Lindsey Goldstein/ Star photo illustration

There could be a black market for art classes.

Erika Molina, art junior, said she found a suspicious flier in an art-building bathroom.

“The fliers will say, ‘does anyone need a metal or sculpting class?’” Molina said. “The students will then get together and make the trade atthe same time.”

Molina said art students register for classes they do not need and then trade then among themselves.

Texas State athletics and the student government have collided.

ASG President Chris Covo appointed Michael Flowers, public administration senior, to become the ASG athletic liaison, a position Covo created  aimed to open communication between Bobcat athletics and the student body.

Michael Flowers was appointed Aug. 30 as the ASG athletic liaison.

“This was one of my platforms,” Covo said. “I wanted to build onto Reagan Pugh and Brett Baker’s previous administrations to help the drive for athletics.”

ASG held their first meeting of the semester in the LBJ Teaching Theater — marking the only of its kind.

“It feels great to have a full senate this year,” said Tommy Luna, ASG vice president. “I am really excited that for the first time in some time we have more senate applications than we have senate seats.”

Senators sworn in during the meeting came better equipped because of Luna’s Senator Training Camp.

A San Marcos landmark is moving away from campus in a new expansion plan.

The new Colloquium Bookstore held its groundbreaking ceremony April 24.

Kym McMahan of Vance J. Elliot Realty Group said the new bookstore will be part of a three building complex.

“It will be a 20,000 square foot building,” McMahan said. “It will be surrounded by restaurants and retail.”
She said the cost of the addition is not available at this time.

Christopher Secrest, Colloquium general manager, said the new store would expand business.

Students may not know the actual number of classes offered at the university when registering for courses.

Deborah McDaniel, administrative assistant, said there are seven extension courses offered through Texas State’s Office of Correspondence Extension and Study Abroad — five language courses, one field studies class and one English and history class.

“About 140 to 160 students take an extension course in a full fiscal year,” McDaniel said.

Li Yang is ending a yearlong endeavor — teaching Chinese to university students.

Texas State is ending the second semester of a new Chinese language course with Yang, program faculty, as course instructor.

“My primary goal is to prioritize oral communication,” Yang said. “My next goal is writing, then culture.”

Yang started her career as a teaching assistant with the University of Texas. She assisted professors while working on her masters in comparative literature.

The  24-hour pilot program is being put to bed.

“The university library will resume regular hours the night of April 1, and will re-open the morning of April 2,” said Joan Heath, assistant vice president of the University Library.

Heath said no decisions have been made as to whether the library will implement extended hours in the future. Heath said if any changes are going to be made, they would not take place until next fall.

Social networking is taking away students’ excuses for not being able to get politically involved.

Local politicians are using social networks to make the community aware of new issues and to gauge public opinion.

“I began using Facebook in association with Texas State just for student organizations,” said Councilmember Kim Porterfield, Place 1. “I also had friends that had Facebook accounts.”

Graduate House is showing its hand when it comes to decisions made on the behalf of fellow students.

The Graduate House’s TRACS site is in the third week of operation. The move was made in order to help the Graduate House ‘go transparent.’

“We want students to know everything, from the way representatives voted to every word said in our meetings,” said Daniel Reed, house leader for the Graduate House of Representatives.

Reed said the decision was discussed last fall, but was not actually put in effect until this semester.

Students are not the only ones checking their Facebook profiles on campus.

Faculty is joining the social networking site, but some say it is not to connect with students.

One faculty member, who would like to keep her identity withheld, said she has a Facebook account, but not to communicate with students.

She said she uses Facebook to communicate with her personal friends and would not add a student.

“I use TRACS to communicate with my students,” she said. “I couldn’t use Facebook as a tool for my classroom.”