OUTSIDE THREAT
TOTALLY CROSSED OUT Bobcats aid Hurricane evacuees with Red Cross in Kyle
Lawrencia Brown’s V-ball skills know no bounds
SEE TRENDS PAGE 6
SEE SPORTS PAGE 10
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS
www.UNIVERSITYSTAR.com
SEPTEMBER 29, 2005
THURSDAY
VOLUME 95, ISSUE 15
Faculty senators, liaisons discuss tenure changes
No
Longer
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By Clayton Medford News Reporter The Faculty Senate met with faculty liaisons to discuss their concerns at the senate’s weekly meeting. The liaisons, which represent those departments without a senator representation, listened to presentations given by senators and offered their concerns and suggestions to the senate. Computer science professor and Sen. Donald Hazelwood presented proposed promotion and tenure rule changes to the liaisons. One change in the new policy is the stipulation that a faculty member cannot apply for promotion to associate professor without at the same time applying for tenure. Also, the “tenure clock,” according to the University Policies and Procedures Statement, can be suspended for several reasons such as the birth or adoption of a child and must be approved by the provost. Art and design professor and Sen. Michel Conroy discussed changes in the Faculty Constitution as well as changes made to the Research Enhancement Program. The method of distributing REP grants was changed by the senate, which oversees the allocation of the REP grants with the Office of Sponsored Projects, so that each college is awarded grants based
Angelou Sings
Maya Angelou, a highly recognized poet and novelist, spoke inspirational words about courage on Wednesday to thousands of Texas State students and San Marcos residents outside of the LBJ Student Center. Armando Sanchez/Star photo
Renowned poet, author urges audience to ‘be a rainbow’ By Leah Kirkwood News Reporter Wednesday evening drew a large crowd of students, faculty and members of the community into the paved mall between the Alkek Library and LBJ Student Center to hear the famous poet Maya Angelou speak on the subject of “Courage.”
Brittani Sims, mass communication junior, was eager to see one of her idols in person. “Whenever I was younger and we had to do a report on a famous person I always chose Maya Angelou,” Sims said. “I came here to hear her words instead of just reading them.” Other students, such as John Dermit, were only recently introduced to the author.
“My university seminar class first introduced me to her; we watched a video clip of one of her speeches,” said Dermit, business sophomore. “When I saw fliers that she was going to be on campus, I had to come for the experience.” Chenile Clark, fashion merchandising junior, is a fan of Angelou’s work. See POET, page 4
on the amount requested. Senators said this would put more power in the hands of each college’s research committee. Senate Chair and criminal justice professor Bill Stone proposed a change to electronic voting for senator elections. Several liaisons, including theater professor Sheila Hargett, said electronic voting was “a welcome change.” However, some liaisons voiced their concerns about the security and privacy of voting. Computer science professor and former Sen. Ronald Sawey, who designed the system, reassured the liaisons by stating that the “importance of senate elections” is not so great as to solicit the attacks necessary to penetrate “the measures in place.” After a brief discussion of changes to the faculty handbook, the liaisons took turns voicing their concerns to the senators. One such concern was about the requirement of faculty to teach courses at the Round Rock Higher Education Center. Finance and economics liaison Jim Stutzman spoke on behalf of his department. “As we hired new faculty, we told them they may have an obligation to teach at Round Rock. Apparently within the last year this informal policy has changed to where it’s now See TENURE, page 4
Family weekend lays Texas State to debut Going After Cacciato Play inspired by out the welcome mat award-winning Vietnam novel for Bobcat parents By Jacqueline Davis News Reporter Texas State will be holding its sixth annual Family Weekend from Friday through Sunday. The Texas State Parents Association has put together several activities and events geared toward helping parents experience all that Texas State has to offer for their college students and bringing students together campuswide. Events for Friday include the Bobcat volleyball game against Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. in Strahan Coliseum. The Student Steel Drum band will be performing at the LBJ Student Center Amphitheater, featuring Caribbean and calypso music. Although the other events draw students and parents, the stargazing party is one of Family Weekend’s best-attended events, said Marion Loep, coordinator for the Parents Association and co-chair in charge of sponsoring Family Weekend. The party allows parents and students to visit the observatory on the fourth floor of the Supple Science Building, and university ambassadors will be available as guides. Saturday’s events begin at 7:30 a.m. with the annual golf tournament called Morning on the Green. Morning on the Green, sponsored by Campus Recreation and held at the Texas State Golf Course, is a two-person, 18-hole scramble tournament.
The entry fee is $45 per person and includes green fee, golf cart, a Texas State T-shirt and a lunch ticket for Family Round Up barbecue in Sewell Park. Winners of the tournament will be announced at 12:30 p.m. during the Family Round Up. The Family Round Up lunch will be supplied by Fuschak’s Pit Bar-B.Q. from noon to 1:30 p.m. At 11 a.m., several community vendors and campus groups will set up information tables throughout the park, giving parents and families a feel for San Marcos and student life at Texas State. Lifeguards will also be on hand to supervise swimming at Sewell Park, Loep said. Also, games will be available for children. Advance tickets for the barbecue lunch are $8 per person and $10 if purchased at the event. The entertainment at Sewell Park will begin at 11 a.m. with the awardwinning musical group Salsa Del Rio, a salsa band with AfricanCuban influences. Many Texas State students will also be participating in the day’s entertainment, including performances by Harambee, Orchesis, the Hip Hop Congress, the Texas State cheerleaders and band. Door prizes include gift baskets, CDs, kayak and canoe rentals, $25 gift certificates to Grin’s Restaurant and two free nights at Red Roof Inn in San Marcos. President Denise Trauth will be giving a welSee WEEKEND, page 4
Today’s Weather
Partly Cloudy 81˚/ 58˚
Precipitation: 20% Humidity: 53% UV: 8 Very High Wind: NNE 17 mph
By Carl Norberg News Reporter
The Texas State Department of Theater and Dance will host the worldwide debut of Going After Cacciato on Tuesday when director Chuck Ney brings to the stage Romulus Linney’s adaptation of the award-winning novel by Tim O’Brien.
O’Brien, who serves as the Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Endowed Chair in Creative Writing for 2005 through 2006, was treated to a preview of the play a week prior to opening night. “It looks terrific. I’m very pleased with the result,” O’Brien said. “I was astonished at what great actors the students are. They’re really talented and committed. It’s a terrific performance across the board. I was really, really impressed.” The play is based on O’Brien’s third novel, Going After Cacciato, which won the National Book Award in 1979, nine years
after he returned from Vietnam. The main character, Paul Berlin, is “loosely based on a number of people I knew and primarily on myself,” O’Brien said. The story follows Berlin and his squad as they pursue Cacciato, a young soldier who left the war, intending to walk some 8,000 miles to Paris for a series of peace talks. Throughout the pursuit, Berlin is haunted by the horrific reality that surrounds him in his own attempt to survive. O’Brien, who teaches a graduate creative writing workshop, said he found himself writing
stories of Vietnam as a means of personal therapy. “I just had to,” he said. “It wasn’t a question of inspiration; it was all these memories. Going through an experience like war is like going through cancer or a bad divorce. It’s a time in your life that, if you’re a writer, you can try and make art or salvage something beautiful out of it. My real goal was to try and reach down inside and salvage a piece of art from all the horror and death and the nightmare that Vietnam was for me.” See CACCIATO, page 4
Texas State reaches record enrollment this fall By Zandria Avila News Reporter Texas State is literally busting at the seams — this fall, enrollment reached its record of 27,171 students. The Fall 2005 freshman class of 3,076 is the second-largest class in Texas State’s history. Based on class rank, SAT scores and course curriculum, the admissions criteria at Texas State is considered one of the most elite in the state of Texas. “Texas State ranks among the top five public institutions in terms of selectivity in the state of Texas,” said Michael Heintze, associate vice president of Enrollment Management. The newest class for the university has the numbers to back it up, too — not just sheer quantity of new students but in their test scores and class rankings. “Fifty percent of the fresh-
man class ranked in the top 25 percent of their graduating class, and 13 percent ranked in the top 10 percent of their class,” Heintze said. “These numbers show this is a strong incoming class.” Despite administrative pride, some feel Texas State has lost its original luster in the crowds. “I applied to Texas State because it was not a large school, the university appealed to me because I would receive the individual attention I needed,” said Cynthia Smith, biology senior. “Though the administration has attempted to keep the same principles, it will soon fade as the numbers grow.” Jose Laird, associate director of Admissions, stressed that while the university is indeed Adam Clay/Star photo growing rapidly, it is not “growAn increase in traffi c congestion on and off campus may be ing for the sake of growing.” He said the university has a result of Texas State’s increase in student enrollment. This year marks the highest enrollment has ever been at 27,171 See ENROLLMENT, page 3 students.
Two-day Forecast Friday Sunny Temp: 89°/ 54° Precipitation: 20%
Saturday Mostly Sunny Temp: 93°/ 68° Precipitation: 10%
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