11 17 2005

Page 1

LET’S TALK TURKEY... OR NOT

STRAIGHT BALLIN’

SEE TRENDS PAGE 6

SEE SPORTS PAGE 14

How to enjoy Thanksgiving even if you can’t make it over the river and through the woods.

If you can dodge a class, you can dodge a ball

TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS

www.UNIVERSITYSTAR.com

THURSDAY

NOVEMBER 17, 2005

VOLUME 95, ISSUE 36

Council discusses alleged election code violations

Cutting it out

By Leah Kirkwood News Reporter

Courtney Addison/Star photo illustration

The San Marcos City Council held a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss allegations of unfair voting policies at the Texas State early voting site, the results of the Nov. 8 election and the upcoming runoff election to be held on Dec. 6 between Chris Jones, public administration senior, and Moe Johnson, health physical education and recreation professor, for Place 4 on the council. Council members signed the results of the November election and City Clerk Janis Womack read aloud the voting results from the Nov. 8 election for each bond proposition and named Daniel Guerrero as the winner of the majority vote for council seat Place 3. The council then turned its attention to the upcoming runoff election for Place 4 because neither candidate received a majority vote in the Nov. 8 election. An ordinance naming the early voting locations as the San Marcos City Hall and the LBJ Student Center sent the council into the first of two executive sessions during the meeting. Narvaiz announced the coun-

The American Cancer Society sponsors the Great American Smoke Out today in an effort to help curb smoking habits among 18- to 24-year-olds.

Great American Smoke Out encourages students to quit By Jason Buch News Reporter In response to the high number of young adults who smoke and what the American Cancer Society said are

attempts by the tobacco industry to target young consumers, the ACS will bring its Great American Smoke Out event to Texas State today. “I think the urgency of the Great American Smoke Out is

that 10,620 people alone will die of lung cancer in Texas this year,” said Cristi McAnelly, field representative for the ACS. “Many people are dying, and the most effective way to prevent lung cancer is to quit

smoking.” According to the ACS, young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 smoke more See OUT, page 4

cil would discuss the duties of public officer and city clerk, but upon return, she addressed accusations regarding the Texas State early voting site. Associated Student Government President Jordan Anderson said there had been some opposition to early voting on the Texas State campus for the runoff election due to complaints of unfairness in the first election. Accusations included inequitable overrepresentation of Jones, who was permitted to campaign and advertise on campus, while other candidates contend they were not allowed to. Narvaiz also said there had also been complaints about campaign code and election code violations at Texas State University, and that the university “is to review the election code as it pertains to polling places.” Narvaiz said that equal access and a fair playing field must be provided to all candidates, and that any candidate who goes to Texas State and feels he doesn’t receive fair treatment should notify election officials. The movement for approval on the ordinance was made by See ELECTION, page 5

Council debates location Senate challenges incoming faculty of commuter rail station contract dates, titles for researchers By Danea Johnson News Reporter A commuter train linking San Antonio, San Marcos and Austin on the Interstate 35 corridor may not be so far in the future when the San Marcos City Council approves the location of a proposed station. Sid Covington, chair of the AustinSan Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District, was in attendance at the San Marcos City Council meeting on Tuesday to give a PowerPoint presentation regarding a commuter rail project that will provide commuters with transportation from Austin to San Antonio. “Sorry I’m late, but we (have got to) get these two towns closer together,”

Covington said at the beginning of his presentation. As of now, the projected commuter rail would cover 110 miles from Georgetown to South San Antonio with 15 stations. There has been some debate over the location of San Marcos’ station. Covington said the commuter rail would be in the downtown area, instead of another proposed location at Bobcat Stadium. “There are all sorts of reasons (for the commuter rail’s location downtown.) It will be a mechanism and driving force to renovate that part of town,” Covington said. Kyle Morris, Associated Student

By Clayton Medford News Reporter The changing of faculty contract dates and the creation of a Research Faculty Policy and Procedures Statement were topics of concern at the Faculty Senate’s meeting on Wednesday. Currently, the contract for faculty on the nine-month program begins on Sept. 1. Since new hires, as well as current faculty, tend to start working in the middle of August, a new hire works without insurance coverage.

Also, a new hire does not receive a paycheck until Oct. 1, six weeks after he or she begins working at the university. The senators believe that moving the contract dates back by two weeks will allow insurance coverage to begin when the new hire actually begins work and will also minimize the gap between the first day of work and when the faculty receives the first paycheck, which under the new plan would be Sept. 1. “I think this falls pretty heavily on assistant professors coming in,” said anthropology professor and Sen. Rich

Warms. “I remember when I was in that position; I would have killed for any kind of coverage.” Some issues surrounding moving the dates include the corresponding shift at the end of the spring semester, the possibility of being paid twice and the contracts overlapping into different fiscal years. Health, physical education and recreation professor and Sen. Gay James made a motion that the senate recommend to the administration that they See FACULTY, page 5

RIGHT-HAND MAN

See COUNCIL, page 4

University searches for consultant to investigate AALC incident By Ashley Richards Assistant News Editor More than two months after a confrontation between police officers and students at the African American Leadership Conference after-party, the university has compiled and posted online a request for proposals to find a consultant to investigate the incident. “We have just put out the request for proposals for the investigation of the University Police Department,” said Kate Robbins, executive assistant to the vice president of student affairs. “By law, we have to post this for 30 days.” Robbins said the request was posted on the Secretary of State Web site on Wednesday. Two parts are included in the request for proposals. First, the university requested an investigation of the events that took place while UPD and San Marcos Police Department officers

were dispersing participants from the LBJ Student Center parking garage. The second part of the request asks for an assessment of the UPD, including an outline of areas of strength and where improvement is needed. According to the request, all proposals must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 14. to Joanne Smith, VPSA. The request also outlines stipulations stating that proposals made will remain effective for a minimum of 90 days, unless otherwise specified in a proposal, so the university will have “time for evaluation, approval and award of contract.” The proposal also outlines requirements for qualified vendors as well as the process for awarding a contract and the possibility of the university requiring “pre-award presentations” from those who submit a proposal to

Today’s Weather

Sunny 62˚/37˚

Precipitation: 0% Humidity: 26% UV: 5 Moderate Wind: E 9 mph

Spencer Millsap/Star photo Daniel Guerrero is sworn in for a second term as a City Council member, Place 3, during Wednesday evening’s special meeting at San Marcos City Hall.

See AALC, page 5

Two-day Forecast Friday Partly Cloudy Temp: 62°/ 37° Precipitation: 0%

Saturday Sunny Temp: 71°/ 43° Precipitation: 0%

Inside

TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS

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Trinity Building Phone: (512) 245-3487 Fax: (512) 245-3708 www.UniversityStar.com © 2005 The University Star


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