Vol. 65, Issue 5: 9/27/22

PAISANO

Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke holds campaign event at UTSA

By Gauri Raje News Editor

Several images generated by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have been released over the last couple of months, draw ing positive reactions from both the scientific community and the general public. The project is a collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

According to NASA, the tele scope will serve as a “premier observatory of the next decade.”

The telescope will aid in the “study [of] every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the forma tion of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System,” according to its official website. The tele scope is intended to be useful in studying the first stars and galax ies and the assembly of galaxies as well as looking “into massive clouds of dust” to areas “where stars and planetary systems are being born.” The telescope will also give insight into the solar system as well as atmospheres of extrasolar planets i.e., those that are not a part of the solar system. One of the scientists who received these images and data from the telescope is UTSA pro fessor Dr. Chris Packham.

Packham is part of a group of 55 scientists — known as the Galactic Activity Torus and Out flow Survey or GATOS for short — which is one of the groups that have been allotted time to use the telescope for research purposes.

According to Packham, the

telescope utilizes light emitted from distant galaxies, which is captured and transmitted to NASA’s deep space network on Earth. Once the data is picked up by NASA’s deep space network, it is transmitted to Baltimore, where the telescope is oper ated from. The person who led the part of the group, using the telescope located in Newcastle, UK, is notified and the data is uploaded to that person’s hard drive, before making its way to UTSA’s hard drive, which is the group’s primary working space. Members of the group can then access/download the data and approach ways to work on it. As previously explained by Pack ham, the telescope is designed for infrared astronomy, i.e., detecting light that does not fall in the visible spectrum.

“So, what happens is [the] light leaves that galaxy about 17 million years ago, travels for 17 million light years until it hits the primary mirror, the big mirror, that hexagonal mirror of the James Webb Space Tele scope, and then it bounces off of that, off of another mirror and eventually it’s captured inside of a camera, an infrared camera,” Packham said.

Packham, who got his Ph.D. in 1997, explained that while the project was just beginning to be developed at the time, the results it generated have been far beyond what he expected. Some of the first images captured by the telescope include pictures of the Carina Nebula, Stephan’s Quintet — a visual grouping of five galaxies — and the South ern Ring Nebula, while the telescope’s most recent image offered one of the most clear views of the rings of Neptune.

Some of the images that stood out to Packham include those of

the Phantom Galaxy, as well as the Tarantula Nebula.

“Before the first images were released to the public … some of the insiders were in a semi public meeting … [they] said the images [were] really [going to] excite everybody,” Packham said. “One of the comments that really interested me … was that there’s no longer blank pieces of sky. Anywhere we look, there [are] galaxies. And that’s staggering. It’s just an incred ible thing to go out and see just how many galaxies there are, and intellectually I could’ve guessed, but actually seeing the images means an incredible amount. It hits you emotion ally and it absolutely is gonna have to change the way we do astronomy, because we’re in [such a] transformational time as we go … and use the telescope. It’s fantastic.”

Mason Leist, a student of Dr. Packham’s, who is currently working on the project, also con veyed a similar opinion of the images, while also expressing gratitude for being able to work with this groundbreaking data while pursuing a Ph.D.

“I’m incredibly fortunate with my timing, pursuing my Ph.D. and [being] given the opportuni ty to work with this data. I didn’t think this was gonna happen at all. That was one of the reasons why I chose San Antonio and I asked to be Dr. Packham’s student — because I was hoping for the opportunity to use this data and to be able to look at it,” Leist said.

While its image quality has exceeded expectations, the telescope’s design has also performed very well, and the telescope is expected to live for a good twenty years according to Packham.

“JWST represents the most complex robotic device ever put into space … it’s a million miles away from the Earth. It will never return to the Earth … so it was an incredible device [and] many things had to work perfectly on the first try or the telescope would have been in trouble. Happy to say that pretty much everything worked per fectly,” Packham said.

In order to use the telescope, groups will have to submit yearly research proposals which are then evaluated to determine which proposals get time to use the telescope. Packham’s group has been awarded time in cycle one and will be drafting the next set of proposals for cycle two, which is expected to happen at the end of this year/the start of next year.

“Hopefully we’ll have enough data, enough knowledge to move us into a commanding position in this area of research and then get data for cycle two and con tinue on,” Packham said. “That’s our goal … hopefully really understand what’s going on in the centers of these galaxies.”

To celebrate the release of images by the James Webb Telescope Project, UTSA’s Choir will be conducting a concert featuring a selection of pieces inspired by these images on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the UTSA Main Campus Recital Hall. Dr. Packham will be participating in a pre-concert talk about the images beginning at 7:00 p.m.

The Scobee Education Center in San Antonio College will also be hosting Dr. Packham for a special presentation about the James Webb Space Telescope from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m on Saturday, Oct. 29.

UTSA

UTSA ranked 31st overall and 4th in the state of Texas in this year’s Best for Vets college ranking by the Military Times, marking a significant jump in its rankings compared to last year. The rankings look at how well universities perform in serving military service members and veterans.

UTSA was recognised for excellence in communications and marketing by the San Antonio chapter of the Public Relations Society of America at its 20th anniversary Del Oro Awards on Thursday, Sept. 22. Specifically, UTSA’s marketing team received a La Plata Campaign Award for its brand platform “Creating Bold Futures.”

Texas

District attorneys from the state of Texas have voiced concerns over prosecuting abortion cases in light of the state’s new abortion restrictions at a Texas Tribune panel event on Saturday, Sept. 24, citing these prosecutions as impractical and draining resources.

U.S.

U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan stated on Sunday, Sept. 25, that the U.S. has warned Russia of the “catastrophic consequences” it would face in the event that the latter uses nuclear weapons against Ukraine. This comes after remarks made by Putin hinting at a nuclear threat in the context of Ukraine.

The EPA launched a new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. CNBC reports that the primary aim of the office is to provide support for minority communities in the U.S. affected disproportionately by pollution and other environmental issues, as well as deliver grant money to them. The move comes as an effort to bring together environmental justice and civil rights, EPA administrator Michael Regan explained.

World

A fire broke out at the Rungis International Market in Paris on Sunday, Sept. 25. AP news reports that the market is considered the world’s biggest produce market. The fire was eventually brought under control and no injuries were reported.

The death of 22-year old Mahsa Amini while in custody for not abiding by Iran’s hijab policy has sparked protests across the country against the Iranian regime.

Roadrunner soccer draws against FAU and

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio Community

Riley Carroll/The Paisano

James Webb Telescope data makes its way to UTSA

Riley Carroll/The Paisano

Riley Carroll/The Paisano

Roadrunner Pantry experiences slow down of hard goods donations

By Faith Kouadio Contributing Writer

Operating since 2017, the Roadrunner Pantry, also known as the Whataburger Resource Room, has sought to ensure UTSA students have access to healthy food regardless of their situation. In 2019, the pantry met success when over 3,000 students were served. As the world was transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the pantry found itself helping to feed twice as many students. The Roadrun ner Pantry has already had 9,777 visits since the start of this year alone.

The pantry is tucked near the northern end of the Student Union. It is typically stocked with canned and boxed nonperishables, non-food items ranging from kitchen utensils, to toiletries and feminine hygiene products as well as fresh produce which was recently added to its inventory. Students currently have a free choice of up to three food items, produce items and non-food items each per daily visit.

At the peak of the pandemic, the Roadrunner Pantry continued to serve students by handing out bags filled with nutrition ally balanced foods and even provided rolls of toilet paper. They persisted and helped stu dents through the winter freeze in 2021, where the pantry saw 7,679 visitors. Emergency kits are available when the pantry is closed or if students were unable to visit in person during open hours. These kits can be col lected at the information desk in the Student Union, Wellness 360, Wellbeing Services or at the

Campus Rec downtown.

“The pandemic showed a mass increase in students,” Nikki Lee, senior associate director of the Student Union, who helps man age the pantry, said. “Groceries are expensive, gas is expensive … even if it’s one time, you’re on campus for so many hours and you forgot your wallet, or you ran out of money for the week. It’s so important that we keep the pantry feeling like it’s open and accessible to every body. There is no shame in that.”

Despite record-breaking visits, donations of hard goods have slowed. The generous individu als, organizations and UTSA staff members who make regular or large donations and volunteers are greatly appreciated; how ever, some high demand goods are still difficult to come by. Canned meats, pasta sauce, soups and even plastic items, like bags and cutlery packs, are all valued and needed.

Moving forward, the goal is to structure the Roadrun ner Pantry and provide items to match the needs of students in an ever-changing world; survey forms will be digitalized to facilitate the process and recipes from the Department of Nutri tion and the Honors College are now available to help students prepare healthy meals.

This year, the university also saw its first ever Move-in

Market. The market is similar to a garage sale where donated household items are available to students moving on and around campus to settle in their new homes. There are plans for a similar Move-out Market, a drive to collect donations of household items. Lee also aims to engage with football fans to help raise goods for the com munity.

“I hope to do a food drive competition with one of the football games,” Lee said. “So maybe next football season we could do a food drive competi tion at the game to converge thousands of pounds of food to be donated at each campus.”

The Roadrunner Pantry relies on donations from the com

State of the City Week of 09/27/2022

By Dafny Flores Staff Writer

Government and politics:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard as a political stunt ahead of Election Day. The Venezuelan and Latin American migrants were approached by a woman allegedly named “Perla” in San Antonio who promised them housing, jobs and finan cial aid. Upon their arrival on the island, the migrants were met with false hope and in the midst of a smear campaign. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar has opened an investigation into the situa tion.

On Friday, Sept. 23, District 1 Councilman Mario Bravo was expelled from all committee assignments and group appoint ments by San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. Bravo verbally attacked District 7 Council woman Ana Sandoval after failing to support his proposal on the distribution of CPS Energy revenue.

and confirmed the Jane Doe is Bonnie Marie Flores. The investigation remains unsolved as the murderer and motive are unknown.

Entertainment: Santikos Entertainment announces its $1 Fall Movie Series. From Sept. 24 to Nov. 3, Santikos theaters will be show casing horror and fall-themed films twice a week for $1.

Nowhere Bookshop is partici pating in “Banned Books Week,” a national awareness campaign that recognizes the freedom to read banned books. Earlier this month, Texas banned more books than any other state.

The common themes amongst the books are race, LGBTQIA+ and represen tation.

Miscellaneous:

munity. Donations are accepted through in-person drop-offs in the Student Union, and monetary donations are accepted at https:// giving.utsa.edu/givenow. Donors can also purchase items for the pantry from their Amazon wishlist which can be found on the Whataburger Resource Room website under “Ways to Donate.”

Crime: New details have emerged from an active murder case that happened two years ago. In May 2020, a mother of three was re ported missing after she did not come home after a night out with friends. In Nov. 2020, officials found a body near South New Braunfels Avenue and declared the remains as a Jane Doe since the skeletal remains were heav ily decomposed. The victim’s bones, hair and a bra were found near the woods. Police obtained DNA samples of Flores’ parents

On Sept. 23, a car crash in the Helotes substation caused a power outage in the area. Traf fic lights, neighborhoods and businesses near Loop 1604 had power restored within the hour. Most of the city in the suburban area did not have the electricity repaired until the following day around 7:35 p.m.

Environmental America Re search and Policy Center ranks San Antonio as the fifth largest solar energy producer in the nation. The sunny city averages 220 days of sunshine a year. The report is based on local utilities such as CPS Energy solar farms and the installation of solar pan els in the city.

January

Amber Chin /The Paisano

Genevieve Vega/The Paisano

Natural disasters or natural consequences OPINION

In the wake of Hurricane Fiona, Puerto Rico yet again experienced the devastating effects of a natural disaster. The island was first battered by Hurricane Maria in 2017 — images of people in dis tress, floodwaters surging through residential streets and blackouts far as the eye can see. It had only been five years since Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurri cane Maria, which dealt more damage than any other natural disaster in the island’s history.

Due to the quick succession of Hurricane Fiona and Maria, Puerto Rico has had no time to recover. As of now, Puerto Rico’s main source of nutrients — plan tains — are destroyed and the island will most likely be unable to produce more for a long time to come. Not only were the plantains destroyed, but all of Puerto Rico’s agriculture was wiped out, leaving the island scarce and hungry. It is safe to say that Puerto Rico cannot afford to be hit by another natural disaster for many years.

Just over 8,100 miles away, another country dealt with its own record-breaking natural disaster. In late August, the Sindh Province in Pakistan experienced

torrential rainfall resulting in some of the worst flood ings the region has ever seen. In the following weeks, at a United Nations summit, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif argued that “One thing is very clear, what happened in Pakistan will not stay in Pakistan,” implying that the looming presence of climate change

From albums to abuse: Misconduct in the music industry

Commentary

is to blame.

“No words can describe the shock we are living through or how the face of the country lies trans formed,” Sharif said. “For 40 days and 40 nights, a biblical flood poured down on us, smashing centuries of weather records, challenging everything we knew about disaster and how to manage it.”

Pakistan is underwater, Puerto Rico is disasterstricken and climate change is evolving. If we do not start taking the necessary steps to reduce our ecologi cal footprint, then disasters like these are going to become the norm. We need to power our homes with renewable energy, invest in energy-efficient appli ances, eliminate single-use products and weatherproof homes by sealing windows and doors, insulating un heated crawl spaces and inspecting door weatherstrips.

Aside from reducing our individual ecological footprints, we must invest in political figures who are ready to combat climate change. No longer can we deny the inevitable; natural disasters fueled by climate change will continue to grow in size and power until serious legislative change is made.

By Malaki Lingg Assistant Web and Social Editor

The music industry has a dark secret — men at all levels of the industry are using wealth and status to exploit women, regardless of their age. Notable women such as Alanis Morissette, Lady Gaga and Kesha have all come forward and revealed they have all been victims of abuse. One of the most infamous perpetra tors of said abuse is Robert Kelly, better known as R. Kelly.

On Sept. 14, R&B singer R. Kelly was convicted on multiple counts in Chicago courts in relation to sexual abuse scandals starting as early as the 1990s. After previously being acquit ted from charges in a 2008 trial, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in New York — charged with three accounts each of child pornography and child enticement — after his 2021 convic tion. For over two decades, Kelly used his fame, money and power to lure and abuse young girls, escap ing all consequences until recently. Kelly’s conviction should be seen as a significant win for victims of abuse globally, but it is not an end-all-be-all.

Women in the industry have been facing this issue for far too long. While R. Kelly is finally facing the consequences of his actions, many abusers have yet to. A prime example of this is Chris Brown, another fa mous musician with a horrific history of abusing women.

In 2009, Brown had allegedly beaten Rihanna and threatened to

kill her while leaving the Grammys. While Brown had struck a plea deal with the police resulting in no jail time, multiple images of a bruised and bloody Rihanna were leaked to the public. After making it out of that situation with nothing but a slap on the wrist, you would think Brown’s label and the general public would have blacklisted him from the indus try, right? Well, think again; cur rently, Brown has roughly 44 million monthly listeners on Spotify as well as features on songs by artists such as Gunna and Pop Smoke. With known abusers like Brown still working in the music industry, how can women feel safe?

Sadly, the answer is that women cannot and do not feel safe, at least not yet. Men within the industry, whether they are executives or artists, need to be held accountable by their peers, their fans and their labels. If allegations are proven true, these people need to at the very least be removed from their contracts. In the wake of the #MeToo movement and cancel culture we know that for the most part, fans are ready to hold their idols accountable.

Immigration: Racism disguised as invasion

The music industry is infested with abuse and corruption. Hundreds of fans and artists have come forward with stories of abuse at the hands of men within the industry. The lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock and roll has far too often included unwilling partici pants. Accountability is the key to keeping these monsters away from women and from them becoming repeat offenders.

By Jake Mireles Contributing Writer

Since the conception of humanity, immigration has been a driving force of progress. Starting with the first human exodus from Africa, mankind has always moved towards greener pastures. In modern-day America, there is a stigma attached to the word immigration that has developed into one of the most volatile and divisive issues in the American political landscape.

America, known as the “Great Melting Pot,” is a nation built on the backs of immigrants, yet immigration has turned into one of the most important issues that politicians incorporate into their campaigns. The battle lines have been drawn and have not moved in years.

Most recently, Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) and Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) have been under scrutiny for the mass transport of migrants to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the home of Vice President Kamala Harris and Martha’s Vineyard, a popular summer residence for many notable politicians including former President Barack Obama.

According to a New York Times article, many of these migrants were asylumseekers from Venezuela who were taken in by border

agents, processed and released into San Antonio to await their approval proceedings. The legality of these moves is still under question, highlighting a disturbing trend in the conservative movement against immigration. Even Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar opened an investigation into the migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard.

The move to transport these migrants across the country and dump them in these “sanctuary cities” without notifying local officials may fall in a gray area with the law, but the fact of the matter is that these governors used migrants as political pawns to push an agenda. According to interviews conducted by the New York Times, they were lured into this situation “under false pretenses with promises of work and a better life.”

They were plucked off the street and dumped into unfamiliar locations, left to fend for themselves. This is an inhumane act, one that highlights the disconnect between the politicians who perpetuate the migrant crisis and the people who are legitimately affected by it. These migrants — legal or not — were not treated like human beings.

Unfortunately, this is not a new development. In fact, the fiery rhetoric used by prominent conservative figures against these migrants has indirectly led to acts of violence against them. During the

Trump Administration, the former president’s team consistently made statements characterizing the crisis at the border as an “invasion” while promoting its fortification and policing. According to an article by the Washington Post, found in the manifesto written by the El Paso shooter — who murdered 22 people in a Walmart, purposefully targeting Latinx shoppers — were references and mimics of President Trump’s invasion rhetoric.

Words have incredible power to incite change, but they also have the ability to inflict violence and pain.

The dehumanizing rhetoric commonly used to galvanize the American public against illegal immigrants has tangible and disastrous consequences. When discussing the crisis at America’s southern border, it is acceptable to have a difference in opinion on the solution given there is no one perfect way to solve the issue. However, we cannot draft meaningful legislation to end the crisis if we do not understand that the illegal immigrants crossing the border are human beings with their own life experiences, values, morals and needs. They deserve to be treated fairly, with respect and empathy, regardless of their legal status.

In the Sept. 20 issue of The Paisano, the Opinion page ran a graphic related to same-sex marriage. The graphic was created by and ran in Florida Today. The Paisano apologizes for the copyright violation and acknowledges the attribution.

Kara Lee/The Paisano

Jenna Taylor/The Paisano

Commentary

Grace Robinson/The Paisano

“The music industry is infested with abuse and corruption.”

“Words have incredible power to incitechange.”

The myth of the gendered brain and its ties to gender dysphoria in medicine

Commentary

By Morgain Locke Contributing Writer

The notion that gender dysphoria should be considered a medical condi tion relies on the belief that there is a distinct difference between male and female brains, an outdated idea based on studies with unreliable sample sizes that were popularized to favor patriarchal ideals that have since been debunked. Dysphoria directly results from societal standards that define what a man and a woman “should” be based on traditional stereotypes and gender roles, not a medical condition. Moreover, the previously referenced argument also does not account for the social consequences and the inherent exclusion of nonbinary and gendernonconforming individuals that iden tify as transgender.

Gender dysphoria is not a condi tion to be treated. It is the remnants of a traditional society that cares more about what is in a person’s pants than who they are as an individual. That feeling of be ing in the wrong body that so many transgender people report experiencing is a direct result of the long-standing idea that your gender identity and expression need to match your biological sex. This is the basis of gender dysphoria, not a difference in brain structure.

Those that believe that gender dysphoria needs to be a diagnosable condition rely on the idea that the brain is built differently between sexes and that a transgender person’s brain suppos edly matches the structure of the sex they identify with rather than the one they were born as. However, where do people that do not identify within the gender binary fit in that argument? If transgender people supposedly share the brain structure of the sex they identify as, what does the structure of nonbinary people look like? Nonbi nary people — or people who do not identify as either a man or woman — can also experience gender dysphoria, so if dysphoria were to be considered a medical condition, how would they be diagnosed? How would they be treated? Hypothetically speaking, if binary transgender people were to have their “condition” treated by transition

ing, what would happen to nonbinary people, who can never fully match their biological sex to their gender identity?

Circling back, if gender dysphoria were to be classified as a medical con dition, how would such a condition be treated? Would it be by physically tran sitioning from one sex to another, like many transgender people already do without the need for a diagnosis? What purpose would diagnosing something that stems from a person’s identity serve when the only “treatment” avail able is already so popular among the transgender population?

Making gender dysphoria a diag nosable medical condition would also commercialize transgender identities to a point where transgender people would no longer be able to confidently call themselves by that label with out first having to pay for a doctor to “diagnose” their identity. The need for a proper diagnosis of gender dysphoria

incorrect. Dr. Lise Eliot, a neurosci entist at Rosalind Franklin University, conducted a meta-synthesis study that found very few widely reproduced differences over the many studies they examined, even when they included the results from thousands of participants. The handful of differences that they did find were far too physically insignifi cant to be able to confidently identify a person’s biological sex based on their brain alone. The notion that trans gender individuals have brains that resemble that of the sex they identify as — the idea that is the main support ing argument for those that believe gender dysphoria should be classified as a medical condition — is completely discredited by these findings. Further more, one of the studies credited with popularizing the idea of a gendered brain in the first place was one con ducted by the University of California, in which only 21 men and 27 women were used. Anyone who has ever taken a statistics class can tell you that this sample size is far too small for any results to be considered legitimate. Alas, the idea of the gendered brain, coined as “neurosexism” later on, persisted.

The Paisano

Editorial Board

Mason Hickok | Editor-in-Chief

Editor@paisano-online.com

Laynie Clark | Managing and Opinion Editor

Manager@paisano-online.com and Opinion@paisano-online.com

Gauri Raje | News Editor News@paisano-online.com

Riley Carroll | Arts & Life Editor

Arts@paisano-online.com

Luke Lawhorn | Sports Editor Sports@paisano-online.com

Kaitlyn Rosas | Multimedia Editor Multimedia@paisano-online.com

Chloe Williams | Web and Social Editor Web@paisano-online.com and Socialmedia@paisano-online.com

Camila Martinez Rivera | Photo Editor

Photo@paisano-online.com

Assistant Editors

Malaki Lingg | Assistant Web and Social Editor

Jessica McLaren | Assistant News Editor

William Barnes | Assistant Multimedia Editor

Marcela “Mars” Soria | Assistant Multimedia Editor

Dustin Vickers | Assistant Photo Editor

Grace Robinson | Assistant Photo Editor

Staff

Nate Henneke | Staff

Maddie Cortez | Staff

Dafny Flores | Staff

Eric Trevino | Staff

Guissel Mora | Staff

Jada Thomas | Staff

Commentary

would also make people less likely to accept a transgender person’s identity if they had not already been diagnosed. An industry targeted toward undiag nosed transgender people would boom and so would transphobia, as trans phobes gain a new method of invalidat ing those undiagnosed with or those that do not experience gender dyspho ria. Transgender people that cannot afford or just do not want to go see a doctor regarding their personal identity would be seen as less valid in the eyes of those looking for ways to discredit transgender identities.

Even without considering the social problems associated with classifying dysphoria as a medical condition, the core argument based on the idea of male and female brains is inherently

Although biological sex does have some effect on the brain and its function, it does not have nearly enough physi cal identifiers for there to be designated male and female brain structures, with Dr. Eliot stating, “The truth is that there are no universal, species-wide brain features that differ between the sexes.”

The idea of brains being specific to biological sex is a product of the time they originated in and is continually held up by traditional belief rather than proven fact. As best said in “The Gendered Brain” by Dr. Gina Rip pon, “a gendered world will produce a gendered brain.”

It is safe to say that gender dys phoria should not ever be considered a medical condition, if not from the likely societal consequences and the inherent exclusion of nonbinary and gender-nonconforming individuals, then certainly because of the outdated belief in a gendered brain that the idea was built on in the first place.

Fear of fatality: Parents flock to protect students

in handcuffs. One parent even went as far as breach ing a classroom by break ing a window in an attempt to get their child to safety.

By Zahara Latson Staff Writer

Most parents take pride in sending their kids off to school each morning, knowing that they will sit amongst their peers to be taught, fed and eventu ally returned home. This is a routine that parents expect from their every day life — something that becomes almost second nature. Unfortunately, this routine comes with the possibility of danger and a world of unimaginable dread — when parents bid their child a good day at school, it might be their last. San Antonio parents at Jefferson High School experienced this unthink able event on Tuesday, Sept. 13, as they were con fronted with a lockdown that sparked a frenzy sur rounding the school. The conflict between parents and authorities ended with the parents being detained

Although the school was cleared with no casualties and no outside threats, par ents were still very on edge after receiving chilling text messages from their terrified children. Specula tion stirred that this panic was brought about by miscommunication with the parents with authorities telling them to just “stay away” from the school.

After experiencing yet an other tragedy, parents are in the right to question and even doubt the procedures that authorities and schools practice when handling hostile situations such as these.

Reporters have corre lated Jefferson’s chaotic altercation with the devas tating massacre in Uvalde, Texas over three months ago on May 24. The horrif ic incident not only shook the community but also dwindled trust in security and emergency procedures — more specifically, the delays in police response

on the day of the Uvalde massacre. Since then, questions have been raised about the school’s poli cies on locked doors and campus and local police procedures in the state of an emergency.

San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) and Uvalde Consoli dated Independent School District (UCISD) have gone out of their way to post this information on their respective websites, detailing their standard response protocol, preven tive security measures, an info sheet about reunifica tion and more. The SAISD Police Department’s web site included an emergency operations plan from their district’s police, stating parents should not call or come to the school in the accommodation of emer gency responders. Instead, they advise that you “Stay tuned to local stations” to figure out whether or not the situation is life-threat ening.

The expectation that parents should be patient and composed while an active threat to their child

may be taking place is not only incredibly unrealistic but insensitive to parents in situations like these.

What parents are pleading for is action. They want direct communication from officers, secure school grounds and classrooms and most importantly, the restoration of trust that if their child is in danger swift action will be taken by authorities to save as many lives as possible as quickly as possible.

There are plenty of situa tions where overcrowding of schools with concerned parents can be incredibly counterintuitive, stopping officers from receiving resources, distracting the officers from possible ad ditional threats posed to the school and more. How ever, if parents had faith that police officers would think about their child’s safety over sanitizing their hands on site of an emer gency, there would be less of a need for parents to feel they have to take these situations into their own hands...

Read the rest at www.paisano-online.com

In the Sept. 13 issue of The Paisano, the Opinion page ran a graphic related to felons voting rights. The graphic was created by and ran in The Durango Herald. The Paisano apologizes for the copyright violation and acknowledges the correct attribution.

Regina Robert | Staff Alex Fotschky | Staff Zahara Latson | Staff

Misty Olawunmi | Staff

Stephen Saenz | Staff

Jenna Taylor | Staff

A message from the Editor-in-Chief:

On Sept. 20, The Paisano published an article in our Opinion section about gender dysphoria. Since the issue was released, there has been an ongoing dialogue between The Paisano, the student body and UTSA’s LGBTQ+ organization, Prism.

In response, The Paisano extended an invita tion to Prism to write a counter-argument. Prism did not immediately accept the invitation. In the interim, a UTSA student contacted The Paisano offering to write a counter-argument. In an effort to give voice to all opinions, The Paisano accepted the offer to publish the counter-argument. When Prism later responded, The Paisano offered to run their counter-argument on our website.

The Paisano recognizes the information in the commentary was not factual. The com mentaries shared on The Paisano’s Opinion page are not those of the organization itself or its management. Furthermore, our Opin ion section is a platform for all voices and perspectives — including members of Prism and their related caucuses. We appreciate the comments from the student body. Going forward, The Paisano will be sensitive to the issues affecting the trans and other marginal ized communities.

-Mason Hickok

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The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) will not exercise control over the format or content of Student Pub lications, but will regulate distribution on campus. Student Publications will be free of censorship and advance approval of copy, and their editors and managers are solely responsible for editorial and content policies and decisions. Editors and managers of Student Publications will not be subject to ar bitrary suspension/expulsion or removal from their positions within a Registered or Sponsored Student Organization (Student Organization) by the University because of student, faculty, administrative, or public disapproval of editorial pwolicy or content. Student Organizations that distribute Student Publications are afforded the same rights and privileges as Student Organizations that do not distribute Student Publications.

Chloe Williams/The Paisano

Arts & Life

Student-run business for affordable UTSA merch

By Gauri Raje News Editor

Simply.nyssa is an Instagram-run busi ness owned by Anyssa Gutierrez, a sophomore studying psychology at UTSA.

When simply.nyssa started after designing a UTSA shirt for a junior year high school event, Gutierrez had never predicted that it would become a business that served the UTSA com munity. Gutierrez started out by only taking custom orders, which included making products like college-themed merch as well as products for other events like birthdays. It was not until a couple of weeks ago that Gutier rez’s UTSA designs gained popularity among students.

“I had no intention of it just being UTSA at all. It literally just happened two weeks ago,” Gutierrez said. “So, for the longest time, I only had 400 to 500 followers on Instagram and until two weeks ago, I started

getting hundreds of followers ev ery day. It was so crazy. I don’t know what happened … I had no intentions of it being this big.”

Gutierrez explained that this sudden growth of the business has been overwhelming and does present a challenge in balancing school work and the business.

“I’m still trying to [find] that balance, but I think I’m doing a fairly good job right now,” Gutierrez said. “I try to set time aside from school to where I’m just focusing on the orders and messaging people back.”

A quick look at the business’ Instagram handle reveals all of the different UTSA gear the business has to offer, including tshirts, tank tops and even bucket hats. One of Gutierrez’s goals is to be able to sell a variety of products at prices that are afford able to college students.

Despite this sudden growth in the business, Gutierrez still continues to run the business from home. For any products

intended for sale, Gutierrez starts by designing them on Canva. The designs are then imported to Cricut, a software that prints out the design. Gutierrez then weeds out any excess parts of the print that are not a part of the design/ image, before using a heat press to press the design over the prod ucts.

“Usually I try to experiment first,” Gutierrez said. “So I make a shirt for myself or something I think people [might] like and then I’ll post it … based on how it’s doing, [whether people are messaging me or not], I will continue to make it or I [will] just delete the post [and make something new].”

Running an online business comes with the challenge of finding innovative ways to con nect with customers. One of the ways Gutierrez does this is by letting followers participate in polls, which help determine what customers and followers think of designs.

“I definitely love establishing relationships with people and meeting new people,” Gutier rez said. “That’s something I love to do, so I try to get my followers in on the stuff that I create. I post polls to see what kind of designs they like, what they’re not liking … I show them patterns for future designs, t-shirts … I ask them ‘What do you think about this?’ And then they can rate it on a scale of one to five on how they are feeling about certain designs. So in that way, I try to get them engaged as well, because when they feel like they’ve helped me make a shirt, that motivates them to [want to buy one even more].”

As a part of efforts to further engage with customers and spread the word about the busi ness, Gutierrez plans on holding pop-up events, the first of which took place at Kung Fu Tea on Thursday, Sept. 22.

Gutierrez concluded by explaining that creativity serves

‘Beauty Haus SA’

as a source of motivation for the business. Gutierrez also strives to make products as unique as possible in an effort to make them stand out.

“It really brings me a lot of joy, because being creative is something you can say I pride myself on,” Gutierrez said. “I love being creative and being unique is one of my biggest motivations. I want to forever stay unique and be true to myself and my ideas and, you know, just be out there and be different …

I just love when I see people out there and they’re wearing my stuff and they got it from me.

It’s just a great feeling … you see a big old crowd of people and then you’ll see that one shirt that’s like ‘Whoa, where did that shirt come from?’ And it came from me … that’s crazy to think about.”

For more information about the business, visit @simply. nyssa on Instagram.

San Antonio’s Best Spa 2022 offers pampering services like no other

By Chloe Williams Web and Social Editor

Opening last August in Saint Paul’s Square, Beauty Haus SA transforms the typical salon experience and provides an aesthetic venue for expression, creativ ity and inclusivity. Beauty Haus, unlike most salons, provides a wide array of services and customer experiences. Their services include: lash and brow enhancements, full body waxing, tooth gems, piercings, poke tattoos, perma nent jewelry, massage sessions, skin and energy treatments, needle-free lip plumpers and more.

San Antonio native, Jonabelle Timms, owns Beauty Haus with her partner Vin cent Guerrero. While her salon is still newly opened, she has been immersed in the beauty industry her whole life.

“My mama has owned a spa since I was a little girl — my mom and dad, together,” Timms explained. “And so I grew up in the back room … and I just felt very comfortable in the beauty industry. I’d always been in beauty conventions and literally grew up next to estheticians. When I opened here, I felt so comfortable. I felt so safe. And luckily, I spent my whole life figuring out what I would want my dream spot to look like.”

After deciding that opening a salon was what she wanted to do, Timms worked full-time at her mother’s salon, Isabelle’s Day Spa, and spent every weekend working pop-up events to save up to turn her dream into a reality.

Beauty Haus employs around 10 staff members, each specializing in different services. Timms works on clients in ad dition to managing the business, and she especially loves to do tooth gems.

“I love tooth gems,” Timms shared. “I think I actually started doing them be fore I made the decision to get licensed. In general, I was licensed to do tooth gems but I wasn’t an esthetician yet … Obviously, it’s something associated

with a smile, so afterward, everybody is big cheesing.”

The staff and services at Beauty Haus are not the only aspects that supply a comforting experience. The beauti ful layout and decor in the salon feel straight out of your dream Pinterest board.

Built in 1902, the building once served as housing for visitors to San An tonio arriving from the train station right next door. The historic charm coupled with a modern twist in each room at Beauty Haus provides maximum com fort and visual delight.

“The budget was not what I think a usual business model budget was and so a lot of things we had to make it work, but I refused to compromise,” Timms explained. “So [we furnished the salon with items from] Goodwill, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, a friend of a friend, Instagram, all these different connections [and] friends that make art pieces.”

Beauty Haus is also known for their monthly night markets. The markets are hosted with Vice Versa Coffee & Vinyl Records, which Timms and her part ner, Guerrero, also own together. The markets take place on the third Friday of each month and are centered around a theme. This past market on Sept. 24 highlighted escaping the “havoc caused by this retrograde.” Anywhere from 40 to 60 local vendors line the walkways of the three floors leading up to Beauty Haus.

Being a young business owner is definitely something to be proud of and Timms describes her favorite part as having the freedom to pursue whatever she wants.

“Some days I really feel like just [do ing] marketing, you know designer or like an illustrator, somebody that creates media and I can do that,” Timms de scribed. “I can focus on that and it will grow my business. Some days I feel like

being an interior designer and I want to better my space. I want to improve the way it looks — and some days you just want to be somebody that listens to others. And that’s also something you can do.”

Timms noted, “But my least favorite thing I do … [is] having to maintain policies of our business. [This] requires some hard conversations sometimes. And I wish somebody else is the owner at that moment.”

Along with five-star reviews across all platforms, Beauty Haus won “Best Spa 2022” in San Antonio. This award held a unique weight for Timms as her mother’s salon won the same award in 2001. Her mother’s skincare line as well as Timms’ beauty products are available both in-store and online.

“If there’s somebody that’s reading this that has been daydreaming about changing their life or stepping into something that seems really scary, you’d have to remember that it’s only scary until you do it,” Timms said. “And until you move in that direction, and that everything that we feel inside of us like the desires and the things we dream about and the things we wish would hap pen. It’s just our higher self asking for it to come to fruition. It’s not something you have to be scared of or feel like it’s in the distance like it can be on your doorstep. If you move in the right direc tion or move towards it, don’t be scared anymore. Let go of fear and welcome change.”

Beauty Haus is located on the third floor of 119 Heiman St Suite 300, San Antonio, TX 78205 and is open for op eration from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Appointments are available at https://www.vagaro.com/ beautyhaussa/services.

Sophomore psychology major, Anyssa Gutierrez, runs Instagram business

UTSA

SA Gems

Sam Hernandez/The Paisano

Photos courtesy of Anyssa Gutierrez

39th Annual ‘Jazz’SAlive’ Festival

The San Antonio Parks Foundation preserves the art of jazz

Arte de San Antonio

By Kylar Royer Contributing Writer

This past weekend, the 39th annual Jazz’SAlive festival was held at Travis Park in downtown San Antonio. The fes tival was a two-day-long event featuring over 20 jazz artists, including the UTSA Jazz Ensemble. The free event was hosted by the San Antonio Parks Founda tion — a nonprofit organization with a

at the St. Anthony Hotel sky terrace and a Jazz’SAlive Sunday concert at Travis Park Church.

The Jazz’SAlive festival aims to show case a collection of artists and expose the community to the preservation of the art of jazz. It is the largest free jazz festi val in the United States and has hosted Grammy-nominated jazz groups such as

performed rich soul music — a subgenre of jazz. Tomar Williams’ stage presence was felt throughout the park, turning the heads of many. Shortly after the band began their performance, festival attend ees got up from their seats and started dancing around freely. Williams captured the audience with relatable lyrics, funky rhythms and powerful vocals.

The Jazz’SAlive festival will return

‘Kanopy’ A criminally underrated streaming platform

mission to support and enhance parks in the greater San Antonio area.

While the festival was free to the public, the proceeds from food, bever ages and VIP sales benefited the founda tion to support their community effort to improve the residents’ quality of life. In addition to the festival, the founda tion hosted two separate events — an old-fashioned swing dance after-party

the Pedrito Martinez group and Sammy Miller and the Congregation this year.

Throughout the event’s entirety, the attendees participated in an immersive environment filled with vibrant energy. The festival recently began expanding its genres of jazz, bringing diverse groups of people together and not limiting guests to one category of music. Tomar and the FCs, a band hailing from Austin, Texas,

for its 40th anniversary next year and will continue to draw in an audience who appreciates jazz. The event is constantly evolving and always looking to captivate the community in the art while support ing the preservation of our beautiful city.

To learn more about the Jazz’SAlive Festival, visit the San Antonio Parks Foundation’s website at https://saparks foundation.org/event/jazzsalive/.

all

UTSA Professor thrifts rare painting

Dr. William Pugh donates ‘Eve in the Rose Garden’ by Keith Bankston to Tubman African-American Museum

By Riley Carroll Arts & Life Editor

Earlier this year, Associate Professor of Practice of Information Systems and Cyber Security, Dr. William Pugh, Ph.D. traveled to Covington, Georgia with his wife to attend a wedding. Little did he know that one recreational trip to an an tique mall would lead him to find a rare and historical piece of art.

Upon sifting through a vendor’s booth, Pugh discovered a brightly-colored

Rose Garden’ and it was also signed in pen by the artists so I was like ‘Well, maybe there’s some history or story here. So I quickly Google searched the artist and sure enough, it was someone in Ma con, Georgia, and the Tubman museum already had a painting of his. The more I researched the story, the more I felt that it had some value there in the commu nity — [with the artist] being a young African-American.”

in the Rose Garden.”

“I learn[ed] more about [art] appro priation, it’s reconceptualizing the art of someone else,” Pugh explained. “So he [took] that and put that in this rose garden. I also thought it was interesting that he chose a rose garden instead [of] saying Garden of Eden, which is typi cally the story from the Bible.”

Since the rare find, Pugh and his wife have planned on visiting “Eve in the Rose Garden” at the Tubman Museum in

By Mason Hickok Editor-in-Chief

With a back catalog of diverse films, educational material and arresting documentaries, Kanopy is a criminally underrated addition to a stacked lineup of streaming platforms. Despite having a limited approach to how users can access the platform — using a public library card or through registration from a university — Kanopy deserves more attention.

“The Booksellers”

Directed by D.W. Young, 2019. Run time: 1 hour and 39 minutes.

Used and antique bookstores are like time capsules, liminal spaces that exist to keep the timeless, printed word alive. A documentary that meanders in all the right ways, “The Booksell ers” is a lovely dive into the world of rare book dealing in New York. The booksellers that make up this film are a diverse troupe of characters within this moving documentary narrated by Parker Posey.

“Icaros: A Vision”

Directed by Leonor Caraballo and Matteo Norzi, 2016. Runtime: 1 hour and 31 minutes.

A trippy, psychedelic venture into the world of hallucinogens and medici nal healing. With a tragic backstory involving one of the film’s directors — one can argue that the story inspired the arc of the film’s protagonist — “Icaros: A Vision” is mysterious. In the film, the protagonist, Angelina, retreats to the Amazon in search of a cure for an ailment that remains unnamed to the viewer. The film’s calm imagery couples nicely with the sound design of the film — a mix that highlights the natural sounds of the Amazon.

“Breathless”

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, 1960. Runtime: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Jean-Luc Godard — a pioneer of new cinema techniques — passed away on Sept. 13, 2022. Godard is remembered among a revered group of French critics turned filmmakers who helped bolster the start of the French New Wave and changed filmmaking forever. “Breathless” follows a young, impressionable criminal who plans an escape to Italy with his American girlfriend. The film was Godard’s first feature-length work as a direc tor. Godard revolutionized several new filmmaking techniques — jump cuts, on-location shooting and nonprofessional actors — which are now routine tools in modern moviemaking but were unique to Godard’s style at the time. This revolutionary debut is a must-watch for any fan of film.

“Kwaku Ananse”

Directed by Akosua Adoma Owusu, 2013. Runtime: 26 minutes.

This stunningly shot short film blends autobiography with the myth and folklore of Ghana as a young woman returns home for the funeral of her father. Similar to “Icaros: A Vi sion,” seeing the intersection of ritual with the real world is poignant. While the film’s runtime is short, its message is more important.

“In The Mood For Love”

Directed by Wong Kar-wai, 2000. Runtime: 1 hour and 38 minutes.

In the year 2000, Wong Kar-Wai delivered his seventh film to audiences — a seductive, richly-colored film. It follows a man and a woman who develop feelings for one another after their respective spouses have an affair.

painting that caught his eye.

“So I pulled [the art] out and looked at it, like ‘Wow, this is very interesting. It’s quite colorful,’” Pugh shared. “You can see that the subject — the woman and the serpent — [and] I knew that the inspiration probably came from the famous photograph from the early 80s. The title was on the back ‘Eve in the

the future.

“We will eventually travel that way at some point in time and we’ll make an at tempt to go down there and visit,” Pugh expressed. “I would like to see the other artwork, I just caught a glimpse of it.”

For more information about the Tub man African-American Museum and to view more of Bankston’s works, visit https://www.tubmanmuseum.com/

Among a respectable presence in world cinema, Wong’s films are known for their deep-cut soundtracks and gor geous cinematography. “In The Mood For Love” pairs Wong-regular Chris topher Doyle with Mark Lee Ping-bin. The result is a luscious masterpiece.

Films across a variety of genres can be viewed through Kanopy’s website, which all UTSA students can access through the library’s databases page.

Pugh recognized that the late Keith Bankston’s painting was a reconceptual ization of Richard Avedon’s 1981 photo graph “Nastassja Kinski and the Ser pent.” Bankston paired Avedon’s photo with his own biblical twist by depicting “Nastassja Kinski and the Serpent” in the Garden of Eden — hence, the title “Eve

Grace Robinson/The Paisano

Kylar Royer/The Paisano

Photos courtesy of Dr. William Pugh

Mason Hickok/The Paisano

SA Gems

Sports

Roadrunner soccer draws against FAU and FIU

By Luke Lawhorn Sports Editor

After starting their conference schedule, UTSA (6-2-3, 1-1-2 C-USA) began a five-game road trip, with the first two games coming against Florida Atlantic (FAU) (5-3-3, 1-0-1 C-USA) and Florida International (FIU) (2-5-2, 0-2-2 C-USA). Ending in 1-1 draws, with both games being largely defensive battles.

In the first game against the FAU Owls on Thursday, Sept. 22, both teams were scoreless in the first period. The first goal came by FAU’s Thelma Harmannsdottir in the 57th minute. As the game clock was winding down, UTSA’s Kiran Singh scored in the 86th minute, assisted by Marlee Fray. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. FAU out-shot the Roadrunners twelve to seven, while UTSA had nine fouls to FAU’s six, resulting in

four corner kicks for the Owls. The all-time series against FAU is 1-2-3, and UTSA now has four total points in the Confer ence USA standings.

Adding onto the Roadrunners’ second Florida trip of the sea son, UTSA faced the FIU Pan thers on Sunday, Sept. 25. This was another 1-1 draw, but it was more of an offensive battle than the previous game. The first goal came from the ‘Runners in the 23rd minute by Alissa Stew

art and went into halftime with a 1-0 score. UTSA out-shot FIU seven to five. The Roadrunners kept their aggression up during the second half, shooting four shots in the first five-minutes. Kim Schneider scored for the Panthers in the 56th minute to tie the game 1-1. The two teams had several corner kicks along with more shots on the goal, however the score remained tied to end the game. UTSA added another point for their overall

Conference USA standings.

UTSA is now ranked seventh in the United Soccer Coaches’ South Region rankings. They are 19th nationally in assists per game, 10th in total assists and 25th in total points. The Roadrunners are also second in C-USA with 167 total shots.

UTSA now has a week break before playing at the University of Houston (4-4-1) on Sunday, Oct. 2, at 2:00 p.m.

UTSA volleyball loses conference opener to No. 23 Rice

By Luke Lawhorn Sports Editor

After winning back-to-back tourna ments, UTSA (5-8, 0-1) opened their conference schedule by traveling to Houston to play the No. 23 Rice Owls (11-1, 1-0). The two teams have met 36 times, to which Rice holds a 29-7 record against the Roadrunners. The Owls won convincingly, sweeping the ‘Runners. Rice’s defense was one of the best UTSA would face this season. In the first set, Rice was clearly shown to be the superior team, with a 20-6 lead at one point. The ‘Run ners did answer, however, making it a five-point game at 23-18. The Road runners showed up a little too late, losing the set 25-19. Rice held UTSA to a .091 hitting percentage in the first set. The Owls started the second set similarly to the first, jumping out to an early lead. The score was 21-10 at one point, and the Roadrunners were just

unable to gain momentum. Rice won the set 25-15. Unfortunately for the Roadrunners, the third set was an even larger upset. Once it was 20-12, the Owls did not let UTSA score another point, losing the set 25-12 and the match 3-0.

The Owls had 40 kills to the Road runners’ 21, along with 10 aces to UTSA’s three. Kelsey Carpenter led UTSA with six kills and Katelyn Krienke had five. They were the only two ‘Runners with more than three kills. Danyle Courtley led the Owls with 10 kills, followed by Sahara Maruska with nine.

This is the second time UTSA has lost a conference opener in the last 10 years. Rice came into this game with just one loss, which came to No. 18 Oregon earlier in the season.

UTSA will return home to face Florida Atlantic at 6:00 p.m. on Fri day, Sept. 30.

Amanda Ifeanyi goes for the kill.

The battle-tested ‘Runners

By Luke Lawhorn Sports Editor

A standard Division I college football program plays 12 regular season games a year, with eight or nine being in conference games. UTSA football has now played four out-of-conference games in head coach Jeff Traylor’s tenure, and every year the team has improved. In 2020, Traylor’s first sea son, the Roadrunners went 2-2 in the four conference games, and last season went 4-0. UTSA is now 2-2 again, however, they are much better than their record indicates.

In the 2020 season, the teams the ‘Runners faced were Texas State (2-10), Stephen F. Austin (SFA) (6-4), Brigham Young University (BYU) (11-1) and Army (9-3). UTSA lost to both BYU and Army by a total of 19-points, and neither of those teams were ranked at the time the ‘Runners played them. Texas State and SFA were bad teams, yet the scores were closer than they should have been. Last season, the Roadrunners beat all of their out-of-confer ence opponents, however, the four teams had a combined record of 15-32. Only one of those four teams — Memphis — was eligible for a bowl game with just six wins. Lamar University and UNLV had two wins each, and Illinois had five. The point is, UTSA was not battle-tested enough, and when the time came to play an equal oppo nent in a bowl game like Louisiana or San Diego State, they lost.

This third season under Traylor is different. Of the four out-of-conference teams the ‘Runners played, only one is an

FCS school, and just like top-tier col lege football programs, they handled their inferior opponent like they should have. The other three opponents came against No. 24 Houston, who UTSA battled to the bitter-end in three overtimes, and looked like the better football team for most of that game. Then, UTSA went on the road to West Point to play Army — a very historic and respectable program — where UTSA won in another overtime game. UTSA then went to Austin and in a hostile environ ment they hung tight with the No. 21 Texas Longhorns and for moments looked like they would pull the upset. Both Hous ton and Texas have recruited better than UTSA, meaning they have higher-rated athletes. However, Traylor and the rest of the coaching staff have not let that interfere with making their opponents work for their wins.

With UTSA being tested in the regular season, not only will they be better suited for their own conference opponents, but for their long-sought out bowl victory. The ‘Runners had no real competition last season until they faced University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB), meanwhile San Diego State played and beat power-5 schools, including the Utah Utes, who went on to win the Pac-12 conference. San Di ego State used that experience from earlier in the season to defeat UTSA, who had not yet reached that level. This season, the ‘Runners have had the toughest schedule in Conference USA, and when UTSA finds themselves in a close game with equalcaliber players, they will be ready.

Riley Carroll/The Paisano

Stephen Saenz/The Paisano

Deja Sandoval winding up to kick the ball.

De’Corian Clark catches a touchdown pass from Frank Harris. Clark had 217 receiving yards for the day

Stephen Saenz/The Paisano

UTSA men’s golf tied 14th at William H. Tucker Intercollegiate

UTSA women’s golf opens season with back-to-back tournaments

By Luke Lawhorn Sports Editor

Coming off a 10-day break between matches, the UTSA men’s golf team traveled to New Mexico for the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate. The Road runners finished tied 14th out of the stacked 19-team field. This is the eighth time the ‘Runners have played at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate and the first time since 2013.

UTSA was tied for 10th place overall through the first round of the tourna ment, with a score of 295. Hunter Bott was tied for

17th place at 1-under-par 143, while Hunter Fan felle was one shot behind at 21st place. Fanfelle also had nine birdies through the first two rounds of the match.

The ‘Runners struggled in the third round, finish ing with a score of 889 (295-293-301). Fanfelle finished first for UTSA and 18th place overall with a 1-under-par 215 (71-73-71). Fanfelle also had the third most birdies of all the competitors with 13. Bott tied for 41st over all with a 5-over-par 221 (71-72-78). Carson Gal

laher and Jack Wehman were both tied for 78th with a 12-over-par 228. David Harrison was the fifth and final competitor for UTSA, tying for 91st with a 15-over-par 231 (77-78-76).

San Diego State won the team title with a 16-under-par 848, while Carson Griggs from the University of Denver won the individual title with an 11-under-par 205.

UTSA will travel to Dallas for the Trinity For est Invitational from Oct. 2-4.

Brittney Griner sentenced to nine years in Russian prison

laws.” Although Griner was found guilty of these charges, it caused a lot of debate in the U.S. over whether or not President Biden should intervene.

A week after the men’s golf team competed, the women’s golf team at UTSA had two competi tions in a week. The first was the “Mo” Morial Invitational hosted by Texas A&M, and the second was the Schooner Fall Classic hosted by Oklahoma University.

In the season opener from Sept. 20-21, the ‘Runners traveled to College Station, Texas, to compete in the 14-team field. UTSA finished 11th, with sophomore Morgan Ellison getting first for the ‘Runners and tying for 18th overall place. The Roadrunners had a score of 903 (294295-314), 21 strokes ahead of Conference USA rival Charlotte. Elli son had 7-birdies, helping her go 3-over par with a 219 (70-75-74).

The next finisher for

the Roadrunners was Camryn Carreon, tying for 46th overall with a 227 (77-74-76). Closely behind them were Olivia Williams and Daniela Abonce tied at 53 with a 13-over par and score of 229 (74-73-82). Lauren Rios was the fifth and final competitor for the ‘Runners, getting 73rd overall with a 25-over par and a score of 241 (7679-86). Texas A&M won the team title with a score of 853, and Kayla Smith from North Carolina won the individual title with a 9-under par with a 207. Next the ladies traveled to Norman, Ok., for the Schooner Fall Classic from Sept. 24-26. The ‘Runners go 13th overall in the 16-team field.

Through the second day of the tournament, the Roadrunners were tied for 14th place with Iowa State with Carreon who had an even-par 140

and placed 22nd. UTSA went on to finish 13th place with a score of 852. Carreon remained first for the Roadrun ners, tying for 18th place with an even-par 210. Daniela Abonce was next for the ‘Runners, tied for 42nd place 2-over par 214 (70-72-72). Mor gan Ellison and Lauren Rios were tied for 49th with a 6-over par 216. Olivia Williams was tied for 66th overall with a 10-over par 220. Florida State won the team title with a score of 828, and Caitlyn Macnab from Texas Christian Universi ty won the individual title with a 10-under par 200.

UTSA will have a couple of weeks off before returning to action in Broken Arrow, Ok., for the Dale McNamara Invitational from Oct. 10-11.

By Jenna Taylor Staff Writer

Brittney Griner, a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was ar rested in an airport in Moscow this Feb ruary for having illegal substances in her luggage. To clarify, the illegal substances that Griner had in her luggage were two vape cartridges, each with less than one gram of cannabis oil. In Russia, cannabis is classified as a narcotic.

Six months after her arrest, the Russian court found Griner guilty of attempting to smuggle illegal narcotics and sentenced her to nine years in a Russian prison. Griner did plead guilty in hopes of get ting a lighter sentence and testified that she made an “honest mistake” in pack ing the vape cartridges because she was quickly “stress-packing” before her flight and “never intended to break any Russian

On one side, people believe that Griner is in the wrong for packing the cartridges and should serve her sentence in a Rus sian prison. On the opposing side, people believe that Griner should not be forced to live out her sentence in a Russian prison. In addition to these harsh condi tions, Griner, a gay black woman, will likely face even more cruel treatment due to her being a minority in Russia.

Cannabis is classified as an illegal narcotic in Russia, and those found guilty of the possession of narcotics are sent to a Russian penal colony where they have severe overcrowding issues, food short ages and issues with sanitation.

President Biden is currently in the process of negotiating a prisoner swap with Russia in which they release Griner, along with U.S. marine prisoner Paul Whelan, in exchange for a Russian arms dealer being held in a U.S. prison, Viktor Bout. Biden stated that Griner’s nine-year sentence is “unacceptable” and that his administration will “pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.”

(Left) Heach coach Jeff Traylor talking to Chris Carpenter after his 97-yard touchdown return. (Right) Joshua Cephus running a route.

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Jeff Huehn/UTSA Athletics

Christian Fanfelle

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Jeff Huehn/UTSA Athletics

By Luke Lawhorn Sports Editor

Camryn Carreon

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