10 09 2007

ROAD WARRIORS

Soccer stands strong on road in first SLC matches SEE SPORTS PAGE 12

MUSIC MATCH

Joe Ely and Reckless Kelly will play as part of the Stars of Texas Music Legacy Series.

SEE TRENDS PAGE 8

DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911

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OCTOBER 9, 2007

TUESDAY

VOLUME 97, ISSUE 20

SRC expansion moving forward ASG fights off

Friday failures

By Cassandra Goldsberry Special to The University Star

By Scott Thomas News Reporter

Students will not need to wait to use exercise equipment on campus, if everything goes according to plan.

Hardhats went on as faculty, students and staff came together Thursday for the groundbreaking of the 94,000 square-foot Student Recreation Center expansion.

The expansion is expected to relieve overcrowding at the SRC. “It is going to be a big improvement to accommodate students’ needs,” said Ahmad Zaidan, exercise and sports science senior. “It’s exciting. Although I’m graduating, I will come back and check it out.”

Texas State students voted to approve the expansion in the spring of 2005. The project will cost $31 million and is financed by a revenue-financing bond and Higher Education Assistance Funds. The bonds will be repaid through an increase in the Student Recreation Fee. The expansion will make more room for people and create space for new machines and sports.

“It is going to be needed,” said Kim Urrutia, interdisciplinary studies senior and SRC employee. “We get a lot of activity during the week

senior, said organizations like the Associated Student Government can bring a lot to the city.

“ASG is a remarkable organization,” Prather said.

He said university students could acquire volunteer hours by helping the community in neighborhood cleanups such as the one planned for the Sagewood area.

On this topic, a resident of San Marcos brought up the recent problem in Sagewood Circle.

“A meeting was held last week where one-third of the residents of Sagewood showed up,” Prather said. “Solutions were discussed … a neighborhood clean-up was

Students who may be upset with the new four-day scheduling period can rest assured ASG is taking action.

A resolution recommending change from the four-day class schedule passed at the Associated Student Government meeting Monday.

“It doesn’t mean everyone will have Friday classes,” said ASG Sen. Carson Guy, off campus. “In fact, we’re trying to go the opposite direction and give everyone more choices.”

The resolution takes no definitive action other than recommending the university president’s cabinet consider having the core classes of math, history, science and English shifted to a 50 minute Monday, Wednesday and Friday schedule. The resolution further recommends professors evenly split teaching loads on Monday, Wednesday classes and Wednesday, Friday classes.

“This is not going back to the Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. We’re splitting the core classes in half,” said ASG Sen. Kristi Detweiler, off campus. “Some students would be taking some classes on Friday.”

After tabling the resolution at the previous ASG meeting for further review, political science freshman Katie McNeff created a protest group on the social networking Web site Facebook against the reinstating of Friday classes. It has gained 3,452 members since its creation.

“I think that it’s a step in the direction of what this administration feels is right for the student body,” said ASG President Reagan Pugh. “Those students that are not in favor of moving for classes to Friday and having Friday class offerings, the research we read on the Facebook group, are not informed completely on all of the issues.”

Pugh said he has been in communication through e-mail with the creator of the Facebook group and its other active members to educate them.

“We amended part of this bill in order to accommodate part

See COUNCIL, page 5

See ASG, page 5

Jon Clark/Star photo DIGGING IN: Reagan Pugh, Jordan Anderson, Chris Jones and Alexis Dabney push their ceremonial shovels into a pile of rocks Friday morning during a ground-breaking celebration for the Student Recreation Center expansion.

See SRC, page 5

San Marcos residents question City Council candidates

By Selina Saucedo News Reporter All four City Council candidates went face-to-face Thursday at the San Marcos Activity Center to try and garner the community’s vote.

Hosted by the Neighborhood Association, this was the first debate to feature all four candidates — Kim Porterfield and Betsy Robertson for Place 1, and Jude Prather and Gaylord Bose for Place 2. The debate consisted of San Marcos residents asking candidates their standpoints on certain issues Monty Marion/Star photo pertaining to the city, with auCOMMUNITY DEBATE: San Marcos residents listen to the City dience members ranging from Council candidates during the Thursday evening debate held at the college students to those who have lived in the city for years.

San Marcos Activity Center.

The idea of “good growth” for the city of San Marcos was defined by each candidate. Three of the four agreed providing a vast amount of secure jobs that improved the quality of life was the key to good growth.

Robertson, Place 1 incumbent, disagreed.

“Growth that increases quality of life and maintains character deals with more — the river, the university and downtown,” Robertson said. “The quantity of jobs is not the only issue.”

The candidates plan to involve Texas State more as well.

“The university brings vitality,” Robertson said. “Collaboration helps. Students can be on city boards.”

Prather, public administration

Accidental heroin overdose claims life of former Bobcat

By Andy Sevilla News Reporter A former Texas State student, given at birth a minimal chance of living because of disease-causing bacteria, grew up with the hopes of a promising future. But that future abruptly ended with a heroin overdose.

Zachary Q. Evans, 20, was found Aug. 13 when two Residence Life workers notified university police of a lifeless body on a third floor balcony at Bobcat Village. A syringe was found close to the body.

An autopsy performed by the Travis County deputy medical examiner found that Evans’ death was caused by an accidental heroin overdose.

Evans came to Texas State in the fall of 2005 and was last enrolled in the spring of 2007. He moved back to his hometown of Wink, where he got a job in a shop that worked on pumps for oilrigs, Evans’ father, Daniel Evans said. He said his son passed a drug test, which was a prerequisite for employment.

Evans said he was aware his son smoked marijuana when he was younger and had tried everything to keep it away from him, but he did not know about the heroin.

“As God as my witness, I had never, never thought that,” Evans said.

Evans said his son showed no signs of heroin use. He said his son was a football and track star in high school, student body president and finished fifth in his class with dreams of attending the U.S. Air Force Academy. Zachary Evans was in the admittance process under a track scholarship when it all came to a drastic end — a physician discovered a heart murmur

Today’s Weather

Partly Cloudy 87˚

Precipitation: 20% Humidity: 70% UV: 8 Very High Wind: NNE 11 mph

during a physical, which denied him admittance.

“His life changed when he couldn’t go to the Air Force,” said his mother, Christina Evans. “He wasn’t himself anymore.”

Daniel Evans said he knew about his son’s heart condition.

He said when his son was born, doctors told him that his son had a beta strep infection, giving him a 90 percent chance of dying, and if he survived he would be mentally and physically handicapped. However, against all these odds, his son was a great athlete with big dreams, Evans said.

“Five days after birth he stopped breathing,” Evans said.

“The doctors called us and told us our son had died, but on our way to the hospital he started to breathe again … God could’ve given us five days, but he gave us 20 years.”

Evans said her son complained of depression and sought medical help. She said he had been taking the antidepressant Paxil for about a week before he died.

Evans said his son was introduced to heroin through a friend.

Zachary Evans had been trying to get a friend off of heroin, but instead succumbed to the pressure of using. He said this was because of a previous encounter with the police. Zachary Evans jumped out of a third floor window in Butler Hall when police banged on the door after being alerted of drug use in the dormitory. He said his son broke his foot but still managed to get away.

Evans said Zachary was in tremendous pain and his friend offered him heroin to alleviate it. That is what got Zachary Photo Courtesy of Christina Evans Evans hooked and ultimately killed, his father said.

TRAGIC CIRCUMSTANCES: Zachary Q. Evans, a recently deceased former “Texas State has had a few cases dealing with heroin, but See ZACHARY, page 5

Two-day Forecast Wednesday Partly Cloudy Temp: 88°/ 66° Precip: 10%

Thursday Partly Cloudy Temp: 90°/ 65° Precip: 10%

Texas State student, was found dead at Bobcat Village after an accidental heroin overdose.

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Today in Brief

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - Page 2

The Texas Mathworks program at Texas State will establish an Intel Scholars Program thanks to a grant from the company.

The $30,000 grant will provide scholarships for students to attend the Honors Summer Math Camp and supports Intel Scholars to work

on the Mathworks Curriculum Project. This grant establishes the “Intel Colloquium Series” that will bring in outstanding guest lecturers to speak at the camp.

— Courtesy of the University News Service

News Contact — Nick Georgiou, starnews@txstate.edu Texas State University-San Marcos is a member of the Texas State University System

Calendar Tuesday The Catholic Student Center will have a free lunch for all students from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the CSC lobby.

The women of Mu Epsilon Theta will have Bingo Night with prizes at 6:30 p.m. in the lobby of the CSC. There will be a presentation by the University of Houston Law Center Admissions Office at 5 p.m. in McCoy Hall, Room 119.

For more information, e-mail as44@txstate.edu.

Every Nation Campus Ministries will be holding a weekly campus meeting at 7 p.m. in Centennial Hall, Room G-02. There will be free food, fellowship and a message exploring the person of Jesus.

Overeaters Anonymous will meet at 12:30 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church, 130 W. Holland. For more information call Lynn, (512) 357-2049.

GLBQ Pride Group meeting will be held from noon until 1:30 p.m. For information and screening on groups, call the Counseling Center at (512) 2452208.

Facing the Fear — An Anxiety/Panic Group will meet from 3:30 to 5 p.m. For information and screening on groups, call the Counseling Center at (512) 245-2208.

Anger Management: Your Plan for Real-Life Coping will be from 5:10 to 6:25 p.m. For information and screening on groups, call the Counseling Center at (512) 2452208.

Wednesday The rosary will be prayed at 6 p.m. in the St. Jude Chapel of the CSC.

CRIME BL TTER

The counseling center presents, Body Talk: Using “Heart Messages” to Reduce Stress, from 1 to 2 p.m. in LBJSC, Room 3-11.1.

University Police Department

The counseling center presents, “Stress Assessment: Evaluating Your Mental Health Fitness,” at noon in LBJSC, Room 3-5.1.

Oct. 1, 6 p.m.

Alcohol: Minor in Possession/100 Elm Street An officer was on patrol and initiated a traffic stop. Upon further investigation, a student was issued a citation for MIP.

There will be a one-hour orientation and training session to learn to use the EmWave PC biofeedback program to reduce the negative effects of stress. The session will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. in LBJSC, Room 3-11.1.

Yolanda Wilkerson and other former Texas State students present, “The World of ExxonKatie Allinson/Star photo Mobil”, 5 p.m. in McCoy Hall, Zachary Schofield, pre-theatre sophomore, sniffs a cup of chili during the 37th Texas Ladies State Room 127.

Chili Cook-off in held in Blanco during the weekend. Proceeds from the event went to the Susan G.

Texas State Blood Drive will Komen Foundation to benefit breast cancer research. be held in JC Kellam, Room 1100 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To schedule an appointment for the Texas State Blood Drive go do www. lonestardonor.com.

Health Beat: How to beat the flu

There will be a presentation by the University of Houston Law Center Admissions Office at 5 p.m. in McCoy Hall, Room 119.

For more information, e-mail as44@txstate.edu.

There will be a one-hour orientation and training session to learn to use the EmWave PC biofeedback program to reduce the negative effects of stress. The session will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. in LBJSC, Room 3-11.1.

The Network Meeting will be 5 to 7 p.m. in LBJSC, Room 3.6.

Adult children of alcoholics dealing with dysfunctional families group will meet from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. For information and screening on groups, call the Counseling Center at

Texas State students rank the cold and flu as top factors affecting their academic performance, and they should prepare for the flu season, beginning in October and lasting as long as May. The best preparation is to stay healthy.

Maintain a well-balanced diet, keep a consistent sleep schedule, exercise regularly, frequently wash your hands and minimize or abstain from cigarettes and alcohol.

Another invaluable method of preparation is to receive the influenza vaccine (flu shot). Since the influenza virus changes slightly every year, students should receive the vaccine annually to be protected against the current virus. Everyone should consider receiving the vaccine; however, it is highly recommended for people in high-risk categories.

These people include anyone with a chronic health condition,

such as asthma or diabetes; anyone 65 and older; healthcare personnel providing direct patient care; anyone caring for children younger than six months of age; and women who are in their second or third trimester of pregnancy.

If a student does contract the flu, he or she may experience a sudden onset of fever, headache, runny nose, cough, body aches and fatigue. If these symptoms are recognized early, he or she may be able to take antiviral medications to alleviate any further symptoms or more severe ones.

However, antiviral medications must be taken within one to two days of the onset of symptoms.

If a student is sneezing or coughing, he or she should cover their mouth and nose with a tissue. When using tissue, use one and dispose of it; reusing it increases the risk of re-infection. If

a student does not have a tissue, use the upper sleeve and not the hand. Students should also drink plenty of fluids, take time to rest and make sure any cold and flu medications taken only have ingredients they need.

Over the counter medications to treat cold and flu symptoms are available on campus at the Student Health Center pharmacy.

The influenza vaccine is available from the SHC this year.

There will be a large outreach program Oct. 23 from 12 to 5 p.m. in the LBJ Student Center Ballroom. The cost is $20. Please note the vaccine is only available while supplies last. For more information, please visit www. healthcenter.txstate.edu or call (512) 245-2167.

— Courtesy of the Student Health Center

Latino writer honored in San Marcos, Houston Juan Filipe Herrera will be honored for his book Downtown Boy — winner of the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award for books published in 2006. Herrera was honored on Oct. 17 to 18 in events ranging from San Marcos to Houston.

The celebration will begin with a 1 p.m. presentation in the LBJ Student Center Ballroom. Students representing middle schools in San Marcos and Austin will be in attendance at the event, which will feature a mariachi performance and refreshments in addition to a book signing, which is open to the public.

On Oct. 18, events move to Houston, where Herrera will visit Thorton Middle School in the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD to participate in a presentation for the students. The Texas State College of Education and the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD will host a noon luncheon and award celebration for Herrera at Cypress-Fairbanks ISD’s Berry Center, featuring University President Denise Trauth. Following the award presentation will be a community book sale and signing from 2 to 3:15 p.m., which is open to the public.

The Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, established at Southwest Texas State in 1995, is designed to encourage authors, illustrators and publishers to produce books that authentically reflect the lives of Mexican American children and young adults in the U.S. Downtown Boy, like several other works by Herrera, is inspired by his past as the only son of a pair of migrant farm workers. As a child, Herrera traveled through the many small farming towns of California before his parents finally settled in San Diego. That influence is apparent in Downtown Boy, which follows the life of Juanito Paloma, who, along with his mother Lucha and his elderly father Felipe, moves to San Francisco’s Latin Mission District to live with relatives after years of working in the fields of California’s Central Valley. Juanito longs to live in one place, rather than “going, going, going,” and pines for the love of his often-absent father.

Beyond his writing, Herrera has founded bilingual theater groups, music and poetry troupes. He learned his love of word, language and writing at a young age from his mother. Poetry has been a part of his life ever since and he now writes poetry for both children and adults.

Herrera currently holds the Tomás Rivera endowed chair in creative writing at the University of California, Riverside. He lives in Fresno, Cali., with his wife and two children. He is also an actor, a musician, and a popular professor at California State University, Fresno, where he teaches Chicano and Latin American Studies.

Oct. 3, 9:40 a.m.

Medical Emergency/MCS Building An officer was dispatched for injuries a student received to her knee when she fell. The student was evaluated by EMS, refused transport to Central Texas Medical Center and was transported to the Student Health Center for treatment.

Oct. 3, 6 p.m.

Burglary: Vehicle/Credit Card Abuse/Wood Street Garage An officer was dispatched for a burglary of a vehicle report. A student reported property had been removed from her vehicle without her consent. This case is under investigation.

Oct. 4, 12:21 a.m.

Harassment/Sterry Hall An officer was dispatched for a harassment report. A student reported that an unknown individual was calling and harassing her. This case is under investigation.

Oct. 4, 6:53 a.m.

Criminal Attempt/Tennis Court Classroom An officer was dispatched for a property damage report. A non-student reported damage to the building. This case is under investigation.

Oct. 4, 10:06 a.m.

Failure to Comply/Striking Unattended Vehicle/Co-gen Plant An officer was dispatched for a hit and run report. A non-student reported his vehicle was damaged while it was parked.

This case is under investigation.

Oct. 4, 10:52 a.m.

Burglary: Building/Jones Dining Hall An officer was dispatched for an attempted burglary of a building report. Upon further investigation, two non-students reported damage to a door. This case is under investigation.

Oct. 4, 2:55 p.m.

Theft – under $500/UPD Lobby An officer was dispatched to the lobby for a theft report. A student reported her property was taken from the LBJ Student Center without her consent.

This case is under investigation.

Oct. 4, 3:28 p.m.

Forgery: Checks/Wills/ Contracts/Deeds/JCK An officer was dispatched in reference to a forgery report. A non-student reported an unknown individual was attempting to make unauthorized purchases. This case is under investigation.

Oct. 4, 4:15 p.m.

Drug: Possession of Marijuana/Drug: Possession of Drug Paraphernalia/100 Sessom An officer was on patrol and initiated a traffic stop. Upon further investigation, a student was issued a citation for PODP, arrested for POM and transported to Hays County Law Enforcement Center to await — Courtesy of the University News Service magistration.

Immigration debate scheduled on campus The Phi Iota Alpha Latino fraternity chapter at Texas State will host an Immigration Forum and Discussion at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the LBJ Student Center Teaching Theater.

The event will present the facts, history, future, criticisms and stances from both political parties. The immigration forum will begin with speeches presented by the College Democrats, Latino Student Association and others.

The speeches will be followed by a discussion and Q&A session. This event is meant to provide the Texas State community with the correct information they will need in order to vote in 2008 on this issue.

For more information, contact Mark Hernandez, Phi Iota Alpha president, at mh1363@txstate.edu.

— Courtesy of the University News Service

NEWS

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

The University Star - Page 3

Minnesota jury decides in favor of innocent pepper-sprayed man

By Curt Brown Star Tribune (Minneapolis) MINNEAPOLIS — Sprawled on his stomach outside a gas station in Golden Valley, Minn., Al Hixon had a police officer’s boot planted on his neck and pepper spray shot deep into his nostrils, scorching his lungs. Moments earlier, Hixon had been pouring oil into his blue Jaguar — a quick stop on what was going to be an ordinary Saturday of shuttling his daughters to birthday parties.

“I couldn’t breathe and was vomiting mucus and gasping for air,” he said. “I thought I was going to die, and asked: ‘What did I do? What did I do?’”

Police were responding to a report of a robbery at a bank outlet inside a supermarket near the gas station. And Hixon — civic-minded, well-educated and black — had suddenly become a suspect.

“If this is a black thing, you’ve got the wrong black man,” Hixon remembered telling the officers.

He said that one of them told him to shut up, adding: “That’s what you all say.” Except the 911 dispatcher told officers repeatedly that the robber, who took $7, was white.

It has been a harrowing two years for Hixon, 47. For months, he sat around and stared, growing distant from his wife and three children. Flashbacks led to treatment for depression. The personal drive that prompted him to start his own construc-

Jerry Holt/Minneapolis Star Tribune WRONGLY ACCUSED: Station manager Ron Feist told Golden Valley police the man in the back of their squad car was a longtime customer. The officers arrested Al Hixon in 2005, mistakenly thinking he was involved in a robbery at a bank near the station.

tion company and win awards for his volunteer work withered into missed appointments and apathy.

He simply never imagined he would have to endure such treatment living 1,000 miles north of his childhood home in segregated Alabama.

So much about it still doesn’t make sense.

A federal jury agreed last month, awarding him $778,000, including $450,000 in punitive damages. It’s one of the largest excessive-force jury awards in Minnesota. And the case is rekindling questions about whether police are as color-blind as they should be.

Hixon has made a career of renovating kitchens and homes, but he has found the task of rebuilding his life a trickier project.

With help from mental health professionals and neighbors, his “healing process has gone from a crawl to a shuffle,” said his wife, Sheri, a social worker.

Golden Valley business leaders urged Hixon to become president of their Lions Club this year, a step toward his attempt to reengage himself in his community.

“I was living a middle-class lifestyle in a nice neighborhood with a nice family,” Hixon said. “Everything was OK. Then I took my beating. It’s been a journey, and it’s been difficult to go from what

I considered a normal life to all this.”

He hasn’t driven the Jaguar in two years, considering it bad luck, and wishes he never took it out of storage on what started as such a normal April day in 2005.

Hixon checked on a carpet installation that morning. Then he went to remove his car, which he had stored in the garage of a neighbor. Hixon turned the key and smelled smoke. So he drove to the gas station and bought oil.

It was 1:45 p.m. and his head was under the hood.

In the blur that followed, Hixon was surrounded by gun-pointing Golden Valley police officers responding to the bank robbery.

He was thrown face down on the pavement and handcuffed.

Officer Mario Hernandez shot pepper spray into his lungs before Hixon was tossed into the back of a squad car.

Soon after, officers apprehended the bank robber and arrested two alleged accomplices in a nearby van. The accomplices were black.

Eight jurors, all white, began their deliberations in St. Paul Sept. 13, sifting through the contradictory testimony of Hixon and the police. At one point, two jurors even got down on the floor to reenact the handcuffing scenario.

“The officers’ story didn’t make sense at all,” said juror Jean Shonka, 65, a retired school secretary from Bloomington. “He wasn’t threatening them.”

The case was about excessive

force, not race. U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle had limited the trial’s scope, ruling that police had a reason to believe Hixon could have been involved in the robbery.

“We didn’t care that he was black, white, purple or green,” Shonka said. “Our feeling was, no matter what the circumstances, no human being should be handled that way.”

Hixon, who grew up in Birmingham, Ala., in the 1960s, has memories of church bombings and police with fire hoses dispersing civil rights marchers.

“The laws were changing,” he said. “But Birmingham was way behind the laws.”

He studied electrical engineering at Tuskegee Institute and was plucked from a Ph.D. program at the University of Florida to join Honeywell in the Twin Cities in 1989.

He met his wife, Sheri, while volunteering at inner-city schools, working with pregnant teens and gang members. He earned a McKnight Award for community service in 1995. When gang activity spread to a Golden Valley basketball hoop a few years later, he worked with police and City Council members to remove the hoop — and the problems.

After Hixon’s run-in with the Golden Valley police, family, friends and neighbors noticed a dramatic shift in his personality.

The once gregarious guy, whose three kids called him “Daddy Bear,” had grown sullen. The guy nicknamed “Tent Man,” because

he erected the tent at his daughters’ track meets, was no longer helping with homework.

“He used to be cooking, talking and laughing,” said Verna Cornelia Price, a friend. “Afterward, he was just sitting in a chair, distracted and unattached and not saying anything.”

“I just shut down,” Hixon said.

“I stopped being me and just kept playing the tape in my head every day.”

Reluctantly, he sought mental health assistance and was found to have chronic post-traumatic stress syndrome and depression.

Now, there are good days and bad. A regular at the Byerly’s in Golden Valley, Hixon seems his gregarious self, addressing the Caribou Coffee staff by their first names and talking about a Lions Club grant opportunity with the manager of the U.S. Bank branch that was robbed.

Yet after the trial, Hixon slept for most of two days. He takes antidepressants and regularly sees a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

“Little by little,” Price said, “he’s coming out of this cloud.”

Golden Valley Police Chief Stacy Altonen, police patrol union president Rob Zarrett and the city’s lawyer in the case, Jon Iverson, all insist that Hixon’s skin color had nothing to do with what happened at the Sinclair station.

Others wonder.

“I’ve thought about it a million times since the trial,” said Shonka, who is white. “If it had been me, would I have been treated this way?”

San Marcos residents have low college attendance rate

By Bill Lancaster News Reporter The E3 Alliance, a group comprised of organizations interested in education, will sponsor a series of discussions in San Marcos during October and November to help develop a blueprint for change in Central Texas education.

Rick Olmos, E3 Alliance director of communications, said the organization wants to change the educational achievement gaps in Central Texas.

“The specific goals are based on the communities themselves,” Olmos said. “Each community will hold these discussions to find out what they feel are the action items to close the achievement

gaps in their community.”

Denise Trauth, university president and E3 Alliance board member, said Texas State’s role would be more informal and supportive with a few formal ties.

“Our university turns out more new teachers than any other school in Texas,” Trauth said.

“We clearly, at this university, have a real interest in public education, and we have an interest in producing teachers who can be successful in public education and then whose students will be successful. Any dialogue that takes place around the topic of public education is going to be very important to our university.”

Michelle Pope, associate professor of health, PE and recreation, said the university will use

the information from the meetings to form a P-16 Council in San Marcos. The P-16 Council, named for its focus on pre-kindergarten through college, will attempt to create a college-going culture in San Marcos, encouraging more students to plan for college at a younger age.

“Currently a little bit less than 40 percent of students in San Marcos ever attend college, Pope said. “That’s not proportionate in terms of different portions of the population. There’s an underrepresented Hispanic and AfricanAmerican (group).”

The state’s higher education plan, Closing the Gaps, set a 2015 goal of increasing the number of college graduates by 50 percent, according to the Texas

Higher Education Coordinating Board. University reports show Texas State’s six-year graduation rate has increased from 47 to 55 percent over the past five years.

Barrie Breed, parent and former San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District school board president, said she continues to see families leave and continues to hear complaints about the district that are not necessarily accurate.

“It’s not a set program.” Breed said. “The whole point is to get people from all different segments of the community to come together.”

The hope is that the moderators will be able to get participants to talk globally about the district, their fears and what they

think is working well in the district, Breed said.

“The folks that were approached were real excited about that opportunity,” Breed said. “It’s just hard to get all the stake holders in the same place at the same time and to be open and honest.”

According to the E3 Alliance Web site, Austin Community College, the Austin Area Research Organization and the University of Texas formed the group to increase economic outcomes through educational systems. E3 stands for Education Equals Economics.

The people who know best about the school system in San Marcos are those who have recently gone through it, and residents attending Texas State

would be a tremendous help to the effort, Breed said.

Meetings are planned in Austin, Bastrop, Eanes, Manor, Round Rock and San Marcos school districts. The first local meeting will be 6 p.m. Oct. 22 at San Marcos High School. The meetings will ultimately get people talking about public education and develop a regional plan to insure all young people are successful in school, Trauth said. It’s not just for people who have children in the school system.

“We have a very close collaborative relationship with the San Marcos school system,” Trauth said. “Any thing that touches education here is going to be disproportionately important to this university.”

NEWS

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

The University Star - Page 5

COUNCIL: Closer relationship between city, university urged

ASG: Chartwells affected by school schedule change CONTINUED from page 1

Robertson CONTINUED from page 1

planned.”

He said this is the first step to making the neighborhood better.

“This is a problem that needs to be solved in all neighborhoods, not just Sagewood,” said Place 2 incumbent Bose.

One-third of San Marcos is in poverty, while seven out of 10 school children are on a subsidized lunch program. This number is at its highest and residents are looking for it to decrease.

Porterfield

Bose

“We allotted $500,000 to human services for this problem,” Robertson said. “It is not the job of the local government to provide a safety net.”

Bose, who has served on the City Council for the past three and a half years, disagreed.

“We need to work with state workforce commission to improve educational levels of the working class,” he said. “This will improve living conditions.”

Porterfield, a staff member at Texas State, agreed.

“The government can’t do it all,” said Porterfield, director of the Office of Community

Prather Relations. “We have to support agencies that help this class. We need to also create opportunities and create jobs.”

Another topic discussed was the issue of keeping the tax base in the city of San Marcos.

“I believe this is a multifaceted issue that will require a multi-prong approach,” Porterfield said. “We need jobs and affordable houses. We need more private businesses. Also, we need more community involvement in schools that will increase excellence in schools (and) will encourage residents to stay here.”

Voting for the city council places will take place on Nov. 6. Early elections will be held

ZACHARY: Thwarted dreams, pain brought him to drugs CONTINUED from page 1

Photo Courtesy of Christina Evans LIFE CUT SHORT: Zachary Q. Evans was involved in numerous sports and extracurricular activities during high school and aspired to attend the Air Force Academy.

it is not encountered often,” said Capt. Rickey Lattie of the University Police Department.

Lattie said Texas State sees its share of drug use, and with a population of about 28,000, it is not uncommon. He said there were 107 drug violations at Texas State in 2006 and UPD is working hard to reduce the number.

The university offers help and counseling to those battling substance abuse through the Alcohol and Drug Resource Center.

“I’ve never seen anybody’s life improved by (drug use), but I have seen many ruined,” Lattie said.

Evans’ demise marks the second drug-related death at Texas State this year. Michael Minter, 24, was found dead by his roommate on Feb. 12. An autopsy report said the cause of death was a drug overdose.

97 YEARS

of those students,” he said.

“We’re here to do what we think is best for the student body as a whole.”

Guy said the most important part of this resolution was opening the issue to debate.

“Anything is on the table,” Guy said. “Everything is negotiable.”

The resolution points to overcrowded buses and parking as a negative outcome of the four day class schedule, stating: “The Bobcat Trams are overcrowded because the number of students who utilized the service last academic year in a time frame of five days are now forced to use the same amount of buses in four days with an increased student population.” “(Auxiliary services have) already done everything they can do with the way the four day schedule is set up,” Guy said.

“There are no more buses, and we’ve already raised the bus fee so we can’t buy any new buses so we have to change what we have right now.”

The resolution further states Chartwells catering services is losing up to $7,000 on Thursdays and Fridays.

“Chartwells losing money is a problem for ASG and a problem for the students of Texas State,” Guy said.

He said the resolution is not meant to effectively tackle every issue it presents, but will lead into more legislation for future meetings.

“All this will do is open up the floor for conversation,” Pugh said. “However, up until now there has been no student opinion on the issue in the president’s cabinet and in the JC Kellam Building. This says to them ‘here are our feelings on the issue, here’s some possible solutions (and) here’s the direction we would like to take.’”

SRC: Completion expected spring 2009 CONTINUED from page 1

and summer. A lot of people have been complaining about there not being enough room.

The addition will be good.”

Manyelementsfromotherareas of Campus Recreation will be implemented into the expansion.

“The students want to come and use the machines and courts and not have to wait,” said Glen Hanley, director of Campus Recreation. “It will cut down on waiting lines and bring in other aspects of recreation: climbing wall, golf (and) pools.”

The Texas State University System Board of Regents approved the expansion May 18.

It will include: eight basketball and volleyball courts; six racquetball courts; machines and

cardiovascular equipment; an eight-lane lap pool and a leisure pool; a rock wall; four multipurpose rooms; a cyber cafe; state of the art golf practice area with simulator and putting green; computer lab; and a track.

“The new facilities will make us competitors with other universities in that the state that have newly renovated or built campus recreation facilities,” said Joanne Smith, vice president for student affairs. “It will help with recruitment and retention of students and make opportunities for students to be healthy.”

Construction is currently underway. Part of the expansion of the recreation center is expected to open in the fall of 2008 and completion is expected for the spring of 2009.

NEWS

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

The University Star - Page 5

COUNCIL: Closer relationship between city, university urged

ASG: Chartwells affected by school schedule change CONTINUED from page 1

Robertson CONTINUED from page 1

planned.” he said this is the first step to making the neighborhood better.

“This is a problem that needs to be solved in all neighborhoods, not just Sagewood,” Place 2 incumbent Bose said.

One-third of San Marcos is in poverty, while seven out of 10 school children are on a subsidized lunch program. This number is at its highest and residents are looking for it to decrease.

“We allotted $500,000 to human services

Porterfield

Bose

for this problem,” Robertson said. “It is not the job of the local government to provide a safety net.”

Bose, who has served on the City Council for the past three and a half years, disagreed.

“We need to work with state workforce commission to improve educational levels of the working class,” he said. “This will improve living conditions.”

Porterfield, a staff member at Texas State, agreed.

“The government can’t do it all,” said Porterfield, director of the Office of Community Relations. “We have to support agencies that

Prather help this class. We need to also create opportunities and create jobs.”

Another topic discussed was the issue of keeping the tax base in the city of San Marcos.

“I believe this is a multifaceted issue that will require a multi-prong approach,” Porterfield said. “We need jobs and affordable houses. We need more private businesses. Also, we need more community involvement in schools that will increase excellence in schools (and) will encourage residents to stay here.”

Voting for the city council places will take place on Nov. 6. Early elections will be held from Oct. 22 to Nov. 2.

ZACHARY: Thwarted dreams, pain brought him to drugs CONTINUED from page 1

Photo Courtesy of Christina Evans LIFE CUT SHORT: Zachary Q. Evans was involved in numerous sports and extracurricular activities during high school and aspired to attend the Air Force Academy.

it is not encountered often,” said Capt. Rickey Lattie of the University Police Department.

Lattie said Texas State sees its share of drug use, and with a population of about 28,000, it is not uncommon. He said there were 107 drug violations at Texas State in 2006 and UPD is working hard to reduce the number.

The university offers help and counseling to those battling substance abuse through the Alcohol and Drug Resource Center.

“I’ve never seen anybody’s life improved by (drug use), but I have seen many ruined,” Lattie said.

Evans’ demise marks the second drug-related death at Texas State this year. Michael Minter, 24, was found dead by his roommate on Feb. 12. An autopsy report said the cause of death was a drug overdose.

97 YEARS

of those students,” he said.

“We’re here to do what we think is best for the student body as a whole.”

Guy said the most important part of this resolution was opening the issue to debate.

“Anything is on the table,” Guy said. “Everything is negotiable.”

The resolution points to overcrowded buses and parking as a negative outcome of the four day class schedule, stating: “The Bobcat Trams are overcrowded because the number of students who utilized the service last academic year in a time frame of five days are now forced to use the same amount of buses in four days with an increased student population.” “(Auxiliary services have) already done everything they can do with the way the four day schedule is set up,” Guy said.

“There are no more buses, and we’ve already raised the bus fee so we can’t buy any new buses so we have to change what we have right now.”

The resolution further states Chartwells catering services is losing up to $7,000 on Thursdays and Fridays.

“Chartwells losing money is a problem for ASG and a problem for the students of Texas State,” Guy said.

He said the resolution is not meant to effectively tackle every issue it presents, but will lead into more legislation for future meetings.

“All this will do is open up the floor for conversation,” Pugh said. “However, up until now there has been no student opinion on the issue in the president’s cabinet and in the JC Kellam Building. This says to them ‘here are our feelings on the issue, here’s some possible solutions (and) here’s the direction we would like to take.’”

SRC: Completion expected spring 2009 CONTINUED from page 1

and summer. A lot of people have been complaining about there not being enough room.

The addition will be good.”

Many elements from other areas of Campus Recreation will be implemented into the expansion.

“The students want to come and use the machines and courts and not have to wait,” said Glen Hanley, director of Campus Recreation. “It will cut down on waiting lines and bring in other aspects of recreation: climbing wall, golf (and) pools.”

The Texas State University System Board of Regents approved the expansion May 18.

It will include: eight basketball and volleyball courts; six racquetball courts; machines and

cardiovascular equipment; an eight-lane lap pool and a leisure pool; a rock wall; four multipurpose rooms; a cyber cafe; state of the art golf practice area with simulator and putting green; computer lab; and a track.

“The new facilities will make us competitors with other universities in that the state that have newly renovated or built campus recreation facilities,” said Joanne Smith, vice president for student affairs. “It will help with recruitment and retention of students and make opportunities for students to be healthy.”

Construction is currently underway. Part of the expansion of the recreation center is expected to open in the fall of 2008 and completion is expected for the spring of 2009.

OPINIONS THE UNIVERSITY STAR

onlineconnection The University Star is in the process of creating a new Web site. Check out www.UniversityStar.com in the following weeks for continued News, Sports, Trends and Opinions coverage.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - Page 6

Opinions Contact — Bill Rix, staropinion@txstate.edu

‘Kids say the darndest things’ about love

THE MAIN POINT

Deployment.

Every gung-ho soldier waters at the mouth in anticipation of hearing this word when they sign up. Soldiers are best defined as the brave souls who selflessly decide to sign contracts with the U.S. government and subject themselves to the mortal dangers of warfare.

It is of utmost importance to remember today’s armed forces is all-volunteer.

Every person in a military uniform decided to be a part of one of the world’s largest-standing armed forces. But what happens when they do their duty, serve their time and return home? That is, those fortunate enough to return home alive.

Redeployment is not a new revelation or practice. Six years into the War on Terror, military volunteers should realize the high probability of being recalled for service after their so-called contracts are fulfilled. This recall to active duty is logical, considering the nature of war, but it is unfair to ask someone to return to the fray after miniscule time off.

In the Oct. 3 issue of The University Star, an article outlined the plights of student-veterans. Justin McNutt, a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, was faced with a dilemma: what to do about being recalled for active service.

McNutt had already served two tours in Iraq, and knew the letter he was ordered to pick up contained information detailing a prospective third trip.

Thankfully, in his case, a high GPA and beaming letters of recommendation prevented a tertiary outing to the desert.

The Star cannot help but side with the returning soldiers. What kind of thanks are we extending by congratulating and thanking these gallant warriors and then almost immediately telling them to return to action? It is almost criminal to ask someone who continually risked his or her life to return to action in order to fulfill the plans of politicians, who return home to warm beds and showers daily.

What kind of message does that send to the troops? “Thanks for coming home and visiting with everyone, but you should go back to war.” The job description of military careers requires an extreme deviation from the U.S. ideal family life. Moving from place to place and planning trips and relationship milestones far in advance are just a few of the sacrifices soldiers must deal with. Asking them to return to active service disrupts any semblance of a normal life and arguably eradicates it.

How does one plan a family when the uncertainty of returning to war is such an issue? The Star believes soldiers should not be forced to return to service after fulfilling the terms of the contracts they sign. It is not only unfair to ask troops to return to war, but un-American.

Kayleen Calame Star Columnist

Increased redeployment disrupts lives

The Main Point is the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board. Columns are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the full staff, Texas State University-San Marcos Student Media, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication or Texas State University-San Marcos.

Justin Jackley/Star illustration

Letters to the Editor: 9/11 column failed to address real concerns

It seems the author of the article “Respect the fallen, stop crying conspiracy” (The University Star, Oct. 3) believes people like my fellow students and I should close our mouths, be good Germans and go on with our lives. The Project for the New American Citizen was founded by people who think the most patriotic thing a citizen can do is question the government and make sure it follows the Constitution. We have a lot of work ahead of us and one thing we must do is inform those who are ignorant of the facts. The author of the article stated the 9/11 Commission was independent, yet was created by the U.S. government.

In the article “Respect the Fallen, Stop Crying Conspiracy,” Colm Keane tells Texas State it is respectful to close our mouths when faced with controversial issues.

Project for a New American Citizen stands for the opposite. We the People have the duty, responsibility and freedom afforded by the Constitution to investigate any criminal act committed against us.

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He is in effect saying it is fine for a potential suspect in the attacks to initiate an investigation and hire the investigators. If an element of the government is indeed guilty of the crime, and were given this unique opportunity to cast the blame elsewhere, wouldn’t you want a good friend like Philip Zelikow steering the investigation? Philip Zelikow was a member of the Bush/Cheney 2000 campaign transition team, he co-authored a book with Condoleeza Rice and is author of the administration’s pre-emptive strike doctrine. His impartiality and independence is obviously in question.

Maybe this explains the odd

If, during the process of objective investigation, the evidence leads to elements inside our government being directly involved or complicit in the cover-up, it is the duty of American citizens to hold public servants accountable.

In his article Keane says, “This argument would have merit if the U.S. government did not organize the 9/11 Commission, an independent entity to review all

statements like, “The source of the funding for the attacks of September 11th is of little or no consequence.” I would like to know who paid for 9/11. I’d like to know why Gen. Mahmoud Ahmed of the Pakistani ISI (their CIA) wired $100,000 to lead hijacker Mohammad Atta. I’d like to know why Zelikow’s “independent” investigation failed to even mention the third building that fell on itself that day, World Trade Center 7, and that it was not even hit by an airplane. I’d like to see all of the tapes of the airliner hitting the Pentagon, right now we have one slow motion tape that does not show a Boeing 757 anywhere in the frame. Most of all I’d like

circumstances.”

Disregarding the blatant contradiction of a government setting up an independent investigation, the article fails to mention the 9/11 Commission was formed 441 days after Sept.

11, while the Patriot Act I, a 600-page document, was rammed through Congress within weeks.

If it were not for the efforts of Mindy Kleinberg and the Jersey Girls, there

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to know why President Bush and Vice President Cheney refused to testify unless it was on their own terms. Terms which included that they would appear together, they would not be placed under oath, the testimony would be behind closed doors, and there would be no written records kept. In the words of the people who support the PATRIOT Act, “If they have nothing to hide, then why are they hiding everything?” Why did Gen. Richard Myers who was in charge of NORAD and preventing 9/11 get promoted afterwards to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? Shouldn’t he have been fired or demoted? Or did he get promoted for a job well done, and

would not have even been an investigation.

The state-sponsored inquiry into itself was headed by Philip Zelikow, who wrote the Pre-Emptive Strike Doctrine used to bomb Iraq, worked on the Bush Transition Team and co-wrote a book with Condoleezza Rice, an obvious conflict of interest.

The subsequent 9/11 Commission Report completely failed to mention

to secure his silence? These are serious questions that need to be answered if we are to remain a free society. Maybe the author is right, maybe I am a crazy tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy theorist, but what if there is something sinister going on and we are being played by powerful people to further their secret agendas. I suggest people consider the latter with an open mind and then talk to us before you give us a label and dismiss our legitimate concerns.

Stephen Sheftall pre-international studies junior, Project for the New American Citizen member

World Trade Center 7, a 47story steel framed building that was not hit by a plane but fell at 5:20 P.M. at freefall speed on Sept. 11, 2001.

Keane writes, “It pains me that six years after this atrocity, we still have Americans believing these erroneous, outlandish, and ignorant conspiracy theories.”

It does pain me, too, that people still believe the official conspiracy theory, a

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totally discredited fabrication. Does anyone think Osama bin Laden also destroyed WTC 7?

Rather than dismissing evidence in favor of ad-hominem attacks, students should use their academic resources to investigate 9/11 for themselves.

Will Compton English senior, Project for a New American Citizen president

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How do you make someone fall in love with you? How do you make it last? Just ask your little sister…

While browsing the Internet, I found a Web site — Laboratoire d’Informatique de l’Ecole Polytechnique — filled with all the answers to those questions about love, and it’s all by kids.

It’s funny how kids and adults see things through such different perspectives. Kids concentrate on a few little things and can’t yet foresee the big picture, while adults see (or think they see) the big picture and forget most of the little things. Look online to see what the kids have to say about our in-love, lost-love, and longingfor-love ordeals.

First of all, how does love happen? Now, even the kids are a little stumped with this question, but one did pipe up to say this: “… I heard it has something to do with how you smell …” And he then went on to point out this is why body-odor products are so popular.

If you are questioning the importance of beauty and handsomeness in love, listen up. Even the wholesome little kid who answered this question acknowledges beauty is not so important, but however, does go on to say: “But how rich you are can last a long time.” Yeah, it was a girl…

And now, it’s the part you’ve all been waiting for: What are some “surefire” ways to get the cute guy across the room to fall in love with you?

1. “Tell them you own a whole bunch of candy stores.”

2. Oh, and by the way, “Don’t do things like have smelly, green sneakers. You might get attention, but attention ain’t the same thing as love.”

3. “One way is to take the girl out to eat. Make sure it’s something she likes to eat. French fries usually work for me.” So there you have it, guys.

If you’re having doubts about your love, consider the following advice: How can you tell if two people eating at a restaurant are in love? “Just see if the man picks up the check. That’s how you can tell if he’s in love.” God knows I love this one.

“Lovers will just be staring at each other and their food will get cold … others care more about the food.” I think this is adorable.

And I know a lot of us like to think we invented kissing ourselves, but sit tight for what is, clearly, a more logical explanation: “I know one reason that kissing was created. It makes you feel warm all over and they didn’t always have electric heat or even stoves in their houses.” What a little — just imagine the lines he’ll use — oh, the lines that will come out of that boy’s mouth.

And here’s a little tip on how to learn to kiss: “It might help to watch soap operas all day.”

Even once you nab that special someone, listen up, because the kids still have more advice for you: “Spend most of your time loving instead of going to work.”

Now, that’s something to think about. Really consider this one.

And don’t forget your girlfriend’s name. As the kids would say it: “That will mess up the love.”

Yeah, precisely. “Don’t say you love somebody and then change your mind. Love isn’t like picking what movie you want to watch.”

I bet I’m not the only one who’d like to send that little kid over to give an ex-boyfriend a good talking to.

Guys, you might want to splurge for a burger rather than settling for fries when you take her out to dinner, but try to think little. Remember those little things. The “big picture” is out of your hands, so stick to the little things. They grow big smiles.

The University Star is the student newspaper of Texas State University-San Marcos published Tuesday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters. It is distributed on campus and throughout San Marcos at 8 a.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with a distribution of 8,000. Printing and distribution is by the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.

Copyright October 9, 2007. All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The University Star are the exclusive property of The University Star and may not be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the editor in chief.

TRENDS THE UNIVERSITY STAR

newreleases movies

music

Surf’s Up (PG) — Diedrich Bader, Jeff Bridges 28 Weeks Later (R) — Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne Evan Almighty (PG) — Steve Carell, John Goodman

Rock and Roll Jesus — Kid Rock Family — LeAnn Rimes Cease to Begin — Band of Horses

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - Page 7

Trends Contact — Clara Cobb, starentertainment@txstate.edu

Getting clicky with it Worldwide Web invaded by widgets of MC T ou rte sy

Widgets are becoming hot items on social networking Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

“Would you like to add the super poke application?” “You have been invited to use the Truth or Dare application?” “Your friend has invited you to use the Honesty Application. Would you like to accept the invitation?”

For those uninitiated, widgets are dynamic applications Web site users interact with. One example of a widget is the Graffiti wall on Facebook, which lets users create colorful picture messages to send to their friends. Widgets allow users to customize Web pages with slideshows, countdowns and digital pets. As widgets become more sophisticated, they are being used for more than just fun and amusement.

Joshua Clements, communication design junior, takes advantage of the slideshow feature to show off his personal talents.

“I use a slideshow as a way to showcase my art.

I haven’t been able to make a Web site for it yet, so MySpace is the next best thing,” he said.

Clements, whose art ranges from graffiti to still life, said he likes the accessibility MySpace and his slideshow widget displays his art.

“Anyone can find it,” he said.

The site Clements used to create his slideshow, www.rockyou.com, has helped over 29 million users “pimp their profiles.” By allowing users to add voicemail applications, slideshows and the everpopular Super Wall to their social networking sites, RockYou has become one of the most popular destinations for users looking to spice up their pages.

LaTisha McIntyre, English junior, uses a music widget called iLike on her Facebook page.

“It makes my profile more personal by allowing me to display my musical taste,” McIntyre said.

The application allows users to post music videos and songs on their profiles and dedicate songs to their friends. McIntyre believes the biggest advantage of using the widget is that it allows people to experience, and not just read about, what she referred to as the biggest aspect of her life.

“Simply making a list of artists doesn’t give justice to each unique style and sound,” she said.

Widgets are popping up all over the Internet, but many computer manufacturers have started to include suites of widgets in desktop packages.

The newly released Windows Vista features a sidebar full of gadgets — the company’s answer to widgets. Likewise, Macintosh has developed the Dashboard, which allows users to choose numerous widgets. These include an ESPN creation, which allows users to stay up-to-date on sports and a whoopee cushion widget, which provides jokes.

Lindsay Braun, communication design junior, is something of a widget connoisseur.

“I have a Mac laptop with Dashboard on it,” Braun said. “It is complete with flashing Christmas lights, a whoopee cushion, Tetris and the all-important dictionary widget.”

Braun’s self-proclaimed obsessions with widgets makes communication design a perfect fit for her, she said.

“I am always looking for cool add-ons and pictures and backgrounds,” she said. “I am a communication design major, so when things don’t look graphic or visually pleasing, it drives me nuts.”

—C

By Brett Thorne Features Reporter

Recent MySpace steroid bust previews nationwide investigations, officials say

By Tyler Larson The Daily Vidette (Illinois State U.)

NORMAL, Ill. — As part of a special operation to find steroid dealers, more than 120 arrests were made Sept. 24, the largest steroid crackdown in American history. Of the 120 arrests, four men were charged with selling steroids on the social networking Web site MySpace.

As large as MySpace has become for teenagers around the country, the thought a few clicks of the mouse could provide

destructive performance enhancing drugs is unnerving to many.

“The dangers associated with the improper use of steroids and human growth hormone are well documented,” said Kevin J. O’Connor, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut. “However, this investigation has helped to shed light on additional troubling concerns, including the manufacture of these drugs in unsanitary kitchen and basement labs and their subsequent sale on websites, many of which are frequented by minors.”

In the indictment, four men were accused of buying raw steroid powder from China, manufacturing the steroids in their home laboratories and then selling the products on their own profile on MySpace.

“Of particular concern to us is obviously the use of profiles on MySpace.com, which gives us concern that this might in fact be a way to market to minors or children,” O’Connor said. “Some of the methods that we’ve uncovered in this investigation lead us to conclude that it may not just be adults that are being marketed to.”

AUTOGRAPH SIGNING

The four men indicted, Edwin F. Porter, 41, of Chandler, Ariz.; Matthew J. Peltz, 36, of Chandler, Ariz.; Tyler J. Lunn, 27, of Phoenix, Ariz.; and Walter T. Corey, 37, of Cherleroi, Penn., are each being charged with one count of conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids and two counts of distribution of anabolic steroids.

The charges these men face are a maximum of 15 years imprisonment and a fine up to $750,000.

“Recently, the federal penalties for the manufacture, distribution and possession of anabolic steroids

and HGH have increased, and we and our federal law enforcement partners will vigorously investigate and prosecute the unlawful trafficking and use of these substances in order to deter their use,” O’Connor said.

Operation Phony Pharm is an FBI initiative created in April 2006 in accordance with many other government organizations, including the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Kimberly K.

Immigration hot topic at forum

Hispanic Heritage Month presents opportunity to discuss foreign policy

By Hayley Kappes Assistant Trends Editor Build a wall. Keep them out.

This is the mentality of some Americans who think illegal Mexican immigrants have no place in society north of the border.

Mark Hernandez, president of the Latino fraternity Phi Iota Alpha, will participate in the Immigration Forum Tuesday at the LBJ Teaching Theater.

He said the purpose of this forum is to clear up any misconceptions people may have about the immigration debate.

“We want to help fill in the gaps for everyone about the legislation going on right now regarding what to do about immigration, so when people go to the polls in 2008, they are educated on the issue,” Hernandez said.

The forum is being presented by the Latino Student Association, the College Democrats and Phi Iota Alpha. It will focus on conservative and liberal positions regarding how to address illegal immigration and options for immigrants other than deportation.

Hernandez said building a wall is not an efficient way to defer people from crossing the border under the radar.

“We have huge oceans on both sides of the United States. Immigrants can come through there.

Not all illegal immigrants come from the south border,” he said. “A wall isn’t going to stop anyone.

In my opinion it’s a waste of our money.”

To Hernandez, the situation is ironic because many people complain about illegal immigrants, yet Americans are willing to capitalize on cheap labor immigrants are eager to perform.

“There are people in the U.S. who feel that their lives and their way of living are at risk due to immigration, but people are willing to hire illegal immigrants for $3 an hour rather than a U.S. citizen for $8 an hour,” he said.

He said in order to decrease illegal immigration, one has to look at the root of the problem.

“I’m for creating work permits that are easily obtained and for building Mexico’s economy. If their economy was better, people wouldn’t have a reason to come here looking for work,” Hernandez said.

Another event featured for Hispanic Heritage month is the screening of The Lost City, a film

about the Cuban Revolution, at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the LBJ Teaching Theater. Phi Iota Alpha will also be handing out fliers for El Día de la Raza, a celebration on Friday commemorating pride in one’s respective Latin country.

Recent University of Texas Spanish graduate Ryan Simonson said the idea of a wall separating Mexico and the U.S. would harm foreign relations.

“It would not look good to other countries to see the U.S. putting up physical barriers around the border. It sends the message that no foreigner is welcome,” Simonson said.

He said he does not support illegal immigration, but there should be easier ways for Mexican nationals to get work visas or even citizenship.

“Many people came to this country looking for a better way of life. That idea should not be exclusive to anyone,” he said.

For Abby Moreno, vice president of Latino Student Association, Hispanic Heritage Month is about a celebration of culture and diversity.

“I think it is important to celebrate Hispanic heritage as it would be to celebrate any other culture,” she said. “By celebrating, people become more aware and knowledgeable of the culture. Not all Latin cultures are the same.”

Last week, Moreno participated in a discussion panel at Texas State addressing questions from an audience about common stereotypes associated with Latinos.

“Sadly a lot of people have stereotypes of the Latino community. Some people asked if all Latino women know how to cook or if men know how to fix cars,” she said.

Moreno grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, where she used to cross the border into Mexico to grab a taco occasionally because it was so close to her home. She said attending Texas State has opened her eyes to the many different cultures that exist.

Moreno said she will be attending the Immigration Forum because she wants to become more informed on the issue.

“I want to see where both sides stand on the immigration debate. It’s good to get people involved and have debates and discussion on issues like this,” she said. “Students like us are trying to do something instead of just sitting back and watching the government make decisions for us.”

— Star file photo Charles Simic, U.S. Poet Laurente and Pulitzer Prize winner, signs an autograph after reading his work Thursday in the Alkek Library.

Fine Arts Calendar Joe Ely and Reckless Kelly, 8 p.m., Tuesday, Glade Outdoor Theater Faculty Artists Cheryl Parrish and David Pino, 8 p.m., Thursday, Recital Hall

Will Hearn Junior Voice Recital, 6 p.m., Friday, Recital Hall Lonesome Dove and the photographs of Bill Wittliff Artist’s reception, book signing and grand opening, 7 p.m., Saturday, Alkek Library seventh floor

Smart Music Finale Workshop, 9 a.m., Saturday, Recital Hall Texas State Symphony Orchestra, 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Evans Auditorium Neely’s ‘Sophomoric” Voice Studio Recital, 4 p.m., Sunday, Recital Hall

Mertz, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Operation Phony Pharm is an ongoing investigation, additional targets have been identified and we expect more arrests,” Mertz said.

As for the individuals who bought steroids from the four men indicted, authorities are expected to continue their investigation to locate them.

“If they’re minors, we want to give them a wake-up call, let their parents know what they’re kids are doing,” O’Connor said.

Meaty

TRENDS

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

The University Star - Page 8

Texas talent: Award-winning music acts will perform on campus

By Jaime Kilpatrick Senior Features Reporter Two Texas artists, Austin’s Reckless Kelly and Joe Ely will share the stage during the fourth annual Stars of Texas Music Legacy Series 8 p.m. at Texas State’s Glade Theater.

This event is hosted by the Student Association for Campus Activities, College of Fine Arts and Communication and the Center for Texas Music History.

“The Legacy Series is a concert series that Dr. Richard Cheatham (Dean of Fine Arts and Communication) and I came up with a few years ago to bring together younger artists with veteran artists,” said Gary Hartman, director of the Center for Texas Music History, in an e-mail.

Artists such as Joe Ely and Reckless Kelly are chosen to perform in the series to show audiences how the traditions of Texas music evolve over time.

“We’re trying to show audiences the generational connections in Texas music,” Hartman said.

Texas State has hosted artists such as Randy Rogers Band, Billy Joe Shaver, Vallejo and Lavelle White in the Legacy Series, he said.

Joe Ely was born in Amarillo and raised in Lubbock. He has been recording and performing since the ’70s, first with The Flatlanders and then with the Joe Ely Band.

According to Reckless Kelly’s Web site, the band members consider

Joe Ely one of their heroes in music and a great influence on their careers.

Reckless Kelly was named Best Roots-Rock Band by readers of the Austin Chronicle six times.

The Center for Texas Music History is the only university-based program in the state that offers a full range of classes and other educational projects devoted to the preservation and study of Texas music history, Hartman said.

The Center offers courses in Texas Music History for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Hartman said he expects nearly 1,000 people to attend the concert.

The concert is free and open to the public.

“It’s important for students to be both entertained and educated by these types of events, so we want to make them available and affordable for everyone,” he said.

Concessions will be available at the concert, with proceeds benefiting the theatre honor society Alpha Psi Omega.

The Glade Theater is located on the west side of campus, in front of the University Performing Arts Center off Moore Street.

Directions are available at www.maps.txstate.edu/glt.html. Sessom Drive from N. LBJ to Loquat Street is closed for construction during the concert, with alternate routes available.

Parking is limited so guests are encouraged to arrive early or walk from campus.

The concert will be relocated to Evans Auditorium in case of rain.

Evans Caglage/Dallas Morning News TEXAS TUNES: Joe Ely will play Tuesday at Glade Theater.

Austin- based Reckless Kelly will back the legenday singer.

Study shows live-in boyfriends more likey to ‘Swiffer’ than husbands

By Katharine Lackey Daily Collegian (Penn State) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Living with a boyfriend has at least one advantage over being married: live-in boyfriends do more housework than husbands.

This is according to a study that used data from 28 countries and 17,636 people as part of an international social survey program, said Theodore Greenstein, co-author of the research and professor at North Carolina State University.

The study found unmarried cohabiting men performed 32.8 percent of the housework while

those that are married performed 27.7 percent, Greenstein said.

This is because cohabitation before marriage is an “incomplete social institution” where society doesn’t have a set of norms for how a couple is supposed to interact, he said.

“As a result, (unmarried) male cohabitors are going to be expected to do more housework,” he said.

Aaron Patterson, Pennsylvania State University senior, said the housework is divided equally between him and his fiance at their apartment.

“There are things I typically do and there are certain things that

she normally does,” he said. “If the floor needs done, I’ll Swiffer the floor, vacuum, but she’s always the one who feeds the cats and gives them water and cleans the litter box.”

Marriage, on the other hand, holds the traditional belief women are supposed to do housework while men are the breadwinners, Greenstein said.

But Patterson said he doesn’t believe much will change after he gets married in June.

“I think that once we get married things will be a little bit different, but we’re setting the stage right now, so I don’t think it will change too much,” he said.

Jackie Tiedeman, human development and family studies senior, said the study’s results could be because pre-marriage relationships are often seen as trial periods.

“If you’re a live-in boyfriend, you’re still trying to prove yourself whereas, if you’re a husband, you’re already in,” she said.

A lot of personal beliefs about marital relationships have to do with the way a person was raised, said Lee Ann De Reus, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State Altoona.

“Many of us come from pretty traditional arrangements and saw

Mom doing the bulk of the housework whether she was employed outside the home or not,” she said. “We have a tendency to fall into those same roles.”

De Reus said women get a reputation for being “naggers” when asking men to help with housework.

“Many men in relationships have a good thing going,” she said. “What’s his incentive to pick up a mop if she’s already doing all the mopping?”

Catherine Cohan, research scientist at Penn State’s Population Research Institute, said she doesn’t think men and women will ever do the same amount of housework.

“It’s never going to be 50-50,” she said.

While both women’s and men’s attitudes about domestic living issues have changed, their roles are changing at a slower pace than expected, Greenstein said.

Women’s views on matters, such as division of housework, are shifting more rapidly than men’s, he added.

Cohan said the amount of housework any boyfriend or husband does has steadily increased.

“Over the years men have been doing more housework on average when you compare with what men used to do previously,” she said.

Bonsai branches out: Trees provide relaxing, enjoyable hobby

By Ashley Gwilliam Senior Features Reporter

educational purposes.”

The outdoor exhibit would offer guided tours, explaining the art and origins of bonsai. There are When 60-year-old Michael Hansen and his wife plans to construct a teaching building, where chilwere waiting for the birth of his second daughter dren and adults can learn how to make and mainin 1971, he was scared stiff. To calm his nerves, tain their own bonsais. he picked up his wife’s Reader’s Digest magazine, Hansen said anyone could learn how to maintain which happened to have an article on the ancient a bonsai.

“My green thumb interests are very short when Chinese art of bonsai.

As a gardener by hobby, he was intrigued by it comes to growing tomatoes and vegetables, but I the contained, miniature trees and immediately can grow bonsai trees,” he said.

Though it may be easy to learn, maintaining wanted to know more. To his dismay, his local a bonsai takes serious dedication. bookstore didn’t carry any works on bonsai.

Hansen said because a bonsai pot only In desperation, he photocopied the public holds enough water for a day’s consumplibrary’s only English book on the subject, tion, the little trees need to be provided page by page. In 1985, Hansen retired from for daily. his job as an engineer and opened MBP According to www.bonsaisite.com, Bonsai Studio in Austin. bonsai can be created from seeds or Hansen is hoping to further share — Courtesy of MCT cuttings of almost any tree or shrub his passion for bonsai. He is the chairspecies that has small leaves. man of the Texas State Bonsai Exhibit, McCoy said Central Texas has many bonsaiwhich has secured a piece of land that will be developed into a permanent exhibition, museum and comptabile native trees, such as cedar elms, live oaks and junipers. education center.

Most are kept at less than three feet tall by prunThe 12-acre site is located on the southern edge ing, periodic repotting and wiring of the branches of Travis County in Mustang Ridge.

Hansen said construction, which is dependent and trunk.

“I can sit for hours working on a little tree,” Mcupon donations, is expected to begin within two years. The project is projected to be complete in Coy said. “I will get lost in the branches. The combination of art with nature in this growing, living five years.

Joseph McCoy, exhibit treasurer, said it has been thing you are working with is fascinating to me.”

McCoy said bonsai is different than other forms a long road to get to this point. He is excited seeing of gardening because one is trying to evoke a feeleverything finally coming together.

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “The wonderful thing ing of something larger or greater than oneself.

“It’s kind of like when you look at a landscape about a piece of land is you can envision what it’s painting and get lost in it,” he said. going to look like.”

Within recent years, people from prisoners to Hansen said the organization was formed when a small group of Bonsai-loving friends got together engineers have reportedly practiced bonsai as a way to relieve stress. for dinner on New Year’s Day of 2000.

Hansen said one of his friends gave bonsai to “The driving force behind it all is, as we have gotten a little bit older, we have seen some of prisoners in the Minnesota State Penitentiary.

“Prison officials have reported the prisoners’ beour friends pass away or become disabled and not be able to take care of their trees,” he said. havior improves remarkably,” he said. “The prison “We thought it was a shame there wasn’t a place psychologist said, in many cases, this is the first where those trees could be brought to, kept and time in their lives these individuals have had the displayed. Elaine White, our first chairman, sug- responsibility to take care of something else begested we put together an exhibit for enjoyment sides themselves.”

TRENDS/DIVERSIONS

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Naturally-occurring plant is ✯ answer to U.S. power crisis

By Ian Haines The News Record (U. Cincinnati) CINCINNATI — With an election just around the corner in 2008, we as young Americans are most concerned with our futures as well as the next generation. Hot topics on Capitol Hill are global warming, dependence on foreign fuels and the search for a renewable fuel source. All of which could be solved with the utilization of hemp.

In July 2005, Cornell University published a study saying it is not economical to produce ethanol or biodiesel from corn and other crops.

The study confirmed what other studies have shown in the past. The vegetable sources that are currently (legally) available are insufficient.

Hemp is the only proven source for economical biomass fuels.

Biomass is the term used to describe all biologically produced matter, according to Lynn Osburn, the author of Energy Farming in America.

She writes methanol-powered automobiles and reduced emissions from coal-fired power plants can be accomplished by biomass conversion to fuel utilizing pyrolysis technology, and at the same time save the American family farm while turning the American heartland into a prosperous source of clean energy production.

Pyrolysis refers to the rapid thermal decomposition of biomass and organic compounds in the absence of oxygen to produce liquids, gases and char (called flash pyrolysis).

The hemp crop itself would not only provide cleaner air and, once converted into fuel, burn cleaner, but it would provide more economic stability for our countries farmers. Osburn writes, “Farmers must be allowed to grow an energy crop capable of producing 10 tons per acre in 90 to 120 days. It must be able to grow in all climactic zones in America.”

Hemp is drought resistant, making it an ideal crop in the dry western regions of the country.

Hemp is the only biomass resource capable of making America energy independent. And our government outlawed it in 1938.

“The argument against hemp production does not hold up to scrutiny: hemp grown for biomass makes very poor grade marijuana,” according to HEMP Q&A at The Ohio State University.

“The 20 to 40 million Americans who smoke marijuana would loath to smoke hemp grown for biomass, so a farmer’s hemp biomass crop is worthless as marijuana.”

“When farmers can make a profit growing energy, it will not take long to get six percent of continental American land mass into cultivation of biomass fuel — enough to replace our economy’s dependence on fossil fuels,” Osburn said. “The threat of global greenhouse warming and adverse climactic change will diminish. To keep costs down, pyrolysis reactors need to be located close to the energy farms. This necessity will bring life back to our small towns by providing jobs locally.”

Hemp is the number one biomass producer on Earth. This energy crop can be harvested with equipment readily available. It can be “cubed” by modifying hay-harnessing equipment. This method condenses the bulk, reducing trucking costs from the field to the reactor. And the biomass cubes are ready for conversion with no further treatment, according to Osburn.

Hemp provides jobs, renewing the economic prosperity of farmers. Hemp is also a clean and efficient renewable fuel source, while still keeping the main concern at bay. As always, the power of this nation is in the hands of its people and it is time for this nation to flourish under the legalization of industrial hemp, as it did in the past.

10/4

Complete the grid so that every row, column, and 3-by-3 box contains every digit from one through nine inclusively.

10/4 Solutions:

The University Star - Page 9

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - Page 10 E-mail Classifieds at starclassifieds@txstate.edu

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SPORTS

The University Star - Page 11

Women’s soccer club: Undefeated Cowboys turn back clock

By Albert Breer The Dallas Morning News Forget Tony Romo dancing around the pocket like he’s in a cone drill. Forget Patrick Crayton turning a 5-yard hitch route into a 59-yard touchdown. Forget Terrell Owens’ brilliance and Jason Witten’s dependability.

When the clock’s running down, and it’s winning time, the true identity of this high-wire act of a Dallas Cowboys offense comes clear.

It’s the same face the Team of the ’90s wore. It’s marked by a big, grinding offensive line that’s worn opponents down and out through the Cowboys’ 4-0 start.

Those ’90s teams had the same type of explosiveness these Cowboys do. But the case then and now is this team’s brass has spent big, built big and gotten results.

“You can see the commitment there,” said Tony Sparano, offensive line coach and assistant head coach, pointing to the money the team has spent on the CJ Kelly/Star photo front five.

PEAK PERFORMANCE: The women’s soccer club team practices drills Sept. 26 at Jowers Center. Coach David Archer, former men’s “Anytime you spend the monsoccer club team member, has helped lead the women’s team to an undefeated season so far. ey Mr. (Jerry) Jones has spent in the last year ... there’s definitely a commitment to make the posiBy Javier González twice. The club may participate Varsity-level, NCAA-sanctioned players; but, at times, life can get tion better.”

Sports Reporter in both regional and national team, the club has the mentality in the way and that could potenThat commitment is beartournaments, so long as they of one. tially distract careers and such. I ing fruit not only in protecting The Texas State women’s club meet the requirements. For the “We don’t take (this) lightly,” generally just want the club to be Romo, but in making it tough for soccer team coach set a goal for club to qualify for nationals, they Fulton said. “We join it to play at bigger than what it is.” opposing defenses to stop the this season: go undefeated. must finish in the top two at the the highest level outside of high Generally speaking, one of run for 60 minutes as well.

“We’ve done exactly that,” regional tournament. Rankings school. We play because we love Archer’s main concerns is pubIn the four first halves the Coach David Archer said. “It’s determine whether they qualify it.” licity to the student body about Cowboys have played, their runexactly what we expected. I don’t for regionals.

Alongside Fulton at the cap- the club. ning game has been ordinary, think it’s a surprise at all.” “(Ranking) is based on points: tain position is marketing junior “I want people in the Texas compiling 181 yards on 53 carAs a player, Archer was a mem- 3 for a win, 1 for a tie, and 0 for Erin Burch, center defender.

State and San Marcos communi- ries (a 3.4-yard average). The ber of the Texas State men’s soc- a loss,” Archer said. “There are “Fulton, one of our strikers, ty to know that we exist, and we fact remains, though, the team cer club team and is still playing also goal differentials that factor has lots of experience and is a are a successful club,” he said. is sticking to the ground — averactively in Austin. As for coach- in, and we are also graded for player of high caliber; while Erin “The awareness is technically aging more than 13 carries per ing, he said his experience thus things like administrative paper- is one of our central defenders poor within the student body and first half. far has been a good one. work. You have to do well in your and generally has solid play and that, as a club, they are a group The effect is cumulative. In the “It can be a bit intimidating conference and division to quali- is very smart in her game,” Ar- of ladies that can compete at a second half of games, the poundto build from the administration fy for regionals, and from there cher said. high level. We want to continue ing is taking its toll. The Cowboys standpoint, and there will always you must qualify for nationals.”

Archer attributed the club’s to be good role models.” have rushed for 429 second-half be pressure in any leadership poCo-Captain Angela Fulton, ex- success to their style of play.

Though it may not be a real- yards on 71 carries (a 6.0-yard avsition,” Archer said. “What I like ercise and sports science senior, “Our game style consists of istic possibility, Archer said he erage), gaudy numbers that show most of all is that the girls have said the club is very structured five in the midfield where we like would eventually like to see the the drive dying in defenders. been able to trust me, and I can and organized, particularly with to dominate the possession,” Ar- club face off with the varsity From left to right, tackle trust them. I’m happy with it.”

Archer guiding the way. cher said. “We don’t try to force squad.

Flozell Adams, guard Kyle KosiAccording to Archer, the Na“We have a president, vice any ball into any situation we “I would definitely want to er, center Andre Gurode, guard tional Intercollegiate Club Soccer president, treasurer and officers don’t want.” scrimmage with them,” Archer Leonard Davis and tackle Marc Association governs the club. In on the team who thanklessly Included in his goals as coach, said. “I don’t know if it will ever Colombo average 324 pounds, addition to the association, the work with everyone,” Fulton said. Archer wants to help the team actually happen as far as being and all are at least 6-4. team is a member of the Texas “(Archer’s) done a really good job. grow and be successful. sanctioned by NCAA rules, but “They don’t have that fight Collegiate Soccer League.

He brings structure and pride to “I want to help enable their the idea of a matchup between they had before,” Davis said of In the club’s conference are the program. His motto is: Every- passion for the game and to seek the women’s varsity team and such situations. “Getting off the 10 teams, with five teams in each thing with a purpose.” out their potential,” he said. “I the club soccer team could ben- ball, getting off blocks, they kind division. Teams play each other And while it may not be a would like to see them grow as efit everyone involved.” of get to the point where they

say, ‘I’m not going to make the extra effort to make a play, I’m going to let someone else do it.’

You can tell; you can tell by their demeanor.”

But it’s more than just their size, the coaches say. It’s the athleticism each brings to the table. Both Kosier and Davis came into the league as tackles, with the feet to play on the edge, and Gurode has experience at guard.

Add that to the commitment each put into conditioning in the offseason, and it’s all that much tougher to play them down the stretch.

“These guys, for big guys, play pretty fast,” Sparano said. “And by the end of this thing, when they’re playing 65, 70 plays out there, I think it takes its toll.

The thing I think our guys do a good job of is at the end of games, they’re getting pretty big eyes and they’re playing a little harder.”

When you consider the payroll that should be expected. The five players combined to make $45 million in signing bonus money in their most recent deals.

So clearly, just as the players have committed themselves to the program, the program has committed to them.

“They’re in shape; they’re tall, lean and more athletic than we are,” said former Cowboys lineman Nate Newton, comparing his group of the ’90s to this current one. “And when you get a line that’s our size, it takes a toll. The Bears are a more athletic team, but we kept the ball for 20 minutes in the first half. ... Then, you see guys go down.

First, Lance Briggs. Then, Tommie Harris and Nathan Vasher.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is so reassured in that approach, he apologized to Bill Parcells this week for not sinking these resources into the line during the former coach’s time in Dallas. Of that period, Jones says, “We just never could get it done.”

Now, when games are on the line, it’s starting to look as though they have.

“We’re not a finesse offense,” Gurode said. “Whenever the coach says, ‘All right, we need to run the ball, get a couple first downs and take some time off this clock,’ then we have to step up as an offensive line. So far, we’re doing a pretty good job.”

SPORTS

royaltreatment

THE UNIVERSITY STAR

Former Texas State baseball player David Wood was named Arizona League Player of the Year for his performance with the Kansas City Royals minor league affiliate. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Royals, Wood led his Arizona League team with a .324 average and 39 RBI. He was treated to batting practice and given a tour of the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium and the team’s clubhouse during Kansas City’s final home series of the season.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - Page 12

Sports Contact — Scott Strickman, starsports@txstate.edu

Bobcats Cowboys wrangle ’Cats in Southland Conference opener tame Lions, beat Colonels

By Scott Strickman Sports Editor

By Carl Harper Senior Sports Reporter The Bobcat soccer team kicked off Southland conference play on a positive note.

The team tied Southeastern Louisiana, 0-0, and recorded their second shutout win of the season at Nicholls State, 4-0.

Sophomore forward Lindsay Tippit and freshman forward Britney Curry each had two goals against the Colonels on Sunday and helped Texas State outshoot Nicholls State 26-4. The Bobcats did not allow a Colonel shot in the first half.

Curry got the Bobcats rolling at the 18th minute mark with an unassisted goal. Tippit came away with her first two goals of the season, one assisted by sophomore midfielder Andrea Seledee and the other on her own.

Curry added her team-leading third goal in the second half to cap the victory for her team and send the Colonels to a 1-11-1 overall standing and 0-2 in conference.

“We kept the shutout, and it’s great to know that we are one of two teams in conference to have at least two shutouts, (Stephen F. Austin being the other),” said sophomore defender Marty Wright.

“We got a lot of subs in the game and several players got playing time. Once we went up 3-0 we were just having fun on the field. It was good to have fun in a game instead of being stressed out.”

The Texas State goalkeepers split time between the pipes with freshman Amanda Byrd taking the first half and sophomore Mandi Mawyer handling the second. Byrd has not allowed a goal in her last 245 minutes of play, dating back to the Sept. 23 game against Houston, which Texas State won 4-0.

Molly Mersereau took the goalkeeper duties for Nicholls State and picked up 13 saves in 90 minutes. Mawyer recorded the only two saves for the Bobcats.

Junior forward Rikki Padia led the Bobcats with five shots, two of them on goal. Seledee recorded four shots and three on target.

It was a battle until the end Friday night that ended in a scoreless tie. The Bobcats endured a double overtime match against the Lions.

Byrd collected two saves in 110 minutes. She deflected a Lions’ shot in the first half and slapped away another in the second overtime. Southeastern Louisiana’s goalkeeper Holly Moran played the entire match and collected three saves. The Lions outshot the Bobcats 8-7 and controlled the corner kicks, 8-6. Senior forward Jerelyn Lemmie, freshman midfielder Audra Randell and Tippit each took two shots during the battle.

“Southeastern was really caught off guard that we came out and hung with them the entire game. I think they thought it was going to be a walk in the park,” Wright said. “The level we played at is what we needed, and I think it will help us in conference.”

The Lions now stand at 5-2-3 overall and 0-0-1 in conference.

The Bobcats (2-8-2, 1-0-1) will head home for three games, including crucial matches against Sam Houston State and SFA during the weekend.

State) the ball, and they go 60 or 70 yards with it.

You throw us the ball and we go down,” Wright said.

“We’re playing with some guys that maybe aren’t Charles Dickens couldn’t have scripted it any bet- quite ready to play. We’ve tried to look into that ter: It was “the best of times, it was the worst of recruiting-wise already.” times ...”

Wright said prior to the game some tinThe Bobcats were able to hang with No. 6 Mc- kering would be done, including personnel Neese State for one half, but the Cowboys dominat- changes, to the new defensive scheme ed the second half to win the Southland Conference Texas State has adopted this season. opener for both teams, 41-20.

Afterward, he said it’s tough to rate the “I really felt like going in at progress of the dehalftime with just a couple of fense against one on adjustments that we could get top offensive units in hey were good, the things going in the right directhe nation. but I think I tion,” said Coach Brad Wright.

“It’s kind of hard to tell,” After averaging 31 points a Wright said. “The experimade them look a game through the first three ment is an ongoing thing, little bit better than games, the Texas State offense and when you try a bunch of has amassed only 16 points in young guys against the No. they were.” their last two games combined.

6 team in the nation, maybe —Bradley George “We kind of imploded on of(this result) is what you get.

Texas State quarterback fense (in the second half),” “It seemed like the effort Wright said. “We talked about was better. Before (this making plays when given the game), we were having to chance, and it just didn’t seem like we did. Offen- coach effort. The young guys brought some sively, we were throwing the ball all over the place, new things in there and some enthusiasm except at the receivers.” and played hard. Now, they did some things The Cowboys took the early lead on a one-yard wrong, but they played hard.” touchdown run by Kris Bush. The Bobcats reJunior backup quarterback Clint Toon sponded with a heavy dosage of freshman running came on in the fourth quarter. Over the back Karrington Bush. He carried five times on the course of three drives he managed to opening drive for 41 yards, but the ’Cats could only complete six of 13 passes for 63 yards muster three points, trimming the lead to 7-3. and led the Bobcats to a touchdown The only lead Texas State held in the game was with two seconds remaining in the set up by a McNeese State special teams’ turnover, game. Toon connected with freshwhich was without usual return man Steven White- man wide receiver Corey Scott head. Elrick Jones of McNeese State lost the ball for a six-yard touchdown pass when he was hit by sophomore Sam Pier on a kick- to tally the final score. The off return. Senior Ric Palmer recovered the ball at play represented the first the Cowboys’ 21-yard line to place the ’Cats deep touchdown of both players in McNeese State territory. Whitehead, 2007 Pre- ‘Texas State careers. season First Team All-America return specialist, has missed the Cowboys’ last three games.

Junior wide receiver Morris Crosby took an 18yard run to the McNeese State three-yard line on Austin Byrd/Star photo the next play. Two plays later, sophomore quarterTIED UP: The No. 6 McNeese State back Bradley George tossed to sophomore Galen Cowboys proved too much for the Dunk for a two-yard score, the first of the season Bobcats to handle Saturday in the for the tight end.

Southland Conference opener.

It would be all McNeese State thereafter, as they blew the game open with big plays en route to a 343 explosion the rest of the way.

Quarterback Derrick Fourroux won the battle of sophomore quarterbacks. Fourroux, who was ranked sixth in passing efficiency in Division I Football Championship Subdivision coming into the game, was 10-14 passing for 241 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 44 yards, including a 37yard touchdown to reclaim the lead for the Cowboys at 13-10 in the second quarter. “(Fourroux) doesn’t look like a sophomore, that’s for sure,” Wright said. “They’re a very good offensive football team. There’s no doubt about it.”

George, by comparison, was 18-33 for 180 yards and one touchdown. He ran seven times for minusnine yards total.

George said the McNeese State defense was formidable, but he took the blame for his performance.

“I’ll give them credit, but I don’t want to give them too much credit,” George said. “I missed some throws tonight. They were good, but I think I made them look a little bit better than they were.”

Fourroux connected with wide receiver Quinten Lawrence for a 51-yard touchdown pass later in the second quarter to represent the halftime score, 2010, Cowboys.

On McNeese State’s first possession of the second half, Fourroux threw to wide receiver Carlese Franklin for a 36-yard touchdown. Franklin returned a 63-yard punt from senior punter Chris MacDonald 37 yards to start that drive at the Texas State 47.

Wright said McNeese State, which had four touchdown drives consisting of five plays or less, Austin Byrd/Star photo exposed something the ’Cats are lacking: playmakBREAKING THROUGH: Junior running back Jamal Williams breaks through a McNeese State tackle ers.

“We don’t make plays. You throw (McNeese during the Bobcats 41-20 loss Saturday night at Bobcat Stadium.

“T

Ladyjacks down Bobcats during error-filled match

By Travis Atkins Sports Reporter

and junior outside hitter Lawrencia Brown had 14 kills and 15 digs.

“We didn’t win the serving and passing In a match that featured identical totals game first of all,” Brown said. “After we for both teams in kills, assists and service won the first game, we came out (in) the aces, Stephen F. Austin was able to win second game with no energy, blank faces the big points and beat Texas State, 28- and no one was talking.”

30, 30-23, 30-28 and 35-33.

Texas State fell behind 20-13 in game In game four, the Bobcats led 25-19 be- two and was not able to recover. Chisum, fore SFA battled back and won 11 of the along with Brown, was not pleased with next 16 points to tie it at 30. After fighting her team’s lack of focus. off two match points, “Why can we Texas State’s self-innot keep that inflicted wounds were Chisum e didn’t win the tensity?” too much too oversaid. “Believe me, come as they lost the if I knew, I would serving and game 35-33. change it. If any passing game first of “The disappointing coach knew how all. After we won the thing is that seven of to maintain that their last eight points consistency, they first game, we came were our errors,” would be making out (in) the second Coach Karen Chisum a million dollars. said. “We didn’t step I can’t answer game with no energy, up to the plate and finblank faces and no one that.” ish it when we should The teams was talking.” have. SFA is a very split the first two quality team. Hats off games and the —Lawrencia Brown to Coach Humphreys battle seemed to junior outside hitter and her team; they begin after that. played hard, but we’re “The first two going to get them when it counts. It’s not games, it was all offense on both sides,” over.”

Chisum said. “Just get up, kill the ball and Although there were several missed the point was over. The last two games, opportunities for Texas State, by winning both sides started digging the ball and the first game 30-28 they snapped SFA’s playing good defense.”

Brown was pleased the team was able Travis Atkins/ Star photo consecutive-game winning streak at 22.

However, the Ladyjacks extended their to regroup after game two and put up a SHUTDOWN: Junior Middle blocker Amy Weigle spikes the ball during the Southland Conference match winning valiant effort even in defeat.

Bobcats’ 3-1 loss to SFA Saturday at Strahan Coliseum. The Bobcat volstreak to 57.

“Everybody on our team wanted the ball leyball team is 10-7 as they take on UTSA Thursday in San Antonio.

Freshman middle blocker Melinda Cave and wanted to win,” Brown said. “We were led the Bobcats with a career-high 17 kills in this game up until the very end.”

“W

The Bobcats outdug SFA 85-70, the one statistical category in which either team had a clear advantage. Freshman setter Shelbi Irvin led the team with 19 digs and 32 assists. Sophomore setter Brittany Collins finished right behind Irvin in both categories, with 15 digs and 22 assists.

However, as a team, Texas State finished with 29 errors to 25 for SFA, including 11 in the deciding fourth game.

“You can’t make 29 errors and expect to win a ball game,” Chisum said. “We did some good things in the last game and had a couple of game points, but we beat ourselves in the end.”

Brandy St. Francis, senior outside hitter, returned from an injury and saw significant action, recording four kills in the first game.

“Brandy earned the starting spot this week in practice,” Chisum said. “She hasn’t played much, so I was extremely proud of her those first two games; she did what we wanted her to do. Then we thought we’d bring in the lefty (freshman) A.J. (Watlington), and she got some points, but also gave up some.”

The home fans, many of whom wore pink in honor of breast cancer awareness month, were loud and did all they could to urge on the ’Cats.

“I was pleased with the crowd,” Chisum said. “They all stayed until the end and were pretty vocal.”

The Bobcats now go on a five-match road trip, beginning on Thursday at TexasSan Antonio.

“We will look at this tape and take what positives we can,” Chisum said. “The only bad thing now is we have to go on the road.”