Raging River Meeting the Mark Annual festival promises new sounds
Members of the track and field team qualify egionals
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April 22, 2009
Wednesday
Volume 98, issue 76
By Allen Reed Assistant News Editor
City Council task force makes presentation on bar hours
Protesters are walking around campus with empty holsters that may soon be filled. House Bill 1893, which would remove a university’s ability to restrict handguns on campus, is waiting to be voted on. The bill has been regarded as likely to pass from members of College Democrats, Republicans to university of officials. Despite the bill’s popularity, proponents of concealed carry on campus are wearing empty holsters throughout the week to raise awareness of their cause. “It symbolizes how we are left unarmed and defenseless on campus,” said Michael Guzman, economics senior. This year marks the second annual empty holster protest at Texas State. “Since this is a grassroots movement, we want people to ask questions,” Guzman said. “So then that way we can engage people in dialogue and discussion. This isn’t the typical college protest where you have signs and you chant. Those typically evolve into shouting matches.” Guzman, who is the president of the national chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, said most people do not recognize what the holster is. “It brings awareness to an issue,” he said. “You want people to come up and ask, ‘why are you wearing that thing?’” Guzman said around 30 people are participating and the event has sparked recruitment in previous years. “The point is to advocate our feelings of not being able to defend ourselves on campus,” said Melissa Angelo, health administration senior. “The reason I feel so strongly is I’m a full time student, a woman and a victim.” Angelo testified in favor of House Bill 1893 in Austin before the House Public Safety Committee. “If you’re trained to use a handgun, you should be able to carry it across that invisible line onto campus,” Angelo said. “I personally carry mace with me because that’s the only thing I can carry legally on campus.” Angelo said the main point of the protest is to raise awareness. “There are so many people who need to be able to protect themselves,” she said. Ryan Payne, vice president of College Democrats, said there are some places where firearms are not appropriate — a college campus is one of them, he argues. “No one is fighting against the right, it’s the
San Marcos residents looking forward to a 2 a.m. bar extension may get their wish in June. A task force created to examine the impact of the change in San Marcos recommended the extension to the City Council Tuesday night. The task force further proposed periods of review to occur at half and one-year intervals. However, it was clear several details would need fine tuning before the adoption of the ordinance. The task force, comprised of Council members Chris Jones, Place 4, John Thomaides, Place 6, and City Manager Rick Menchaca, was created in early December. Jones presented the majority of the task force’s findings to the council. He admitted the matter of transpor transportation would likely be the biggest issue facing the downtown area. Increased vehicle congestion and a rise in intoxicated drivers led task force members to suggest a downtown transportation system, though how it would be accomplished remains a puzzle. The introduction of cab booths was one suggestion. Information on extending bar hours in similar cities has been hard to come by. New Braunfels tried an extension, but rescinded it within a year. Jones said no data was kept on the effects of the extension. College Station, home to A&M University, has fluctuated between midnight and 2 a.m. bar closings, but again, data on arrests, accidents and effects on local business was not kept. This has left the task force to feel their way through the issue. One concern is local restaurants could be bought out and turned into bars, reducing income gained from the restaurant industry and resulting in a negative effect on tourism. “The dynamic of the downtown could
students sport empty holsters Protest to be held throughout week
See HOLSTERS, page 5
By Theron Brittain Senior News Reporter
David Schmidt/Star photo illustration EMPTY HOLSTER: melissa Angelo, pre-healthcare administration senior, wears an empty handgun holster for the empty Holster protest, which advocates students, staff and faculty the right to carry concealed weapons on campus.
See CITY COUNCIL, page 5
students love, hate Unhappy Birthday Unborn Baby Bake sale By Allen Reed Assistant News Editor
ASG Sen. Michelle Malcik may be the first Tex Texas State student to receive a death threat because of a bake sale. The event’s concept, though conventional, had an unordinary premise — promoting the anti-abor anti-abortion movement. Malcik, Bobcats for Life founder, and Bethany Mock, Bobcats for Life secretary, spent two and a half hours baking 40 cookies and 50 cupcakes for the Unhappy Birthday Unborn Baby Bake Sale. “The bake sale was mainly an effort to promote the pro-life presence on this campus,” Malcik said. “We have about 70 members in our group, and that comes from Republicans and Democrats. We don’t associate with any political party or religion, just
BAKING FOR BABIES: michelle malcik, political science senior, and robert Dersen, political science sophomore, pass out information to students, like rankin Hardin, english senior, at the unhappy Birthday unborn Baby Bake sale Tuesday afternoon in The Quad.
the right-to-life view.” Brad Schmidt, computer science junior, bought two cupcakes. “They were delicious, angel food and yellow cake,” he said. All of the treats sold. However, not everyone was as receptive as Schmidt. A Texas State student wrote on the bake sale’s Fakebook event page, “I wish I could have aborted all 32 confirmed guests for this event.” Malcik, political science senior, said she received several threats from the same person. “I reported the person to Facebook,” she said. “It wasn’t a direct threat, but he made multiple
See BAKE SALE, page 5
Bridgette Cyr/Star photo
Allies’ guest speaker lectures on race, religion, sexual orientation SLAMMER By Lyanna Fuentes News Reporter
Race, religion and sexual orientation are not often the topic of casual conversations among students. However, that was the focus Tuesday night. Twice a year, the Allies of Texas State invite the students and faculty to become an ally by learning about the realities faced by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning (LGBTQ) community through their bi-annual meeting. Tuesday night, Rev. Jamie Washington spoke to students at the LBJ Teaching Theater about how race, religion and sexual orientation intertwine and affect individuals and relationships, in the dialogue entitled, “One More River to Cross.” “Sometimes we have to step somewhere else to see the other perspective,”
Washington said during the interactive lecture. “Then we begin to see there are multiple perspectives to this conversation.” Washington, who resides in the Baltimore area, is active in student affairs at different universities nationwide and is the founder of Washington Consulting Group, a multicultural organizational development firm. Amanda Clay, Allies team intern and counseling and guidance graduate student, said Washington spoke to students, faculty and staff during two separate lectures. One centered on how faculty and staff can promote equality in the classroom. In the second, students were asked to open up and face the issues regarding the acceptance and inclusion of the minorities and members of the LGBTQ community. Washington presented the idea of a cycle of oppression that takes place. He
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said all individuals are born the same but are treated differently based on specific circumstances. “We got born, and then we are and we came into a world with this dynamic,” Washington said. Washington asked students to acknowledge the separation and notice how they keep this dynamic alive. He said once the public accepts discrimination takes place, racism and heterosexism can be battled. “Actually, I haven’t encountered anything like this (at Texas State) personally, but I’m sure they exist,” said Carter Kaough, business marketing sophomore. “This is a good thing, encouraging people to help stop problems like this.” The Allies of Texas State is a program that works to educate others about the LGBTQ and to promote the everyday inclusion of gays in campus life. See ALLIES, page 5
Scott Thomas/Star Photo A driver collided into the parking arm at the bus loop by The Quad at approximately 1 a.m. Tuesday. police arrested the driver for Driving While intoxicated.
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