GOALKEEPING GODDESS
IMPERMANENT ART
Paige Perriraz has found her niche in the sports world and it lies between two metal posts
“Dust” artist Scott Wade creates classic works on dirty cars
SEE SPORTS PAGE 11
SEE TRENDS PAGE 5
www.UniversityStar.com
WEDNESDAY
AUGUST 30, 2006
VOLUME 96, ISSUE 3
Mihalkanin leaves City Council after 10 years of service A.N. Hernández The University Star
Mark Decker/Star Photo VETERAN: Edward Mihalkanin, associate political science professor, resigned from the city council after 10 years of service. Mihalkanin stepped down to devote more time to research as a faculty member at Texas State University.
Texas State political science Associate Professor Ed Mihalkanin’s desk is proof he is a busy man. Everyday he sits at a paper-cluttered desk in his home in a residential neighborhood on Hopkins Street, grading exams and pondering municipal issues. On Sunday, cars whizzed by and pecan trees rustled as he explained his recent decision to resign from his Place 1 position on the San Marcos City Council. Mihalkanin said the decision to resign from city council was not an easy choice, describing the process as a struggle. “I’ve had a consistent publication schedule and my teaching evaluations are good but I was just con-
cerned I wouldn’t be able to meet people’s expectations in the future,” he said. “I just didn’t want to let people down in terms of my council work and my academic work, so I just thought now was the time to pull the trigger.” Mihalkanin, 48, moved to San Marcos in 1990. He is a self-described “Type-A person” who sees his resignation as a “way to give more time to himself.” He speaks eagerly about San Marcos as a different kind of city with “a lot of heart.” “So many other places have no heart, no center. In places like those, it’s a bunch of people who happen to live near each other, like in the suburbs, where you have very nice people in very nice houses,” he said. “If they are going to do something, they go somewhere else, but here
in San Marcos, we have the river and we have the historic downtown square.” He was elected as a city council member in 1996 with a partial oneyear term. He was then re-elected for three more terms in 1997, 2001 and 2004. Meanwhile, he taught three classes in the spring and fall semesters and worked as president of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Museum of San Marcos. His current Place 1 term was scheduled to end in November 2007, but Mihalkanin submitted his resignation letter earlier this month to a “shocked” yet understanding Mayor Susan Narvaiz. “We were shocked that it happened, but I’m not shocked that Ed wants to pursue a higher level in his career because he is the kind of person who is always educating himself
Parking permit fees increase, cover future construction costs
Looking over their tuition bills this fall, students may have noticed that their parking permit fee increased considerably. Since the 2005 fiscal year, restricted permits for staff and faculty have increased almost 200 percent, rising from $50 to $144, while commuter permits more than doubled from $35 to $72 and resident permits tripled from $45 to $130. “Students are frustrated,” said Kyle Morris, Associated Student Government president. “My message to students would be context; in that if you look at other universities of our size and in similar sized cities, we have extremely low rates relative to them.” Victor Rodriguez, international studies junior, said the price of current parking permits is too steep. “It’s ridiculous, especially if you have to park at the stadium,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think it’s worth it.” While the sharp increase in price bothered some students, others were more annoyed that they were not warned of the rise in cost. “It’s a big change … people want to know about it,” said
See MIHALKANIN, page 4
Commissioners Court considers decision to hire legal counseling for water issues
PAY TO PARK By Nick Georgiou The University Star
so he can better educate the public, especially the students,” Narvaiz said. After his resignation is effective, Mihalkanin plans to devote his time to research the effects of President Bush’s religious beliefs on foreign policy. And, although he has published chapters in edited books, he wants to write and publish articles in journals including, International Studies Quarterly and World Politics. Throughout his decade-long civil service, he mentored a few city officials, including Mayor Narvaiz, who met Mihalkanin in 1997 when she was representing the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “When I ran for mayor in 1998, which was the first time I entered into politics, I sat in on all the
Kathy Martinez The University Star
Alyssa Johnston, advertising senior. Josh Bonds, communication design sophomore and Matt Grandits, finance sophomore, both echoed Johnston’s sentiments. “It’s not fair that they don’t tell us,” Bonds said. “Just notify me and give me a reason; a plausible one” Students did not receive an e-mail warning of the price increases, however, an e-mail was sent to faculty and staff in July with the new costs. Stephen Prentice, parking services manager, said students received information on the parking fee increases in the “literature” sent out during the spring and summer for fall enrollment, including the class schedule booklet. “It did state that there would be a few increases and that (the) information would be posted on the parking services Web site as soon as it was finalized,” Prentice said. Rodriguez, along with many others, does not believe “literature” is best way to get information to students. “How many people really get the handbooks when you can go online and register?” Rodriguez said. “The best way to inform students is to send them some kind of mail.” The parking permit fee in-
Monty Marion/Star illustration
Permit Price Increases 2005 2006 2007
Restricted $50 $96 $144
Commuter $35 $40 $72
Residential $45 $70 $130
Total increase
188%
106%
189%
creases were approved by the Transportation and Parking Committee and the President’s Cabinet. Student representatives from ASG are also part of the committee. Morris said if students felt they were not effectively given notice of the permit fees he would definitely address the issue to make sure it does not happen again. Prentice said the need for increased parking fees is to help cover the construction
costs of two new garages and an addition to a third. “The university, in terms of parking, is trying to move toward this campus master plan with more (permits), which is something I support,” Morris said. “They’re building more parking garages so we’re not as sprawled out.” “If it’s going to benefit us in the long run, I’m all for it,” Rodriguez said. “At least let me know what I’m paying for.”
THE PRICE OF PARKING: Newly increased parking permit fees hit many students where it hurt most — the wallet. The increase is intended to aid in payment for new parking garages, part of the university’s Master Plan.
The new garage construction will begin January 2007, which includes a new commuter/all zone Speck Garage with 771 spaces, a 900-plus space residence hall garage and an additional three floors will be added to the Pleasant Street Garage. “These are times of growth,” Morris said. “Parking and the effects of the parking issues that we have on campus are good examples of growing pains.”
The Hays County Commissioners Court approved a proclamation to declare Sept.10-16 as ‘Disaster Preparedness Week’ at it meeting Tuesday. Although the proclamation was created to commemorate the World Trade Center in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in the United States, it will also serve as a time to address the appropriate preparations for unexpected natural disasters. “This is a great opportunity to shed light on past events and learn from them. I appreciate the efforts of Hays County to recognize the importance of preparation for the unexpected,” said Jim Powers, Hays County court judge. Other agenda items discussed included the possible action to approve a legal services agreement with Edmond R. McCarthy Jr. of the law firm Jackson, Sjoberg, McCarthy & Wilson, L.L.P. to provide legal counsel to Hays County for water-related contracts. Charles O’Dell, president of the Hays Community Action Network, addressed his concern with the procedures taken in deciding which firm to use as legal representation for Hays County. “I would just like to have the opportunity to explore and participate in any planning that may help bring water into Hays County,” O’Dell said. Powers explained that McCarthy’s firm has represented Hays County on many occasions, including a lawsuit with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the early 1990s. “We are in the business of water and so we need representation with expertise in that particular area. This is very integral regional planning for the See COMMISSIONERS, page 3
Learning center provides education to campus staff By Georgia Fisher The University Star Amidst the usual flurry of students and professors on campus, a large structural element usually goes unnoticed: the university employees who help maintain, clean and fix its broken parts. Custodians and groundskeepers who help keep the university running also often lack the education central to the community they serve. And while the university offers employees General Equivalency Degree preparation, computer literacy courses and English as a second language free of charge in the Facilities Learning Center, most people are unaware the program even exists. “Many who would benefit from the computer literacy
course have never touched a keyboard in their lives,” said Roberto Renaud, sole instructor of adult education courses at the Facilities Learning Center. “These days, you need a bilingual, computerliterate workforce and we teach them everything: keyboarding, storage, Windows, Word, Excel.” In operation since 1988 and housed in the Physical Plant on campus, the program offers voluntary courses in addition to the mandatory safety training it conducts monthly. Originally designed for hazard safety, the program ensures employees are able to read warning labels for toxic chemicals. The curriculum, however, has expanded considerably since its inception, said Eva Luera, Facilities Learning Center administrative assistant of 23 years.
Today’s Weather
Mostly Sunny 98˚/68˚
Precipitation: 20% Humidity: 44% UV: 10 Extreme Wind: NNE 8 mph
“When we first started the program it was just training people here for their job duties, but now it’s expanded to better educate people,” Luera said. “It’s been wonderful and it’s grown.” Though the Facilities Learning Center is housed by the university, its costs do not affect Texas State students and half the bill is paid for by nonprofit Community Action Inc. While similar institutions exist on other campuses, the learning center at Texas State is exceptional, Renaud said. Recently, he evaluated the program alongside others in the university system and the state of Texas. “I compared our program with other programs in the Texas State University system. We were the only program that offered all three classes — ESL, GED-prep
Two-day Forecast Thursday Sunny Temp: 99°/ 70° Precipitation: 20%
Friday Mostly Sunny Temp: 101°/ 72° Precipitation: 20%
and computer literacy,” he said. “And then I went down to big, bad UT and talked to the trainer in facilities. Their’s is a good program; they offer GED-prep and computer lit on demand, but compared to all others in the system, we still have a better one.” Renaud cited a former student whose study with the learning center eventually led to a postgraduate education. “She graduated, took the GED course, took advantage and earned her masters,” he said. “My job is to instill a sense of self-esteem, to prepare them for college. It’s not an impossible mission.” Monty Marion/Star photo His greatest wish, aside from the facility gaining recognition, NEW SKILLS: Roberto Renaud helps Texas State employee Zenauda Fuentes Tuesday morning in the Facilities Learning Center. Texas State offers its faculty and staff free ESL, computer training and GED classes.
See LEARNING, page 3
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