Mi
Schools deny students
Recently, acceptance Into grad schools requires minor miracle
Features, page 5
Menagerie opens season
Tom Cruise speaks from the dark side in 'Inten/iew with a vampire'
The Plus, page 5
'Runners race for success
Track veterans set pace for younger counterparts
Sports, page 7
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September 13,1994
Volume 17, Number 16
Serving the University of Texas at Stxn Antonio Community
New financial aid approach speeds student applications
By Rachel Dupnik
News Editor
This semester, the Office of Student Financial Aid has implemented new services to benefit UTSA students. These new services include direct deposit, electronic funds transfer (EFT), a scholarship office and the expansion of telephone services.
Cynthia Smith, intem director of financial aid, said "We realize students don' t want to become exfwrts in financial aid; we don't expect them to. We are trying lo be much more pro-active and just take a step by step, very simplified approach to what students need to do rather than try to make them financial aid officers. I don't think that is appropriate. TTiat's what we do."
Until this term, direct deposit did not exist for the student. "It is not a riew concept in relation to the banking industry, but it is new in the way that we handle students' accounts," said Smith "It benefils the studenis because it prevents them from having to stand in line at the bursars office and then having 10 make a trip to the bank. As the university becomes larger, we have to find ways to provide services in a more effective manner."
In order to expand telephone services, new equipment was purchased and the .system was upgraded to handle the volume of calls the office was receiving. "We wereexceeding our capacity, during rush time, and il was taking a lot of time to get calls answered," said .Smith.
Tlie FAO awarded more than 4,100 students before classes began (his fall. Al present, approximately 200 more
applications have been processed, and Smith said that the office expects an increase by another 500 in the next couple of weeks.
The Scholarship Office, located in the MS, will utilize a national database of scholarship program information and will work closely with the academic division .-ffices to coordinate the advertising and posting of scholarship opportunities for students.
Smith said, "Being a new institution, it takes years to develop scholarship funding. Now is the time to move in that direction."
Currently, there is also a reference guide in print that will simplify the process for students.
The FAO staff consists of 23 full- time positions. Smith said that 11,000 students come into the FAO for some type of assistance. Eight staff members are responsible for rotating in and out of the front desk. The breakdown of staff is as follows: two FAO slaff answering phones, Iwo FAO staff working the front desk, one FAO officer al the phone, one FAO officer on call lo take appointments and two FAO staff awarding files.
Smith attributes the FAO's advancements to a combination of two things: staff and technology. "The staff worked really hard. A lot ofthe slaff that we had were students here at one point and they realize how important this money is to the siudents. They know that you need your money before you come to school, not after. But technology certainly has assisted us in making progress," said Smith.
Another way the FAO has better tried to assist students is with the Financial
Aid Student Advisory Committee. Smith said she looks upon this group more as a
forum for siudents. "We are going to continue lo try to find ways to sei^e the siudents that really fit^their needs. We need lo know what their needs are, and I am very serious about the student advisory committee," Smith said. The committee meets once a monlh during the term.
"We have a hard time gaining participation. We need lo listen to the students to provide them with the type of assistance they need, bul if they are not going lo participate, we are taking shots in the dark."
Students interested in being a member ofthe student advisory committee should drop their name off at the FAO. Smith said students will be notified when meetings are held.
Smith said that future goals for the FAO include a work flow system and increased automated loan services. "We don'l have a work flow system yet. Our goal is lo award any student prior lo the start of school that has their file complete. I think if we could gel to the point where,, anybody Ihal walked in before school started could gel awarded before school started, ihat would be great. We are going to keep looking at different ways to automate the loan area also because thai is where our volume is," said Smith.
According lo Smith, Ihe FAO has completed Ihe July files, and by Ihe end of the month, should be finished with September. "We can not eliminate the red tape, but il would really help us if students had Iheir file complete before April," said Smith.
Internationally acclaimed writer to speak at first Convocation
Internationally acclaimed writer Carlos Fuentes will be featured speaker at a Sept. 27 Convocation celebrating the 2.'ith anniversary ofthe University of Texas at San Antonio. The Convocation is free and open to the public.
"Students are encouraged and we Icomed to attend the Convocation," saidCarol Van Natta, silver anniversary coordinator.
Fuentes, one of Latin America's mosl distinguished novelist, is widely recognized as an author, statesman, and scholar with a unique perspective on Latin American culture. His topic for the Convocation address will be "A Writer Looks Towards the 21st Century."
The Convocation, set for 2 p.m. in the UTSA Convocation Center, will usher in an academic year filled with Silver Anniversary events. The university's faculty and senior administrators will join in a formal processional for the event, which will feature music composed by James Balentine, UTSA professor of music.
A reception will follow the Convocation, located on the Convocation grounds, forall attendees.
Samuel Kirkpatrick, UTSA President, said the Convocation will continue the progressive mood established at UTSA's first anniversary event on June 6, a ceremonial resigning of the legislation that c<;tablished the university. /
"Our anniversary theme, 'Shaping
the Future' is particularly appropriate in San Antonio and South Texas at this time in history," Kirkpatrick said. "Public higher education .institutions such as UTSA will play a critical role in the economic and cultural development of our region during the next two decades and beyond."
The Convocation will feature a prelude and processional performed by UTS A's 40 member wind ensemble. Following a national anthem and posting of the colors, Kirkpatrick will welcome guests and make introductions.
During the ceremony, the UTSA Alumni Association will present the University with its first mace, and the University Development Board will present Kirkpartick with UTSA's first presidential medallion. These traditional symbols appear in formal academic ceremonies such as convocations, commencements and presidential inaugurals.
The mace, made of wood, stainless steel and gold plate, has been designed and crafted by Tim Bailey, a Houston sculptor who eamed his MFA from UTSA in 1986. The mace traces its roots to the medieval period when it was used as a weapon by mounted knights. Since the 11th century, il has been used by univci ities as a syrnbol of scholarship and integrity.
The presidential medallion, cast in bronze, is usually presented to the university president al his or her installation and is worn at official ceremonies. It symbolizes the authority and responsibility vested in the president.
Following Fuentes' speech. University Marshal Richard E. W. Adams, UTSA's longest-serving faculty member, will lead a recessional.
Kirkpatrick said he was extremely pleased Carlos Fuentes could take the time from his busy schedule to speak at UTSA's Silver Anniversary Convocation.
"Carlos Fuentes is considered one of the most insightful and far-ranging thinkers of his time. His international perspectives on issues in the Westem Hemisphere is unsurpassed," said Kirkpartick. "Carlos Fuentes is known personally by many of our faculty and staff and we are looking forward to his talk."
Fuentes' eclectic fiction ranges from political spy thrillers to caustic indictment of the frozen Mexican Revolution. His novel, 'Old Gringo', was the firsl by a Mexican author to become a best-seller in the Uniied States.
Bom in 1928, Fuentes spent his youth in Washington D.C, where his father was posted as a Mexican diplomatic representative. As a teen, he lived in Argentina and Chile, as well as in his native Mexico.
Fuentes has won many international awards for his work, including the Cervantes Prize from King Carlos of Spain, the French Legion of Honor, and Venezuela's Romulo Gallegos Prije for literature. Recently he recei ved Italy' s Ca vour A ward and the Principi De Aslurias Award of Spain.
He inaugurated the Roberi F. Kennedy Chair in Latin American Studies al Harvard University and has served as the Simon Bolivar Professor atCambridge University. Fuentes also served as Mexico's ambassador to France and has participated in peace talks in Central America.
His latest novel, "The Orange Tree', was published in April, 1994.
Nick Rocha and Ann Marie Schroeder, representing the UTSA chapter of the College Democrats, participate In a voter registration drive in front of the HB. The goal of the drive is to register 10,000 voters by Oct. 7.
Kirkpatrick addresses downtown campus, parking
By Ryan Lambrecht
Editor-in-Chief
This is thefirst section in a two-part interview with UTSA president Sanuial Kirkpatrick. Topics addres.sed include UTSA Downtown and the parking situation.
Paisano: When will thc full
range of undergraduate courses be offered al the downlown campus, and when will siudents begin to get their degrees al the downlown campus? Kirkpatrick: Thai's a bit far out time wise. Tlie offering of courses will depend very much on student demand. We've done a lot of forecasts about enrollment growth; we don'l know until we start offering courses. Student demand, legislative funding and space are going lo be the primary factors. You should be able to have a relatively full range of courses by the time that campus is in operation in aboul three years. Our target on what we think enrollment growth will and if we can gel another building on course in the next legislative session, which is a big question, we ought lo be able to offer a full range of programming by Ihe year 2000 in a new building. And as you know now the Cypress Tower offerings are pretty broad and we have good enrollments, aboul 1 lOOlo 1150 down there right now, but that Cypress Tower facility can only handle aboul 2000 siudents. Maybe if scheduling patterns were different it would be about 2500 at Ihe max. so 1 think we're looking prelty much at the year 2000 to offer a full range of undergraduate and graduate activity.
Paisano: Some students aren't
really clear on why we have a downtown campus, so can you explain why we have a downtown campus? Kirkpatrick: TTiere are a numberof reasons. Firsl of all, our space as you know isextremely tight on campus. TTiat is not the primary motivating factor bul it is an important one. V.'c need space any way we can gel. We've lca.sed facilities downlown, we've had facilities al Hemisfair that we've abandoned because they were loo costly U) keep up, we've leased two or three floors from Ihe Tower Life Building, we've leased space in Cyprus Tow :r. Our extended education program is placed downtown, all ofoureconomic development centers are downtown, so for aboul 10 years we've had quite a few functions downlown. This is a natural extension
of thai. Here on campus of course we" ve gol the tightest space in thc slate nf Texas, but Ihe primary rea.son is to get ;i better geographical and physical acces.'> lo programs downtown.
San Anionio is still clearly the most under-serviced cily in the country any where near ils size in terms of higher education and proximity to programs, extended educalion, and adull leaming. It's also Ihe case thai in historically very under-served areas- particularly in the west side, east side, and soulh side of San Antonio as opposed to Ihe north side there are very long commutes particularly given a working student population trying lo juggle jobs and school. That commute can be as long as two and a half to three hours a day. TTiat commute is serviceable bul not ideal and we ihoughl that something more cenu-ally located serving Ihe adull downtown business community and an undergraduate population with a public education that they normally couldn't get. particularly in the east, west and south sides.
Paisano: Originally.   UTSA
only planned to offer upper-division courses at Ihc downtown campus so the San Antonio community colleges would not bc threatened, but that is no longer Ihe ca.sc. What is UTSA's logic in now offering lower-division courses downtown?
Kirkpatrick: The plan was never not to offer lower-division courses. The plan was in thc first planning cycle we Ihoughl we couldn't gel the lower division courses. We needed lo place priority on upper-division courses. We needed to place first priority on transfer students because there are so many students who do not aspire lo get a college degree who are in the community college system; that is slill a very serious problem in San Antonio. Our priorities have always been there. This phase there have been a lot of inquiries as soon as we've announced our downtown building projects and so forth around the community, ihc business community, legislators, parents, siudents about when ihey can start to take lower-division courses. That is something the community colleges have been interested in but not deeply concerned aboul. In San Anionio Ihal has been caused by our history of cooperation bul also by Ihe fact Ihat the community college system here is the most rapidly growing community college system in the slate, and we're the mosl rapidly growing
university in the slate, so nohiKl\ i.s threatened. 1 think it will lake a little more lime for freshman and sophnmore enrollment to come along. We're offering five or six lower division courses this .semester downlown I haven't looked to see exacily whai their enrollments arc, bul we're jusl beginningapatlemortcstingthc whole Cypress Tower model for three years so we can test .some of these things. Freshmen programming loo is niorc costly so wc want to be careful aboul how quickly we do that hec;iuse freshmen should gel morc altenlion through orientation programs. freshman registering and so lorih. so we have to make sure those programs arc in place and those new racilitics in place.
Paisano: What is your response uvlhc residential area being built across UTSA Boulevard and the 20 screen theater complex?
Kirkpatrick: 1 don't know loo much aboul either in any great detail. What 1 do know is that there's no way for us to control our growth around ¦ here on property we don'l own. Perhaps wc can continue to exert some influence. We've been mosl concerned aboul thc La Camera area and the 1604 area; we've been focusing on that, but USAA and Fiesta Texas are such good neighbors that most of thai development has been pretty carefully planned I have mixed feelings aboul Ihe residential community. For the mosl pari I think it's prelty good since from one perspective residential development is preferable to uncontrol led commercial development, but there's going lo be commercial development along here. In some ways students have been asking me questions becau.se Ihey .seem lo be concemed about whether people will complain because Ihe university is here and cont. on pg. 3