VOLUME 103, ISSUE 34
www.UniversityStar.com
THURSDAY
NOVEMBER 7, 2013
Defending the First Amendment since 1911
VIDEO | UniversityStar.com
SPORTS | B4 & B5
Kendama is a wooden toy that originated in Japan and is quickly becoming a popular pastime among students.
Basketball season preview: Coaches share their plans and aspirations for the upcoming season.
TRANSPORTATION
Council proposes downtown, residential parking plan By James Carneiro News Reporter
Crowded downtown parking issues may be alleviated under a proposed parking management district that would allow residents in neighborhoods to receive permits and require paid parking in certain areas. City councilmembers received a presentation from city staff on the proposed parking management district during their meeting Wednesday night. All parking-related decisions would go through the district’s committee, which would be overseen by residents
of parking regulations, management and public education. Under the proposal, neighborhoods would be allowed to petition for parking permits and downtown would become payto-park . John Foreman, city planning manager, said the goals of the parking initiative are to facilitate business downtown and promote the quality of life in San Marcos. The downtown area currently has 622 on-street spaces and lacks off-street parking options, Foreman said. In addition to this, most of the spaces limit the time people can park, keeping them from staying for Austin Humphreys | Photo Editor Buses were damaged in the parking area of Don’s Fish Camp along the San Marcos River Oct. 31 after heavy rains in the area.
WEATHER
Hays County provides assistance to flood victims By Traynor Swanson News Reporter
L Danielle Charles | Staff Photographer
living in the downtown area. Any profits garnered from the district would be reinvested in the downtown. The district would be responsible for the enforcement
extended periods of time, he said. “I’ll be blunt. (The solution is) paid on-street parking,”
See PARKING, A3
iza Astran was asleep in her bed when she awoke to water splashing her feet. She sat up in confusion and noticed about three feet of water rising slowly throughout her home. Astran, who lives in San Marcos, is one of many Hays County residents who awoke on Halloween to discover water encroaching upon their homes. County officials estimate more than 100 houses sustained major damage from the Oct. 31 floodwaters, with at least 100 additional
houses seeing minor damage. Kharley Smith, emergency management coordinator for Hays County, San Marcos saw between 10 to 12 inches of rain Oct. 31, causing the Blanco and San Marcos Rivers to rise about 37 feet outside their banks. County Judge Bert Cobb signed a local disaster declaration Nov. 4 to begin the process of requesting state and federal disaster aid for those affected by the Oct. 31 flood. Smith said about $500,000 worth of damages were incurred on public roads. The places most affected by the flood in Hays County are along Cypress Creek in Wimberley, Onion Creek in
Buda and areas in San Marcos along the San Marcos River, Smith said. Local organizations including the Salvation Army, American Red Cross and the United Methodist Church came together Tuesday evening at an event held by the county where flood victims registered their contact information and the damages their houses received. After registering, residents visited with groups such as the Hays County Food Bank, the Texas WIC, the State Health Department, Barnabas Charities,
See FLOOD, A2
TECHNOLOGY
ITS officials to introduce wireless device printing program for spring By Autumn Bernhard News Reporter
Instructional Technologies Support (ITS) officials are gearing up to launch a new project this spring that will enable students to print wirelessly from their own devices on any floor throughout Alkek Library. Wireless printing from laptops is currently only permitted on the fourth floor of the library, according to Alkek’s webpage. ITS officials are working with the Information Technology Assistance Center (ITAC) to develop a program allowing students to print from any wireless device on all floors of the library, according to Brian Shanks, assistant director of ITS and project manager. “The project is called Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), and we hope to have it ready for use in the spring semester,” Shanks said. “Our number one goal is to allow students to bring their own laptop
onto campus and to print.” After the BYOD program is implemented this spring, students will be able to print throughout Alkek by using their laptops, tablets or phones in the library, emailing their printing jobs to the printers or uploading them to the library’s website, Shanks said. The program will also allow students to print something from their dorm rooms or potentially somewhere off campus, he said. “As of right now the biggest printing area is taking place on the second floor,” Shanks said. “We hope with the new program the computers in the library will be free to use for research like they are intended for.” The program is in the early software installation stages, and hopes to have all the bugs worked out in about a week, Shanks said. After implementing the program, ITS officials will monitor printing to figure out the average time it takes students to pick their papers up. From there, they will be able
John Casares | Staff Photographer Christina Bolden, sociology junior, checks her phone while waiting for materials to print at the Alkek Library. The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) project will allow students to print from any wireless device.
to establish a “quit time” to delete the print job from the printer, Shanks said. “If rollout goes successful in the library, there is no reason to not put it in all the other labs on campus,” Shanks said. Austin Shewbart, a systems
programmer for the Academic Lab and server support, is carrying out 99 percent of the work on the program, Shanks said. “I feel important since I am doing so much work,” Shewbart said. “Everyone acts as one big happy family and as the project
progresses more people will be involved.” The initial project staff encompassed many different departments including the library technical staff, ITAC, IT security and ITS employees. “We piloted the program in the summer internally with the IT division,” Shanks said. “It was met with some success but had some problems. Currently we are installing it in a production environment and hope to have it up and running mid-November to do more internal testing.” Texas State is one of the only public universities that offers students free printing, Shanks said. This is partly because Van Wyatt, vice president for Information Technology is a strong advocate for keeping a financial burden off students, he said. Jasmine Brown, recreational administration junior, has gone to the library multiple times to
See PRINTING, A3
GROWTH
More students choosing graduate school at Texas State By Autumn Bernhard News Reporter
Texas State officials are experiencing significant growth in the Graduate College with a record number of PhDs awarded last year and the continued development of new doctoral and master’s degrees. Texas State’s Graduate College offers 100 degree programs—12 doctoral degrees and 88 master’s degrees. As of now there are a total of 3,949 students enrolled in graduate college. Of that number, 444 are doctoral students and 3,505 are master’s students, said Andrea Golato, dean of the Graduate College. In the 2012 academic school year, 1,415 degrees were given to
graduating students. Throughout the last academic year, 53 students received doctoral degrees, which was the highest-ever number for the college, Golato said. “The reason this is the highest number is because of the newness of the doctoral program,” Golato said. “The program has been around since 1996, but the first doctorates were awarded in 2000.” Graduate College officials are looking to increase enrollment numbers but want to ensure there are enough faculty members on hand to manage these students, Golato said. Officials are still looking for high quality students even with a larger admittance pool, she said. Golato said the college is looking to make some new degrees,
such as a Masters’ in Engineering and Dementia Studies, but these are still going through the development process. Terrica Watkins, communication studies graduate student, continued her education three months after receiving her bachelor’s degree at University of Houston in May 2012. “Graduate school allows you to engage in critical thinking, and professors actually ask you what you think instead of you having to listen to them as much,” Watkins said. “It challenges you to think for yourself by having discussions in class rather than being lectured, too.” Without graduate school, students are introduced to their fields but do not get the in-depth experi-
ences to be qualified for higher positions, said Sandy Rao, assistant dean of the Graduate College. Graduate programs allow students to become competitive in the market of their choice, she said. Rao said the Texas State Graduate College is not in competition with the University of Texas at Austin but instead serves to offer students another choice when looking to further their education. “We have small-school feel, and our faculty gives attention to students,” Rao said. “We also cater to students with jobs by having classes in the evening or classes online.” Professors have higher work expectations in the Graduate College, and they get to know students on a personal level, Watkins
said. “In the beginning I was afraid to go to graduate school due to certain expectations and the fear of change,” Watkins said. “I have now realized that change could be for the better and you should embrace it.” Golato said graduate school allows students to push boundaries through college research by aiding with interpreting the world as a whole and serving as both a scholarly and a creative opportunity. “It’s a challenge, but it’s a challenge that’s worth it,” Watkins said. “You learn what you are capable of at graduate school. You learn about yourself and about your field. You become a better person and realize how much you truly love the field.”