VOLUME 102, ISSUE 25
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THURSDAY GO NE ONLI NOW
OCTOBER 18, 2012
Homecoming Spirit Rally
Students gathered at Sewell Park Oct. 11 for Texas State’s Homecoming rally. To see the video, visit UniversityStar.com.
Commissioners court passes prayer policy
CLEARING THE AIR UPD, administrators continue enforcement efforts
By Taylor Tompkins Assistant News Editor Invocations will continue to precede Hays County Commissioners Court meetings after a new policy was passed Tuesday. According to the policy, the court “will not show a purposeful preference of one religious view over another.” A volunteer chaplain will coordinate religious leaders from around the community to give invocation at commissioners court meetings. In addition, each religious leader is allowed to use terminology pertinent to their religion. “After consultation with our attorney, we came up with this policy that the court could support, and a majority of our constituents would be in favor of,” said Commissioner Mark Jones, Precinct 2. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State sent an initial letter to the court in April in response to a complaint the group received from a Hays County resident. The letter noted strictly Christian prayers said during a period of 13 meetings occurred 75 percent of the time. A second letter was sent to the court in June threatening legal action if no response was received. “We are definitely disappointed with the decision of yesterday,” said Alex Luchenitser, associate legal director for American United for Separation of Church and State. “What the (court) was doing before (Tuesday’s) meeting was a great improvement to what they had been doing. After the complaint, they temporarily switched to prayers that were inclusive of all religious groups and nonsectarian.” Jones said the court chose to allow sectarian word choice to different religious representatives rather than dictating what can and can’t be said by a few clergymen.
READ invocation, PAGE 3
Connor Tremallo, ag-business and management sophomore, is among students who continue to smoke on campus. By Monica Solis News Reporter More than a year after the implementation of the tobacco-free policy, university officials are considering new ways to enforce the smoking ban. Joanne Smith, vice president of Student Affairs, said a tobacco awareness course is being developed as a penalty for breaking the tobacco ban. The course could be enacted as early as the spring 2013 semester. Rickey Lattie, University Police Department captain, said UPD has started
referring students caught violating the ban to the Dean of Students Office, and faculty are referred to their respective departmental supervisors. “We’ve gotten more aggressive on that front,” Lattie said. “We’re following up with people. However, Lattie said it will take time to “recondition” people into knowing that smoking is not allowed on campus. Lattie said visitors caught smoking on campus are informed of the university’s tobacco-free policy. If a visitor refuses to stop smoking, UPD will ask them to leave campus grounds.
Kristen Lefebvre, Staff Photographer
Lattie said 112 tobacco ban violations have been reported since January. He said the same number of violations was reported between September and December 2011. While faculty members are expected to abide by policy and advise students to do the same, it is solely UPD officers’ duties to take down the names and ID numbers of students in violation of the policy, Lattie said. When a UPD officer finds a student violating the tobacco-free policy, they
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Excessive excrement in parking garage leads to petition By Megan Carthel News Reporter Some faculty and staff are growing tired of the usual residents of the Alkek Parking Garage—and their waste. Dennis Smart, associate professor in the Department of Management, has started a petition to raise awareness of the excessive amount of bird and bat waste found in the Alkek Parking Garage. The purpose of the petition is to ask the Faculty Senate or the university to engage in an investigation of the garage’s circumstances, Smart said. Smart said he has been parking in the garage since 2007, and the amount of bird waste has consistently been a problem. Smart said he will occasionally park
elsewhere if he is irritated enough. The garage provides parking for nearly 200 vehicles in red, visitor, motorcycle and reserved areas. “All I know is what I see, and that’s not a particularly scientific approach,” Smart said. “I’m just asking another group to sort of take it on. I don’t have a solution. All I’m really interested in doing is having a reasonable scientific investigation so we know what might or might not work.” Smart’s petition has circulated through faculty and staff in the McCoy College of Business Administration, the College of Health Professions and Alkek Library. The petition has gathered an estimated 175 signatures. Clay Green, associate professor of biology, said cliff and cave swallows probably
reside in the parking garage along with Mexican free-tailed bats, all of which are colonial species. The Mexican free-tailed is one of the most common bat species seen in the Central Texas area. The bats have been spotted at Bobcat Stadium and bridges around San Marcos, he said. Green estimates the population of Mexican free-tailed bats and swallows residing in the Alkek garage to be in the hundreds. “I think what Alkek provides for (the birds and bats) is the way it’s kind of sunken down low and dark,” Green said. “It’s like a cave. I think the conditions for Alkek just make it unique.” Joe Richmond, director of Transportation Services, said bird and bat waste in the parking garage has been an issue for
years, and he and his staff are working to address the problem. “Even if it’s not a health risk, it’s nasty,” Richmond said. “It’s unattractive.” Richmond said the parking garage is dry-swept two to three times a week and is power-washed twice a year. He said cleaning is a hassle because crews cannot begin work until 6:30 a.m. to avoid disturbing students in Elliot Hall and can only clean for about an hour until faculty and staff begin to park in the garage. At this point there is no permanent solution, he said. Richmond said the university has looked into putting netting across the top of the garage, but there is a large
READ petition, PAGE 3
Country’s fastest highway makes its debut in Central Texas By Sara Elmaari News Reporter
John Casares, Staff Photographer
The Texas State Highway 130 will stretch from Austin to Seguin and will open for traffic beginning Oct. 24. The toll road will allow drivers the speed limit of 85 mph.
Central Texas will be home to the fastest speed limit in the nation Oct. 24 when an additional section of State Highway 130 opens. The 40-mile expansion of the toll road, also known as Pickle Parkway, will have an 85 mph speed limit and span from Austin to Seguin. The road, originally planned to open Nov. 3, is set to be opened nearly three weeks early. It will be located eight miles outside of San Marcos. The existing toll road was initially built as an alternative to Interstate 35, and the additional route through Central Texas will alleviate more traffic congestion there, said Chris Lippincott, spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation. This alleviation will provide drivers with a safe and reliable alternative to the ever-busy I-35, he said.
The department conducted tests to determine the safety of a road with traffic moving so quickly because of the high speed limit. The department’s Information Specialist Mark Cross said the tests found the road will be safe. “The risks will be as they are for any speed,” Cross said. “If a driver is distracted and not paying attention, there are the risks for danger. We certainly hope that people will use good judgment as they travel safely. Safety is the No. 1 priority.” The San Marcos Police Department has no jurisdiction over State Highway 130, but the road will help residents in the area get to and from Austin, said TxDOT Spokeswoman Penny Mason. State Highway 130 is important and will provide a great opportunity for people making trips from San Antonio to Austin, she said. “In the end, it will be on our radar in
READ HIGHWAY, PAGE 3