2 | The University Star | News | Tuesday, November 4, 2014
FILMING, from front speak to business owners who may be affected before filming, she said. “Although we have had filming done in the past, we are still learning and adjusting as far as how much paperwork and permits we require,” Dietz said. “From coordinating with the police to working with traffic, we want to become a film-friendly city.” The growth of filming in San Marcos has prompted city officials to employ an official to handle all aspects of production from start to finish, Dietz said. “We want to be a city that can compete with Austin and accommodate any production that will benefit the citizens of San Mar-
cos,” Dietz said. Kayli Head, coordinator for the Main Street Program, said she has been working with the businesses and production companies to coordinate during filming. “I think that both of the productions we have had here recently have done a very good job with communicating with all of our businesses,” Head said. “The process and execution may not be perfect, but as long as they can keep communication open and honest, people will be happy to have more filming done in our city.” Closing streets was the biggest challenge for both productions, but all businesses remained open,
Head said. Some were compensated depending on their use during filming. “Not only is it really awesome to see San Marcos showcased, it’s amazing to see the economic effect on the downtown area,” Head said. “All these people are eating from our downtown restaurants and shopping at our stores. They are putting money into one of the most important assets San Marcos has: locally owned businesses.” Filming of Linklater’s production has taken place primarily on weekdays during peak business hours for the downtown area, said Michaela Kovaric, owner of the Stellar Café on North LBJ Drive.
TRASH, from front ten mistake the plastic for food and die from eating the toxic material. “People just don’t take the time to walk a few extra steps to the trash can,” Kirwin said. Wassenich said trash accumulation increases in September after students return from summer vacation because people are unaware of the consequences of littering. Overall, the university generates less litter than other areas of the city, Wassenich said. However, all of the trash dumped on campus grounds flows directly into the river because the university is at a higher elevation. “(At Texas State) the ground is very steep, as anyone who’s ever walked on campus has probably noticed,” said Travis Tidwell, monitoring program coordinator for the Texas Stream Team at the Meadows Center. “So it doesn’t take a whole lot of rain to create enough force to carry trash off of the campus and downhill to the creek.” Tidwell said most of the trash in the river is not thrown in directly but washes in from unsecured areas after being thrown out of vehicles. Kirwin said city officials pay contractors and a parks crew to remove trash within San Marcos limits. Volunteer organizations also keep the river free of trash. “I have one contractor called Pristine (Texas) Rivers who scuba dive(s) to pull trash out of the river,” Howard said. The Keep San Marcos Beautiful program conducts a monthly litter cleanup along the banks of the river the first Saturday of every month, Kirwin said. Major trash cleanup also takes place every March.
“I just think it’s wrong for the city taxpayers to have to pay contractors to clean up after other people,” Howard said. Todd Derkacz, president of the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance, said educational outreach programs and the availability of trash receptacles has decreased the waste accumulation in the river. However, trash levels have increased outside of the city limits near Don’s Fish Camp in Martindale. The ban on cans enacted two years ago in New Braunfels drove tubers to San Marcos, Tidwell said. The additional tubers brought more trash with them. “It’s just astonishing that the mentality of some of the tubers is to dump their trash in the river,” Wassenich said. Tidwell said officials with the outfitters outside city limits have tried to discourage littering by giving trash bags to tubers and sending staff members to clean the river. Kirwin said littering is worse outside of the city limits because no ordinances or park rangers are present to discourage the practice. “When you don’t have those protective elements, it exacerbates the situation,” Howard said. Howard said the Keep San Marcos Beautiful program partnered with Texas State Oct. 31 on a social media campaign called Challenge SMTX. The campaign is an invitation for community members to challenge each other to pick up trash and post about it on social media. “We’re hoping to modify behaviors to keep San Marcos beautiful,” Howard said.
“We have definitely felt the positive effects from filming in downtown,” Kovaric said. “A lot of the guys working on the production come in here all the time, and that makes more customers come in because everyone wants to see Linklater or a movie star.” Some problems may arise from filming, but positive effects outweigh any negatives, Kovaric said. “Parking issues and blocking a road for five minutes is a small price to pay to receive so much attention,” Kovaric said. Not every business has felt the positive influences of filming downtown, said Kim Moreland, manager of CCI Computer Ser-
vice. Moreland said CCI has not benefited from the filming because the business does not sell food or merchandise. “We service computers and depend on our citizens to bring in their items to get repaired,” Moreland said. “With the parking issues we saw our business slow down dramatically.” Moreland noticed the effort by the production companies to keep her informed and make the process as smooth as possible despite the inconvenience. Moreland said filming will only lead to a positive outcome for the growing city.
CASKEY, from front
LA CIMA, from front
"What had happened was I had a man up in Dripping Springs who we put up an orchard to get a peach orchard going, and he up and gave me a bunch of trees," Caskey said. "I planted them and got fooling with them, and that started the whole thing." Caskey owns several properties, including the lot behind SMHS. He previously owned an orchard in Wimberley. He also has some peach trees planted on lots with separate ownership. Prior to becoming a peach farmer, Caskey spent 30 years as an AgriLife Extension agent in various counties. Eventually, he settled in Hays County. "Back when I was county agent, I started growing peaches because there were people in the county that were having trouble growing peaches," Caskey said. "They wanted to know why they couldn't grow peach trees here." Peaches grow in acidic, sandy soil, Caskey said. Hays County soil is primarily clay, Caskey said. "I kept fiddling around with it until I discovered if I used a different root stock, I could grow (peach) trees with it," Caskey said. "Then I started planting more peaches than I could eat." Caskey's "scientific hunting" has led to experiments growing different varieties of apples in Wimberley. "Back when Budd Barnett was county judge and had his ranch out in Wimberley, we put 5,000 apple trees out there on his place," Caskey said. "We tried a new system because the cotton-root rot would kill apple and pear trees." Caskey's efforts were ultimately successful. He discovered a variety of apples trees could be planted in Wimberley. "I've got apple trees and pear trees growing right here," Caskey said. Much of his expertise and success can be attributed to his interest in agriculture and farming as a young man. Caskey drove tractors for his neighbors, loaded hogs and hoed and picked cotton even after his family moved off its farm. "I was born on a farm," Caskey said. "For some reason or another I just loved farming."
Lineberry is listed as a partner at DuBois, Bryant & Campbell, according to the firm’s website. Other 2010 campaign finance records for city council and mayoral candidates could not be obtained. “The election records from 2010 met their retention period and were destroyed in accordance with Election Code Section 254.040,” according to an email from City Clerk Jamie Lee Pettijohn. The city council unanimously passed a resolution at a Sept. 16 meeting authorizing Lazy Oaks Ranch, LP to begin construction of 2,400 singlefamily homes at the La Cima property, according to minutes. Guerrero said any campaign contributions he receives never enter into his decision-making process. “I’ve based my decision on things that (the developers and I) discussed on the merits of the development itself,” Guerrero said. “This contribution had nothing to do with my decision to support anything, nor did any of the contributions (from that election).” Guerrero believes the La Cima development is important because it will provide upscale housing, something San Marcos currently lacks but desperately needs, he said. “One of the critical needs we have in San Marcos is for diversity of housing,” Guerrero said. “And probably one of the significant deficits that we have when it comes to housing is executive housing: homes where, you know, a major business owner, a manufacturer, would choose to reside while (he or she) has a business in the municipal boundaries. We have virtually none.” “Executive housing”-style homes have values starting from $500,000, he said. Providing executive housing in San Marcos city limits will bring jobs and business to the area and increase city revenue through property tax, Guerrero said. “If somebody is looking to come and make an investment and to bring several hundred jobs, a thousand (jobs), that person is going to want to live pretty close to their investment,” Guerrero said. “That was a big deciding factor in what (La Cima) was bringing to the community.”
UNIVERSITY
Texas State administration keeps watchful eye on grade inflation By Nicholas Laughlin NEWS REPORTER Although grade inflation at Texas State is average compared to other universities across the state, the university is looking to lessen the impact of the issue. Grade inflation is the theory that grades awarded to students increase with time, said Joseph Meyer, director of Institutional Research. In the 1920s the typical grade point average (GPA) was 2.3 and 2.5, now the average GPA is over 3.1. Nationally, grades have gone up by a letter grade over the past 80 or 90 years, Meyer said. “Grade inflation (at Texas State) is no more than it would be at any other institution,” Meyer said. “It is roughly about the same as what we see in other universities.” Grade inflation has been an issue in academia since the 1960s, according to a March 4, 2010 Teachers College Record article. According to the article, the mean GPA of an institution is dependent on the average quality of the student body and whether it is public or private. Meyer said grade inflation is higher at private schools, such as Harvard and Yale. “The private schools might argue, ‘the reason why our students do so well is because our students are
so great,’” Meyer said. The fact that grades increase over time has been proven, but how that has occurred is being debated, Meyer said. “Students expect higher grades,” said Anne Winchell, English professor. “There is a pressure (from students) to give them that.” According to the article, a likely influence of grade inflation is the emergence of the now required studentbased evaluations of college teachers. “Grades really have gone up,” Meyer said. The cause of grade inflation that began in the 1980s is subject to debate and it is difficult to tell what caused the increase, according to the article. There are two sides to why grades have increased over the years, Meyer said. “Some are concerned that schools aren’t being that rigorous in their grading policies and are more willing to give out high grades for lower quality works,” Meyer said. “Others argue that the quality instruction has improved, and that the students that are going to college today are better prepared.” Universities, on average, are grading easier than before, according to the article. Winchell said she tries to resist inflating grades, but it is hard when students have
“multiple conferences” to discuss their grade. According to the article, grades are used by teachers to motivate students and by graduate schools, professional schools and employers to identify “promising candidates.” However, grading differs at each institution and within different disciplines so that GPA comparisons are difficult, according to the article. Winchell said she sets the bar for her classes by telling her student’s a “C” on an essay is an average grade so they do not expect an “A” on their first paper. “The students who want a higher grade will usually drop the class after hearing that,” Winchell said. Texas State is working with classes like math and English in which students struggle to help students improve their grades, Meyer said. “There is some level of grade inflation across the board,” Winchell said. “Professors are tying to fight (grade inflation).” Supplemental instruction and improved tutoring services are put in place to help students, Meyer said. “To me it seems like the improvement in those classes is due to genuine improvement from services and efforts to help students be more successful,” Meyer said. COLLEGE SKI & BOARD WEEK br e c k e n r i dge
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DENISE CATHEY ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
Stephanie Noll, senior lecturer, teaches an English class Oct. 31 in Flowers Hall.
ANDRES J RODRIGUEZ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Tim Hayes, nutrition and geography senior, fine tunes gears Oct. 23 at The Bike Cave.