A petition is circulating on Facebook with the goal of measuring students’ opinions about a potential smoke-free campus.

ASG Sen. Dallen Terrell created “A Smoke Free Texas State University,” a Facebook group with an online petition to ban smoking on campus, to gauge student interest in possible legislation.

“Currently, we are looking at what students would like in regards to the smoking policy,” Terrell said. “We are not in favor of any particular method of reformation to the policy. We are just working on what the students would want.”

Commons Dining Hall will be re-opening, university officials said in Monday night’s ASG meeting.

John Root, director of auxiliary services, said there is a contract in place to perform the necessary renovations to the Commons Hall needed to meet necessary standards.

“That process will take minimally 10 weeks,” Root said. “That is the time frame the contractors laid out.”

Root said the process can begin once the testing center and other offices vacate the building in the coming weeks.

City Council hopefuls fielded questions Thursday from community members.

The Council of Neighborhood Associations held their annual San Marcos City Council debate in the Activity Center. Moderated by Richard Salas, the debate gave community members the chance to ask the members from their respective neighborhood what their plans would be once in office.

“(This debate) is not as formal as the League of Women Voters,” said City Councilmember Kim Porterfield, Place 1. “Each area of town usually has their own questions.”

Ben Rondeau/Star Photo

Students with outstanding warrants may soon find themselves in handcuffs for neglecting to take action on past offenses.

A one-week amnesty period which allowed persons with pending cases to appear before a judge without posting bond ended Friday, meaning officers have put forth special efforts to seek out and arrest persons with outstanding warrants in San Marcos Municipal Court.

College dining halls are becoming more eco-friendly with the growing concern over protecting the environment.

Texas State officials, whose dining facilities are managed by Chartwells Dining, are stepping up efforts to keep pace with schools across the nation.

Leslie Bulkley, resident district manager at Texas State, said the university featured a menu Sept. 23 filled with produce that was purchased locally. The next day, the “Dine-in-the-Dark” program started, which turns out the lights in Harris Hall during the day to conserve energy.

Students who use false identification to purchase alcohol may rethink their willingness to break the law.

With the recent extension of drinking hours in bars and pool halls across San Marcos, local law enforcement agencies are beginning to strenghten enforcement of underage drinking laws, particularly those pertaining to fake IDs.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), in correlation with the San Marcos Police and University Police Departments, have begun a campaign to curb underage consumption and purchase of alcohol in San Marcos.

This year, the university’s income will rise to about $415.7 million while the budget requirement is estimated to reach about $364.6 million.

Bill Nance, vice president for finance and support services, said the difference will be transferred to retirement of indebtedness and plant funds.

The Board of Regents approved Texas State’s operating budgets for fiscal year 2010 at its regular meeting late August at Sul Ross State University in Alpine. The meeting was taped.

Students have been walking through construction zones on campus and causing safety concerns for university officials.

In accordance with the Campus Master Plan, construction sites have been posing an inconvenience to students, faculty and staff.

Three active construction sites are on campus and construction to increase parking near Tomas Rivera Drive will begin soon, said Michael Petty, assistant director for facilities planning, design and construction.