02-28-23

SERVICE

San Marcos resident returns from relief trip to Ukraine

By Lucciana Choueiry News Contributor

On Feb. 24, 2022, like the rest of the world, San Marcos resident John Meeks watched the news of the RussiaUkraine war unfold from home. Upon seeing the suffering of the Ukrainian people, he went on a monthlong humanitarian relief trip with Samaritan’s Purse to Kyiv, Ukraine, from Nov. 9-Dec. 7, 2022.

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational Christian organization that provides spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world.

Blake Welch, Samaritan’s Purse’s regional manager for Ukraine, is responsible for supporting the organization’s country office that’s operating in different Ukrainian cities.

“What we’ve been doing is just responding to the humanitarian crisis [in Ukraine] because people have been suffering there for a year now,” Welch said. “Most of what we do is taking place along the front lines of far eastern Ukraine where the greatest need in the country is.”

It wasn’t until John met with a friend, who had just returned from another month-long relief trip with Samaritan’s Purse in Ukraine, that he knew there was something he could do to help.

“I told my friend ‘man I wish there

Former TXST professor turns 100

By Nichaela Shaheen News Editor

On Franklin Drive in San Marcos, Texas, stands a house full of memories from Roberto Galván’s 100-year journey of life. An extensive vinyl collection, shelves full of books and portraits of loved ones take up space on the walls, displaying the generations of love and familial pride that Roberto has lived through.

On Saturday, Roberto celebrated his 100th birthday and Mayor Jane

Hughson declared Feb. 25 as Dr. Roberto A. Galván Day. A parade made up of community members, the San Marcos Police and Fire Departments, The Lion's Club, members of St. John's Catholic Church and Roberto's neighbors filled the streets in cars and on foot to celebrate his milestone birthday.

was something more I could do’ and he said ‘John, Samaritan’s Purse needs people with international business experience.’ So the next day I filled out an 11-page resume and went through a rigorous interview process that lasted several months,” John said. “It was a really daunting process to be accepted into the volunteer program.”

During his business career, John was based in Jakarta, Indonesia, among other countries in Asia. He gained experience in negotiating cross-border transactions and international finance, making him a great applicant for Samaritan’s Purse and its relief efforts.

“Somebody with a business background could help with finance

and daily office operations, you know operative kind of tasks. They can transfer those skills and jump in to help with the program,” Welch said.

“A lot of the people on our rosters are involved in all areas of expertise. It’s all hands on deck.”

SEE SERVICE PAGE 2

Taylor cements historic Bobcat career

By Kobe Arriaga Sports Reporter

Texas State women's basketball has a rich history of success and excellence, both on and off the court. Graduate guard Kennedy Taylor has been one of the best playmakers in the Sun Belt Conference throughout her career, constantly showcasing what it truly means to be a Bobcat athlete.

Working hard both on the court and in the classroom is what’s most important to Taylor, and her work speaks for itself. Taylor has been on the receiving end of multiple accolades in the Sun Belt Conference and within her academic studies.

Standing at 5-foot-3-inches, Taylor is considered an undersized guard in the game of basketball but it doesn’t restrict her ability to score, pass and defend players on an elite level. Taylor said that she always believed in heart over height.

Head coach Zenarae Antoine believes that she's improved defensively over the years, and she can still thrive in other areas which combine to make her a unique player.

“She’s feisty, I mean how many times have you seen her go up against a 6-foot-4 kid and just snatch that ball,” Antoine said. “It’s no surprise to us and the people that know her that she plays much bigger than what you can visually see.”

Roberto Galván receives his 100th birthday cake, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at his house.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NANCY LUNA

(top) Samaritan's Purse employee tends to a displaced Ukrainian, Friday, March 18, 2022, in Ukraine. (left) Samaritan's Purse employee helps an injured girl, Friday, March 18, 2022, in Ukraine. (right) John Meeks (right) and his wife Karen Meeks (left) treat civilians, Friday, March 18, 2022, in Ukraine. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOHN MEEKS

Texas State graduate guard Kennedy Taylor drives the ball down the court, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, at Strahan Arena.

PHOTO BY SARAH MANNING

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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.

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MEADOWS CENTER

Growing population, climate change prompt increase efforts to protect river

By Carlota Pulgar News Reporter

With spring break and tubing season approaching, local organizations have increased their efforts of protecting the San Marcos River, specifically in relation to the influx of human activity in the area and climate change. The Meadows Center for Water Environment has received funding for a climate change research initiative that will help protect water sources across Texas.

These combined efforts are to help ensure the longevity of the supply of water and quality for generations to come. The San Marcos River Foundation (SMRF) has been pushing for green infrastructure for future developments according to Executive Director Virginia Parker.

“Developers can have a huge impact on our river in our waterway. So, we feel like that's a really important step to take,” Parker said. “Because we know developments are coming, it's here, it's only going to get bigger, so we feel like the developers are a key at least and protecting water quality and quantity.”

According to Amy Thomaides, the Community Enhancement Initiatives manager for the City of San Marcos who manages Keep San Marcos Beautiful, the biggest threat to the San Marcos River is human activity.

“Human activity and just those minor things that are happening make a big impact,” Thomaides said. “You can just look at people who aren't mindful not just along the river, but wherever they are.”

Keep San Marcos Beautiful has been able to expand its efforts across the upper San Marcos River watershed through volunteer efforts with its annual river cleanups which include litter-heavy areas like creeks and ditches that flow into the river. The 38th Annual Great Texas River Clean Up is this Saturday, March 4.

“When we expanded into the watersheds, we actually found a lot of old dump sites,” Thomaides said. “We haven’t always had this kind of urban development, so they didn’t have garbage services like they have now, they had areas where they just put all their trash. We’re finding those old dump site and cleaning them up with the river clean up.”

Littering can affect the quality of the river, but so can contaminants.

According to Executive Director of the Meadows Center for Water and Environment and Professor of Practice at the Department of Geography and

FROM FRONT SERVICE

Environmental Studies Robert Mace, chemicals like pesticides and herbicides used on lawns can make it into the recharge zones, where water percolates into the aquifer and fills back up, affecting overall quality.

“There are trace amounts of contaminants that come out of the springs on a regular basis,” Mace said. “Nothing that has been causing a great deal of alarm but they're there and indicate human impacts on the system.”

SMRF has been working through different mediums to protect the integrity and quality of the river and protect the natural habitat from invasive species.

“We work to get wastewater treatment permits to be a better standard than the minimum because any wastewater that ends up in our river or tributaries of the river, can potentially lead to algal blooms due to increase nitrogen and phosphorus,” Parker said.

The Meadows Center was recently awarded $2.5 million in federal appropriations for climate change research to protect Texas waters. According to Mace, a driving factor for this research is to be able to give policymakers in Texas the information they need to make informed decisions regarding the impacts of climate change.

“What we’re seeing and hearing is that there is a growing concern in the water sector about the impacts of climate change, and that’s different from even five years ago,” Mace said. “The legacy I'm hoping for this work is that at the end of the day, we're going to see much more of Texas understanding what climate change means for water resources and even better responding to that understanding, to make sure we as a state are where we need to be to be resilient.”

Although this research initiative is

to help protect bodies of water all over Texas, Mace worries about the effects that climate change might have on the San Marcos River in the future.

“Climate change is highly likely, if not almost assuredly going to result in less water, refilling the aquifer, which means less water coming out of the springs, which means less water in the river,” Mace said. “The surface water sources are highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change both on the supply side because increasing temperatures means greater evaporation, which means less soil moisture, which means less water running off the land surface into the rivers less water percolating into our aquifers to recharge them.”

With this in mind, The Meadows Center is not in a place to start doing attribution science in relation to climate change, Mace said. There are clues to possible impacts of climate change from events like flooding and drought, but these aren’t definitive.

“In general Texas is about two degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it was 50 years ago,” Mace said. “And that does have consequences for recharge, which has consequences for spring flow. I should note that, over these winter months, you know, we've been at the lowest level of spring flow since 1996.”

Mace suggests minimizing the use of pesticides, reducing water use, helping clean litter and staying informed on water decisions.

“As San Marcos grows, we got to find we got to get water from somewhere and so there's decisions that are being made to ensure that we're getting enough water. So, pay attention and see if you agree, based on your values, with where that water comes from and how it's being used. Whether you like it or not, share your opinions with your elected officials.”

I understand how powerful of an organization Samaritan’s Purse is in doing good on this earth,” John said.

Based on his first-hand experience of the Ukraine warzone, John said the news had not adequately addressed the violence or the effect of the war on the population they were trying to help.

He remembers seeing signs along the streets of Kyiv warning people of bomb-stuffed teddy bears from the Russian Air Force.

“The Russians were dropping these toys in the city and inside them were explosive devices. So when the children, who were looking for some kind of peace, would pick up these toys, it would explode in their hands, killing or maiming them,” John said.

Karen Meeks, John's wife, was aware of the increasingly dangerous warzone her husband would be in, but she knew it was something he wanted to do and supported it.

“I just felt like we had thought about it, he had it in his heart and for that door to open I just felt like this must be the right path then,” Karen said.

Since John was based in Samaritan’s Purse’s country office in Kyiv, communication with Karen was relatively easy.

“I was fortunate to be able to talk with Karen almost every evening. We were being bombed three or four times each week as Putin pushed to weaponize winter by destroying the energy and water infrastructure of the country,” John said. “During the harshest times, it meant everything to me to be able to just talk with her over the secure communication line we had back to America. She was my rock during my deployment.”

On the trip, John and his team helped internally displaced Ukrainian people by providing them with resources like medical aid and emergency field hospitals staffed with surgeons, nurses and ER doctors, as well as shelter, water, food, sanitation and hygiene resources.

John learned multiple lessons in his efforts to bring humanitarian relief to Ukraine. The biggest one was learning how much the work he was doing meant for the people he was helping.

“First, I got an appreciation for how fragile life is. Second, I learned we are nothing without hope, Ukrainian people lost hope and we were there to give them back that hope. Third,

John found peace in knowing what he was doing was bringing hope to the people in Ukraine even though he was often frightened by the bombing and violence.

He said he had an encounter with an employee when he went to exchange his U.S. dollars for Ukrainian money. When he presented the money, she asked John, in a stern tone, where he was from and what he was doing there.

“When she asked why I was here, I said I am here to save lives and alleviate suffering, and she broke down in tears on her desk,” John said. “She looked up at me, her tears pouring down her face, and said ‘thank you for being here, we are not alone,’ and that is why I went to Ukraine.”

John’s discomfort from the cold and hard work in certain situations worried Karen. In the end, however, she knew he would be safe.

“Mostly I had peace. I feel like the organization he went with was very specific and careful about everything and they told us they were big into safety at the very beginning,” Karen said. “So, I felt like he was in the best place he could be given the circumstances.”

While John was in the Samaritan’s Purse country office in Ukraine, he and the employees worked with other relief organizations such as the United Nations, to provide the most effective humanitarian aid to the displaced people.

“I was a tiny, tiny, tiny part of this enormous effort to get the resources to all these people,” John said. “I realized once I got in the country office that was where I was supposed to be to help in this crisis.”

ILLUSTRATION BY EVA BOWLER

A portrait of Karen (left) and John Meeks, Monday, July 4, 2022, in Ridgeway, Colorado.

PHOTO COURTSEY OF JOHN MEEKS

University in possession of Indigenous remains, future plans

By Blake Leschber Assistant News Editor

According to an updated database from ProPublica, Texas State has the remains of 114 Native Americans in its possession as of data from Dec. 2022. Despite the university's cooperation with Indigenous groups, the repatriation process has resulted in many of the remains remaining unclaimed.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a federal law passed in 1990 that requires federal agencies and institutions to repatriate Native American remains, funerary objects, and other objects of cultural patrimony.

The Texas State Department of Anthropology was given the remains that are currently in its possession in 1986 by the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History. Five years after NAGPRA was passed, the inventory of remains was sent under the name Texas State, meaning under the law, the remains belonged to the university. The reason for this classification is unknown.

“We just know that maybe because at the time, Texas State had the remains for about nine years,” Christina Conlee, the chair of the Department of Anthropology said. “So maybe it was thought that and they did the inventory … but it’s a little unusual that it would happen that way.”

The remains of Indigenous people were also in the possession of the Texas State Center for Archaeological Studies and were uncovered in the Hays County area. These have been returned.

“Some of the remains are from campus and were excavated from campus projects and then some were excavated from Hays County and those were projects that were undertaken either by our center or Texas State University,” Todd Ahlman, director of the Center for Archaeological Studies, said.

Currently, the Department of Anthropology has 114 remains in its possession that are not available for return and the Center for Archaeological Studies had seven that were all made available for return or have been returned.

According to María Rocha, a member of the Miakan-Garza Band of the Coahuiltecan and secretary of the board of elders at the Indigenous Cultures Institute, institutions make the remains available for return by putting them into a NAGPRA database. Tribes then have to find the remains within the database.

"The institution has to have listed the remains in a NAGPRA database," Rocha said. "So it's up to the tribes to look up the remains."

According to Ahlman, one set of remains was returned to the Miakan-Garza Band. The process to receive the remains, however, was long since the band is not a federally recognized tribe.

“We received a request from the Miakan-Garza Band of the Coahuiltecan and people from the Indigenous Cultures Institute and they had made a request for one set of remains that had come from campus,” Ahlman said. “So we engaged with probably about six to nine months of consultation with the federally recognized tribes.”

According to Ahlman, the other remains were made available for return but multiple groups and

FROM FRONT MILESTONE

tribes tried to claim them. Because a decision could not be made about return, the Center for Archaeological Studies kept the remains and buried them close to where the tribes currently reside.

“Ultimately we couldn’t, between all of us, come up with a group to repatriate to and so at the advice of NAGPRA, we asked for permission to reinter those remains,” Ahlman said. “When we received permission from the secretary of interior, we did that in 2020 at the repatriation ceremony here in town.”

“We have to vet the people who are responsible for them and then we may actually have a ceremony of some kind to whoever receives them but only after they’ve explained what they’re going to do.”

KELLY DAMPHOUSSE President, Texas State University

None of the remains at the Department of Anthropology have been made available for return. According to President Kelly Damphousse, one large reason for this is that no one is claiming the remains.

“The unfortunate part right now is that no one is claiming these remains,” Damphousse said. “As soon as we’ve got a good plan that works for everyone, we’re happy to pass it off and repatriate them to the people who want to take responsibility for them.”

The process of repatriation is complicated for the Department of Anthropology and the Center for Archaeological Studies. It involves contacting tribes and getting approvals and permissions.

“There’s lists of federally and state recognized tribes and you send a sort of detailed letter that explains the situation and then what remains you have and then they can respond if they are interested in those remains,” Conlee said. “If so, there’s a long process from there and you notify the organization and there’s

many steps you do from there.”

A lot of time and patience are required for the repatriation process. It can take up to years to complete. It took even longer for the remains to be sent back to the Miakan-Garza Band because there was no cemetery available to repatriate them to.

"The first set [of remains] was dug up in 2011 but they weren't returned until about 2017," Rocha said. "It takes a few years to get through the process right now but it took us so long because we didn't have a cemetery available to repatriate them to."

Another complication is that all parties have to ensure that the remains are going to the proper groups and are going to be used responsibly.

“We have to vet the people who are responsible for them and then we may actually have a ceremony of some kind to whoever receives them but only after they’ve explained what they’re going to do,” Damphousse said.

Besides the fact that time is of the essence, the university wants to ensure that the remains can be returned swiftly and responsibly.

The goal is to repatriate and return the remains to whomever they belong to and to allow the remains to rest where they need to be.

“Our goal here is to repatriate these remains and we’re working towards that,” Conlee said. “We remain in compliance with the law and we hope that we will make good progress going forward."

Rocha feels that Texas State has been cooperative and easy to work with to achieve the goal of repatriation.

"Texas State has been the best university to collaborate with. They have been open, honest, transparent, and cooperative in their efforts to repatriate their remains," Rocha said.

For more information on repatriation or Native American remains, visit the database.

Roberto, a son, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, veteran, retired professor and published author, is a lifelong learner and has used education to change the trajectory of his life. He began teaching at Southwest Texas State College in 1964 and was the first Latino faculty member with a doctoral degree.

“He would just say, ‘education is the key if you want to live a good life’. He was able to lead the path, not just for him, but for his kids, to have a better life and his grandchildren too. But I really don’t think he did it for solely that reason. He just loved learning and writing. He loves just doing his best,” Nancy Luna, Roberto's daughter, said.

Roberto received his associate's degree from San Antonio Junior College in 1943, a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Trinity University in 1948, a master's degree in Spanish from the University of Texas at Austin in 1949 and a Ph.D. in romance philology from Tulane University in 1954. Roberto is also a World War ll veteran.

The Texas State ROTC program presented the colors and showed their respect to Roberto at his birthday parade on Saturday.

Roberto witnessed Texas State's university name changes during his time working in Flowers Hall, a building that many of his children and grandchildren have memories attached to.

In letters written and gifted to Roberto at his 95th birthday celebration, his children and grandchildren reflected on those special memories.

"When I was a little girl, I remember you taking me to the university — just you and me," Dee Jammal, Galván's daughter, said in her letter. "I felt special being at the school and still remember the smell of the building, the echoing through the hallways, the classrooms, offices, and desks. I remember you would give me just one piece of paper to draw on while you worked. I had to make the most of the paper, be engaged at what I was doing, and act deeply respectful of the environment no matter how long we were there. These early experiences developed my understanding of what it truly means to change one little person at a time because you always showed me how important learning was the basis of being successful in anything I wanted to do."

According to Roberto's eldest son, René Galván, his father had a humble upbringing. Both of Roberto's parents only reached third grade and he lived during the Great Depression.

"There were times when he was a little boy he didn't have a pair of shoes to wear. He had to work. He used to sell papers downtown in San Antonio, and at one point he was chased by a rabid dog downtown. He was always doing things that we wouldn't think of today that a boy that age would do to help the family," René said.

Roberto's childhood experiences shaped the actions and words he poured into his own family. Greg Galván, Roberto's youngest child, recalls a time when he

realized that his father taught him the importance of perspective.

"Years ago we drove by an impoverished neighborhood and saw young children playing and running through the streets. None of the children wore shoes," Greg said in his letter. "You began to talk about your childhood and told me something that echoed in my head for years to come. You said, 'we had nothing and yet we had everything.'"

Luna recalls spending time in her father's office and looking at his desk to see school photos as if it was his own personal yearbook of his children.

Roberto's love for education and music seeped into the lives of those around him. All seven of his children have bachelor’s degrees, four have master’s degrees and one has a medical physician’s assistant license. Five of his children and two of his grandchildren have graduated from Texas State.

Roberto's children remember the clanking sound from his typewriter as he worked in his Flowers Hall office, and his grandchildren hold fond memories of exploring the Texas States campus.

"When I was younger and you and grandma would take me to the ponds around the theatre building on campus," Andrew, Roberto's grandchild, said in his letter to his grandfather. "You would always make sure we had a full loaf of bread when we went out there and we would tear pieces off and throw them in the ponds so that ducks and fish would come towards us."

Roberto has been awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship by The Lions International Club, the highest award bestowed by the organization. The San Marcos Lions Club, which he's been a member of since 1981, also funds annual scholarships under his name. Currently, Roberto enjoys his retirement at home with his wife.

INFOGRAPHIC BY AFAAF ALNAHAS

Roberto Galván uses a record player in 1962 in Uvalde, Texas. Before being a professor at Texas State, Galván taught at Southwest Texas Junior College.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NANCY LUNA

GOVERNMENT

Texas GOP prefers their culture on college campuses

By Dillon Strine Opinions Editor

Texas House Bill 1006, filed in December by Texas House Rep. Carl Tepper, is a bill proposal on a pile of race and culture-related bills that will attempt to reshape public higher education in Texas.

Much of the language in the bill is vague, value and right-wing virtue signaling, but the actionable part is banning universities from having Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) departments. These departments have bridged the gap in higher education for marginalized groups, and not only should they not be banned, but they should procure more funding.

The approval of this bill is possible because of similar ones passed by our state legislature in recent years like Senate bill 3 from the 2021 Texas special legislature that limits the ways in which history, more specifically race and slavery, are to be taught in public schools. HB 1006 would make the work publicly funded universities have made toward providing opportunities for everyone more challenging.

At Texas State, a minority-majority serving institution, we have the Division of Inclusive Excellence (DEI). The department has fallen under many different titles since its creation in 1983 such as the Minority Affairs Program (MAP), Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA), Multicultural Student Affairs to the Office of Student Diversity, Inclusion, Institutional Inclusive Excellence – Student Initiatives (IIESI) and Inclusive Excellence – Student Connections and Belonging (IE-SCB).

These changes have been to compete for funding to represent numerous groups of students who are

underrepresented in higher education.

Banning an office with goals to reach these students would be like taking away a lifeline for many students who use it.

DEI initiatives at Texas State include shortening the education gap for minority high school graduates, the low-income, first-generation, students with disabilities, as well as more recent initiatives and programs for student veterans, LGBTQ+ students and underrepresented males. In addition, the office helps acquire opportunities for otherwise marginalized groups of the student population.

Texas State is the birthplace of legislative action with the goal of educational access. It receives federal funds traced back to Texas State's most prominent alumnus, President Lyndon B. Johnson. As a TRIO-serving campus, Texas State has programs

funded federally to provide educational access for those with disadvantaged backgrounds. These programs offer support to 62,000 Texas students and 900,000 nationally.

The bill by the Lubbock representative is conflicting in its choice of words.

The bill proposes prohibiting the "funding, promotion, sponsorship, or support of any office of diversity, equity, and inclusion" and amends the education code so that institutions have the responsibility to "permit" rather than "transmit" the "diffusion of culture through general education." At the same time, the education code is also amended to task institutions with "[fostering] a diversity of viewpoints."

Rep. Tepper and his constituents argue that these departments are "reverse racism" or bad for the campus culture.

In a statement, Tepper said that the use of these public funds by DEI offices is "woke discrimination, self-segregation, and division."

The bill's messaging is vague but it very clearly calls for the public defunding of initiatives meant to expand the academic and sociodemographic support scope of higher institutions.

Through the passage of this bill, Tepper's goal is that public universities stay politically neutral. By stopping the funneling of funds to these offices, "racial division and disharmony" will stop. He calls himself a proud American and Texan and that the expenditure of public money counters the views that signify those titles.

Being proud of his background should help Tepper in understanding that the diverse student population can be proud of theirs while also understanding others. Texas State's use of funds to run the DEI office creates a culture representative of its students and helps its population attain knowledge past their own background. To divert funds away from education is not to stay politically neutral.

The University Star reached out to the Texas State Division of Inclusive Excellence for comment, but they declined as they do not comment on pending legislation.

- Dillon Strine is a journalism 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.

ILLUSTRATION BY JUNIPER FLOYD

LIFE & ARTS

CAMPUS CULTURE

How President Damphousse is getting to know students, faculty and staff

By Marisa Nuñez Life and Arts Editor

With almost forty thousand students and over five thousand faculty and staff members on the Texas State campus, it can be difficult to make a close-knit connection on campus. President Kelly Damphousse wants to show that the task is not impossible by creating opportunities for students, faculty and staff to come together through small, come-and-go socials, Bobcat Kindle with KDamp and Coffee with Kelly.

Once a month, Damphousse hosts Bobcat Kindle with KDamp so students can ask him questions, give feedback or chat. Coffee with Kelly has the same purpose for faculty and staff.

“It's all about trying to create relationships with students and with faculty and staff that aren't that aren't built around the crisis at the moment,” Damphousse said. “When a student comes to talk to me about how terrible their life is, I would rather us already have that relationship, where we're not introducing [ourselves] in the middle of something bad happening.”

Before Texas State, Damphousse was the Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma where he had about eight thousand students and six hundred and fifty faculty members. Prior to becoming a dean, Damphousse was an associate dean and lived on campus where he could interact with and create better connections with his students on a daily basis.

After becoming dean, Damphousse’s daughters, who attended the University of Oklahoma at the time, would come into his office to chat all the time. He thought about other students and if they also had someone to talk to or complain to. He missed the connection that he had with students when he lived on campus, and so he began hosting Desserts with the Dean to create that connection again. Later, the idea spread to his faculty and staff.

“I'd have desserts and coffee and they'd be like 10 students… and they’d just talk about whatever and that's where that started,” Damphousse said. “I was trying to keep connecting with the students because [what] I discovered is that students want to feel connected and they [have] problems.” Moving the events to Texas State meant a name change. Names like Pounce with the President and Desserts with Damphousse were suggested until he decided on Bobcat Kindle with KDamp. A kindle is a term for a group of Bobcats.

With Bobcat Kindle with KDamp and Coffee with Kelly, Damphousse hopes to make talking to him more accessible and comfortable for students. He believes building these connections will not only help him in times of crisis but can lower issues on campus.

“We live in a complicated world already and universities are complicated,” Damphousse said. “Anything we do to make it less complicated and make it a little more accessible to people make access to power and authority more accessible and that's all that's also valuable.”

A student who attended a Bobcat Kindle with KDamp gave his feedback and had a hand in raising peer mentors' wages after he talked about his friend who he believed was not making enough. Damphousse said issues about parking and other campus problems have been brought up as well.

Registration for the next Bobcat Kindle with KDamp on March 8 is full. Registration for all of the Coffee with Kelly events for faculty and staff on the San Marcos and Round Rock campuses is also full. The next Bobcat Kindle with KDamp that students can register for will be from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 6.

“When I can really reduce those barriers, I think the university is a better place to live and work in,” Damphousse said. “More fun for me too.”

To register for Bobcat Kindle with KDamp visit https://www.president.txst.edu/ student-engagement.html.

Texas State President Kelly Damphousse takes a selfie with students at the homecoming game, Oct. 22, 2022, at Bobcat Stadium

PHOTO BY SARAH MANNING

Texas State President Kelly Damphousse shake hands with a student, Oct. 22, 2022, at Bobcat Stadium.

PHOTO BY SARAH MANNING

Graduate student seeks to help others overcome grief through poetry

By Marisa Nuñez Life and Arts Editor

Trigger warning: This article contains discussion of suicide.

In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, SG Huerta, a creative writing MFA student, moved to San Marcos to pursue their love of writing poetry. Coming from Texas Tech, Huerta didn’t have any friends in town and resided in a single-bedroom apartment with their cat. Not long after moving, Huerta received the news that their dad had died by suicide.

As Huerta traveled from South Texas to San Antonio for their father's funeral, their mom made a stop at a Valero gas station, and on their way to the bathroom, Huerta ran into the funeral director who was transporting their dad's body.

“I walked out and it just kind of freaked me out to see her in there and I was just like ‘this is a horrible situation all around,’ and when I got back in the car with my mom, I just started writing,” Huerta said.

“Last Stop” is a poetry chapbook, a collection of poems, written by Huerta throughout their time discovering and unmasking the grief and loss of their dad, that will be released on March 1. The title is in reference to that last stop at the Valero gas station that Huerta made before saying goodbye to their father.

The cover of the chapbook is a low-angle photo of a Valero gas station in a blueish tint, the gas station sign glowing and lighting up the in-focus foreground of the pavement.

“I wasn't planning on making it a chapbook," Huerta said. “I just kept writing and writing and writing about my dad and I couldn't stop which I think is another reason why I write and why is it so important [to me] is because it really helped to heal.”

“Last Stop” was one of two hundred submissions to a contest for Defunkt Magazine, a Houston-based nonprofit fiction journal. The contest had three categories: fiction collection, hybrid collection and poem collection. Huerta won for poem collection.

Diamond Braxton, a creative writing MFA student and editor-in-chief of Defunkt Magazine, was part of the construction of “Last Stop” from beginning to end. Braxton formed a contract with Huerta, created the book layout, designed the cover and sent the finished design and layout to Defunkt’s book distributor to be

printed. As a friend under the same graduate program, Braxton has had the opportunity to read Huerta’s work before and strongly believes that Huerta is a talented poet with a unique and beautiful writing style.

their dad created a book club with extravagant rules. They had to read the same book, drink tea and wear yellow cardigans. Huerta’s dad was not a published writer, but it was one of his favorite things to do. “Last Stop” features a poem that is a combination of Huerta's words and their father's writing from one of his half-written poems. Huerta is proud to get some of their father's words out there too.

For Huerta, writing is their whole life. They remember writing their first poem in fourth grade and they have an old notebook in which middle school Huerta wrote of their dream of becoming a writer.

Huerta hopes that sharing their grief journey in "Last Stop" will help others to navigate their own after the loss of a close friend or family member, especially those lost to suicide.

“I think it's something that we don't really talk about a lot in the U.S., at least, especially because my dad died from suicide," Huerta said. "It's a very stigmatized thing. And so, since that happened, I've been very vocal about it…I think it's so important to prevent that from happening...So I'm just really grateful that I can put this out in the world I hope it does the topic justice. I just hope, you know, I'm doing a justice and doing his memory justice."

Molly Yingling, Porter House Review's managing editor and a creative writing MFA student, believes that "Last Stop" can be a beacon of hope for those experiencing grief from the loss of a loved one. Yingling, who is a close friend and former colleague of Huerta, is proud of Huerta and excited that others are going to read their work.

“SG’s writing poetic style is very honest, it's very raw,” Braxton said. “You don't have to work too hard to understand the messaging that they're trying to put across and they just have such finesse with their words and their lyricism, and they're just a really talented poet, and in 'Last Stop' you really get that because it's an immersive grief.”

Huerta’s love for literature was sparked by their dad. When Huerta was in middle school, they and

“I think that there is definitely a sense of hope in the fact that SG has taken something that…stopped their life, and [they] created something, you know, put all of that into their poetry, into their writing,” Yingling said. “And I think that there's something really hopeful about that, so I hope that that's something that people reading ['Last Stop'] take away from it that like yes these are these are really sad poems, but the fact that they exist and that they're out there for someone to read, I think that that's very helpful.”

To purchase "Last Stop" visit https://www. defunktmag.com/product-page/last-stop

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-2738255.

(Top) SG Huerta and their father on the first day of school in 2003. (Right)The front cover of "Last Stop" coming out March 1.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SG HUERTA

The First Five: TXST Graduates return to San Marcos

Georgia Hoodye Cheatham of The First Five answers questions from the public about what Black organizations looked like in 1963, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in the LBJ Teaching Theater. The "Living Legends: Where Are They Now?" event was hosted by the Coalition of Black Faculty and Staff.

PHOTO BY FELICITY GUAJARDO

Viral Tik Tok evangelical Cindy Smock 'Sister Cindy' reads the Bible to her fans, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at the Quad. Cindy engaged the crowd by reading and sharing her own stories.

PHOTO BY SARAH MANNING

Texas State health sciences freshman Davy Adkins (center) interrupts Sister Cindy's rally dressed as Batman, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at the Quad. "Where is she?" Adkins said as he stormed through the crowd to talk to Cindy.

PHOTO BY SARAH MANNING

By Felicity Guajardo Multimedia Contributor

Texas State Student Health Center Marketing Coordinator Luci Papke (left) and public relations sophomore Megan Krystiana Kim discuss volunteering opportunities at the Student Health Center, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, at the Quad.

PHOTO BY MARK BROWN

Texas State theatre senior Ryan Long (left) educates students about Students Against Violence organization, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at the Quad.

PHOTO BY SARAH MANNING

PHOTO BY FELICITY GUAJARDO

Texas State dance senior Alyssa Manigault performs an interpretive dance to "Stand Up," Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in the LBJ Teaching Theater.

PHOTO BY FELICITY GUAJARDO

Georgia Hoodye Cheatham (left) and Helen Jackson Franks (right) speak about their arrival at Southwest Texas State after desegregation was passed,Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in the LBJ Teaching Theater. The Coalition of Black Faculty and Staff hosted the "Living Legends: Where Are They Now?" event.

PHOTO BY FELICITY GUAJARDO

Carson Weaver Sports Editor starsports@txstate.edu

In just the third game of her final season, Taylor eclipsed Bobcat history and cemented herself atop the all-time career assists leaderboard with a seven-assist performance against Arlington Baptist on Nov. 15, 2022.

Just four days later, after Taylor recorded a 10-assist game against the University of Texas at El Paso, she became the first student-athlete in program history with at least 600 career assists.

Taylor topped a record held for over 30 years by Shelly Borton who finished playing with a total of 595 assists after her fourth year in 1990.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Taylor said. “I think it’s really a special honor to be able to call myself the all-time assist leader and I love to do it with this team. This team really holds a very special place in my heart.”

Taylor also managed to break a 36-year Sun Belt Conference record with 748 total career assists. It was her second year in a row leading the conference in assists.

A second consecutive assist-leading season for Taylor is only a fraction of her overall abilities. Antoine holds incredibly high praise for Taylor, and she respects her ability to affect the game in multiple ways.

“She’s not only a young woman who can distribute the ball and make great passes, she can score in addition to that and she can shine in other ways,” Antoine said. “She’s been able to

get better defensively, I mean all these things really grow her whole persona that make her a really special Bobcat.”

Taylor knows this will be her last season as a Bobcat, but she said that she's still focused on the task at hand this season: winning a championship.

“I don’t think it has really hit me yet, you know, everybody has kind of been asking how I feel and what I’m going to do, but I think I’m really just focused on these last few games that we have,” Taylor said. “It’s definitely going to be bittersweet but I’m just ready to go out with a bang with my teammates.”

On Friday, the Texas State women's basketball team beat Arkansas State to complete their 2023 regular season atop the Sun Belt Conference for the first time in 15 years. The Bobcats anticipate a deep playoff run in this year’s conference tournament held in Pensacola, Florida.

The first round of the conference tournament begins on Tuesday, Feb. 28, and Texas State is set to play its first game on Friday against the winner of the Louisiana and Appalachian State game.

Texas State graduate guard Kennedy Taylor dribbles the ball, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, at Strahan Arena.

Kinne prioritizes youth in coaching staff construction

By David Cuevas Assistant Sports Editor

Soon after being named the 21st head football coach in Texas State football history, G.J. Kinne began constructing his coaching staff.

Kinne, who at 34 years old is the second youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision, has prioritized youth when assembling his staff. No member of the new Texas State coaching staff is over the age of 40.

Kinne comes to Texas State fresh off his inaugural season as a head coach at the University of the Incarnate Word in 2022. The Cardinals produced the highest-scoring offense in both the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Football Championship Subdivision, averaging 53 points per game.

Kinne led Incarnate Word to its greatest season in program history, achieving a 12-2 record and reaching the FCS semifinals. Given the immense success the Cardinals had in 2022, it is no surprise that the majority of Kinne’s assistant coaches chose to follow him down the road to San Marcos.

Seven of the 10 members of Texas State’s new coaching staff coached with Kinne last season at Incarnate Word.

Mark Leftwich was announced as Texas State’s new offensive coordinator on Dec. 16. He held the same position at Incarnate Word and was the architect of the nation’s most explosive offense that averaged 53 points and 581 yards of total offense per game.

Running backs coach Kam Martin also comes to Texas State from Incarnate Word, where he also held the same position. The former Auburn standout and Kinne go back

years, having coached together since their time together at the University of Central Florida in 2021. According to Martin, this was a key factor in his decision to join Kinne’s new staff at Texas State.

“I’ve been with coach Kinne for going on three years now. We’ve always had a really good relationship,” Martin said. “It’s truly a blessing to work for a man like coach Kinne. He’s a player’s coach and he really cares about his players.”

Offensive line coach Jordan Shoemaker and tight ends coach Will Bryant also joined the staff to coach the same positions they were in charge of at Incarnate Word.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jonathan Patke will be running the Bobcat defense as defensive coordinator. He was hired on Dec. 22, one day after early National Signing Day. Under Patke last season, the Cardinals' defense led the entire country in tackles for loss and ranked in the top 10 in sacks and takeaways. The defense also allowed the fewest points per game at 19 and the second-fewest yards per game at 338 in the Southland Conference.

Cornerbacks coach Matthew Gregg and safeties coach Dexter McCoil Jr. will also reprise the coaching positions they held last season at Incarnate Word.

There are three coaches on Texas State’s staff that were not a part of Incarnate Word in 2022. Defensive line coach Mike O’Guin, wide receivers and passing game coordinator Craig Stutzman and special teams coordinator and associate head coach Daniel Da Prato were all hired by Kinne from other programs. Strength and conditioning coordinator Bret Huth is also a non-Incarnate Word addition to the Texas State staff.

O’Guin who comes to Texas State after having coached defensive line at Sam Houston State for the past two years said there was a multitude of different reasons why he elected to join the Bobcat staff.

“Coach Kinne, him being the young energetic coach... him being able to do that at UIW with all the success they had there, a chance to coach in coach Patke’s aggressive 4-25 scheme — a similar scheme I was in my last couple years at Sam Houston,” O’Guin said. “And of course, a chance to get to work with my best friends, so all those things lined up, and the chance to come to [Texas State]. I thought the opportunity was too great to pass up.”

Da Prato, who comes to San Marcos after a three-year stint at the University of South Florida, had similar reasons for deciding to become part of Texas State’s coaching staff.

“I’d start with coach Kinne and his path and how he carries himself on a daily basis his leadership, his mentoring of young men and obviously the recent success he’s had as a head coach,” Da Prato said.

Da Prato said Texas State as a university and a football program was a big draw to him.

“Texas State, San Marcos, this university, this program and the direction I believe we are heading now with the support of the athletic department and our athletic director Don Coryell and from [President Kelly Damphousse], who is highly involved and excited and energetic about athletics and football,” Da Prato said.

Thus far, Kinne and his staff have said all of the right things and pressed all of the right buttons. Time will tell if they will be able to lead the Texas State football program to unprecedented new heights.

BASEBALL

By Ashton Knight Sports Contributor

Texas State freshman infielder Chase Mora from Tomball, Texas, had a record-breaking start to his collegiate career after going 3-for-3 in home runs for his first three plate appearances.

In the second game of the Bobcats' opening series against Northwestern University, Mora came in as a pinch hitter for his first at-bat. On the second pitch, Mora hit a three-run home run to bring the Texas State lead to 17-4. The home run hit to the leftcenter field had an impressive distance of 416 feet and was hit 107 mph off the bat.

"I was just thinking, 'get a hit,'" Mora said. "I mean we've been working all year for this moment. I knew when my time came I had to take advantage of it and sure enough, I did ... it was crazy. I was speechless and it'll be a moment I never forget."

In the next game, Mora followed his first home run with two more in his next two at-bats. His second home run, which brought the lead to 20-3 against NU, tied the Bobcats' record of seven home runs for the most home runs hit in a single game.

The excitement did not end there with Mora. Not only was his next atbat another home run, but it was a grand slam to break the team's home run record in a single game with eight and bring the game to a final of 24-9 to win all three games of the series.

"We've got competitive guys that want their chances too," head coach Steven Trout said. "Chase Mora, you know, it's just unreal what that guy has done in his three at-bats. They get their moment and they want more at-bats so it's making everybody just continue to compete and continue to rise to the occasion."

Mora's performance allowed him to be named one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week and the Dick Howser Trophy Hitter of the Week.

"We try to lead these guys and take them under our wing, and show them that we're all here for a reason, we're all on the same team, we're all wearing the same jersey representing the same school and so I mean the fact that he just went out there and did his thing and is having fun you know that's what we want to see from everybody," senior outfielder Jose Gonzalez said.

Mora currently has a batting average of .600 and a slugging percentage of 2.400 following his performances against Northwestern and Oral Roberts.

FROM FRONT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

PHOTO BY SARAH MANNING

FOOTBALL

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

PHOTO BY KOBE ARRIAGA