BIRTH OF A CELEBRATION
LONE STAR LEGENDS
The history of Día de los Muertos lies in European and Indigenous cultures
Gridiron stars of old given dues with league’s anniversary team
SEE TRENDS PAGE 5
SEE SPORTS PAGE 10
DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
WWW.UNIVERSITYSTAR.COM
NOVEMBER 1, 2006
WEDNESDAY
VOLUME 96, ISSUE 29
Local law enforcement beta testing new software By Jacqueline Davis The University Star The University Police Department will be among the first of four agencies testing new technology that could change the face of law enforcement. Beginning as early as December, UPD will test a software program called COPsync, created by PostInk Technology, LP, which provides vital informa-
tion to officers by enabling the sharing of information to law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions. “We wanted to build a product that had direct report entry in real time — live and on the fly,” said founder and CEO Russell Chaney who, along with cofounder Shane Rapp, created PostInk Technology, LP. The information is available the second that it is entered,
Chaney said. “Let’s say there was an abduction of a child. If someone calls 911 to report the abduction, it could take 12 to 14 hours before that information got out to all the officers on the street. It would be limited to radio transmissions. Our solution would make it so every car would know about it within two hours.” The first to beta test the software, or perform the last testing
before the product is sold commercially, will be the San Marcos Police Department and the Hays County Sheriff ’s Department in the early part of November, Chaney said. The Kyle Police Department and UPD will follow about a month later. In exchange for being guinea pigs for the technology, these agencies get to use the software for free. While agencies testing the software expect a few initial
kinks in the system, most are eager to implement the improved sharing of information. “It’s an excellent opportunity for all law enforcement agencies to leverage their existing databases to use them in a more effective way,” said Sam Williams, chief deputy of the Hays County Sheriff ’s Department. “In a nutshell, it’s like doing an Internet search on Google. This is a secure and efficient way for input-
Rabies scare, misconceptions give bats
Swoosh. Swoosh. The long, elastic wings of millions of Mexican free-tailed bats rub against one another as they emerge at sundown to migrate to Mexico for a warmer winter. While they look like endless streams of black ribbon cutting through a citrus-colored sky, the sounds they make during their migration are harder to describe. “Everybody describes the way they sound differently. Some people describe the sound as something like whitewater river rapids,” said Merlin D. Tuttle, founder, executive director and behavioral ecologist at Austin’s Bat Conservation International. “I can’t describe it. It’s just a very definite sound of their bodies flying past and touching one another.” Barbara French, BCI biologist, said, “It sounds like swoooshhh wooosshhh.” “If you stand around a large roost of them, you’ll hear a lot of chattering. It sounds a bit like bird chitter,” she said smiling. Somehow, Mexican freetailed bats, also known as “guano bats,” ascend quickly from their caves to migrate, while avoiding collisions every split-second. And, cloaked in ashen, short fur, they have been clocked at speeds ranging from 25 to 60 miles per hour with strong tailwinds. “It’s been speculated they commonly go about 500 miles in a night during their migration,” Tuttle said. “They leave not long after sundown and arrive at their next destination.” Tuttle said nobody really knows how far the Mexican free-tailed bats go in a night. Biologists used to think they only traveled to northern Mexico, but more evidence suggests they are flying farther, to southern Mexico and Central America. Tuttle and French are part of a staff of around 30 who work at BCI, a nonprofit organization based in Austin. Texas is
See SOFTWARE, page 4
Relationships focus of new program at Texas State
A BAD RAP
By A.N. Hernández The University Star
ting information which can be used by other law enforcement agencies.” For example, if an offender is written a citation in San Marcos and is later pulled over in Dripping Springs by another officer, the second officer will be able to see any previous citation. “The Hays County Sheriff ’s Department has really posi-
By Bill Lancaster The University Star
of insects every night and take care of lots of mosquitoes a year,” he said. “The only downside is that they aren’t very picky when it comes to a place they want to spend the night, like any overhangs or places out of the lots of times that’s in
Texas State received approximately $2.4 million Oct. 3 from a Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families grant. The grant will create a relationship education program that will benefit hundreds of young parents in the central Texas area. The relationship education program is designed to assist young parents in dealing with others through Connections: Relationships and Marriage curriculum, a program focused on preventing divorce. The program combats the major causes of divorce by teaching skills including conflict resolution, communication and healthy relationships. Michelle Toews, program coadministrator, said she believes this is the first program in the country to teach relationship skills to young parents. “We will train (student interns) in the Connection Curriculum, and they will go into the classrooms,” Toews said. “I am very excited to get started in the project. It is a good opportunity for the students, a good opportunity for research, and a good way to serve the community.” Texas State students will be teaching communication skills to adolescents in six locations: one at San Marcos High School, one at Hays High and four in Austin. The relationship education program is recruiting interns from several programs including sociology, family and consumer sciences, social work and psychology. Interns will teach the 18 lessons of Connection Curriculum to young parents as well as assist with referrals, completing college applications and similar services. The interns will train on campus in the Center for Children and Families whose goal, according to their Web site, is “to
See BAD RAP, page 4
See RELATIONSHIP, page 4
Monty Marion/Star photos INTO THE SUNSET: Heading off to consume an estimated 10 to 20,000 pounds of insects, Austin’s 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats create a dense cloud as they emerge every night at dusk. DINNERTIME: Mexican free-tailed bats pass a support column of the Congress Avenue Bridge Saturday night in downtown Austin as they head out on their nightly hunt.
home to 32 species of bats, more than any other state. One hundred million Mexican freetailed bats are estimated to live in the Texas Hill Country. In 1982, Tuttle founded BCI because he was alarmed by declining bat populations. Tuttle wanted to protect their habitats and inform people of their ecological benefits. BCI also works to combat misconceptions abounding about the small mammals. “I just think it’s important that we dispel myths that they’re always rabid,” he said.
“I don’t know that I am in love with bats more than I am in love with nature and the natural world. If you love nature, you’ll want to see a healthy ecosystem and you’ll want to see bats because they help keep the balance of nature.” Almost two weeks ago, a rabid bat found at Texas State put the campus on a health alert. “I have heard they have rabies, and they are on campus, and I hear them squeaking up there in the rafters, but they are good for the environment and take care of the ecosystem, and
I am more afraid of bees than bats,” said Jenna Gonzales, anthropology junior. Bert Stratemann, animal services manager for San Marcos, said he knows bats do more good than bad. “They are very beneficial to the area, and I can tell you they kill thousands and thousands
Conference addresses racism, Jewish leadership, Middle Eastern relations By Kara Bowers The University Star Texas State will host the third semiannual Race, Ethnicity and Place Conference beginning Wednesday at the LBJ Student Center. The conference, the biggest to ever come to Texas State, will feature dozens of presentations, lectures and performances that will examine how race and ethnicity affect the sense of place
in our lives. Registration will open at noon Wednesday on the third floor of the LBJSC. A variety of sessions featuring lecturers and panelists, covering topics such as immigration, U.S.-Middle East relations and racism, will begin at 2 p.m. and continue through Saturday. Karina Monreal, microbiology senior and conference co-chair, said she is especially excited to see Texas State stu-
Today’s Weather
Few Showers 73˚/54˚
Precipitation: 30% Humidity: 57% UV: 5 Moderate Wind: NE 7 mph
dent organizations representing themselves at the conference. “I am also looking forward to several of the sessions being presented every day,” Monreal said. “Some of them include the sessions being presented about first-generation college students, the panel on Latino Texas music and America versus Muslim, a post-9/11 world session, just to name a few.” Featured speakers include John Duke Anthony, president
Two-day Forecast Thursday Mostly Cloudy Temp: 67°/ 49° Precip: 10%
Friday Partly Cloudy Temp: 68°/ 49° Precip: 10%
of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and Denise Trauth, president of Texas State. Friday’s speakers include Bernard Rapoport, founder and former president of the American Income Life Insurance Company, Donald Zale, former chairman and CEO of Zale Corporation and Fred Ziedman, chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, all speaking on “Jewish Leaders in Texas.”
“The Art of Diversity — A Texas Statement” will exhibit the work of Central Texas artists from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the first three days of the conference on the third floor of the LBJSC. Fidencio Duran, an artist featured in the exhibit and member of a first-generation Mexican American family, said his works are narrative in nature and relate to the experience of Mexicans in the United States, particularly of his own
in Central Texas. “They present everyday occurrences as magical moments by means of strong color and personal figuration,” Duran said. “They present various aspects of my family’s ability to survive through hard work and determination.” There will be a performance by the Texas State Mariachi Band at 6 p.m. The Texas State
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
See CONFERENCE, page 4
To Contact Trinity Building Phone: (512) 245-3487 Fax: (512) 245-3708 www.UniversityStar.com © 2006 The University Star