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As students migrate to San Marcos for the fall semester, city officials wait to see how the full student body will interact with the later bar hours that went into effect during May.
Local bars were issued permits that allow the sale of alcohol until 2 a.m. Businesses have not seen an extreme change in revenue thus far. City officials decided to use the summer as a warm-up before the return of the full student body, said Eric White, manager at Green Parrot.
“They wanted to (introduce later bar hours) at a slow time of year,” he said.
A veto by Gov. Rick Perry kept visits to the Student Health Center free of charge.
House Bill 103 was almost unanimously approved by both the Texas House and Senate before Perry vetoed it three days before deadline.
If passed, the bill would have required Texas universities with more than 20,000 students to accept and bill private insurance beginning this fall.
Fred Brown, author of HB 103, argued the bill would save taxpayers millions of dollars by giving non-profit health centers the ability to generate revenue by billing insurance companies.
Later bar hours means more revenue.
Ten local bars were issued permits allowing the sale of alcohol until 2 a.m. last month. The change has already affected the business and atmosphere of local bars.
Matt McClendon, manager at Sean Patrick’s, said there has been an increase in sales since they received their permit.
Entering freshmen unable to decide which major to choose are common on college campuses. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing.
“It can be difficult for students to come (into college) undecided because they feel like they are the only one,” said Temple Clark, academic adviser II for university college. “We try to reiterate they’re not the only one who come undecided.”
After lengthy deliberation by City Council members, the bars of The Square will be running yellow and frothy past midnight.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, or TABC, issued permits to 10 restaurants and bars allowing them to stay open until 2 a.m. Not all bars have to remain open later. It is up to the individual bar to apply for the extension.
The permits were issued May 22, 11 days after the majority of the San Marcos city council voted in favor of extending the bar hours.
The permits were issued sooner than expected.
Angelica Wathen, a 19-year-old pre-athletic freshman, attempted to bypass the housing policy that requires students younger than 20 years old with less than 42 credit hours to live on campus.
Wathen said there are multiple reasons she wanted to live off campus, but primarily to alleviate her financial situation.
“I come from a single mom (who) I think makes only 10 grand a year,” Wathen said. “I am here on loans, I’m here on grants. I’m paying everything myself.”
Some students are opting to live on campus next semester, despite a temporary housing policy adjustment granting them the option to move off.
Sophomores older than 20 who have acquired at least 42 semester credit hours will have the option to live off campus next semester because of the policy adjustment.
The policy, which required students to be more than 21 years of age with 52 semester credit hours to live off campus, was adjusted to accommodate an increase of incoming freshmen.
So many students, so few police.
The student population outnumbers every university’s police department, but an adequate officer to student ratio can sufficiently meet the needs of the community.
Police Capt. Paul Chapa said the University Police Department’s staff consists of about 90 members. Of those members, 33 are state-certified commissioned officers.
The number of commissioned officers on duty at any given shift is about three.
Chapa said UPD is adequately staffed, though additional officers could be useful.
If Jason Sanders has his way, students’ leftover burgers and fries could end up on the soccer field.
Sanders, agricultural education senior, will introduce organic recycling bins to the LBJ Lair Food Court to reduce student waste as part of his thesis called, “Bobcat Blend.”
We have a problem here on campus,” Sanders said. “We decided to tackle that problem.”
All waste students throw away after purchase is currently sent to a landfill. Sanders said a significant percentage of waste thrown away could be recycled.
Twin sisters Crystal and Candice Taber stalled in the mud on a train track about 1 a.m. Friday the 13th. They attempted to free the car so they could arrive at a friend’s house on time.
They saw a bright light in the distance approaching. Their plans changed. They abandoned the car.
The light drew progressively nearer as the horn grew louder. The tremors in the ground became stronger, and the twins had no choice but to watch as the unstoppable train struck their immovable car.
