3.27.18

5 | Arts & Life

7 | Sports

Ciuadad, a crecer: San Antonio music scene: where are we and where are headed?

UTSA baseball sweeps Marshall

Vol. 57, Issue 10

Est. 1981

March 27 - April 3, 2018

The Paisano

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Thirty-five members of the Faculty Senate voted to pursue a new grading system after the SGA presented the plus/minus grading system as having “numerous inequities.”

Chase Otero/The Paisano

Faculty Senate votes to discuss alternative grading system

By Kenyatta Battle Editor-in-chief Assistant Gaige Davila Co-News Editor The Faculty Senate voted to discuss alternatives to the plus/minus grading system this past Thursday, March 22, with 35 yes votes, 0 no votes and 0 abstentions. The Student Government Association (SGA) presented a revised resolution, GA 112, to the Faculty Senate that rescinded the SGA’s previous stances on the plus/ minus system.

In GA 111, the previous resolution discussing the plus/ minus system, SGA disapproved of the grading system, which

they have stated is still their official stance. SGA stated in the GA 112 resolution that the plus/ minus system causes “numerous inequities.”

The Faculty Senate and SGA will be working together through a joint-committee to discuss alternatives to the plus/minus grading scale. Currently, UTSA faculty have the option to use the plus/minus grading system to grade coursework, instituted in Fall 2011, after being approved by the Faculty Senate on May 10, 2010.

During SGA’s presentation to the Faculty Senate, they stated inequalities could be present in several alternatives, necessitating an investigation

into a consistent, inequality-free grading system.

“It went really well, better than I thought,” Alex Sexton, the primary author of GA 112 resolution and COLFA senatorelect, said. “They seemed very receptive and open to positive change.”

Grading system alternatives discussed in GA 112 include: not using “A+” grades; consistency in grading scales across course sections; capping cumulative GPAs at 4.0; and student transcripts indicating the average of the grades assigned for a course.

If alternatives presented to the faculty senate are not approved, SGA proposes the plus/minus grading system

be “implemented, mandated and standardized universitywide.” SGA also discussed the possibility of abandoning the plus/minus system if no alternatives could be agreed upon.

UTSA mechanical engineering professor Xiaodu Wang believes a consistent plus/minus system would be beneficial to UTSA students.

“The grading system for each course should be consistent,” Wang said. “What we need is a consistent system for faculty to use since every system has its pros and cons.”

A student agreed with Wang.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of grading system we have

so long as it isn’t atrociously bad, and it’s consistent across all the classes,” Liam Quesada, freshman mechanical engineering major, said.

“I prefer the straight letter grades, and I personally do not like the plus/minus system at all,” Ashley Moreno, double majoring in psychology and sociology junior, said. “The letter grades are straight forward and hold all final grades within its range to the same standard.”

The resolution will be discussed further this Thursday, March 29, during SGA’s general meeting.

Students walking in the Paseo.

Josh Levario/The Paisano

Chemistry professor-started program promotes college readiness

By Isaac Serna Editor-in-chief A group of UTSA faculty believe freshmen haven’t received the foundational skills in science, math and reading required to be successful in college. These professors are working change that.

The Chemical Education Research Group (CERG), consists of professors in Chemistry Department and in the College of Education and Human Development.

Their aim is to improve area students’ college readiness through two avenues: assisting high school teachers to prepare their students and preparing incoming freshmen for their new journey.

The term “college readiness” refers to the foundational skills a high school student should have upon graduation to be successful in college. According to Dr. Hector Aguilar, a member of CERG, these foundational skills include a basic knowledge of science, math and reading.

Using data from the United States Department of Education, The Manhattan Institute produced a report that found

only 70 percent of students leaving high school are prepared for college.

In a college readiness standards report, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) said that despite Texas’ substantial gains in education, the state trails other states in preparing students for and sending students to postsecondary education.

Additionally, the standards report stated, “It is also clear that K-12 students, along with their parents, are uncertain about what students must know and what intellectual skills they must possess to be successful beyond high school.”

Aguilar has noticed this problem in his classroom.

“What we are looking to do is gather research, particularly in our chemistry department and try to address problems that we see in our own department,” Aguilar said.

“One of the biggest problems we notice with entering freshmen is that their foundational knowledge in chemistry is not where we want it to be.”

Aguilar observed most entering freshmen must take Basic Chemistry because

their foundational knowledge is limited.

Students have the opportunity to test out of Basic Chemistry as well as test out of other remedial courses, but they often don’t take of advantage of this opportunity.

The result is more time in class and more of the students’ money spent on their education. The consequence for UTSA is a lower graduation rate because remedial courses extend students’ degree plans, which can prevent or discourage them from graduating on time.

“Students won’t have to go through Basic Chemistry; they can go straight into General Chemistry 1. They can take an entrance exam that shows they mastered the necessary skills,” Aguilar said.

The CERG first initiative was to reach out to San Antonio area high schools in District 20 to determine the origin of the problem. The group held workshops with a small pool of high school teachers. They began with an assessment that tested teachers on basic chemistry knowledge to identify potential areas of improvement.

The group used the Texas Education

Dr. Hector Aguilar

Photo Courtesty of UTSA

Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the state standards for Texas public schools from kindergarten to grade 12, as a guideline for developing the questions they used in the assessment.

The assessment results led CERG to Continued on page 2 See “College readiness”

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UTSA UT System Chancellor William McRaven visited UTSA on March 23 to speak with UTSA ROTC Air Force and Army cadets. Chancellor McRaven joined the cadets and student veterans for a question and answer session, which focused on leadership, education/training and transition. McRaven answered many questions and shared stories from his role as a commander in the military and as chancellor of the UT System.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and other Texan lawmakers are pushing for improving background checks for purchasing firearms, specifically to prevent felons and domestic abusers.

Cornyn has been pushing the measure to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check system (NICS) since two days after the mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, when he went to the Senate floor to proclaim the need for the “Fix NICS Act.”

U.S.

A year of service

Courtesy of UTSA Facebook Page

Student-led protests across the U.S. organized for the #MarchForOurLives demonstration. Over hundreds of thousands of people in Washington D.C. marched to Capitol Hill, protesting congress to impose legislation on gun control.

World Last week Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, expelled Russian diplomats after a meeting discussing the attempted poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer and British Spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England. In a movement of solidarity to Britain the U.S. has expelled 60, the EU expelled 33 and the Ukraine expelled 13 Russian diplomats from its consulates. The attack has been called an “outrageous violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and breach of international law.”

Business On Monday, the price of Bitcoin tumbled below $8,000 amidst regulatory uncertainty and an important announcement from Twitter specifying it would ban advertising for cryptocurrencies. Twitter followed suit with Facebook and Google who announced they would no longer allow advertisements for cryptocurrencies, citing protection of investors from fraud such as deceptive and misleading promotional practices.

Diane Abdo/The Paisano

After serving as UTSA’s president for over six months, Taylor Eighmy opened his inauguration speech celebrating the UTSA student body. The inauguration of Eighmy on March 20 marked the formal beginning for his tenure as UTSA’s president.

During the inauguration, Eighmy instituted a new UTSA tradition of an annual Day of Service. Approximately 1,400 students, staff and faculty participated by giving to the San Antonio community alongside 18 participating service agencies, on March 24. Participants completed volunteer work such as building homes with Habitat for Humanity or making dog toys with the Humane Society.

Eighmy asked for UTSA’s celebration of San Antonio’s tricentennial to be devoted to a year of service to the community. He ended his inauguration speech asking Roadrunners to be ready: “Be ready to share your dreams, your part in our constellation of stars and your passion for giving back.”

Chase Otero/The Paisano

Diane Abdo/The Paisano

Diane Abdo/The Paisano

College readiness Continued from Page 1 conclude that the high school teachers did not have the content knowledge required to teach the foundational skills a student needs to be prepared for college.

Dr. Carmen Fies, College of Education, believes the reason is many high school teachers teach out of their discipline.

“It’s a fairly typical set-up in many schools where, for example, a science teacher is hired as essentially a generalist and then they are assigned to any of the sciences. So somebody who has a strong background in biology may teach biology, but they also may be assigned physics or other disciplines,” Fies said.

The high school teachers who attended the seminars responded to the program positively and continue to communicate with members of CERG. “What we wanted to do was bolster content knowledge for one, and at the same time infuse pedagogical models that support the learning of chemistry,” Fies said. “The program was more heavily weighted in the content rather than the pedagogy, and that is intentional because they are already teaching.”

To showcase the direction the CERG program may go, Aguilar shared an email from a teacher asking content and curriculum related questions.

“The whole goal of this is to help the students. If we can help the teachers by reinforcing their content knowledge and give them a resource that they can rely on, then that will help their students.”

Additionally, CERG designed lab experiments and techniques that high school teachers can utilize with the materials they currently have.

“The other aspect we are trying to do is tackle the students directly,” Aguilar added.

The plan is to alert incomthree to five teachers, our pool of project is still in motion. ing freshmen to a summer boot data is very limited. It is difficult “Our group doesn’t want to camp designed to help students to write a competitive grant with wait. If we can’t get funding test out of remedial chemistry that. There are grants we are from our college, we’ll keep courses. If CERG is successful, looking at that we have a chance looking, and when the univerthe summer boot camp model to get, but we would have a sity sorts everything out, then could work in other departments stronger shot if we had a larger maybe we can tackle it more to further boost students’ savings pool.” effectively,” Aguilar said. “In on tuition and boost graduation Aguilar described the predica- the meantime we’ll keep running rates, but a familiar barrier needs ment as a circular problem. In because we don’t want to lose to be overcome. order to receive a grant, CERG momentum.”

“To run these summer boot could use more data, but in camps it costs money,” Aguilar order to collect more data CERG said. needs a grant.

The Chemistry Department Despite the potential wall supplied generous funding in CERG faces, Aguilar says the the early phase of CERG’s project, according to Aguilar, but recently UTSA has faced department-wide budget cuts which affected CERG. “We are trying to find funding,” Aguilar said. “We are thinking about external funding through grants through the Department of Education, through the National Science Foundation, but grants require preliminary data.”

CERG has not established a proven conThursday, March 29, 7:30–8:30 PM cept because the low turnout UC Magnolia Room, 2.01.30 CERG has HU, a sacred sound and ancient mantra, has been sung experienced for thousands of years for spiritual unfoldment. You’re inhasn’t provited to attend this event to experience singing HU, followed by contemplative time and facilitated spiritual conduced enough Info: Mitziani: rbo233@my.utsa versations. data.

Presented by the Eckankar Student Organization “When we www.EKSanAntonio.org only have

HU — The Sound of Soul

Ma rc h 2 7 - A pri l 3, 2018

editor@paisano-online.com | 3

opinion

March for our lives Editorial

An unprecedented 187,000 students have been exposed to gun violence since the deadly shooting at Columbine High School in 1999.

According to the Washington Post, there has been an average of 10 school shootings a year; the highest number, 15, was in 2014. In the first three months of 2018, there have been 11 school shootings.

Americans must shield students from gun violence through gun law reform. It is time to enact legislation that raises the gun purchasing age to 21, requires

stricter background checks and bans the use of military-grade assault weapons for non military citizens.

Naturally, the language in the legislation must be precise.

What is military-grade to our politicians? It is impossible to say, but gun holders and those educated on the varying types and capabilities of guns can help provide input on the matter.

There must be a line we can draw together that minimizes the potential damage a individual can accomplish.

Some believe arming teachers will end mass school shootings; however, arming teachers would only exacerbate the problem

because it would give students more access to guns. Instead of searching for guns on the streets, students may take a gun from a teacher when the opportunity is available.

Also, legislators haven’t produced any plan for training teachers or security personnel to respond. The scale of the project is a formidable hurdle.

Many students are already changing the gun violence conversation. On March 24, student led protesters rallied across the nation to “March for Our Lives.” The largest march took place in Washington, D.C. where 200,000 protesters, led by student speakers, joined forces to

express their frustrations about gun violence, school shootings and legislators’ inability to pass gun reform.

Each one of the student speakers was fearless, courageous and strong. Now the rest of America must follow the lead of these children, the students who weren’t to speak in front of hundreds of thousands of people—the students who looked the world in the eye and did not plead or beg but demanded change.

These students are the next leaders of the world, they will soon be able to vote and have a direct impact on legislation.

Join the fight. The fight isn’t

asking for all guns to be abolished; the fight is a community effort to prevent the cold-hearted from having the tools to receive their own news cycle of fame.

This fight is for safety. This fight is for our freedom and our future. This fight is to ensure the citizens of this country are safe from shootings.

This safety is better than arming teachers. This safety is better than forcing students to walk through metal detectors at their school or wear see-through backpacks. This form of safety protects each of our inalienable rights while protecting the youth from violence.

Austin terrorist mischaracterized Commentary

By Erindy Beloney Contributing Writer Mark Anthony Conditt terrorized an entire city over the course of three weeks, successfully committing two murders and multiple serious assaults along the way. Only certain information has been disclosed to the public about the Conditt case.

Many reports characterize Conditt to be generally harmless. Police Chief Brian Manley actually referred to the murderer as a “challenged young man,” deemphasizing the atrocious character of Conditt.

We might conclude Conditt’s mental state may have been more questionable if his peer and family accounts did not imply otherwise.

Conditt’s parents and col-

leagues allegedly had no idea of his plans, supporting the theory that he consciously and secretly carried out his offenses.

Not only did the police officer construct a pretty picture of these heinous acts, but the media partook as well.

Photos of Conditt living a pleasant college life are used when referring to his background and where he comes from.

During the time Conditt had been perceived to be living a “normal life,” he was simultaneously plotting a fatal attack.

In fact, the only evidence that would possibly support the idea he was merely a “challenged young man” would be his unreleased confessional, which stated that he felt no remorse for his actions even though he knew he should. Even then, it is clear that Conditt deliberately identified the fault in his actions as well as the feelings that should have been associated with such behavior.

Conditt was an adult who knew right from wrong, whether or not he received pleasure from doing wrong. Weighing the pros and cons of a choice and making a sound decision to not commit

murder seemed more than possible for this man. There was a motivation, whether it be political, racial or emotional. Formulating an opinion on how Conditt felt about his actions would be easier if the video confessional prior to the suicide was released.

Doesn’t it make you question why? Upon the breach of his inevitable detainment, Conditt committed suicide by setting off a bomb in his car. Law enforcement continues to release manipulative reports about the evasive suicide and confessional video to the public rather than releasing the video and allowing the public to develop a perspective on this event.

If the public knew more about the domestic terrorist who murdered two and injured many; if the public were allowed to see the evidence that was clearly meant to be disclosed, the idea that Conditt knew what he was doing would be more easily recognized. Conditt was not a “polite and well behaved boy,” as many neighbors saw him to be; he was a man who dodged providing an explanation for his actions.

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The resistible rise of Donald J. Trump Op-ed

By Dr. Sandy Norman Guest Writer These days the last of the Holocaust survivors are blinking out of existence; the details and horrors of the rise of Hitlerism are, for most of us, veiled by the mists of time, unknown, unremembered and unexamined.

For Bertolt Brecht, the German playwright who found his voice during the period between the first and second world wars, the proximate events that accompanied the Nazi ascendance in Germany and Austria were all too real, all too unforgettable and require close examination.

Brecht was one of the fortunate ones who fled Germany, eventu-

ally settling in the U.S., where he set his theater piece “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.” In this play, Brecht provides a parable centered on a two-bit Chicago gangster, a product of New York City, who rises to power, through circumstances that unmistakably parallel those of Hitler, albeit on a much smaller stage.

Upon re-reading the play recently, I could not help but note the similarities between the circumstances of Ui’s meteoric rise in Chicago and the surprising political rise of Donald Trump. Ui is a brooding, boorish lout, self-aggrandizing, craving attention and the leader of a dysfunctional mob whose tendency towards internecine squabbling is exceeded only by its brutality. Trump, on the other hand, is a brooding, boorish lout, self-aggrandizing, craving attention and the leader of a dysfunctional … well, you get the picture. The truly chilling aspect of the play, though, is not simply the existence of a

man like Ui, though sadly many such Ui’s have had their day in the sun – from Nero to Hitler to Putin. No, what is frightening and tragic is Ui’s effect on those he comes to control. Ui is in the protection racket, offering his and his cronies’ services to the poor unfortunate business folks too intimidated by Ui’s violent strong-arm tactics to resist.

Ui maintains his legitimacy by intimidating, buying off or corrupting the judiciary, politicians, the media and a variety of respectable people, who, once in his thrall, can no longer afford to resist.

And Trump? He is in the protection racket too, mirroring Ui in a couple of ways. Ui declaims, “first I need protection from cops and judges. Then I’ll start thinking about protecting other people.” If that doesn’t fit Trump to his initial T, then I don’t know what does (cf.

Trump’s reaction to the Russian attack on our democracy). In the other sense of protection, Trump uses the power of his minor-

ity base to offer “protection” to once honorable US senators and representatives, who now have abandoned their principles, even their Republicanism, for fear of being “primaried.” With the ebbing resistance and crumbling of integrity in Congress, the one governmental body with the power to halt Trump’s inexorable destruction of American ideals, who can resist his rise? My generation has thus far failed our country, failed our children—we have allowed the despicable to reign and not just in the White House. When a child in this country is subjected to abuse and threats from Trumpists for simply asking a question of her congressman—that is despicable.

When the President’s son/FOX News/Breitbart tout ridiculous conspiracy theories and blame the victims of the recent Florida school shooting for exercising their constitutional rights—that is despicable. There is so much that is despicable in Trump’s rise to the presidency—and too much that has been excused by those

who should know better.

Brecht’s play is a cautionary tale. He concludes with this warning, referring obliquely to Adolf Hitler: “Therefore learn to see and not to gape To act instead of talking all day long.

The world was almost won by such an ape!

The nations put him where his kind belong.

But don’t rejoice too soon at your escape – The womb he crawled from still is going strong.”

Donald J. Trump has slithered from that womb—and is on the rise. But … there is hope.

Thank God for our students and our children—many who are showing more backbone and integrity than their elders; who have seen clearly what to do, when we have not; who will do what true American patriots must do. RESIST!

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‘Iron Jawed Angels’ inspires class Commentary

By Emily Hubbard Staff Writer A few weeks ago my history professor, Jennifer Dilley, assigned her class to watch “Iron Jawed Angels” to tie in with our study of the suffrage movement.

After watching the film I felt that as a woman I had a responsibility to share the works of these women and continue their fight for equal treatment.

The film is by far one of the most empowering, influential and eye-opening works I have ever watched, yet it also left a bitter taste in my mouth. Let me explain why.

Based on a true story, the film depicts passionate young women and their fight for American women’s right to vote.

Set in 1912, the film is focused on some of the most influential women of the period, such as Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, Anna Howard Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt and their journey with the North American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA).

While being committed suffragists and feminists they often felt the pull of both “private” and “public” spheres.

Women of this time were expected to be caregivers, housekeepers and wives. They were obligated to stay where they were needed, which was in the private sphere. If a woman dared to flirt with the public sphere, they were seen as radical and unfit to participate in the private sphere as well.

Most women were too timid or too committed to their role in the private sphere to enter

the “man’s world” of politics or economics. Equal treatment was an unfathomable idea.

Whether it was organizing women’s marches, picketing the White House, questioning President Wilson, or traveling the country to make public speeches, these women not only put in time and energy into their movement, but also dealt with public and private harassment.

They were threatened, beaten and thrown in jail for no lawful reason. It took a huge toll on the fight for suffrage.

The women depicted had to keep a strong face for their comrades, but they also for themselves.

To display themselves as strong and independent women 24/7 was a full time job and it often was lonely and emotionally draining.

While these women were fighting for their right to vote and their right for equal treatment, they were only human.

These women were deprived by

San Antonio charter schools get more bang for buck Op-ed

By Corey DeAngelis Guest Writer The evidence is in. Not only do San Antonio charter schools improve students’ outcomes; they do so at a lower cost to the public.

Last May, my colleagues and I at the University of Arkansas found that students in San Antonio charter schools received 20 percent less educational funding than their peers in district schools. But a just-released study by our team finds that despite the funding disadvantage, students in San Antonio charter schools outperform their district school counterparts on math and reading achievement exams.

In fact, we find that San Antonio charter schools are 35 percent more cost-effective and produce a 36 percent higher return on taxpayer investment than district schools.

Let’s make this a bit more concrete. The data show that every thousand dollars spent on education at district schools translates to around a $7,500 increase in students’ lifetime earnings. That is great. But that same thousand-dollar-expenditure produces an estimated $9,750 in students’ lifetime earnings if allocated to a public charter school in the city. And that 30 percent advantage is extremely impor-

tant considering San Antonio taxpayers spend over $157,000 for each child’s K-12 education in district schools.

In other words, 13 years of equal funding in charter schools could produce around an additional $350,000 in lifetime earnings for San Antonio students.

Of course, this isn’t the only study finding that charter schools do more with less. In 2014, researchers at the University of Arkansas found that charter schools across the country were 40 percent more productive, as measured by gains in student achievement, than neighboring district schools. In addition, experimental studies by researchers at Harvard University and Princeton University found that male students that won a public charter school lottery were less than half as likely to a commit crime later on in life.

Overall, the scientific evidence suggests that charter schools improve academic outcomes for students. Researchers from the University of California San Diego recently completed the most comprehensive review of the evidence on charter schools to date. The review concluded that, on average, charter schools helped students achieve the equivalent of over a month of additional learning in math, relative to their peers in district schools. Three experimental evaluations also found that winning a random lottery to go to a charter school increases students’ chances of attending college. For example, an experiment published in the Journal of Labor Economics found that children that won a charter school lottery in Boston were 13 percent more likely to enroll in a

The Paisano Isaac Serna | Editor-in-Chief Editor@paisano-online.com Ethan Pham | Managing Editor Manager@paisano-online.com Kenyatta Battle | Editor-in-Chief’s Assistant

News Gaige Davila | Co-News Editor News@paisano-online.com Samual De Leon | Co-News Editor News@paisano-online.com Heather Montoya | Assistant News Editor

Arts & Life Enrique Bonilla | Arts & Life Editor Arts@paisano-online.com Katrina Clements | Assistant Arts & Life Editor

four-year college.

But the data aren’t the only evidence of charter school success. Every child in a public school of choice has a unique story. And I have one of my own.

I attended a public school of my choice in San Antonio. Luckily, I had the option to choose from four different magnet high schools, each of which had their own specialized mission. I ended up going to Communications Arts High School for my entire high school career. The teachers, students and staff were all highly motivated to achieve common goals because they all wanted to be there.

I personally feel like my San Antonio high school had a huge positive impact on my life trajectory. I ended up receiving a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in economics from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and–at 26 years old–I am about to finish my Ph.D. in education policy.

Personal stories tell us that San Antonio charter schools have lasting effects on children’s lives. The data confirm the lessons of these stories. Let’s magnify the positive impacts by giving children the same amount of educational resources, no matter what public school works best for them.

Corey DeAngelis is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom.

Photo Chase Otero | Photography Editor Photo@paisano-online.com Ricky Galindo | Assistant Photography Editor

Online Kat Joseph | Multimedia Editor Multimedia@paisano-online.com

society of having any emotional, physical or mental connection with men in fear of looking weak. The film does a great job on touching on the women’s struggle with connecting and building relationships, while also maintaining their role as a feminist.

The film has startling parallels to today’s society, where young activists struggle with issues such as protesting their president and also balancing their love lives and careers.

“The way the movie depicts this way of the president calling for us to spread democracy around the world, but he’s not offering it to half of the population in this country. Women are marching in front of the White House and asking ‘how can you be trying to spread democracy when we don’t even have it here?’ and I like the way it calls attention to that. We are told even now that we are free and we are a democracy, but really how true is all of that?” Dilley

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said.

Even today women activists struggle with what it means to be a feminist and where the line is drawn. To what extent do we stop ourselves before we burn out? To what point are we devaluing ourselves of basic emotional, physical and mental feelings?

To this day women are constantly told we are too emotional, unstable and unfit for certain positions and views. To this I respond, we are able, strong and worthy of equal pay, equal treatment and all of this should not continue to be questioned. If a man can do it, so can we. I am proud to be a feminist and you should be too.

In honor of Women’s History Month, take some time to watch “Iron Jawed Angels” to become aware and informed about women’s struggle to get where we are now.

The film can be accessed on YouTube.

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Ma rc h 2 7 - A pri l 3, 2018

arts@paisano-online.com | 5

Arts & Life Ciudad, a crecer: Sonido en la ciudad

Column

San Antonio music scene: where are we and where are we heading?

Enrique Bonilla Arts & Life Editor

A

AMEA, a UTSA graduate, performs at San Antonio Sound Garden’s official launch party

s the asphalt and steel are spreading through the mission city, so too is the culture of music in San Antonio shifting and warping. Onward.

We have sparked national attention from outsider industries and are experiencing the growing pains of a historically low income city with big ambitions backed by momentum. Even still, the arts & entertainment sector of San Antonio only experienced .04 percent growth in 2016 despite San Antonio seeing the country’s fourth largest city GDP growth overall according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Austin’s art & entertainment industry grew .15 percent the same year. A mantra amongst so many San Antonio musicians, promoters, concert-goers and taco-eaters remains constant: “We are not Austin.”

We are similar, however. The San Antonio Sound Garden (SASG) Industry Study findings show that four out of five artists in San Antonio work day jobs in addition to using music as a means to support themselves. Austin’s 2015 Music Consensus revealed similar findings. 77 percent of Austin musicians are either working full or part time in a non-music related industry, some work part time in a music related industry, few are student musicians and some are unemployed entirely. Of those earning income solely from music industry-related businesses, 68 percent made less than $10,000. It is clear to see that the grass isn’t greener on the other side 60 miles to the north–even in the “live music capital of the world.”

“It’s a starting point. We never had even gotten that far, so it’s really a positive step forward and now we have a place to start and say here’s where we need to get better,” Libby Day said on the SASG Industry Guide. Day, who is Marketing Manager for the Aztec Theatre also works Director of Operations at SATX Music, an independent media and event-management company that books shows and promotes local artists.

“You’ll never see city council create policy initiatives without baseline data. So when people are like, hey why did we spend $25,000 on a music study telling us shit we already know? It’s because there’s a giant bureaucratic monster that needs 40 page study saying here we are.”

So what does the “bureaucratic monster” aim to do with the study? San Antonio waits in suspense as the City of San Antonio Council plans on what to do with our recent Texas Music Official official pat-on-the-back “music friendly community” certification. The council plans to meet March 30 to discuss how to strategize on what being music friendly means, using the industry study as a means to navigate the ongoing San Antonio music narrative with one of the ultimate goal’s being a music office in San Antonio with a registry for musicians and music-related businesses. This registry database would “create more cross-sector partnership opportunities that will impact music industry initiatives and attract music industry professionals,” according to the industry study. This could also make San Antonio music easier to find for the San Antonians fresh to the scene. There is no data to show how people are finding out about new music and how we could increase that distribution of culture.

This potential dissemination of knowledge would come in handy, as so often San Antonio struggles to have an identity that is recognizable and attractive. The music industry requires greater communication on a national level.

How do we tell people from outside our city limits that we are indeed a cultural gem that is overlooked? The past decade has been rampant with music festivals from the highly successful Mala Luna and Maverick Creek Festival which was normally held this month every year. This year however there was no Maverick but instead Botanica. David Heard, co-founder of Tech Bloc and founder of the Botanica Music Festival, and Sam Gonzales, Vice President of Student Engagement at UTSA are among leadership for the recent festival. In an honest attempt to facilitate a positive message of growth for the city and in hopes of attracting young upwardly mobile adults considering where to stay or relocate for work to boost the economy, Botanica was born and hosted during the same time frame Maverick was held.

Botanica’s association to the tech industry makes musicians in San Antonio wary as so often tech is for better or worse associated with gentrification.

Bringing in high-income folk to a city that is historically low-income means raising rents that artists are already struggling to pay. The fest serves the interest of UTSA as well, as an undisclosed percentage of the festival proceeds were donated to UTSA for scholarships. However, while this growth is great for cyber security and tech jobs in the city, the mission of the fest is not to holistically grow the music scene of San Antonio.

“I’d rather have high rent than no job,” said Gonzalez in a phone interview with Heard.

“Although gentrification may one day show up as a topic that we have to think more about. We have to develop a community set of solutions, and I would argue that we’re still a long way from having that kind of issue show up here.”

The ongoing conflict centered around the Hays St. Bridge demonstrates gentrification is present in our city. This conflict had its most recent development as city manager Sheryl Scully’s decision to offer a compromise on development was protested at the bridge last night.

Along with the lack of a 20,000+ attendance festival with the music community in mind, San Antonio musicians also report a lack of audience attendance to smaller local events.

In 2016 Sobresound, a San Antonio’s Music Media Publication, published an opinion piece voicing this opinion citing “general music listener’s reluctance to invest time listening to local music and attending strictly local music events.”

Fast forward two years, and even some of the city’s most visible artists feel this sentiment. Our city is growing, but the attendance at all local shows remains the same consistent audiences. The community at large recognizing the power and caliber of the music scene would be a step in this direction. Part of this dialogue will be discussed at Music Biz Day 2018. This event is the largest free music symposium in the U.S. Dr. Stan Renard, who is founder of the event, has added to the conversation of San Antonio Music himself. Through research compiled through the use of GIS, Renard has created a map that captures, stores, analyzes, manages and presents music-centric geographic data. How the data will be interpreted or will be used by city council to enact a “music friendly community” is still undetermined.

In all of this growth and bureaucracy, we must remember that people make up the scene and without them, particularly the youth, there is no future.

“There’s a very strong DIY scene in San Antonio, so the idea of city government getting more involved in music scares me,” Ryan Smith, San Antonio native and owner of Yippee Ki Yay Records said.

“Especially for those teenage kids throwing all those house parties really.”

“That’s where the future is. Kids just making it happen themselves. A bureaucrat’s never gonna be able to replicate that–nor should they.”

-Ryan Smith, Yippee Ki Yay Records

Amber Chin/The Paisano

Sadly, the last decade has seen the loss of many DIY youth centered spaces. R.I.P. to Trends Die Haus, Menchaca House, Land in Between DIY, Cabeza de Piedra, Awful House, Cafe Revolucion, the Baltimore House, the Foster House, 7014 House, Ritual Art Gallery, Sound Crater Recording, Castle Numbskull, VHS and Princeton House.

These spaces served as hubs for young creative minds and paved the way for the current house circuit to which young artists and audiences have flocked in recent years. These true underground events will serve as the future hubs of creation.

Photo courtesy of Oscar Moreno

Focusing on youth, education, access and health is where we can start as a community to help the next group of people that is going to take over what San Antonio’s music identity becomes. In a 2010 Pew research study, findings revealed the San Antonio metropolitan area has the largest residential income segregation index in the U.S. Due to this disproportionate income inequality and the city’s overall low income history, kids in poorer neighborhoods are disproportionately kept from learning an instrument, working with music technology or starting a career in the music business.

“There’s so many kids that don’t have access to that stuff. There needs to be more. There used to be free guitar classes at the community centers, but there needs to be more technology based classes for audio and visual arts. iPhone is getting more expensive. Laptops are getting more expensive and these things are letting youth express themselves more and more creatively…That’s who we need to focus on,” Chris Stephens, San Antonio native and Producer at Sony Entertainment said. “...and the thing is, is that there are so many scenes here.

So many kids that are still doing it. The 16-25 year-olds are the ones bringing new ideas to the table, but San Antonio has always had a hard time accepting new genres or music ideas in general. There’s always been a group of people every few years who designate themselves scene ambassadors, and that keeps youth from participating and pushing the envelope for the scene.”

As segmented as these scenes are whether DIY or differing in genre there is also a problem growing involving abusers and apologists for abusers. Polly Anna Rocha, a working queer trans artist and writer for the San Antonio Express News, has experienced alienation within our growing community–and she’s not alone.

“If you call someone out, you are seen as more of a problem rather than the rapists, pedophiles and women-beaters.

That’s larger effects of misogyny at play,” she explained, “Last year, I was taken advantage of by a well-known member of the bar scene while I was blackout drunk. The events that led up to this happening are still blurry to me, but I woke up in his bed with no recollection of what happened the night before, but all the signs pointed to the fact that I was engaged sexually without my verbal, sober consent. It took me time to recognize that this was sexual assault, if not rape, and when I attempted to speak out about the situation, I was met with threats of legal action (from the assaulter) if I were to name him publicly, even though he had already admitted fault to me privately. I have slowly withdrawn myself from public spaces because of this experience.”

“And this is a common scenario that victimized women have to endure. If we stay silent, we run the risk of allowing these men to abuse more people, young women and girls especially, but if we talk, it results in our further victimization. And the law is almost never on our side.

It’s scary trying to navigate the scene knowing that ultimately clout trumps any abuses committed.”

If we can’t protect our queer, our youth, our poc and any other marginalized group this scene will never grow.

It doesn’t matter if you’re covering some famous band at the Tobin, have murals on the St. Mary’s Strip or your band is on the cover of the local publication–you are toxic to our scene and your clout will only go so far.

This culture in our scene could deter youth, young women and queer youth specifically from contributing to the scene.

There will be change. The change will come from the city. We eagerly await to see how “music friendly” we will become.

Will this lead to increased sales tax revenue for the city?

Will musicians be able to pay their bills with their art? Will more local bands propel themselves through new resources to tour out of the city, state and country? How will local music businesses grab the attention of the country? How will policy change affect culture? How will regional music such as tejano and conjunto play a part of the mainstream music conversation? How could policy change affect how artist’s receive health coverage?

There are more questions than there are answers, clearly.

Be a part of this ongoing conversation. Go to a show. Book a tour. Start a label. Write about shows. Listen to local independent radio. Market music.

As a music community, empower one another and attack injustice without fear nor favor. Network. Discuss.

M arch 27 - A pri l 3, 2018

6 | arts@paisano-online.com

Encapsulating the here and now

On the importance of contemporary art as Contemporary Art Month ends.

Aurelio Minesiger Staff Writer Questions. Our sentience is defined by our questions and self-awareness.

As a species, we are the product of millions of years of genetic information being mixed around to form a new recipe for life every new generation.

How do we catalogue our history or views of the world? How do we express our curiosity? How do we translate what we see, feel or think about the world around us?

This basis of inquiry is the foundational element of art and is an apparatus for cultural communication using symbols, concepts and objects as a vehicle of expression. Art exists as a platform with multiple purposes.

In a contemporary context, our understanding as a society of what “art” is has shifted over the course of the last century. It has grown to include work

with a wide scope of intentions from political commentary to rejection of institutional authority.

The variety of influences and ideas explored in contemporary art stand in contrast to the classic methods of cataloguing and identifying movements of art based on chronological order or specific stylistic choices.

As a result, new methods of categorization for understanding and identifying what “art” is have been created. Scholars typically use intent, context and execution when theorizing about art now, since it is more complicated to try to directly identify influences or precedence in a piece.

For a majority of people, though, the most popular site for the consumption of art exists in institutional spaces such as galleries or museums.

These designated spaces

act as an authority of acquisition and validation.

But, what is art? Is it the demonstration of creativity or the context of a space that creates what we call “art”? These are questions asked to challenge not only the presentation but also the mode of execution chosen by an artist. They ask that the people engaging with the work to keep their environment in mind as a part of the experience they have with the work.

Contemporary artists such as Lara Schnitger, Kim Jones and Andrea Fraser actively seek to question and present their work outside of the traditional context of established art authority.

These creators do this by subversively engaging public viewers: Schnitger uses processionals and mobile sculptures, while Jones stirred up public attention as the Mud Man, the walking mass of electrical tape, poles and smeared organic material. Fraser uses her body as a performative critique of the galleries.

Ultimately, these artists share the desire to engage the viewer’s curiosity for the purpose of inducing critical thought. This is an important question for art now, since it is an expansion of the matrix in which our cultures and societies formally think about art.

Art has changed significantly and will continue to do so, but it has always been a medium to visually communicate with an audience–a way in which we encapsulate our feelings and ideas about the world

MARCH The Weekend APRIL March Madness Music Festival / Free Fri. 4 p.m. Sat. 2 p.m. Sun. 3 p.m.

Hemsfair Park Friday: Kelsea Ballerini & Jason Aldean Saturday: Luis Fonsi & Imagine Dragons Sunday: Daya, Panic! At The Disco, One

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Republic & Maroon 5 Carne Asada! / Free 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Southwest Workers Union we live in. Contemporary art is important because it provides a reference point to the influence of historical precedence and it acts as a reflection of the culture, times and people who live today. Art is the visions by which our descendants will piece together our historical narrative.

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Cosecha organization welcomes you for an afternoon full of food and conversation to fight for justice for all immigrants.

No Foolin Jazz Fest / Free 2 p.m. - 9 p.m.

The Block SA

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An evening for good food and good company. Bands starting at 4 p.m.

Thread Closing Reception / Free 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Clamp Light Artist Studios and Gallery

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Exhibition featuring artists from across Texas focusing on work using needle and thread. Embroidery workshop for $10.

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Sunday Market / Free 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Brick at Blue Star Support shopping local by visiting these merchants and artisans selling their All photos by Aurelio Minesiger/ The Paisano

products.

To feature your event in “The Weekend” email the arts editor at arts@paisano-online.com

http://communication.utsa.edu

Ma rc h 2 7 - A pri l 3, 2018

sports@paisano-online.com | 7

Sports UTSA baseball sweeps Marshall Bats come alive for Roadrunners over the weekend

A

By Frank Leal Sports Editor

fter sitting at three games under .500 just over a week ago, the UTSA baseball team has now won four games in a row following their sweep of Marshall this past weekend. Their last four wins have propelled the ‘Runners to an 11-10 record and fourth place in C-USA. UTSA didn’t just sweep Marshall quietly; they clobbered them. Over the course of the three-game series, UTSA outscored Marshall 27-7 in what was an impressive offensive showing. With this series sweep, perhaps UTSA is on the brink of becoming one of C-USA’s top teams. Marshall came into the series against the ‘Runners with an 11-6 record but now sit at 11-9 thanks to the ‘Runners.

In game one, UTSA pitcher Karen Patel was lights out on the mound. Patel recorded a career-high nine strikeouts and carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before he gave up a solo home run; however, the home run would be the only run he allowed.

Patel exited the game after his fifth inning of work and turned the ball over to reliever Palmer Wenzel. Wenzel did what he could to preserve the lead, but after giving up an RBI double and a sacrifice fly, Marshall took a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.

Having not scored since the fourth inning, UTSA hoped for something to go their way offensively. Freshman outfielder

First baseman Ben Brookover stretches to catch the ball and record the out.

Dylan Rock got things started in the bottom of the ninth with a base hit to centerfield. Immediately after, Estrada walked to put runners on first and second base.

A wild pitch from Marshall pitcher Gordon Cardenas moved both runners into scoring position, and Marshall decided to intentionally walk UTSA’s Chase Keng to load the bases. Suddenly, UTSA was on the cusp of victory with bases loaded and one out.

Matt Reed came in from the Marshall bullpen to relieve Cardenas, but proceeded to throw four straight balls to each of the next two UTSA batters to push across both the tying and

winning run. UTSA stormed the field after Bryan Arias took ball four to win the game. UTSA took the cake with a 4-3 win after a walk-off walk.

Games two and three weren’t nearly as close as game one. In game two, Steven Dressler took the mound for UTSA and he was fantastic. Dressler struck out seven batters over 6.2 innings and only allowed one hit.

Dressler received plenty of run support from the offense.

UTSA’s bats exploded as Ben Brookover, Dylan Rock and Trent Bowels all belted home runs.

UTSA’s second baseman Bryan Arias also did plenty of

Bralyn Fox-Smith/The Paisano

damage at the plate, as he went 3-4 with two RBI’s and three runs scored.

The Roadrunner offense plated five runs in the sixth inning to propel them to a huge 11-2 victory over the Thundering Herd in game two.

Game three was more of the same when it came to offensive firepower. Amazingly, all nine of UTSA’s batters tallied at least one hit while six out of those nine recorded at least one RBI as well. While UTSA showed an entire team effort at the plate, Trent Bowles led the way as he went 3-5 with three doubles, an RBI and three runs scored. First baseman Ben Brookover was

also a huge force, as he went 2-4 with three RBI’s. With the offense’s production, UTSA starting pitcher Chance Kirby had little to worry about on the mound.

Kirby earned the win to push his record as a starting pitcher to 2-2 this season.

After the sweep of Marshall, UTSA has a four-game road trip that begins Tuesday, March 27 when they take on Houston Baptist University. Then, they will travel to Kentucky to take on Western Kentucky in a threegame series before they return to Roadrunner Field on April 6.

Bold predictions for 2018 MLB season

Keith Allison/Flickr.com

Bryce Harper pauses to look at the ball he just hit.

By Connor Zimmerlee Sports Assistant The best time of the year is upon us, folks. We are a mere two days away from opening day of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season.

The 2017 season was one for the books, capped by a thrilling seven game World Series that saw the Houston Astros claim their first title in franchise history. An epic 2017 season was followed by an uneventful off

season, headlined by big name free agent signings. With opening pitch so close, here are some bold predictions for the upcoming season Neither the Astros or Dodgers reach the World Series Fresh off a 2017 that saw both teams put up 100+ wins and reach the World Series, the Astros and Dodgers both seem poised to make a run for another meeting in October. However, when the World Series takes place, neither team will represent their respective league.

For the Astros, this seems like a bad prediction, but they will

have to overcome the daunted World Series hangover along with improved competition in the American League (AL).

When it comes to the Dodgers, health issues will be their Achilles heel. Their ace Clayton Kershaw spent an extended period on the DL last season and third baseman Justin Turner just suffered a broken wrist in spring training. Look for two new teams to battle it out come this fall.

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton combine for less than 100 home runs A power surge is heading for

the Bronx this season and it’s coming in the form of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Last season the two mashers combined for a whopping 111 home runs on their respective teams, a feat the Yankees hope they can replicate in 2018. You read it here first, but this will not happen.

While yes, Stanton did hit an insane 59 home runs, he did so in 159 games played. Appearing in that many games is somewhat of an outlier for Stanton, who has dealt with injuries over the course of his career.

That being said, expect the

deadly duo of Judge and Stanton to combine for 85-90 home runs.

The AL West will account for three AL playoff teams While the Astros will not repeat as World Series champions, they more than likely will repeat as AL West winners. The rest of the division, however, will battle for the two AL wild card spots.

Up until the last few weeks of the 2017 season, the Angels, Mariners and Rangers were all in the thick of the AL wild card race. The Angels and Mariners both made key off season acquisitions, while the Rangers are an under the radar team that could surprise fans this season.

Three of these four teams will account for spots in the AL playoff picture, with the fifth just missing out after a competitive 2018 season.

The World Series will be…

Boston Red Sox vs. Washington Nationals The 2018 World Series will be hard pressed to top the instant classic that was the 2017 World Series. However, there will be no lack of talent or star power.

Bryce Harper will make his first appearance in the Fall Classic, leading a loaded Nationals squad against J.D. Martinez and a sneaky good rotation.

The Nationals have struggled to make it past the first two rounds of the playoffs in recent years, but 2018 will be the year they end the drought. And while the Yankees may be the presumed favorites to win the AL East, look for the Red Sox to surprise people and challenge New York for the division crown.

M arch 27 - A pri l 3, 2018

8 | sports@paisano-online.com

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