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^JUESDAY
February 2, 1993
Volume 16, Number 2
Serving the University of Texas at San Antonio Community
H
TSA LIB S
FEB 0 1 1993 RECEIVED
Texas' ONLY Independent Student Newspaper
Downtown campus still up in the air
By MHce Mzyk
Staffwriter
The Resolution Trust Corp. has set February 28 as the deadline for Bill Miller Barbecue to close the deal on the purchase of the defunct Fiesta Plaza mall, which the local restaurant and ca¬ tering giant has promised to donate to
the UT System for construction of a UTSA-Downtown campus.
But the deadline and sale ofthe prop¬ erty hinge on the results of ongoing studies by Ihe Texas WaterCommission regarding soil and possible ground wa¬ ter contaminants at the site.
And ifthe sale does go through, there is still no commitment from the UT
New service eases drop process
The Office of Admissions and Regis¬ trar is offering an additional service to students after census date through Fri¬ day, March 12. In conjunction with Telephone Registration, students will now be able to drop any eligible indi¬ vidual course(s) for which they are en¬ rolled through our Touch Tone Tele¬ phone Registration system. The service can be accessed by dialing 691-5000 and pressing 1. After completing the drop transaction, the student's schedule will be read back.
Prior tocalling the Touch Tone Reg¬ istration system, the student should refer to the 5-digit call number for the course
to be dropped (this is the CRN on the fee receipt). If dropping the last course, the student must go to the Office of Students Information and Retention to withdraw from the university for the Spring se¬ mester.
The additional service should help eliminate long lines waiting for the drop to be processed by the staff at the Ad¬ missions and Registrar's office, espe¬ cially toward the end of the automatic " W" date which is the deadline for drop¬ ping an individual course (March 12). There will be no additional charge for this service.
Van Leer to perform during Black History Month
As part of Black History Month, Darryl Van Leer will perform "My Life in Bondage," the true story of American historian Frederick Douglass.
The one-man performance will be held Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. in the University Center Laurel Room. Admission is free and open to all students, faculty, and
staff wilh a reception to follow. The program is sponsored by the Campus Activities Board.
Frederick Douglass was bom a slave in Tuckahoe, Maryland (1817). with a mixture of African, White and Indian aiKestry. He spent over twenty years of his life in bondage and was subjected to every aspect of the institu¬ tion of slavery.
Douglass later be¬ came and adviser on the nation's problems and was appointed assistant Co sev¬ eral presidents including Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson. Rutherford B. Hays, James Garfield and Benjamin Harrison.
Van Leer is a riveting actor who spends much of his time entertaining and educating campus audiences with his character impres¬ sions of great historical fig¬ ures such as Douglas, Mal¬ colm X and Martin Ludier King Jr.
Board of Regents that the System will accept the property and, if it does, whether or not it will be the location of the proposed UTSA-Downtown cam¬ pus.
"The Water Commission is not satis¬ fied with the environmental research and keeps finding reasons for additional study," said Dan Williams, vice presi¬ dent for business affairs at UTSA.
Petroleum-Hydrocarbons accumu¬ lated from leakage of underground stw- age tanks from an old gas station at the site are identified as the contaminant in the soil of the nine-acre property on the city's west side.
Of particular concem to the Water Commission is damage to the water table, located approximately 30 feet under the surface. Three monitoring wells have been dug at the location to determine if the table has indeed been affected. This water table is not part of the Edwards Underground Water system.
Williams said that soon after Bill Miller's of fer to purchase and donate the property, regent officials pointed out board policy stating the land must firsl undergo an environmental study to de¬ termine liability to the university foi cleaning up contaminants.
"Policy states that all known envi¬ ronmental risks have lo be identified or removed to reduce future risk and liabil¬ ity," Williams said. "It just wouldn't make sense for the University to accept a land gift worth $1 million, and then spend more than that trying to clean it up," he said.
Williams said the University would be responsible for the cost of removing and disposing of 550 cubic yards of contaminated soil at the location. The RTC has promised to set aside $.^00,000
If UTSA acquires Fiesta Plaza as
from the purchase price for the Univer¬ sity to use in clean up operations.
But even if the water Commission gives its OK to the location, and Bill Miller's purchases the property and fol¬ lows Ihrough on the donation, there is no guarantees from university officials that this will be the site of UTSA-Down¬ town.
"One thing has to be nnderstood— the final authority on university build-
a downtown campus, transformation will take seven to 10 years.
ings is the Texas Higher Educalion Co¬ ordinating Board." Williams said. "If Ihis donation isapprovcd and accepted, but Ihe Texas Higher Educalion Coordi¬ nating Board does not approve a build¬ ing for the site, thc land will be placed in an endowment and declared an asset," he said.
Wiiiiams said ihat if Ihe property is accepted and the decision is made to locale the new campus there, the current
structure would bc razed and a new building bc erected on the site.
Williams also emphasized Ihal il would lake al least seven to 10 years for construction to begin and that, because of restrictions im[X)sed by tl. j THECB. the campus would only olier limited upper division classes so as not to lake students away from junior colleges al¬ ready established in the area.
Darryl Van Lmt
A tempting performance
A Center for Theatre, Education and Research's (ACTER) "Actors from the London Stage" company will make their fifdi visit to the UTSA campus toperform Shakespear's "The Tempest."
UTSA is one of only 10 schools in the nation to host the ACTER Wjnter Tour. This year's ACTER company is composed of England's most tal¬
ented dieater performers.
Performances are scheduled for Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 13 at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. General admission is $10 and $5 for students for the evening perfor¬ mances, and $8 and $4 for students for the matinee performance. All three perfw- mances will take place in the UTSA Re¬ cital Hall.
As par. of the residency program, thc
actors will teach more than 30 classes and workshops during their week at the university. Two dramatic recitals will also be presented.
In the first, Gareth Armstrong will read "The Poetry of Dylan Thomas" on Feb. 9 at 12:30 p.m. On Feb. 12 at 1 p.m., Geofferey Beevers will present "John Bunyan'sPilgrims Progress." Both dramatic recitals will be held in the
University Center Laurel Room and arc free and open to the public.
The actors are in San Anionio as part of a special education program operated by ACTER, based in Lon¬ don, England, and the University of Califomia at Santa Barbara.
For more information, call the di- visk>n of English, classics and phi¬ losophy at 691-4374.
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ACTER Is (top I to r) Gooffray BMv»rs Jan« Ardan (mMdie) John Fr»—r, (bottom I to r) Stephii Rashbrodk and Gareth Armstrong
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