News in Review

News in Review

San Marcos City Council

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_single_image image=”5486″ alignment=”center” border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”5538″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]From bringing in new businesses to showing tolerance and acceptance to groups that are often discriminated against, city council has done an efficient job of catering to the diverse population of San Marcos.

Mayor Daniel Guerrero declared Nov. 19 Transgender Day of Remembrance. Guerrero said it was to be a day in which citizens can remember people of the transgender community who have been killed because of their identity. It was a time to educate the community by starting a conversation about the issues transgender people face.

While much of the public closes schools and offices in observance of Columbus Day, the City of San Marcos declared that Oct. 12 will be observed by the city as Indigenous People Day.

Council members approved a request to allow Amazon to set up shop in San Marcos as well as EPIC Piping. The tech and pipe manufacturing companies are set to create jobs with benefits for citizens and create more opportunities for Bobcats to be able to find a career and stay in the city after graduation.

On Nov. 17 city council members followed the lead of cities like Austin to enforce greater safety among drivers. At the meeting council members passed a hands free ordinance, prohibiting drivers from using any electronic devices while behind the wheel.

In conclusion, San Marcos City Council has managed to show more tolerance, better the local economy and increase traffic safety.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”5538″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

Administration/Transparency

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The administration at Texas State has been impressively transparent and open with students this year.

Senate Bill 11, otherwise known as the campus carry bill, will go into effect next fall and allow licensed individuals to carry firearms on campus. Although this fact is a victory to some, it has left many Bobcats apprehensive about what the new legislation will mean to them in terms of safety. However, university officials have made an effort to be very open about the issue and have encouraged feedback throughout the year. Each school is set to present recommendations for the implementation of campus carry, including which zones will be determined gun-free, and President Denise Trauth has been proactive while drafting this document. She began by creating a campus carry task force in which university officials have had the chance to determine the safest avenue for implementing the legislation into daily campus life. Trauth had the task force send out surveys and host numerous open forums where faculty and students had the chance to voice their opinions on the drafted recommendations. This means Bobcats and professors were able to voice which buildings they want to be considered gun-free, as well as the ones where they want guns to be allowed.

University officials have been fairly transparent about future tuition increases. The Texas State University System Board of Regents approved a 2.75 percent increase in tuition. For every 12 hours a student takes, he or she will have to pay roughly $100 more than they have in previous years. Although this decision was not highly publicized, university officials were very welcoming to reporters covering the issue.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”5543″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

Transportation/Parking Services

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Parking has long been a source of frustration for Texas State students and faculty alike.

Enrollment numbers have been record-breaking for 18 consecutive years—which means more cars on campus. Some students were apprehensive upon hearing that there are four perimeter parking permits sold for every perimeter parking spot, but Steven Prentice, assistant director of Parking Services, said no data indicates Texas State needs additional spaces. Prentice said the highest influx of vehicles on campus is during peak hours of class time—from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There are at least 1,200 to 1,300 empty perimeter parking spaces during these times. The problem seems to lie with the convenience of available parking spots rather than their existence. However, despite the Moore Street housing complex that will be added to campus and open its doors next fall, minimal additional spots will be created. The new hall will house a grand total of 598 beds, but university officials only plan to add 22 residential parking spots. Parking on campus is not as convenient as it could be, but it is available for those who need it.

Transportation Services gets a seal of approval for its responsiveness. A flier plastered on walls across campus stated students were not receiving quality shuttle service. It encouraged Bobcats to call Texas State’s transportation providers to demand longer hours, more summer routes and Sunday buses. Nancy Nusbaum, interim director of Transportation Services, said the department plans to make several changes to bus loops by increasing the frequency of the routes. However, Nusbaum said that if students want more extensive change then Transportation Services officials need more feedback from students about the specific problems they would like addressed.

Overall, Transportation and Parking Services are not always 100 percent satisfactory, but the departments work with what they have and make an effort to be responsive to students’ needs.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”5541″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

Student Government

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The University Star cannot give Student Government a grade because the group has not done much of anything this year.

Guest speakers frequent the meetings and the Senate does what it can to increase attendance at sporting events, but as far as any impactful legislation—it has been a fruitless year. While Student Government at universities such as the University of Texas at Austin receive national attention for fighting to remove statues of confederate leaders on campus, the Texas State group can barely get anyone to run for any positions. And when one person does decide to run, only 2 or 3 percent of the student body cares enough to actually come out and vote.

If Student Government took a stance on controversial topics like same-sex marriage or campus carry, they might be able to get more than 20 or 30 people to attend their meetings. And when Student Government does do something important, like when Jack Rahman, director of the LBJ Student Center, spoke on the possibility of raising the LBJ Student Center fee, the Senate Executive Board asked The University Star not to publish a story on behalf of Rahman.The University Star contacted Rahman and the Nov. 9 article was still published in order to inform the student population about what is happening in the governmental body, which is supposed to represent their best interest. Rahman said he didn’t have anything to hide when he spoke in the public, open meeting but that he didn’t want anything published out of respect for the Senate.

Students cannot be informed if the Senate tries to censor campus media and that same campus media happens to be the only people who actively follow their activities or lack there of.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Top Ten

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During this year’s Memorial Day weekend, Central Texas was on the receiving end of flash floods that reached historically unprecedented levels. Twelve people died and the cities of San Marcos and Wimberley are continuing to feel the affects of extreme damage. Nearly six months later, the financial and environmental extent of the damage has been calculated. The total cost of flood damage is $7 million for the region which includes Blanco, Hays, Guadalupe and Caldwell Counties, said Kristi Wyatt, director of communications and intergovernmental relations for the city of San Marcos.

2. Fifty years of the Higher Education Act:

President Lyndon Baines Johnson returned to his alma mater Nov. 8, 1965 for one very important job—to sign the Higher Education Act. Now, 50 years later, the act continues to give Americans the chance to receive federal financial aid in order to go to college. Before the signing, Johnson spoke about how the legislation would open the door to education. He said the act would allow high school seniors anywhere in the country to apply to any college or university, regardless of financial status.

3. TSUS Board of Regents approves 2.75 percent tuition increase:

Bobcats will soon have to reach a little deeper into their pockets to pay for classes. The Texas State University System Board of Regents approved a 2.75 percent tuition increase during its Nov. 12-13 meetings. The 2.75 percent increase will include a $7.12 increase for tuition and a $2 library fee. This means students will pay $9.12 more per semester credit hour they take, approximately amounting to an additional $100 a semester for a student taking 12 credit hours.

4. Halloween flood leaves widespread property damage:

Storms and flash floods made an appearance Halloween weekend, leaving residential property, the city and the university wrecked with debris. Just six months after the Memorial Day weekend flooding, Hays County Judge Bert Cobb declared Hays County a disaster zone Oct. 31, according to a Nov. 1 county press release. The declaration activated the Hays County Emergency Management Plan and mobilized local resources to help the community assess and recover from damages caused by the storms and floods that ensued on the eve of Halloween.

5. Amazon headed to San Marcos, expected to create 350 new jobs:

City council unanimously approved a deal with Amazon July 21 that will create 350-1,000 jobs. The project was in the works for a couple of years, said Councilman Jude Prather, Place 2. Amazon, the largest Internet-based retailer in the country, is asking the city to build a new fulfillment center off of McCarty Lane. The center is planned to be 855,000 square feet and an estimated investment of $60 million. The retailer is expected to bring in 350 new jobs, not including those provided through labor and construction on the new building.

6. Bobcats march against student debt, rising tuition:

Students marched from the front steps of Old Main to the front lawn of President Denise Trauth’s house holding signs and chanting demands for free tuition and an end to student debt Thursday afternoon. Bobcats who participated in the Million Student March could be heard chanting slogans like “education should be free, no more debt for you and me,” and “banks get bailed out, we get sold out” as they marched across campus. The protest was a call to action from students who were advocating for tuition-free public institutions, cancellation of all student debt and a $15 minimum wage for university student employees.

7. Naturalization ceremony on campus:

Fifty-one people officially became American citizens at Texas State’s first ever naturalization ceremony underneath the arch of the Undergraduate Academic Center Oct. 8. U.S. District Judge Robert L. Pitman presided over the ceremony and granted citizenship to the people awaiting to officially become Americans. Family and friends of the newly ordained U.S. citizens, who collectively came from 25 countries and five continents, gathered to celebrate their first day as Americans.

8. City council election results move San Marcos in new direction:

Newly elected Place 5 and 6 city council members Scott Gregson and Melissa Derrick shared their victory with a cheering crowd of student supporters, longtime friends and a number of city officials on Tuesday evening. Once the final votes rolled in and Derrick and Gregson’s victory was confirmed, the pair said they would use their new positions to protect the San Marcos River and adhere to the comprehensive master plan.

9. Veteran hopes to educate community after service dog incident:

An Iraqi veteran is accusing Texas State of implementing an illegal policy after an event regarding his service dog happened earlier this year. Jeremy Kennard, social work senior, contacted a lawyer when he discovered the university enforced a policy he felt violated the federal American Disability Act. Kennard entered the classroom of Raphael Travis, assistant professor in the School of Social Work, on the first day of the fall semester with his service dog, Athena. He said Travis asked him to produce paperwork proving Athena was a certified service dog.

10. Acclaimed film director speaks at Distinguished Lecture series:

Students and faculty packed Evans Auditorium Wednesday evening to listen to critically acclaimed screenwriter, film director and producer Robert Rodriguez deliver a speech for the Lyndon Baines Johnson Distinguished Lecture series.

Rodriguez’s lecture was the first in an LBJ speaker series as part of this year’s theme “Bridged Through Stories: Shared Heritage of the United States and Mexico, an Homage to Dr. Tomás Rivera.” Rodriguez said he was shocked Hispanics were underrepresented in the mainstream film industry. Hispanics only made up two to three percent of the presence in front of and behind the camera, even though Hispanics make up 17 percent of the nation’s population.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]