Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio
UTSA
{SINCE 1981}
Volume 52
Issue 4
September 8-September 15, 2015
UTSA
In case you were wondering why people on campus were frantically tapping on their phones, UTSA beat out 96 other schools in a 10 day showdown for a party hosted by Victoria’s Secret Pink. RSVP on the Facebook page “Pink Campus Showdown 2015 Winner: University of Texas San Antonio” for updates on the upcoming October bash.
discovers Victoria’s Secret
U.S. Under an executive order signed by President Obama on Labor Day, employees of federal contractors must be allowed to earn up to seven days of paid sick leave each year. The leave includes paid time off for family care.
World Photos of a 2year-old Syrian boy who drowned along with his 3 -year-old brother and mother have shocked the world, while European nations struggle to determine their role in the Syria crisis. The family died after their boat sank en route to the Greek Islands while fleeing their war-torn country. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has committed six billion euros toward coping with the influx of people while France has promised to receive 24,000 immigrants.
Science Ever heard the stereotype that men are less talkative than women? A Sept. 1, study conducted at the Medical University of Vienna, attributes this to testosterone. In the study, 18 men underwent testosterone treatments. After the treatments, it was concluded that the levels of Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas (the location where language is processed in the brain) decreased.
See Editorial, Page 4 Photo Courtesy of MOVE San Antonio
Campus Body cameras on police officers: carry ‘1,537 total but we hope for more’ can’t be Alex Birnel Staff Writer stopped Mike Lowe of SATX4 testifies before Mayor Ivy Taylor at Wednesday’s budget hearing. Lowe is one of many petitioning for body cameras.
@alexbirnel news@paisano-online.com
Marquis Jones, a 23-yearold African-American man, was shot in the back eight times by an SAPD officer, Robert Encina, following an incident outside a Chacho’s restaurant on Feb. 28, 2014. In response to these recurring instances of “deadly use of force” groups like MOVE San Antonio (a locally based grassroots progressive outfit focusing on youth involvement in politics) and SATX4 (a police accountability organization whose formation spurred from the acquittal of officer
Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. last year) decided to show up to a “Citizens to be Heard” session hosted by the San Antonio City Council on Wednesday, Sept. 2. These weekly sessions give local residents the opportunity to speak in front of the council members, provided they register online beforehand. Of the many issues raised during this past Wednesday’s hearing, this small, but adamant, cohort of citizens were there to discuss the allotment of three million dollars of municipal funds to initiate a police body camera pilot program in council districts 2 and 5.
The test program will allocate funding for 1,537 cameras in total that officers patrolling those districts will wear on their uniforms. Among those to take to the podium was Celeste Brown, the Field and Programs manager of MOVE San Antonio and UTSA alumna. Brown opened, saying, “We are grateful that body cameras are coming into effect. But we hope for more. This is only the first step in regards to transparency.” Further emphasizing a need for transparency between government and the public, Brown explained, “There isn’t much information available in the news
about this. This is a great program for districts 2 and 5, but Marquis Jones was killed in district 10.” District 10 is not covered in this preliminary roll out of police body cameras. Brown closed saying, “We are thankful for body cameras and do support them, however, we do hope that more comes.” “Citizens to be Heard” sessions occur every Wednesday at San Antonio City Council starting at 6 p.m. To reserve podium time, visit sanantonio.gov before the start of the meeting and register for a slot.
Anti-Semitic graffiti recoils SA residents In response to these incidents, the San Antonio Caroline Traylor Hispanic Chamber of ComNews Editor merce (SAHCC) hosted an @CarolineTraylor interfaith luncheon titled news@paisano-online.com “A Community Conversation: Preventing Hate On a Wednesday mornCrimes,” where leaders ing last month, residents from law enforcement, the of a Jewish community on business community, sevthe north side of San Antoeral religious communities nio awoke to swastikas and and Councilman Nirenberg racial slurs spray painted discussed ways to combat across their cars, homes, ignorance and intolerance. fences and street signs. According to Nico LaAnti-Semitic vandalism hood, the Criminal District was also found desecratAttorney of Bexar County, ing memorials surrounding hate crime prevention beRodfei Sholom, an Orthogins in the home. dox synagogue located near “Children will follow Northwest Military Drive your example before they and Huebner Road. follow your advice,” Later that Lahood stated. He week, Conwent on to exgregaplain that the issue of hate is a matter of the heart, and to not address that would be ”dealing with the symptoms instead of dealing Courtesy of Christians United for Israel with the cause.” A motif of “We decided we would not be intimidated because we had the love and support of SAHCC’s event tion Agudas Achim was targeted with similar graffiti. “Hate speech snowballing is what led to the Holocaust; it didn’t start with violence. It started with speech,” said City Councilman for District 8 Ron Nirenberg. According to the San Antonio Police Department, over 30 homes and cars were tagged with hateful graffiti. “My first reaction was shock,” said Councilman Nirenberg. “Whenever you see a neighbor attacked in a way this open it’s hard to take.”
the entire community,” said Rabbi Areyh Scheinberg on the attacks.
Trending on campus:
was articulated by (leader of Congregation Rodefei Sholom) Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg’s comment, “The only way to combat hate is with love.” The majority of the panel members echoed Rabbi Scheinberg’s sentiment, CEO of the Jewish Federation of SA, Ronit Sherwin, offered up a different solution. “The opposite of hate is education and education is a core Jewish value,” Sherwin stated. Steven Colodny, UTSA senior psychology major and active member of the Jewish student organizations on campus (Hillel and Chabad on Campus) agreed that education is key to preventing hate crimes and hopes for a more open dialogue where students are more politically and socially aware than in other parts of the city. “The Israel-Palestine issue can be hotly contested, and naturally, there is a lot of emotion on each side,” he said. “What’s important to remember is that we are all in this together and have a shared goal, which is peace See Vandalism Page 3
“I’ve spent probably about an hour today tapping.” — Senior Spanish/kinesiology major, Kane Bryant
Matt Frost Staff Writer
@ThePaisano news@paisano-online.com
This is the second installment in a series on campus carry. The campus carry law will soon be in effect on campus, but so will the task force intent on making sure campus safety remains a priority. As mentioned in the first installment of this series, Campus Carry – a law allowing those with concealed carry permits to have their concealed weapons on a university campus - will take effect in Texas in August 2016. Much controversy has stemmed from this law’s passing since much of UTSA, including its officials and student leaders, were very much against the law being passed. President of the Student Government Association, Ileana Gonzalez, was one of the leaders in attempting to prevent the bill from being passed. She, along with 12 other Student Body Presidents from around the state, signed a letter expressing their opposition to the bill, then sent that letter to Texas senators. Following this, Gonzalez, along with the student body president from Rice University, authored a letter to Governor Greg Abbott. Gonzalez states that in the letter they, “asked him (Abbott) to review the bill so that universities could have a say in their own university policies and have the right to decide, on their own, what was best for their specific campuses.” The letter was then signed by 15 other student body presidents from universities across Texas and sent to the governor. “Despite all of our efforts, the governor still signed the bill,” said Gonzalez. See GUNS, Page 3