The South Texan Vol. 96 Issue 2

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TheSouthTexan.com Texas A &M University-Kingsville Award-Winning Student Publication Monday, September 13, 2021

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Mr. Ricky gives back to hometown From bus driver to teacher

Ronni Reyna | Editor-in-Chief chief.editor@thesouthtexan.com

It’s 5 a.m. in the morning and the dawn has yet to break as 22-year-old Ricardo Martinez waits for the start light in Bus 5 to turn off. As the light goes out, he cranks the key, the engine roars and it’s time to start the day. The Alice native rode the bus to school from elementary to high school and now is starting his fourth year driving a school bus for Alice ISD (AISD).

“I was a little boy and the Disney movie Sky High came out. Ron Wilson [was the] bus driver, don’t ask me why, but he was my role model and I was like I’m gonna drive a bus. That was my goal graduating high school. ‘I don’t know how or when but I’m gonna get my CDL to drive a school bus,’” Martinez said. Martinez started the process of acquiring his CDL in August 2018 while also attending Texas A&M Un iversit y-Ki ngsville (TAMUK). Fast-forward to 2021, and with college graduation on the horizon, Martinez plans to teach the very students he transports to school every day in Alice.

Ricardo Martinez in the driver’s seat of a school bus.

Submitted Photo

“I was a bus aide on a special needs route and did that for about a month, and then I got bored,” Martinez said. “I was like okay I want to be a driver and so I studied [during] my first semester at TAMUK, having to juggle my first set of college classes and working on my CDL was not easy, but I had the great training and support for my supervisor Daniel Galvan.” Galvan is the Transportation Supervisor for Alice ISD. “He is a very good driver for his age, he actually started out when he was 18,” Galvan said of Martinez. “A lot of these students when they graduate, I don’t think they have the responsibility that they need to become a driver, but Ricardo was actually very dependable. He had it all and that was one of the reasons we actually trained him.” According to the Department of Public Transportation you must be 18 years old to receive a CDL. Although Martinez was of age, Galvan said he received some concern from others while training Martinez. “He’s very dependable and respectful and that’s what we need in a driver. He’s also very responsible

Sarah Reyna

|

Senior Reporter

On Tuesday, Aug. 10, students, faculty and staff were sent an email regarding mandatory COVID-19 testing for the beginning of the semester. From the week of Aug. 8 to Sept. 5,

Online

6,784 tests have been administered. As of right now, the campus positivity rate is 3.4 percent, which compared to this time last year the rate was rate of 7.7 percent. All students, faculty and staff were required to be tested by Sept. 3, but that deadline has been extended to Sept. 10, with test being administered in the Lewis Hall Founder’s Room. “Those who have not

Makaylah Chavez

Chi Alpha expands Organization plans to build deck in hopes to invite students to grow together and create unity.

media revitalized Erik Estrada| Contributing Writer

Texas A&M University Kingsville’s (TAMUK) student radio and TV stations are in full production, joining The South Texan student newspaper to form The Javelina Media Experience. With an open door to all TAMUK students, The Javelina Media Experience is a multi-media venture for student journalists, and student radio and TV personalities. Nicole Perez Morris, profesor and student media director at TAMUK, is working along with students to reshape and rebuild KTAI-FM and The Javelina Broadcast Network (JBN), the student radio station and TV

network of TAMUK. “The goal is being able to provide students with a multimedia type learning experience, so a student doesn’t feel like they’ve been placed in one area. With The Javelina Media Experience you can learn to report in front of the camera, work behind the scenes, editing and running the camera, you can learn to write in news writing style for The South Texan, design pages for The South Texan or you can be on air with your own show on KTAI,” Morris said. Luis Briseno, KTAI radio station manager and TAMUK student, plans to create a new platform for the station, bringing more diversity and culture. The radio station is now live streaming at ktairadio.com, and an app for iPhone is already available. “We want to make it more culturally diverse, bringing a lot of the flavors that are present in South

|

Opinion Editor

Submitted Photo

Ricardo Martinez poses in front of a bus in a Javelina t-shirt

for his age; it’s very rare in my opinion,” Galvan said. Martinez was the first 18-year-old driver for the district, which hosts 13 drivers. “It was October 24th, 2018, I went to Corpus and did my driving test which you have to know everything mechanically about the school bus and you also have to parallel park a school bus. I mean, I don’t know how I did it on the bus, I can barely parallel my car sometimes but we got it done,” he joked. Martinez was recently given a promotion within AISD and completes a route where he picks up and drops off 70 elementary school students.

“Let me just tell you those little kids stole my heart because I welcome the idea of teaching elementary now, middle school a little bit more so, but if I had to choose, I still want to do high school. If not high school, elementary, definitely those little kids stole my heart, those little Coyotes,” he said. “They just have so much love to give and they see you in the morning…‘oh it’s Mr. Ricky.’ We forget that our custodians, our school bus drivers, our secretaries play such an important role in our students and the day they have. As a school bus drivSee Martinez, Pg 2

day and UIN number. Once individuals answer pre-screening questions, they can enter a valid email address to schedule the COVID-19 test. After the email is received, click the link to complete the testing registration. At the testing site, make sure to have the QR code from the email mentioned above, your K number if you are a student and your UIN number if you are an employee at TAMUK.

Since the start of the semester, Texas A&M Un iversit y-Ki ngsville (TAMUK) has worked to keep students, faculty and staff safe from COVID-19 “We continue to make hand sanitizing stations available in all buildings, in addition to sanitizing wipes in all academic buildings and the enhanced cleaning of public spaces,” Communications Specialist Julie Navejar See COVID, Pg 2

Radio/TV find new life at TAMUK

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tested on-campus as part of the required testing program have one final opportunity to do so this week,” Director of Marketing and Communications Adriana Garza said. “Individuals who do not participate in this required testing may face disciplinary action.” Students can log in to the testing site using their birthday and last name and employees can log in using their birth-

Classes, faculty relocated for mold

Drama/Art building to close indefinitely

TAMUK sees 3.4% COVID positivity rate Testing required by Sept. 10

Vol. 96, Issue 2

Susan Cortez and Luis Briseno posing in the radoio station

Texas,” Briseno said. “We want to bring it back out so that students can get a taste of everything every time that they turn on the radio.” KTAI is open to all TAMUK students and is a platform for those who want to get involved. Briseno wishes to get more participants this semester to broaden the range of content. “If you want a show, whether you want to spin

Erik Estrada

some music, if you want to play your playlist, or if you want to talk on the radio, we want to hear your ideas, we want to see what talent you have, so definitely come and talk to us. It’s not exclusive to communications majors,” Briseno said. Radio shows are also open to TAMUK faculty. Susan Cortez, senior at TAMUK and digital editor See Media, Pg 2

opinion.editor@thesouthtexan.com

Last week, major changes were made by the Department of Art, Communications and Theatre (ACT) in response to the ongoing issues regarding the broken air conditioning and mold outbreak in the Drama/Art Building on campus. Classrooms and offices in the building that were heavily affected were relocated to nearby buildings to provide an effective work space for faculty and students. “It just got to a point where it became so hot and very uncomfortable,” Senior Education student Maxine Perez said. Students endured difficult working conditions for the first three weeks of the semester and are now able to enter rooms that provide favorable learning environments. However, the relocation of these students was not the initial attempt at a solution as a response to the problems. The first attempt to reduce the heat was to implement dehumidifiers and portable AC units in each of the affected rooms, but ultimately that was not enough to host a conducive teaching and learning environment. “There was a big push for answers and solutions,” Adjunct Professor Omar Antonio Gonzalez said. Many conversations took place between faculty and departments in order to reach a solution. The process to execute a plan soon followed. “We did the first change on Tuesday/ Thursday schedules,” Department of ACT Chair Todd Lucas said. “What they had done wasn’t working, so we’re battling AC humidity, and since they can’t get the humidity under control, that’s making the mold situation worse so we’ve gone ahead and moved the rest of the classes out.” The Department also offered faculty with offices in the Drama/Art Building new offices in Manning Hall until the Department can go through a mold abatement process. “As soon as I was given the green light, I vacated,” Gonzalez said. See Mold, Pg 2


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