June 22, 2016 by The University Star

WEDNESDAY JUNE 22, 2016 VOLUME 106 ISSUE 3 www.UniversityStar.com

Defending the First Amendment since 1911

Shock of Orlando Shooting Reverberates Through San Marcos By Nicolas Manuel Orozco News Reporter @NicoM0rozco Throughout our nation, there has been a profound display of support for Orlando in the midst of the recent tragedy. As a community, San Marcos has shown its solidarity with Orlando and has offered many ways for those affected to confront the reality of what has happened. On the evening of June 12 a crowd gathered on the Hays County Courthouse lawn. Organizers passed out candles and, one by one, they were lit. “I said pick up 75 candles, and I think we should be

fine,” said Chris Rue, general manager of Stonewall Warehouse and an organizer of the event. “We got out there and we had to break the candles in half to share, and then we kept breaking those in half and half.” The vigil served as a memorial for those lost in the June 12 Pulse nightclub shooting and showed support for those who must now endure the lasting effects. This allowed the San Marcos community to come together and attempt to make sense, process, mourn and show support for each other and Orlando in the face of tragedy. “There were so many people who truly came to show their support and love

for, not just the idea LGBT rights but as Americans, to stand up and say that we reject this.” Rue said. Katie Korioth, Stonewall Warehouse employee, said it is crazy how something that happened in a gay club in Orlando could have easily happened here as well. “It makes people live in fear,” Korioth said. “Which, I think is their overall goal... For us to live in fear and feel threatened that our community is easily targeted.” Korioth said the vigil was a beautiful experience because the community came together in support of each other. The desire to take action and heal is not just found in large displays of communal

support but, also in individuals. “As I shift my thoughts to the good that could come from this, it eases the grief,” said Topher Davis, Stonewall Warehouse bouncer. “If it would happen to any community that would bring about the most change, it’s our (LGBTQIA) community… There was a sort of this call to action to be more loving and more open and more accepting.” Texas State University held a memorial service on June 15 for those lost in Orlando. The service was hosted by the Texas State Alliance. The service filled the room with the Bobcat community, residents and city officials standing to-

gether in remembrance. The list of Orlando victims was read along with a picture of each individual who died. Texas State University and community support does not end with these services, if an individual is in need of additional or private support, the Counseling Center in suite 5-4.1 located in LBJ is available Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to current students and will give referrals for persons not currently enrolled. There is also a 24 hour crisis hotline at 1-877-4660660. If anyone needs a safe place to decompress there is a Safe Space for Meditation and Gathering available at

LBJ Suite 4-9.1. An Expression Board is located in The Hub on the second floor of LBJ. Stonewall Warehouse also provides a safe space for any individual. There has been a strong outward display of individual and communal support to confront the tragedy in Orlando. These resources will continue to be available to anyone in need. David Lloyd George II, Taproom doorman said, “It has to be the beginning, not the end.”

OUTREACH

Comfort dogs bring joy to Orlando victims By Denise Cervantes Lifestyle Editor @cervantesdenise Man’s best friends have brought their wagging tails to Orlando, hoping to bring smiles to those affected by the Pulse nightclub shooting. The incident has been called the deadliest mass shooting by one gunman in the United States. 49 people died, while 53 suffered from injuries. The K-9 Comfort Dog team, a program run by the Lutheran Church Charites in Illinois, brought a team of dogs to help bring a moment of peace to those affected by the shooting. Phoebe, one of the 12 golden retrievers who visited Orlando on June 13th, was also present during the San Marcos flood last Me morial Day. Janice Marut, director for St. Paul Lutheran Church, said Phoebe and Pax, her

brother, are the two Texas dogs a part of their program. “Phoebe is owned by a St. Paul Lutheran church in Fort Worth, Texas and we’re an affiliate member of Lutheran Church Charity,” Marut said. “When there is a disaster like the flooding in San Marcos, we brought Phoebe out to help those affected by the flooding.” Lela Gomez, San Marcos resident, said she had the opportunity to interact with therapy dogs after the Memorial Day flood. “It was great for both my family and me,” Gomez said. “My son teared up and so did I, because the animals—they just make you so happy and help you forget for a little while.” When the shooting occurred June 12, a mass email was sent to all affiliates to see who could make their way to Orlando, Marut said. “We were just at the medical center in Orlando. Those

people had a really rough week,” Marut said. “We left them with smiles and a more relaxed attitude.” Marut said the comfort dogs help change the atmosphere of a tense room. “When we walked in, they just broke out crying,” Marut said. “There’s just a lot of stress here, and they had the opportunity to get down on the floor with the dogs and just love them.” Comfort dogs’ purpose is to be an emotional support system, Marut said. They are used are all over the nation during times of tragedy, and brought to schools and universities, according to Marut. Since the shooting, the K-9 Comfort Dog team has visited hospitals, memorial services and vigils for those who lost their lives during the nightclub shooting. “It just totally changes their mindset,” Marut said. “It gives them something else to think about. The

dogs are so pleasant and soft and furry. Then they go back to their job or schoolwork and they just have a different attitude.” Kay Hetherly, learning commons assistant at Alkek, said Texas State has partnered with Divine Canines and Pet Partners in the past to bring therapy dogs to the university. Since 2013, Texas State has brought in therapy dogs to help ease students’ stress during finals week every fall and spring semester, according to Hetherly. “The happy faces and affection we see between the students and the dogs are really the best feedback,” Hetherly said. “We also love to see social media comments where people tell us this is why they love Texas State or that the dogs are the highlight of their year.” Marut said the dogs are picked from a litter at 8 weeks old, and are called upon during natural disas-

PHOTO COURTESY OF LUTHERAN CHURCH CHARITIES.

ters and tragedies like the Orlando shooting. “The dogs literally just lay down on the floor,” Marut said. “They don’t move and let people just love them. If a person has an emotional reaction, which sometimes

we see, the dogs just stay very calm. It’s a beautiful interaction.”

2 | Wednsday, June 22, 2016

NEWS

The University Star UniversityStar.com @universitystar

Bailey Buckingham, News Editor @bcbuckingham

TRANSPORTATION

LSRD commuter rail’s fate still uncertain By Lesly De Leon Senior News Reporter @leslyd28

Members of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization will vote in August on continuing an environmental study of a Lone Star Rail District commuter rail line. LSRD officials had been conducting an environmental impact statement for a commuter rail line on the existing Union Pacific freight rail line along the I-35 corridor, from San Antonio to Austin. However, UP officials terminated the contract with LSRD in February. In the March 21 meeting, CAMPO members considered freezing LSRD’s funding but decided to postpone the discussion. CAMPO completely funded the EIS and has allocated about $20

million toward the project. CAMPO board members have been meeting with state leaders and representatives from the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization to figure out the next steps. CAMPO members could decide to continue the EIS and consider alternate routes or conclude the study if both organizations believed none of the possible routes were viable. If the EIS is concluded, CAMPO would not have to repay any federal funds used to conduct the study. The EIS was expected to be completed in mid-2018. Will Conley, CAMPO policy board chair and Hays County Precinct 3 Commissioner, said he will recommend the EIS be concluded. Conley will suggest and make a motion in August that CAMPO members re-

move the LSRD project from their long-range transportation plan and work with AAMPO, regional organizations and state officials. “I would suggest…we work with our partners in San Antonio and across this region and our partners at the state of Texas,” Conley said. “It would be huge victory for this region if the state got formally involved in looking at alternatives with us as they are doing in other parts of state.” Conley said he hasn’t heard any response on AAMPO’s preference regarding the EIS and moving forward. Conley spoke to state leaders about studying other possible rail routes during the EIS. Conley said he found nobody besides LSRD leadership who believes going through alternatives and

A train coming into the San Marcos station. PHOTO BY EZRA SANCHEZ | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

concepts in the formal EIS is the proper way of planning different modes of transportation in this corridor. “We had our preferred route,” Conley said. “We invested millions of dollars in the preferred route, developing a financial plan, looking at stations, ridership and entered into a formal EIS. Unfortunately, that was taken away from us.” Hays County Commissioners decided at their March 22 meeting to not renew the county’s membership with LSRD. Craig Morgan, CAMPO

board member and Round Rock city council member, said he would not object to spending money on the EIS as long as funding comes from AAMPO, but doesn’t see the situation occurring. “I agree with idea of closing out (the EIS) and relooking at it as two groups with the state for other alternatives,” he said. The EIS process was developed in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, said Joe Black, LSRD director. An initial study considered other transportation modes, such as gondolas, a

subway, a Hyperloop rail or bus rapid transit on highways, Black said. The study concluded passenger rail was the best option. Other routes besides the UP line have been studied as far back as 2014, Black said. At an April 15 meeting, LSRD officials presented four alternatives to the initial route on the existing UP rail line. The alternatives included a proposal to build a rail line parallel to the existing UP line, two proposals to build it along I-35 and a proposal to build it along SH 130.

CITY

City launches Business Improvement and Growth grant program By Brigeda Hernandez Senior News Reporter @brigeda_h The city of San Marcos is now accepting applications for the Business Improvement and Growth grant program. Open to small business owners within the downtown district, the program will provide assistance in renovating commercial buildings. According to the city’s

website, BIG will provide a 50 percent matching grant of up to $20,000. Improvements can include restoring facades, signage, lighting, and life-safety systems. Kevin Burke, economic development and downtown administrator for San Marcos, said this new program is similar to the Main Street signage grant program, but it has a much bigger reach. Instead of being limited to just downtown, the eligibility expands to

corridors such as IH-35, Hopkins, and Aquarena Springs. “Main Street is really important to the City’s economic development effort,” Burke said. “And that was one of the primary reasons why we included all of the downtown area within the BIG program boundaries.” Burke said the BIG program would involve more intensive projects including substantial changes to commercial buildings.

Although the program began this month, San Marcos City Council approved the funding for BIG when the budget passed last September. The idea came from City Manager Jared Miller, who had a lot of success with a similar program in a previous city. “We believe the modest investment we’re making in the form of the matching grant will, in the long term, come back to the city multiple times over through in-

creased tax revenues generated by the success of those businesses,” Burke said. There have not been any official applications so far, but Burke said the City has consulted with about six business owners in the past week. After consulting city staff, prospective applicants will then provide the proper documentation to proceed. Once the project is approved, the next step is the City review process

followed by the permitting process. “We’ve got a lot of great businesses in the city,” Burke said. “Many of those businesses could use a little boost. The BIG program is our attempt to step in and provide some assistance where it’s needed most, which in most cases is dollars.”

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The University Star

Wednesday, June 22, 2016 | 3

LIFESTYLE

Denise Cervantes, Lifestyle Editor @cervantesdenise

UniversityStar.com @universitystar

Q&A

ART

Burlesque Aqua Show to benefit Mermaid Society Stacee Collins Assistant Lifestyle Editor @stvcee

COURTESY PHOTO

Q&A with lead singer of Texas Country band Dolly Shine By Denise Cervantes Lifestyle Editor @cervantesdenise The University Star sat down with Zack McGinn, lead singer of Dolly Shine to discuss its third album, Walkabout. Dolly Shine is having its CD Release Show in San Marcos at Cheatham Street on Thursday, June 23. Denise Cervantes: So you’ll be visiting San Marcos Cheatham soon—have you ever played in town before? Zack McGinn: We have. Cheatham Street is really cool. We’ve only played there once, but we’re looking forward to it. DC: Nice. What are you looking forward to the most for your guys’ performance? ZM: Just the fact that it’s our CD release party and we’re able to get our record out to new people. I’m excited to see the turnout in San Marcos. Just out of curiosity, what kind of fan base we got in the area. Hopefully we’ll have a pretty good crowd. DC: So, is there a certain song you’re excited to play live from the new album?

ZM: I want to say all of them, because I’m really excited about all of them. But I think “Blackbird” is probably my favorite because it’s something different. We’ve never recorded a song with that kind of feel before, and it’s been fun playing it live so far. DC: With the new album, what are you most excited for? What’s the most interesting thing that came from this album for you? ZM: Well, everything. I’m excited about every single song on this record, to be honest with you. I think this is the best-collected work of a group of songs we’ve put together to date. Walkabout is about a journey, and that’s really what we want to take people on with this record. We hope that everyone finds whatever they need to in this record. DC: You mentioned the record is about taking a journey. I’m a little curious. Can you take me through a little bit of the creative process for this record? ZM: Walkabout in itself means to travel and to find yourself, and I feel like that’s what we’ve been doing

these last several years. We wanted to be really organic, we didn’t want to show a bunch of crazy solos or anything like that. We wanted to show and express our songwriting. This record was just coming together with our band. I think the songwriting itself was my favorite part of this record. It was cool to be able to showcase all of the band’s writing. DC: Got it. So for someone who may not be familiar with your band’s music, how would you describe your genre to other people? Or what genre do you think you guys fit the best into? ZM: I don’t know if we specifically fit into one category. I guess it’s all bunched up into Texas country, as it’s called. But I think it’s more Americana, because there’s different guys in the band who come from different backgrounds. Our lead guitar player likes rock-n-roll. Our drummer is a rock-nroll fan as well. I’ve always been a country or Americana kind of guy, and that’s where our bass player is too. I think it just brings a lot of different elements to the table.

As San Marcos’ mermaid appreciation increases, locals, performers and artists have come together to put on the first annual Aqua Show. Dark Matter Productions, a locally based production company, will host the show July 1 at Stonewall Warehouse. Mermaid lovers can stop by at 9 p.m. for an aquaticthemed burlesque, a silent art auction and raffle prizes. Frankie Blackheart, performer and Dark Matter Productions producer, organized The Aqua Show to create something beneficial to the mermaid symbol. “With such a wonderful inspiration in mind, and with a clear memory of the underwater mermaid shows at Aquarena Theme Park as a child, I decided I wanted to create something beautiful and befitting of this strong feminine symbol,”

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Blackheart said. “It was the perfect time to make this show happen.” There will be 10 performances from a wide variety of acts such as Layna D’Luna, Frankie Blackheart, Nick T. Vegan, Lita Deadly, Amelie Ahmose and Zenyth Gale. Guests won’t want to miss Aliska Wolfbane’s mermaid-style sideshow either. Blackheart said the burlesque performances will range from beautiful to intense to hilarious. “The art of burlesque has a few boundaries,” Blackheart said. “The only ‘rule’ is that there is some sort of transformation. Usually with burlesque, this transformation includes striptease, but you can never really be sure.” The silent art auction and a portion of the ticket sales will benefit the Mermaid Society SMTX. “Part of my inspiration for the show was the emergence of the mermaid as an iconic symbol of the San Marcos community,” Black-

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heart said. “It seemed like the perfect partnership in theme, but also perfect in mission.” Stonewall’s past, with all types of shows having been shown there, also makes it the perfect fit as host to allow anyone interested to come to the Aqua Show, Blackheart said. “It will be like nothing San Marcos has ever seen before,” Blackheart said. “It is an opportunity to see something unique, be a part of the artistic community in San Marcos and support a great organization that is the Mermaid Society.” Blackheart said the mermaid represents a special niche of the city. “The mermaid represents this aspect of our small town that can often be overlooked,” Blackheart said. “She is a freshwater mermaid. She represents the river and those who love and protect it. She can be almost anything, but she is most definitely ours.”

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The University Star

OPINIONS

UniversityStar.com @universitystar

Mikala Everett, Opinions Editor @mikala_maquella

THE MAIN POINT

ILLUSTRATION BY MARIA TAHIR

Love and unity trumps hate after Orlando massacre In the early hours of June 13, 49 people were senselessly gunned down at the popular gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida in what became the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The University Star stands in solidarity not only with the victims of Pulse, but with the entire LGBTQIA community at Texas State and around the world. For many LGBTQIA people the acts in Orlando are just a reminder that the fight for human dignity is not over. What happened in Pulse is a hate crime of the grandest magnitude; it was a massacre of people who

had the audacity to love both themselves and others as they saw fit. While the “we are the world” crowd may want to see what happened in Orlando as nothing more than an attack on humanity, it was an explicit and deliberate attack on queer and trans people in order to stoke fear in their minds. It was a reminder that relative social acceptance is not a shield in a toxic climate. It was a wakeup call to allies and activists that the battle for marriage equality may have been won, but the war for justice wages on, and one of the pillars of that fight is love.

Treating everyone with kindness and consideration should be a virtue that everyone holds dear. Not only for the victims and greater LGBTQIA community, but for Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent. Far too often when tragedy strikes and the perpetrator is of Middle Eastern descent shouts of Islamic terrorism and prejudicial immigration laws, completely absent of the knowledge that most of these people are American citizens, start to echo in the national conversation. With 2015 having an over 400 percent increase in anti-Muslim crimes, a lot

of those attacks happening after the Paris and San Bernardino terrorist attacks, it would be remiss to not include those who, in the wake of the tragedy, have received the brunt of the hatred. Instead of looking in the mirror at a national culture and society that breeds anti-LGBTQIA bigotry and intolerance, people want to scapegoat an entire group of people for the actions of a lone gunman. Scapegoating and mass generalizations never work. More importantly, the America today is morally superior to the 1940s America that fell into that

same trap and confined countless thousands of people in internment camps for sharing the same ancestral nationality as the nation’s wartime enemies. The point of history and hindsight is to learn from the mistakes of the past and hope to do better. We need to focus on treating Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent with that same kind of kindness and respect. They are not our enemies, this was a singular terrorizer, not an entire religious body. In the words of LinManuel Miranda at the 2016 Tony Awards shortly

after the massacre, “Love is love, is love, is love, is love, and love cannot be killed or swept aside.” Do not let moral judgement be clouded by hatred or anger. The healing process is going to be a hard one, but the arc of the moral universe is long and treacherous, and what happened in Orlando is just another hiccup toward, as Dr. King said, the inevitability of moral justice and acceptance of all people. Know this: once you let love in, it always wins.

The Main Point is the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board. Columns are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the full staff, Texas State University Student Media, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication or Texas State University.

RELIGION

POLITICS

People need the freedom of finding peace

America is not so great anymore—if it ever was

By Cris Rivera Opinions Columnist @cris_rivera13 Throughout life, people experience some form of hardship, or bad situations that test a person’s ability to grow. These difficult times usually result in people finding a way to pick themselves up by the bootstraps, dusting off and carrying on through life the best they can—and hopefully, happily. One of the most common ways people cope with the stresses of life is religion, which is half the reason religion exists in the first place. The hope and promise of a better life Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other religions offer is a great and beautiful thing. It is within people’s right to experience religion and to be proud of their beliefs. However, issues arise when this pride transitions from wanting to help others, to recruitment or induction. There exists a vast amount of religious and belief systems in the world. They range from different denominations of the

same base religion to more abstract schools of philosophical thought such as Epicureanism, or the ever so popular Nihilism. This leaves people with a neverending sea of different options they can explore and choose what the perfect fit is for them. Believers can easily become overwhelmed with the great emotions their belief system gave them, they feel the need to try and help others. People demonstrate these actions by showing others what gave them hope when needed most. Showing others what gave an individual hope in dark times can be constructive, however there is a fine line between introducing beliefs, allowing the other person to decide for themselves, and forcing the ideas down their throat. Aside from religion, people can find hope, happiness, and peace in a plethora of ways within their own lives such as through the arts. Music, visual arts, and writing all serve as an outlet for those who choose to create as well as for the observers

The University Star Editor-in-Chief..................................................Emily Sharp, stareditor@txstate.edu Managing Editor...........................Brandon Sams, starmanagingeditor@txstate.edu Letters...............................................................................universitystar@txstate.edu News Editor............................................Bailey Buckingham, starnews@txstate.edu Sports Editor.........................................Autumn Anderson, starsports@txstate.edu Lifestyle Editor......................................Denise Cervantes, starlifestyle@txstate.edu Opinions Editor........................................Mikala Everett, staropinion@txstate.edu Multimedia Editor................................Lara Dietrich, starmultimedia@txstate.edu Copy Desk Chief.....................................Claire Abshire, starcopychief@txstate.edu

watching others create physical manifestations of their soul. There are many different options available to get us through hard times. Freedom is key for any individual to seek out and find exactly where they belong in the belief spectrum. After people find their place, they have the choice to inspire and allow others to seek out their own perfection. Why take away the peace, happiness, and hope from someone else because it looks a little different than your own? It is important to remember many religions exist. People hold different beliefs in the way things were created, in what love and hope look like and what it means to find a perfect fit. What was beautiful and brought peace to you may not necessarily be what brings peace to another. They may have found the same peace—just in a different hiding spot. - Cris Rivera is a computer science freshman

By ToVachea Nealy Opinions Columnist @vachea_ Many of us have watched the scene from Newsroom in which Will McAvoy, played by Jeff Daniels, tells an audience of students during a panel why America is not the greatest country in the world anymore. McAvoy goes on a rant directed at everyone in the room. He yells off statistics that demonstrate how America isn’t number one in life expectancy, literature, math, science or the labor force just to name a few. As the scene plays out we see that McAvoy is not trying to belittle our country, but assert America is no longer the greatest. We used to stand up for what we believed was right. We helped our neighbors and looked out for one another. We fought wars to help

people, not just for our own benefit. In this day and age America truly has lost its place. What makes a country great is not how many weapons or how much money it possesses, it’s the people. Back when our parents were young, children could go outside and walk the streets without the worry of abduction. People could go to a convenience store without being held at gunpoint by an unknown assailant. For some reason all these things have changed. Now we live in a time where everyone is on alert. It is no longer safe for children to play alone outside or with the neighbor’s kids. Now, when you drive past schools there are policemen. Walking into a store, the first thing to see are armed security guards. Why did this change occur? Be-

cause people changed. We stopped protecting the innocence of children. We stopped looking out for one another. We became scared. We stopped trusting one another. We stopped standing for what’s good and right. We now live in a generation which idolizes a self-involved culture. To say the United States has fallen off the right path is an understatement. Even though America has taken a far left, it does not have to continue down this path. Everyday is another chance to do better. If we want America to be a great country, it will take more than laws and ideals. It will take the people—the strong, diverse, American population—to make the United States great. -ToVachea Nealy is a mass communication sophomore ABSN Room 350 Texas State University San Marcos, TX 78666

Phone: (512) 245-3487 Fax: (512) 245-3708

Design Editor...........................................Jessica Strickland, stardesign@txstate.edu Engagement Editor..................................Jeffrey Bradshaw, starpromo@txstate.edu Account Executive................................................Hanna Katz, starad2@txstate.edu Account Executive......................................Morgan Knowles, starad4@txstate.edu Account Executive................................Angelica M. Espinoza, starad5@txstate.edu Media Specialist................................................Dillan Thomson, djt48@txstate.edu Advertising Coordinator...................................Kelsey Nuckolls, kjn16@txstate.edu Publications Coordinator..........................................Linda Allen, la06@txstate.edu Publications Director.................................Bob Bajackson, stardirector@txstate.edu

The University Star is the student newspaper of Texas State University and is published every Monday and Thursday of the spring and fall and every other Wednesday in the summer semesters. It is distributed on campus and throughout San Marcos at 8 a.m. on publication days with a distribution of 6,000. Printing and distribution is by the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. Copyright Thursday, April 21, 2016. All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in The University Star are the exclusive property of The University Star and may not be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the editor in chief. The first five issues of each edition of the paper are free. Additional copies of the paper can be purchased at 50¢ per copy. Contact The University Star office at (512) 245-3487 to purchase additional copies.

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The University Star

Wednesday, June 22, 2016 | 5

SPORTS

Autumn Anderson, Sports Editor @aaautumn_

UniversityStar.com @universitystar

FOOTBALL

GOLF

Take me out to the Bowl Game

Bobcats welcome Lisa Strom as women’s head golf coach

By Ryder Burke Sports reporter @ryderburke The city of San Marcos is Texas State seeks first bowl game in school history. With the conclusion of the NBA finals, we begin our transition off the hardwood and back to the gridiron. Preseason college football buzz arrives hand in hand with the whispers, discussions and predictions of who is going to make it to which bowl at the end of the season and how they plan on doing it. A “bowl”, is defined by most dictionaries as a hemispherical vessel, wider than it is deep, used for holding food or fluid. However, it is defined by Americans and college football fans alike as much more- the promised land. It is a milestone payout, on the biggest stage, for fighting and succeeding through six months of blood, sweat and physically

grinding work. Bowls are 1.6 million+ people filling 38 stadiums nationwide, post-season, to support, yell and follow their teams into battle for one final time. In order to obtain this honor, a football team must become bowl eligible during the season (finish with at least a .500 record), and be attractive enough to bowl committees to elicit an invitation. There is a harsh, definitive line that separates bowl eligibility from bowl invitation, a line Texas State knows all too well. Bobcats achieved bowl eligibility in 2013 and 2014, under Coach Franchione, finishing 6-6 and 7-5 respectively. Unfortunately, an invitation was awarded neither year due to a three game losing streak ending the 2013 season and a low enough average fan attendance in 2014 to cause bowl committees to look elsewhere.

To make a bowl in 2016 Texas State will have to win at least six games throughout an action packed schedule including Ohio, Arkansas, and a preseason #12-ranked Houston team. They have the fire and hunger to do just that, however winning games has been proven ineffective in solely achieving bowl status without a large, active fan turnout at each game. The Sun Belt has increased its number of bowl partnerships to a total of five for the 2016 season: The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, GoDaddy Bowl, Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, AutoNation Cure Bowl and NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. If Texas State can muster up a commanding record while increasing fan attendance at home games, then the chances of making it to the university’s first bowl game in history will be greater than ever.

Matt Perry Sports Reporter @Matt_Sperry17 After a season in which the Bobcats won the Sun Belt Championship individually and as a team, Texas State has decided to hire Lisa Strom as the new head coach of the women’s golf team. Before being named the Bobcats’ head coach, Strom played on the Ohio State University women’s golf team for four years, before graduating in 2000 with a degree in exercise science. She turned pro on the LPGA later the same year, and stayed on tour until 2010. After her decade long run on the pro tour, she returned to her Alma Mater to be an Assistant Coach. While with the Buckeyes for five and a half seasons, she helped Hall of Fame head coach Therese Hession lead them to six straight NCAA Regional appearanc-

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es, and four showings at the NCAA Championships. In addition to that, she helped OSU to nine tournament victories including three Big Ten Championships. In addition to helping coach Hession at OSU for five and a half seasons, Strom also played a big role in the recruiting process for the Buckeyes. She helped the team with traveling and helping instruct the student athletes with every part of their game. Some of the top players recruited by Strom in her 2013-14 season included a trio of freshman that led the Buckeyes to a tie for a seventh place finish in the NCAA Championships that year. That same year, Jessica Porvasnik, Zoe-Beth Brake and Katja Pogacar were given Big Ten honors and Porvasnik went on to become Big Ten freshman of the year as well as the Big

Ten player of the year. Porvasnik would go on to participate in the Women’s U.S. Open the following year, with Strom as her caddie. While she was on the LPGA, she competed in more than 50 events as a member on tour. She recorded a career-low 67 on two separate occasions in her LPGA career. The first was in the second round of the State Farm Classic, and the second in the first round of the tournament in which she posted her best career finish: 13th in the Navistar Classic. Strom is a three-time winner at the Ohio Women’s Open as well as a two-time winner at the Michigan Women’s Open. With her resume stacked, it’s easy to see why Texas State wanted Strom to be its new head coach of the women’s golf team.

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