4 | Thursday November 8, 2012 | The University Star
OPINIONS
For more viewpoints or letters to the editor, e-mail staropinions@txstate.edu
Texas State must take measures to improve reaction time to threats
By Ariella Hannon Opinions Columnist
U
Grace Perkins, Star Illustrator
City needs incumbents’ attention
W
ith incumbents sweeping the local elections, the editorial board congratulates and asks the candidates to brace themselves for the many crucial issues awaiting the mayor and the San Marcos City Council. Daniel Guerrero, Shane Scott and Ryan Thomason were all re-elected to their offices Tuesday. These officials faced many challenges over their previous terms, and issues discussed within recent candidate debates will be extremely prevalent to the immediate future of the city. Housing is a highly contested and volatile issue in San Marcos. With the needs of both students and permanent residents competing for council priority, officials need to balance the suggestions of both parties. While compromise is needed on any issue, a viable option that will please both sides is attainable. Scott, newly re-elected Place 6 City Councilman, is willing to consider additional student housing developments near campus, as is Thomason. Challengers for the two open city council seats and the mayoral position did not win either election. However,
the environmental issues they brought up during the campaign are topics that should be addressed. The San Marcos River and the Edwards Aquifer are valuable natural resources that make San Marcos unique. Current construction projects on roads throughout the city may ultimately end up harming the local ecosystem. New developments proposed near riverbanks may cause extreme damage to the environment, which San Marcos cannot afford. Voters recommended the city buy the Cape’s Camp property located at Interstate-35 and River Road, which may be used as green space. The Bobcat Tram system is an integral part of campus infrastructure. However, university buses may encounter traffic issues from the extended construction projects around the city. City officials should find a way to integrate this system into their public agenda. A partnership with the Capital Area Rural Transportation System could benefit both the city and the university. With the adoption of a new Master Plan, the downtown area of San Marcos will become a large part of mainstream city discussion. Develop-
ment and renovation of downtown San Marcos was an issue that Thomason was concerned about during his candidacy. Furthermore, business owners should develop commercial areas around the city such as the Springtown Center. The city council is currently on the right track to provide incentives that would encourage this type of development. The re-elected incumbents, along with the rest of city council, need to work together to address the issues San Marcos faces. The city and university’s growth will continue to cause environmental and traffic concerns if not properly managed. It is the responsibility of elected officials to provide their constituents with necessary leadership. The Main Point is the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board. Columns are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the full staff, Texas State University-San Marcos Student Media, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication or Texas State University-San Marcos.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR This letter to the editor is in response to the Oct. 23 University Star article titled, “ASG votes in favor of concealed carry.” In this article, Derek Hammons, mathematics senior, indicated I informed him of the following at last year’s concealed carry forum: “In the event of an active shooter on campus, UPD can only have one officer on the scene within three minutes.” First, I was not in attendance at last year’s forum, and second, this information is inaccurate. An officer’s response to an active shooter varies depending on that officer’s location, the officer’s current engagement on campus and the scene of the incident. We always have a minimum of three officers working at any given time on campus. Our department’s normal response is
to make an active shooter call our top priority once advised of the extreme nature of the situation. All of our officers attend the Advanced Law Enforcement Raid Response Training and respond as we are trained. Our collaboration with our law enforcement partners would play a part in the response as well, as we all train to work with each other. So, we can function as a team to deal with these sorts of situations. There would be multiple officers on hand soon after notification of an active shooter on campus. Our hope is to never encounter such an act, but our department trains constantly to be prepared and respond accordingly to threats of safety on campus. Thanks for your continued support of the University Police
Department and helping us to maintain a safe environment for all. Thanks, Ralph C. Meyer Chief of Police Texas State University
niversity officials should respond more quickly and efficiently to future emergency situations as a result of lessons learned from the Oct. 18 bomb threat. According to a Nov. 6 University Star article, former student Brittany Nicole Henderson was arrested Oct. 23 and put in the Brazos County Jail. According to an Oct. 22 University Star article, she sent the bomb threat via email to a Texas State admissions counselor who works from her home in Houston. Henderson, who is facing charges for the bomb threat, was recently transported to the Hays County Law Enforcement Center. According to the same Oct. 22 article, the bomb threat regarding the Undergraduate Admissions Center was sent at 7:21 a.m., but was not transferred to the University Police Department until approximately 8:50 a.m. Students on campus were not made aware of the potential danger until almost two and a half hours after the threat was sent. Students were alerted of the bomb threat through the university’s emergency system with text messages, emails and notices scrolling along the clocks and computers in classrooms. According to the same Oct. 22 article, the alerts were sent to students periodically from about 9:40 a.m. that day until the threat officially ended at 12 p.m. The university should have evacuated more than just the ones within an 800foot radius, even though the threat was specifically targeted at the admissions building on campus. When other institutions such as the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University received bomb threats, the entire campuses were evacuated as a precaution. Although a specific building was not targeted in those instances, those universities still reacted quickly and efficiently to ensure the safety of their students. While many Texas State officials believed they acted swiftly, some students on campus during the threat felt the university appeared to take the issue lightly. When the alerts were first issued, some students were wary and expected the campus to be evacuated. Historically, at other universities in the state, a bomb threat often warrants an almost immediate evacuation of a campus. The university should have evacuated the entire campus as a precautionary measure. That way, students could have been properly alerted about the severity of the threat and the security measures utilized by the Austin Bomb Squad and the FBI. Students and faculty members count on university officials to protect them and respond quickly to serious issues. Although the threat was only a false alarm, it could have potentially been more serious. Officials should have been timelier in alarming the campus when the threat was received. However, it is commendable the university spent time measuring the validity of the threat. Ultimately, for some, the university’s handling of the bomb threat may have been considered the right move. In the future, the university should work to send alerts out more quickly and reduce the amount of time for the validifying process. --Ariella Hannon is an English senior.
Road hazards demand greater caution from drivers
By Molly Block Opinions Columnist
B
obcat Tram drivers need to take greater caution when navigating the roads currently under construction around the city. According to the Engineering and Capital Improvements page on the City of San Marcos website, there are currently 12 projects under construction in town. Expected completion of five of the projects
The University Star 601 University Drive Trinity Building, Room 101 San Marcos, TX 78666 Phone: (512) 245-3487 Fax: (512) 245-3708
was last summer, but these remain unfinished. With all of these projects under way, university bus drivers should be especially careful when traveling through confusing paths around San Marcos construction sites. It only takes one minor distraction to potentially endanger the lives of students and the construction workers on the sites. Reckless driving is common in San Marcos. According to a Sept. 5 Hays Free Press article, a New Braunfels resident was recently killed in San Marcos in a fatal hit-and-run accident. According to a Sept. 11 University Star article, there have been nine vehicle-related deaths since Jan. 1 in the city, five of which were pedestrians. These tragedies can possibly be attributed to drivers who are not paying close enough attention to their surroundings. Driving is dangerous, and accidents can happen when
Editor In Chief................................................Beth Brown, stareditor@txstate.edu Managing Editor............................Lee Moran, starmanagingeditor@txstate.edu Letters..................................................................................starletters@txstate.edu News Editor...................................................Caitlin Clark, starnews@txstate.edu Trends Editor............................Hollie O’Connor, starentertainment@txstate.edu Opinions Editor..........................................Liza Winkler, staropinion@txstate.edu Photo Editor.......................................Austin Humphreys, starphoto@txstate.edu Sports Editor..........................................Cameron Irvine, starsports@txstate.edu Copy Desk Chief......................Thomas Glasebrook, starcopychief@txstate.edu Web Editor............................................Karyn Kittlitz, starwebeditor@txstate.edu
they are least expected. According to an Oct. 16 University Star article, some of the routes that affect campus buses have been changed because of construction on Sessom Drive. These changes will help deter traffic caused by the current construction. However, they will inevitably make the routes more complicated and difficult to navigate. Construction crews may also add to the disorder by keeping their project materials and equipment near the side of the road. These hazards, combined with bus route alterations, have made travel more difficult for drivers. According to a transportation survey sent to 5,000 Texas State students in March 2011, 49 percent of the 1,227 Bobcats who responded indicated they live off campus. According to the same survey, 54.2 percent
Multimedia Editor.........................Alex Peña, starmultimediaeditor@txstate.edu Design Editor................................Michelle Wadsworth, stardesign@txstate.edu Account Executive........................................Christina Carr, starad4@txstate.edu Account Executive...................................Casey Neubauer, starad2@txstate.edu Account Executive..................................Michelle Rohmer, starad3@txstate.edu Account Executive.....................................Hannah Wilson, starad5@txstate.edu Media Specialist.............................................Mary Scheske, ms88@txstate.edu Advertising Coordinator...........................Kelsey Nuckolls, starad1@txstate.edu Publications Coordinator.......................................Linda Allen, la06@txstate.edu Publications Director...........................Bob Bajackson, stardirector@txstate.edu
of the sampled students indicated they utilized the Bobcat Tram or public transportation services during the 2011 spring semester. With so many students relying on bus services to get to and from campus, it is crucial that drivers keep a watchful eye on the road to prevent any further accidents from happening. While construction continues to be a problem, bus drivers need to start becoming more vigilant when transporting students to their destinations. There will always be distractions and complications on the road. If students, residents and university bus drivers learn to take extra caution on the roadways, the Bobcat Tram routes will be safer in the future. --Molly Block is a mass communication junior.
The University Star is the student newspaper of Texas State University-San Marcos and is published every other Wednesday in the summer semesters. It is distributed on campus and throughout San Marcos at 8 a.m. on publication days with a distribution of 6,000. Printing and distribution is by the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Copyright Tuesday, November 8, 2012. All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The University Star are the exclusive property of The University Star and may not be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the editor in chief. The first five issues of each edition of the paper are free. Additional copies of the paper can be purchased at 50¢ per copy. Contact The University Star office at (512) 245-3487 to purchase additional copies.
Visit The Star at www.UniversityStar.com