Another record-setting year for enrollment at Texas State

By: Eihab Shah

SAN MARCOS, TX- Texas State University has achieved record-setting enrollment during the fall semester of 2014. According to a newsletter sent by Denise M. Trauth, President of Texas State, enrollment has topped 36,700 students, a 3.5 percent increase from a year ago.

Jael Flores
Photo by: Eihab Shah

If these figures are verified, the enrollment at Texas State would make it the fourth largest university in Texas, trailing UT-Austin, Texas A&M and the University of Houston. This trend has also led to an increase in grants and funding, as the total of September grants had almost reached $10 million.

"Of course the library has been renovated to make room for the students,” said Jael Flores, a junior working at the front desk of the library. “We have also put more whiteboards on the wall, as well as new computers."

With this increase in population has been an increase in diversity. When asked about his opinions on the increasing diversity, senior Josiah Reese said:

"I think diversity is always a good thing. Talking about bio-diversity or social-diversity I mean it's a wealth of information, knowledge, and perspective that comes from all sorts of different backgrounds, so I think it's a good thing."

Jonathan Diamante
Photo by: Amber Weeks

But, the increase in enrollment has been bittersweet.

"The city is not prepared for the increase,” said Brittany Hill, a psychology major. “Economic wise, it's a great choice for the school, but it's such a small city that it can't really handle much more."

With the current enrollment growth rate, Texas State may have difficulty accommodating students. When asked if the university should continue to grow, freshman Jonathan Diamante said:

"Not until they improve the infrastructure. The university needs to put more work into the campus such as additional buildings, housing and parking before they continue to grow.”

The environment and community surrounding the school has seemingly suffered as well.

Silas Ott
Photo by: Ashley DeBolt

“…The river is getting dirty,” said Silas Ott, a wildlife biology major. “Also the fact that the town is just growing more south, east and west and just pushing for suburban sprawl. Not even permanent housing [for the residents of San Marcos] just stuff for students. Doesn't even help the families in the area."

Texas State should be proud of its awards and achievements but should also recognize that there is a price accompanying this prosperous growth of the student body.