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UTSA CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY MONTH THIS WEEK...COMPLETE CALENDER OF EVENTS PAGE 4
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February 11,1997 Volume 19 NumberIB
student government tackles UC fee increase
Well publicized meeting yields sparse constituent turnout
By Jsssica Torres
Editor-in-chief
Despite a current proposal in the state legislature lo make the Univer¬ sity Center student fee progressive, the Feb. 5 student govemment meeting addressing the issue attracted almost no attendance by the public.
the posters they put out, the ad they put. out, their attempt to encourage stu¬ dents to engage in this topic, and [yet] no one was there," said Whitney.
Whitney suggested that while stu¬ dents were concemed with campus is¬ sues, they did not have enough time to dedicate to them. ""I think our stu¬ dents, whether they live in the commu¬ nity or they live on campus, are very busy," she said. "I don't think we have an apa- ——^^^—— t h e t i c campus."
"/ think our students...are very busy. I don't think we have an apathetic campus." -Karen Whitney, assistant vice president for student life
Karen Whitney, assistant vice president for student life.
Karen Whitney, assistant vice presi¬ dent for siudent life, spoke al the meet¬ ing to clarify details of the proposed change, the rea.sons behind it, and to answer any questions offered by the student body. However, the audience was made up entirely of student repre¬ sentati ves.
"I applaud student government for
Student govern¬ ment president Rob Killen —
offered two possible reasons for the lack of attendance. Students may have felt they already understood they na¬ ture ofthe fee increase, he said, or they simply did not consider it a significant issue. "Maybe they felt the increase isn't that big."
The points Whitney addressed dur¬ ing the presentation ranged from how much each student would be charged under the progressive fee, to why the fee needed to be adjusted in the first place.
According to Whitney, there are three main reasons for the fee increase.
none ofwhich were anticipated by thc administration. Construction costs originally were budgeted for the UC expansion when San Antonio was in a depressed market; however, when construction finally b«gan on the project, the city' s economy had shifted significantly. The upswing caused UC costs to rise from $12 million to $13.2 million.
Utility costs per-square-foot for ¦-—————' the UC rose as well, while physical plant charges also increased c a mpus-
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cause none of these increases were expected, the administration was then faced with the choice of curtailing the project or raising fees.
"We were inclined not to want to cut the project because we felt like the institution deserved, the students de¬ served, a first-rate university center," said Whitney. "Historically, we had not placed an emphasis on student needs in this area and we wanted to do the project right."
Also, the cost of redesigning thc
Continued on page 3
ary Wrign
The UTSA softball team began their season with a bang. Friday, Feb. 7 the 'Runners shut out the Incarnate Word Crusaders iri both games of their double header. Next home game, Feb. 19th.
Students sticker-shocked in campus bookstores
By Meghan Hoyer
The Daily Northwestern Northwestem University
Each seniester, you're hit w ith the quarterly realization that books cost too much, at least from a student's perspective.
"Books, compared to most com¬ modities, ar n't really that expensive,"
1 Carol Kasper, marketing director al University of Chicago Press, one of the largest scholarly publishers.
Brand-name makeup, compact discs and clothes are all Just as expensive as mosl college books, Kasper continued. If you've buying a book, it's like buy¬ ing a shirt. But one thing Kasper did not figure in was that most people aren't required to buy 10 or 15 shirts every few months.
Most people in the academic com¬ munity realize that textbooks and aca¬ demic tomes are expensive. But often there isn't any way to make the price lower.
Like most departments at North¬ westem Uni versity, electrical and com¬ puter engineering has the professors choose books for their classes and then give their order requests to a depart¬ ment assistant. Prices for the books are considered, bul when faced with either using an expensive textbook or getting
an inferior-quality book, professors usually choose the fonner.
"They do take (price) into account, but they don't have a whole lot of choice," said Nancy Singer, a depart¬ ment secretary. "There aren't many alternatives."
Northwestern English professor Paul Breslin said he would rather use a different Robert Frost anthology for one of his poetry classes, but it was a hardcover and cost $35. He chose a pa[>erback edition that he didn't like as much instead.
"I just couldn't see putting that on the list with all the other books for the course," Breslin said. "I try to keep the whole course under $100."
In most departments, professors talk about ways to keep down prices for their students, but no one has the per¬ fect solution.
"Most (professors) have indicated to me their concern over the costs of the materials," said Mary Friedlieb, NU's Medill manager of student records and services. "But you're be¬ tween a rock and a hard place."
NU sophomore Andy Anderson was faced this quarter with buying a new edition of an economics book. Almost all of the other books he's had to buy this quarter are new as well, which has cost him-more than $200, he said.
Clinton endorses Pell grant increase
Gary Wrighl/The Paisano Barnes and Noble Booksellers owns the only on-campus book¬ store. They sell everything from books to shirts to Scan-Trons.
"I knew they'd be pretty expen
sive, but they're a little bit more than I expected," he said.
Prices for new books can range anywhere from $5.95 for a small pa¬ perback English novel to nearly $ 100 for hardcover math or science text¬ books.
But when Anderson, or any other student, goes to pay for a textbook, where does the money go?
Publishers are the price sellers. After setting a price for a textbook, they sell it to a bookstore for a dis¬ count. Although most commercial
stores, such as Borders, would get a 40 perceni to 50 percent discounl, campus bookstores usually gel around 20 per¬ cent to 25 percent lakcn off Ihe cover price ofthe book because there's less risk for them.
"They don't have lo do much mar¬ keting," explained Kim Maselli, asso¬ ciate directorof Northwestern Univer¬ sity Press. "They've gol a professor who's saying, 'I'm going lo send you 25 people who are basically being forced to buy this book.' They kind of
Continued on page 3.
By Colleen DeBaise
College Press Senice
In the first news conlerence of his second term. President Clinton en dorsed a 25 percent increase lo Pcll grants that he said would "widen the circle of educational opportunily" to needy studenis.
The president also detailed two key proposals   _________i_
in his fis¬ cal 1998 budgel for higher educa¬ tion — a $10,000 tax deduc¬ tion and a $1,.500 tax credit  or '
"HOPE Scholarships" for college ex¬ penses.
Critics, including college leaders, have said the lax breaks would help middle-class families at the expense ol poorer ones. In response, the presideni said some funds would be shifted from the lax plan to fatten the Pell grant from its current $2,700 to $.^,000.
"It's great to talk about a Pell grant increase, but each time you increase the maximum Pell grant by $100, you are asking the tax¬ payers to pay an additional $300 million." -Rep. William R Gooding, R-PA
eligible for these scholarships," he told the conference. "And we will open the .scholarships lo 2I8,(X)() older, low- income Americans who want lu go to college."
The president outlined a number of proposalsthal he said represent an "un- precedenied comi.iitment to higher education " They include:
• Slashing inieresi rales on loans to _—^—.__—___—_   students
while t h c y ' I c sTill in (.1)1 lege. Also.cul- img from 4 percent U) 2 per¬ cent the (cc low- —^^^——^^———   and
iniddlc-incoinc sludcnls pay on their
federal sludeni loans.
• Increasing work-siud\ positions from 7(K).(XK) lo 1 million in ihi next three years.
• Encouraging community service with "loan forgiveness" tor siudents who choosc low-paying public service
Web sites detail black history, culture
By Colleen DeBaise
College Press Service
February marks Black History Month, and whether you' re in Ihe mood for leaming or reflecting, a number of websites offer information about Afri¬ can-American culture, heritage and history.
For starters, ifyou're not sure Why Febmary was set aside to celeorate African-American achievements, read aboul historian Carter Woodson on the United Stales Information Agency's website (usiahq.usis.usemb.se:80/top- ics/blackhis/woodson.txi).
Woodson, one ofthe first blacks to receive a doctorate from Harvard Uni¬ versity, proposed "Negro History
Week" in 1929, believing that black Americans must look back before moving forward.
Biographies of important 19th cen¬ tury African-Americans, such as Harriet Tubman and Sojumer Tmth, are located at Webcom's site (www.webcom.com/-bright/source/ b^kfac.html), while a collage of pho¬ tographs greet visitors to the Martin Luther King Jr. Directory >www- leland.stanford.edu/group/King/)
The directory, a joint project from the Martin Luthe' King Jr. Center in Atlanta and Staniv.rd University, fea¬ tures King's speeches and a letter he wrote from a Birminsham, Ala., jail.
Don't miss the African-American Mosaic    (www.loc.gov/exhibits/
african/intro.html) an extensive website created by the Library of Congress for thi. sludy of black his¬ tory and culture.
Visitors can read about the influ¬ ence of prominent abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The site also features narratives by ex-slaves.
If all the historical texts are mak¬ ing you bleary-eyed, unwind at Cafe LosNegroes (www.losnegroes.com), a New York-based virtual hangout for blacks and latinos.
"Da Bounca" requests thai you pick a.nickname and ID for its chat fomms, so better register "if you're not down with thc Cafe Crew."
Your next destination after Cafe
LosNegroes might be NelNoir (www.netnoir.com,), a San Francisco- based nel/.ine that presents info "in such a way that anyone, from any walk of life, that has any interest in Afrocentric culture, can participate."
NelNoir features a lifestyle section, in which users can "explore the realm of hip-hop," and a business section with tips for money management. The "soul spa" page offers healthy eating and fitness advice.
Also, NeiNoir's current "Spotlight" page highlights Ihe people and events that have inspired Black History Monlh.
Other nelzines include mainstays Essence (www.essence.com'   ndVibe
Continued on page 3
"We'll make l.TO,(X)0 more siudents
John Leguizamo in 'The Pest'
Continued on
page 3
Inside this
issue-
Features:
A&E:
Sports:
Photo Poll
Student
discipline,
pg-5
'The Pest' that won't
annoy,
pg-6
Huge softball
preview,
pg-8
: Thoughts on the Star Wars
rerelease