FIESTA DE CIEN AÑOS
NO BEAST IN THE EAST
Volleyball winning streak pushed to four after making short work of Lamar, McNeese State
Latino presence month ended with music, food and scholarship presentations
SEE SPORTS PAGE 10
SEE TRENDS PAGE 5
DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
WWW.UNIVERSITYSTAR.COM
OCTOBER 17, 2006
TUESDAY
VOLUME 96, ISSUE 23
Officer cleared by grand jury in Gonzales shooting By David Saleh Rauf The University Star The 48 hours before Christopher Jonathan Gonzales’ death were indicative of the man’s troubled life. The Kyle Police Department issued Gonzales a criminal trespass warning Aug. 28 after he slapped his girlfriend in the face and questioned her father about molestation. The following day,
Gonzales was detained and Tasered twice by Hays County deputy constables while in the backseat of a patrol car. Both incidents were precursors to what would happen next. On Aug. 30, San Marcos Police Department Officer Terry Frans shot and killed Gonzales as the 19-year-old attacked his mother, Rosita Pineda, with a fork.
A grand jury cleared officer Frans of any criminal wrongdoing Thursday, deeming the shooting a justifiable homicide. “It’s pretty much what we expected. We had thoroughly investigated that investigation,” said San Marcos Police Chief Howard Williams. “The officer had done nothing wrong. The grand jury, having heard the evidence, concurred with that opinion.”
The case was reviewed internally by the SMPD and then by the Hays County Sheriff’s office before being turned over to the Hays County District Attorney’s office and the grand jury. “From my reading of the reports, officer Frans had very little option, I think, under the circumstances,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Wesley Mau. “He was pretty much faced with the choice of shoot-
Back in the saddle
ing Mr. Gonzales and preventing what appeared to him to be death or serious bodily injury to Mrs. Pineda, or not shooting him and just hoping he didn’t do anything that Officer Frans was going to regret letting him do later.” Toxicology reports show there were no illegal substances or medications detected in Gonzales’ body. The Gonzales family would
See GONZALES, page 3
Politicians’ speeches heard at ASG By Eloise Martin The University Star Local and state politicians attended the Associated Student Government meeting Monday and fielded questions from senators as elections near. State Representative Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, said he became interested in running for office in 2002 because he saw decisions that affected students being made by a generation no longer in school. “I became frustrated with how little voice our generation had, and still has, in politics,” Rose said. Rose said his goals for the next legislative session are to make tuition more affordable, address the issue of textbook prices, including making them sales tax free, and make the student regent for the Texas State University System Board of Regents a voting position. The student regent serves as a liaison between the Board of Regents and students within the system. Frank Bartley, public administration senior, currently holds the position. Hays County Judge Jim Powers also addressed the Senate. Powers said he is committed to creating a community where students can stay and work after graduation. Powers has been in office for eight years and said there are two main factors in creating a successful government. “What makes government work is its ability to be predictable and reliable,” Powers said. Powers said he feels the Hays County Commissioners Court fulfills those two requirements. Powers said he plans to propose a place for a Texas State representative on Commissioners Court next year. Bill Henry, 428th district court judge, reminded senators of the importance of voting in the upcoming election.
Rod Anderson/McNeese State
not comment on the grand jury’s decision. The shooting prompted an Oct. 9 article in The Austin American-Statesman about the lack of mental health facilities in Hays County. Between 1999 and 2002, Gonzales was arrested eight times, including once on Texas State campus. He spent time
“In November, you all are going to make an incredible impact,” Henry said. Henry said because his court only deals with felonies, all the cases he sees involve serious crimes. He spoke about his stand on punishment versus rehabilitation, and said he is in favor of rehabilitation for those who have not committed violent crimes. “We are talking to people on probation who may need some opportunity, a second chance,” Henry said. Rose, Powers and Henry are all up for reelection. In an attempt to move Texas State athletics to Division I-A status cohesively, ASG passed legislation in favor of an Intercollegiate Athletic Service Fee. The fee would include a flat rate of $75 per student per long semester and a decreased Student Service Fee by 35 percent. The fee would provide funds for athletic scholarships. Because the fee requires changing the ASG constitution, it will be put to a student referendum. The senate also passed legislation in favor of preserving Sam Houston State University’s name. The university is considering a name change to Texas State University – Sam Houston. ASG does not support the name change. A bill was introduced for consideration to reform the Senate. The reformation would include increasing the number of Senators from 40 seats to 60, making elections more competitive and giving better representation to the increased student body. The bill did not pass. ASG President Kyle Morris announced a hearing regarding a proposed tuition and fee increase. He encouraged all Senators and students to attend the hearing. “The only way we are going to have a chance at fighting this outrageous proposal is to pack this room on Thursday,” Morris said. The hearing will be 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the LBJ Student Center, Room 3-14.1.
Egoism, altruism debated
Freshman quarterback Bradley George hands the ball off to sophomore running back James Aston during the Bobcats’ 27-17 win over McNeese State Saturday. See Sports Page 10
A donation made to ‘last forever’
$1.1 million endowed chair created to bring ethics back into business world By Alex Hering The University Star
Two Texas State alumni have pledged a $1.1 million donation to establish an endowed chair in the McCoy College of Business Administration. Jerry D. and Linda Gregg Fields donated the endowment to fund a chair that would focus on the study of ethics in the business place and corporate responsibility. Jerry D. Fields, a 1969 business graduate of then-Southwest Texas State, is founder and chief executive officer of JD Fields & Company, Inc., a worldwide supplier of steel product. His wife, Linda Gregg Fields, is a 1966 graduate of then-Southwest Texas State. President Denise Trauth said the endowed chair will give students the opportunity to learn from the best. “The nature of this gift is to bring
in a star to teach students,” Trauth said. “This would be a full professor who has good research background in the field of ethics and responsibility, and the students should benefit enormously from that.” A national search will be conducted to find the Jerry D. and Linda Gregg Fields Endowed Chair in Ethics and Corporate Responsibility. Denise Smart, dean of the McCoy College of Business Administration, said the title of chair is given to a professor with a high level of experience. “The chair may teach a class, work on independent studies with students or do joint research with students,” she said. The endowment will pay the new chair’s salary and continued research for the 4,500 students in the College of Business. Smart said the university will benefit from the level of experience being brought to the school. “All students will have access to a member of the faculty with strong experience ethics and responsibility,” Smart said. “Usually it is a person who is nationally or internationally recognized.” Leslie Reyes, business management freshman, said an ethics class
Today’s Weather
Sunny 92˚/62˚
Precipitation: 20% Humidity: 51% UV: 7 High Wind: WSW 7 mph
is much needed in a time when business and ethics are not words commonly put together. “Usually you think of business being corrupt, which is why it would be so great to get someone to make better business people out of us.” Reyes said. Debbie Thorne, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, said ethics play an important role in business leadership. “In the past years, we have seen the results of businesses that did not conduct themselves in an ethical manner,” Thorne said. “We will better prepare students of the reality of ethical leadership while talking about ethical issues in business.” Eugene Payne, assistant dean of the McCoy College of Business, said the McCoy College of Business Foundation will match the $1.1 million endowment and will allow it to accumulate interest for the next four years. “The gift will be completed in four years or less, and the earnings will then be used for the purpose of the endowment,” Payne said. “The original gift is never expended. The donor wants the gift to last forever, so we hold it so there will be funds for that chair forever.”
Two-day Forecast Wednesday Partly Cloudy Temp: 91°/60° Precip: 20%
Thursday Few Showers Temp: 73°/ 49° Precip: 30%
Danny Rodriguez/Star photo MAN OF THE PEOPLE: Robert Krueger, former U.S. Senator and San Marcos native, argued in favor of altruism during the Egoism vs. Altruism philosophical debate held Thursday in the Alkek Teaching Theater.
By Georgia Fisher The University Star The director of the Ayn Rand Institute and a former U.S. Senator debated Thursday over the value of individualism and its role in society. Yaron Brook, director of the Ayn Rand Institute, and former U.S. Senator and Ambassador Robert Krueger squared off in the Alkek Teaching Theater for a philosophical debate entitled “Egoism vs. Altruism.”
The debate pitted two opposing schools of thought against each other. Brook argued in favor of egoism, a teaching that emphasizes individualism and self-interest. Krueger argued in favor of altruism, a philosophy that emphasizes the interest of society before one’s own. Brook, a self-proclaimed atheist, began by explaining the philosophy of Ayn Rand — a renowned and controversial author whose See DEBATE, page 3
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