Serving the University of Texas at San Antonio Community
TUESDAY
October 19, 1993
Volume 16, Number 13
Texas' ONLY Independent Student Newspaper
Students to vote on new recreation center fee
By Brian WhMler
News Editor
Students may face an additional $30 fee next fall contingent upon how the majority votes on Nov. 9 and 10 for a new recreation center fee prc^iosed by the university.
"In the last legislative session, the University of Texas at San Antonio went to the legislature, with the qiproval of the UT System and die board o€ regents, asking to set up a fee contingent upon the approval ofthe students," said Karen Whitney, assistant .
vfcc^dentforshi- -yy^g preliminary feedback I've gotten from stu- "iftiiestudentsap- dent Qovemment and from talking to students is prove it diey will be ttils Is Something we would like rigtit now."
uiemseivesat$30per —Ksren Whitney
semester, fall and Assistant vico president for student life
s{Hing, and $ 1S every summer
they want to pay for the recreation center by fee.
"If the students approve the fee, be¬ ginning in the fall of '94. we will c(dlect the fee. At diat point we will take die fn^t $750,000 collected and inunedi- ately improve the existing recreational facilities on campus," she said.
"It takes years to buUd anything at a univeisity and many times students feel like, 'I'm spending Uiis money now and not getting anything for it'. We try to anticipate that and we've put two things into this proposal to by and help diem
session, -^——¦^— much like the university center fee. The reason is these kinds of enterprises have been deemed by die Texas legislature as auxiliary enterprises and therefore not eligible by the Texas legislature for state funding," she explained.
Whitney stated there are only two ways to generate diese kinds of facili¬ ties, through fees or donations. At Uiis point UTSA has not been able to solicit die $8.5 million needed to develop diis project. Without donations the univer¬ sity must ask the students to decide if
realize that we're sensitive to Uiat fact," said Whitney.
"One, is die immediate improvement of recreational facilities. I think the biggest impact is lighting Uie outdoor playing fields. Right now there are not any lighted fields and when it gets daik they have to stop. That's unfortunate given how large our population is," ex¬ plained Whitney.
The initial money collected from the fee will also allow the university to extend the hours of die Convocation
Project Success helps struggling studenta
By Haura Cunmngham
Associate News Editor
"l^ogect Success is an attempt tohe^) studentsacademicdly, socially, orwhitf- evet it takes, to nudce them feel like UTSA is their home, that diey want to stay here and dwy wimt to be part of this academic commimity," explained John Wallace of the Thomas Rivera Office of Student Information and Retentkm.
Project Success is a new pn^ram started this year toprovide studoits widi positive nqiport here at the vaAverwty. Tbe project is run by Mary Cullinan, Carol Flc»es, and iCimberty Pariov, die project's counaekin. Appraximately 2,000 students were sent an invitation to particq»te in the prc^ram this falL
"We have smt letters to students say¬ ing 'Please come talk to us. We'd like to talk to you about how you're doing here academkally. Whstt can we do to he^
you?'" said Wallace.
That assittartce cm range from hitor- ing to long range planning. Thecounse- ters ask questions such as:
"Can we amnge tutoring or talk about
Woidd you like to have a moitor?" Do you need to tidk to your career ainaoiT'
Do you need to. t"lk lo your aca¬ demic advisor?"
'Do you know what you want to do widi your degree?"
"Why are you here?"
"What ate yoar long range plans?"
The four objectives of Project Sue- are: to devekip successfrd study stral^ies; cre^e positive expect^ions for shidents and their future; leamidiout resources and opportunities available on canqius to assist UTSA students: provide a personal consultmit for the studems' UTS Aexpeiience dirough dieir Project Success counsekv.
Carol Fkxes.aProject Success coiBi- sekir said, "A lot of die times when students cwne to the university they kind oi have a kM feeling. So dutt's jmother dioig di^ we try and do to let thnn know ttiat they can come mid talk to us. We try and sign them up with a mentor,ifthey'reuiterested, or diey just trik io one ot tue Mwnsdors."
AnoAo^dnng tfuttdie pn^gram c^ers Ssa^oiqisesBon. "We have two set up id^ now for Oct 20 and 27.  What
're goiag to do is have the students in and talk about whatever feel-
ii^ ttiey wantk) talk about," said Fkxes. "For instance, whoi you take your fust test and do pooriy on it, dien you're [probably] diinking, 'I'm die only one who failed this test. What's wrong with me?' Well, diat's not true. Aktotthe time it could be test wxiety, you really didn't understimd the notes ^our pro¬ fessors], you don't have that gumptkHi to go up there and talk to your professor, you're really lost or reaUy don't know what io da So, we're going to have Uiese groqM to let ottier studeitts know ttiat diey're not ttie only ones gomg ttirough those experioKes."
Wallace explained, "When die stn- doits come in, we don't do a cookbook type of plan for diem, it is individual¬ ized. Some stiidents may need a lot of guidance, some may need very little. Some just need a little bit of encourage¬ ment w need an answer to a question. And so die rec^ is individualized tor each student
"Anodier featiire ttiat we offer in this program is a computerized finmicial aid search, in which we have on the com- pum a list irfabout 2000 grant giving or money giving institiMions. The shidents can come in and put dieir personal data and then the computer program will ^t out a list of about 10 to 33 possible funding sources that the students can use for scholarships, grants or some kind df financial aid. So we're also going to offer tti^ to our students. Because ev¬ erybody knows that money can some¬ times be a ixoblem."
Wallace said. "The image we want portrayed is ttut ttie office hoe is user' friendly, opert to students and we are wiUing to be die students' advocate. We are wiUing to (k> anything we can to help the student. If wedon'tlave the answer, we will find die person dut does have dieanswca'.
"We're still kxddng for more sm¬ dents, we're not turning anybody away. We think ttiat if anybody walks in the door md says 'I woukl hke to talk lo a coufuekir', diey can use die program. So we don't exclude anybody.
"We probidily have 20staidaits so fv Uiat have indicated Uiat diey wanted to talk to ts and we have signed them iq> for the program."
Those interested can call 691-4694 or aap by die Tomas Rivoa Office ci Student Information and Retention room 1.01.0SinttieJPL.
tome 1
Center/P£. gym   and extend facility sunxxt to Uie outdow playing fields.
"The second thing we're going to woik on is the development of a pre¬ miere recreation and welbiess center for die university. Basically we want state of die art recreational equipment Im¬ mediately we want accessibility, 5:30 in die morning to midnight six to seven days a week, and we want variety in terms of facilities and (nograms," she said.
The new recreation center wouM be approximately 60,000 square feet and ^™~^'" have a wide range
of services, includ¬ ing: aerobics classes, racquetball courts, squash courts, treadmills, stairmasters, sta¬ tionary bicycles, a weight room, an in- ~~^^~^^^^^^ door running track, wellness seminars, and a sauna/Jacuzzi widi locker rooms and showers.
Patsy Berlet, coordinator of student healUi services, said, "I Uiink the recre¬ ation center would be a benefit to the traditional student as well as the non- traditional student Everybody needs recreation facilities; it can be done be¬ tween classes, after classes, or befoe. It's one way of reducing stress and ener¬ gizing yourself to keep on going."
Bo-let stated that many college stu¬ dents have problems with illness, head¬ aches, tenseness, muscle pains and fa¬ tigue as a result of not having ready
Karan Whitney explained the recreation center fee Implications to the Student Govemment at a recent meeting. The Student Govenment will hold a campus town meeting for students on the fee Nov. 9.
access to recreational facilities and ex¬ ercising properly.
Whimey commented thai the recre¬ ation center would be student intensive in staffing with a skeleton crew of pro¬ fessionals to guide and develop pro¬ grams.
"Based on my experience it will take four years after the fee is enacted lo open
the doors. Based on the size of the project, 1 would say construction would take from 12 to 15 months. It's a com¬ bination of the time it takes to develop the project, the time it takes to accrue the fee, and then the time for construction," said Whitney.
The recreation center is currently planned to be built to the west of the
Convocation center, if approved.
The facility wouldcostapiwoximately 8.5 million to construct and equip: 5.5 million for construction and three mil¬ lion forequipment. Fees col lected would also pay for the $550,000 annual operat¬ ing budget.
"Normally we go into a debt service cont. on pg. 2 .
Politician teaching at Kennesaw State sparks controversy
By Karen Neustadt
College Press Service
A memberof the House of Represen¬ tatives who teaches a course beamed to 150 sites around the nation from a public Georgia college has raised questions about mixing politics and academe.
House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich, a conservative Republican who repre¬ sents Georgia's sixth distiict in subur¬ ban north Atlanta, teaches a course tided "Renewing American Civilization" to 150 undergraduate and graduate stu¬ dents at Kennesaw State College at Marietta.   The course, which began
Sept 18, is being broadcast by satellite to various sites around the nation.
The format involves a series of lec¬ tures by Gingrich on his vision for sav¬ ing the country's moral and economic structure. Gingrich, co-founder of the Conservative Opportunity Society, is widely known for his conservative ideas and opposition to what he terms "the welfare state."
The Gingrich-Kennesaw State joint venture raised objections among stu¬ dents and faculty who were concerned about a state-funded school offering classroom space and support services as a platform for a politician.  Criticism
intensified when is was discovered that some funds for the class were received from GOP AC, a Washington-based Re¬ publican political action committee which is chaired by Gingrich.
Supporters of the course accuse course detractors of attempting to muzzle the outspoken politician underacloak of "political correctness".
In addition to funds from GOPAC, the 10-week class is bankrolled by foun¬ dations and private companies that have contributed to Gingrich's various politi¬ cal campaigns. There was more concem when it was revealed that GOPAC was involved in the planning of the curricu¬
lum of the course.
Among the corporate contributors to the course are Turner Broadcasting Co.. the Employer's Policy Institute (EPI). and Cracker Barrel restaurants. The res¬ taurant chain has been boycotted by gay rights groups for its policy that it won't hire gays and lesbians. Documents have revealed diat the EPI gave $25,000 to Gingrich, and praised him for including in the curriculum promotion of mini¬ mum-wage jobs.
"If the Sierra Club did exacdy the same tiling for their values that (would be considered) wonderful, and it would cont. on pg. 3
UTSA enrollment continues to increase
The official fall enrollment of 17,099 students at UTSA is a recwd, according to figures compiled by die office of admissions, making UTSA one of the most nqiidly growing public universi¬ ties in the state.
More tiian 74 percent of the 332 new students at UTSA diis fall were His¬ panic, continuing a trend toward in¬ creased Hispanic enrollment in recent years. Hispanics make up more Uian 33 pocent ofthe total student population at UTSA.
Minority enrolhnent which includes Black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American students, also reached a record level of 7,153 Uiis year, nearly 42 per¬ cent of the total student population.
Dr. Raymond Gaiza, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the increase in minority enrollment followed
a well established pattern in recent years.
"UTSA has a major stake in minority education," Garza said. "One of the university's four main strategic initia¬ tives is to become a national center for the education of Hispanics at the gradu¬ ate and undergraduate level," Garza said.
Even more significant this year is the large increase in the number of graduate students attending UTSA. Currendy, 2,265 graduate students are enrolled, 161 more than a year ago and an eight percent increase," Garza said. There was an eight percent increase in full- time graduate students and a 16 percent increase in the total number of graduate hours.
"This increase is attributable lo our aggressive expansion of graduate pro¬ gram offerings, as well as to increased institutional name recognition and over¬
all visibility ."Garza said. He added Uiat UTSA enrollments in all areas are ex¬ pected to increase for die remainder of the decade.
"UTSA will be in a dynamic expan¬ sion mode in the next decade," Gaiza said. "Population growth in the region, a major increase in physical plant and academic programs on campus and downtown, and a commitment to be¬ come, increasingly, a prominent research institution all are factors influencing this expansion."
The growth in enrollment has re¬ sulted in an increased demand for on- campus housing. Occupancy in the university'sdormitory remains high, and the twoon-campus apartment complexes are at full capacity.
In the past two years, the number of on-campus residents has tripled to nearly
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1,400 residents, or eight percent of the student oody. University officials are considering plans for a third on-campus apartmen' complex. UTSA's student housing goal for the year 20(X) is to provide on-campus housing for ten to 15 percent of its student population.
UTSA undergraduates also are tak¬ ing more hours. Undergraduates make up 87 percent ofthe total UTSA popula¬ tion and more than 63 percent of them take a full time load of 12 or more hours. Also there wasa4.62 percent increase in the number of full time freshmen this year.
About 71 percent of all students come firom Bexar County, and another six percent come from the combined South/ Southeast Texas region of Cameron, Harris, Hidalgo, Nueces and Webb Counties.
The largest number of uansfer stu¬ dents come from San Anionio College, followed by Palo Alto College, Laredo Junior College, and St. Phillip's Col¬ lege.
Of the nine academic components of die University of Texas System, only UTSA and UT Pan America gained en¬ rollment diis fall. Enrollment increases also were reported in all UT system health institutions—in Dallas. Galveston, and San Antonio.
The college of sciences and engi¬ neering led UTSA's four colleges with an increase of 8.32 percent to 4,831 students. More than 35.6 percent of diis college's enrollment is Hispanic.
To accommodate the increased en¬ rollment 35 new faculty have joined UTSA dus fall; two thirds of these are women or minorities. Class scheduling has also been scrutinized to make more efficient use of class space.