MONDAY JUNE 5, 2017 VOLUME 106 ISSUE 34
DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
www.UniversityStar.com
NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION
ISSUE
Kara Brookbank, communications studies junior, and Jesus Rangel, political science junior, lead a tour of campus to prospective students and parents. Photo by Lara Dietrich.
Explore Texas State's hidden gems By Paola Esquivel-Oliveros Lifestyle Reporter @paolaoliveros Along with the well-known buildings new students see during their visit, Texas State has lesser known spots around adding to the university’s one-of-a-kind quality. The ‘hidden hammocks’, located near the Hines building are an example of
some of the hidden gems found on campus. Students are told to keep quiet of the hammocks’ location. The picnic tables behind the agriculture building is another concealed area where students can take a break, eat or study. The tables are surrounded by palm trees and gardens, making it an ideal place to relax and hang out. There is also a chalk board where students can doodle and be creative.
Pride and Traditions of Bobcats By Jonathan Gonzalez News Reporter @Jonny_Gonzalez_ Every year, Texas State takes in thousands of new students from across the country and across the seas to be introduced into Bobcat culture through its various traditions. These traditions preserve the history of the campus, which lives on through the members of the Bobcat community that walk its streets every day. Since Texas State first opened its doors in 1903, the university has expanded exponentially from a small teaching institution house in Old Main to a large multi-complex university that rivals the largest in Texas. Originally known as Southwest Texas State Normal School, the university would go through multiple name changes before being designated the present-day Texas State name in 2013. For the newest members of the Bobcat community, the university offers several ways of getting familiar with campus. Programs such as the New Student Orientation (NSO) and Cat Camp allow incoming freshman and transfer students to see what Texas State is all about. Randy Gaytan, NSO Student Coordinator, said making the incoming students feel welcome allows the campus to grow into more of a “familyoriented” place. “It makes them become a bit more emotionally invested in campus in
the sense that they’ll say, ‘this is my home,'" Gaytan said. “Instead of it being an ‘I’ thing, it becomes more of a ‘we."" During the orientations, Gaytan said he enjoys highlighting landmarks around campus, such as the Bobcat statue and the Lyndon B. Johnson statue on the Quad as a way of showing how much the campus has changed over the years. “Students respond to the stories behind these buildings and the history that’s attached to the statues to where it becomes something that resonates with them,” Rangel said. “But we also want to show them where the campus is heading. It’s a living, breathing thing. It’s not stagnating. Texas State is becoming more of a powerhouse in post-secondary education.” For those who are not incoming students, the university offers tours through the Welcome Center inside of the LBJ Student Center, which introduces guests to Texas State traditions. Jesus Rangel, a tour guide for the Welcome Center, that the tours offered are made all the more special by the amiable, engaging experience given to those visiting campus. “All the tour guides here are students, so they have that personal experience and that’s how we do our tour through those experiences and our knowledge of the buildings,” Rangel said.
PAGE 3 STUDENTS
If students are looking for a scenic area on campus, the courtyard inside the Taylor Murphy building is the place to go. The courtyard is surrounded by colorful tiles which create a unique look for the building. Tour guides talk about some of the major highlights and share personal experiences. Tasia Irvin, campus tour guide and health and fitness management senior,
said she enjoys highlighting the advancements and innovations the university goes through when giving tours. “Our tours are constantly improving and changing as we get new facts and information,” Irvin said. “San Marcos is growing, Texas State is growing and we want our students to have the best of the best.”
PAGE 3 TOUR
Students receive awards from National Science Foundation for graduate research By Shayan Faradineh Assistant News Editor @ShayanFaradineh Two Bobcats were chosen by The National Science Foundation as this year’s recipients of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program. The GRFP provides three years of financial support to graduate study, including $34,000 as an annual stipend and a $12,000 allowance for the costof-education. These funds are given to students who are working toward a research-based master’s or doctoral degree in the science, technology, engineering or mathematics fields. The program is unique, as it has nurtured economic innovation and leadership in the U.S. continuously since 1952, according to Jim Lewis, NSF acting assistant director for education and human resources. “These talented individuals have gone on to make important discoveries, win Nobel Prizes, train many generations of American scientists and engineers and create inventions that improve our lives,” Lewis said. The Texas State recipients, Jared Coplin and Kristi Belcher, are among 2,000 awardees of the 13,000 that applied for the program. Coplin is a graduate student, currently seeking his master’s in the computer science department at Texas State. “My research is geared towards reducing both the fiscal and environmental cost of computing without sacrificing performance, designing new highly
efficient data processing algorithms, and increasing the data return of spacebased scientific instruments,” Coplin said. Belcher recently graduated with a degree in computer science and will begin her graduate studies at the University of Oregon in the fall. “In fall 2015 and spring 2016, I took an Undergraduate Research course,” Belcher said. “After I took the class, I discovered that I wanted to explore research in GPUs more in depth because they really excited me, and I knew there was a lot more to learn in that area.” NSF has funded over 50,000 Graduate Research Fellowships in the past 65 years. As of 2017, 42 members of the Fellowship have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, and more than 450 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences. According to the NSF Graduate Research Program website, “NSF Fellows are anticipated to become experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals are crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation’s technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large.” Martin Burtscher, a professor in the Department of Computer Science, acted as an adviser to both Coplin and Belcher.
PAGE 3 GRADUATE