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Plethora of Fiesta events
UTSA kicks off Fiesta festivities under tlie Sombrilla
Features, page 4
Tejano and proud
Tejano exhibits now on display at the Institute of Texan Cultures
Arts & Entertainment, page 7
April 11,1995
ServinG'THE Univebsity of Texas,at San Antonio Community
Religious cult infiltrates UTSA
By Lisa Crews
Editorial Assistant
In response to allegations that a student organization on the UTSA cam¬ pus is a cult, UTSA has inititated a widespread cult education campaign.
Richard Loomis, cult expert and fonner president of the ult Awareness Network, has given three lectures here in March on the dangers of cults and how to avoid them. During these lectures Loomis identified the San Anionio Church of Christ Jesus as a cult and stated that they were associ¬ ated with the International Church of Christ. The group has been estimated to have 90,000 members worldwide and about 200 members in San Anto¬ nio.
The International Church of Christ is listed by the Cult Awareness Net¬ work as a cult and they have been banned on 18 college campuses world¬ wide. In most of the cases the group was banned for solicitation violations.
for example, going door to door in college dorms to recruit members.
"When you hear that a certain group is on campus and they are known to be destructive on other campus you start to click and start to see maybe there is an issue here," Douglas Zuidema, stu¬ dent judicial affairs coordinator said. "If other campuses can have a problem so can we; so let's do some education.
"We do not have any specific issues with any group right now," Zuidema added.
UTSA's plan of action in dealing with the problem of cults is one of, education. Zuidema was very pleased that more than 400 people from UTSA and the community attended Loomis' lectures.
Loomis stayed an additional three days to counsel people who were deal¬ ing with cults. Another way UTSA is educating the student body is through the publication of a new brochure by the office of student life titled, "Is this group right for you?" The brochure
lists questions students should ask themselves before joining a group. These questions can be applied to any group, Zuidema stresses.
"This brochure is simply aimed at making decisions that are right for the student. This not a cult brochure," Zuidema said. The student organiza¬ tion Campus Crusade for Christ also educated the student body by sponsor¬ ing Joanne Ruhland, a Christian cult educator and researcher, who came to campus Apr. 7.
In addition, counseling services staff are all trained to deal with people who have problems with cults. If some¬ one is in a cult and wants to get out or if they have a friend in a cult, we can get them in touch with exit counselors who can help them," Zuidema said
"The best prevention [against cult involvement] is education," Loomis said. "Groups like these do not do anything illegal, so educating is the only way to fight them and UTSA is doing an excellent job," he added.
EMS technicians remove UTSA student Randi Jackson a backboard from her wrecked car on campus last week.
UTSA to eliminate class size caps next year
By Angela Fairmeadow
StoffWriter
In a change from previous univer¬ sity practice, UTSA next fall will no longer allow instructors to restrict class enrollment. Instead, classrooms will hold as many students as possible.
UTSA Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Raymond T. Garza stressed that this change will not put a new policy into effect.
"We haven't had aprevious policy," Garza explained, "so this is not neces¬ sarily a new policy. It's a policy based on the need to utilize available facili¬ ties to their full extent."
Regarding the kind of courses that will be affected, Garza stated, "It only affects lecture type courses where in some cases, instructors—for whatever reasons they felt were appropriate— had kept the cap on their courses below their capacity. For the most part, in¬ structors were granted whatever limit on a class they wanted without even reviewing the need for it."
Garza said that courses which will be most affected are those with around
SG defeats new election proposition
40 students enrolled when the class¬ rooms could hold 50.'
In defense of UTSA's new policy, Garza said, "In my opinion, quality is not sacrificed by adding a few stu¬ dents. In fact, this is how it's done at major universities—UT of Austin, A&M.
"If you're a freshman at A&M, you probably won't have a class under 200. But that doesn't mean that the quality is any less, because the faculty prepare for that type of presentation format."
According to Garza, one of the pluses of having a larger classroom capacity is that a larger number of students will be exposed to the better faculty that UTSA has hired. A lecture is a lecture, Garza was quick to point out; whether you give it to 30 students or to 60 students.
Another issue Garza raised during the interview was whether students are presently being denied access when there are seats available. Garza em¬ phatically stated that UTSA is indeed denying access to students at this time because it is not fully utilizing class capacity.
Garza said the students who are being denied access are "Those stu¬ dents who sign up late. If you have a faculty member who has capped en¬ rollment at 40 in a class that holds 50— ten students are denied access to that class with seats available." ' Other changes include an increase in afternoon class offerings. "We're trying to encourage facully lo take ad¬ vantage of the less popular slots," he explained. "The less popular slots are probably after 3:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and after four on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays."
To compensate for thc increased teaching loads, teaching assistants will be provided to help the faculty with additional 'busy work."
"This is a cost fpr the university, but a benefit for graduate students, be¬ cause, unlike other universities, we have loo few opportunities for gradu¬ ate students to cam money," Garza said. "I would rather have a graduate student earning money working as an assistant in a course than working at McDonalds."
According lo Garza, the new policy
has generated no complaints from stu¬ dents. Some faculty have expressed a concem about the increase in 'busy work', but once it was explaint J to them that graduate assistants will be provided to help, Garza said, some faculty have indicated a desire for large clas.ses.
A shift in the workload for faculty will be coupled with additional in¬ ducements for larger classes. Garza said if faculty teach larger classes, they will teach fewer classes overall, creat¬ ing more free time for harried instruc¬ tors.
Both positive and negative com¬ ments have been generated from the community at large. "I've gotten both sides." Garza stated. "I've gotten the usual: 'It's about time you people get those lazy faculty at UTSA to start teaching', and I've gotten, 'My god, what's this going to do to the quality of instruction?" But once I explained to them that this only affects lecture type courses, and that the close supervision of the student teaching courses...the intensive internships..will stay the same, they came around."
By Ryan Lambrecht
Editor-in-Chief
Faced with documented allegations of elections violations, student govem¬ ment (SG) rejected a proposition to hold new officer and representative elections this semester. However, the allegations' proponent declared he would resubmit his proposition at the SG meeting today, even though ethical and procedural ques¬ tions about his allegations have arisen.
At the SG meeting on Apr. 4, record¬ ing secretary Mike Godelia produced affidavits signed by five UTSA students alleging that election workers misin¬ formed students about write-in candi¬ dates and did not allow some freshmen to vote. Based on these affidavits, Godelia submitted a three-part proposi¬ tion to SG.
' First, Godelia's proposition called for SG to initiate "an entire new election beginning with new filing." Second, the proposition called for SG to change its requirements for SG membership from a system based on hours of credit eamed to a system based on semesters com¬ pleted. Finally, the proposition detailed a new system on how amendments to the constitution would be adopted by SG.
Godelia gave no reason why five alleged elections violations required SG to change its membership requirements or its procedures in approving constitu¬ tional amendments.
The SG meeting began with a rocky start when Godelia tried to submit his proposition during his officer report. Parliamentarian and elections commit¬ tee chairwoman Cindy Mikeska and SG
president Kristi Hall stopped Godelia's presentation and slated Roberts Rules of Order did not permit him to address a subject other than his officer's duties during his report.
After arguing with Mikeskaand Hall, Godelia was asked to show a section of Roberts Rules of Order which supported his position. Godelia could not, and Mikeska ruled he would have to wait for the elections report to bring up his griev¬ ances.
Agreeing to address SG about the al leged elections violations later, Godelia said, "At this time, knowing that this is going to be a long meeting, and not agreeing with [Mikeska], I am going to pull hack what I was going to say and I will continue under the elections report. This is not consent, just a compromise."
Once the elections report began, Godelia took the floor, introduced his proposition, and discussed his affida¬ vits. Godelia produced five affidavits signed by Jason Johnston, Deborah Wood, Karen Schweiger, Michael Villarreal, and Melanie Cepeda.
The affidavits accused SG of elec¬ tions misconduct, and Godelia staled that since these allegations exist there may have been more elections viola¬ tions which could have slanted the vote. Also, in Schweiger's affidavit, she ac¬ cused SG of making her feel "as if my vote didn't matter."
After fifteen minutes of presenting his material and calling the elections disorganized and incompetent, however, Godelia was stopped, told SG meetings were not court proceedings, and was asked if he would make a motion for a
vote. Godelia slated he would and then opened the floor to debate.
Hall then questioned why Godelia had waited to present the affidavits to SG during its meeting and not directly to elections committee chairwoman Mikeska. Also, Mikeska questioned why four out ofthe five students with allega¬ tions approached Godelia only and did not approach Mikeska, since she is in charge of elections.
Mikeska also questioned the timing ofthe allegations. "I find it very odd that five people all went to you [Godelia] and you held it until a month later," Mikeska said.
After this exchange, SG voted down Godelia's proposition. On Apr. 7, Godelia stated he would reintroduce the second and third parts of his proposition at the SG meeting on Apr. 11.
Although Godelia is recording secre¬ tary this semester, it is undetermined whether he will retain that position next year. Wendy Armstrong, the candidate who won the recording secretary posi¬ tion in last month's elections, did not accept the position.
Godelia was a write-in candidate for recording secretary. Godelia received the second-largest number of votes, and Paul Tumlinson trailed Godelia by Iwo voles.   .
SG will not determine who will fill the vacant recording secretary position for next year until judicial proceedings against Godelia are completed. Godelia is facing charges of elections miscon¬ duct, andhe could not serve in SG if pul on probation or if given a harsher sen¬ tence by the judicial proceedings.
This earth mover appears to be hanging from the arm of a crane during on-campus construction. |
New scholarship office to help students
By Brian FitzGerald
Contributing Writer
Identifying and applying for schol¬ arships has been, in the past, a lime- consuming, complicated task for UTSA students. However, with the grand opening ofthe Scholarship office Apr. 10, students can rest assured that in the searchforeducational funding, there is a wealth of information and assistance at their fingertips. UTSA finally has a centralized location to assist students in searching and applying for scholar¬ ship funds.
"As part of the university's 25th anniversary, there s been a really big push to get scholarship funds for the students," .said Laura Mathis, director ofthe scholarship office.
The office is located in the MS
building, room 2.02.03. The ribbon- cutting ceremony Monday afternoon included speeches by president Samuel Kirkpatrick; Bobbie Hernandez, vice- president of student affairs; and Kri ' Hall, student government president.
Thc Scholarship Office provides a calendar telling deadlines, .scholarship announccmcnt.s, and general tips on applying lor scholarships. A reference library containing specialized books from a variety of sources is aLso avail¬ able for students to research scholar¬ ship funds.
Perhaps the most impressive tool is the computerprogram provided by the college board called the "Fund Finder" The program asks students a series of questions and, from the provided in- ; formation, the computer will match students with potential sources of edu¬
cational funds.
The office publicizes scholarships by sending scholarship information to thc colleges and academic divisions, and the office strives to reach as many prospective students as possible by working with area high schools and community colleges. Furthermore, the staff offers assistance during the schol¬ arship application process. The staff can go over applications with students and make advisements, ensuring the process is as easy as possible.
"With the cost of higher education escalating throughout Texas and the nation, more and more UTSA students will need financial help in the future," said Rene Garza, the office's adminis¬ trative secretary.