MONDAY
JANUARY 25, 2016 VOLUME 105 ISSUE 36
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Bobcats could receive more credit from AP tests By Nestor Camacho NEWS REPORTER @RoarRoarRoar_
LESLY DE LEON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Susie Mullen holds one of the handmade Valentine’s Day card she makes and sells herself to collect money for the San Marcos food bank.
Local Viking goddess impacts community in a positive way By Lesly De Leon SENIOR NEWS REPORTER @leslyd28
Students recognize the pigtail braids and bright smile when they see her around campus and the city. Susie Mullen, known as Susie from Jones by the student body, is loved by Bobcats for her constant positivity and kindness. Mullen is a San Marcos native and a 1988 graduate from Southwest Texas State. Mullen became a substitute teacher after earning her certification in 1992, focusing on early childhood grades. After teaching for a few years, Mullen opened her own vegetarian restaurant, Susie’s Vegetarian, on the edge of campus. “It was a whole lot of fun,” Mullen said. “It was just great. I could cook anything I wanted. Feeding people is one of my passions, so I was able to indulge that.” Mullen enjoyed owning a restaurant but knew she would have to close it because its location was being demolished. “We went month-to-month knowing they could tear it down at any time for three years,” Mullen said. “And
then, finally, they were ready to do that.” After her restaurant closed, Mullen began working at the university for Chartwells nearly 11 years ago. “San Marcos is my hometown,” Mullen said. “I grew up here, I went to school here. My father worked for the campus, so I pretty much grew up on campus, killing a lot of time at the library. I feel very at home here.” A few years after she began working on campus, some students nicknamed her Susie the Viking Goddess and dedicated a Facebook page to Mullen. She embraced the nickname and began wearing a Viking hat a friend gave her. Mullen, who is working at the Lair in LBJ now, was nominated to be a namesake for the 2015 Bobcat Preview. Mullen said it was a “fantastic honor.” “The beauty of this job and one of the things that keeps me showing up all the time is that you meet so many wonderful people,” Mullen said. In her years working at the university, Mullen has seen the student body give back to the community and show they care.
Giving back is important to Mullen. This February will mark an annual tradition of approximately eight years that Mullen has stood in the Quad wearing her Viking hat while singing encouragements to students to do their part in ending local hunger. “If every Bobcat was to give $1, there would be no hunger in the community,” Mullen said. Mullen combines her passions for art and feeding people by creating colorful Valentine’s Day cards to sell to students. Mullen donates all the money to the city’s food bank, collecting between $300 and $500 each year. “It helps raise awareness with all the students at the same time that it doesn’t take much to have a big impact,” Mullen said. Mullen is dedicated to helping others in any way possible, and when she needed it the community helped her in a big way. In 2013, Mullen was losing her sight and needed eye surgery. The community came together to fund the procedure so she could recover her eyesight. Mullen’s long-time friend,
Jeska Savage, began a GoFundMe webpage to raise money for the surgery. Savage knew Mullen would not agree, so kept the site quiet until after enough money had been acquired for the procedure in one eye. “She doesn’t understand how much people would want to help her,” Savage said. “I just knew as many people as we know and as wonderful as Susie is that we could probably raise that.” Two weeks after Savage opened the GoFundMe account, the site had already collected enough money for Mullen to get the procedure done in both eyes. “The entire community got together and raised about $6,000—enough money for me to pay for the operations,” Mullen said. “I am so grateful. I wish there was a way I could thank every one person that contributed to that site.” Friends, family and students love Mullen for her unfailing optimism, Savage said. “She refuses to be put down by circumstances,” Savage said. “She always finds a way to be happy with what she has.”
“She refuses to be put down by circumstances. She always finds a way to be happy with what she has.” —JESKA SAVAGE, MULLEN’S LONGTIME FRIEND
Students across the state of Texas have been given a greater opportunity to receive college credit hours thanks to the passage of House Bill 1992, which will go into effect next fall. HB 1992 was passed in the 84th Texas Legislature last year. The legislation mandates that every public college and university in Texas must accept a minimum score of a three on any Advanced Placement test to receive college credit. In order to ensure that Bobcats gain full benefit from the legislation this spring, Texas State officials have already begun to implement the law. “The credit will be automatically gained and shown on their transcripts if the student’s test scores were a minimum of three on the advanced placement tests,” said Daniel Brown, Dean of University College and director of the PACE Center. “It’s important that students talk to their academic advisors in case they are having trouble not receiving the credit or it not reflecting on their transcript.” Students affected by HB 1992 were notified via email. Those who came to Texas State with an AP score of three but did not receive credit initially have been given credit, which is now reflected on their transcripts. Most of the tests students are now receiving credit for are world history, European history, biology and music theory exams. This is because the university only accepted higher scores on these exams. Refunds will not be given out to students who have already taken the courses they did not initially receive credit for. Tiara Batiste, animal science freshman, was affected by the new legislation. Batiste received a score of three on her AP biology exam. However, HB 1992 will not benefit her because she took the course last fall. “If the law was passed in summer of 2015, then (the school should have) notified us about the new law before we even started our first semester,” Batiste said. “If that was the case then I wouldn’t have wasted my money and time taking Bio 1331.” Batiste was able to be exempt from taking Bio 1330 since she scored a three on her test. However, to be exempt from other biology
courses such as Bio 1331, 1130, and 1131 she needed a score of four. Sandra West Moody, biology and science education associate professor, sees HB 1992 as a disadvantage to students who are majoring in
“The credit will be automatically gained and shown on their transcripts if the student’s test scores were a minimum of three on the advanced placement tests.” —DANIEL BROWN, DEAN OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE AND DIRECTOR OF THE PACE CENTER
the course that they become exempt from. Moody agrees with Brown that the legislation is a good solution for students who want to save time and money. However, she believes that it comes with a cost. She said students who receive credit for the AP test and come to Texas State at a sophomore level will not receive the background information freshman biology majors get. “The reason why many colleges came up with the minimum score of a 4 was because they found that students who came in with an AP score of three weren’t adequately prepared and they did struggle with the upper level courses,” West said. Brown said this is not the case at Texas State. He said research has been done at the university to see the correlation between taking the subsequent courses after receiving credit compared to taking the subsequent courses without AP credit, and they have had the same effect. “We’re going to repeat the analysis we’ve done every two years and then discuss solutions with professors on what to do if we see that they (students) are not doing well in their courses,” Brown said.
CITY
Rio Claro Studio brings life to downtown art scene By Clayton Kelley NEWS REPORTER @Claytonkelley
Artistically inclined San Martians may be pleased with the latest artistic addition to downtown San Marcos—Rio Claro Studio. Rio Claro Studio opened its doors Sep. 19 and offers a unique experience to visitors. The studio remains open even when artists are actively creating, allowing people to come in and watch as the handmade silks and paintings are being crafted. “Usually, a studio is not open to the public and many people cannot see the work as it’s being done,” said Gigi Mederos, owner of Rio Claro Studio. “For me, it’s important that people who come here can take away more than just buying a piece of art.” The studio features a wide variety of art that
Mederos and her husband, Stevie Black, have created. Whether it is decorative ties and scarfs, silks or stamps, Mederos said it is crucial to keep an open mind and try new things. “I always think it’s good for artist to work with many different mediums,” Mederos said. “When people say you only have to focus on one thing, I say, ‘tell that to Leonardo DaVinci.’” Mederos lives on Hopkins Street, right next door to her studio, and is always eager to interact with those interested in her work. “When you meet Gigi for the first time, she instantly brings you into her world,” said Lisa Hover, longtime friend and buyer of Mederos’ art. “When you enter her studio, you get to see a big part of who she is as a person and as an artist.” After owning a previous
See STUDIO, Page 2