LUMBERJACK LETDOWN
BLOODSHOT PYRAMID ON THE RISE Local musicians focus on a new hard-rock project
Bobcats tank fourth straight as game’s finale goes astray
SEE TRENDS PAGE 5
SEE SPORTS PAGE 10
DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
WWW.UNIVERSITYSTAR.COM
OCTOBER 10, 2006
TUESDAY
VOLUME 96, ISSUE 20
Perry, Belo blasted for handling of gubernatorial debate By Jason Buch and David Saleh Rauf The University Star A Texas State lecturer blamed Rick Perry for the inadequacies of Friday night’s gubernatorial debate. Rick Henderson, political science lecturer, said Perry, who raised the most money and who’s leading in the polls, has the most to lose from participating in a debate. Dallas-based Belo Corp. also
drew criticism for only holding one debate, broadcasting it on a Friday night and not allowing a rebroadcast until four days later. “I’m very upset that Belo Broadcasting has all the rights to this and within four days nobody can run clips from it,” Henderson said. Robert Black, spokesman for the Perry campaign, told the Austin American-Statesman a scheduling conflict was the reason the governor chose to attend
the Friday debate rather than one offered Thursday evening by Texas Monthly and a Dallas public television station. Libertarian candidate James Werner spoke to Texas Public Radio after the debate, complaining about the timing and threatening to sue Belo for what he said are ethics violations. “The whole timing is pretty odd,” Werner said. “Most people agree there should have been three or four debates, and they’re holding one. It should have been
at a different time. Instead, they put it on a Friday evening the day before the Texas-OU game.” Mike Devlin, vice president and station manager for Belo’s flagship, WFAA TV in Dallas, has said to various media outlets that stations not competing with Belo had the option to air the debates live or on a tape delay. PBS stations in competing markets had the option to air the debates on tape delay before the four days expired. Henderson invited political
science students to Boko’s Living Room to watch and discuss the debate as part of the political science department’s “Discourse in Democracy” theme. Brandon Bowling, art senior, came into the debate favoring independent Kinky Friedman. Now he’s not so sure. “Actually, I had heard very little about (Democrat) Chris Bell,” Bowling said. “He made a very strong showing, I was impressed.” Michael Van Horn, political
science graduate, said he will vote for Friedman. He agrees with Friedman’s stance on energy, border security and education. Friedman opened the debate by saying, if elected, he would declare a military emergency and send an additional 8,500 troops to the border. “I don’t like Rick Perry because he just seems slimy,” Van Horn said. “I liked Bell, but I See DEBATE, page 4
Don’t mess with San Marcos
Polls inspire mayor’s words University, community participate in Fall River Cleanup during meeting By Brooke Keller Special to The Star
By A.N. Hernández The University Star
Volunteers lined up this weekend ready to get wet, muddy and smell like trash. Residents from around the city gathered Saturday morning to participate in the San Marcos Parks and Recreation Department’s 18th annual Fall River Cleanup, where volunteers clean up trash along the stretch of the San Marcos River from City Park to Thompson’s Island. “It’s a ritual for some, new for others,” said Melani Howard, SMPR watershed protection manager. “The Girl Scouts, Campfire Boys and Girls, different social groups, businesses, sororities and fraternities all come out. It’s fun.” The fall cleanup is one of two river cleanups held annually. Approximately 70 volunteers participated, donning plastic gloves and toting trash bags. Bank walkers scoured the sides of the river, while unreachable trash was gathered by canoeists. Howard said the canoeists play a vital role in the cleanup efforts. “Canoeing is the most important aspect of the fall cleanup because most of the trash is found in the vegetation, in the floating mats and on the banks,” Howard said. T G Canoes and Kayaks, a family-run business, contributes to the event by providing canoes for volunteers every year. “We had about seven boats out today. We usually have between seven and 15,”said Duane TeGrotenhuis, owner of T G canoes and Kayaks. Student groups and organizations were also among the volunteers. Students from Patrick Boyle’s recreation program development class helped out with the event. “There are about five of us here. Everyone was assigned to do something different, like tacos,” said Sergio Serratos, recreational administration sophomore, behind a table covered in breakfast tacos. Students from the International Geographical National Honor society paddled canoes down to Rio Vista Dam. The students, along with other canoeing volunteers, filled their boats with Styrofoam, glass bottles, beer cans and other
tenhuis said, “The river is happy, and that’s great, but the most important thing is what we did for the environment. Once our natural resources run out, we are going to have to turn to our landfills to pick through and find the individual cans and bottle to recycle, but if we do that now, we won’t have to.” TeGrotenhuis and the volunteers
With election polls opening on campus in less than three weeks, Mayor Susan Narvaiz felt it was important to address the Associated Student Government Monday night. Narvaiz, who has been mayor since May 2004, is running unopposed for reelection this November. Narvaiz said she wants a “strong city” and urged ASG to help unite community and the university. “The outcome we want is the same. We want a strong city and a strong community. We want good-paying jobs. We don’t want to be sitting stuck at stop lights,” she said. “There are a lot of things we do better together and I implore you to help with that mission.” Economic development, transportation concerns and singlefamily zoning were the main issues she mentioned at the meeting. She mentioned the commuter rail from Georgetown to San Antonio that would help get “San Marcos on the map.” She said supporting the commuter rail means supporting moving the freight train out of San Marcos, allowing only local or Amtrak trains to pass through the city. “Trust me, Union Pacific thinks they are God. A long time ago in our city’s history, they were given the rights over any of us for commerce purposes,” she said. “But if you can imagine, back then that was the only way they could move goods across the country. We are battling bureaucracy for that and remember you are 28,000-plus strong.” Narvaiz urged ASG to look at other cities for a “creative approach” to find a solution to the zoning issues for students in San Marcos. However, she admitted that she did not yet have a solution for the problem.
See CLEANUP, page 4
See ASG, page 3
Monty Marion/Star photos BOTTOM CLEANERS: Audra Embry, education graduate student and Barry Walker, physical geography senior, search for debris under the bridge on Hopkins while alumnus Grant Jacobs surfaces with a water-filled beer can he pulled from the bottom of the San Marcos River. DOWN IN THE DIRT: Amber Francis, athletic training senior, picks up small pieces of trash from a group of trees near the banks of the San Marcos River Saturday afternoon.
items found along the way. “Getting on the river helped me realize how awesome and beautiful the river is, but it also helped me realize how people don’t take care of the river,” said James Thomas, GTU member and geography junior. The canoeists were picked up at the dam by TeGrotenhuis, who helped the volunteers unload the boats and separate the recyclable material from the trash. “What we did today is great,” TeGro-
Mayor, ASG president sound off on zoning debate By Emily Messer The University Star The city’s single-family zoning ordinance was the focus of a San Marcos City Council debate Thursday sponsored by the Council of Neighborhood Associations. Under the city’s land development code, houses in certain districts are designated for “single-family use” and only two people who are not related may occupy the same house. Mayor Susan Narvaiz said the problem with the ordinance was a behavioral issue.
“We have to continue university leadership,” Narvaiz said. “They have to let us in so we can change the behavior of the students.” She said residents would have to pay for an increase of patrol if they wanted the ordinance to be more heavily endorsed. City Council Place 1 candidate Betsy Robertson said the university has been proactive in educating students’ parents. Many parents buy houses for students to live in, she said. “We have to teach students to be good neighbors,” said Robertson, vice chair of the planning
Today’s Weather
Partly Cloudy 85˚/68˚
Precipitation: 60% Humidity: 73% UV: 5 Moderate Wind: S 9 mph
and zoning commission. City Council Place 5 candidate Pam Couch, who is running unopposed, said the city needs more input and that residents and students need more education. City Council Place 6 candidate Ryan Thomason said this is a long-term issue. Thomason said renters and buyers need to be made more aware of the ordinance. Students want houses but also want to live around students, he said. “I would push for there to be an area where students could go and be away from everyone,”
Two-day Forecast Wednesday Partly Cloudy Temp: 91°/66° Precip: 20%
Thursday Showers Temp: 79°/ 53° Precip: 30%
Thomason said. “They really don’t want to be in single-family neighborhoods.” John Thomaides, incumbent Place 6 councilman, said the city has multi-family neighborhoods. The ordinance needs to stay intact, he said. Place 1 candidate Ian Skiles did not attend the debate. The seat was left open by the resignation of Ed Mihalkanin, political science professor. Kyle Morris, Associated Student Government president, asked the candidates what they would do to hold landlords accountable if they misinform
renters about homes. Thomason said the city needs to give students some new multi-family neighborhoods. Thomaides said he did not know of existing neighborhoods that would want to give their zone to students. The city has made progress but is not there yet, he said. Robertson said renters need to be made more aware of the ordinance. “We need to put the zone law on the lease,” she said. See ZONING, page 4
Inside News ..............1-4 Trends .............5-7 Crossword ......... 7 Sudoku .............. 7
Texas State University-San Marcos is a member of the Texas State University System
Comics .............. 7 Opinions ............ 8 Classifieds ......... 9 Sports .............. 10
“I
’m really interested in seeing (the ordinance) enforced for all ages. Those are the things that decrease property values.”
—Dianne Wassenich San Marcos River Foundation executive director
To Contact Trinity Building Phone: (512) 245-3487 Fax: (512) 245-3708 www.UniversityStar.com © 2006 The University Star