Defending the First Amendment since 1911
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Bike Cave Banks
Students say it’s OK to be gay
H1N1 cases rise, attendance falls
Volume 99, Issue 19
08
THURSDAY
OCT
www.UniversityStar.com
The Bike Cave received alsmost $8,000 for help with recycling. See page 13.
NEWS Pages 1-7 Airwaves make their way to San Marcos ASG moves toward additional dead day OPINIONS Page 10 Rock ’n’ roll vs. reaffirmation Campus Pulse: This week campus officials announced Commons Dining Hall, which recently closed, would reopen. What do you think? TRENDS Pages 11-14 A Bobcat to Know: Former Bobcat lands job in Dallas news station Music-related internships offer ‘real world’ experience.
SPORTS Pages 15-16 Cameron’s Commentary: United we sport Bobcats open conference play against Lions Saturday
Today’s Weather
90°/73° Mostly Cloudy Precipitation: 20% Humidity: 74% UV: 7 High Wind: S 20 mph
Friday
Scattered T-Storms Temp: 74°/57° Precip: 50%
Saturday
Showers Temp: 77°/62° Precip: 40%
By Clay Thorp News Reporter With weekly increases in the number of H1N1 cases throughout the state, the Student Health Center at Texas State is being overwhelmed with students exhibiting flulike illness. “The number of people who are getting sick is growing tremendously from week to week,” said Dr. Emillio Carranco, director of the Student Health Center. “We are already overwhelmed at the Health Center,” he said. “We’ve converted rooms that (otherwise) wouldn’t be examination rooms and we still cannot keep up with the demand for services right now.” Carranco has hired additional staff to handle the number of calls coming into the Health Center from students Bobby Scheidemann/Star photo who are sick in order to comAdrian Adame, political science freshman, and other members of LAMBDA support National Coming bat ever-increasing numbers Out Week in The Quad Wednesday. For a video from the demonstration and more information on the event see UniversityStar.com.
Harris hall basement becomes interim home for testing center The Testing, Research-Support and Evaluation Center will be moving to the basement of Harris following the announcement by university officials of a rodent infestation at the Commons Complex. The Testing Lab will be closing Friday and re-opened Tuesday. The center will be moved temporarily until the renovations to Commons are complete. The complex houses university offices, the faculty and staff restaurant, the University Club, in addition to the dining hall. The center serves students by administering institutional placement and credit by examinations “mostly during registration,” said Gail Ryser, director of the center. Ryser said the office’s main services, however, are geared toward faculty members, scanning and processing scantron exams and faculty evaluations. The Informational Technologies staff will move the two in-house
scanners, which each cost $25,000. Ryser said university officials have handled the rodent infestation in Commons efficiently. “It was smart of the university to take care of this,” Ryser said. The original plans to renovate Commons in 2010, as part of the Campus Master Plan, have been rescheduled because of the infestation. Commons will be renovated inside and out and will house the testing center permanently once renovations are complete. “I haven’t seen any rats, but I have heard them in the walls surrounding this office,” she said. Ryser said she does not mind the move. “What I would really like is a window, but that’s not going to happen in a basement,” she said. — News Report compiled by Clay Thorp
of students with “mild to moderate sickness.” The new staff members have been tasked with making appointments for students most at-risk for flu-related complications and giving self-care instructions for those exhibiting mild to moderate illness. “We’re looking at around 100 to 150 calls a day,” Carranco said. “We simply cannot see all (those) students.” Carranco could not give an exact number of students who have seasonal flu and those who have H1N1 because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are only testing those who have been hospitalized. He did say, however, the CDC has been testing nationwide specimens for months and “99 percent” of those tested positive for H1N1. “This time of year, if you have flu-like symptoms, it’s probably H1N1 and you should act see ‘H1N1,’ page 7
‘Drunk on technology’ Austin City Council considers ban on texting while driving By Billy Crawford News Reporter The Austin City Council voted last month in favor of drafting an ordinance that would ban texting while driving within city limits. Similar laws may soon be considered for San Marcos. “We haven’t talked specifically about (banning texting while driving), but it wouldn’t surprise me for us to take up the issue,” said Mayor Susan Narvaiz. “We all need to be aware of the hazards of texting and driving.” According to a study released in July by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, drivers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to be in an accident or near-accident than those who drive without distraction. “It can no longer be ignored,” said Tom Dingus, director of VTTI. “Driving while using cell phones or texting is much more dangerous.” Dingus said texting while driving may not always cause an accident, but it inhibits reaction time, diverts attention from traffic and increases the factors that can lead to an accident. A new law went into effect Sept. 1 in the State of Texas that prohibited use of hand-
Stacie Andrews/Star Photo: DANGEROUS CONVERSATIONS: Fifty percent of drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 admit to texting while driving.
held cell phones in school crossing zones. It is also illegal for a driver under the age of 18 to use a cell phone while driving. “We felt like if (a ban on
texting while driving) was good enough to be enforced in school zones, it was good
By Megan Holt News Reporter
tractors who will bid to do the project at its lowest cost. “Falls will come down first and then Sterry Hall will follow, but not until we have funding for the music building that will take its place,” Nusbaum said. “That’s not set for another several years. Our goal is to have housing replaced before we take (Sterry) out.” Incorporated in the Master Plan are plans for two additional residence halls to house the 800 students who will be displaced because of demolition. The Master Plan states the two building sites identified for replacement halls are at the parking lot at the center of Comanche and Sessom — the current purple commuter lot — and on the existing Hornsby and Burleson Hall sites.
see ‘TEXTING,’ page 7
Campus Master Plan continues projects, postpones others When the building comes down in the summer of 2011 Falls Hall will live up to its name. The Campus Master Plan has included a performing arts center complex in its place since 2006 when the plan was implemented. “The performing arts center project consists of four large pieces: a ‘pay as you park’ parking garage like the one at the Student Center, recital and performance halls and landscaping,” said Nancy Nusbaum, associate vice president for finance and support services. The Master Plan estimates the performing arts center at around $83 million. The project made it through Bobby Scheidemann/ Star Photo all planning and designing steps thus far, and university officials GROWING PAINS: Officials hope that the new parking garage, located on Matthews St., will help are currently searching for conalleviate the parking congestion on campus.
see ‘CAMPUS,’ page 7