02-07-2023

FOOTBALL

Bobcats lock up 33 on National Signing Day

By David Cuevas Assistant Sports Editor

Head coach G.J. Kinne officially announced the 2023 Texas State recruiting class on Feb. 1 on National Signing Day, officially commencing his and his coaching staff's goal to "Take Back Texas."

Since being named head coach, Kinne and the coaching staff he assembled went right to work, spending the past two months out on the recruiting trail. It appears their collective hard work has paid off as Texas State managed to sign a promising 33-man recruiting class.

“I’m really excited about the guys we added,” Kinne said. “We wanted to add length, wanted to add speed. We had to get some impact guys, guys that could come in and play right away. We felt like we did that to go along with our current roster.”

SEE FOOTBALL PAGE 6

Texas State football head coach G.J. Kinne gets introduced at a Texas State men's basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2022.

COMMUNITY

ANIMALS

Prevent a Litter provides low cost pet services

By Christian Martinez News Contributor

On Feb. 3 Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra declared February as spay and neuter awareness month. Prevent a Litter or PALS is a non-profit organization made up of volunteers located in San Marcos to help students with low-

cost pet needs.

The awareness is to help stop free-roaming cats and to promote trap-neuter-return guidelines for strays. PALS provides low-cost spays, neuters, vaccinations, animal food and more. They were created to help stop pet homelessness and pet overpopulation.

Lauren Foye, the president, and clinical director of PALS said she wants more people to know about their non-profit and to take advantage of their services.

"If you are a certain low-income bracket you can get a spay and neuter for free," Foye said. "If you just qualify outside of that, and you still need to use our service then we have the low-cost option."

Foye knows that students love to adopt a pet right away when they get to college since most students are alone for the first time, and she wants people to know that PALS is the place to get their pet set up if needed.

"We want to make the students aware on campus that there are options," Foye said. "They get their first apartment and they're super excited to buy a pet, but that comes with a lot of responsibility and a lot of costs."

SEE

Common Experience event opens up the discussion about identity

By Carlene Ottah Life & Arts Reporter

A new Common Experience event, Naturally You, will host conversations about natural hair, discussing what hair means according to ancestry and culture and how society and professionalism play a part in its presentation.

Last summer, the Common Experience Leadership Team visited the colleges around campus to brainstorm ideas for events relating to the 20222023 theme, Systems Thinking. During one of these visits, Nabila Cook, senior administrative assistant for the College of Liberal Arts, approached them about a conversation she had with a few Texas State Strutters. They wanted to keep dancing in the program but were asked to style their hair by straightening it to keep participating in the activity.

"For many people, their style, their hair represents more than just something that is exterior," Nielson said. "Like, it's connected ... to their family, to their culture, again, to their very being."

The team brought the situation to the attention of other faculty and staff, where it was revealed that such experiences on campus were not exclusive to just students.

"It allowed for a larger conversation about how can we, you know, support individuals with natural hair so that they have that sense of belonging and how can we draw in a campus-wide

conversation," Camrie Pipper, assistant director of the Common Experience, said.

The event's name is a nod to Naturally Y.O.U., a student organization that aimed to help individuals lead a healthy lifestyle while embracing their natural beauty. The organization is currently inactive due to its members graduating. Using the organization's name for the event would help continue what its members worked toward.

The event will consist of two parts.

The first, a resource fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., will connect students, faculty and staff with community resources like San Marcos salons and stylists, and student organizations and services. The second event, a panel discussion from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., will feature faculty, staff and students sharing their

experiences of navigating natural hair.

"This event is celebrating everyone with natural hair and seeing individuals who have to use a scalp routine," Pipper said. "This is also an event for people who wear wigs, not just individuals who are Black. There are many individuals and demographics who wear wigs, so we were trying to ensure that everyone was helping foster that sense of belonging."

One of the panelists is Kelley Glover, a third-year doctoral graduate student in the School Improvement Program at Texas State. She was initially on the planning committee for Naturally You but became a panelist when Pipper approached her after she saw her class presentation about growing up in the U.S. and her experiences with internalized racism.

SEE COMMUINTY PAGE 3

BY AFAFF ALNAHAS

Veterinarian technician Alex Robbins (left) and PALS office manager Renee Vanderford give a dog a vaccine, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at Prevent a Litter.

PHOTO BY ABBY RUSSELL

Stray dog brought into PALS after the freeze recieves treatment, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at Prevent a Litter.

PHOTO BY ABBY RUSSELL

INFOGRAPHIC BY NICHAELA SHAHEEN

PHOTO BY KOBE ARRIAGA

Trinity Building 203 Pleasant St. San Marcos, TX 78666 (512) 245 - 3487

Editorial Staff

Editor-in-Chief: Arthur Fairchild stareditor@txstate.edu

Managing Editor: Sarah Hernandez starmanagingeditor@txstate.edu

Design Editor: Sarah Manning stardesign@txstate.edu

News Editor: Nichaela Shaheen starnews@txstate.edu

Life & Arts Editor: Marisa Nuñez starlifeandarts@txstate.edu

Opinions Editor: Dillon Strine staropinion@txstate.edu

Sports Editor: Carson Weaver starsports@txstate.edu

Multimedia Editor: Jeffrey Halfen starmultimedia@txstate.edu

Engagement Editor: Zaria Jackson starengagement@txstate.edu

Creative Service Director: Michele Dupont starcreative@txstate.edu

Public & Internal Relations

PIR Director Elle Gangi starpr@txstate.edu

Full-Time Staff

Director: Laura Krantz laurakrantz@txstate.edu

Student Publications Coordinator: Caitlin Mitchell cf1188@txstate.edu

About Us

History: The University Star is the student newspaper of Texas State University and is published every Tuesday of the spring and fall and once a month in the summer semesters. It is distributed on campus and throughout San Marcos at 8 a.m. on publication days with a distribution of 3,000. Printing and distribution is by the New Braunfels HeraldZeitung.

Copyright: Copyright Tuesday, Feburary 7, 2023. All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The University Star are the exclusive property of The University Star and may not be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the editor-in-chief.

Deadlines: Letters to the Editor or any contributed articles are due on Monday the week prior to publication.

Corrections:

Any errors that are in the pages of The University Star and brought to our attention will be corrected as soon as possible.

Visit The Star at universitystar.com

Catch a ride on the "Get Around Downtown" service

By Blake Leschber Assistant News Editor

On Nov. 7, the City of San Marcos announced a free transportation service, "Get Around Downtown." As the name implies, the service takes riders around the downtown San Marcos area by electric cabs.

The program offers rides in the Main Street District which is bordered by Pat Garrison Street, N. CM Allen Parkway, MLK Drive and Comanche Street. A rider can get picked up and dropped off anywhere within this area.

at first. According to Cogdill, the pandemic pushed back the program for two years.

The program is different than other transportation systems such as Uber and municipal buses for different reasons. One major difference is that it only serves the downtown area, meaning that riders can be dropped off closer to where they need to be if they are in the downtown area than if they ride a bus.

“The program works on a dynamic routing system rather than a fixed route to get riders as close to where they need to go as possible,” Cogdill said.

has been positive."

Users have also liked the program since it allows workers to not have to find parking close to their building or have to walk a long distance to their cars. They can hop in the cabs and have an easier experience with parking.

"Some people can’t find parking near their place of work, so they’ll park a few blocks away and call us to get them there, then back to their vehicle when they get off," Camacho-Dicks said.

San Marcos hosts several parades and festivals that close streets and parking lots downtown. This service can make it easier for event-goers to find parking and to get around during the events.

"I have used it and found it incredibly helpful during events that happen downtown due to limited parking and roads being closed down." Jennifer Bates, a user of the program, said. "It’s definitely increased the likelihood that I’ll attend an event because I no longer have to worry about navigating closeddown roads and long walks."

The service can also help students who live in the area. Downtown is home to several student apartment complexes. While the cabs do not take the students directly on campus, they can get students closer to where they need to be.

The electric cab service can also help students when they are out downtown by providing the ability to make safer decisions.

"Anybody in the downtown area that needs a ride just needs to call our phone number or book a ride on our app and we’ll take them anywhere in the downtown area," Collin CamachoDicks, operation manager at Electric Cab North America, said. "If you’re downtown, we’re always nearby."

To get a ride one can either call (512)-522-5269, download the Electric Cab Passenger app or hail a cab from the street if they are available. The service's hours are 7 a.m. to 4 a.m. but can change depending on the demand during the day.

"Riders can hail the cab on the street, call for a pick, or schedule a ride through the app," Amy Cogdill, transit specialist, said. "Passengers can get picked up and taken anywhere they want to go in the service area for free."

One big aspect of the program is that it is completely free for the rider to use. The service is free because, in Oct. 2019, $500,000 of downtown tax increment reinvestment zone funds was used to launch the program.

The city encountered some struggles

FROM FRONT ANIMALS

"Passengers can get picked up and taken anywhere they want to go in the service area for free."

It is also different than Uber or any other ride-share service because not only does it use carbon-neutral forms of transportation but there is no cost at all to the user which has been popular among riders so far especially workers downtown who use the service.

"The Get Around Downtown [program] is seeing ridership from downtown employees, visitors, and residents," Cogdill said. "Public reaction

"It is a much safer alternative than walking alone to your car as a single girl," Bates said. "I’m an alumni and it would have been a game changer and would have encouraged me to make safer choices had it existed back when I was in college."

There are also some concerns and recommendations for the cab service. One large concern is that the service area is too small which makes the program useless to people who live outside the downtown area.

"I wish they had a longer range. Say, Wonder World to the big H-E-B … it would be much more helpful than just around The Square." Brandon Ferretti, a user of the program, said. "Maybe if the zones were expanded it would attract more people, especially the people who live around here year long."

The expansion of the program is unknown. Since the service is a pilot program, the city is testing if the service can last long-term, so user comment is crucial to the survival and improvement of the program.

For more information on the electric cabs, follow the QR code.

Foye is encouraging more people to help volunteer with PALS and also would like to see more organizations from Texas State volunteer to help.

"It would be great for different organizations that wanted to do some community service-based project where they raise funds or they do a dog food or cat food drive,” Foye said. “We're always looking for opportunities for the students to get involved with us and vice versa."

Texas was ranked number one for animal shelter deaths in 2021. In support of the Hays County no-kill initiative, Becerra asks that pet owners get their pets spayed and neutered to prevent the stray animal population from growing.

Volunteering is needed at PALS, according to Foye. Volunteers like Lindsey Diehl, a master's program student, are doing what they can to help. Diehl helps at the check-in desks at clinics by answering questions and handing out paperwork.

Working with PALS has given Diehls a new perspective on treating animals and the importance of taking care of them.

"I think it's enjoyable, I personally really like working with the animals, and it's flexible," Diehl said. "It has let me get introduced to a whole different side of the animal welfare that I hadn't been familiar with."

Diehl said help is needed with paperwork, animal handling and pet food and supplies. Volunteers can sign up through the PALS website and they have flexible scheduling.

Students should be advised that taking care of a pet can be a lot of responsibility, Jennifer Rodriguez, a theatre junior, said.

"I’d say owning a pet can be difficult when it comes to learning what they’re like and being financially capable of getting everything they need. They can be very pricey, and those prices can end up being more expensive than you thought," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said students who are thinking about getting a pet should know about proper care expenses, rooming and overall readiness.

"Get the stuff you need gradually before you get your pet to make sure it’s not too financially straining," Rodriguez said.

ILLUSTRATION BY AFAAF ALNAHAS

"Take into deep consideration if you’re financially capable and mentally capable of taking care of an animal."

For more information on PALS, follow the QR code.

Or visit the San Marcos location at 215 W San Antonio St. #101.

INFOGRAPHIC BY MADISON WARE

Texas State art education senior Julian Cruz exits the electric cab, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at Edward Gary Garage. The electric cabs are provided by the City of San Marcos for free.

PHOTO BY JOHN GAMEZ

& ARTS

Furly Art displayed around downtown San Marcos

By Cara Cervenka Life and Arts Contributor

San Marcos visitors and residents may have noticed new banners portraying vibrant birds playing musical instruments poised on lamposts around The Square. The birds' creator is Furly Travis aka Furly Art, a local San Martian who is so dedicated to his craft that he considers "art" to be part of his name. Travis' colorful "Furly Birds" as he calls them will be on display downtown for the next three months.

On Jan. 19, Downtown SMTX installed the 2-by4-foot banners along LBJ Drive, Hopkins, Guadalupe and San Antonio Streets. Displayed are two unique designs that illustrate Travis' signature Furly Birds. Travis said the birds appear in the majority of his pieces.

“I usually paint what comes to my mind. And it happens to be a very cartoon, colorful bird place, which was very easy for me to draw as those birds,” Travis said.

Travis has been living and creating art in this San Marcos for twenty years, and many of his pieces are influenced by the city's uniqueness. He wants to create a piece that portrays a Furly Bird holding onto a San Marcos mermaid.

The San Marcos Art League played a big part in helping Travis get his work recognized recently. The organization asked Travis to paint a mural for their walking gallery on LBJ Drive. From there his talent was recognized and he was offered the job to create the street banners.

Travis has aspired to display his art since he began painting at 19 years old. San Martians have embraced Travis and his artwork, some calling him the unofficial mascot of San Marcos. For the past two decades, Travis' art has remained relatively unknown outside of the art community.

The release of the banners will increase support and recognition for his work. His quirky style is what makes his artwork recognizable. Travis said the support he has received so far is a great honor.

“I’m so happy that his stuff is finally coming out into the city because he is a big part of the city. He’s lived here a long time, some people have even talked about calling him the San Marcos mascot which is appropriate because he has been here so long,” Balkman said.

Travis' birds are not only sold as paintings but also as "Burly Yard Birds" which are large paintings of the

birds that are then cut out of wood and displayed in people's yards. The pieces are on display in Travis' own yard and he is currently working on an 8-foot-tall Burly Yard Bird.

Travis has also been displaying and selling his art for 15 years at Wake the Dead Coffee House, a local coffee shop in San Marcos known for giving local artists a place to sell their work. He has been friends with Julie Baulkman, the owner of Wake the Dead, since 1994, and in that time Balkman has purchased multiple Travis' pieces for herself and for others.

“I like to support anybody who supports themselves and who is proud of themselves, I want to be proud of them too." Julie Balkman, owner of Wake the Dead said.

Wake the Dead has always been an inviting space for both rookies and established artists like Travis in the community. Last month, Travis' art event, the Furly Art Reception, had Wake the Dead lively and brimming with his artwork. Three separate artists came to display their work at the coffee shop and Travis' art filled the main room. Travis' wife and local musician Molly J. Hayes performed original songs and covers.

It was an opportunity for people to buy Travis' art directly from him and for Travis to celebrate the unveiling of his street banners.

“[The event] just happened that it coincided with the release of the banners," Travis said. "It was just the universe came together and was like, 'yeah dude, let's do this.'"

Travis has always embraced his creativity whether that be in music, art or acting. He was a member of the Happy Trees, a local group, which was his first venture into music. Travis is also his own one-man band called Unsurpassed Prophet. The discography is primarily slacker rock and psychedelic.

“I've always inspired to kind of be known in a way through my music, through my art and through my films,” Travis said.

On the day that the banners were installed, Travis' friends, family and supporters gathered to celebrate and witness the installation. Hayes said she is proud of her husband for his accomplishments and is happy to see his work being appreciated.

“He's painted hundreds, literally hundreds of paintings,” Hayes said. “To get to see the

acknowledgment from his community that we both grew up in to see that acknowledgment of his hard work and of his personal style and his creativity it makes me emotional."

To support Furly "Art" Travis, visit http://www. furlyart.net or @furly_travis on Instagram.

FROM FRONT COMMUNITY

Glover agreed to participate because, as an educator, she wants to help make an impact on others and answer questions they may want to ask her about her hair.

"I'd like to not just teach, but I also like to teach about, you know, how history and how society affects us," Glover said. "I want to unpack what my hair journey was, and how to me, texturism can be even stronger than colorism in not just the Black community but the Hispanic community and the Asian community."

Glover said texturism is discrimination against someone — usually for having tightly curled, coarser hair. She experienced a similar feeling when she was three years old, as her mother would put long ponytails in her hair. A few years later, Glover told her mother about feeling like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer wearing fake ponytails and wanting her natural hair. She wanted to know why she had her wear them.

"My mom said, 'because you and your sister were dark-skinned, I knew you would have a harder time in society being seen as beautiful so, I decided if you had long hair, you wouldn't have that problem,'" Glover said. "And it's true. I never got picked on for being dark-skinned."

The experience, however, has sworn off Glover's decision to be seen with fake hair because she wants to make a statement to be seen as beautiful with her own hair. Since then, she has tried different styles with her hair and realized its flexibility through trial and error.

Collaborating with the other panelists has also changed her perception of what groups are affected by this problem. Another panelist, who is Mexican American, has talked about how she feels pressured and still feels pressured to straighten her natural curls to appear more European looking. With this new outlook, Glover believes the panel will also open people's eyes to their histories with hair overlapping.

"We don't have interracial conversations with each other enough, and I think

this will help us to start having those conversations with each other to see how much we have in common; how much Western colonialism has affected all of us," Glover said. "In a nutshell, that's going to help us start talking amongst each other more."

Naturally You fits the Common Experience's 2022-2023 theme, Systems Thinking. According to the website, the theme asks students to recognize the systems they live in and understand and change them. By looking at the sociocultural systems about beauty and personal style, Naturally You asks if the systems are healthy, if they are working and if they make people feel welcome.

The Common Experience Leadership Team hopes Naturally You will grow and become an annual event.

"The conversations of people's being and how they feel about themselves and how, you know, they're presenting themselves to the world — it's so key for students, especially as you all are here and then move into the work world," Nielson said.

Naturally You will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 21 in the LBJ Student Center Grand Ballroom.

Two Furly Art original banners hang on a streetlamp, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, in Downtown San Marcos, PHOTO BY JEFFREY HALFEN

CALENDER BY MARISA NUÑEZ, SOURCE: TEXAS STATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH WEBSITE

Board.

INFASTRUCTURE

Texas must be better prepared for severe winter weather

By Carson Weaver Opinions Contributor

On Feb. 3, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra issued a local disaster declaration due to the winter storm that left thousands of central and east Texans without power. In Hays County, all school districts canceled classes and several local businesses closed including grocery stores and restaurants.

More investment in protecting roadways and power lines should be the focus of the Texas Legislature to keep the lights on during extreme weather events.

Texas is no stranger to freezing weather. According to John Nieslon-Gammon, a climatologist for the state of Texas, areas north of Interstate-35 average at least one day of freezing rain each year. Additionally, San Marcos temperatures have dipped below freezing every year on record, according to weatherspark.com.

With extreme weather events like one of the hottest Texas summers on record in 2022, the winter storm of February 2021 or the most recent freezing temperatures becoming more frequent, local and state officials need to bite the bullet and spend the necessary money on improving infrastructure and disaster services.

The problem is a local and state issue. The Texas power grid gets its weaknesses exposed every time an ice storm rolls around, and cities in Texas fail to prepare by not supplying their energy companies with the necessary resources to lessen the damage of these storms.

In this most recent ice storm that affected central Texas, heavy ice accumulation of trees caused branches to fall on power lines causing power outages in respective communities and leaving 60,000 Texans without power, according to The Texas Tribune. A lack of salt or sand on the roadways also caused car accidents, which according to The New York Post, left seven Texans dead.

The days when a snow day in Texas was rare are over. According to the United States Environmental

Protection Agency (USEPA), rainstorms and other extreme weather events are becoming more severe and more common. The USEPA says that, in the coming decades, this increase in severity and commonality will lead to more and more problems for human health.

Had local governments allocated some of their funds to more sand or ice for roadways, several Texans might not have died due to negligence. Had local governments supplied their energy companies with the tools to cut the overhanging branches above power lines, tens of thousands of Texans might not have lost power.

The Texas Tribune reported that Texas will have a record-breaking $188 billion budget for the 202425 cycle which means that Texas lawmakers will have more than enough money to better prepare the state for extreme weather events.

Texas can use that massive budget to invest in better tools to lessen the effects of winter storms. In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Rep. Erin Zweiner

said that buying more trucks for energy companies and other resources to de-ice roadways is worth it if Texans can safely reach things like hospitals, even if not utilized as often as a northern state would use them. Other things to lessen or prevent the effects that may be more expensive include burying power lines or increasing the capacity of megawatts the power grid can withstand during the winter.

After the winter storm of February 2021, the energy and power grid was a hot topic amongst politicians, and this past election saw more of the same talk. In the September 2022 Texas election debate, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott touted the power grid's reliability, using the winter of 2022 as an example of the energy infrastructure's progress. However, thousands of Texans still lost power in 2023, symbolizing a body of work yet to be done by Texas lawmakers.

In Zweiner's interview with The Texas Tribune, she alluded that winter storm preparations might come of use sparingly. It's a fair criticism to say that Texas should invest its funds elsewhere because winter storms haven't been a common occurrence. With the Texas climate becoming unpredictable, however, these preparations are necessary.

The Texas power grid was constructed for when the weather was predictable and consistent and there wasn't a need for the grid to withstand freezing temperatures every year. When looking at the weather forecast for the next decades in Texas, however, local and state governments need to make the necessary preparations to lessen or prevent the effects of extreme weather events.

- Carson Weaver is a mass communications senior

The University Star welcomes Letters to the Editor from its readers. All submissions are reviewed and considered by the Editor-in-Chief and Opinions Editor for publication. Not all letters are guaranteed for publication.

Police reform is possible; it starts with better training

By James Phillips Opinions Contributor

A 2022 Gallup poll found that nearly half of Americans support major reforms to policing. Yet even with this mass support for change, the overuse of violence by law enforcement officers remains a significant issue.

However, there are practical means by which policing can be improved.

Police departments, to create better quality officers, should extend training and improve upon the quality of instruction within police training.

Currently, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement only requires 40 hours of training, about a third of a 2-year associate's degree, for an individual to be certified as a peace officer in the state. But officers are increasingly being called into situations

where they need direct training.

The American Psychological Association estimates "at least 20% of police calls for service involve a mental health or substance use crisis." These situations require empathetic and emotional responses that are not heavily taught in training. Communities like Austin have responded to this problem by including mental health crisis responders in 911 emergency services. However, even in these communities, officers still get called into situations that require more than what they are taught in basic training. For example, a man in Austin filed a lawsuit after he was "[left] bloodied and with a broken jaw" when APD officers responded to him going through a mental health crisis, according to KXAN. Such problems are not unique to the Austin area. In 2021, a man driving

in San Marcos got tased by two police officers during an arrest. According to a video released by Fox7 Austin, the man responded to officers' demands and acted in a non-violent manner.

The chief of the University Police Department Matthew Carmichael said the problem of poor policing could be solved by having individuals with reallife experience and connections to these events be the ones providing instruction to police officers. Carmichael recently had UPD train on using Narcan, a lifesaving medication used to treat people in the middle of an opioid overdose.

"Kally Crow ... has a non-profit called Drew's 27 Chains," Carmichael said. "Kally lost her son two years ago to an opioid overdose, so when Kally trained my organization we weren't just hearing from an expert [but] a person with a very personal story. It gives a different perspective... I am always going to look for professional certified instructors who quite honestly have life experience."

This kind of training from those with hands-on experience is critical in mental health situations or when officers are dealing with individuals with autism. Carmichael also explained that one of the first things he implemented was training on working with autistic community members. Officers can receive better instruction from individuals with hands-on experience or deep connections with the subjects they are instructing on, such as autism or drug use.

Furthermore, other improvements to policing can come from extending police training time. Carmichael explained that although the average academy training time for officers in Texas is about six months, the amount of time before an officer is by himself in the field is about one year. This training goes into the basics, including state law, criminal investigations and firearms training. This is relatively low compared to international standards; other countries have significantly more extended training periods with France and Norway around three years. Longer training courses result in better-trained officers and naturally remove potential

officers with more violent or extreme tendencies.

Others would argue that, especially in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, any attempts to reform policing fail to solve the problems found throughout all police departments. At the same time, pro-law enforcement groups argue instead that policing needs no reforms at all. The truth is that both of these arguments are flawed. The antipolice argument ignores that no city defunded its police department. At the same time, the pro-police argument ignores the overuse of violence by members of law enforcement.

Police reform may be a compromise; however, it is a compromise that can save lives.

-James Phillips is a history freshman

Opinions in The University Star are not necessarily those of our entire publication, Texas State University’s administration, Board of Regents, School of Journalism and Mass Communication or Student Publications

ILLUSTRATION BY MADISON WARE

STAR SNAPS

Texas State exercise and sport science sophomore Leo Arellano (left) practices kicking combo drills with anthropology graduate student Anna Huntington, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, at the Texas State Recreational Center.

PHOTO BY JOHN GAMEZ

Texas State President Kelly Damphousse encourages cheerleader after attempting to make the shot after the third quarter, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at Strahan Arena.

PHOTO BY ALLISON MENDOZA

Texas State exercise and sport science sophomore Leo Arellano instructs the class on how to throw a jab, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, at the Texas State Recreational Center. Arellano is the president of the taekwondo club on campus.

PHOTO BY JOHN GAMEZ

Texas State playwriting senior Kate Salters reads a book in a chair, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, at Stellar Coffee Co

PHOTO BY ABBY RUSSELL

SOFTBALL

Softball in high gear for upcoming season

By Kobe Arriaga Sports Reporter

The 2023 softball season is set to get underway as the Bobcats gear up for their season opener against Wichita State University on Friday, Feb. 10, at Bobcat Softball Stadium.

The Bobcats finished last season with a conference record of 19-8 and 3819 overall, but the team was ultimately defeated by the University of Louisiana in the championship round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament after putting together 17 consecutive wins to finish the season.

Since then, Texas State has returned a total of 12 players from last season and features nine additional freshmen to round out its spring roster.

The Bobcats are looking to exceed expectations this year after the Sun Belt Conference preseason coaches poll ranked Texas State in second place behind the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns who earned all 12 first-place votes for a unanimous first-place selection in the poll.

Head coach Ricci Woodard said that it’s not about where the team starts, but more about where it finishes.

“We don’t really care where we start right now, you know, that end poll is the only one that matters," Woodard said.

Junior pitcher Jessica Mullins is coming off an outstanding 2022 campaign in which she was awarded Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Sun Belt and finished with a 27-13 record and 17-4 in games played against conference opponents. She was voted the 2023 Preseason Pitcher of the Year to go along with her second-straight AllSun Belt preseason selection.

Along with Mullins, senior infielder Sara Vanderford and sophomore outfielder Ciara Trahan were also tabbed as preseason All-Sun Belt Conference players this year, adding more fuel to the fire as the Bobcats head into the season.

“As the conference is growing, still getting recognized is an honor,” Vanderford said. “It’s something to be proud of but also just being out here and putting in the work and making sure I’m doing the right things is important too because it’s not just given. You have to work for it.”

Vanderford was the only Texas State softball player to appear and start in all 57 games throughout the 2022 campaign and enters the season with a .336 career batting average, good for second-best in program history.

Following Trahan’s selection for the preseason nod, she said the recognition and accolades that come along with it give her all the motivation to keep getting better.

"It feels really good because I worked really hard last year to get the stuff that I did,” Trahan said. “But it just makes me want to work harder this year to continue to show everybody the

The slogan #TakeBackTexas trended on Twitter among Bobcat fans after Kinne's hiring, symbolizing the start of his goal of recruiting players from Texas, whether it be in the high school ranks or convincing Texas players who committed to out-ofstate programs to return to the Lone Star State to finish off their collegiate careers.

"We signed 30 Texas high school kids and former high school kids, so I feel we did a really good job as far as that goes,” Kinne said. “This class will be the foundation of what we want to build. Very proud of this class and proud of our coaching staff for what they were able to do in Texas and the relationships they were able to build so fast.”

The biggest name in the class is dual-threat quarterback Malik Hornsby. The former Arkansas Razorback was a consensus four-star recruit who was getting a lot of attention from Power 5 programs in the portal, most notably Nebraska. Kinne said that Hornsby's athletic profile fits Texas State's offense.

“As soon as we identified him [Hornsby] as someone we’d like to go after, we pursued him hard,” Kinne said. “He’s got the arm talent, he’s a dynamic runner, you see the film at Arkansas, the talent is there and we sold him on the development piece. The opportunity to come back to Texas and be the guy was a huge pitch.”

The biggest surprise came Wednesday morning when Justin DeLeon, a threestar offensive lineman out of H.M. King High School in Kingsville, Texas, gave his pledge to Texas State while holding offers from Baylor and TCU.

Recruiting services were predicting DeLeon to become a Bear, but in an unexpected turn of events he decided to become a Bobcat instead.

“Just getting him on campus,” Kinne said. “[Jordan Shoemaker] did a really good job of identifying him and building that relationship. We still got some work to do as far as getting him here, but he’s a really good player.”

While DeLeon’s commitment came as a surprise, what did not surprise many were a handful of Incarnate Word players choosing to follow Kinne to San Marcos.

CAMPUS

we finished, I mean we were in the championship game of the conference tournament and went on a 17-win streak there at the end,” Woodard said. “But yeah, I feel like we’ve got a lot of great pieces to the puzzle this year and that puts us in a better spot to start the season.”

Vanderford expressed the same outlook when it came to the coaches poll and said it's better for her to limit any unwanted pressure.

“Obviously it will light a fire and of course, we always want to beat the good teams but I think we're going to have to stick to our game plan if we want to continue to be successful,” Vanderford said.

Trahan would rather use the secondplace selection in the coaches poll as motivation to try and prove everybody wrong.

player that I am.”

Trahan's preseason selection comes after earning the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honors last season. She is excited to prove that she can help push the Bobcats even further this year.

After all the work that has been in during the off-season, Woodard is excited to see how the team will perform now against a different opponent.

“It’s a fun group to work with but I’m anxious to see how they’re going to handle a different opponent and the everyday players of our game,” Woodard said. “If we can push through those players I think we're going to be a really good team.”

Woodard made it clear that the main focus this season is winning ball games, and leaving out distractions like the coaches poll and where the team ranks before the season.

“I think we improved a ton last spring even where we started to where

“I’m excited to prove that we are number one because we’ve been working really hard this fall and spring to show everyone the team that we actually are,” Trahan said. “There's always ways you can improve in every aspect of the game, but I think from last year to this year we have gotten so much better one hundred percent.”

Woodard said leadership is going to be important this season since the team has a large number of incoming freshmen to play with a group of experienced players.

“I think there’s a ton of mentorship going on. I think that the freshmen have the benefit of having this upperclassmen class because they’ve done a really good job of trying to teach them a lot, and you can tell,” Woodard said. “But I also think that this freshmen group has done a really good job of buying in, and trying to learn exactly what we’re doing.”

The Texas State softball team will play its first game of the 2023 season versus the Wichita State Shockers at 5 p.m. on Feb. 10 at Bobcat Softball Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

A total of eight commits in Texas State’s 33-man 2023 class played for Kinne at Incarnate Word last season.

“Some of those UIW guys are some of the best guys we signed,” Kinne said. “We know those guys; we know what we’re getting very high-character guys. We signed Kaleb Culp, a safety, an all-conference guy. Kole Wilson, a freshman AllAmerican receiver [is] another guy we expect to come in and contribute. Getting those guys was huge.”

Kinne used his Incarnate Word pipeline to restock the Texas State offensive line, an area that was in need of improvement heading into the late recruiting period after losing multiple players to the transfer portal.

Nash Jones, Caleb Johnson, Dorion Strawn and brothers Jimeto and Emeka Obigbo were the offensive lineman who transferred to Texas State from Incarnate Word.

“We got a couple of plug-in play guys coming in,” Kinne said. “Three of them had Power 5 offers that we were fighting off to get them here. They wanted to come play for us. They wanted to come play at Texas State. That offensive line piece getting those guys allows me to sleep well at night because they're a huge part of what we’re going to be about moving forward.”

Texas State only had one player who didn’t sign his letter of intent Wednesday. South Oak Cliff defensive back Taylor Starling ended up having a last-minute change of heart and committed to North Texas.

The 2023 recruiting class could be the first step in the process of making Texas State President Kelly Damphousse's goals for the program a reality.

"The expectation is that we would be competing for Sun Belt Conference championships on a regular basis just like our other sports," Damphousse said. "With the changing playoff that we would put ourselves in a position to qualify for the college football championship when it expands to 12 teams."

Damphousse aims to change culture through football rebuild

By Carson Weaver Sports Editor

Throughout the football offseason, a new brand of Texas State football has been introduced in the form of new head coach G.J. Kinne, his coaching staff and the class of 33 recruits that have committed to being Bobcats.

When Texas State President Kelly Damphousse took office last July, his goal for the athletics department was to “turn football around,” and he believes that the progress made thus far has brought him closer to that goal.

Damphousse acknowledges the football team’s poor performance in years past and said that with a hopefully improved record and a potential bowl game appearance, the university will see favorable outcomes in other areas such as graduation and freshmen retention rates.

“It’s no secret we haven’t been great at football,” Damphousse said. “The more students are engaged [in athletics events], the more likely they are to be successful, to retain, to graduate in a timely manner and have a great experience and someday become donors.”

Changing the perception of the Texas State football program and instilling the desire to attend football games into students is a two-step process, according to Damphousse. Damphousse said a winning product on the football field is a good step in the right direction.

He said it starts with instilling pride and enthusiasm for athletic events in the freshman class.

“It’s hard to change the culture really quickly,” Damphousse said. “Last year’s fall seniors… didn't build the expectation that was that you go to a football game… the tradition was go to tailgate or go home on the weekend… last year, my goal was to work on the freshmen and tell them [football games] is where you want to be.”

The athletics department has put promotions into place at sporting events, such as the half-court shot promotion, to get the community to show up for their teams. Damphousse said promotions for the upcoming football season are in the works.

“We're working on things for football, not ready to release that yet,” Damphousse. “Now we're trying to be more coordinated with ‘how can we get people excited?’”

Bryan Miller, Texas State executive senior associate athletic director, said that athletic events give students the opportunity to feel included and engage with their university.

“We want them to build an affinity for Texas State University and feel like this is a place [where they] belong… athletics and sports gives students all of those opportunities to do all of that type of stuff,” Miller said.

Texas State softball team celebrates after retiring the inning during the home opener against the University of Oregon, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at Bobcat Softball Stadium.

FROM FRONT FOOTBALL

Texas State President Kelly Damphousse greets students on the sidelines at the homecoming football game against Southern Miss, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022.

PHOTO BY SARAH MANNING