The student made star that was intended to sit on top of Jackson Hall is being stored in a warehouse temporarily due to safety concerns.

An array of miscellaneous items lay in a warehouse on Ranch Road 12 waiting to be used. Outdated computers sit clustered together on a shelf. Chairs stacked one on top of the other tower over supplies for Bobcat Build, and brooms, wheelbarrows and shovels await tasks to complete. In the middle of the inventory of unused objects, a star rests unassumingly.

Sitting disassembled in the warehouse, the star is stored with other university items that are currently unneeded or without homes. The star is propped against a metal shelf, broken down into two pieces. When put together, the pieces will form a star that spans almost 18 feet tip-to-tip.

Criminal justice students are teaming up with the University Police Department to create a threat assessment manual that will be used to determine the risk of buildings around campus and how to handle them.

An intelligence analysis graduate class taught by Wayman Mullins, criminal justice professor, is currently working on gathering data about threats, vulnerability and risks in campus buildings and recording them for the manual. The manual will be distributed to first responders in the surrounding area so they may benefit from the information about the campus’ risks when responding to an emergency. The bomb threat in fall 2012 prompted discussion of creating a threat assessment manual.

Alex Villalobos, University Police Department sergeant, came up with the idea for the project, which began this semester. He brought it to Mullins because it corresponded with the curriculum of his intelligence analysis course.

The city is preparing for upcoming construction of the Loop 82 overpass. The project will help relieve traffic caused by trains on Aquarena Springs Drive.

Officials hope the Loop 82 overpass will alleviate traffic caused by trains, but in the meantime the city is gearing up for its construction by holding public meetings.

Rey Garcia, senior engineer for capital improvements, said the window for construction is “a moving target” from September 2013 until May 2014. Actual bridge construction will not begin until early to mid 2014. Proposals for the construction of the overpass were presented to residents and drivers during a public hearing March 21.

City councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the first of two readings of the new Comprehensive Master Plan, which is being updated for the first time since 1996.

The council, city staff and residents recently completed a 13-month process of updating the city’s master plan, which will guide the growth and development of San Marcos for the next 10 years. The council will make its final vote on the plan April 16.

“It’s been a plan a long time coming,” said Mayor Daniel Guerrero.

They created a citizen advisory council and a steering committee made up of volunteer members from a cross-section of the community to develop the master plan. It entails rewriting land development code, looking at the 37 existing neighborhoods and adopting the parks master plan and environmental restrictions across town.

Though an ordinance banning the public display of alcohol in city parks went into effect Jan. 1, river access points for bringing booze into the water were not clarified until recently.

The San Marcos City and Rio Vista Parks, located at 170 Charles Austin Drive and  555 Cheatham Street, respectively, are the two city greenspaces with designated river-access points. The city has put up signage to designate points where park visitors can bring alcohol into the river because the federal waterway is not affected by the ordinance. Alcohol must be kept in closed coolers in all areas besides the access points, according to the ordinance.

A woman’s father comes to visit her at an undisclosed university campus in the latest Verizon Wireless commercial, but the school’s bookstore, lecture hall and archway may look familiar to Texas State students.

Austin-based Fueled Films shot the Verizon Wireless commercial on campus Tuesday. The Undergraduate Admissions Center and its archway set the scene for the commercial’s father/daughter reunion during the one-day shoot, and the duo shopped at the University Bookstore. The crew also filmed in the Centennial lecture hall.

“Texas State is very film friendly, as opposed to other universities that don’t really accommodate,” said Arie Guerrero, Fueled Films locations expert. “It’s structurally beautiful compared to some of the smaller universities.”

Musicians perform at the 13th annual Texas Music History Unplugged April 2 hosted by The Center for Texas Music History at Texas Music Theater.

After the opening song on the large stage at Texas Music Theater, Gary P. Nunn, one of the founding fathers of progressive country music, let the audience know his passion for music parallels the love he has for his home state.

“You ask me what I like about Texas,” Nunn said. “Well, I could tell you, but we’d be here all night long.”

Vanessa Cortez, mass comm-public relations junior, and Edward Perez, mass comm-public relations senior, are running uncontested for ASG President and Vice President positions.

With their sights set on boosting school spirit and campus sustainability, Vanessa Cortez and Edward Perez are running unopposed for Associated Student Government president and vice president.

Cortez and Perez have 34 senators running on their ticket and said their primary focus for the upcoming term would be to initiate a “culture shift” within the university spurred by increased school spirit and pride.

The new director of transportation services will begin work at Texas State in April among policy changes and contract negotiations.

Jane Wilcox was selected from three final candidates for the full-time position. Wilcox will be responsible for the Bobcat Tram and Parking Services starting April 15. She previously worked as director of parking and traffic at Stephen F. Austin State University, according to the university press release announcing her hire.

“(Wilcox) has been in the industry longer with regard to parking, and she came with high references and the people who evaluated her rated her higher,” said Nancy Nusbaum, assistant vice president for financial and planning services. “She rode the buses and was really informed about the university.”

Wilcox’s April start date was chosen to allow her current supervisor to find a replacement, Nusbaum said. However, Nusbaum said she has created a set of duties for Wilcox to immediately address.

Recent studies indicate Bobcats are finding jobs more frequently than their competitors.

The Institutional Research Office at Texas State conducts a survey every summer of alumni who graduated the previous year to collect information on employment status and other activities. About 68 percent of students who responded were employed full time at the date of the survey. Approximately 51 percent of those students had found a job before graduation.

The survey began in July 2012 and was administered to alumni who graduated in May, August or December 2011. Of 5,207 students who were invited to participate, 686 responses were gathered. The response rate was only about 14 percent, but Susan Thompson, Institutional Research senior research analyst, said it’s a typical rate for an electronic survey.