The South Texan Vol. 96 Issue 6

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TheSouthTexan!"#$ Texas A &M University-Kingsville Award-Winning Student Publication

Monday, November 8, 2021

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@thesouthtexan

Vol. 96, Issue 6

GeorGe Floyd SympoSium on Social JuStice

Survey: Discrimination exists on campus

Hussey says leadership is ‘taking action’

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In the wake of George Floyd’s death, diversity and inclusion became an issue brought up to establishments everywhere, including at Texas A&M Un iversit y-Ki ngsville

(TAMUK), and as a result, a survey was conducted on campus to gauge the university’s atmosphere in terms of inclusion, diversity and possible discrimination. The results indicate there is some discrimination on campus. In Spring 2021 some 7,000 students, faculemail from Chief Human

were encouraged to participate and were provided with a single use link to take the Climate, Diversity and Inclusion Survey. The survey closed April 30. Of the 7,000 students, faculty survey, 686 participated. Results from the survey were presented during last Monday’s George Floyd Social Justice Symposium. “Advancing diversity

Burgos. In this email stucampus has been one of

my goals since arriving here in 2019,” TAMUK President Dr. Mark Hussey said. “This climate survey is just one part of the critical listening we do in the campus community. For example, I meet regularly with the executive teams from the Student Government Association, Senate. These interactions provide my leadership team and me with opportunities to learn about

Speakers address

concerns in several areas, including any issues related to diversity and inclusivity. “About 10 percent of our campus community responded to this survey that we shared in Spring 2021. As a result, it is difsurvey represents our entire campus community. However, we are taking seriously the issues highlighted in the study as part !""#0$#%1$-$234$/2&'()''*

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The tragic death of former Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) student, George Floyd sparked a revolution. Floyd attended TAMUK from 1995-96 and in 1997 as well. His wrongful death, sparked anger. Floyd’s murder led people around the world to join together to protest a demand for change further pushing the Black Lives Matter movement. Created in 2013 by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, #BlackLivesMatter began as a Black-centered movement in response to the clearing of Trayvon Martin’s killer. Since then, #BlackLivesMatter has been used to amplify racism towards people in the Black com-

Online Beat Do you not subscribe to !"#$%&!"!#'()*+%,? Catch up on exclusive stories about our campus and community when you sign up for our newsletter. Here’s a sneak peak of what you missed online.

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munity across the country. Dr. Natasha Croom, a critical race feminist scholar and professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs in the College of Education at Clemson University, and TAMUK alumnus, was the keynote speaker invited to the university’s George Floyd Symposium, Social Justice: Perspectives and ed States on Monday, Nov. 1, which the President’s Council on Climate, Diversity and Inclusion at TAMUK held. “It is important that students take these opportunities to learn and unlearn,” Croom said. “Learn in ways that both validate their experiential knowledge and challenge and push them to understand and know in more complex ways. And, unlearning what they think they might know which may be inadvertently contributing to on-going inequities and injustices.” During her speech, Croom mentioned how important it is for people

Performances showcased twice a month )(*(+%!&'#( |! !"$%&'#(")&'*"'

Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s (TAMUK) School of Music has partnered with KEDT Radio to share students’ talent with South Texas. The performances will be broadcast on KEDT

need for fairness Floyd family visits Kingsville

School of Music partners with KEDT

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Dr. Anita Casavantes Bradford, Shareeduh McGee, Kathleen Jones McGee and Dr. Natasha Croom, posed after the symposium.

who talk about equity and social justice to share their beliefs about these topics. She also went on to discuss the exploitation, marginalization, imperialism, physical and psychological violence members of the Black, Latinx, Hispanic, Indigenous and Asian communities face daily. “Now is the time for edadministrators to engage with ideas, theories and practices that can be used to disrupt inequality and inequity,” Croom said. While many people are familiar with the Brown v Board of Education case, which was intended to end school segregation, without the activism of a Mexican Puerto !""'+,-./#$"-&'()''*

Floyd family members attend symposium McGee: He loved this place

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The name George Floyd is a name to never forget. It is one that brings feelings of sorrow and heartbreak amongst most, but also of change and movement.

Floyd was a black man who was killed by forChauvin in May 2020. pinned down on his neck by the police officer’s knee for several minutes to the point where Floyd stressed multiple times that he was unable to breathe. His pleads were at the scene and as a result, this led to the death and murder of George Floyd. !""#56/,7&'()''*

and third Tuesday of each month, directly after the news. Some performances will be approximately 35 minutes long and will be streamed from either the School of Music Complex or the KEDT studio. Interviews about each performance will follow the broadcasts. The remaining schedule for the performances is as follows: Nov 16: Student Showcase featuring Solos and Ensembles Dec 7: Christmas Music featuring Variety of Ensembles Dec 21: Christmas Music featuring Variety of Ensembles The partnership with KEDT would not have been possible without President Mark Hussey. “It all began when President Hussey contacted me to ask if we would be interested in a musical partner!""#!"#$%&'()''*

Alumni recognized for achievements Past, present Javelinas honored !"##$%!&'#( |!"#$%&'($)(*+$,!"#$%&$'#()*+("$,)-("($./0&!)1

On Friday, Oct. 29, Texas A&M University-Kingsville hosted its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards banquet. held since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s distinguished alumni were Armando Hinojosa ’66, Dr. Linda Mora ’68, I.J. “Chip” Berthelot II ’82 and Josh Ruiz ’08 who received the Rising Star. Fred Nuesch received the Blue and Gold Service award. Last year’s distinguished alumni were also recognized and those who were able to attend this year’s event received their awards. Last year’s recognized

alumni included Carmen Lomas Garza, David Allex, Donna Shaver, Jose Luis Cortez, Angelica Barrera, Roberto Montoya and Robert “Ray” Molina Jr., who was awarded the Rising Star Award. “As a distinguished alumni I was honored, my nomination was really a surprise. The university is near and dear to my heart,” 2020 Distinguished Alumni honoree Barrera said. Barrera was an athletic student trainer for the university and is now the Associate Vice President for Student Success at the University of Texas at San Antonio. During the awards banquet, many alumni were recognized in a slide show to show the impact Javelinas have had not only on the campus, but worldwide. The presentation featured athletes, scientist, business moguls and more.

Curdosy of TAMUK Facebook Page

I.J. “Chip” Berthelot II (top left), Dr. Linda Mora (top right), Josh Ruiz (bottom left) and Armando Hinojosa (bottom right) reciveing their Distinguished Alumni Awards.

Hinojosa, 2021 Distinguished Alumni, has been making art for more than 50 years. “I’m real thrilled that they felt they wanted to honor me,” he said. Hinojosa’s art is an integral part of campus. He sculpted the Javelina statue featured on University Boulevard, the Javelina

statue in the engineering building, the Frank Dotterweich statue outside of the engineering building and the Coach Steinke statue located at Javelina Stadium. “When I came here, I was a young man. I was 18 years old and the best thing that ever happened to me here, I met my wife

here, we were married for over 50 years,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed the way the university has changed since I’ve been here; all the change I see is for the better.” Among other distinguished alumni was Dr. Mora, a 1968 Texas A&I !""#86"-2$&'()''*


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