Defending the First Amendment since 1911
INSIDE THIS ISSUE NEWS pages 1-3 Textbooks, heavy backpacks soon to be worry of past Faculty Senate requests changes to restricted red parking areas
OPINIONS page 4 MAIN POINT: Radio Tower Team-up Sophomore ponders lower points of Texas State life
Volume 99, Issue 21
14
WEDNESDAY
OCT
www.UniversityStar.com
GREEK JOES VS. COLLEGE PROS Fraternities competed against sport clubs Sunday. See page 8
Allegedly assaulted student’s health is improving By Allen Reed News Editor The victim of an alleged sexual assault apparently is feeling better as conflicting reports regarding the incident continue to surface. According to a UPD e-mail released Monday night, a female student reported she was forced into a small four-door sedan and sexually assaulted at knifepoint that morning in the Pleasant Street Garage. A friend of the alleged victim, who requested anonymity, reported the incident to university police. The friend said the alleged attack occurred after the 17-yearold victim walked by the
apparent attacker in the garage. “The guy was very intense and thorough,” the friend said. “It makes me very angry.” UPD Capt. Rickey Lattie said the victim has been interviewed on several occasions. “She’s not interested in filing a police report or any medical help,” Lattie said. According to the e-mail, the alleged assailant was initially described as a big tall male of unknown race, who wore a beanie, windbreaker and surgical gloves. “She (the victim) hasn’t added any further details, nor has she retracted her story,” Lattie said. Besides university police, the incident was reported to the dean of students, the vic-
TRENDS page 5-6
Working for the Cause: Campus assistant encourages breast cancer awareness Zombie movie gives audience gore, comedy, romance
DIVERSIONS page 7
SPORTS page 8 Joe Knows: Unfair system picks champion Women return from Hawaii tennis invitational
see ASSAULT, page 3
Pleasant Street Garage.
Dangerous intersection may not see more improvements
Religious organizations cast aside
Free hug givers say ‘everything will be OK’
tim’s friend said. The friend said conversations with police revealed a need for more patrols in parking garages. “Her (the victim’s) face dropped when they (police) told her there were no cameras in the garage (Pleasant Street),” the victim’s friend said. “She (the victim) said the garage was not lit very well. She couldn’t make out what the guy looked like, the car color, the tires, or anything.” Lattie said the victim’s initial report revealed the alleged assault occurred on the ground floor of the garage. Sara Strick/Star photo “But now she is unsure,” Lattie said. “She said he displayed ASSAULT: University police reported a female student was forced a knife. I don’t think he actually into a car and sexually assaulted Monday around 11 a.m. in the
By Megan Holt News Reporter Pedestrians are still fearful of being hit by a car at the intersection of Aquarena Springs and Sessom drives, despite yield signs and state law. Christopher Bolfing, philosophy senior, authored a petition last semester asking city officials to make the intersection more pedestrian-friendly. He has collected nearly 550 signatures from San Marcos residents since circulating the petition. “The petition was an attempt to get something done to change things,” Bolfing said. “Since then, the city has put out signs, which is one of the things I wanted.” Sabas Avila, San Marcos director of public services and transportation, said city officials installed signs Feb. 13 reminding drivers to yield to pedestrians in accordance to Lindsey Goldstein/Star photo illustration state laws. TAILGATE EXCESS: Tailgaters are being kicked out of the stadium “We had received several reparking lot at 6:30 p.m. in order to fill the stands with fans. ports of near misses so we put those signs up for educational
purposes,” Avila said. “It’s a state law vehicles yield to pedestrians, but most people are not aware of that law.” Bolfing said university officials have the responsibility to control the intersection and provide safety between the two properties it owns. “Basically, I want Texas State to work with the city and the city to work with the Texas Department of Public Safety,” Bolfing said. “The city has a better chance at taking the proper steps to change things at that intersection than one person at the university.” Joseph Owen, professional counseling graduate student, said he too sees drivers turn right without yielding to pedestrians. “The ultimate solution, I think, is to have some kind of overhead crosswalk,” Owen said. “It will be difficult to do though because of limited space. The crosswalk would have to be handicap accessible, and it would be hard for wheelchairs to cross if it’s elevated.“ Avila said the city has no cur-
rent plans for an elevated crosswalk or any safety measures. “I am not aware of any accidents since the new yield signs were put in place,” Avila said. Bolfing said the intersection is not safe yet. “The statistics are wrong because not everyone reports it (being hit),” Bolfing said. “Drivers get away because, unless you get a license plate number, you can’t report it. All the cars look the same now.” Barnes and Bolfing said they believe foliage located along the road is partly to blame for obscured vision of the crosswalk. “There have been so many accidents trying to pull out of the apartment complex,” Bolfing said. “There are so many things going on that strip that it is extremely dangerous because it is a very dense location. People jaywalk across the street, and I’ve seen (drivers) speed up when people get into that intersection. Even though people are breaking the law, they don’t need to be hit.”
Tailgaters forced Zeta promotes breast cancer to leave, attend awareness with ‘Pink Out’ week game at kickoff By Heidi Morrison News Reporter
By Bianca Davis News Reporter
Today’s Weather
88°/72° Isolated T-Storms Precipitation: 30% Humidity: 77% UV: 6 High Wind: SSW 8 mph
Thursday
Partly Cloudy Temp: 83°/58° Precip: 20%
Friday
Sunny Temp: 73°/53° Precip: 0%
University officials said there is a reason tailgaters are required to pack their tents at kickoff. UPD Sgt. Daniel Benitez said tailgaters should attend the games to help the “Drive to FBS.” “There are still plenty of seats inside the stadium,” Benitez said. “One of the primary goals is to make sure there are people inside the football game and for us to go any further into the division we’re trying to go to, which is the FBS.” Aaron Villalobos, tailgate adviser, said students should keep in mind what is important. “I think its important for everyone to take into consideration that tailgating is a byproduct of football, not the other way around,” he said. Some universities allow tailgating to continue throughout the duration of the game. Michael Flowers, ASG athletic liaison, said universities that allow tailgating throughout the game do not want to turn fans away. “Once the stadium becomes sold out consistently,t, the policy will be looked at again,” Flowers said.
Benitez said the practice is not limited to the university, noting broadcast blackouts for NFL. “If a particular stadium doesn’t sell out then the general region around that stadium will have a blackout so you can’t watch the game,” Benitez said. The practice of suspending tailgating was implemented by SACA. “Whenever SACA decided to make it an organized tailgating is when these rules and policies were set in place,” Benitez said. According to tailgate regulations, “At any given time after kickoff, up to two individuals may stay at their personal tailgating area to ensure their property remains safe and contained.” However, Benitez said alcohol consumption must stop at kickoff. “The two individuals who can stay at the tailgate are solely there to protect their property,” he said. “Those two individuals are not allowed to consume any type of alcoholic beverages during that point in time.” see TAILGATING, page 3
Texas State went pink for a week. The Zeta Tau Alpha sorority “pinked out” campus for their annual Pink Out event on behalf of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Zeta members distributed around 20,000 breast cancer ribbons in The Quad. They also passed out self-examination shower cards to dorms throughout campus. “We want everyone on campus to know breast cancer is prevalent in girls our age, and men sometimes too,” said Becky Staudt, philanthropy chair of Zeta Tau Alpha. “It’s not about our sorority being seen.” Staudt, psychology junior, said the event has been small in years past. “We set up a booth in The Quad from Sept. 30 to this last Friday,” Staudt said. “We sold T-shirts, handed out fliers and advertised a little bit around the city.” The Quad was decked out in pink to promote this cause for more than a week. “It’s very alarming, one in eight women are affected with breast cancer,” said Erin McCracken, assistant philanthropy chair for Zeta Tau Alpha. “I Hannah VanOrstrand/Star photo make sure I educate the sorority. PINK OUT: Zeta Tau Alpha placed Pink ribbons around campus in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. see AWARENESS, page 3