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Diwali in San Marcos
Volume 99, Issue 33
Tuesday
NOV
17
Bobcats celebrated the festival of lights with traditional food, dress and performances with the Indian Student Association of Texas State. See story page 6 and exclusive video at UniversityStar.com
Game Over
Texas State loses conference title, playoff chances
Fee, tuition increases placed on agenda By Amanda Venable Editor in Chief A shortage of academic advisers may result in students paying more next year. Administrators are traveling to Beaumont Wednesday to propose an approximately 5-percent tuition and fee increase to the Board of Regents. The proposed increases are multipronged: an increase in the advising fee and a 4.1-percent hike in tuition. The Fee Increase
Ben Rondeau/Star photo
See story page 10
Students pay $60 in academic advising fees. Under the proposal, students will pay $73 and $90 during the 2010 and 2011 academic years, respectively — a 2.5 and 3.1 percent increase. The proposal, which will be presented by University President Denise Trauth, gained the support of the Associated Student Government Monday night. ASG members, like the administration, argued the fee increase is needed to hire additional advisers. Texas State has a student-toadviser ratio of 400:1. University officials plan to use the fee increase to hire 23 new advisers — which would translate to a 300:1 student-to-adviser ratio. The advisers will be housed in the freshmen-only
Personalized Academic and Career Exploration Center. The center is part of a larger initiative. Texas State will be undergoing reaccreditation by the Southern Association of College Schools when representatives visit the campus in March. The fee increase is “paramount” to the university’s reaccreditation, said ASG President Chris Covo at Monday night’s meeting. Not all ASG members felt the same. Sen. Jon Riggs voted against supporting the increase, while four senators abstained from voting. Riggs said he was in support of the program, but not the fee increase. “I think as the Associated Student Government, we are representative of the student body,” Riggs said. “I think we should be talking to the students about this because this is affecting all of them not just us.” The center, which would be built by Evans Liberal Arts, could be opened by spring or summer of 2010, according to Bill Nance, vice president of finance and support services. He said the fee increase covers the center’s costs for five years, starting with a reserve fund. “At the end of five years, we see TUITION, page 4
Texas State students’ loyalty called into question By Allen Reed News Editor
Star file photo
Jon Riggs
How far should bobcats go to show their pride? Texas State Traitors was founded Nov. 10 by Associated Student Government Sen. Jon Riggs and grew to more than 1,000 members in less than a week. Riggs said the group was designed to foster school spirit by poking-fun of disloyal students. Pictures of indeviduals sporting other schools’ apparel are posted on the group. There, they are labeled as traitors. The photos are posted without the students’ knowledge or consent. Past and present members of the group include ASG President Chris Covo, Vice President Tommy Luna, Chief of Staff Gordon Taylor, Executive Assistant Justin Collard and Chief Justice Michael Guzman. At least 19 of the 57 ASG senators have been members of the group. Covo said the group is neither sponsored nor endorsed by the student government. He said Riggs is
an elected official, but his actions outside the senate are not a representation of the governing body. Riggs said the group is satirical and provocative but has a serious purpose. “I’m the first person in my family to ever go to college, and I got here the hard way,” Riggs said. “Texas State and its professors have opened more doors for me and created more opportunities for me than I could have ever imagined.” Riggs said he created a group after a University of Texas fan made a joke about the Texas State baseball team in a class. “It started out as just a funny thing, but the first day that I did it… I caught seven different people (in 15 minutes),” Riggs said. According to the description of the group, “a picture must be submitted of the person destroying the clothing of ill repute” in order for the photo to be removed. Riggs said no one has destroyed any clothing yet, but a few have said they will stop wearing other
schools’ colors. “Ideally, I would enjoy it if students would wear their Texas State shirts not only here all the time, but to wear their shirts at other schools when they go on to grad school and med school,” Riggs said. Not all students are laughing. “It’s nice for students to be proud about being bobcats, but I don’t think putting these people out there is necessarily right,” said Lyndsey Peebles, pre-communication design sophomore. “You can get people excited about going to school here without making those people look like traitors.” Peebles said she joined the group to be a dissenting voice. Peebles posted on the group’s wall that she would wear whatever she wanted. In response, Riggs wrote, “You ladies are part of a tired act...a thinning breed of laziness. If you feel the school doesn’t do anything for you, then be adults and do something about it. Go somewhere else. There’s see TRAITORS, page 4
ASG vote to implement additional ‘dead day’ for finals By Bianca Davis News Reporter ASG senators will vote next week on a bill that would add another ‘dead day’ to the academic calendar beginning spring 2010. Sen. Coty Morris, music studies junior, authored the bill to include another day for preparation. Morris said other universities have several days or a week to prepare for finals, while others have a fall break.
She said the additional day was necessary to allow for better preparation. Morris said adding one day would allow for more time to study without disrupting the academic calendar. “The dates that we already know for commencement and for the last day of finals would still remain the same,” Morris said. “Throughout the rest of the semester the times would fluctuate but we would still get out at the same time.”
Sen. Colter Ray, public relations junior, said people can have several finals at the beginning of the week, and one or two at the end. The time in between is not used effectively, he said. “The way people schedule their classes, you end up getting clumps of finals,” Ray said. “My experience has been that I’ll have three finals that first day and then one at the very last possible time slot, and the weekend doesn’t do much.”
Ray said university officials refer to the designated time before finals as ‘preparation days.’ “We don’t like the idea of calling it ‘dead day’ because it sounds like we’re a bunch of zombies, and we’re going to sleep all day and not be productive,” Ray said. “Calling it preparation day more directly reflects the purpose of it as it’s supposed to be a time to really gear up for that final push.” Sen. Sarah Wood said fi-
nals time is stressful because there are final projects due at the end of the semester. “Even though I pace myself throughout the semester, I find that I’m scuttling that last day,” Wood said. “I really feel like an extra day will give you a little more room to breathe and a mental break to prepare myself for the next week of finals.” Sen. Mel Ferrari, president of the Resident Hall Association, said she sees how stress affects students living in the dorms.
“There are students who get very stressed out,” Ferrari said. “A lot of people start to get scared, ‘Oh well, I’m starting to get a little sick’ and everybody starts freaking out.” The bill, if passed, would implement an additional preparation day next semester. Ferrari said the possibility of adding additional days is open for the future. “Two is fine for now,” Ferrari said. “Hopefully we can work on more for later.”
Today’s Weather
NEWS
OPINIONS
TRENDS
SPORTS
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Administration updates, increases doctoral program options
Main Point: UT professor crosses the line, leads to discussion on higher ed
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