2 | The University Star | News | Thursday, September 11, 2014
INTEGRATION, from front Needham’s friend rushed out of the car and asked the woman what the signs were. She said they hung in the Santa Fe station until 1964 and she kept them for 25 years at her home. “She wanted to get rid of them because of what they were reminders of, and he asked her, ‘May I have them?’” Needham said. Needham asked his friend for the signs because he knew he was going to be a teacher someday. When he learned of the Common Experience theme, he knew it was time to take the signs out of storage. The signs are being displayed in Alkek Library. University officials have been asked why they are bringing up a topic that is 50 years old, and he said it is because
they have “an appreciation for the past,” Needham said. “Without that appreciation for the past, the cliché is that we are destined to repeat it, and maybe not in the exact same way but in some form or fashion,” Needham said. The purpose of the Common Experience theme is not to remind students of a past that is “tainted” and something to be ashamed of, Needham said. The purpose is to explore history and look at the progress made in the past 50 years. “In 50 years we’ve gone from colored waiting rooms to an AfricanAmerican President,” Needham said. Alex Walkuski, undeclared junior, said she is proud to go to a university
that celebrates the struggles and triumphs of the past. “I feel like equality is very important.” Walkuski said. “That’s why I chose to come to Texas State—‘cause we all just mesh well together with our diverse population. I just transferred here, and I love it.” Alisha Clemons, English sophomore, said schools in particular have changed from the days of separate rooms and buildings for people of different races. “The values system has changed and has had a big impact on society, but I think we still have progress to make more in the individual than in society itself,” Clemons said. “I feel like once we change, generation by
LA CIMA, from front accounting senior, said he helped create awareness for the petition because the river is the livelihood of the city. “People get lost in their pursuit for money, and they forget that the reason we work so hard is to enjoy the things that make life worth living,” Gonzalez said. City Clerk Jamie Pettijohn said the petition is what is known as a “straw poll” petition because ultimately it is not a valid petition as identified by the city’s charter. Pettijohn said the petition cannot go before the voters or council for repeal or revision to the current code. “(The construction) was approved, and there is nothing that can be done at this point,” Pettijohn said. “I notified the council that this petition was created so they could reach out to the individual if they would like to do so. I do not know if they have or have not at this point.” Councilwoman Lisa Prewitt, Place 1, said before she was elected she was not a proponent of Cape’s Camp becoming a multi-family complex. “Anytime you build on a river bank and put a huge complex
there, you are putting those residents in danger to some degree, but you can’t stop it now,” Prewitt said. “You can’t stop something like that when it’s been entitled and the developers have followed all the legal processes and due diligence.” Prewitt said she was unaware of the petition, and even if it is not successful, it creates awareness and gets people engaged. Councilman John Thomaides, Place 3, said his goal was to acquire the property as parkland, and he voted against the rezoning because of flooding concerns. “It is important to respect the will of the voters, and time will tell if the flood preventions by the developer will work,” Thomaides said. Many San Marcos residents are concerned about the new development, Thomaides said. “As San Marcos continues to grow, the access to the river is becoming incredibly crowded,” Thomaides said. “What Cape’s Camp would have done was add really the last piece of undeveloped property to the city’s parkland system.” Thomaides said it will be hard to gauge the effectiveness of the petition.
Guerrero said a number of different factors formulated his decision to vote in favor of the rezoning. It was an emotional decision, he said. “It impacts me because I have lived in this neighborhood for 20 years,” Guerrero said. There were concerns about whether the city had the right to sell the land for development and whether it was zoned for that purpose, Guerrero said. Another issue was that the property itself was not for sale, and as much as citizens wanted to buy it, the owners already had a buyer, he said. “We felt that what was in the best interests of the community was to try and work with the Thornton family, the developers and our staff to try and find a mutual agreement as to where they would be allowed to develop in proximity to the river,” Guerrero said. “They were willing to go above and beyond our usual regulations and in addition to that still provide us with riverfront acreage that the city would not have been able to purchase otherwise.” Guerrero said he was aware of the petition but had not seen it in detail and had no immediate comment.
University now offering online master of science degree in dementia and aging studies Beginning this month, Texas State will offer an online Master of Science degree program in dementia and aging studies, the first of its kind in America. The three tracks that make up the program are a practitioner’s sector, which is involved with aging services and government jobs, long term care, which offers a sixmonth internship and a variety of administrator positions and a research sector, giving students the skills needed to work immediately for a company upon graduation. The course is a 33-hour online Master’s degree. Susan Day, sociology department chair, said the new program was proposed by faculty. Ph.D. programs in dementia studies are offered in Europe, but there was nothing similar in the United States, Day said. The department realized they could put together an important and critical program. “Given the dramatic increase in dementia and Alzheimer’s because the Baby Boomer generation is aging, we want to reach as many people as possible with this one-of-a-kind online degree program,” Day said. “We’re focused on people who have dementia and how they live their lives and what can be done to help them live fuller lives because in the United States, we tend to put people
said. “We have to understand where we’ve come from to make sure that we don’t (go back).” Smith said it is important to have a dialogue about how different things were in the past. “I grew up in Pennsylvania, but when I was a young girl I traveled to Georgia, Virginia and the South,” Smith said. “It was very segregated. You had to sit in certain places.” Smith said she wants students to engage in the Common Experience theme. “I just hope that everyone takes the time to attend these events and join the dialogue on this important issue,” Smith said.
SG, from front
ACADEMICS
By Liz Barrera NEWS REPORTER
generation, it’ll impact society a lot more.” Alicia Thomsen, psychology sophomore, said people have different attitudes on race in different states and places. “Equality in society is as important as anything,” Thomsen said. “A human is a human no matter gender, race, sexual orientation—we all have rights as a human being.” Joanne Smith, vice president of Student Affairs, said the university wanted to do a tribute to the five women that desegregated Texas State in 1963, and it evolved into this year’s theme. “We’ve come a long way, and part of the conversation has to be that we don’t want to go back to that,” Smith
with severe cases of dementia in nursing homes.” The program was approved in August and began in September, Day said. Four students are currently enrolled in the program. The program is very flexible, Day said. The department is making efforts to advertise and connect with groups all over the nation to let people know about it. “We want to reach as many people as we can with this online program so that someone from Alaska could enroll at Texas State and receive the same education as someone who lives in Texas,” Day said. “We are also contacting Alzheimer’s groups and putting ads in magazines.” Christopher Johnson, senior lecturer of sociology, said he came to Texas State to develop the program and get faculty involved across
campus. When Johnson was a director of gerontology at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, that university had a very successful online masters program, but it lacked a dementia component, he said. Johnson said the need for education in dementia and aging studies is very high and a variety of job openings come along with the degree. The sociology department has embraced the new program, and other departments on campus, such as communication disorders, social work, recreational therapy and health administration, are expected to develop electives related to dementia and aging studies as well, Johnson said. There are over 80 different forms of dementia, and the university has special faculty
See DEMENTIA, Page 6
to how SG knew what the student body wanted because it was not surveyed. “It was a really great point that they made,” Young said. SG was not taking the opinions of the student body into consideration before the evaluation. “We want to make sure that we are clear and credible and we are being that voice for students,” Young said. Another complaint from the ASGA report was that all SG does is “sit in their office,” Young said. “SG had a reputation of being better than everybody else” Carlson said. SG wants to show that they are here for students to provide for them, DeSalvo said. “We need to be in The Quad and provide (students) with services and programming,” DeSalvo said. At every other campus, SG provides something for the student body, DeSalvo said. SG doesn’t do a lot of programming, Young said.
“We have the freshman tailgate, which was very successful at the Arkansas-Pine Bluff game, but we want to keep doing things like that,” Young said. SG provides a scholarship to students, but it wants to find more things that can be provided to the student body, DeSalvo said. “I would like to see us do something for students,” DeSalvo said. “We are there to advocate with you, and we are there to give you what you need. Its something that is new for us. It should not be new, but it is.” Since the school year is just starting and there are so many new members, visible “positive change” will happen down the road for students, DeSalvo said. “There will be results that everyone can see, but the other part of it is being more approaching and have a relationship with the student body,” Carlson said. “Then that makes us more relevant.”
SOLICITATION, from front food sales, will have to be more creative about generating money. Last year, HBSA could be found on The Quad almost every day selling food to help keep its funds up, said Karlie Ramirez, HBSA’s Recruitment Chair. “We’re known for quesadillas, and we can’t do that as much anymore,” Ramirez said. HBSA charges its members $50 for memberships dues, which isn’t sufficient to cover all the organization’s needs, she said. The policy change, along with previous policy updates, has made it difficult to keep up monetarily. HBSA is affected by the policy’s stance on co-sponsorships, Ramirez said. “We were actually looking at getting sponsored by the UGG boot store at the outlets, and they wanted us to put up a banner, but now because of the policy we’re going to have to find a different way to show that they’re our sponsors,” Ramirez said. Luis Becerra, member of Phi Iota Alpha, said he understands the trouble in organizations’ inability to sell food whenever they wish.
“Food sells,” Becerra said. “No one has time to throw a pie in someone’s face, but people have time for food.” The change clarifies a policy that wasn’t strictly enforced. Originally, organizations were approved for an unlimited amount of days even though the policy stated that they could only solicit for five calendar days per month. Now the organizations can solicit for ten days per month, Lenartowicz said. Organizations have the ability to appeal when their requests have been denied, Lenartowicz said. “Let’s say our office denies a request based on whatever the policy is stating,” Lenartowicz said. “They can still appeal to the Dean of Students Office.” The 10-day solicitation policy is specific to sale of goods. Organizations can hold recruitment and informational events in public spaces as long as they’ve reserved space and been approved, she said
September 23-28
PerformancesThursday, Sept. 25th FREE DANCE with Cameran Nelson Friday, Sept. 26th Roger Creager Saturday, Sept. 27th Gary Glenn with special appearance by John Conlee Sunday, Sept. 28th FREE DANCE with Jeremy Richards Band
San Marcos Area Youth Soccer Org is searching for Volunteer Soccer Coaches for the fall season.
Practice 1-2 days/wk Games on Saturdays
Contact Jim Neff 512.801.5315 jimneff@txwinet.com
PRCA Rodeo Thurs - Sat @ 7:30 pm PRCA Bull Riding Sunday @ 2:00 pm Giant Heart of America Shows Carnival! For ticket info, go to: comalcountyfair.com