THURSDAY JANUARY 28, 2016 VOLUME 105 ISSUE 37
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Career Closet helps students achieve confidence in interview process DARYL ONTIVEROS MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Amber Alomran, alumna with a degree in nutrition, and Hunter Turk, electrical engineering senior, ride their bicycles Jan. 27 on a section of E. Hutchison St. which has no designated bicycle lane.
date cyclists by adding bike racks and designated lanes in the area. “I think that we have enough bike racks, but I am not sure that we have them in the right place,” Armbruster said. She said bicyclist groups came downtown and took pictures of people putting their bikes in the wrong place. “Basically, bikes were being put in rails and poles whereas, down the street, the new bike racks had no bikes on it,” Armbruster said. “I think while we do
Bobcats can save money and still manage to be sharply dressed for professional events with the help of a newly launched program called Career Closet. Career Services launched the program last fall and has been loaning business attire to students preparing for interviews, job fairs and internships. Students can borrow clothing for free, but must pay the price of dry cleaning before returning the clothes. The program was initiated by a diverse group of departments on campus. The Students In Free Enterprise Program at the McCoy College of Business Administration, the Fashion Merchandising Department and Career Services all came together to create Career Closet. “Through the support of various administrators, faculty members, staff, community leaders, students and alumni, the program was finally able
See BIKES, Page 2
See CLOSET, Page 2
Safer bicycling community headed to city By Clayton Kelley NEWS REPORTER @Claytonkelley
Traffic congestion is a rising issue as San Marcos continues to grow, and drivers are not the only affected party. San Marcos residents spoke out about the traffic problem at the Jan. 19 city council meeting. Texas State bicyclists chimed in about how congestion affects their travels as well. “Drivers just don’t give you enough room in the city,” said Joshua Harrison, exercise and sports science sophomore and frequent cycler. “I constantly feel like
every car that passes me is going to hit me with their side-view mirror.” Abby Gillfillan, San Marcos planning and development permit manager, said local officials adopted a comprehensive plan in 2013, which shows San Marcos’ future growth. “One of the big pieces of that comprehensive plan is that we wanted to be a more walkable and bike-able city,” Gillfillan said. “We really wanted to develop our alternative transportation network.” She said one of the plan’s main visions is to rewrite the city’s development code,
known as Code SMTX. Officials plan to take cyclists into greater consideration when implementing transportation planning, as outlined by the code. “In the past, our cross sections and our transportation planning only focused on cars as the main element of a cross section,” Gillfillan said. “Now, we’re trying to include everything from vehicles to pedestrians and bicyclists altogether sharing the roadway.” Code SMTX is set to be complete in the spring and has received input from officials and community think tanks since July 2014, Gillfil-
lan said. The Department of Planning and Development hopes to present the code at adoption and city council meetings in the later months of summer and early next fall. “We’re a really fast-growing community and people have responded pretty positively about this added accommodation to alternative transportation,” Gillfillan said. Samantha Armbruster, Main Street Program manager, said it is important for residents to remember that bicycling on downtown sidewalks is prohibited. Officials have worked to accommo-
COUNTY
By Bailey Buckingham NEWS REPORTER @bcbuckingham
SPORTS
Women’s Council of Central Texas Medical Beer and wine Center accepting grant applications are headed to By Madison Morriss SENIOR NEWS REPORTER @themorrisscode
Money is up for grabs for the local nonprofit health organizations looking to help the women and children of Hays County. The Women’s Council of Central Texas Medical Center is accepting grant applications until Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. to help serve local nonprofit health organizations that focus on meeting the needs of this demographic. “The council’s mission is to encourage women to strengthen and invest in the community by promoting programs and services that impact women and children in Hays County,” said Jerilyn Miller, CTMC foundation coordinator. Miller said any entity classified as a 501c3 nonprofit organization that serves women in Hays County is eligible to apply. The Women’s Council has funded 16 impact grants amounting to a total of $81,000 since the founding of the council in 2010. Hands of Hope, the HaysCaldwell Women’s Center, the Samaritan Center for Counseling and Pastoral
Care, Girls Empowerment Network and Society of St. Vincent de Paul are among past grant recipients. The Samaritan Center for Counseling and Pastoral Care is a nonprofit counseling and integrated medicine company. “We used that money to provide low cost counseling services for Hays County,”
said Cindy Long, chief operating officer at the Samaritan Center for Counseling and Pastoral Care. Miller said the focus for this year’s grant applicants include organizations that improve access to healthcare and education for women and children and also combat poverty and violence.
Approximately 70 women serve on the Women’s Council, but the leaders are always looking for new donors, Miller said. “We are really trying to get over 100 women,” said Joanne Smith, founding member and Vice President of Student Affairs at Texas State University. “We’re try-
See CTMC, Page 2
—COURTESY OF THE WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF CENTRAL TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER The Women’s Council of CTMC at their most recent member luncheon. On Jan. 29, the council is holding a luncheon at the Cottage Kitchen.
Bobcat Ballpark By Kelsey Bradshaw EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @kbrad5
After the success of universities before it, Texas State is trying something next month— selling beer and wine at baseball and softball games. Beer and wine will be made available at Bobcat Ballpark starting Feb. 12 when softball opens the season against Abilene Christian, said Matt Flores, university spokesman. Baseball fans will be able to purchase their beverages Feb. 19 when baseball plays against Washington State. Beer and wine will be served in plastic bottles for $6 and $8, respectively. Larry Teis, athletics director, stated in a university news release that almost all the universities in the Sun Belt Conference and many Division I universities sell alcohol at athletic events. The University of Texas at Austin, Texas State’s I-35 neighbor, began selling beer and wine last summer after the idea
was supported by President Greg Fenves. As of October, there had been no increase in the number of arrests at UT football games, something many were worried would happen when the sale of beer and wine got approved. After the first football season selling beer and wine, UT was able to sell $1.8 million worth of alcohol. Only time will tell if alcohol at Bobcat sporting events will increase rowdiness at games leading to arrests or how much money the new concession item will bring in. Concrete plans to continue the alcohol sales into other sport seasons, like football or soccer, have yet to be decided. After the baseball and softball seasons end, university officials plan to evaluate the new service and determine plans for the future, Flores said. “This is an added service for our fans to enhance their stadium experience,” said Larry Teis, athletics director, in a university news release.
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