Signals crossed on arrest
Several vehicles from the Austin Police Department arrived on campus Tuesday to arrest a student for driving a stolen vehicle.
But there was one problem: the vehicle that the female student was driving was her own.
The student was spotted at the intersection of South Congress Avenue and Live Oak Street and was pulled over by six APD vehicles near Mang House, APD reported. Three University Police Department vehicles also arrived on the scene, according to Chief Rudolph Rendon.
The student’s father had reported the car as stolen, but it was later recovered. The father neglected to notify police, who still had the car reported as stolen in their electronic database.
“Whenever a car is stolen, it is put into a state database,” Rendon said. “If used properly, the system is a great tool, but if it is not used properly, and it is not reported properly that a vehicle has been recovered, then it turns out to be a bad deal.”
The student was initially arrested, but was released on the scene once her identity was confirmed, Rendon said.
Rendon said he feels sorry for the driver because he has been the arresting officer in cases like where people have been pulled over for driving their own cars in the past.
“The officer has no choice but to treat it as a felony stop,” Rendon said.
Rendon said that he hoped that the ado about nothing would serve as a lesson for students to follow up with police, as well as to show that police capabilities are technologically advanced.
Hilltop Pride
S.R. 114, Hilltopper Pride, resolves to increase school spirit by teaching students the school’s alma mater and fight song.
Part of the effort to teach students will include placing banners with St. Edward’s University alma mater and fight song in the Recreation and Convocation Center so students can learn to sing them during events.
SGA feels the need to help restore the alma mater and fight song because it does not have the sheet music.
“Hopefully, some of our music students can translate it into sheet music because sheet music has been lost,” said Alexis Konevich, vice president of Student Representation. “Once we do that, we were thinking of getting a whole orchestra recording, even if that meant having one of the local high schools record it for us.”
The bill that would allow for the purchasing of the banners, S.B. 114, was introduced and sent to committee.
During the March 4 Student Government Association meeting, the majority of the resolutions related to environmental sustainability or school spirit passed or are up for first reading.
The SGA passed four resolutions: S.R. 104 Don’t Buck With St. Edward’s, S.R. 110 Ballin’ on a Budget, S.R. 108 Annual Semiformal on the Hill and S.R. 114 Hilltop Pride.
Don’t Buck With St. Edward’s
S.R. 104 initiates a four-week “Don’t Buck with St. Edward’s” campaign ending on Earth Day, April 22, to spread awareness of recycling facilities on campus and proper trash disposal practices.
A major aim of the campaign is making students aware of the amount of litter caused by improperly discarded cigarette butts.
Freshman Sen. Fremen DeRuvo said that SGA would pick up trash around campus and present the amount of discarded cigarette butts in a display.
Additionally, more recycling facilities will be placed in the community buildings of the apartments, as well as inside and outside of the Ragsdale Center.
“[The physical plant] is trying to figure out how to weigh [the outdoor recycling bins] down while having maximum capacity in them as well,” said Executive Sophomore Sen. Alexandra Simons.
Ballin’ on a Budget
S.R. 110, Ballin’ on a Budget, endorses the creation of a pilot program that would teach freshmen fiscal responsibility.
The program would begin during the 2011 freshmen summer orientation and would eventually become a permanent program.
“The best way to do this was to target freshmen, and the best way to target freshmen is through orientation,” said Sophomore Sen. Blanca Garcia.
Since the upcoming summer orientation had already been planned, the program could not be implemented this summer. Garcia said SGA plans to consult with economics professors to create the curriculum for the program.
“When I worked for the legislature, the state legislatures and were trying to figure out some way of combating the excessive amounts of debt students are accumulating,” said Christopher Duke, vice president of Intergovernmental Affairs. “I think that St. Edward’s is able to tackle this on a grass roots campaign.”
Annual Semiformal on the Hill
SGA resolved to host a campus-wide semiformal dance in order to create a new campus tradition that will also promote student socializing and school spirit through the passing of S.R. 108, Annual Semiformal on the Hill.
SGA will hold the semiformal the night of Big Event, April 10. Big Event volunteers will be able to attend the event free of charge.
“I think it is a good way to attract traffic to Big Event and to drive traffic to the semiformal,” said Director of Service Krista Heiden. “I think it would be really fun for our volunteers to go work, rest and come back.”
Although St. Edward’s has hosted both formals and semi-formals in the past, no one student organization currently holds campus wide dances, according to Sophomore Sen. Andy Ryan, who authored the resolution.
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the same department,” said Street-Allen.
She added that “the nepotism policy has a similar thrust as the consensual relationship policy and needed some updating to better align with the more recently developed policy.”
The new nepotism policy, announced Feb. 22, states that the university will not hire relatives of employees who work in Human Resources, Payroll, Accounts Payable and UPD to any position at the university.
Other departments are strongly discouraged from hiring relatives. Supervisors in departments other than the four mentioned above who have relatives seeking employment in the same department must submit a written report to the appropriate senior vice president explaining why the relationship will not be a conflict or result in negative repercussions.
The focus on H.R., Payroll, Accounts Payable and UPD is intended to limit potential conflicts-of-interest and favoritism in departments where employees can wield particular types of influence. For instance, Street-Allen said, a payroll worker could, theoretically, issue extra checks to a favored relative.
“As H.R. director, if my son worked in the university, there would be some people who would wonder if I exerted my influence to see he got preferential treatment or if someone provided him preferential treatment because they thought it might help them win favor in H.R.,” Street-Allen said
The last update made to the nepotism policy was about five years ago, she said.
The new policy is not retroactive and so does not affect relatives currently at work at St. Edward’s.
UPD Chief Rudolph Rendon declined to comment on the policy changes.
March 8
3:36 p.m.
Student conduct –
excessive citations
Holy Cross Hall
Disciplinary referral
March 8
4:14 p.m.
Student conduct –
excessive citations
Holy Cross Hall
Disciplinary referral
March 8
1:54 p.m.
Fire alarm
East Hall
Not available
March 8
Not available
Student conduct –
excessive citations
Holy Cross Hall
Disciplinary referral
March 5
2:40 p.m.
Damage personal
property
Parking lot behind WOB
Under investigation
March 8
11:30 a.m.
Student conduct –
excessive citations
Holy Cross Hall
Disciplinary referral
Police Blotter
Date Time Incident Location Resolution
March 8
1:50 p.m.
Criminal mischief
Parking lot behind
Premont Hall
Under investigation
March 10
10:13 p.m.
Damage personal
property
Parking lot in front of Doyle and Premont Hall
Closed
March 10
1 p.m.
Student conduct –
excessive citations
Holy Cross Hall
Disciplinary referral
March 10
11:05 a.m.
Hazmat – pepper spray
Moody Hall
Closed
March 6
Not available
Harassment
St. Edward’s University
Under investigation
March 10
2:23 a.m.
Criminal mischief
Library
Open
Feb. 16
11:50 a.m.
Attempted vehicle theft
Parking lot east of garage
Under investigation
March 8
3:36 p.m.
Student conduct –
excessive citations
Holy Cross Hall
Disciplinary referral
Feb. 17
5 p.m.
Criminal mischief
Parking lot adjacent to Fine Arts building
Closed
Feb. 16
Noon
Reported bicycle theft
Hunt Hall
Closed
Feb. 16
11:50 a.m.
Attempted vehicle theft
Parking lot east of garage
Under investigation
March 17
8 a.m.
Theft
Grotto
Unfounded
March 12
10:30 a.m.
Theft
RCC
Open
March 8
3:36 p.m.
Student conduct –
excessive citations
Holy Cross Hall
Disciplinary referral
