TUESDAY October 10, 2023 VOLUME 113 ISSUE 10 www.UniversityStar.com
TXST awarded $1.5 million for safety trainings By Blake Leschber News Editor On Oct. 4, U.S. Senator John Cornyn announced Texas State is receiving a three-year, $1,560,987 grant to provide behavioral threat workshops to Texas school districts. The Texas School Safety Center (TXSSC), a university program, is receiving the grant. The TXSSC provides training, research and technical assistance to public schools and community colleges throughout the state. According to Kathy Martinez Prather, director of the TXSCC, behavioral threat assessments aim to train school districts to identify behaviors in students to try to curb violence.
"At the heart of it, [threat assessment] is about getting individuals that are in crisis intervention and support to be successful in the education environment," Martinez-Prather said. "The best way to have that accomplished is to train staff and students on identifying concerning behaviors." According to Martinez-Prather, threat assessments are proactive, meaning TXSCC is not waiting for a threat to become apparent but rather prepare school staff and personnel to know the signs and how to intervene. Martinez-Prather said TXSSC will first use the grant to fund behavioral threat workshops to over 30 school districts. Since 2019, TXSSC has trained over 41,000 school personnel across the state. TXSSC will also use the grant to hire
a full-time behavioral threat specialist to the center. Normally, behavioral threat workshops are ran by taking a percentage of the time from different staff members of the center but the new staff member can spend all their time on the trainings. "Last year, we piloted about 36 operationalizing threat assessment workshops," Martinez-Prather said. "Over the three years of this grant cycle, we're hoping to deliver 300 of those workshops." With the grant funding, MartinezPrather is hoping the workshops can reach school districts with high needs. "With those workshops, we're really focusing in on prioritizing districts with heightened needs across Texas, such as rural districts and districts that come from low socioeconomic status," Martinez-Prather said.
“
We're really focusing in on
prioritizing districts with heightened needs across Texas, such as rural districts and districts that come from low
socioeconomic status,” - Kathy Martinez-Prather, director of the TXSCC
Criminal D.A. office fights case backlog By Ryan Claycamp News Reporter
can be attributed to more people living together. "When you have more humans living here, there are more folks who have the ability to end up in some of these situations that are Clery reportable," Mattera said. Carmichael said UPD hired 13 officers since he took over January 2022, but while UPD has 30 sworn officers at the moment, there is a shortage of seven officers patrolling. "We're down officers on the street," Carmichael said. "So out of our authorized staffing level, we're down seven [officers] and three are always assigned to Round Rock... and that does make a difference."
Kelly Higgins, the Hays County Criminal District Attorney (D.A), is set to finish dealing with large number of backlogged cases his office inherited from the previous district attorney, Wes Mau, by the end of 2023. Higgins, who took office in January, inherited over 5,000 cases from his predecessor and has been implementing policies and expanding his office to process all the cases. Higgins blames the backlog on previous holders of the office failing to change with the times, and deal with the changes necessitated by a rapidly growing population. "[The Criminal D.A's office] failed to grow up," Higgins said. "The things that we're doing should have been done 20 years ago." One of Higgins largest concerns is the backlog of cases. One has been there for over a Hays County D.A. Kelly Higgins year and a half without court proceedings started. To prevent the attorneys in his office from being overwhelmed while working through the backlog, Higgins has brought on more prosecutors to handle cases. "I have brought on 14 lawyers that weren't here last year and the existing lawyers who have stayed have all taken that mission," Higgins said. "That's why we've been able to get [the backlog] down 4,000 cases in eight months." To decrease the number of cases and lower the pretrial population of the Hays County Jail, Higgins has delivered on his campaign promise to not prosecute simple possession of marijuana. Cyrus Gray, a former inmate in the Hays County Jail, said when he was in jail, a large chunk of the inmates were in there for "simple possession cases." Another one of Higgins' policies is to prioritize cases in the backlog that have victims over victimless crimes, such as recreational drug use or gambling.
SEE SAFETY PAGE 3
SEE HAYS COUNTY PAGE 3
PHOTO BY KOBE ARRIAGA
Texas State students walk between classes, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, near Alkek Library.
University responds to 2022 high crime increase By Blake Leschber News Editor On Sept. 27, Texas State released the 2023 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The report showed an increase amongst most crimes at the university from 2021 to 2022. The report included a 135% increase in rapes, 200% increase in hate crimes and an over 200% increase in aggravated assault. Matt Carmichael, police chief of University Police Department (UPD), projects that crime has gone up at Texas State, but he does not know the exact amount as crimes can be left unreported. "It’s obvious our numbers are higher,” Carmichael said. “So is it
we have more crime? I would say we do have more crime but I don’t know to what extent.” 2022 saw demand for on-campus housing overtake the beds actually available according to Bill Mattera, executive director of Housing and Residential life (DHRL). "We started the fall at 108% occupancy; it's usually between 98% and 99%, and then we closed at about 98% which is pretty high for us," Mattera said. "So we lived about 10% above our normal numbers all year long." According to the report, in 2022, Texas State saw 38 rapes committed on campus. With the increased occupancy on-campus, Mattera believes some of the increase of crime
Texas State soccer brings together family ties By Candice Gilmore Sports Contributor In Spring 2023, coaching Texas State soccer became a bit more personal for head coach Steve Holeman. Heading into the start of her collegiate career, Holeman's daughter freshman forward Anna Mae Holeman had explored a few other schools, but the more she pursued Texas State the more connected she felt. Through attending training camps hosted by Texas State, she became friends with players who were already on the team and became familiar with the program culture. Soon, she knew the Bobcat soccer program was the right choice for her. Anna Mae committed to Texas State
after finishing her high school career at added a level of comfort. Lumberton High School in Lumberton, “It’s [been] really great, I think that Texas. This came just after her father con- how [Coach Holeman] is as a dad and cluded his first year as the second ever how he is as a coach definitely correlate,” head coach of the Bobcat Soccer pro- Anna Mae said. “He's not one to yell gram. and he takes time to explain the tactical “Texas State was definitely a good fit side of things- I really respect his coachfor me, I was looking into playing at Tex- ing style and the experience he has.” as State before my dad was even offered the job,” Anna Mae said. “Unfortunately, SEE SOCCER PAGE 6 there are a lot of athletes who don’t get the coaches they quite expected, so I felt Texas State head coach Steve Holeman with his daughter, freshman forward pretty confident in knowing the coaches Anna Mae Holeman, Thursday, Oct. 5, and staff ahead of time.” 2023, at Bobcat Soccer Complex. Anna Mae said when coming to Texas State, she didn’t want to be placed under any stereotypes or experience any favoritism. Choosing this school was simply viable for her and having her family present to begin her collegiate and athletic career PHOTO BY MEG BOLES
The University Star
2 | Tuesday, October 10, 2023
LIFE & ARTS
Haley Velasco Life and Arts Editor starlifeandarts@txstate.edu
Students Against Violence works to bring resources, safer spaces to campus By Carlene Ottah Life and Arts Reporter This article contains discussion of rape. For decades, Students Against Violence (SAV) has introduced Texas State to a peer-led space where students can discover educational resources in San Marcos about violence. In the early 1990s, Julie Eckert, then-Health Education Coordinator at Texas State, wanted to create a student organization that helped address violence on campus, focusing more on sexual and interpersonal violence. She originally formed "Men Against Violence" with a group of football players to address how men disproportionately perpetuate sexual violence. SAV changed to its current name in 2020 to be more inclusive of who could join or lead the organization. “We still acknowledge [the organization’s former name] and talk about that in our space, but we definitely wanted to be more thoughtful and inclusive around the language of how everyone has a responsibility to be trying to prevent violence on campus,” Kelsey Banton, SAV adviser, said. SAV aims to ensure a healthy space for students to live, work and attend school at Texas State. The organization discusses social norms and the culture and environment of students, which they can experience without coming across violence. We definitely wanted to be more thoughtful and inclusive around the language of how everyone has a responsibility to be trying to prevent violence on campus." Kelsey Banton SAV Adviser However, SAV chooses specific topics to discuss during the school year. In the fall, it focuses on “The Red Zone”, a period in the semester where the rate of sexual assaults on college campuses usually increases, and bystander intervention. “[On Sept. 18], we talked about the continuum of violence, which is also another part of bystander in-
tervention, talking about how people don’t wake up and decide to be violent one day,” Monserrat Luna, president of SAV, said. As October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, SAV hosts tabling events around healthy and unhealthy relationship dynamics and consent. “We know that sexual assaults actually do spike a little bit around Halloween, so we’re wanting to make sure that we’re holding those conversations,” Banton said. In the spring, SAV focuses on identity and finding red flags in relationships. April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month when SAV hosts “Take Back the Night” to discuss sexual assault awareness and prevention. Between its larger gatherings and tabling events, SAV asks its officers what events to host or to discuss what they see in their lives. Levi Gaines, SAV event coordinator, said it is about finding what the campus needs and providing those resources and access to students. “They may have been uncomfortable with that topic, or they need that kind of support, and they didn’t know that they had previously,” Gaines said. SAV also partners with organizations such as the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center (HCWC), a community rape crisis center and emergency shelter, to let students know there are resources available off-campus. Texas State does not explicitly have a victim’s shelter on campus, but a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women in 2021 could fill the gap called The Reach Project. It will partner with multiple Texas State and San Marcos community organizations to help survivors. Banton said as SAV is not a replacement for therapy, having a referral brings up the possibility of a partnership with an advocate in the future. “That advocate brings a different level of the university recognizing, that this is something that is helpful, and it’s something that can help students stay on campus if that’s something they want and hopefully create more safety for that individual,” Banton said. Regardless of how the advocate changes Texas State, SAV wants to ensure students know it is available as a resource. "It's not only to provide this ongoing space in terms of being able to make connection and build
PHOTO BY CARLENE OTTAH
Students Against Violence (SAV) Secretary Erin Whitney (left) answers a student's questions about SAV, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at the Student Resource Fair at Flowers Hall.
community around this issue and to be able to learn from one another, but it's also the way in which SAV takes that information and brings it to the Quad or through events, and doing outreach within the campus and across campus," Banton said. To learn more about SAV, visit its page at www. healthcenter.txst.edu/hps/student-organizations/studentsagainst-violence.
San Marcos to celebrate seventh annual Lost River Film Fest with cinema and poetry By Haley Velasco Life and Arts Editor San Marcos will be filled with opportunities to see independent cinema from across the globe for the seventh annual Lost River Film Fest on Oct. 12-15. Every year, the festival strives to showcase newfound creativity in cinema, along with a historical revisit to films shot in San Marcos years ago.
This year, "The Getaway", a 1973 thriller movie originally shot in San Marcos, will be showing on opening night to celebrate the film's 50th anniversary. "It's reminding the community that for decades San Marcos has been on the silver screen," Jordan Buckley, cofounder and program director for the Lost River Film Fest, said. "The production of films has always been important to
ILLUSTRATION BY AFAAF ALNAHAS
our community." Starting in 2016, Buckley and Jennifer Garcia, former professor for the philosophy department at Texas State, sparked the idea to create a film festival to provide an opportunity for local filmmakers to relay their work on a big screen. Now, more than 100 pieces of cinema are expected to be shown, including short documentaries, music videos, short films and more. Kate Patterson, a local filmmaker, will be showing three of her films at the Lost River Film Fest for the first time this year. Patterson found her love for filmmaking in community college and found it as an outlet to express herself. By showing these three films, she hopes to share her growth within the filmmaking industry and spread it to new aspiring filmmakers. "I've always wanted to inspire people and have people look up to me," Patterson said. "I think as a woman it's important to be vocal and show your stuff when it can sometimes be oversaturated with men." Along with showcasing local creativity, the Lost River Film Fest will also have its third annual poetry night, hosted
by Infrarrealista Review, a non-profit literary publication ran by Texas State Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) students and alumni. Since starting poetry night, the team at Infrarrealista Review bring Texan poets to showcase their work. This year, poetry night will feature the work of Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, the director of a new documentary "Hummingbirds," contributors for Infrarrealista Review and Sara Bawany, the author of "Quarter Life Crisis." Juania Sueños, the editor in chief for Infrarrealista Review and Texas State MFA graduate in Creative Writing, has helped start and organize poetry night. Since the first year it began, she has remained ecstatic to see all the new work being showcased, especially from older poets. "I think it's really inspiring to see so many people really excited about poetry," Sueños said. "You don't really see more mature poets reading or performing, so it's really cool." For now, Buckley is looking forward to seeing the outcome of the festival, letting new Texas works come to life and building opportunities for the next generation of filmmakers
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 3,500. Printing and distribution is by the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.
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to start their mark. "It's a good networking opportunity to meet filmmakers and build up those professional networks," Buckley said. "It's going to be a chock full of new Texas films, so it's neat to see what people in Austin or San Antonio or The Valley are up to and build those connections with new film students."
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The University Star
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 | 3
NEW S
Blake Leschber News Editor starnews@txstate.edu
FROM FRONT SAFETY During the spring and fall semesters, Carmichael said there were three to four officers and one public safety office patrol campus at all times while working 12 hour-long shifts. With the current shortage of seven officers, that could be about one to two additional officers patrolling that UPD currently doesn't have. According to Carmichael, there are over 1000 security cameras on campus. This number includes cameras in oncampus residence halls. Mattera said cameras are put in common living areas but not in hallways of the dorms, meaning it can hard to track when possible assailants enter rooms. "If it were up to most people in my job we'd put cameras all over the building but you have to really balance particularly in our buildings where bathrooms are external," Mattera said. Residence halls are ID card access only but according to Mattera, when
doors are propped open or residents let people they don't know in, it renders that security measure useless. Mattera said DHRL worked to train residential assistants on how to write incident reports more thoroughly to ensure investigating the cases can be as efficient as possible.
those reports give us a better picture of what actually happened."this is good Texas State President Kelly Damphousse believes that while crime numbers may have risen, the process of reporting crimes has improved in 2022 as the university is trying to increase awareness on reporting including self-
When you have more humans living here, there are more folks who have the ability to end up in some of these situations that are Clery reportable,” BILL MATTERA Executive director of Housing and Residential Life
"We spent more time in our training talking about what information to include in a report, what questions you should ask on the front-end and how to write about it," Mattera said. "Those structural changes to how we receive
defense trainings and promotional flyers in residence halls. "One way of looking at this is to say that it looks like crime may be going up and other ways is looking at whether or not reporting of crimes has gone up,"
Damphousse said. Damphousse believes that more reports were filed in 2022 due to the university prioritizing reporting. “What we’re seeing is a lot more communication with students about the value of reporting and the process making it easier to report,” Damphousse said. “I think we’ve done a really good job of increasing awareness of sexual assault and criminal activities as well as increasing the value of people reporting [crime].” With these increased efforts to make knowledge of reporting more known to students, Carmichael wants the community to know reporting should not be something scared of but rather used when needed. “It’s really important that if you need help, you seek help,” Carmichael said.
FROM FRONT HAYS COUNTY "Victims come first and they always will," Higgins said. "Those are the cases where people are hurting out in the world. We can't fix the damage that people do, we can only address it in terms of trying to achieve justice." Gray criticized this policy, saying that it could lead to people with less serious charges waiting longer than necessary to have their cases heard. "I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, but I don't 100% agree with it because you could be in jail for three plus years and your crime could not have a victim," Gray said. One criticism of the D.A's office in the past was giving harsher punishments than necessary. While Higgins does agree some individuals may have been overcharged in the past, he also said choosing what exact level of charges to press can be a difficult decision for prosecutors. "There's some emotional content in what prosecutors do," Higgins said. "Where violence is concerned I like to go [with the maximum punishment]. I can be sympathetic to some things, but violence isn't one of them." Higgins seeks to avoid overcharging for nonviolent crimes in the future, but instead serve what he sees as fair justice, not just to victims of crimes, but the defendants as well. "The overcharging came from a lack of vision about what the office is really about," Higgins said. "This office is not about catching people and crushing them, it's about trying to do what we can to keep the community safe." Mano Amiga, a political advocacy group in Hays County, is happy that Higgins is no longer prosecuting simple possession of marijuana. They also hope to see Higgins dismiss cases that have been in and out of the courts for years. "I think he should prioritize cases that don't belong on the docket," Sam Benavides, the communications director for Mano Amiga, said. "There's a lot of cases and people... whose cases have little to no compelling evidence." Higgins hopes that his office will have completely eliminated the number of backlogged cases by the end of this year. "We've pulled 4,000 cases out of the past and put them into this flow, the courts are feeling it," Higgins said. "But there's a light at the end of the tunnel where that pace will smooth out. I think that's within the next six months."
INFOGRAPHIC BY ITZIE PULIDO
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW SPARENBERG
The soft interview room has a couch and warm lights rather than the traditional table and chairs, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, at San Marcos Police Department.
SMPD debuts soft interview room for victims By Lucciana Choueiry News Reporter This article contains discussions of domestic violence. “Stark” and “cold” are words domestic abuse survivor Denise Fonseca used to describe the interview rooms at the Dripping Springs Precinct. To alleviate that similar chilling atmosphere, the San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) introduced a "soft interview room" in September. A soft interview room is a comfortable space designed to put interviewees, specifically victims or survivors, at ease. The rooms have different elements such as specific lighting, colorful carpet and soft blankets, fostering a relaxed atmosphere conducive to open and honest conversations. The $982 funding for this room came as a donation from Kissing Tree Backs Our Blue, a police support group. Members of SMPD also donated toys and blankets. SMPD Daytime Patrol Sgt. Andrew Sparenberg said he got the idea for this room almost 16 years ago when his loved ones were victims of a violent crime. When he picked them up, they were in a room with a sofa, blankets and a comfortable environment. “You can’t fix the bad thing that’s happened to somebody," Sparenberg said. "But you can perhaps make it a little bit better at that time, while you’re hoping they will use their voice or get their voice back.” Fonseca is also the founder of Room2Hope, a non-profit initiative she started in 2018, to help survivors by transforming victim waiting rooms in police stations and courthouses to feel safer. The room SMPD renovated is the victim waiting room at the police station, which is one of the first rooms a survivor will encounter when they’re a victim of violent crime. According to Fonseca, that is when a victim is in their most vulnerable state. Fonseca said when she was on her 19-month-long journey to justice, she was in and out of interview rooms, and all of them were cold and intimidating.
“I remember saying to [a victim assistant coordinator] ‘Why are these rooms so cold and heartless and worn out and shabby and tired, and lacking in any sense of caring?'” Fonseca said. “I want my rooms to feel like they’re giving you a hug.” Before the soft interview room at SMPD, the space had three metal chairs, a desk, a filing cabinet and a computer screen. “There’s the bright fluorescent lights, and something about it being so industrial in there, you just feel like you’re part of a machine,” Sparenberg said. “I don’t think that opens people up or is helpful to get them to break down their walls and talk about what happened.” Dr. Naomi Medina, a psychology professor, said when someone experiences a traumatic event, it can be hard to talk about it, but even more so when they’re in an uncom- fortable environment. “When someone has suffered, and you place them in a room that’s cold, and chairs are hard and it’s where other people who are suspects in crimes have been questioned, this could validate a victim who is already feeling they’re responsible for what happened to them,” Medina said. The room has a window that leads to the courtyard, soft seating and soft lighting instead of harsh fluorescent lights. There are also books for kids, beanbags, blankets and a video monitor that plays movies. “The benefits of providing a conducive environment with sensory elements is beyond just the questioning, the benefit is for the rest of their lives,” Medina said. Fonseca said these soft rooms create a comforting environment for survivors but also help law enforcement extract the information they need to get the victim justice. Fonseca said these soft rooms improve law enforcement's performance because officers feel proud of the space they’re in when bringing victims for interviews. SMPD already sees a difference. “I had someone who was in a mental health crisis and [their case] started out in the regular, old interview rooms, and they had so much more progress in the new room,” Sparenberg said.
The University Star
4 | Tuesday, October 10, 2023
OPINIONS
Rhian Davis Opinions Editor staropinions@txstate.edu
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 Board.
Reading for fun can lead to success By Faith Fabian Opinions Contributor Pursuing a college degree requires an abundance of reading -- source material, research papers, novels, lab manuals and textbooks all make up the immense amount of reading that one must do in college life. With all of this required reading, little time is left for reading just for fun. This is a dilemma that causes many students to abstain from picking up reading as a hobby, but this decision could be misguided. Reading for fun reaps many benefits that could propel one’s journey to success in their social life, academic performance and career. According to a study from science.org, certain types of reading, especially that of literary fiction, helped subjects perform well on emotional IQ tests measuring traits such as empathy and perception. In recent decades, cognitive psychologists have taken to looking at the ways stories, particularly narrative structure and fiction, can hone the mind’s social sectors. According to studies conducted by psychologist Raymond A. Mar, fiction pieces proved to have the most significant effects on the subject’s ability to interpret eye cues from photographs. Out of 94 adults, the half who were assigned to read fiction performed better at when deciphering certain social cues. Mar also conducted similar studies with children, the results staying conducive to the idea that fiction as opposed to nonfiction can strengthen our social skills and empathetic capacity.
ILLUSTRATION BY MADELINE CARPENTER
For Texas State students, the academic workload is often packed with works of nonfiction, but making time to enjoy a work of fiction for enjoyment would enhance one's social skills and ability to emotionally understand the world around them. As well as being able to enhance one's life outside of the classroom, prioritizing reading for fun will also improve performance inside of it. Reading, across almost all genres, can help improve one’s vocabulary, and promote
higher levels of concentration, critical thinking and memory skills. In a 2016 study published by Sam Houston State University's Journal of Graduate Research, researchers found those who read for pleasure performed better across all academic subjects, including STEM courses. Beyond school, Texas State students who pick up reading in their free time may also hold an advantage in the workforce and in their future career aspirations.
A study by the Creative Research Journal found that a sample of subjects who read fiction short stories instead of nonfiction expressed increased comfort with ambiguity, tended to be more open-minded and carried a higher creative propensity. All of these traits are vital to working successfully within any career Texas State students wish to pursue. Choosing to read for pleasure has many benefits, but it can be difficult to know where to start. Literary fiction, as examined by the previous studies, does wonders for the psychology of readers, but there are many other genres students may find engaging if literature is not appealing. Memoirs are a great place to start for someone looking to begin reading more. Many public figures that college students are familiar with have written memoirs, including Jennette McCurdy’s memoir "I’m Glad My Mom Died," or Madison Beer’s "The Half of it." Mythology is another great genre to explore. Mythological texts are entertaining, but also very stimulating for the mind as they are intricate and woven with connections one can make to our present world. Works such as Hesioid’s "Theogony," Homer’s "The Odyssey" and even "Percy Jackson" are all great stories that students may find entertaining and thought-provoking. Despite our busy schedules, finding a way to incorporate reading for pleasure has copious benefits that are worth setting aside at least 30 minutes a day. -Faith Fabian is an English sophomore
Letter to the Editor: Campus cannabis policy needs to be updated Dear Bobcats, Almost a year ago, San Marcos passed a resolution with 82% of voters approving cannabis decriminalization. Due to the tireless efforts of activists working with the local organization Mano Amiga, San Martians and Mermaids can have up to four ounces of marijuana in the city without fear of legal penalties. These same protections are not recognized on campus. Possession of cannabis is still prohibited under the Code of Student Conduct and the Texas State University System’s Policies. Consequences for getting caught with any amount of cannabis – crumbs, nugs, zips, etc. – can result in expulsion or dismissal from the University. Texas State must reconcile the paradox between their own policy and the city of San Marcos. The no smoking policy on campus and in residential areas does enough to ensure that nobody gets a secondhand high. Students should not be punished for having weed in the dorms or on campus. Punishment does not reduce drug use. The War on Drugs has been raging for over a half
“
Over 100 people voted in The University Star’s Sept. 12 survey about commuter pa
Over 45 people voted in The University Star’s Sept. 26 survey “We should put more resources into 86% of voters thought $40 parking tickets that forms of transportation like more bu increase to $55 after 10 days are too expensive. about off-campus housing. building parking lots is a must, then I According to the voters:
suggest building parking lots underg - And
“I have been over an hour late to clas 52.2% of voters take extra security measures century, with nothing to show parking for commuters. several times because I could not fin for itself. The number of people ing… There needs to be direct, and f not provided to them by their who use drugs since its beginning transportation from the lots that are complex. a tow every time away as well… Maybe present this p has risen, and waves of the13.3% of voters risk a parking ticket orapartment the engineering students… Give a fr COVID-19 pandemic intensified they park on campus. pass to the student or team that co waves of the opioid epidemic, with the best answer,” clearly illuminating the need for - Al meaningful, comprehensive drug 40% of voters chose cost as their number policy reform. This is why a few friends and I started a chapter one factor when signing a lease for an of Students for Sensible Drug off-campus complex. Policy at Texas State. SSDP is a student-led, chapter-based nonprofit dedicated to unweaving the harmful and hateful web that the War on Drugs has spun for us. We invite you all to our next meeting this Thursday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. in the Undergraduate Academic Center, room 275 to “Nothing in my apartment was move-in discuss how we can bring sense back into the drug debate. We ready. I didn’t even have a shower head,” meet every other Thursday. - Tevin Williams Follow our Instagram @ssdp. txst and email us with questions or for more information at txstuniversity@chapters.ssdp.org. Eat ‘em up, Cats!
90.8% of voters thought there should be more available
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Sensibly, Blake Coe President Students for Sensible Drug Policy at Texas State University
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.
“Logan Ridge Apartments is seemingly the best complex around. It’s affordable, maintenance is pretty decent, and less than 10 minute walk up LBJ,” - Mark Burek
“I moved to Aspire… the cost of rent here is unbelievable… When I first moved in, I was sorely disappointed, the microwave handle was torn off, there was clutter everywhere and I had to clean out the moldy refrigerator myself,” - Bailey Patterson
The University Star
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 | 5
STAR SNAPS
Kobe Arriaga Multimedia Editor starmultimedia@txstate.edu
PHOTO BY MEG BOLES
PHOTO BY MEG BOLES
Dancers prepare before their performances for the Sacred Springs Powwow, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, at The Meadows Center.
Boko's Army celebrates a Bobcat goal during the soccer matchup versus Coastal Carolina, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, at Bobcat Soccer Complex.
PHOTO BY MEG BOLES
PHOTO BY MANDALYN LEWALLEN
Texas State volleyball celebrates winning the first set versus the Ragin' Cajuns, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023 at Strahan Arena.
Man poses in traditional regalia in front of his shop at the Sacred Springs Powwow, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, at The Meadows Center.
PHOTO BY FELIX MENKE
Texas State music sophomore Jacob Windsor prepares for his talent show audition, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at George's.
The University Star
6 | Tuesday, October 10, 2023
SPORTS
David Cuevas Sports Editor starsports@txstate.edu
TXST suffers first conference loss By James Horton Sports Contributor With three second-half touchdowns and a blocked punt, Louisiana-Lafayette (4-2, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) defeated Texas State (4-2, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) Saturday afternoon at Cajun Field, handing Texas State its first conference loss of the season and second overall. “All we can do is get back to work, learn from it,” Texas State Head Coach G.J. Kinne said. “We have a good football team, and there is a lot of football ahead of us. We let this one slip away. All we can do is go back to work.” Louisiana-Lafayette entered the second half trailing the Bobcats 20-14. Louisiana-Lafayette freshman quarterback Zeon Chriss went 3-17 with 205 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air. Chriss also led the rushing attack for Louisiana-Lafayette, racking up 67 yards on 12 carries and scoring the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter to secure the 34-30 victory. Chriss threw to three different receivers for touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Robert Williams led the Ragin’ Cajuns with five catches. Chriss found Williams midway through the fourth quarter to make the score 30-28. LouisianaLafayette finished with 423 yards of total offense. PHOTO BY MEG BOLES The Ragin’ Cajuns special team’s unit blocked a Texas State punt with under five minutes remaining Texas State freshman wide receiver Brandon Treggs (29) in regulation, setting up the game-winning score. scores a touchdown, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at Bobcat Texas State finished with 530 yards of offense. Stadium.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback T.J. Finley was 30-40 with 326 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The 30-completion game is Finley’s best of the season. He found Texas State’s leading receiver, junior Joey Hobert, eight times, including a second-half touchdown. “I thought they played really well. T.J. put the ball [on the receivers]. Sean Shaw had some big catches. I thought they executed pretty well,” Kinne said. Sophomore running back Ismail Mahdi carried the ball a season-high 34 times for 188 yards and scored one touchdown. Mahdi’s touchdown on Saturday extends his season total to eight, leading the Texas State team. Saturday was Mahdi’s second 100-yard rushing game of the season. “[Mahdi] is a warrior. He got banged up a little bit, and he came back in the game and played well. Really proud of him,” Kinne said. Texas State redshirt sophomore kicker Mason Shipley was 3-3 on field goals. “I thought the O-line played well. T.J. played well. The receivers played well. We just got to execute when we get down in the red zone,” Kinne said. Texas State will look to regroup from the loss as it returns to San Marcos for a three-game homestand beginning with the University of Louisiana-Monroe (2-2, 0-1 Sun Belt Conference). Kickoff between Texas State and LouisianaMonroe is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, at Bobcat Stadium. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
"It doesn't get any lower": From Kilgore to Texas State By James Horton Sports Contributor The 2023-24 Texas State football roster is loaded with new faces, some of whom came from Power Five programs. However, several of the team's biggest playmakers took a different path to San Marcos. The National Junior College Athletic Association is vastly different than the FBS matchups Bobcat fans are accustomed to watching every Saturday. For redshirt seniors Brian Holloway and Kaleb Ford-Dement, that was their world in the early days of their collegiate football careers. The glamour of life spent at the Division I level is a far cry from the one the two experienced while playing ball at Kilgore Junior College located in the small town of Kilgore in East Texas. “You really just have to take care of yourself,” Ford-Dement said. “I remember when we were getting ready for [the] season, you had to go buy all your own stuff. Arm bands, cleats, headbands.” Accessories were the least of their problems when trying to survive JUCO life. Being a student-athlete at any level awards players little time for a job, making the necessities of everyday life difficult for them. “You’re a full-time student-athlete,” Holloway said. “The school doesn’t have a lot of money to take care of you, so, it’s really a struggle. You have to find ways to get by.” The conditions at Kilgore College had an impact on coaches as well. Texas State cornerbacks coach Matthew Gregg was a former player and coach at Kilgore College. As a coach, he was tasked with multiple responsibilities that went beyond on the field. “We had to do laundry, break the film down, recruit, [make the] game plans, everything,” Gregg said. “No graduate assistants, no assistants. Three coaches on defense, three on offense.” With a $37 million renovation being made to the Texas State football performance center, the former JUCO players remember what workouts used to look like before they wore the maroon and gold. “We were working out in the community center,” Ford-Dement said. “You could see some sixty-year-old lady getting it in on the treadmill. You could see some thirty-year-old down there doing some curls while you’re dying in the middle of a workout.” Going through the junior college level is not for the faint of heart. Playing and coaching in those conditions will test a person's desire to succeed and love for the game of football. “You’re at the bottom,” Ford-Dement said. “It doesn’t get any lower than [JUCO], but everyone is fighting to either stay there or get higher. I wouldn’t say that JUCO is for everybody. You have to live in an intense mindset for months, years at a time.” For the former Kilgore players on this year's
Sun Belt West Division Football Standings
Bobcat roster, JUCO is a blessing. Looking back on it, the JUCO lifestyle equipped these players with an ambitious mentality. Now, they carry it with them as they walk around their new multi-million-dollar facility. “Don’t take the little things for granted,” Holloway said. “Don’t take the resources you have for granted. Don’t get comfortable thinking, ‘This was handed to me’. Take advantage of the resources and better yourself.” The intensity Texas State’s JUCO transfers brought to the field daily in previous years is one of the Bobcats’ biggest assets. Aside from being high-level athletes, players coming from the junior college ranks have a hunger that can’t be satisfied. “Having that level of focus and intensity, you develop a chip on your shoulder coming out of [JUCO],” Ford-Dement said. “Guys that go straight to D1 don’t have [it] because life’s been good.” Gregg served as a recruiting coordinator while on staff at Kilgore College. Now, at Texas State, he is aware of the benefits of bringing in players from the JUCO level. “Some of the best athletes I’ve ever been around were at Kilgore Junior College,” Gregg said. “With junior college kids, you’re not
PHOTO BY MEG BOLES
Texas State senior linebacker Brian Holloway (0) celebrates the victory over Nevada, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, at Bobcat Stadium.
getting prima donnas. They’re grateful.” The Texas State coaching staff hasn't shied away from the junior college talent pool. A total of 12 current Bobcats are from the JUCO system, six played at Kilgore Junior College. Gregg is well-versed in junior college life and acquainted with Kilgore. “I understand those junior college kids, I know what they're looking for,” Gregg said. “They're kind of our type of guys, they come with a chip on their shoulder. Really don’t care about the flash. They’re not asking the NIL question, they’re just [saying] ‘coach I want to play.’ They want to get down here and go to work.”
Teams
Record
Ovr. Pct
Troy Louisiana Texas State Arkansas State South Alabama ULM Southern Miss
2-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-2 0-3
.667 .667 .667 .500 .500 .000 .000
PHOTO BY KOBE ARRIGA
Texas State freshman forward Anna Mae Holemam (2) recieves the ball, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, at Bobcat Soccer Complex.
Anna Mae said she believes there is a distinction in her and her father’s relationship on and off the field. Coach Holeman said one of his many objectives as a coach is to treat her no differently than any other player, however, finding that balance comes with its own set of challenges. “Sometimes I find myself being more demanding of her,” Coach Holeman said. “If she does something really well, I feel like if I compliment her in front of others it might feel like favoritism, [so] I have to balance it.” Junior defender Lucy Hart said she alongside many other teammates have hardly noticed a shift in the team dynamic, due to the father daughter relationship. "Honestly I don't really notice that she's his daughter on or off the field," Hart said. With the Sun Belt Conference spotlight, Anna Mae has had to deal with hate coming from outsiders, however, she found that focusing on ignoring the negativity allows herself to make the most of her somewhat unusual college experience. While living on campus and utilizing her resources on and off the pitch, Anna Mae keeps herself occupied, and has earned herself a team role through her performance and dedication alone. “[Receiving hate] happens,” Anna Mae said. “Just like anything, there’s always going to be people who don’t know the whole story. They’ve never seen me play or my dynamic, how hard I can work or what I can do.” Anna Mae said she has no plans to step back from soccer. She had the opportunity to pursue track and field as well, but stuck with the ladder due to its team aspect and the effect playing soccer has on her mental health. Since pairing up with her father and the Bobcat soccer program, her mantra has been to work as hard as she can while trusting that she’s in the right place this is what allows her to block out any mental obstacles. “[What other people think] doesn't really bother me because they don’t know my story,” Anna Mae said. “All they know is my name from a sheet of paper. I don’t hold any weight to what they say.”
Sun Belt West Division Soccer Standings School
Conf. Points
Ovr. Pct
South Alabama
14
11-0-3
ULM
11
8-2-4
Southern Miss
10 8 8 6 1
6-6-1 7-5-2 4-5-3 5-6-2 5-8-1
Texas State Arkansas State Louisiana Troy