Chartwells’ new leader at Texas State must make important adjustments to the university’s dining services in order to provide a higher level of assistance to students.

Chin-Hong Chua, Chartwells director for Texas State, has a unique opportunity to make a fresh start in addressing the dining needs of students on campus. Chua said he will work to enhance students’ eatery experiences. Chua said a main concern will be “addressing the specific needs of different customers in the dining areas on campus,” according to a Jan. 30 University Star article.  Chua intends to use surveys taken by Texas State students to gain some insight into the additions and improvement Bobcats would like to see in the campus dining halls. These efforts are appropriate and necessary for Chartwells. There are a number of imperative adjustments that must be implemented in the dining halls to benefit students.

Despite a plan already in progress to outsource all of the university’s custodial services, Texas State officials need to reconsider their strategy and keep the staff employed by the institution.

The university has built a beneficial relationship with its custodians over the years by offering extensive support and benefits packages for the employees. However, according to a Nov. 27, 2012 University Star article, Texas State has started the process of outsourcing its custodial positions to Houston-based McLemore Building Maintenance, Inc.

As university custodians retire or quit over time, McLemore employees will fill in the vacancies, according to the same article. Although the outsourcing of custodial services is anticipated to save money for the university, it will create a negative impact on custodians and Texas State students. Texas State must revisit the contract and continue to employ its own custodians.

Many Texas State students would benefit from a comprehensive solution to help fix the nation’s immigration system by allowing undocumented residents to become legal, hold new jobs and stimulate the economy.

National and local immigration reform is necessary to replace the outdated and inefficient system. The current system costs the American economy billions in wasted resources, depressed wages and uncollected tax revenue, according to a Feb. 2, 2010 Huffington Post article. A comprehensive solution would help fix the problems, provide fuel for the economy and maintain the cultural legacy of the United States. Potentially, labor shortages in various job fields such as agriculture and farming would be met, and undocumented immigrants would gain legal status.

The Texas State parking system must be reformed to provide students with the possibility to park on campus and avoid fines after 5 p.m. without necessarily purchasing a permit.

The university has a list of regulations to manage its parking resources. According to Texas State’s parking services webpage, parking rules are enforced 24 hours a day, and vehicles parked on campus must always display a valid parking permit. Students must register their vehicles with parking services and purchase the appropriately colored permit, which can cost as much as $245 for the “green permit” for residence hall lots. If the regulations are not followed, students can face numerous fines, including a $150 fee for those who are chronic parking violators.

Ted Cruz, the newly sworn-in U.S. senator from Texas, must consider the idea of compromise as a correct method in the representation of Texas State students.

According to a Jan. 7 Fox News Latino article, Cruz said, “(I don’t) think what Washington needs is more compromise. I think what Washington needs is more common sense and more principle.” His statement on compromise runs contrary to the basic tenets of Texas State’s current Common Experience theme, “A Global Odyssey,” which is embraced by a student body filled with young voters. Additionally, Cruz’s unfavorable comment concerning compromise does not line up very accurately with some Texas State initiatives.

The peculiar residents of the Alkek Parking Garage should not have to find a new home.

The Alkek Parking Garage hosts a large number of swallows and Mexican free-tailed bats. The dark and sunken-down conditions of the garage provide an ideal location for the animals.

However, according to an Oct. 17 University Star article, a faculty member recently began a petition to raise awareness of the excessive bird and bat waste found in the garage. The petition is designed to ask the Faculty Senate or the university to pursue a scientific investigation of the garage’s conditions and find a solution. The petition means well and should continue, but only if the solution does not displace the animals.

Texas State students should participate in the electoral process by showing up at the polls Nov. 6 and casting their votes.

Participation is an integral part of any true democracy. However, young voters oftentimes turn out to vote at a lower rate when compared to other age groups. According to 2008 election statistics from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, voters over the age of 30 turned out at a rate of about 67 percent. The statistics say 51 percent of eligible voters age 18 to 29 cast their ballots. Although youth-voter turnout has increased by two percentage points from the 2004 election, students must continue to increase their participation.

Young voters must be active participants in the political process to enable a democracy to properly function. Every eligible voter has the civic duty to show up at the booth and cast a ballot.
Otherwise, the purpose of having a democracy is essentially defeated.

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett is the best candidate to represent Texas State students in Congressional District 35.

Students are fortunate to have a hard-working, honest representative in Congress. Doggett is a fighter for college students and their interests. Over the years he has worked to increase financial aid opportunities, which has benefited students at Texas State as well as those at other universities around the nation. Doggett represents the progressive nature of the university.

Doggett’s work has helped students solve some of their financial concerns. He authored the “More Education” tax credit, which helped reimburse students for tuition, textbook prices and other costs of higher education. The law, referred to as the American Opportunity Tax Credit, enables students and their families to decrease federal tax payments by up to $10,000 over four years.

The best choice to represent Texas State students in State House District 45 is candidate John Adams.

Students deserve a state representative who has the experience and the willpower that is necessary to fight for student interests. Adams, a trustee for Dripping Springs I.S.D. and a former school board member, will work to improve higher education while lowering tuition prices. As a father of three children, two of which attend public Texas universities, Adams understands the concerns of college students and their families. He is not beholden to partisan ideologies, and he is more concerned with the well-being of students and public education. Unlike his opponent, Adams is willing do what is best for Texas without compromising for politics. The best way for Texas State students to make their voices heard in the State House is to elect Adams to office.

Texas State students should stand against the state’s outdated and ineffective death penalty.

Texas State prides itself as a home of multiculturalism and empathy. This year’s Common Experience theme encourages students to explore the world and become socially responsible members of the global community. One way students can adhere to this theme and become more socially responsible is to take a stand against faulty systems like the death penalty.

According to an Amnesty International report released in May, the death penalty sentencing process can be surprisingly arbitrary and unfair. According to the same report, Texas has accounted for 37 percent of all executions in the nation since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. An Oct. 11 ABC News article reported the state recently executed its tenth inmate in 2012 through a lethal injection. The death penalty is a complicated issue that students must consider and take a stand on.