April 18, 2013

VOLUME 102, ISSUE 79

www.UniversityStar.com

Defending the First Amendment since 1911

THURSDAY

APRIL 18, 2013

GO NE ONLI NOW

Greek Week Greek Week is a series of events that promote fraternities and sororities across the nation and raise money for charitable organizations. To see interviews at Sewell Park before Wednesday’s festivities, go to UniversityStar.com.

STAYING CONNECTED Texas (other)

Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington

10% Out of state

1.2%

12%

There are approximately

Austin, Round Rock, San Marcos

150,000 El Paso

0.3%

By Taylor Tompkins Assistant News Editor

Killeen, Temple, Fort Hood

9%

32%

Women

45%

Houston, Sugarland, Baytown

Texas State alumni

18% San Antonio, New Braunfels

Middle-lower Rio Grande valley

Coastal Bend

1.5%

2%

14%

Men

55%

Alumni by graduation decade 1960s

1970s

3% 11%

1980s

21%

1990s

26%

2000s

38% *Information courtesy of the Alumni Association

University encourages more alumni involvement

By Taylor Tompkins Assistant New Editor The Alumni Association is formulating a strategic master plan that will outline ways to strengthen ties with the approximately 150,000 graduates spread across the state and country.

Kim Gannon, alumni executive director, said during the March 17 Faculty Senate meeting the association’s strategic master plan will determine the goals and objectives for increasing former-student involvement. Texas State has an alumni-participation rate of 5 percent, according to the office of University Advancement webpage. The plan comes after several years of transition within the Alumni Association, which has had its bylaws rewritten and changes made to the Board of Directors, Gannon said.

“We have tried to define what our role is within the realm of the university,” Gannon said. “We’re here to engage and serve alumni—and to ideally keep them connected to Texas State University through the rest of their lives.”

Gannon said the plan aims to improve alumni engagement with Texas State by creating relationships and building stronger connections in order to instill a desire to give back to the university.

“We’d like more alumni to be more involved in whatever way makes the most sense to them,” Gannon said. “For some, that’s giving their time. For others, that’s writing a check. For some individuals, it’s sharing a talent (by) being a mentor or speaking to a class.”

Finding ways to engage and connect with alumni is one of the goals of the plan.

Gannon said communication between the association and alumni needs to be strategic because nearly 50 percent of former students have graduated in the past 23 years. Alumni have different expectations, needs, likes and communication styles

ASG leaders Cortez, Perez sworn into upcoming positions

because approximately half of them graduated within the past two decades, Gannon said. Some alumni like to receive their information through traditional mail, but others prefer digital and social media as forms of communication, she said.

Persuading alumni to come to events is another issue faced by the association, in addition to finding effective ways to communicate with former students. Most graduates live on the Interstate 35 corridor, Gannon said. Alumni living closer to San Marcos create more of a challenge, she said. Her reasoning was they can put off opportunities to go to events or participate because it isn’t a long trip.

Only 12 percent of alumni live outside Texas.

Pride and the drive for alumni participation will be instilled in current students by fostering a “campus culture” of lifelong connections, according to the plan. Gannon said encouraging a lifelong connection with Texas State will make current students proud alumni.

“Whenever I am out in (the) community, and I say anything about Texas State, everyone who is a Bobcat is proud to be a Bobcat,” said Janet Payne, faculty senator for the McCoy College of Business.

Increasing financial support for the university is another goal the association hopes to achieve. Creating a self-sustainable association would in turn provide funds to the university. The association gave 83 students $1,500 scholarships last year and hopes to continue that practice, Gannon said.

Some faculty senators expressed the need for better job networking with alumni. James Kimmel, faculty senator for the Department of Geography, suggested the association could host annual occasions like his department’s student and alumni event. Kimmel said events can help students create connections with alumni.

Gannon said the association’s master plan will be reviewed and voted on during its April 27 board of directors meeting.

Vanessa Cortez enthusiastically said her first hello to the student body as Associated Student Government president while her parents watched from the front row.

Students gathered near Flowers Hall April 17 for the ASG inauguration. President-elect Vanessa Cortez and Vice President-elect Eddie Perez swore their commitment to the student body and the university in front of friends, administrators and fellow scholars. In attendance were University President Denise Trauth and Provost Eugene Bourgeois. Joanne Smith, vice president of Student Affairs, and Margarita Arellano, dean of students, additionally attended.

Cortez and Perez ran uncontested on a joint ticket and were voted April 3 into office. The two have ASG experience under their belts, with Cortez serving as chief of staff under the current administration and Perez as committee chair.

“I know what student government is, and I know what it can be,” Cortez said. “I am fully confident that Eddie and I will see our vision through.”

Cortez and Perez ran on a platform emphasizing student involvement and pride, which she said “focused on the one thing that unites us all,” being Bobcats. The pair additionally aim to create campus sustainability and conserve energy.

Perez was greeted with an uproar from the crowd as he was announced.

The two grinned at each other as Cortez led Perez through the oath and afterwards hugged.

Cortez said although a partnership with administration is valuable, she and Eddie will be the voice of students, even if it puts them on opposing sides.

Cortez said she is grateful to outgoing president Nathan McDaniel and vice president Alison Sibley.

McDaniel, who spoke of the achievements ASG accomplished under his administration, said graduating will be a bittersweet experience, and he wishes Cortez and Perez the best of luck.

“We are all destined to do great things, be great people and make this world a better place,” McDaniel said.

“I am so excited to see the fantastic things that ASG will accomplish next year under the leadership of Vanessa and Eddie.”

McDaniel spoke about ASG’s advocacy for veterans to get better service on campus and the online presence of the student government.

Trauth said Cortez and Perez will now be included in Texas State history along with other leaders, such as former President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

“We have every confidence that you will rise to the bar that has been set this year and be just as engaging and effective as Nathan and Alison,” Trauth said to the pair. “We want you to continue the legacy of strong leaders over the decades who have contributed to enhancing student life at this great university.”

Kathryn Parker, Staff Photographer

University President Denise Trauth swears in Associated Student Government President-elect Vanessa Cortez April 17 in The Quad.

City council considers hiring firefighters, police officer

By Minerva Hernandez-Garcia News Reporter City councilmembers are considering amending the 2012-2013 fiscal year budget to authorize the addition of four new firefighters and one new police officer to San Marcos’ police and fire departments.

Councilman Jude Prather, Place 2, said the amendment originated from staffing issues at the San Marcos Fire Department, and the city’s police team needs an additional officer in response to the growing community. Prather said some firefighters are having to work overtime, and another police officer would make the city safer. The city’s budget would be amended to authorize $226,650 of funds for the additions.

“Every year our city grows, and as we grow our need for public safety grows with

it,” Prather said.

Prather said it is “extremely unlikely” the amendment will not pass. The search to find people to fill the new posts has already begun, he said.

Fire Chief Les Stephens said four additional firefighter positions would help keep the stations fully staffed while still allowing for vacations, holidays, training and other events. Firefighters have untraditional hours, working for 24 hours and then taking 48 hours off, Stephens said. This coupled with the department’s limited number of firefighters means that any time one leaves, the others must be paid overtime.

Stephens said there are currently 60 firefighters. Someone must be on staff at all times, and the current number of firefighters does not allow for that without spending extra money, he said.

“We’ve fallen behind on our staffing model to keep those positions filled,” Stephens said.

“What those (additional) firefighters are going to do is bring us closer to fully staffed.”

Adding four firefighters is a “step in the right direction,” and Stephens said the additions would improve safety. Stephens said extra bodies would improve crew efficiency, and down the road he would like to see even more additional positions added.

Stephens hopes to welcome the new firefighters by mid-June to mid-July, when they will go through a five-week orientation. They will they will then officially start at the fire station between mid-July and mid-August.

Howard Williams, San Marcos police chief, said adding a new officer to the current 96 on staff will help the department keep up with the city’s growing population.

There is a plan to bring on one or two additional officers each year during the next four to six years, Williams said.

“The workload increases gradually over time,” Williams said. “This is the plan to keep us up with the workload.”

Williams said the San Marcos Police Department could hire the new officer as soon as city councilmembers approve the amendment to the budget.

Williams said SMPD must conduct an exam that generates a list of eligible people to hire. James Cantu, a former Marine Corps officer, is on top of the list. He is presently at the police academy in San Antonio.

SMPD will be ready to hire Cantu within a week of city council passing the amendment, though he will not be brought onto the force until he has his license and completes cadet class.

2 | Thursday April 18, 2013 | The University Star

OPINIONS

For more viewpoints or letters to the editor, e-mail staropinions@txstate.edu

Alternative transportation must be implemented

T

he time has come to finally address and reinstate an alternative-transportation service at Texas State.

The Students with Alternative Transportation program was first put into action in 2000 and received $18,500 in student service fees for operations each year it ran, according to a Sept. 29, 2009 University Star article. The S.W.A.T. safe-ride program was dismantled in fall 2009 to reallocate funds toward research efforts within the Alcohol and Drug Resource Center on campus.

Efforts to bring the program back since then have been alternatively unsuccessful or nonexistent, as money restrictions tightened and priorities shifted to athletics and achieving the status of an emerging research institution.

However, the life-saving S.W.A.T. program recently cropped up in the platform of the newly elected Associated Student Government president and vice president. It may never be a good time to ask university officials to fund another program, but there is no point in recent memory when S.W.A.T. has been more necessary.

In the same University Star article, Joanne Smith, vice president of Student Affairs, said the university’s primary function is “not to provide transportation for students who are at the bars.” It is important there is access to adequate education promoting positive behavior regarding alcohol and drugs through the resource center, but students are going to frequent bars and restaurants regardless.

There have been numerous reports of injuries and fatalities with hit-and-runs and other incidents near or on The Square throughout the past year. Students should not have to become another statistic after a night out on The Square because they are unable to locate a safe ride. Officials must find room in the university’s tight budget to allocate finances to an alternative-transportation program, while still

giving adequate funding to the campus resource center.

In the past, volunteers would assist students in safely getting home from bars and apartments in the San Marcos area, operating

Thursday through Sunday from 10:30 p.m. until 3 a.m. Students traveled to Texas A&M University to get a close look at the campus’ Caring Aggies R Protecting Over Our Lives program two years ago.

The editorial board believes this model program deserves a second look.

Many institutions make it a mission to form a concerted effort between students, faculty and staff members to operate safe-ride programs. Texas A&M is a standout leader with efforts to give free, nonjudgmental transportation options to students in its C.A.R.P.O.O.L. program. There are many students, faculty and staff members at Texas State who would be willing to volunteer their time and receive community-service hours by pitching in to fuel a safe-ride program.

Texas A&M officials team up with Lara Shine, Star Illustrator corporate sponsors

such as Enterprise Rent-a-Car and several food establishments to help fund C.A.R.P.O.O.L. operations and functions. Texas State officials could look into receiving support from local sponsors like Aloha Taxi and food chains to fund a safe-ride program. The funding would help offset multimillion dollar budget cuts from the state legislature. Businesses would be especially enticed to sponsor an alternative-transportation program if they could dispense their coupons or products to give students a chance to invest back into the local economy.

One night out of drinking without a safe ride home could drastically alter or end a student’s life forever. It should be a priority for university and student leaders to bring back an alternative-transportation program to give Bobcats a secure way home from the downtown area after a night out.

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.

Campus corporations should be kept in check

By Ravi Venkataraman Opinions Columnist

A

lthough it may be nice to grab coffee between classes at Starbucks in the LBJ Student Center, students must be conscious of the potentially negative effects corporations could present on campuses.

The expansion of corporate influence on college campuses is a double-edged sword.

Take Wal-Mart for example. The largest retailer in the world announced earlier this year they will open up shops on the Arizona State University and Georgia Tech campuses. These stores are not going to be like normal local Wal-Mart Supercenters, which

on average are 185,000 square feet. In fact, a Jan. 21 Huffington Post article stated the Georgia Tech store could be the smallest Wal-Mart in the country, slated to be between 2,500 and 5,000 square feet. Likewise, the one planned at Arizona State will be approximately 5,093 square feet, according to a press release by Wal-Mart.

This appears to be a win-win for both students and Wal-Mart. Food and other supplies would probably cost less at WalMart than prices at typical on-campus convenience stores. Wal-Mart provides more accessibility for students to lure them in, increasing business profits.

Wal-Mart has additional links to the Arizona State campus, beside the construction of the store’s new location there. Wal-Mart chose Arizona State’s Global Institute of Sustainability and the Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas to compile a “Sustainability Index,” according to an April 5 Inside Higher Ed article.

In a March 29, 2012 Arizona State press release, it was announced the Walton Family Foundation gave Arizona State’s Global In-

stitute of Sustainability $27.5 million for research. Wal-Mart officials have been aiming to assess the environmental impacts of items on the store’s shelves to provide consumers with ratings, so they can make greener choices. However, reports have criticized the standards of the “Sustainability Index” for appearing to have no or a relatively small effect on processes for product manufacturing. Spokespeople from both Wal-Mart and Arizona State have downplayed the link between the store and the research in interviews and news articles.

There is not much that can be done about these obvious links except knowing these connections can make students into more conscious consumers. Student can place doubt in Wal-Mart’s green ratings because there is a conflict of interest. Looking forward, students need to be more knowledgeable about the places they purchase from and the items they buy, especially since there is plenty of research information out there.

In the near future, students should expect to see an increase of corporation ties with institutions including Texas State. Many

university officials across the nation are undergoing budget pressures from state legislatures and are being forced to slash spending across the board. Corporations and institutions have the potential to work together in a way other than just allowing them to buy naming rights for buildings.

This could bring in money for universities and allow corporations to establish a footprint in a market. If Wal-Mart’s venture is successful at other colleges around the nation, there could be a possibility it could extend its business to other campuses like Texas State in the future.

Rather than fighting the system altogether, students should be educated on corporations and their practices because consumers have the special advantage to choose where to place their business. It is important students are smart with the stores they choose to frequent, no matter how convenient it may be to mindlessly shop at a corporation on campus.

--Ravi Venkataraman is a creative writing masters student.

New essay-grading software would be beneficial to university

By Molly Block Opinions Columnist

T

exas State officials should implement new essay-grading software embraced by big-name universities across the nation to help relieve stress for students and free up busy schedules for professors.

According to an April 4 New York Times article, a non-profit enterprise by the name of edX is releasing a new essay-grading software to be available for free online. The new software will give instant feedback on essays and will allow students the option to rewrite essays or short-answer questions for a better score.

According to the same article, professors are required to grade 100 essays or essay

questions to help the software prepare for grading papers with a variety of techniques.

Next, the system uses several techniques to automatically grade a variety of essays, delivering a response almost immediately. The software will then provide the student with either a letter grade or numerical rank in addition to helpful feedback, depending on the scoring system created by the professor.

EdX officials have decided to offer this automated software free online to any institution looking to utilize it, and many universities are already interested. The University of Texas is just one of the 12 universities that will begin to offer free online classes this fall through edX. Texas State should jump on the edX bandwagon and offer free classes through the software as soon as possible.

There are many reasons edX would be beneficial for Texas State students and instructors. The new software would provide busy professors with a break when struggling to edit stacks of essays. Although many are skeptical of the new software, there is no question that it will free teachers up to accomplish other important tasks. If teachers did not have to worry as much about grading

AGAINST

Same-Sex Marriage

By Austin Tomlinson Opinions Columnist

TALK IT OUT

Legislators must help reorganize the legal system to support benefits for individuals in civil unions, instead of pushing to grant same-sex marriage across the nation.

Members of the LGBTQ community should not want to indoctrinate themselves into the marriage system through the legalization of same-sex nuptials because the ideals that comprise the union inherently inhibit freedom.

Marriage has historically been deemed a religious term defined as the covenant between a man and a woman with the intention of procreation and thereby furthering the development of humankind. Same-sex relationships by nature do not share the same purposes.

Those who harbor radically traditionalist beliefs hold people back from embracing true human equality. If same-sex couples are allowed to marry, they are in essence supporting the system that has fought to keep them out of these unions for decades.

There are 1,138 benefits and responsibilities bestowed by the federal government on people with marital status, and the same distinctions are not currently offered to couples in civil unions. Instead, a person in a civil union should have the same number of benefits as a married individual. Both heterosexual and same-sex couples have people they care for and support, shared property and many other legal factors that have nothing to do with religion or sexual preference.

The legality of any relationship should remain secular, especially because the United States as a whole takes pride in freedom, human equality and the separation of church and state.

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essays, they could focus their time on other important responsibilities such as planning curriculum or scheduling additional office hours.

In the same New York Times article, Les Perelman is mentioned as an outspoken critic and a member of the group Professionals Against Machine Scoring of Student Essays in High-Stakes Assessment. The group’s statement said the edX program is slightly flawed because it cannot catch issues such as organization, clarity, accuracy and ethical problems, according to the article.

Despite concerns from some individuals, many students and professors would appreciate the instant feedback provided by the software, which can be trained for high quality grading.

Many students may find it frustrating to wait for faculty members to hand back manually graded exams. According to an NBC News article, four in 10 students reported they experience stress often, and almost one in five say they feel stress all or most of the time. A large proportion of university students are under considerable stress on a regular basis, according to these statistics.

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.............................................Cayla Green, starwebeditor@txstate.edu

It is nearly impossible for teachers to provide meaningful responses on every exam, especially with class sizes increasing each year at Texas State. This lack of direct feedback combined with some students having to wait long periods of time for grades to be returned serves only to compound stress. The edX software would be able to instantly provide students with feedback on their work and give them a unique learning opportunity option to rewrite an essay for an improved grade. Teachers should push their students to learn and improve from their mistakes. EdX can be a great teaching tool for students who may not get direct attention from faculty members because of time constraints.

There is no reason why Texas State officials should not at least test edX’s free essay-grading software, especially since UT is already gearing up to offer the program this fall. The software would benefit both students and professors, and Texas State would gain a valuable, free resource.

-Molly Block is a mass communication junior.

FOR

By Savannah Wingo Assistant Opinions Editor

The issue of legalizing same-sex marriage across the nation should be a no-brainer for legislators because all people deserve the same rights.

Many of those against same-sex nuptials claim if homosexuals are allowed to marry, the concession would become a slippery slope in which people are permitted to wed animals and children. It is disgusting to even suggest a consensual relationship between two adults is remotely comparable to bestiality or pedophilia. It is ridiculous to suggest these types of situations would happen with the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Other opponents cite the religious nature of the institution by claiming if samesex marriage were allowed, it would besmirch a hallowed tradition meant only to join a man and a woman. Same-sex marriage opponents seem to forget the union existed long before Christianity and often joined not one man and one woman but one husband and several wives.

In that case, perhaps divorce should be outlawed. Furthermore, atheists and other groups are allowed to marry every day without church officials raising much public protest. The sudden outcry against same-sex marriage in particular does not have anything to do with religion, but it has everything to do with homophobia.

Legalizing same-sex marriage is the next logical step in America’s journey toward becoming a tolerant and progressive nation.

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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.

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Copyright Thursday, April 18, 2013. 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.

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The University Star | Thursday April 18, 2013 | 3

TRENDS

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Dance and choral ensembles combine for performance

By Fiona Riley Trends Reporter Texas State students, staff and alumni will collaborate for a unique combination of performances in an upcoming weekend event.

The ensemble will feature live music by the Texas State Chorale and dancing by the university’s Merge Dance Company, as well as the The Shay Ishii Dance Company.

Shay Ishii, coordinator of theatre and dance publicity, is the choreographer for both dance companies and designed their costumes.

In several pieces, dancers will be moving in and out of the choir with both groups on stage.

“It’s really exciting for us as dancers to have that energy of being inside of the sound, instead of the sound being just projected out to the audience,” Ishii said. “I think it’s also exciting to the vocalists and musicians—for them to have movement whizzing past them and around them and swirling them up in the movement.”

Ishii expects the performance to feel different to the audience with music and dance together instead of as two separate entities.

Taylor Wasmer, dance junior, and LeAnne Smith, professor of theatre and dance at Texas State, are two of the dancers in the performance.

Wasmer is dancing as a part of Merge, while Smith is joining the Shay Ishii Dance Company.

“It’s actually been thrilling and really quite inspiring to collaborate with Merge and the Chorale,” Smith said. “It enlivens the performing aspect for us as dancers, but also I think for the audience.”

Certain dances involve a set which includes structures in different places on the stage that the dancers interact with. Andrew Nance, assistant professor of family and consumer sciences, designed the structures.

“One of the things Shay and I had to think about was logistics,” Nance said. “We had to think about how to build a set that can be assembled one night, disassembled for the next night and then reassembled seven days later for the performance.”

The structures were designed with muslin to make use of the dancers’ shadows.

“Where the dancer is the medium of the choreographer, my medium is the set piece,” Nance said. “So somehow that piece has to have a conversation with those dancers and interact with them.

Sometimes you’ll see the dancers’ shadows, and sometimes you won’t see them at all. The idea is to add another depth to what Shay is already doing with the dancers.”

The ensemble is titled “Merge — Movement & Sound” and will be held Friday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Evans Auditorium.

General admission will be $10, and student, senior and military admission will be $5, cash only.

Photo courtesy of Shay Hartung-Ishii

The Merge Dance Company, in combination with the Shay Ishii Dance Company, will perform April 19 to music presented by the Texas State Chorale.

4 | Thursday April 18, 2013 | The University Star | Advertisement

The University Star | Thursday April 18, 2013 | 5

SPORTS

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BASEBALL

Texas State to face San Jose with four-game win streak

By Jordan Brewer Assistant Sports Editor The Bobcats are in the midst of their longest win streak of the season (four games) and have seventh-place San Jose State University on the schedule this weekend.

Texas State (16–20) has not fared well thus far in its West Coast trips this season. California State University-Sacramento swept the Bobcats nearly two weeks ago in a threegame series. They also were swept by Oregon State University in mid-March and by the University of Oregon in a two-game series just a couple of days later.

The road trip to San Jose State will not necessarily be a whole new process to the Bobcats now that they have played eight games in California and Oregon. However, the long travel to San Jose could be a factor preventing Texas State from continuing its recent success.

“I feel like we need to play good,” said Coach Ty Harrington. “We haven’t played well on the West Coast yet. So, we need to play good and do a good job continuing with the momentum we got right now. Continuing to get a little more offensive too would be important.”

The Bobcats have won close games that came with solid pitching and defense against Louisiana Tech University (1–0) and Baylor University (3–0). Sophomore Taylor Black

will continue to be the Friday starter, especially after his performance against the Bulldogs last weekend where he pitched seven and two thirds innings and gave up no runs on four hits. It was enough to earn him a WAC Athlete of the Week for pitchers. Black has seen his earned run average dwindle to 3.13.

“It was fun to watch our defense and our pitching (against Baylor),” Harrington said.

“We didn’t create innings with walks or errors. We are getting more and more healthy.

Maybe our inexperience is getting more and more battle-proven.”

The bullpen has allowed a total of three runs in the past four games. Pitts pitched three innings and gave up one hit and no runs while striking out three batters against Baylor Tuesday. Junior closer Hunter Lemke has earned two saves.

San Jose State is currently 5–7 in the WAC while Texas State’s 8–4 record puts it in third place. The Spartans are currently on a fourgame losing streak after losses to Stanford University and being swept by one of the WAC’s top teams, the University of Texas— Arlington.

The Spartans’ pitching ranks last in the conference in earned run average (5.96). San Jose State’s top pitcher is junior D.J. Slaton, who has a 4.80 ERA and a 2–5 record in nine starts this season. Senior left-hander David Wayne Russo has a 3–5 record in eight

starts. Junior left-hander Johnny Melero is maintaining a 7.42 ERA and is winless in eight starts.

The top pitcher out of the bullpen is freshman left-hander John Oberholtzer, who has walked two batters in nine appearances, has a 2.70 ERA and has allowed three earned runs and 11 hits.

The Spartans are boosted by one of the conference’s top hitters, however, in junior first baseman Matt Carroll, who is seventh in the WAC in batting average (.350). Carroll also has 12 doubles, 21 RBI and two home runs. San Jose State has four other players hitting above .300.

“Even when we had a tough streak and we lost a bunch of games, everybody has kept the same approach,” said senior Andrew Stumph. “We have been squaring a lot of balls up. The pitching staff knows that if they give up a few runs we aren’t out of the game as opposed to early in the year.”

Stumph has re-energized a once slumping lineup. In the last five games, the senior is 9–19 (.473) with eight RBI and two runs scored. He has also helped batters before and after him including right fielder Cody Lovejoy and first baseman Austin O’Neal. Both players have both combined for a .324 average since his return.

“Our bats were cold early on (in the season),” Lovejoy said. “They are late-blooming.

It’s a good thing to come around and start

Star File Photo

Bobcat baseball will take on San Jose State University in a three-game series this weekend on the road. scoring some runs. (It) gives our pitchers a chance to pitch through some innings and maybe give up a couple.”

Twitter: @jbrewer32

SOFTBALL

Bobcats up against top WAC opponent this weekend will use practice to get momentum back in things correctly.” the bats moving forward.

New Mexico State holds a 6–2 record “Hopefully these next two days at practice when it plays away from Las Cruces. The we can focus on getting back into the swing Bobcats have not been able to protect home of things,” sophomore third baseman Court- field this year, going 4–14 for the season. The ney Harris said. “Hopefully it will get us back team will look to playing at home as an adto feeling good about our swing and feeling vantage. confident going into this weekend. We’ll use “We like playing at home,” Harris said. these practices as a confidence booster and “They have to come to our house, so we feel get back to where we feel comfortable.” comfortable here knowing the field. It will Texas State currently ranks in the bottom help us go out there and get some wins.” half of the WAC in every major hitting category including batting average, hits, runs Twitter: odus_Outputs scored and runs batted in. The team is second in the league in strikeouts with 191 for the season.

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FOOTBALL

Night of Champions to showcase strength

By Samuel Rubbelke Sports Reporter

Maroon and Gold game. Now the team has the opportunity to showcase the strength and power aspect of the game.

“I think it’s just like the spring game,” Cundif said. “I think it’s a chance for them to show the difference between then and now. Ultimately we want to

All the strength and weight training from football’s offseason will be showcased for fans in the second annual “Night of Champions” at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 18 at the west side of Bobcat Stadium Last year, two school records were broken, while three lifters in the squat came within 10lbs of DesFor Rent/Sale hun Williams’ 700-pound record.

In 2012, Matt Freeman COUNTRY HOME ON and Joey Simone surpassed FIVE ACRES 3bd, 1 Donavan King’s hang and bath, 6 miles South of clean record when they San Marcos. both lifted 373lbs. Simone went on to lift 377 and then set the final mark at 380, 512-357-6271 or 830giving him the school re660-5644. cord outright.

Freeman achieved his AMAZING 1/1 UNIT own record when he lifted 425lbs on the incline press.

AVAILABLE for fall “I think a lot of it last 2013! year was the challenge of it all,” said Blake Cundiff, on the LBJ bus route Texas State head strength and conditioning coach.

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Isaiah Battle and Charlie Will Tuttle will compete in the bench press and Pres2B/1 UPGRADED tin Brown will participate TOWNHOME near camin the squat. Zach Crawpus, Bills included. ford and Chris Nutall will display their strength in the incline press. Of these five $775-$900 call 512-392competitors, only Craw6706. ford is lifting in the same event as last year.

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show the improvement on the football field for when the season starts, but this is also chance for our athletes to show off their hard work. It’s more for them than for anybody else.”

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The Texas State softball team will try to win a third straight WAC series this weekend when it takes on first-place New Mexico State University at the Bobcat Softball Stadium.

The Aggies come into San Marcos winning 14 of their last 15 contests. New Mexico State (30–14) has an 11–1 record in conference play and holds a five game advantage over Texas State (11–31, 6–6) in the WAC standings.

“Right now they kind of have that feeling underneath their belt that they can’t be beat,” Coach Ricci Woodard said. “They are going to be a hard team to beat. We are going to have to do a lot of things well to keep ourselves in the ball game and give us a chance to win. They’ve obviously been playing well in the WAC. We’re just going to have to do a good job on all aspects of the game.”

The Aggies will be led by preseason AllWAC selection Amber Olive. The senior outfielder leads the conference in hitting, posting a .413 batting average. Olive ranks in the

top five in stolen bases, hits and runs scored for the 2013 campaign.

New Mexico State leads the conference in runs scored (226), hits (346), RBI (201) and home runs (45). In its last 15 games, New Mexico State has outscored the opposition 99–49 and has blanketed its opponents twice in that span.

“They’re an aggressive ball club,” Woodard said. “We have to work ahead in the count.

With good hitting ball clubs, you can’t work from behind. We were behind 2–0 a lot (Tuesday) and we can’t do that against New Mexico State. We just have to get ahead in the count.”

The pitching staff, led by senior Alex Newman of the Aggies, ranks in the top three of the WAC in ERA (2.76), innings pitched (302) and walks allowed (65). Newman is third in the league with a 2.10 ERA and has the second most wins in the conference with 18. She has started 21 games this season for New Mexico State and has thrown 10 complete games for the year.

The Bobcats had two hits against Texas A&M University on Tuesday. The ball club

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By Odus Evbagharu Sports Reporter

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