VOLUME 103, ISSUE 4
www.UniversityStar.com
THURSDAY
AUGUST 29, 2013
Defending the First Amendment since 1911
VIDEO | UniversityStar.com Lost in Purgatory: The Purgatory Creek Natural Area houses caves, creeks, trails and trees. It is maintained by the Greenbelt Alliance, which works toward creating more integrated natural areas surrounding urban regions. To learn more, go to UniversityStar.com.
Downtown music venue to rebrand By Nicole Barrios News Reporter
Beginning in September, the venue housing Texas Music Theater will change its tune and name as a result of a partnership between San Marcos business owners Mike and Omar Dawoud and the owners of the original event space. According to an Aug. 28 press release from Texas Music Theater, the venue will now be called The Marc, “a tribute to its location in downtown San Marcos.” The Dawoud’s will have control of day-to-day operations of The Marc. The venue will feature shows and concerts and allow private organizations and other promoters to reserve the The Marc for events, weddings and shows, according to the release. Omar Dawoud, a business senior, owns AfterDark Entertainment, a concert and events promotion business that will bring in different genres of music and rebrand the space, he said. “We’re definitely going to be rebranding (Texas Music Theater) toward the college students,”
See TMT, Page 3
Kathryn Parker | Staff photographer Texas Music Theater owners will change the venue’s name to The Marc and plan to feature a different variety of music performances.
UNIVERSITY
Texas State named among top colleges for investment return By Juliette Moak News Reporter
Texas State has been named one of the highest-ranking Texas colleges for return on investment, meaning students pay less tuition in college and make more money in
the professional world. AffordableCollegesOnline.org compiled the list of “Highest Return On Investment Colleges in Texas.” The website seeks to educate prospective college students on the affordability of the college experience, said Dan Schuessler, Affordable Colleges Online founder and CEO, via email. After analyzing 452 Texas colleges that met the criteria of being a fully-accredited, fouryear, public or private institution, 49 Texas colleges were ranked, with Texas State coming in at number 32 on the list. Affordable Colleges Online calculates return on investment by comparing the av-
erage salary of college graduates over a 30-year period to the average earnings of someone with a high school diploma. The cost of educational investment, determined by the total cost of tuition, fees, room, board and supplies throughout college, is then subtracted from the average salary amount, according to the site’s methodology page. Schuessler said the goal of
See INVESTMENT, Page 3
Madelynne Scales | Staff photographer Affordablecollegesonline.org ranked Texas State in the top 30 cost-effective colleges.
RESEARCH
University archaeologists excavate Monterrey shipwreck Researchers examine underwater wreckage
copper were found. The third shipwreck was the largest of the sites, however, the content of its cargo was not evident, Hanselmann said. “Neither of the two new shipwrecks had any armament (armour) either, whereas the By Juliette Moak first had a large swivel gun, carronades and Special to the Star two different sections loaded with muskets,” Hanselmann said. A team of marine archaeologists partnered Hanselmann said since they were only with Texas State conducted the deepest ar- granted a federal antiquities permit allowchaeological shipwreck excavation in North ing them to remove artifacts from the first America this summer, discovering two sunk- shipwreck, they had to leave the other two en ships in the process. untouched until a later date. He said they A team of researchers from Texas were able to conduct extensive mapping and State’s Meadows Center for Water and the documented the additional areas through Environment and other entities spent five photographs and video. days from July 18 through 25 mapping and “The information we gained will allow documenting the underwater wreckage, ac- us to analyze the two new wrecks and pincording to a press release disseminated by point goals for the next trip to the site,” the university. Hanselmann said. The vessels are thought to be from the early 1800s, possibly privateer ships, Hanselmann said. It is not believed there were any survivors from the wrecks. Among the more than 60 artifacts recovered from the first vessel were pottery from —Fredrick Hanselmann, Mexico, china from Britain, a musket from eyeglasses, liquor bottles, clothing chief underwater archaeologist Canada, and a toothbrush, Hanselmann said. The recovered artifacts are currently undergoing preservation work at the Texas Using the Ocean Exploration Trust’s ves- A&M University Conservation Research sel Nautilus, the team explored a shipwreck Laboratory, according to the press release. at the record-breaking depth of 4,363 feet “The artifacts have been in a stable state below the surface. When the team investi- and environment for up to 200 years,” gated the surrounding area, they discovered said Christopher Horrell, senior marine two more ships within a five-mile radius of archaeologist for the Bureau of Safety and the Monterrey wreck, according to the press Environmental Enforcement. “Removing release. them from the marine environment requires “We went to the Monterrey shipwreck that we slowly remove the chlorides that with questions and came home with even have impregnated the artifacts.” more,” said Fredrick Hanselmann, chief Horrell said if they did not remove the underwater archaeologist at the Meadows chlorides the surface of the artifacts would Center for Water and the Environment. “We start to fragment and pop off, removing found two more shipwrecks that carried a valuable evidence and interpretive data. variety of similar artifacts to the first, but What will become of the remaining hull of there were some stark differences as well.” the Monterrey shipwreck has yet to be deterHanselmann said the second shipwreck mined. There is a possibility it will be recondid not have copper sheathing around its structed and exhibited in the Bob Bullock hull like the other two. Its cargo appeared to Texas State History Museum in Austin, said include tanned hides with blocks of tallow, which, he said, would have made a profit if See SHIPWRECK, Page 3
“We went to the Monterrey shipwreck with questions and came home with even more.”
LEGISLATURE
Senate bill to shorten school’s name
Texas State will officially drop “-San Marcos” from its name Sept. 1. According to an April 10 University Star article, the university’s name is being officially changed because state senators voted unanimously to pass Senate Bill 974, authored by Donna Campbell (R-25) and Judith Zaffirini (D-21). According to the bill, the name change was proposed to clear up confusion between the Texas State University Round Rock Campus and the main campus in San Marcos. Texas State administrators asked the Texas Legislature to amend the university’s name. According to a Jan. 31 University Star article, Provost Eugene Bourgeois said confusion fueling the name change stems from some people thinking the Round Rock Higher Education Center is a second branch of Texas State. Bourgeois said in the same Star article that administrators want the legislature to make it clear Texas State is one university with two campuses. He said dropping “-San Marcos” from the school’s name is not an effort to keep Texas State from being seen as a regional school. “The name change doesn’t have anything to do with that,” Bourgeois said. “This is simply to eliminate confusion.” Robert Gratz, special assistant to the president, said the school’s official name, “Texas State University-San Marcos,” is used on legal documents, but in most publications the institution is already referred to as Texas State University. Consumable products such as letterheads and stationary that read “Texas State University-San Marcos” will be used until they run out, according to the legislature’s fiscal note for the bill. Signs displaying the former name will have the “-San Marcos” portion removed, which is not expected to cost the university a significant amount of money. Bill Nance, vice president for Finance and Support Services, said it cost the university $235,000 to update signs and other property when the 2003 name change occurred. He said the costs for the name change will be minimal compared to the previous one. —Compiled by James Carneiro, assistant news editor