October 15 2015

Page 1

THURSDAY OCTOBER 15, 2015 VOLUME 105 ISSUE 21

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HISPANIC

13.2% INCREASE 32% TOTAL

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AFRICAN AMERICAN

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8.8% INCREASE 9% TOTAL

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9.2% INCREASE 7% TOTAL

UNIVERSITY

Texas State faculty discuss campus carry

MALE

1.6% INCREASE 43% TOTAL

By Darcy Sprague SENIOR REPORTER @darcy_days

Faculty senators and department liaisons discussed Senate Bill 11 Wednesday afternoon. The legislation, known as the campus carry bill was passed by the 84th Legislature this year. Starting Fall 2016, licensed individuals will be allowed to carry concealed handguns on public university campuses. As Texas State officials prepare for campus carry to be implemented, President Denise Trauth has drafted a committee of faculty to determine the safest way to implement the legislation. Officials from affected universities are allowed to ban guns in certain campus buildings if there is a “substantial reason,” said Michel Conroy, Faculty Senate chair. The committee is tasked with determining which buildings at Texas State will be deemed gun-free zones. “The areas cannot amount to a total prohibition of campus carry,” Conroy said. “The university system has cautioned that less is more when it comes to these ‘carved-out’ zones.” Conroy said officials within the Texas State University System are worried legislators will amend SB11 to restrict gun-free zones if they feel the spirit of the law is not being enforced by universities. She said the faculty task force plans to recommend the addition of safe storage locations in the dorms and at a central location on campus. The storage areas would be for carrying visitors who want to store their arms in order to go into a gun-free zone on campus. Conroy said there will be a large cost associated with establishing safe storage locations. Chad Booth, chemistry and biochemistry liaison, said officials in Idaho, a state smaller than Texas, have estimated more than $4.7 million has gone toward providing safe storage areas. Farzan Irani, communication disorders liaison, said SB11 is unclear because it states that licensed campus visitors can carry a gun “on or about their person.” Irani said in the communication disorders department, parents bring children into the office for clinical services. He is worried that a child could “get ahold of” a gun someone might leave in an unattended bag. Ted Hindson, political science liaison, said the faculty should voice their opinions, even if nothing can be done about the legislation at present.

See FACULTY SENATE, Page 2

FEMALE

4.9% INCREASE 57% TOTAL ­—DATA ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY ENROLLMENT DATA

UNIVERSITY

Texas State continues to set the bar for diversity By Darcy Sprague SENIOR REPORTER @darcy_days

Fifty years after Texas State was desegregated, minorities continue to make up more and more of the overall student population, making it one of the most diverse universities in Texas. The Hispanic student population has increased by 13.2 percent, which is this year’s greatest increase

of a demographic in the campus community. The data shows a 9.2 and 8.8 percent increase in the Asian and African-American populations respectively. “We have been a leader in the state in terms of embracing diversity,” said Michael Heintze, vice president of enrollment management and marketing. Texas State has long been known as one of the most diverse universities in the state.

Preliminary enrollment data shows the diversification of the student body has not yet plateaued. The university’s minority population has increased by 2 percent this year, bringing minority representation on campus to 49 percent. Heintze said the demographic breakdown of Texas State represents the diverse array of people in the state. More minorities are graduating and looking to attend

CITY

universities, and some are first-year students. Heintze said the freshman class’ 6.9 percent growth accounts for the majority of the increase in enrollment. The gap between male and female enrollment continued to grow this year, he said. Female enrollment increased by 4.9 percent and male enrollment increased by 1.6 percent, according to enrollment data. In 2014 there were 4,965 more fe-

male students than in previous years. This year, there are 5,734 more female students than have ever been enrolled in university history. Rosanne Proite, director of Housing and Residential Life, said the university is “constantly working” to sustain the ever-increasing number of students where on-campus living is concerned.

See ENROLLMENT, Page 2

CITY

EPIC Piping to provide jobs for San Marcos economically disadvantaged Cemetery officials

to honor history

By Lesly De Leon NEWS REPORTER @leslyd28

EPIC Piping, an industrial pipe manufacturing company, is set to create at least 350 jobs in San Marcos during the next five years. The corporation announced its decision to conduct business in the city last December, according to a Sept. 17 city press release. The Economic Development and Tourism division of the Governor’s office designated EPIC Piping as a Texas Enterprise Project, according to the city’s press release. San Marcos officials nominated the company for the designation last April. The designation is intended to serve as an incentive for EPIC Piping officials to hire economically disadvantaged employees from local areas considered enterprise zones by the Texas Enterprise Zone Program. EPIC Piping’s designation is effective until June 1, 2020. “We think it’s going to help them continue to create jobs,” said Adriana Cruz, president of the Greater San

By Kasandra Garza NEWS REPORTER @KasGarzA

LESLY DE LEON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Epic Piping’s manufacturing facility is located off Interstate 35.

Marcos Partnership. “So we’re very excited about it.” City officials decided to nominate the company due to its employment of a great number of local residents, according to the release. As a Texas Enterprise Project, EPIC Piping is eligible for state sales tax refunds based on the company’s capital investment and the jobs it creates or retains, according to the release. The pipe manufacturing company will receive a $2,500 sales tax refund for every qualified citizen

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it employs. EPIC Piping will get a maximum tax refund of $1.25 million by creating 350 jobs for locals in the next five years, according to the release. Scott Gregson, Place 5 city council candidate, said the presence of EPIC Piping and the state incentives will increase the employment rate in San Marcos, filling a void in the city’s job market that was created in December 2013 when Butler

See EPIC, Page 2

The history of those buried in the San Marcos Cemetery will be celebrated at Tales and Tours. The event will take place Oct. 17 and be hosted by Friends at the San Marcos Cemetery and the San Marcos Heritage Association. Shannon Fitzpatrick, member of Friends of the San Marcos Cemetery, said Tales and Tours is a fundraising event intended to teach visitors about the San Marcos Cemetery. The 45-minute tours will be given Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.. Fitzpatrick said Ernest Cummings, the inventor of the bulldozer, and “Tex” Hughson, a player for the Boston Red Sox, are among those buried who will be highlighted during the tours this year. A stone carver from Austin will demonstrate 100

year-old head-stone carving methods during the tours, she said. During the tours, four Texas State theatre students will take on the characters of the dead and speak in first-person to share their stories with visitors, she said. Kama Davis, vice president of Friends of the San Marcos Cemetery, said the tours will make attendees feel like they have traveled back in time. Fitzpatrick said she wants to teach visitors about the history of the cemetery’s land—which used to be owned by Native Americans—during the event. Davis said African Americans owned the cemetery early in its history, but sold it in the late 1800s to the Association of Cemeteries in San Marcos. After the land was sold, the association banned the burial of

See CEMETERY, Page 2

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