VOLUME 102, ISSUE 40
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NOVEMBER 29, 2012
A House United
Tantra Coffeehouse has found a new focus after ending live music performances. For more on the Tantra Coffee House update, visit UniversityStar.com.
of a 3-part serie s Part 3
Map details sewage spills over aquifer By Caitlin Clark News Editor
Custodians express outsourcing concerns By Megan Carthel News Reporter Some Texas State-employed custodians are questioning whether their shoes will be able to be filled by the new McLemore hires when the university eventually outsources all custodial positions. Texas State started the process of outsourcing its custodians last summer. The university entered a contract, effective June 1, with McLemore Building Maintenance, Inc. McLemore employees will fill the vacancies as university custodians retire or quit over time. Some university custodians do not feel the McLemore employees will be able to provide the same level of service Demanding hours and tasks, fewer benefits and a lack of pre-existing loyalty to Texas State could be some hurdles the outsourced employees will face, some custodians say. “We’re putting our lives into this place and hope we will be able to retire some day,” said a
custodian who wished to remain anonymous. “We don’t understand how they think the outsourced people are going to do a greater job than regular state employees could do when they don’t have the benefits and get paid less. They don’t have the loyalty.” Kim Graves, director of Custodial Operations, said as of Dec. 1 her department will employ 88 Texas State custodians. She said there is a traditionally high turnover rate in the custodial industry. Brent Losak, a former worker under Custodial Operations, now works for the Department of Housing and Residential Life. Losak said it is a cause for concern if a department in a growing institution has frozen the number of in-house employees and started outsourcing. Brent Losak, custodian with the department of Housing and Residential Life, said he used to work the night shift in Alkek Library during his time with Custodial Operations. He re-
Texas State students have created an interactive map detailing sewage spills over the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer in Bexar County, which could have future health and environmental implications. A team of four students found the spills totaled more than 809,000 gallons since 2004. Yongmei Lu, associate professor in the Department of Geography, said her students created the map for a “service learning” project. The students had to ap-
ply skills learned in class to help a non-profit organization, in this case the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance. Lu said what started as a class project ended up raising questions about the environmental impact of urban development on and near the Edwards Aquifer. Lu said Brady Nock, Mark Wilson, Rachael Weissman and Amy Woods were a part of the GeoTex Environmental Solutions student group that put together the interactive map. The map provides the latitude and longitude of the spills, when they occurred and how much
sewage was discharged. Annalisa Peace, executive director of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, said the sewage spills can be caused by many issues. The spills can result from breaks in water pipelines caused by rust, shifts in the earth or clogs from things people should flush down their drains, like grease. Sewage spills are particularly troublesome over the aquifer’s recharge zone because water is not filtered when it enters the aquifer from those locations.
READ SEWAGE, PAGE 2
A DREAM DEFERRED
READ custodian, PAGE 2
Ruptured gas line causes hall evacuation By Taylor Tompkins Assistant News Editor Students eating in Commons Dining Hall were evacuated after construction equipment struck a gas main near Wood Street at Edward Gary Street Wednesday afternoon. Construction workers struck a gas main on the Performing Arts Center construction at approximately 1:30 p.m., said Mark Hendricks, director of University News Service. Students received an emergency notice about the gas leak at 1:57 p.m. Because of wind direction and the smell of gas in the area, con-
struction workers and University Police Department officers evacuated students dining in Commons at 1:46 p.m. Hendricks said the dining hall remained evacuated for about 20 minutes. Biology junior Michael Odiari,said he was waiting for his food to be prepared when students and staff were asked to evacuate the building. “I was irritated because I was really starving,” Odiari said. “I lost my swipe.” Hendricks said CenterPoint Energy put a sleeve on the ruptured pipe at about 2:45 p.m., and activity resumed normally in the area.
Carlos Valdez, Assistant Photo Editor
Joel Ruiz was born in Mexico and left Veracruz, Mexico at the age of 7 to become a U.S. citizen in Lockhart. Ruiz recently obtained his work permit under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Hopeful student, immigrant struggles to further education READ THE FULL STORY, PAGE 7
Townhomes demolished to make way for Wildwood By Nicole Barrios News Reporter The Mill Street Townhomes were demolished to make room for a new student housing complex that will open its doors Aug. 15. Andrew Freeman, development operations coordinator for the city of San Marcos, said The Dovetail
Companies purchased the property from Tim Olwell , owner of the Mill Street Townhomes, in July. The land will be used for the construction of Wildwood, a student apartment complex. While no residents were evicted from the townhomes, Olwell said residents received a letter on June 1 informing them of a 60-day deadline to
move out. Mike Swope, director of marketing for The Dovetail Companies, said he was unsure of how much the property formerly occupied by Mill Street Townhomes was purchased for. Olwell would not comment on the property’s price. Olwell said The Dovetail Companies first approached him re-
garding buying his property about a year ago, and negotiating the deal took a long time. The Dovetail Companies bought the eight lots of land Olwell owned to add to the areas already purchased behind the Mill Street Townhomes for Wildwood. Olwell said The Dovetail Companies needed his acreage to develop
the larger complex. “They bought (my lots) and they bulldozed them and they’re going to create a great big housing area for students,” Olwell said. Swope said The Dovetail Companies purchased the property for Wildwood because its proximity to
READ WILDWOOD, PAGE 2
Free-range hamburgers to be offered at dining halls By Nancy Young News Reporter
Shea Wendlandt, Staff Photographer
Chartwells is currently awaiting corporate approval for an order of free-range beef patties that will be available to students next semester.
Students will be able to order free-range beef patties at The Den beginning spring 2013. Chartwells is awaiting corporate approval on an order of a few hundred free-range hamburger patties. Chartwells Interim Director ChinHong Chua said the patties will be available to students next semester. Ian Smith, communication studies senior and co-founder of the Human Environmental Animal Team, said the organization has been pushing for free-range meat on campus since 2010. Free-range meat products come from animals that were allowed to
roam freely, rather than kept in enclosures or cages for the entirety of their lives. Smith said the university supports the push to bring freerange patties to campus, but has expressed a concern with the extra cost associated with the product. Smith said former Chartwells director Leslie Bulkley worked with H.E.A.T. during her tenure to bring free-range meat to campus. He said because the product is more expensive, it would come at a higher price for students. Smith said Bulkley was adamant about not changing meal trade costs for students. “(Bulkley) refused (to raise the price) because students already pay a lot for meal trades,” Smith
said. “It will just be an extra option at The Den that you can use with your dining dollars.” Smith said a free-range meat option will be comparable to the extra cost of ordering guacamole on a burrito or avocado on a burger. H.E.A.T. campaigned for freerange meat at the beginning of the semester by having students participate in a “face petition,” Smith said. Instead of asking students for their signatures, H.E.A.T. members asked students take a picture in a cage to represent the restrained animals used for meat products. More than 400 students participated in the interactive
READ burgers, PAGE 2