VOLUME 103, ISSUE 26
www.UniversityStar.com
TUESDAY
OCTOBER 22, 2013
Defending the First Amendment since 1911
VIDEO | UniversityStar.com
SPORTS | Page 8
Foodstock is an event held to raise poverty awareness and collect donations for the local food bank.
Georgia State Recap: Texas State captured its first-ever Sun Belt Conference win Saturday with a 24–17 victory over the Panthers.
CRIME
Suspect in double homicide of female student, coworker found dead By Taylor Tompkins News Editor
The suspect in the double homicide of a Texas State student and her boyfriend was found dead Thursday around 1 p.m. While the cause of death is still unknown, Daniel Stillwell, 23, was found dead after driving his car over a cliff near “Devil’s Backbone” on Highway 32 in Comal County, according to Howard Williams, San Marcos police chief. Stillwell was wanted for two murders that occurred at approximately 12:38 a.m. Thursday in an apartment complex at the 300 block of Craddock Ave. According to the arrest warrant for capital murder, Stillwell al-
legedly shot and killed his exgirlfriend, fashion merchandising senior Hailey Nicholls, 22, and her current boyfriend, 26-year-old Jesse Robledo. Police responded to two separate disturbance calls around 12:38 a.m. Thursday at the Executive Townhomes apartment complex at 317 Craddock Ave., according to the warrant. Neighbors reported yelling, screaming and “what sounded like someone being thrown against the wall,” as well as possible gunshots coming from within the apartment, the warrant says. Officers found the apartment’s back sliding glass door shattered after arriving on the scene and receiving no answer at the front door. Nicholls was found in the
MASS COMM WEEK
Texas Tribune CEO speaks at Old Main By James Carniero
Assistant News Editor
Texas Tribune Editor-InChief and CEO Evan Smith gave a presentation about non-partisan journalism and digital convergence in Old Main Monday as part of Mass Comm Week. Smith is one of several professionals who travel to Texas State each year to speak with students as part of the week-long event hosted by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Smith said Mass Comm Week is like “spring break for nerds.” He spoke to students about the future of journalism in the digital world and answered questions from the crowd. Smith said the conditions for young people in the field of journalism has changed drastically since he was a student. He said recent college graduates wanting to work at a magazine would have to spend years doing menial tasks before landing an important position. “Contrary to what you have heard, this is the best time imaginable to be a journalist,” Smith said. Smith discussed the history of the Texas Tribune and its role in the state as well. An important aspect of the Tribune’s establishment in 2009 was making sure not to stray from an independent path, Smith said. “We are our own focus group,” Smith said. Smith said the Tribune began with only 17 reporters and currently has 46 fulltime employees, 23 of them being reporters. Somewhere between one third and one half of the press corps at the Texas Capitol are Tribune re-
porters, he said. Smith said the Tribune’s job is to educate the 27 million adults in Texas about the relevant issues of the day without taking political sides, explaining that the Tribune does not endorse candidates, editorialize or act partisan in any way. “We want people to be more productive, thoughtful and engaged citizens,” Smith said. “We want them to have the tools to make better choices. We don’t care what those choices are.” According to Smith, Texas has the 51st lowest voter turnout in the country, with a lower rate than the District of Columbia. Only 32 percent of Texans voted in the 2010 midterm election, Smith said. An important service the Tribune provides is its livestreams at the Capitol, Smith said. During State Sen. Wendy Davis’ filibuster of a controversial antiabortion bill, about 183,000 people were watching the Tribune’s livestream of the event, beating MSNBC’s ratings for the night, Smith said. Smith said this “extraordinary night” showed off the power and potential of live streaming. Besides livestreaming, the only other ways to watch state procedures are through cable providers or QuickTime players, which Smith said are not reliable. “You shouldn’t have to pay a cable company to see what your government is doing,” Smith said. He said a Kickstarter created by the Tribune recently surpassed its target goal of
See TRIBUNE, Page 2
Daniel Stillwell
Hailey Nicholls
Jesse Robledo
bedroom with a possible gunshot wound to the head, according to the warrant. Robledo, who was on the bed, appeared to have the same wound. Both victims were dead when officers arrived, Williams said. Daniel Trottier, Stillwell’s
roommate, told police Stillwell had called him around 1 a.m. Thursday. Stillwell allegedly told Trottier he saw Robledo’s car outside of Nicholls’ apartment, according to the arrest warrant. Stillwell allegedly went to his apartment, took Trottier’s firearm
and broke into Nicholls’ apartment, according to the warrant. Trottier described his handgun as a Glock 9mm pistol, according to the search warrant for Trottier and Stillwell’s apartment, also located at Executive Townhomes.
See HOMICIDE, Page 3
FACULTY
Professor builds, rides electric bikes
Madelynne Scales | Staff Photographer Jim Garber, anthropology professor, works on his electric bike Oct. 20 at his home in San Marcos. He rides his electric bike, or e-bike, to campus every day.
By Michelle Balagia News Reporter
F
or anthropology professor Jim Garber, riding his bike to campus is the highlight of his day. Garber can be seen riding his electronic bike around campus, a hobby he began about five years ago. Garber said he has owned 10 to 15 different bikes throughout the past few years. Some of the bikes he owns are premade, while some he restores and assembles by using kits. “Sometimes I’ll get on Craigslist and see one that isn’t running anymore and is a great price,” Garber said. “I’ve learned how to fix them and put them all together.” Garber said the electronic bike he uses daily can reach speeds of 20 mph and travel about 30 miles on one charge, which cost about 4 cents and lasts him roughly a
week. Operating an electronic bike is similar to operating a regular bicycle, according to Garber. He said the bikes operate by a lever on the handle bars that, when pressed, powers the back wheel. The bikes also have functioning pedals that can be used to increase speed, Garber said. Garber admits he has not bought a campus parking permit in three years because his electronic bicycle can get him to campus in five minutes, which for him is quicker than driving a car. “I’m surprised (electronic bikes) haven’t caught on and that more people aren’t riding them,” Garber said. “You can have an electronic bike for the same price as a medium-grade regular bike. For about $500 you could own an electronic bike.” Garber said there are several different types of batteries to put on the electronic bikes, but most
of his bicycles run on a lithium-ion battery priced at about $300. The battery is more expensive than others, but can go further on one charge, is lighter in weight and can be recharged up to 3,000 times, allowing it to last more than five years, Garber said. Garber buys kits to make any regular bicycle into an electronic one. Garber said he finds the kits on Craigslist or eBay Inc. for around $225 each. Garber said he has fixed and sold electronic bikes to San Marcos residents over the years. He said he has even sold an electronic bike to the mayor of San Marcos, Daniel Guerrero. “At the end of the day when you’re tired and it’s time to go home it’s like, ‘wow, I get to ride my bike home,’” Garber said. “It’s fun. I don’t have to pedal, and it goes straight up the LBJ hill. It’s a different way to see the town, and I love it.”
MASS COMM WEEK
Instructor discusses media, violence misconceptions By Scott Allen
News Reporter
Reynaldo Leaños | Staff Photographer Tom Grimes, professor in the school of journalism and mass communication, speaks Oct. 21 during Mass Comm Week about media's role in violence.
Tom Grimes, professor of journalism and mass communication, discussed and disputed different research studies on violence and media connections during his Mass Comm Week panel Monday. Grimes’s lecture, “Violence in Society: Does Media Reflect or Encourage It?” began with the history of media violence and covered research studies over the past 60 years. Grimes said although past research has found
a link between violence and the media, his personal research has found otherwise. “There’s been this notion that media violence will somehow, over time, make psychologically well people unwell by making them more aggressive because of their exposure to violent acts,” Grimes said. Grimes, who has been a professor for nearly 30 years, explained how researchers have connected the media’s portrayal of violence and actual violent acts. He credited organizations such as the American Medical Association,
the American Psychological Association and National Institutes of Health with conducting insufficient studies and not examining the correct forms of violence. “They make the argument based on study after study. They found a connection between violent media and violent acts because they looked for a connection,” Grimes said. “It’s cliché, but I like to use the old saying, ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’ and the fire in this situation would be a violent act.” Since the mid 1990s, Grimes
and his colleagues have been conducting research regarding media violence, and the studies have helped formulate an equation. The equation takes those who do not consume violent media, subtracts those who have watched violent media and divides by a number for random error. The reason violent behaviors occur, according to Grimes, is not because of an exposure to aggressive acts someone witnesses through the media. It occurs because the individual who acted
See MEDIA, Page 2