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April 16, 2009
THURSDAy
Volume 98, issue 74
End to Deregulation? Texas Higher Education affiliates meet to debate tuition inflation solutions
Texas State students join protest in San Antonio By Chase Birthisel News Reporter
Tina Phan/Star photo TESTIMONY: ASG President Brett Baker and President-elect Chris Covo testified on the tuition regulation bills to the Committee on Higher education Wednesday at the Capitol.
By Travis Hord News Reporter Heavy hitters in Texas Higher Education politics met in a cramped committee hearing room deep within the labyrinth of the state capitol annex Wednesday to discuss the pros and cons of regulating a university’s ability to raise tuition and fees. The goal of the hearing was to discuss possible solutions to a growing dilemma — funding a competitive, quality univer university education without over-burdening
the students and their families. Among the lineup were chancellors from the University of Texas, Texas Tech University, University of North Texas and Texas A&M systems, who came to speak against the Legislature’s plans to re-examine itsdecision to deregulate tuition. “If you limit us, and we can’t raise tuition rates, you’ve got to provide us with additional funds to stay competitive,” said Ken Hance, Texas Tech chancellor. “Without additional funds, we could start to become a third world state, and
no one wants that.” The Texas Legislature voted in 2003 to forfeit their right to set tuition rates at public universities, passing this responsibility on to each individual university board of regents. Texas Rep. Harvey Hildebrandt (D-51) vocally regretted the decision. “Every trick in the book was used to pass this legislation,” Hildebrandt said. “We should’ve stepped up and voted a tuition hike instead of voting our
Brad Schmidt fittingly quoted Texas hero Davy Crockett. “‘A government big enough to give you everything, is also big enough to take it away,’” Schmidt said. “That quote is the focus of this rally.” He, along with about 20 other members of the Young Conser Conservatives of Texas and the College Republicans, gathered Wednesday at the San Antonio Tea Par Party. The rally was held to protest government spending and taxes. The crowd assembled in front of the Alamo to exercise its First Amendment rights. Kristopher Infante, Young Conservatives of Texas’ vice president, said there was not a better place to hold the rally. “It was very symbolic in the way the Alamo was used in the 1800s to protest the way their government was run,” Infante said. “I think we share that, ex except ours was peaceful.” The San Antonio Express News estimated the crowd to be in the thousands. Speakers at the protest included radio and TV personality Glenn Beck, who broadcasted live from the event, and rock singer Ted Nugent, who played the national anthem. Both drew a crowd. A Jumbo-Tran TV was placed at Hemisphere Park for the crowd in the back. Infante, who worked his way to the front, said it was a moving
experience. “It was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had,” Infante said. “A lot of the speakers were motivational and passionate about politics.” Other cities across the nation held Tea Parties, including Austin. Schmidt said the Young Conservatives of Texas chose San Antonio because it was authentic. “Politician Rick Perry and others were speaking at the one in Austin,” Schmidt’s said. “That takes away from the idea of the event. I don’t like politicians using this event to improve their campaigns.” Dylan Matthews, Campaign for Liberty at Texas State leader, and others held a Tea Party in The Quad Wednesday. The crowd of 18 gathered in front of The Stallions to protest the stimulus package and bailout. “The government doesn’t tell us where our money is going,” Mat Matthews said. “They spend all this money on our banks. We just want to know where it’s all going.” The Texas State Tea Party had an interesting plan for the protest. “We are going to march down to the post office and hand out tea bags that people can staple to their income tax envelops,” Matthews said. Brice Loving, former ASG presidential candidate and deSee TEA PARTY, page 4
See TUITION, page 4
Bobcats save lives, raise awareness about cancer By Rachel Nelson News Reporter Leukemia survivor Lawrence Estaville had no idea the donor who helped save his life in August 2007 was sitting behind him during the National Marrow Donor Program presentation Wednesday. “Wow,” Estaville, professor in the department of geography, continually repeated after the surprise guest was revealed. “This is incredible. He saved my life.” Estaville was filled with emotion as he hugged Rick O’Neil from Massachusetts for the first time. Yvonne Ybarra of the South Texas Blood and Tissue
Center in San Antonio arranged the meeting. Estaville asked O’Neil if he received a letter expressing his gratitude for the marrow donation. Estaville was surprised when the answer was “no.” “It was the hardest letter I wrote in my whole life, and it was hard because I cried the whole time,” Estaville said. “I couldn’t put in words how much I love my donor — Rick O’Neil of Massachusetts.” O’Neil said he is not normally an emotional person, but meet meeting the man who benefited from his donation evoked strong feelings. “This is the closest I’ve come to crying since I was probably
about five years old,” O’Neil said. “The only thing I can say is that I’m thankful I could help someone else.” O’Neil decided to become a marrow donor after a family friend was diagnosed with Leukemia. O’Neil was not a match for that person, but he signed up for the National Marrow Donor Program hoping he could provide a match for someone else. Guest speaker Dr. Jeffrey Chell, chief executive officer of the donor program, delivered a presentation focused around marrow donations. This was part of a series of events taking place at Texas State throughout April, which was declared cancer awareness month in San
Marcos this year. Chell said to be a compatible marrow donor, a person’s sixth chromosome must match with whoever needs the transplant. Chell said the process is more complex than finding a blood or organ donor. Chell said there are more than 70 diseases that have marrow transplants as a treatment option, but only 40 percent of patients find the match they need. In his speech, Chell encouraged the audience to register for the program. “When you donate marrow, two lives are changed,” Chell said, referring to the patient and the donor. “Donors tell me that See DONOR, page 4
Sara Strick/ Star Photo TEA PARTY: protests, called Tea parties, broke out across the nation on Tax Day. students protest the government bailout of the financial industry and stimulus package, among other issues, Wednesday in The Quad.
Bobcat family grieves together at ceremony By Theron Brittain Senior News Reporter There were not many dry eyes to be found in the crowd, but members did not grieve alone. A sense of community filled the room as family and friends joined to honor Texas State students, staff, faculty and friends of the university who have died in the last year. More than 120 people at attended the 21st annual Bobcat Pause, hosted Wednesday night by Student Foundation in the LBJ Teaching Theater. The hour-long event commemorated the deaths of 348 Texas State community members. “It was very well done and Lindsey Goldstein/Star photo very nice,” said Gary Upchurch, IN REMEMBRANCE: Family and friends leave photographs and flowers in the LBJ Teaching Theater associate professor of the bioloWednesday for Bobcat pause, a memorial service for deceased faculty, students, alumni and friends of gy department. His wife Belinda the university.
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Fuller-Upchurch, professor of biology department, died in a car crash August 2008. He said the addition of the University Choir to this year’s event “made the ceremony.” “I thought it was a very nice touch,” said Phyllis Lacey. Her daughter, Diane Lacey, died June 2008. She would have graduated this May. “She was a gorgeous girl, especially on the inside,” Lacey said. Ashley Krejci, former Student Foundation president and graduate student, began the event with a prayer. “Many of us cannot fathom the difficulty and pain of losing such a loved one,” Krejci said. “We pray today that at the very least we can help these friends and
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families remember the wonder wonderful times we were able to share with their loved ones here in our Texas State community.” A slideshow followed, which featured photographs of the deceased interspersed with images of the Texas State campus as it evolved over the past decades. The faces of the deceased were those of the young and the old, as were the pictures of the campus, conveying the notion that the individuals being commemorated all shared a common thread — the university. University President Denise Trauth said Texas State is more than a campus, it is the “sum of the people who have worked and studied here.” “The people who have touched See BOBCAT PAUSE, page 4
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