unfair, lazy and, most importantly, inefficient.

I want to state again that I am not in favor of underage drinking or even in favor of those of age drinking to excess or getting behind the wheel.

Alcohol and college students can be a deadly combination.

The Drug Enforcement Administration doesn’t go after

drug dealers who are selling $10 rocks of crack cocaine on big city street corners. They go after the biggest threat and source of drug crime: large, organized drug-dealing groups and cartels. The TABC needs to use some common sense in San Marcos and do the same. I mean, come on folks. We all know that most of the excessive drinking involving minors in San Marcos doesn’t happen at restaurants; it happens at the dozens of parties held across the city every day.

I think it is lazy and a waste of man power for the TABC to conduct sting operations like the ones that take place at local restaurants. But hey, I guess that’s the reality of it. I guess it’s lucky for them that numbers are much easier to measure than public safety.

That way, both sides in the debate can win.

The TABC gets great numbers and the satisfaction of making working college kids one step away from being felons. This is only one of many ways TABC is enforcing Texas law poorly.

Rusty Rex is a geography senior

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FOR RENT-APTS LARGE 2/1.5 AVAILABLE NOW at Heritage Square. Call Jenna at 512-351-5948.

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ROOMS NEXT TO CAMPUS free internet, cable, and other free utilities $325-$375 call 392-2700.

APARTMENTS NEXT TO TEXAS STATE now leasing for

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HELP WANTED JOHNNY ROCKETS “The

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HELP WANTED

MANAGED SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE -teleNetwork is currently seeking

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teleNetwork is currently seeking TSRs to provide technical support for dialup and DSL customers. Full or Part Time positions available with flexible scheduling at our Austin and San Marcos call center locations. More information and online application available at http://www.telenetwork.com/careers

2 FULL TIME LEAD TEACHERS. CDA minimum req.

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SEEKING WAIT STAFF & ENTERTAINERS with a fun loving attitude who enjoys working in a party atmosphere. AM/PM, PT/FT, flexible schedules. Great $$$! Apply Sugar’s 404 Highland Mall Blvd. E., Austin (near Highland Mall) 512-451-1711

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Please apply in person at the Prime Outlets Management.

HELP WANTED for Vineyard establisment and maintenance. Basic plant knowledge preferred. Call 512-461-1876.

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friends, family, and members of your community from identity theft. Good training, great pay. Call Troy (512) 750-7405.

HELP WANTED

HIRING A.M. HOST AND BUSSERS. Please apply in person

at Bennigan’s Restaurant.

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ATHLETIC, OUTGOING MEN for calendars, greeting cards,

etc $75-200/hr, no exp. needed, (512)684-8296.

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ROOMMATES SEEKING MALE ROOMMATE, big room, nice

house, cheap rent, close to West Campus. Contact Jim at 512-757-1731.

SERVICES MATH TUTOR.

BSc Math, MSc Physics;. $15 per hour. Call 665-1286.

SUBLEASE SUBLEASE – FEMALE ROOMMATE NEEDED for bed-

room B of 2BD/2bath at The Outpost Apartments. Call Meghan at (281) 797-0238, or e-mail MJ1078@txstate.edu for more information.

SUBLEASE - Two 1 br/1 bath

available at the Ex2; May 22-July 31; fully furnished; $399 plus electric.

Contact Lauren at (214) 542-1467 or Stefani at (214) 277-4579.

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Available May-August. $375/month.

All utilities paid except electricity.

Fully furnished. Call 512-805-4319.

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WANTED WANTED: USED CARS, TRUCKS, VANS. Any condi-

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MACHINE OPERATOR, 2ND SHIFT/WKND. $12/hr. Engineer major preferred. Call Caldwell Manufacturing at 398-4549 or fax resume 398-9046.

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The University Star is available at the following locations in San Marcos.

SPORTS

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Best in the West still to be determined Nash not so wanting in Stoudamire’s absence, Artest may be the key to the Kings’ throne, Kobe still can’t get no love

By Israel Gutierrez Knight Ridder Newspapers If you’re searching for stories to follow as the season winds to a close, look west: enter Amare.

The Phoenix Suns were able to build a 45-21 record without Amare Stoudemire, doing it with Steve Nash playing arguably better than he did during last season’s MVP campaign and with possibly a more unconventional and harder-to-defend style of play.

So how does reintroducing a less-than-100-percent Stoudemire help a team that seemed to be rolling into the playoffs? It might not.

Even Nash sounds like he prefers this season’s style of play to last season’s, which involved mostly pick-and-roll plays with Nash and Stoudemire.

“I think we move the ball a little bit better this year,” Nash said. “We get more open looks.

We’re a little more clinical offensively.

“Last year, it was a lot more about talent and overpowering people, and that was opening threes for people.”

“This year, we’re a little more clever and unselfish.”

Stoudemire, who underwent knee surgery in October, won’t command the ball as much as he did last season because he won’t be at full strength.

But should the big man feel close to normal by, say, the second round of the playoffs and want to get more involved, it could throw off the team’s chemistry just enough to have the Suns ousted before the conference finals.

Remember how Chris Webber’s return to the Kings’ lineup late in the 2003-04 season threw off that team? Or how Alonzo Mourning’s return in the final weeks of the 2000-01 Heat season contributed to a first-round sweep at the hands of the Hornets?

The player who could be most negatively affected by Stoudemire’s return is the one who makes the Suns entirely unique. Boris Diaw, the versatile frontcourt player who plays like a guard, will likely see fewer touches and shorter minutes as Stoudemire’s return is expected to force Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni to go with more traditional lineups.

If anybody can figure out how to remain unconventional, though, it’s D’Antoni.

Ron Artest has worked wonders in Sacramento, helping the Kings go from lottery lock to serious playoff contender in the two months since his trade from Indiana.

But just when it seemed safe to confirm the Kings’ playoff reservations, the Lakers toughened up in trying to hold off the Kings for the seventh spot, and the Hornets closed in from behind in pursuit of the last spot.

Do the Kings have enough left to secure a postseason berth for the eighth straight season? It would seem so.

Artest has done his part on the defensive end, helping hold Kings opponents to 94 points a game since the trade, compared to the 100.2 the team allowed before.

But offensively, Artest has made less of an impact. The small forward, who missed two months of the season in a dispute with his former team, was shooting only 40 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range as a King entering the weekend.

That has kept pressure on Mike Bibby, who has had five games with more than 30 points since Artest’s arrival. Sacramento also has needed plenty of help from versatile center Brad Miller (15 points, eight assists, five rebounds a game) and emerging shooting guard Kevin Martin

Texas State athletics has a busy weekend schedule with several teams hitting the road and the baseball team staying behind for a three-game series with University of Louisiana-Monroe.

Starting with a Friday night game, the Bobcat baseball team will be opening its home stand at 6:30 p.m. at the baseball field followed by a single game at 3 p.m. on Saturday and a 1 p.m. start for Sunday to round out the competition.

The softball team will be look-

HISTORY: Petroskey shares his passion for baseball CONTINUED from page 12

the petite town of Cooperstown, NY, which is currently at 2,300 people, and how it is the home of the Hall of Fame. He described it as being the “baseball spiritual home.”

The presentation for the evening was based on of the history of baseball, and was broken down into nine innings with nine memorable years.

The first inning stressed the year of 1839, which was when people believe that the game was created. They later found out through the proof of a lost New York newspaper article that the game really began in 1823. The Nickerbocker League that was set in New England at the time brought in the rules for the game. Then by 1850, a British man by the name of Henry Chadwig created statistics, scorekeeping and named the people attending the games “fans.”

Proceeding, the second inning of 1869 revealed the first professional team in America — the Cincinnati Redstockings and how they moved around from Boston to Milwaukee and finally Atlanta to become the Atlanta Braves. Petroskey spoke of how teams have been moving homes from the beginning of time for baseball.

The third inning of 1903 introduced the equipment of the game such as catchers’ masks and how the hotdog sales began at the ballparks. The league was then broken down into two leagues known as the American and National leagues. Petroskey additionally spoke of how the famous song “Take me out to the Ballgame” was released in this year and had the LBJ Ballroom join him in singing the popular tune.

The fourth and fifth innings of 1920 through 1941 engaged in the politics of the game and the time of radios bombarding American homes, which was a huge factor in bringing families together at the time.

In the sixth inning of play, 1947, there were four

forms of baseball. During this time, World War II was underway, so there were American troops playing in the first form: The Overseas Soldier League. The other three forms featured the birth of the minor leagues, women’s leagues, which only lasted from 1943-1954, and the Negro League. The main story for 1947 was African-American Jackie Robinson playing the role of a starter in the first game of the ’47 season. He not only crossed the color barrier for blacks, but also for Latinos.

TV made its introduction in the nation during the seventh inning for the year of 1958. It brought many memorable images and allowed media to take a stronghold on the game. Also, the teams of the Giants and Dodgers moved west to California and officially made the game of Baseball a national game.

1969 represented the year for the eighth inning as Ted Williams gave his famous speech that opened the doors to Negro League players. This was also baseball’s centennial year and the year of the surprising New York Mets.

Into the homestretch of the ninth inning, the year marked 2002. Petroskey specifically talked about how this was modern day baseball. Contracts, free agents, owning players, millions of fans, international players and TV becoming a major role in the teams’ finances are all major factors for the game today.

Dale Petroskey concluded the night by answering numerous questions from the audience and expressing his appreciation to a room full of passionate lovers for Baseball.

“Our responsibility at the Hall of Fame is to share baseball with as many people as possible,” Petroskey announced in his final words of the night.

Periodically throughout the lecture, he also explained that the museum’s mission is to preserve history, honor excellence and connect generations of Americans to its national pastime — baseball.

He explained that the Hall of Fame contains only the top 1 percent of all players.

Jeffery Washington/Fort Worth Star Telegram FLYING: Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash (13) gets a backwards layup over Dallas Mavericks center Dirk Nowitzki late in the fourth quarter. The Suns defeated the Mavericks, 115-107, at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sunday, March 5.

(11 points a game, 49 percent shooting).

Should the Kings hold on to one of the final playoff spots, it would make for an interesting first-round series with either the Spurs, Suns or Mavericks.

The Lakers seem poised to hold on to one of the two final playoff spots, but it will be interesting to see just how much gas Kobe Bryant has left in the tank.

Since his scoring explosion in January, Bryant has come back down to earth, shooting 42.5 percent from the field in March and just 27.5 percent on threepointers.

“It’s a lot more work this season,” Bryant said. “I’ll just go out there, rely on my teammates to not have to work so hard out there during the game.”

But that’s easier said than done

for Bryant, who always considers himself option No. 1. So he’ll still take 39 shots, as he did in Boston this week, if it means his team hanging on for a win.

One encouraging sign for Bryant is the improved play of Lamar Odom.

The former Heat forward isn’t necessarily being more aggressive offensively, just more efficient, shooting nearly 60 percent from the field this month while averaging just less than 18 points with 8.5 rebounds and six assists.

“The biggest change in this ballclub now is the play of Lamar,” Bryant said.

“He’s really understanding the fluidity and how to execute the offense. He’s gotten more comfortable, and as a result, he’s more consistent.”

George Bridges/KRT photo KING ARTEST: The Sacramento Kings’ Ron Artest is shown during a game against the Washington Wizards on Sunday, March 5 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

Home, out-of-town games leave Bobcat athletics with busy weekend schedule

By Miguel Peña The University Star

The University Star - Page 11

ing to continue its conference winning streak as it heads to San Antonio to face the roadrunners for the first of two games, 1 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday.

If the team can come away with at least the first game, it will be able to extend its win streak to 9 games.

Space City will be the sight for the 2006 Rice Bayou Classic as the Owls will be hosting the next opportunity for the Texas State track and field team to secure a few more qualifiers for the NCAA Regionals. A few of the athletes finished very close

to their qualifying marks at the Texas Invitational, and with another week of practice under their belts, they should be seeing some strong results from this week’s competition.

Texas State tennis is headed to Nacogdoches, La., for their next conference opponent. Stephen F. Austin University is the first of two weekend opponents from the eastern part of the conference.

On Sunday, the team will be traveling back to Texas, but only as far as Beaumont, for an early morning match up before returning home.

A.D. Brown/Star photo SPITTIN’ GAME: Dale Petroskey, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., speaks in front of an image of Lou Gehrig’s famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939. Petroskey spoke to a crowd of around 600 about the history of baseball on Wednesday night at the LBJ Student Center Ballroom.

SPORTS THE UNIVERSITY STAR

sports snortsquotes from the sports world “I’ve always felt since I was drafted here, that I was going to light it up like Vegas.

It’s been slow progress, but it takes a few years to put a building up in Vegas, too.”

— Cleveland Cavaliers star forward Lebron James on his performance in the ’Cavs 107-94 victory over the Mavericks in which James scored 46 points effectively securing a spot in the playoffs.

(Source: ESPN News)

Thursday, March 30, 2006 - Page 12

Sports Contact — Miguel Peña, starsports@txstate.edu

Rice Owls swoop down, steal victory away from Bobcats in 11-1 blow-out Chris Boehm The University Star

out to a 4-0 lead behind a pair of early bombs off starter Steven Siers.

“I thought he threw well; it was just a matter of a couple bad pitches,” said Coach Ty Harrington. “They’re obviously a pretty good team, and we’ve just got to do a better job executing.”

Texas State, 12-18, fell to 4-

8 at home before 1,034 fans in attendance for Wednesday’s throw-back night. The Bobcats Texas State allowed eight played the game in retro Southearly runs on Wednesday to No. west Texas jerseys from 2001.

6 Rice and 16 hits on the way “I don’t know if we’ll have to an 11-1 loss, its fifth in six another (throw-back night) games. anytime soon,” Harrington Rice’s Jordan Dodson went said. “We needed this, though.

2-3 with a three-run homer in We had some guys that hadn’t the third inning, as Rice jumped played much lately, so hopefully they can take something from the time and experience.”

After Tyler Henley led the game off with a ground-out to first, Greg Buchanan rocked a 1-1 delivery from Siers well over right field. Siers, 0-1, recovered to get two of the next three hitters out and escape with no further damage.

Two innings later, with Rice still up by one run, Siers coaxed a groundout from Buchanan, but then allowed a double and bloop single to Joe Savery and Josh Rodriguez, respectively.

Right fielder Kyle Jones charged in on the Rodriguez hit, but could not locate the ball, sliding well in front of its landing zone to set up Dodson.

After throwing three straight balls to the Owls’ top hitter, Siers came back to force a full count before Dodson blasted the next pitch over the left-field wall, taking advantage of a breezy night at the Bobcat Baseball Field.

“He threw a fastball there and just left it over the plate,” Harrington said. “He’s a young guy, and he’ll learn to adjust over time.”

Siers came back with back-toback fly-outs to end the inning and his night, replaced before the fourth by Chris Armijo, Monty Marion/Star photo who was not able to fare any better. The reliever allowed LONG ARM: Senior Cassidy Dresch prepares to make the 127three hits and two hit batsmen foot throw from third to first base during the Bobcats’ Wednesday in the five Owls he faced, as Rice night loss to Rice.

put up another four runs in the inning. All told, the Bobcats hit four Owls on the night, while walking five.

“We’re just in a funk right now, like we were earlier in the season,” Harrington said. “The effort’s been there, and I’ll be really surprised if we don’t come out and play well this weekend (versus the LouisianaMonroe).”

Texas State picked up its only run of the night in the fifth, when Cody Merrell scored on a David Wood single.

“We didn’t give up. We just kept fighting, and got that run,” Wood said. “We just didn’t play as well (as in the 3-2 loss Feb. 26 at Rice).”

Merrell’s leadoff single up the middle ended a no-hitter bid for Will McDaniel, 2-0, who retired the first 10 Bobcats he faced. The sophomore pitched six innings, allowing one run on two hits, a walk and three strikeouts.

“We didn’t have a lot of patience, at least not until most of the damage had already been done,” Harrington said. “(McDaniel) did a good job keeping us in front of the ball most of the night.”

The loss was the Bobcats’ worst of the season, and the most runs they have given since losing 11-10 to UT-San Antonio on March 25 of last year.

“We’ll be ready to rock (against LMU),” Wood said.

“It’s (Southland) Conference weekend, and we’ll come out hitting. Scott (Moore’s) going to be on the mound, and he always pitches well for us.”

Texas State plays Friday at home against the Indians, the first in a three-game series. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.

A.D. Brown/Star photo GROSVENOR GIFT: Richard Boehm, president of the Grosvenor Center of Geographic Education, awards Dale Petroskey a Texas State baseball cap after his lecture entitled, “Baseball as America.”

Lecturer lays out baseball history in nine innings Carl Harper The University Star The LBJ Ballroom was the setting for Dale A. Petroskey’s memorable lecture of “Baseball As America” on Wednesday night.

Prior to becoming the Baseball Hall of Fame president in July 1999, he served at the National Geographic Society for 11 years and then worked in the White House as assistant press secretary to President Ronald Reagan from 1985-1987. With the experience of being senior vice president of the Mission Programs at the NGS and being involved in politics in Washington, D.C., he soon discovered he desired to live his dream in the true love of his life, the game of baseball.

“I think that anytime in your

life when you get to work in an area that you love and have a passion for, it’s living a dream,” Petroskey said. “Growing up and getting to work with ballplayers that I idolized as a boy has been a remarkable experience.”

The heart-warming night for baseball fans began with the introduction of Gilbert M. Grosvenor, who is the chairman of the board of trustees of the NGS. Grosvenor spoke of his personal thoughts toward Petroskey before the presentation began.

“Dale’s strong suit is engaging with people. He treats people with respect,” Grosvenor said.

As Petroskey took the stage, he went straight into talking about See HISTORY, page 11

Texas State softball suffers 2-1 loss in extra innings

By Miguel Peña The University Star It was all fly balls and strikeouts leading up to a tenth-inning heartbreaker for the Texas State softball team, which dropped its first game in three weeks to the likes of Aggie nation in a 2-1 loss that showed the best of what the Bobcats had to offer.

Katie Ann Trahan and the Aggies’ Megan Gibson both pitched nine scoreless innings, causing the international tiebreaker to go into effect at the start of the 10th.

Bobcat pinch runner Jill Kloesel was placed at second base and moved to third on a sac bunt by Ashton Peters before scoring on a Tamara Keller sac fly to right field, giving the ’Cats a 1-0 lead.

The bottom of the 10th started with the Aggies’ Rocky Spencer on second, but two Bobcat errors put her on third and Patti Wunderlich on first before both runners scored on a Jamie Hinshaw fly ball to center that was dropped

by Texas State’s Jetta Weinheimer to win the game for A&M. Ultimately, it was errors that cost the game, as the Bobcats racked up three in the final inning of play.

The Bobcats were the first to get a hit in the game with a double from Amy Krueger to left-center field with two outs on the board.

Megan Gibson kept the Bobcats off the board as Ryan Kos struck out, swinging to close the third.

Alex Newton managed to get on base in the fourth again with two outs on the board and was left stranded as Peters followed with a ground-out.

The eighth inning saw some excitement as Amy Hromadka singled to left field and advanced to third base on an fielding error and a passed ball. Peters followed with a ground ball and was thrown out at first leaving Hromadka stranded.

Trahan was fairly ineffective at the bat, only reaching first on a walk in three at-bats. Her

skill from the mound kept the sixteenth best team in the nation through extra innings and pitched eight out of 10 shutout innings and no earned runs.

The Bobcats close their winning streak at eight games but still have a reason to keep their heads up as they are sitting at the top spot in the Southland Conference, as the loss to the Aggies will only effect their overall record. With a record of 8-1, the Bobcats will make their way down Interstate 35 to take on the Roadrunners (10-2) this weekend in a three-game battle for the catbird seat, literally.

The first game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday with the second coming up at 3 p.m.

The Sunday game will start at noon and could be the difference-maker for either team. Or if UT-San Antonio garners two out of three, that will leave the Glenn Johnson/Texas A&M Athletics Media Relations Bobcats a half-game behind and a half-game ahead of UT-Arling- TOUGH LOSS: Sophomore Alex Newton went 1-4 from the plate in the Bobcats four-hit, 2-1 10-inton (8-2). ning loss to the Aggies on Wednesday evening in College Station.