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Serving the  University of Texas at San Antonio Community
VtU
An American
in London
•pages
Texas* ONLY Independent Student Newspaper
Volume 15, Number 10
Octobers, 1992
'Ford' quality jobl. •page 7
UTSA community rallies In support of injured student
By Staphen Cavazos Naws EdRor
University Oaks Apariments was the focal point of a benefit for UTSA stu¬ dent Kenzie Conway, a victim of a re¬ cent automobile accident. Conway and two friends were driving near down¬ town San Antonio when they were in¬ volved in a head-on coUiston.
The University Oaks Apariments .(UOA) benefit was a non-alcoholic Drink-a-Thon, wiUi the proceeds to be ' donated to Conway. Conway had both of her lower legs crushed in the accident.
John Martin, UOA community advi- SOT, was responsible for coordinating the event. "We've spent four days pre¬ paring this. I'm really impressed widi Ihe turnout," said Martin. More than 100 people attended the benefit, mainly UOA residents and UTSA students.
UOA community advisors, Scott Rankin, Call Paxton, Bemadette Illich and Natalie Bill were instrumental in contacting local businesses for assis¬ tance. Sponsors of the event who do¬ nated drinks, food or services were Albertsons, Antonio's Pizza, ARA food services, Blue Bell Ice Cream, Century
Property Management, Anheuser- Busch, Miller, UTSA Police Depart¬ ment. HEB, Speters, Garcia's Mexican Food, Subway and ATW. Jeffrey Yates, UOA resident, provided music for the benefit.
AlUiough Uie mood of the event wais upbeat, with dancing and a non-alco¬ holic beer chugging contest, members of the Conway family are dismayed at the tum of events the accident has taken. Conway said. "I'm mad at the justice system. It's not vengeance I'm seeking, it's the difference between right and wrong."
At the time of Uie accident. SAPD officer Roberto Reyes, who handled the accident, did not issue any citations to Donald Hemandez, the driver ofthe car that hit Conway. Hemandez has not been charged in the matter. Officer Roger Gomez, San Antonio Police Pub¬ lic Information spokesperson, said, "We no longer give negligent collision tick¬ ets at accidents. It's not required by the state. Insurance companies make the determination of blame."
Contrary to his police report's nota¬ tion that Hemandez had been drinking. Reyes said. "There was nothing in his
John Martin, far right, enjoys tha benefit he helped organize.
(Hei^andez) car to indicate he had been drinking. 1 smelted him and his breath— he didn't smell of alcohol and I've smelled a lot of dmnk people." Reyes explained that he indicated that Hemandez had been drinking, because a doctoral Brooke Army Medical Hospi¬ tal, where Hemandez had been trans¬ ported after the accident, "hinted" Uiat Hemandez might have been drinking. "Because an officer smells alcohol (on someone), he/she may not deem it nec¬ essary to anest them. It's up to the officer's discretion," said Gomez.
AlUiough no citations were issued for the accident involving Conway. Hemanctez had been implicated in a hit and run accident minutes before, ac¬ cording to police reports, and has not been charged with that offense. 'This guy got away scott-free. I can under¬ stand the family's frustration, but Uiere is not much we (SAPD) can do. It's an accident, not a criminal offense." said Reyes.
Sgt. Frank Alvarado. of the SAPD traffic investigation unit, stated that there may possibly be a case against Hemandez for his involvement in the hit and run. "The investigation isongoing," he said.
Bess Harrison. Conway's mother, while discussing the need for an end to drinking and driving across the counUy, said, 'They could have been killed. This tells people it's okay to drink and drive, it's okaylo maim three people. If Hemandez is not punished, what does that tell studenis? It puts mixed messages in their minds. I want something on his record."
"We don't know why we're being ignored. It's a sad day when people get away with this type of accident. I'm appalled I Uiat die police will not help. Drunk ^ drivers are literally getting away with murder," she said.
Conway, in an attempt to re¬ turn the supp«t she has received, has pledged to donate the pro¬ ceeds of the Drink-A-Thon to the
Thirsty drink-a-thon attendees line up for their favorite non-alcoholic beverage, all for a good cause.
creation of a Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) chapter at UTSA. Conway's insurance will cover the ma¬ jority of her medical expenses.
"I have friends who arc slill drinking and driving. Il scares me. Drunk drivingd(x;sn"t mean being blit/.cd. Even one beer affects you. even if you're not
one might catch on. Sometimes I sit down andcry because I m so fruslralcd." Deborah Delgado, UOA general manager/director of housing, is in the position of being able lo offer personal support to Conway. Delgado suffered injuries in a fall lasl year, and spent eight months in a cast up lo her hip.
"Can you imagine killing someone? It's really opened my eyes to the problem of drinking and driving. If I can spread the v^/ord about the dangers, someone might catch on."
-Kenzie Conway, UTSA Student
conscious of it," said Conway.
"Can you imagine killing someone? It's really opened my eyes to the prob¬ lem of drinking and driving. If I can spread the word about Ihe dangers, some-
"Wilh Kenzie I can help answer her questions, because I've been through il." said Delgado. In an effort to assist, UOA is relocating Conway io a ground floor apartment. Bill Hamilton, UTSA
Police A, ninistralor, has offered Ihe assistance of UTSA's parking control¬ lers for the move. He said, "It's a situa¬ tion we feel wc can conuibute to. If she (Conway) needs people to help, we can provide it."
Delgado feels the support generated for Conway's recovery is nothing short of phenomenal. "They (other residents) can empathize with Conway, they are her peers," she said.
William C. Bayless, Jr.. director of operations for Century Management (CM), which manages UOA. made a special trip lo attend the drink-a-thon. "I'm personally impressed with the atti¬ tude ofthe students. This is what makes an apartmenicomplcx an ap;uiment com¬ munity," said Bayless.
CM manages three other campus apartments around Texas, bul Bayless noted that the benefit al UOA was the "pinnacle of community development." "The residents are doing this-fora fellow student. They (students) deserve all the credit." he said. >
General education requirements to be expanded at university under new plan
ByMikeMzyk Stan WrHer
Students entering UTS A in the fall of 1994 will find meeting general educa¬ tion requirements (GER) a little tougher and a lot more challenging due to an upcoming overhaul of high school and cdlege curriculum.
In an attempt lo answer Uie nation- ° wide criticism dial undergraduate edu¬ catton in the United Slates has become too fragmented and specialized, the Texas legislature has commissioned the Texas Higher Educatton Coordinating Bovd to sludy GER in colleges UuxMigh- out the stale and try to develop a more coherent structure for slate sunxxied education.
Dr. Woodruff Smith, associate vke- {vesident for academic affairs, served as chairman of Uie UTS A task force on die core curriculum. He said that revistons here will give diis college one of the most innovative core curriculums in the country. Revisions lo Ihe curriculum began in the fall of 1990 and were ap¬ proved by UTSAPTesklent Samuel Kiik- patrick this summer.
"There is growing debate throughout the country as lo what undagraduale educatton is supposed to do—should it provide narrow subjectsoramore broad flelleciual firamework," Smidi said. ~. "The problem wc are facing is how lo :i^pply something in uidergraduale edu¬ cation that allows students lo be aUe lo
adjust in a few years to new situations. Our goal is to develop an undergraduate educational framework Uiat allows a stu¬ dent to look at a subject from different attitudes, while al the same time learn¬ ing how to analyze and apply critical perspective," he said.
Based on Uie recommendations of the San Antonio Core Curriculum Project, composed of members from UTSA. San AntonioColIege, St. PhiUp's CoUege and Palo Alto College, the new
"Much of what is in the GER is taught in high school," Smith said. "The new requirements will show high school stu¬ dents the need to take these courses in high school. School districts claim to want somediing to encourage students to want to take extra language or algebra classes instead of less strenuous classes." Smith said.
Major changes in the GER here in¬ clude doubling the science requirement and possibly including at least one lab to
"there is growing debate throughout the country as to what undergraduate education is supposed to do should it provide narrow subjects or a more broad intellectual framework."
-Dr Woodruff Smith Associate Vice .President for Academic Affairs
core curriculum will coordinate GER offerings with these schools and support local secondary schools in preparing students lo meet Ihe new standards.
What this means for new students is Ihey will be expected to be able to meet the requirements of somv subjects such as English 1013 and MaUi 1Q63 before entering ccrflege or be fmced lo take these courses as prerequisites before tak¬ ing courses that count toward the core curriculum requirements in these sub¬ jects.
fulfill th^ requirement. It also specifies that students complete the college alge¬ bra requirement before being allowed to participate in a lab. a restructuring of the govemment requirements Ihat would combine U.S. and Texas politks as well as current history requirements into one course and offer students an elective- type program where students can chose from a short list of courses to fulfill the final three hours of Uiese requirements. In addiiion, an ethics course in Ihe stu¬ dents' major will be required
Students will also have lo satisfy two courses in one language, other than En¬ glish, and be required to demonstrate proficiency in Ihis language, possibly by testing. This requirement will allow students aheady proficient in a foreign language (through high school) to test out of this requirement.
The revised core will bc implemented instages. beginning in 1994. However, the question of whether Ihc universiiy can provide enough laboratory facilities in lime for a 1994-96 implementation is being studied by a committee.
For certain professional and pre-pro- fessional degree programs with very large coursework requirements in their professional certification statements, a modified framework for the GER has been developed.
Programs under ihe modified core curriculum include Bachelor of Fine Arts in all fields, including architecture: Bach¬ elor of Music; Bachelor of Music Stud¬ ies; Bachelorof Science. includingCiVil Engineering. Electrical Engineering. Interior Design, Mechanical Engineer¬ ing, Medical Technology. Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. Spe¬ cific appUcations are slill under devel¬ opment.
A report on the curriculum evision, released by the task force, indicates dial the new core curriculum hopes to have learning objectives rather Uian have a student simply satisfy a specific number of credit hours.
MOPEL