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Volume 99, Issue 9
WEDNESDAY
16
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FOOTBALL FOOD
Get an inside look at a Bobcat football player’s diet. Check out the video on universitystar.com and the story on Page 8.
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Quality Enhancement Plan offers improved advising opportunities By Bianca Davis News Reporter
University officials are set to complete the second part of the reaffirmation process to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university submitted the Compliance Certification Report to S.A.C.S. last week, which covered the basic requirements. The next phase is formulating the Quality Enhancement Plan. Nico Schuler, Quality Enhancement Plan co-chair, said the plan has implications for the future. “Most of S.A.C.S. reaffirmaStar Photo Illustration tion process is a compliance report,” said Schuler, professor in the School of Music. “But S.A.C.S. also wants universities and colleges to enhance some aspect of student learning in the future — that’s the QEP.” According to the university’s Web site, “A Quality Enhancement Plan outlines a course university to deal with recent of action for long-term institutional improvement with growth. “So the president and I were special attention to student just giving a heads-up to the learning.” regents that whatever tuition increase we are proposing in November, it’s going to be a dollar per credit hour higher than it would had been, had this not happened,” Nance said. Nance said the financial planning is complicated beBy Bianca Davis cause the Texas Legislature News Reporter meets every two years and it is hard to project how much it An initiative to create a sysallocates to state universities. tem for alternative transportaHe said university officials tion from the downtown area are nervous about what the at night was introduced at the 2011 legislative session might first ASG meeting of the year do for fiscal years 2012 and by President Chris Covo. 2013. He has heard unless the The City Council liaison comeconomy makes a remarkable mittee will be working with turnaround, the state is going members of Achieving Comto run a $7 to $12 billion defi- munity Together, members of cit in two years when it has the ASG executive board, two exhausted federal stimulus undecided alumni and Covo to money. form the late-night transportaHe said university and sys- tion task force. tem officials discussed at the The goal of the task force August board meeting that is to create a program that they should be planning for will offer a form of alternaa potential 10 percent cut in tive transportation to students state appropriations for fiscal from the downtown area duryears 2012 and 2013. ing the late-night bar hours. “You can’t afford to wait for The City Council liaison comit to happen and be in a panic mittee will begin conducting mode,” he said. research Monday to determine a solution to the situation left see ‘TUITION,’ page 3 by the S.W.A.T cancellation. The new liaison will be chosen then.
University may propose possible tuition hike By Kosaku Narioka News Reporter University officials are likely to propose a tuition increase at the Board of Regents meeting in November. William Nance, vice president for Finance and Support Services, said the planning is on going and university officials are looking at the financial needs in a few years. “We have a 10-year campus master plan and long-range academic plans, so it doesn’t do any good to be making those plans long-range if you’re not analyzing the financing side — how that’s going to be funded,” he said. Nance said university officials have not decided the percent increase they are going to propose, but will start the conversations. The Board of Regents of the Texas State University System will meet at Lamar University Nov. 19 to Nov. 20. Universities under the system will propose agenda items by Oct. 12 for the Oct. 26 submittion of revisions. Nance said university officials will hold a hearing to discuss tuition and fees with students several weeks before the board meeting. Robert Gratz, special assistant to the president, said
Finance and Support Services, Student Affairs and ASG will work together to arrange a hearing date. ASG President Chris Covo said there has been no talk about tuition raises yet, but said an increase can be justified as long as it helps the university and the reasons are clear. How much of a hike university officials are going to propose is not clear, but an increased burden on the university to cover the operation of the system office is at least one of many factors. Texas State’s share for the system office rose by $664,763 this year, which is more than a $1 per semester credit hour increase in tuition, according to a letter sent from the president’s office to the Board of Regents. The letter is dated July 17 and is co-signed by University President Denise Trauth and Nance. “This will have to be covered on an on-going basis by our recommendation in November for (financial year) 2010 to 2011 tuition and fee increases,” the letter reads. Nance said the notice of the increased allocation from the system office came suddenly mid-summer when university officials were planning to add staff positions across the
“QEP is hugely important for the S.A.C.S. reaffirmation process,” said Beth Wuest, associate professor in Academic Development and Assessment. “For us here at Texas State, it’s really important because it’s something where we can take the efforts and thoughts of a lot of different groups and put together a plan that moves our institution ahead.” The university compiled ideas from students, faculty, staff and alumni to formulate one specific theme for the plan. The enhancement task force decided upon “advising” as the plan’s theme. “Students, faculty and staff all over campus submitted ideas and they were discussed in the theme selection committee, who came up with six groups,” Schuler said. “At least three or four of them had something in their themes related to advising and mentoring. That’s why it was eventually selected — because it seemed to be the most important.” see ‘QEP,’ page 3
Community bands together to expand late-night transportation “The City Council liaison committee will take on and initiate this effort,” Covo said. “They will go to the people, do research and crunch numbers to determine a feasible option.” The task force will convene twice. The dates are undetermined, but the meetings will be set for late-October and late-November, Covo said. City Councilmember Kim Porterfield, Place-1, is an A.C.T. member and said both groups are looking into the issue. The San Marcos Police Department has given members of A.C.T. an inside view at the situation. “A.C.T. members are currently participating in ride alongs with the San Marcos Police Department,” Porterfield said. “They are going out on Thurssee ‘LATE NIGHT,’ page 3
Surge of crickets appears during fall season By Billy Crawford Special to The Star Crickets may be considered good fourtune in some cultures, or even pets in others, but students and faculty at Texas State are generally less receptive of the insects’ presence. Each fall, thousands of crickets emerge in and around the community in what has been dubbed “cricket season.” During cricket season, simple acts such as walking across campus can be impacted by the multitude of insects that line the sidewalks and entrances. For students who come from areas that have fewer crickets, the first fall on campus can often create an uneasy feeling. “It was really gross to me my first semester here,” said Mark Butke, pre-mass communication junior from Ohio. “There were crickets everywhere. You walked to class and you heard crunches the whole way. It doesn’t really bother me now, but it got to me my first year.” For other students who are
coming to campus for the first time this fall, the possibility of having crickets in their dorms and classrooms is repulsive. “I think (the crickets) are absolutely disgusting,” said Molly Vochatzer, health and wellness promotion freshman from Dallas. “I can’t stand them, and I’m really not looking forward to when they come out.” The influx of crickets during the fall may be menacing to students, but its causes are natural. “My general observation is the crickets are in breeding mode,” Francis Rose, a biology professor at Texas State, said in an e-mail. “Depending on the amount of humidity and rainfall, the (mating season) lasts about two weeks.” Rose said the reason cricket season may seem as though it drags on is because the outbreaks are localized, and are not coordinated with each other. see ‘CRICKETS,’ page 3
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Today’s Weather
89°/69° Mostly Sunny Precipitation: 10% Humidity: 61% UV: 10 Very High Wind: NNW 12mph
Thursday Mostly Sunny Temp: 87°/67° Precip: 20%
Friday Partly Cloudy Temp: 86°/68° Precip: 10%
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
News….....Pages 1-4 Sisterhood and tradition Opinions…..Page 5 MAIN POINT: Stranded on The Square Community college teaches valuable lessons, benefits Students contribute to city’s abandoned pet problem Trends……..Page 6 United We Sing’ honors America New local ‘getaway’ serves comfort food Possible ‘chupacabra’ makes its way to Hill Country Classifieds….Page 7 Diversions…..Page 7 Sports………Page 8 Bobcats defeat Cougars in cat fight Bobcat football makes nutrition team effort ‘Exciting’ NFL season awaits
Allie Moncrief/Star photo illustration CRICKET INVASION: Across the campus and city crickets have been making their home among the Texas State community and residents.