WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2014 VOLUME 104 ISSUE 39 www.UniversityStar.com
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UNIVERSITY
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SAFETY
RAVE emergency system to focus on text messages to alert students Students walk in The Quad Nov. 10 by the Stallions, an area on campus considered a free expression zone.
DENISE CATHEY ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
pression by Student Involvement that they have to fill out paperwork to be able to table in the free speech zone, which is not true,” Scott said. The UPPS code doesn’t state student organizations have to get permits through the Student Involvement office to table in the free expression zone.
The RAVE emergency notification system used by Texas State to send out alerts to the entire university is being revamped and marketed to increase participation. The emergency system, also called the TXState Alert System, uses short text messages, emails and banners on the website to alert the university to any dangerous situation, such as an active shooter. “Ever since we started with RAVE we have been doing marketing, but we need to do more intense marketing,” said Joanne Smith, vice president of Student Affairs. Smith said one of the issues with the old setup was the requirement of having to supply cellphone numbers and carriers to join the alert system. “We don’t have (the carrier) stored
See QUAD, Page 2
See RAVE, Page 2
Treatment of some organizations in ‘free speech’ zone stirs controversy By Anna Herod NEWS REPORTER
R
ecent incidents in the campus free expression zone have left the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) and the College Democrats calling Student Involvement’s enforcement and representation of the university policies and procedures into question.
The College Democrats were removed from The Quad the week of Oct. 20 for “impeding traffic” and being too loud, said group member Victoria Ogden. The Young Americans for Liberty have not been removed from The Quad. However, they have been asked for permits on many occasions, said Morgan Scott, campus
coordinator for the Texas State chapter of Young Americans for Liberty. Student Involvement has “misrepresented” university policy concerning rights and the free expression zone on campus on multiple occasions, Scott said. “The majority of registered student organizations on campus (have been) given the im-
By Nicholas Laughlin NEWS REPORTER
PARKING
Game-day parking designations cause confusion, towing By Benjamin Enriquez NEWS REPORTER Unclear designation of the university’s parking area in the Springtown lot has caused attendees to be towed after parking in the wrong section. The shopping center lot, located at the intersection of Springtown Way and Thorpe Lane, is used for additional parking during home football games this season. The university only pays to use one-third of the space for game-day parking, said Steve Prentice, assistant director of Parking Services. Attendees pay to park in the university’s section but are towed if they leave their cars outside the designated area, he said. A record number of people attended the football game against Navy on Sept. 13, Prentice said. The
university ran out of spaces, and people were forced to park wherever they could. “We got a call from one of our staff that works out there that Twin Liquors and some of the other places—they were going out and towing people outside of where we park folks,” Prentice said. An announcement at the stadium ran three times before the game began warning attendees about towing if their cars were parked beyond the university’s section, Prentice said. Parking Services staff circled the lot telling people parking outside of the designated area they were going to be towed. “We went over and tried to get folks out of there before they did get towed,” Prentice said. Sarah Nonaka, physical therapy doctoral student, drove Jaxsen Day, computer information systems
sophomore, a disabled student, to the Navy game. Her car was towed because she parked in a spot outside of the university’s designated area. “We were verbally told by parking staff that were manning the normal lot, the actual stadium lot, that this spot was an overflow lot for the stadium,” said Day. Nonaka said she saw the cones and rope sectioning off the parking lot and thought she was in the right area. “All I saw was people crossing the street, so I was like, ‘OK, cool, obviously other people are parking and crossing the street, so I should be OK, especially since I’m in a handicap spot with a handicap placard,” Nonaka said. Nonaka explained no attendant was in the lot to give her a ticket stub to park or collect money from her. “I’m just like, ‘OK, there’s no one
UNIVERSITY
Veterans honored in on-campus ceremony By Jon Wilcox NEWS REPORTER More than a hundred students and San Marcos citizens huddled together yesterday morning in The Quad to pay their respects at this year’s Veterans Day ceremony. The event featured speeches from President Denise Trauth and keynote speaker Col. Ronald W. Burkett II, an award presentation,
performances by a brass band, a low-altitude flyover by a formation of airplanes and the firing of a ceremonial cannon. Burkett began his military career after graduating from Texas State in 1989. His career led him from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Army Aviation Branch. Burkett trained to become an Apache attack helicopter pilot and commander. Burkett served multiple combat tours in Iraq, Kuwait and
PRESLIE COX STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Cheyenne Stoker, president of Veterans Alliance, delivers a speech Nov. 11 to a crowd during the Veterans Day ceremony in The Quad.
Kosovo, Trauth said. Burkett recounted a conversation he had in 1996 at a beer garden in Linz, Austria with a man who witnessed the arrival of liberating American forces near the close of World War II. “I am pleased to share with you a very personal story that happened to me early in my career that has certainly inspired my service ever since,” Burkett said. “It provides a constant reminder of the privilege that I have to serve the country.” The Austrian man told a story of the first American soldiers who came to Linz and the sacrifices they made to help his family and community, Burkett said. “It seemed to me that each memory (the Austrian man) relayed brought back another painful memory that had been buried for quite some time,” Burkett said. “From time to time, he would pause to wipe his eyes or gather himself.” The Austrian explained how the Nazis drafted his father and the other men of Linz and sent women and children, including his own mother and siblings, to work in steel factories where they ultimately died, Burkett said.
See VETERANS, Page 2
here, maybe they stop ticketing after a certain time,’” Nonaka said. Nonaka felt the university could do more to clarify things for people parking in the Springtown lot. The area designated for university use was surrounded by four-foot-tall cones weighing about 50 pounds and connected by heavy rope with tiny flags, according to Prentice. “There’s handicapped parking inside our area, and there’s handicapped parking on the outside of it,” Prentice said. “We don’t promote that as an area for disabled persons parking, though.” Day said Parking Services should more clearly designate parking areas for game attendees. “Before they put (parking staff) out there on game day when it’s hectic, train them,” Day said. “Tell them where people can park if there’s no parking in the stadium, but exactly
where, not just like, ‘Over here in this big lot.’” No one was stationed at the side of the lot where Nonaka was towed. That side is opposite from the only entrance to the university’s area of the lot, said Nancy Nusbaum, interim director of Transportation Services. “The same guards are at that lot every game,” Nusbaum said. “We just had no idea we would’ve had the amount of people that showed up for the Navy game.” Nusbaum said owners of the other section of the lot are responsible for putting up more signage informing people they will be towed for parking in non-university spots. Nusbaum said Parking Services officials will put a sign in the lot on game day to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
UNIVERSITY
Students consider safety in both on- and off-campus housing By Frank Campos NEWS REPORTER Texas State students living onand off-campus agree safety should be a concern when choosing where they live during their time in college. Students living in residence halls said they still feel relatively safe a little over two weeks after terroristic threats were made in Tower Hall. Off-campus students feel safe despite the attempted robbery that occurred at the Vistas. Living off–campus has its advantages, said Lauren Reese, microbiology freshman. However, safety can still be a concern no matter where students decide to live, “I feel very safe living in Falls Hall,” Reese said. “I have heard of plenty of theft and crime happening off-campus, and I have not really seen anything happen in our dorm yet.” Reese feels safe enough to leave her dorm room unlocked at times but realizes anyone can
have access to the building if he or she seems like a student. “I have stayed in a different dorm with a friend and had easy access to her building,” Reese said. “They have a scan-in system at each door, but most people just let others in behind them, not thinking twice.” Reese feels students should practice smart safety measures and become more aware of who enters the building. Starting college in a dorm has made Reese feel safe and continues to be a better decision than living off-campus. For Christopher Savala, chemistry junior, moving off-campus was about more than getting the freedom to live with his cousin and being able to choose where he resides. “When I lived in the dorms I felt exposed,” Savala said. “Now that I am here, I realize what privacy is and how big a role it plays in my safety.” Living at the University
See SAFETY, Page 2