9.19.17

Page 1

6 | Arts & Life

8 | Sports

Vying for verdant viability

UTSA rolls past Southern in home opener

Vol. 56, Issue 5

Est. 1981

The Paisano

September 19 - September 26, 2017

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

/PaisanoOnline

www.Paisano-Online.com

@ThePaisano

@PaisanoMedia

Lynn Hickey steps down as athletic director 17-year run comes to a sudden end By Sam De Leon Co-News Editor

UTSA Athletics Director Lynn Hickey officially retired from her position on Sept. 7. Hickey’s announcement cited “personal reasons”; her retirement was effective the same day as the announcement. Hickey began her coaching career in Women’s Basketball as head coach of the Kansas State Wildcats in 1979. She remained the head coach of the Wildcats until 1984 and finished her career at Kansas State with a record of 125 wins. In 1984, Hickey became the head coach of the Texas A&M women’s basketball team, and in 1993 the team made it to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA national tournament. In 1994, Hickey finished her coaching career and was promoted to senior associate athletics director at Texas A&M. Until 2000, Hickey participated in event management, marketing and promotions for Texas A&M, a skill set highly valued at UTSA. Hickey joined UTSA’s young athletic program in 2000 as the program’s fourth athletics director. Hickey immediately began working on expanding the program, becoming the only woman

File Photo, The Paisano

Lynn Hickey, who stepped down from her position as UTSA athletic director on Sept. 7, sits at a UTSA football press conference.

“Regardless of the sport, if we needed an expert on the job here in San Antonio, we called Lynn Hickey.” -Ron Nirenberg, Mayor

The Green Society poses with the community garden.

athletics director in Texas to oversee both men’s and women’s Division I sports. “Regardless of the sport, if we needed an expert on the job here in San Antonio, we called Lynn Hickey,” said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “She and her associates took risks. Those risks have turned into a great opportunity for UTSA and the city of San Antonio.” Hickey is directly involved with bringing 14 NCAA cham-

Photo Courtesy of The Green Society

Growing together UTSA Green Society furthers community garden initiative By Elaina Suarez Contributing Writer

Volunteers collected the first harvest from the UTSA community garden in March of 2017. After the successful planting, the community garden began its fall harvest to continue the project. Volunteers are planting seeds and maintaining the garden beds to keep the project going. The Green Society, with help from the Department of Kinesiology, Health and Nutrition and the Office of Sustainability, began UTSA’S first community garden.

The Green Society decided to create a community garden in addition to their other eco-friendly efforts: picking up trash, volunteering and building trails. The UTSA community garden is The Green Society’s longest running project. First proposed in 2013, the garden was not officially built until last spring. The idea came from two students who approached Lindsay Ratcliffe, faculty advisor of The Green Society at UTSA, and explained the need for the community garden. Merced Carbajal and Christine DeMyer

pitched the need for a place UTSA students could grow and harvest vegetables, fruits and flowers, as well as harvest them. The community garden is located on Brackenridge Road behind Lot Five by the Child Development Center. The garden grows okra, tomatoes, broccoli, kale, chard, brussel sprouts, cabbage, basil, rosemary, oregano, sunflowers, peppers, cucumbers, spinach, corn, beans, herbs, flowers, sweet potatoes, cantaloupes and watermelon.The garden consists of six raised beds, one of which is American

pionship events to San Antonio, including the bid to host the 2018 Men’s Final Four and the 2022 Men’s Basketball Regional. Hickey will be remembered most for the role she played in the starting of the football program at UTSA, along with the women’s golf and soccer teams. On Dec. 18, 2008, the UT System Board of Regents accepted UTSA’s Athletics Initiative Business plan, granting the university

Dissabilities Act (ADA) accessible. Students from The Green Society, the Dietetic and Nutritious Student Association and the organization 9 for 17 maintain the garden. Since its inception, the garden progressed quickly. With the help of volunteers maintaining the garden daily, including Green Society former president Zayne Nordquist, the garden is being prepared for a fall harvest. “Originally, we had a system where students or student groups could reserve a section of the garden, and in that section, they were allowed to do what they wanted. This time we are focusing on a more communal effort, so we can harvest a large number, so we can donate it or sell it,” Nordquist said. Selling what is harvested is one of the ways the Green Society receives money to support the garden. Before The Green Society sold its produce, the com-

the ability to start a football program for the next season. In 2011, UTSA held its inaugural game at the Alamodome with more than 56,000 in attendence. UTSA later made history through its participation in the 2016 Gildan New Mexico Bowl, after only six years of play. See “Director steps down” page 2

munity garden was funded through UTSA’s Green Fund. The Green Society continues to use the Green Fund’s money to maintain the garden and buy tools necessary for gardening work. The Green Society has recently added a donation link for UTSA students, faculty and administrators to donate to the garden. Donations include buying seeds and providing maintenance to the garden so students can keep the resource at their disposal. “People should help with the garden because it is a great space for students who wouldn’t ordinarily meet each other on campus to get together and bond in a really relaxed space and do something that’s outside and productive and fun,” said Ratcliffe. “We are relying on donations because we have limited money in our budget. As the garden funds sit right now, we will need to rely on fundraisers in the future,” said Rat-

cliffe. “ We want to do traditional fundraisers like bake sales as time progresses. But eventually, we would also like to sell produce in a farmer’s market as well as donate the produce to our local communities that are food insecure. As of right now, we are trying to work with the San Antonio Food Bank with that and the UTSA food pantry,” Ratcliffe continued. The Green Society will be at the community garden on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 10 a.m. to plant seeds and maintain the garden beds. “We welcome all Roadrunners. You don’t have to be an Environmental Science major. You can be anybody who just wants to get their hands dirty,” Ratcliffe said. Students who want to get involved with The Green Society or help out with the community garden and any other similar projects can find information at Facebook. com/UTSAgarden.

Tania Siddiqi speaks with Matt Hinojosa about addiction, recovery and substance abuse. Check out episode three of Common Link http://bit.ly/2fgkyWX


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
9.19.17 by The Paisano - Issuu