Feb 17 2015

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FEBRUARY 17, 2015 VOLUME 104 ISSUE 57 www.UniversityStar.com

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UNIVERSITY

E-cigarettes now banned on Texas State campus DENISE CATHEY ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Jack Mogab, Ana Johnson and Austin J. Robertson participate in group cycling Feb. 14 with San Marcos Cycling Friends.

RECREATIONAL CYCLING IN CITY CONTINUES TO GROW By Exsar Arguello NEWS REPORTER @Exsar_Misael An on-campus organization has created a bike-sharing program as recreational cycling grows in San Marcos. The bike-sharing trend has grown in popularity in San Antonio and Austin. Existing systems in these cities allow citizens to rent bikes to get around town or simply for recreational use. The Bike Cave, an organization and business run by Auxiliary Services at Texas State, was the first to offer a similar program in San Marcos. The bike-sharing program launched in the beginning of the spring semester. “The rental program that we have started is aimed to help people figure out if they want to eventually buy a bike,” said Alex Vogt, alternative transportation coordinator for transportation services. “We are excited to really push cycling in the city at a casual level to college students who are looking to invest in a bike.” Renting a bike from the cave allows prospective buyers to ex-

perience cycling without the cost, Vogt said. All bikes in the program are recycled, he said. Bike Cave workers and the University Police Department (UPD) gather abandoned units found on campus. Owners are given a period of time to pick up their abandoned bicycles after they have been collected by UPD. Stephanie Daniels, coordinator of marketing and promotions in transportation services, said the units that are not claimed are given to the Bike Cave. “Once the Bike Cave acquires the bikes, they are tested and fixed of any issues before they are available for resale at very low prices to ensure affordable costs to people who want to get into cycling,” Daniels said. Accidents happen to cyclists “all the time,” Vogt said. The Bike Cave promotes safe riding and education for new cyclists. “As cycling continues to expand and grow, we need to be teaching our new cyclists about the safety precautions needed to ride a bike,”

Vogt said. “It’s a hazard to ride on busy streets, but it’s the inherent risk that we take when we ride, and to convey this to new riders is important.” According to the City of San Marcos website, 152 collisions and 10 fatalities have occurred in the past five years between motorists and pedestrians or cyclists. City council adopted a “safe passing” ordinance February 2014 due to the amount of accidents. The ordinance requires cars and small trucks to move over three feet when approaching a cyclist or pedestrian. Commercial vehicles and bigger trucks are required to move six feet away. City officials plan to add bike lanes to Sessom Drive and sections of North LBJ Drive, Vogt said. “Cycling is growing exponentially in the city, and safety is just another thing to take into concern when cycling,” said Alex Lincoln, co-owner of The HUB Cyclery, a full-service bike shop. “Since the passing of the three-feet ordinance, we do feel the city is tak-

See BICYCLING, Page 2

It’s a hazard to ride on busy streets, but it’s the inherent risk that we take when we ride, and to convey this to new riders is important.” ­­—Alex Vogt, alternative transportation coordinator for transportation services

CITY

Local health officials address measles outbreak

JOHNEL ACOSTA STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Ariana Poole, nutrition and foods freshman, receives a vaccine Feb. 13 from Jennifer Ficken, registered nurse, at Student Health Center. By Jake Goodman NEWS REPORTER @Jake_thegoodman The United States has seen 121

reported cases of the measles since an outbreak began in California last year, and Texas State students may be at risk. A person with measles can

take up to 10 days to show symptoms including coughing, a runny nose, red eyes and a rash, said Emillio Carranco, director of the Student Health Center. Carranco said the virus is easily prevented with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. He said university students are not required to receive the vaccine. Only one case of measles has appeared in Texas, Carranco said. None have been reported at Texas State. “Measles is making a comeback, and we’ll continue to have outbreaks if people don’t decide to continue to vaccinate,” Carranco said. Carranco said the state of Texas requires children receive the MMR vaccination to attend public schools. Once immunized, a person is usually

protected from measles for life. People at the highest risk are children under age 5 and adults over 20 who are beyond the vaccination requirements. “We’ve really been lucky,” Carranco said. He said the virus could spread easily at the university because students live and work in close proximity. “If one infected person was exposed to 10 others without their vaccinations, nine of them would get sick,” Carranco said. Students should check their medical records and speak with parents to help determine if they have received the MMR vaccine, he said. Dawn Richardson is the national director for Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Verifi-

See VACCINES, Page 2

By James Palmer SPECIAL TO THE STAR @jmesspalmer Texas State officials banned tobacco use for health reasons, and the policy was recently reviewed again. The university is one of 1,014 campuses across the country exercising tobaccofree policies, according to the Americans for Non-Smokers’ Rights website. The Department of Student Affairs reviewed Texas State’s current tobacco policy Feb. 9 and decided to include vaporizing devices within the scope of products addressed. “The only thing we wanted to clarify was the issue with e-cigarettes,” said Joanne Smith, vice president of student affairs. “It has come up several times, and so we were wanting to review what the city had in their ordinance and then what we had.” Individuals on campus complained about a lack of regulations on e-cigarettes, so the review was held to include them in the tobacco policy, Smith said. Rickey Lattie, captain and assistant director of the University Police Department (UPD), said officers do not write citations for smoking violations. “We usually just walk over to (violators) and ask them to stop,” Lattie said. Cally Moore, biochemistry senior, said UPD enforced the ban with citations. Moore was caught smoking on campus about a year and a half ago. “The cop was really nice,” Moore said. “He just took our student IDs, and then we got an email saying, ‘Hey, don’t smoke. Go to these quit-smoking websites.’ He told us that if we got caught again, we would be fined.” Students, faculty and staff turn violators in to the Department of Student Affairs, where they are punished academically for the violation. “Typically, when a person is stopped, we let them know, ‘Oh, we have a policy at the university that we are a tobaccofree campus,’” Smith said. Violators are referred to the Office of the Dean of Students, which holds hearings for repeat offenders. Individuals can face penalties such as community service and tobacco classes the violator must pay for, Smith said. Student Government vice-presidential candidate Tyler Burton addressed the university’s tobacco policy Feb. 11 at The University Star’s 2015 Student Government debate. “I don’t feel like we should have people walking through the quad or campus with cigarettes,” Burton said at the debate. He suggested a change to the existing policy. “We should have designated spots for smoking,” Burton said. Ashtray bins are located in spots smokers frequent. Signs around campus and statements by university officials do not establish the policy’s legal enforcement. Students, staff, faculty and UPD are responsible for locating and reporting violators under the policy, Smith said.

ANDRES J RODRIGUEZ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Brandon Redding, criminal justice freshman, takes a smoke break Feb. 16 after class.


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