AVERTING DISASTER
R.THEIS ON THE RISE
Football emerges victorious after surviving a week-one scare
Artist Ryan Theis prepares his psychedelic-inspired works for a farewell show
SEE SPORTS PAGE 10
SEE TRENDS PAGE 5
WWW.UNIVERSITYSTAR.COM
SEPTEMBER 5, 2006
TUESDAY
VOLUME 96, ISSUE 5
San Marcos man killed, use of lethal force questioned By Kathy Martinez The University Star A San Marcos Police officer shot and killed a 19-year-old man who was allegedly stabbing his mother with a fork Wednesday on the 900 block of Gravel Street. Christopher Jonathan Gonzales was taken to Central Texas Medical Center and was pronounced dead by Hays County Justice of the Peace Joanne Prado at noon. The shooting has since raised many questions as to why the police did not use non-lethal methods to disable the young male.
Police said Gonzales was stabbing his mother with a fork around 10:48 a.m. when Officer Tracy Frans shot one round at Gonzales, striking him in the chest. Police said an emergency 9-11 call made by Gonzales’ mother Rosita Pineda indicated her son was armed with a knife and threatening family members. Shortly after, dispatchers heard screaming and the line was disconnected. San Marcos Police Department Chief Howard Williams said Officer Frans, who responded to the 9-1-1 call, found Gonzales in the street near his home holding his mother and threat-
ening to stab her with a fork. “Officer Frans told Mr. Gonzales several times to stop and drop the fork,” Williams said. “He was in the process of stabbing Mrs. Pineda with the fork when officer Frans fired.” Pineda said the family is angry that Officer Frans used his gun instead of his TASER. “They did not have to shoot and kill my son. I don’t understand any of this. They could have used a TASER,” Pineda said. “The officer was twice my son’s size … he could have even taken him down without a weapon.”
BETTER TIMES: A family photo of Christopher Jonathan Gonzales, the man fatally shot Wednesday by San Marcos police for allegedly stabbing his mother, shows a perfectly happy and normal young man.
Photo courtesy of the Gonzales family
See SMPD, page 3
Cypress tree memorial honors former student
Former Doggett aide gets probation, jail time for theft
A.N. Hernández The University Star A young cypress tree nestled delicately along the San Marcos River will soon grow large and tall, all the while bearing the name and memory of former Texas State student C.J. Nelson. Nelson, 21, whose life was cut short in an automobile accident July 4, was remembered Sunday by more than 50 friends and family members who arrived at the Wildlife Habitat Park located between Cheatham Street and I35. “What an incredible life he had in 21 short years. Some of us at 50 can’t say that we’ve done everything we wanted to and he sure did,” said Kathi Nelson, Nelson’s mother. “He enjoyed his life so much, so we have to carry on.” Visitors followed the trail of seven white ribbons that led the way to Nelson’s memorial tree. And although many were in tears throughout the ceremony that began at noon, everyone was determined to celebrate Nelson’s life rather than wallow in sorrow. Many wore shirts once belonging to Nelson that his parents had passed out as mementos. Meanwhile, children leapt and splashed in the river. On the drive to San Marcos from Cedar Park, where the Nelson family lives, the song “Sweet Home Alabama” came on the radio. Kathi Nelson expressed how wonderfully coincidental it was, considering it was the ring tone Nelson set on his phone to let him know it was her calling. She said it was natural that Nelson’s memorial tree be planted along the river, considering how much time he spent tubing and joking that he often missed class to take a dip. She said many of his friends were away for the summer but are now back at the university, which is why this memorial took place months after Nelson passed away. The San Marcos River Foundation plants cypress trees because they are long-living, hold the banks of the river and prevent erosion, said Judy Telford, the group’s vice president. Telford said the fence around the young tree would “protect it from beavers, dogs, nutria and people.” See STUDENT, page 3
David Saleh Rauf The University Star A former aid for U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett pled guilty Tuesday in state district court to stealing around $168,000 from the congressman’s campaign reserves. Kristi Willis pled guilty to the misapplication of fiduciary property and as part of a plea bargain with Travis County prosecutors was sentenced to four years of deferred adjudication probation and 30 days in jail, Travis County Assistant District Attorney Patty Robertson said. “She did it on her own. They came forward and said ‘we want to cooperate’ and saved us a substantial amount of time doing the investigation,” Robertson said. “(She) came forward and admitted to taking the monies and repaid the restitution and really co-operated substantially, is how I would describe it.” Willis’ cooperation with Travis County prosecutors was “taken into consideration” during the sentencing, Robertson said. Along with probation and jail time, the sentence calls for Willis to pay full restitution to the Doggett campaign, perform community service, continue counseling and produce her income tax records on an annual basis. “She made a substantial effort upfront to pay restitution and I think it was something around $75,000 is was it came out to — (she) sold her house, sold her car,” Robertson said. “We see a lot of embezzlements; we’ve got a couple hundred of them going
Karen Wang/Star photo FAMILY REMEBERS: CJ Nelson’s father, Tom, releases his son’s ashes into the San Marcos river Sunday while CJ’s mother and brother, Kathi and Nick look on from the shore. CJ passed away in automobile accident July 4, 2006 in northwest Austin.
right now, but it’s rare that we see it from a political campaign. It was an unusual situation; it was unlike most of our embezzlement cases, because the defendant really made an effort to begin repaying the restitution and she’s making payments now.” Doggett, D-Austin, will be running in a special election this November for the newly redrawn District 25, which now includes all of Hays County. Willis, 38, worked in Doggettt’s Austin office where she served as his district director and in 1999 began maintaining his campaign books. She eventually quit in 2004. “Once this matter was brought to my attention I promptly alerted the Travis county district attorney’s office regarding the theft and sought to restore supporter’s contributions,” Doggett said through a spokesman. Doggett said staffers discovered the thefts in the early part of this year. “She was misapplying campaign funds to pay her creditcard bill,” Doggett said. Willis also admitted to stealing while raising money for the Capital Area Democratic Women and for the Andy Brown campaign. Brown was a democratic candidate for the Texas House last spring. She has agreed to pay restitution to both parties but was not charged with the two thefts under the plea bargain, Robertson said. The $17,000 that was taken from Brown and $11,000 from See DOGGETT, page 3
Tutoring services reach out to students with online help, chat By Eloise Martin The University Star With the invention of the Internet came the ability for students to find a tutor online and further their knowledge on a variety of subjects — all from the comfort of a computer. Tutorial Web sites promise better grades but usually charge a fee. Many Texas State students, however, do not realize they have already paid for online tutoring through their student fees. Two of these services available to students are the Writing Center and the Student Learning Assistance Center. Both centers now offer free online tutoring as well as resources accessible through their Web sites. The Writing Center, located in Flowers Hall, Room G09,
has been open to students since 1984 but began offering online services in the last few years. Nancy Wilson, Writing Center director, said the move to the Internet was done in part because of the limited hours available at the center and to provide service to commuters who may not have the luxury of spare time. “A lot of students don’t live in San Marcos,” Wilson said. “We are trying to duplicate that oneon-one experience for students who can’t make it into the writing center.” Personal online tutoring sessions will be available for students beginning Sept. 6 through Bobcat Chat, a new online tutorial program. The new chat option is provided by Breeze, a computer program recently purchased by the university.
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The system will allow students to chat online with tutors and receive immediate responses. Aside from saving students the physical stress of scheduling a personal tutoring session, Wilson said the program has the ability to lower the anxiety level some students may feel when facing a personal work evaluation. “Some people are shy. Everyone thinks it is cold to work on a computer, but for a lot of people, it is hard to talk about their paper face-to-face,” Wilson said. Although there are Web sites with tutoring available for a fee, Wilson said students should realize “professional” sites are not always better. The tutors who answer questions through the Writing Center’s Web site are trained and have often been
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through the same classes as the students asking the questions. “The university knows what the students need,” Wilson said. “(Students) should take advantage of that.” John Roesler, technical communication graduate student, worked as a student tutor for the online center last year but began tutoring during his sophomore year at Texas State. Roesler said
he became a tutor to help students learn to recognize their own mistakes. “For me, it is the ‘ah-ha’ moment,” he said. “People always appreciate it when you ‘fix’ their paper, but it is when you explain something and they really understand it that you realize you are really helping them.” In addition to Bobcat Chat, students can find resources on
or me, it is the ‘ah-ha’ moment. “F People always appreciate it when you ‘fix’ their paper, but it is when you explain something and they really understand it that you realize you are helping them.”
—John Roesler technical communication graduate student
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the Writing Center’s Web site, including links to other writing centers, grammar exercises and electronic guidebooks for citation questions. Students can also use the site to prepare for tests such as the Examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas, the Texas Higher Education test and the Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation test required for all mass communication students. Jennifer Ayala, mass communications senior, took the GSP test her junior year and did not pass on her first attempt. Students are allowed to take the test three times, so Ayala decided to find a better way to prepare before taking it again. “I went to the Texas State Web site and just typed in GSP See TUTORING, page 3
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