02.04.20

5 | Arts & Life

7 | Sports

Planting the seed of literacy

Athlete of the Week: Keaton Wallace

Vol. 61, Issue 3

Est. 1981

February 4 – February 11, 2020

The Paisano

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

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SGA election commission assumes role of empty judicial branch

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Byron Frohnen breaks UTSA career records

By Josh Peck News Editor The Student Government Association (SGA) voted on Jan. 30 to create a temporary new election commission in order to promote SGA elections and to increase voter turnout.

This commission will temporarily replace the SGA judicial branch, which previously had the responsibility of promoting elections.

SGA President Jack Rust proposed the creation of the election commission after Chief Justice Clara Akwarandu resigned, leaving the judicial branch empty.

SGA is hosting general elections in March, and all positions except for freshman senator positions will be up for election.

“The election commission would be composed of five highly-motivated students that would lead all efforts in promoting the March SGA elections alongside the Transportation Fee referendum. This group will meet weekly to coordinate tabling efforts and discuss strategy with the end result of increasing turnout,” Rust said.

Rust has already identified five people to make up the commission. However, if any more students declare interest

in joining the commission, SGA will have to vote on who to confirm on Feb. 6 at the next SGA General Assembly. Students who want to be in the election commission cannot run for elected SGA office in March in order to preserve impartiality. All UTSA students are eligible to be a part of the commission.

To support the newly created election commission, Rust requested that his $1,000 presidential line-item be reallocated to create a voter information guide on the candidates running so that voters have a better idea of why a candidate is running for office. The presidential line item gives presidents personal discretion to allocate $1,000 toward something they feel students will benefit most from.

“During the spring elections last year we got just about 3% of the student body [to vote], which, compared to universities across the country, is incredibly small,” Rust said. “The way I can affect that immediately is … shift [the $1,000 presidential line-item] to general elections … and create a voter information guide.”

By Julia Maenius Assistant Sports Editor Senior forward Byron Frohnen has made UTSA basketball history by breaking two school records in back-to-back games.

Frohnen now holds the record for career starts with 123 consecutive starts and the all-time rebounding record with 845 career boards.

“Breaking a record is pretty cool,” Frohnen said. “It’s an uphill climb for us for the rest of the season, and I’m sure someone will break my record down the road, but having a record right now is pretty cool.”

Frohnen and the rest of the men’s basketball team will be back in action on Thursday in Norfolk, Virginia to face the Old Dominion University Monarchs.

Frohnen has been chipping away at these records since the first game in his freshman year in 2016 against the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys.

Byron Frohnen shot a layup in a game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers. Frohnen plays power forward for the UTSA men’s basketball team. Phtoto by Julia Maenius

2020 census push to increase federal funding

Researchers promote Latinx participation in STEM field

By Josh Peck News Editor

UTSA encouraged students to get involved in the 2020 census at an event on Jan. 23. Census results influence the amount of federal funds disttributed to states and localities. Photo by Triston Simpson-Bland

By Breahna Luera News Editor UTSA held a 2020 Census Kickoff event on Jan. 23, which informed students about what the census is and encouraged them to count themselves under their UTSA community address.

“It’s important for UTSA students to be counted where they live in school rather than where the rest of their family may live,” Charlin Jones-Chavez, senior associate director for Student Activities, said. “Census data helps the federal government determine how to distribute $600 billion worth of funding at state and local levels including higher education institutions and student aid.”

The 2020 census participants will be counted for population records which are taken into consideration when decisions for federal funding are being made. The census is taken every ten years. In 2010, the recorded Bexar County population was 1,714,773, and the 2020 projected population is 1,958,841.

UTSA plans on getting students involved by using UTSA’s Complete Count Committee.

“The UTSA Complete Count Committee is comprised of staff and students and is responsible for promoting the 2020 census and making sure students understand how the census impacts them and their education,” Jones-Chavez said.

A group of UTSA researchers has partnered with the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) to diversify the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field starting at the high school level by training Latinx educators to become computer science teachers.

Dr. Timothy Yuen, associate professor and assistant chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching and joint assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, is leading the research project, which is being funded by a $999,556 three-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Yuen believes it is particularly important for Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) like UTSA to support the diversification of the STEM field.

“UTSA serves a largely Hispanic student body and community, which makes us a key player in the national movement toward broadening diversity in STEM,” Yuen said. “Our project hopes to create a strong collaborative of computer science teachers in San Antonio who will inspire their students within our community to pursue computer science and other STEM careers at UTSA.” Yuen’s project was spurred, in part, by the fact that Latinx individuals only earn 10% of all bachelor’s degrees in computer science and less than 4% of master’s and doctorate degrees

in computer science in the U.S. even though Latinx people make up 17% of the population.

UTSA is ahead of the trend regarding the number of its Latinx students earning bachelor’s degrees in computer science. Over the last 10 years, 38% of all UTSA students earning bachelor’s degrees in computer science were Latinx, and in the 2018-2019 academic year, over 40% of bachelor’s degrees in computer science were awarded to Latinx students. However, according to figures provided

by Brian Cordeau, assistant vice provost for institutional research, from the fall of 2009 until the summer of 2019, only 6% of students earning a master’s degree in computer science were Latinx.

Over the same period of time, international students were earning the majority of master’s degrees in computer science, earning 68% of all degrees and white students earned 14% of all computer science master’s degrees.

15 SAISD high school educators will be selected each year for two years to be trained in a summer institute and monthly workshops. This will prepare them to earn certifications to teach computer science courses as a part of the CS4SA-HS program Yuen and other researchers are developing. The CS4SA-HS program is also designed to train educators to teach in diverse classrooms.

Yuen explained why he be-

Continued on page 2 See “Educators trained to teach in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms” Graphic courtesy of UTSA Office of Intercultural Programs and Student Engagement

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UTSA UTSA sent students an email on Jan. 30 regarding its oversight of potential coronavirus outbreaks on campus. The email stated that, in light of the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global public health emergency, UTSA is restricting all official university travel to China.

Additionally, the email stated that the university is closely monitoring the development of the illness and how it could affect their international studies programs. Currently, there are no reports of symptoms or illness from any faculty, staff or students who were in China from December to mid-January.

Texas Customs and Border Patrol is planning to go ahead with a plan to collect DNA from thousands of entering immigrants, including minors, even though the majority of detained immigrants are not being held in criminal custody. The Department of Homeland Security argues that the DNA collection will help fight crime, but the American Civil Liberties Union says the move is a violation of privacy.

A pilot project of the program started in Eagle Pass this January.

U.S. The U.S. Senate impeachment trial for President Donald Trump is coming to a close with a vote on the charges expected on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The vote, which is expected to acquit Trump largely along partisan lines, will mark the end of the third Senate trial of a U.S. president in American history.

World The United Kingdom officially left the European Union on Jan. 31, ending its membership in what had been a decades-long partnership between the U.K. and continental Europe. Brexit took over three-and-a-half years and the U.K. went through three prime ministers before it severed ties with the E.U.

Educators trained to teach in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms Continued from page 1 lieved that is an important component of his project.

“The CS4SA-HS program promotes the concept of culturally responsive teaching in which teachers respect the cultural and linguistic diversity of their students,” Yuen said. “As with any field, a diverse STEM workforce will allow for new and different perspectives and knowledge skill sets to come together to form new innovations.”

One of the ways that Yuen wants to prepare these educators to teach diverse classrooms is by collaborating with Youth Code Jam summer camps.

“Youth Code Jam will be an important part of [the] preparation by offering computing camps throughout San Antonio and other locations in Texas,” Yuen said. “Our teacher participants will have the opportunity to observe how experienced Youth Code Jam instruc-

tors teach computer science to high school students as well as engage in teaching activities … Our [NSF] grant will fund 60 high school students to attend Youth Code Jam camps so that our teacher participants will work [in] the same diverse learner populations as in their classrooms.”

Yuen’s research will result in a better undesrstanding of how these types of teacher training programs can diversify the STEM field.

“The research investigates the best practices and outcomes of teacher professional development programs … in terms of transforming current non-computer science teachers to … effectively teach computer science in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms,” Yuen said. “In doing so, we want to investigate how this type of teacher professional development can lead to increasing Latinx and other

minority populations in computer science and other STEM fields.”

Yuen hopes that this research project is the beginning of a shift in STEM education for Latinx educators and students.

“Within this grant project, we are also preparing our teacher participants to become advocates for computer science education within their schools across the district,” Yuen said. “Teacher participants should inspire and prepare their other colleagues to also become computer science educators.”

After the three-year NSF grant, Yuen wishes to continue this type of training throughout San Antonio.

“Ideally, after our threeyear grant, our team will be able to work with other school districts across San Antonio to increase the number of qualified computer science teachers in the classroom,” Yuen said.

Dr. Timothy Yuen received an NSF grant to train Latinx SAISD educators to teach computer science.

Yuen seeks to diversify Latinx participation in STEM. Photo courtesy of Courtney Clevenger.

COLFA dean candidate open forums continue with Dr. Jason Yaeger

By Xavier Richardson Assistant Opinion Editor Open forums for the College of Liberal and Fine Arts (COLFA) dean finalist candidates continued on Jan. 27. Dr. Jason Yaeger, associate dean of COLFA graduate studies and professor of anthropology at UTSA, spoke about how his current role and past experiences at UTSA would make him a good fit for the dean position.

Yaeger first addressed his move from the University of Wisconsin to UTSA in 2009, when he became a faculty member. He explained key differences between the two universities.

“At Wisconsin, people might ask you what classes you were teaching, but we never talked about the instruction. We didn’t talk about student success, we didn’t talk about techniques we could employ in the classroom,” Yaeger said. “So when I arrived at the Department of Anthropology … we talked about not just about what we were teaching, but how to teach and there were a bunch of workshops … and there was a commitment to student learning … that wasn’t very forefronted at Wisconsin. The diverse

student body was also different and exciting. Wisconsin is a very white campus, so looking out into my classroom and seeing students who look like San Antonio, students that look like the future of America, was fulfilling.”

In relation to the diversity of UTSA’s student body, Yaeger referenced the university’s status as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).

“I think an important part of COLFA’s success in the university’s future success relies on, is founded on our status as an HSI, and I think we should become a national leader in the Latinx ecosystem,” Yaeger said. “Latinx higher educational attainment is really low … and if we aspire to be a just and equitable society, this is something we need to address and overcome and identify the obstacles that lie behind these statistics and begin changing them one student at a time.”

Yaeger later spoke about the university’s role in community engagement, specifically mentioning the Westside Community Partnerships Initiative, a program outlined in UTSA’s 10-year master plan that focuses on providing support to underrepresented minority members in San

Antonio’s Westside.

The initiative includes provisions for the creation of four task forces directed towards reshaping the educational and economic climate of the Westside.

The taskforce’s ultimate goal is to strengthen the connection between UTSA and San Antonio residents throughout the city.

“I think, first of all, we have to understand what the community may find of value in COLFA … and engaging more fully in the Westside Initiative that UTSA has set up recently,” Yaeger said.

“I think the College of Education is doing the heavy lifting in that initiative so far, but when we’re thinking about, again, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center … some of the social challenges that face the Westside, some of the rich culture and heritage in the Westside, and the history of the Westside … we just need to identify what it is and work with those groups.”

Yaeger also addressed how he would serve transfer and nontraditional students as COLFA dean.

“I think there are certain concerns that are particular to transfer students, particularly with transfer credits, so that

it’s a seamless process to move toward their bachelor’s degree if possible,” Yaeger said. “I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that, although I do know obviously we want to address any obstacles there as we become aware of them. Again this is from my perspective in anthropology, some of our strongest students are returning students and transfer students, a lot of times they really know what they want, they’ve got some life experience that brings real value to the classroom and to discussions but also has a certain sense of purpose which is great … I think some of it is just connecting transfer students with people who have had some more experience.”

The next COLFA dean candidate forum featuring Dr. Kathaleen Amende, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Alabama State University, will take place on Feb. 5, from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. A complete schedule of the forums can be found at https:// www.utsa.edu/today/2020/01/ story/colfa-forums.html.

Science The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, housed in Maui, Hawaii, has recently taken the most detailed photos of the sun’s surface that scientists have seen to-date. Although the telescope is still under construction, these “first light” photos have captured images that show features on the sun that reach approximately 30 kilometers across, which is three times smaller than what previous telescopes could detect. After the construction is finalized, scientists hope to use the telescope to observe the sun’s corona in hopes to better understand how the activity of the sun affects the Earth.

Graphic by Robyn Castro

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opinion@paisano-online.com | 3

OPINION

Faculty diversity matters, too Editorial UTSA prides itself on being a Minority-Serving Institution that promotes diversity. Any racial disparities on our college campus between students and professors indicate a lack of drive for racial inclusivity of our campus.

UTSA consists of 8% Black students, 56% Hispanic students, 6% Asian students and 23% White students; however, UTSA’s faculty is comprised of only 4% Black, 19% Hispanic, 12% Asian and 49% White members as of 2019, according to UTSA’s Institutional Research. For a campus that supposedly prizes diversity, these numbers reflect a different reality.

A campus with faculty who are representative of the student body creates a more inclusive environment. A racially inclusive teaching environment increases student attendance, according to the Brookings Institute, a national nonprofit public policy research organization.

Further, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, non-Hispanic whites comprised 77% of full-time faculty members at U.S. colleges and universities in the fall of 2017.

President Taylor Eighmy wants to expand UTSA’s size and academic reputation, which is a great opportunity for our university to diversify its faculty.

UTSA desperately yearns to be an esteemed research university; however, reinforcing diversity needs to be our top priority. President Eighmy is striving to enroll 45,000 students by 2028, but ensuring our campus can achieve a representative faculty is more critical to the UTSA community than increased enrollment numbers.

Following UTSA’s January update on strategic hiring initiatives, the university announced a new administrative position: associate vice provost for faculty diversity and inclusion. According to UTSA, the goal of the initiative is to “help shape and guide the university’s continuing efforts to enhance

faculty diversity to better reflect the students UTSA serves.”

A new associate vice provost for faculty diversity and inclusion might help UTSA reach this diversity goal. But more must be done than simply hiring an administrator for diversity on campus, namely, hiring a more diverse faculty.

Illustration by Alex Hanks

The GRAMMYs are broken Commentary

By Ebony Purk Contributing Writer

The 2020 GRAMMYs aired Jan. 26 to audiences across America, but not without a little controversy first. According to Deborah Dugan, former Chief Executive of the Recording Academy, the GRAMMYs are notorious for voting irregularities behind closed doors. These accusations, coupled with past voting inconsistencies noted by the public, have sparked an ongoing conversation about the validity of the GRAMMYs, whose purpose is supposed to uplift and recognize great talent and achievement in music. However, according to Dugan, the GRAMMYs have apparently always been about politics rather than the music.

At this year’s award ceremony, Tyler the Creator’s album “IGOR” won Best Rap Album but was met with “bittersweet” feelings from Tyler.

During a press interview, Tyler stated, “half of me feels like the rap nomination was a back-handed

compliment.” He also expressed how black artists are often confined to rap or urban categories, even going as far as stating “urban” is a “politically correct way to say the n-word,” regardless if their music is “genre-bending.”

If the GRAMMYs have been political then it is disappointing but comes as no surprise. They assert their so-called authority of what music is and isn’t over black artists by limiting them to exclusively urban categories.

Tyler’s win was well deserved, but he’s right — the GRAMMYs have historically oppressed black artists because GRAMMY voters typically are not and have never been true lovers and connoisseurs of music.

While receiving his award of Best Rap Song for “God’s Plan” at the 2019 GRAMMYs, Drake stated in his acceptance speech how these “acclaimed” awards don’t define musical greatness and an artist doesn’t need a GRAMMY to validate their art. In recent years, even artists seem to be noticing inconsistencies in the award-giving process, some of them going out of their way to state how an award that used to mean so much to them, doesn’t have the same appeal as once before.

The music industry is run by the same system across different platforms that continues to deny black artists the same luxury as white artists: the ability to stretch genres. As time goes on, and social media continues to be a strong platform of conversation and advocacy, systems like GRAMMYs may begin to lose the power they hold over artists, specifically black artists.

Illustration by Alex Hanks

Public charge rule echoes xenophobia Commentary

By Ana Lorant Staff Writer The Trump administration is making headway on their aggressive anti-immigration stance after a 5-4 Supreme Court decision, on Monday, Jan. 27, in favor of implementing a new public charge rule that would target low-income immigrants seeking lawful permanent residence or more widely known as a “green card.”

The term “public charge” is defined in a 1999 Immigration Act Guidance as someone “primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either the receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense.”

However, in August of 2019, the Trump administration unveiled a new rule that expanded the list of safety-net programs that, if deemed likely to be used by immigrants seeking a green card for even just 12 out of any future 36-month period, would allow case-workers to deny their petition on public charge grounds. It gives huge discretion to government officials to “predict” who will become a public charge through what is essentially a wealth test. In the past, only the acceptance of cash benefits such as social security could classify one as a public charge, and as a result, inadmissible to the

U.S. The new rule now includes programs that subsidize basic day-to-day necessities such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid and housing vouchers to name a few.

This new amendment would apply to any of the estimated 300 to 500 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients at UTSA who are potentially seeking legal permanent residence. It should be noted that DACA recipients do not qualify to receive any government assistance and this new policy would only serve to increase the difficulty on their path to citizenship. This isn’t the first time the current administration has made life harder for DREAMers. Back in September 2017, Trump announced that he planned to terminate the program. It has since been kept alive due to efforts from lower courts.

The president’s agenda is to cut down on both illegal and legal immigration, despite studies showing that immigration consistently benefits overall economic growth and that immigrants on average use less public welfare programs than native citizens.

Further, immigrants contribute over a billion dollars in taxpayer money in San Antonio alone.

Another issue is the chilling effect this new rule will have on lawful enrollment in public welfare programs like Medicaid and food stamps. Due to fear and confusion, many immigrants that will not be directly affected by the new rule are likely to withdraw them-

selves or their family from programs despite the potential consequences such as declining health and malnutrition. A similar phenomenon occurred after the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. When it passed, widespread confusion led to a large decline in Medicaid enrollment despite the fact that if someone qualifies for programs like Medicaid, they are almost certainly not subject to the ramifications of a public charge rule.

This rule change will disproportionately prevent racial minorities from legally entering the U.S., furthering a racist and xenophobic agenda.

Illustration by Alex Hanks

Feb ru a r y 4 – Feb ru a r y 11, 2020

4 | opinion@paisano-online.com

Still legal, still evil

The Paisano

Commentary

By Kennedy Caskey Staff Writer Throughout history, the legitimacy of conversion therapy — the injurious attempt to change an individual’s sexual orientation — has been thoroughly debated. Many believe conversion therapy to be an act of the past. After all, conversion therapy was discredited by the American Psychological Association in 1973. However, conversion therapy efforts spearheaded by religious zealots and reprobated psychologists are still prevalent in the United States.

These extremist groups, who champion conversion therapy, foolishly reject and ignore scientific authority on the matter of sexuality despite the overwhelming evidence that supports that same-sex attraction is a normal and positive variation of human sexuality, and continue to espouse that a patient can undergo treatments to become heterosexual.

They employ methods such as pseudo-counseling, cognitive and behavioral therapy, hypnotism and other approaches such as same-sex retreats (which seems counterproductive at best). While not as common today, some exercise more aversive and physical treatments such as shock therapy and sex hormone procedures.

According to the UCLA Williams Institute, 700,000 LGBTQ+ people have endured conversion therapy. Of those 700,000 people, 350,000 are minors who were administered treatments that they did not consent to. With all of this in mind, many of us ask a fundamental question, “Why is conversion therapy still legal for minors in the United States?” It is sad and embarrassing that conversion therapy

is still legal in 31 states in 2020. The other 19 states, most recently Utah, have banned conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ minors, which is a major milestone for the U.S. However, these laws only apply to mental health practitioners and do not apply to religious providers.

Religious providers hide behind the First Amendment’s freedom of religion clause and use it as a safeguard to abuse children. The First Amendment is incredibly important and significant, and no individual’s freedom should be infringed upon, including adults seeking conversion therapy. Legally consenting adults should not be denied the freedom to find the counseling and resources they so choose, even if it is something widely frowned upon like conversion therapy. States are in a tough position and will often compromise with religious groups in matters of conversion therapy. However, what about the individual freedoms and rights of the defenseless children and adolescents who are subjected to such depraved and fraudulent practices? Why does the First Amendment not apply to LGBTQ+ youth? Children are meant to be protected from discrimination, just as adults are protected under the law.

Conversion therapy should be illegal for minors in all 50 states. Why have we fallen so short?

It is an insult to categorize conversion therapy as a legitimate therapy. Proponents of conversion therapy use medical terms to help give credibility and justification for their practices, but once you strip away all of the deceiving terminology and the hidden truths, all that remains is hatred and fear. You cannot heal a group of people who were never sick in the first place.

You may not always understand the people around you, but you should love and respect them.

News Josh Peck | News Editor News@paisano-online.com Breahna Luera | News Editor News@paisano-online.com

Opinion

Alex Hanks | Opinion Editor Opinion@paisano-online.com Dawson Fagan | Opinion Editor Opinion@paisano-online.com Ryan Houston-Dial | Assistant Opinion Editor Opinion@paisano-online.com Xavier Richardson | Assistant Opinion Editor Opinion@paisano-online.com

Arts & Life Sofia Garcia | Arts & Life Editor Arts@paisano-online.com

Sports Ryan Garza | Sports Editor Sports@paisano-online.com

Photo Ethan Gullett | Photo Editor Photo@paisano-online.com

Commentary

Among most progressive voters, two Democratic presidential primary candidates appear as their prime choices: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The two senators are often conflated by voters who only spot the difference in gender. Despite what pictures the two candidates may try to paint of themselves through rhetoric and creative campaigning, upon critically comparing and investigating policies, votes and their respective histories, it becomes clear that they could not be more different, and only one of them is genuinely progressive. This can be proven in a number of ways.

To start, let’s examine history. In 1964, Warren was a Goldwater Girl — supporting Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater — and she was a registered Republican herself until 32 years later in 1996. In 1963, 21-year-old Sanders was chaining himself to a black woman and to other activists to block bulldozers. Later, at that same civil rights protest, he was arrested. Most candidates have everything to lose by sticking their necks out for marginalized communities and everything to gain by remaining moderate, so what does this political truism say about Sanders, who has had a lifelong dedication to progressive activism, versus Warren, who campaigned for Goldwater and voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act? People and their views can and do change over time, but have Warren’s? Or, is her “progressivism” a disguise she thinks will get her elected?

Joseph Torres | Managing Editor Manager@paisano-online.com

Julia Maenius | Assistant Sports Editor

Sanders vs. Warren, fight!

By Isabella Briseño Contributing Writer

Rudy Sanchez | Editor-in-Chief Editor@paisano-online.com

Warren portrays herself similarly to Bernie when it comes to issues like health care and education, but a closer look shows this is insincere and meant to mislead voters. This characterization could not be further from the truth. Though her website still indicates support of Medicare for All, she has begun to back down from that. Her language around Medicare for All is now based on “choice,” making her health care plan more similar to Pete Buttigieg’s than to Sanders,’ and by no means represents bold change.

Warren’s student debt plan also leaves a lot to be desired.

While Sanders wishes to cancel all student loan debt, Warren presents many hoops to jump through, meaning only some Americans would qualify. It may not seem like much, but the difference between “college for all” versus “affordable higher education,” and “Medicare for All” versus “Medicare for All who want it” is larger than Warren would like you to think.

But, as shown by Sanders’ strong grassroots support and surging poll numbers, people have been noticing the difference. Upon noting this herself, Warren resorted to character assassination. For her to claim as late in the race as she did that Sanders, who encouraged Warren to run in 2016 and only ran himself when she said she would not, does not think a woman could win the presidency is comical, and the claim was perhaps the beginning of the end for her campaign. The multiple young congresswomen of color that endorse him know that and his supporters know it too.

Warren often says she has “a plan for that,” but Sanders has had bolder ideas since Warren was still a Republican.

Online Kat Joseph | Multimedia Editor Multimedia@paisano-online.com Maha Qadri | Magazine Editor Magazine@paisano-online.com Brysen Streeter | Web Editor Web@paisano-online.com

Business Will Stransky | Business Manager Business@paisano-online.com Kasandra Parker | Marketing Manager Business@paisano-online.com Adrianne Kristianto | Social Media Coordinator Kayla Burford | Social Media Coordinator Ellyson Ortega | Distribution Manager Lindsey Thomas | Head of Special Projects

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Staff Robyn Castro | Staff Max Aguirre | Staff Paris Cantu | Staff Jose Chapa | Staff Kennedy Caskey | Staff Triston Simpson-Bland | Staff Ana Lorant | Staff Cheyenne Morton| Staff

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Illustrations by Ethan Gullett

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Arts & Life Planting the seed of literacy Author Jon Lasser teaches SA youth about growth through positive psychology

By Kasandra Parker Marketing Manager Bursting with anticipation, children sat around Jon Lasser as he patiently pulled various items out of his basket. “Is this a seed?” He would ask as he pulled out objects such as pinto beans, eggs, bones and a mistletoe. Many kids engaged Lasser with enthusiastic answers and impressive facts of their own regarding seeds. This activity ended with Lasser explaining to the children and their parents the value of cultivating happiness. With the help of his protagonist Kiko, a doll, Lasser explains the importance of parents planting seeds of good nature in their children’s minds.

The second activity of the event consisted of the children crouching on the floor to resemble seeds, and as Kiko and Lasser walked around the room pretending to water everyone, the participants were told to stand up and grow. Both children and adults stood as tall as they could manage to show how big they could grow through positivity and support. This event was part of the author series installment at the DoSeum Children’s Museum. It consisted of a close reading of Lasser’s new book “Grow Happy,” a book signing and several activities intended to reinforce the importance of cultivating happiness.

Positive psychology is just one of the

Illustration by Robyn Castro

Random Access Memories

many techniques Lasser employs in his writings. As a professor of psychology at Texas State University, Lasser is concerned with children’s development. One of the many tools he uses to communicate the importance of happiness is literature.

Kiko acts as a guide showing children the value of tending to your own garden and the accessible tools they need in order to care for it. The back of the book offers notes and advice to parents and caregivers on how to plant seeds of positivity in children’s minds, to show support and to be active in their growth.

“Grow Happy” provides children with important values to take with them into each stage of their lives. Authors like Lasser, Roald Dahl, Francis Hodgson Burnett and Louisa May Alcott provide children with the most enduring and valuable resource for learning and growth: literature. These stories show people that literature is important for the development of children, and the constant immersion and discussion of literature — what it says and its significance in our world, is a tool that should be nurtured and preserved.

A starry night on campus

Album Review: Daft Punk’s pivotal record

UTSA hosts lecture and stargazing session

By Adrianne Kristianto Social Media Coordinator

By Tali Duarte Assistant Magazine Editor

Debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 in 2013, and selling over 339,000 copies in its first week of sales, Daft Punk’s fourth album “Random Access Memories,” confidently delivered tune after tune. Though it was released almost a decade ago, its revolutionary sound has developed beautifully in the last seven years.

The French electronic music duo, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, presented us with dance-fueled singles like “Get Lucky,” “Lose Yourself To Dance” and “Give Life Back to Music” in their grammywinning album, “Random Access Memories.” Songs with sumptuous sounds and low beats per minute such as “Within” and “The Game of Love” are also present. Ahead of its time, this album was exceptionally engineered with production techniques from the 70s and 80s, and stayed true to its EDM roots.

The role of “Random Access Memories” in the music industry led to Daft Punk earning a GRAMMY back in 2014.

Taking home five GRAMMY wins for Record of the Year (“Get Lucky”), Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Album of the Year, Best Dance/Electronica Album and Best Engineered Album (Non-classical), “Random Access Memories” gave the world something that was missing in the music industry: diversity. An era filled with turbo-pop, the early 2010s was a historic period for pop artists like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and many more. Nevertheless, with their

Eurodisco and deep-house background, Daft Punk altered the music industry in 2013, giving listeners an ingenious hybrid of electronic, disco/funk, pop and soft-rock in “Random Access Memories.”

The 13-track, 80-minute love letter to glittery vocoders and sequencers was a groundbreaking move made by the French house duo. Setting forth with “Give Life Back to Music,” a solid homage to 70s disco, and ending it with chaotic drum fill-ins and crazed synthesizers in “Contact,” “Random Access Memories” was Daft Punk’s radio return.

Vibrantly rendered, each song in the album was put together with a great level of detail, leaving listeners in awe of its composition.

Featuring the iconic Pharrell Williams, Julian Casablancas, Todd Edwards, Panda Bears and Paul Williams, “Random Access Memories” became one of the most sublime and avant-garde albums of the decade. Its disruptive sounds paved the way not only for the electronic genre during an era that went pop, but it was also a new testament for music production: riff-heavy, rich synthesizers, steady four on the floor, with pulsating influence from the 70s and 80s.

Though EDM was a second choice to most in the early 2010s, “Random Access Memories” was a pivotal album for the EDM community as well as the music industry at the time. A historic album, “Random Access Memories” is worth revisiting after almost a decade.

Illustration by Adrianne Kristianto

Illustration by Ethan Gullett

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and admired the bright stars? Well, you’re looking at the same stars that existed long ago. Those same stars are presumably dead, according to the different time scales we have here on Earth. The galaxy is filled with globular clusters or old stars. Call yourself a time traveler because you’re looking at the past, and just like humans, they too have a life cycle.

The universe is big, and it’s only getting bigger every second. It’s so massive that professional cosmologists don’t understand 95% of the energy budget since we’re looking at everything from the inside. Luckily, the solar system has been around way longer than we have and as long as humanity sticks around, we will be able to discover more factual evidence of this vast universe we live in.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at UTSA is offering public access to a 45-minute lecture series of astronomical research and discoveries.

The lectures are presented by the department’s own staff, and occasionally, special guests with their own astronomical background. The first lecture of the

semester series was led by lecturer Dr. Bharat Ratra from Kansas State University. With his cosmological background, his presentation on dark matter, dark energy and Einstein’s Cosmological Constant was factually intriguing. Even if you’re not interested in astronomy, it was easy to follow. Dr. Ratra discussed the comparison between the size of the Earth and the Milky Way. Even traveling at the speed of light would take 160,000 years to cross the galaxy.

Dr. Ratra later gave hands-on demonstrations of topics for his lecture such as: contrasting a frisbee to the Milky Way; a wave propagating in a one-dimensional expanding universe with a rubber band; and a balloon-type air bubble filled with dots to demonstrate the isotropic shape of our solar system. After the presentation, all of the guests were invited to stargaze at the Curtis Vaughan Jr. Observatory. They had a few telescopes lined up for the curious spectators to see the constantly expanding universe.

This event happens every third Friday of the month, so go in with an open mind and educate yourself on something new.

F e bru ar y 4 — F e bru ar y 11, 2020

6 | arts@paisano-online.com

Love is in the detail Valentine’s Vendor Market promotes handmade gifts

By Cheyenne Morton Contributing Writer The Freetail Brewing Company hosted a Valentine’s Vendor Market on Feb 1.

This event was coordinated by Carolyn Martinez, the owner of the business Skycrafters. San Antonio is known for events like this, which give small businesses the opportunity to get their product out into the world. The items in this particular event ranged from handmade glass marbles and knitted stuffed animals to candles and handmade earrings.

Supporting local businesses within the community is vital to keeping them afloat and giving them an outlet to express their forms of art. San Antonio is a welcoming city for small businesses as well as startups, and often holds farmers’ markets, events at the Pearl Brewery and fan-fest events where artists can show and sell what they’re passionate about. Even with all this accessibility, self start-ups are difficult to manage, especially because of big companies like Amazon that disperse bulk items and sell them at a lower price.

This forces smaller businesses to raise their prices in order to compete in the same market.

One of the best and worst things about these small businesses is how specialized they are. For example, Betsy Rodriguez’s collection of handmade recyclable trinkets are so specialized that only a select few people would be interested in purchasing them. While specialization can be a bad thing, it can also be extremely essential and welcoming to those who look for the handmade accessories that Betsy Rodriguez has to offer, or love the artful and quirky prints that can be found at Carolyn Martinez’s Skycrafter booth.

The diversity is grand and the competition is large, but these small businesses still find a way to express their passion through the items they sell.

Another handmade crafts market will be taking place on Feb. 13 at the Brick at Blue Star Art Complex from 6 p.m. -11 p.m.

By Paris Cantu Staff Writer

Illustration by Triston SimpsonBland

K-poppin in the club Brick at Blue Star hosts K-pop dance night

By Maha Qadri Magazine Editor K-pop Nite at the Brick Blue Star Arts Complex was electric and infectious, as “BBoom BBoom” by Momoland blasted through the speakers.

Upon entering the club, the patrons found a stage where K-pop music videos were being projected. Popular YouTuber John Norman was the DJ for the event. As the songs played, anyone was welcome to come on stage and showcase their dancing skills. Since the event was open to all ages, everyone from ages five to 25 danced together to songs like “My Pace” by Stray Kids and “Wonderland” by ATEEZ. Of course, when BTS songs like “Go Go” and “Burning Up (Fire)” came on, the entire dance floor was flooded by ARMYs (BTS’s fandom name). People of all skill levels danced their hearts out, unafraid of making a mistake.

Along the back wall of the establishment were vendors selling original handmade Kpop merch for many different groups.

Among the patrons was Alejandro Garcia, a San Antonio College alum. “I actually started with ballet,” Garcia said when asked about his interest in dancing. “After a while, I wasn’t able to afford the whole thing, so I stopped dancing. Then I got into K-pop, and some of my friends started

“K-pop fans’ levels of loyalty, kindness and protectiveness are unmatched.”

performing. It’s been a lot of fun.”

UTSA student Brandon Ponce, a junior modern language studies major in Japanese and Korean, was also in attendance. “[The best part about K-pop culture is] the dancing and making friends through the groups that you like,” Ponce said. Ponce is a member of the Korean Culture Club at UTSA, and learning choreography is a big part of the club’s agenda.

“We have practices Monday, Wednesday and Friday,” Ponce said.

The event ran from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The most admirable aspect about K-pop culture is showcased in events like this; people of all ages coming together, feeling confident and empowered, enjoying music which has always had the power to transcend language barriers. Most fans are met with a lot of distaste for their interest in K-pop, but fans of K-pop are unlike any other person you’ll come across. Aside from the fan-cam spammers, K-pop fans’ levels of loyalty, kindness and protectiveness are unmatched.

If you’re interested in joining the community, reach out to the Korean Culture Club on Instagram at @utsa_kcc.

Newly 76, Angela Davis has made a heroine of herself through her pioneering of black activism and years of continued activism for women’s rights, human rights and peace.

Written and published in the 80s, “Women Culture Politics” is a treatise to the Afro-American female role in political culture. In this collection, Davis portrays the same conviction and power that supported her role in the formation of the Black Panther Party. The essays condemn capitalism, nuclear weapons, homophobia and the unstable health care system. Her arguments serve as a reminder of the radicalism we left behind in the 60s and 70s and the everlasting need for change in the U.S. In an essay titled, “Women in the 1980s,” Davis indicts the Reagan administration for its racist and sexist policies. She states, “While chipping away at the achievements of the women’s movement thus far, the Reagan administration simultaneously conducted concerted attacks on the Labor Movement and on the rights of Afro-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders.”

She highlights the activism that was needed but was missing. The hype and elation from 60s and 70s civil rights activism resulted in a drought of activism for women, minorities and peace during the 80s.

In the essay, “The Politics of Black Women’s Health,” Davis explains how politics permeate our personal lives. “Politics do not stand in popular opposition to our lives. Whether we desire it or not, they permeate our existence, insinuating themselves into the most private spaces of our lives.”

These essays remain timeless, and although we reside in a different century, the issues remain the same. Likewise, so do Davis’s ideologies, still ringing with reform and empowerment.

Illustration by Maha Qadri

Woolworth Watch Day Conservation Society of SA hosts civil rights symposium

By Ryan Houston-Dial Assistant Opinion Editor The Conservation Society of San Antonio hosted a symposium, Woolworth Watch Day, on Saturday, Feb. 1. The symposium emphasized the role and history of downtown San Antonio within Alamo Plaza for Bexar County’s civil rights legacy. On Feb. 1, 1960, African American students jumpstarted lunch counter sit-ins to fight against racial segregation in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The movement inspired those in the South to continue the fight for racial equality. Mary Andrews, a student of Our Lady of the Lake University in the 60s and the president of San Antonio’s NAACP youth group at the time, sent letters to San Antonio Woolworth stores requesting equal service. Andrew’s letter embodied the message that San Antonio citizens were ready for social change.

“We feel that the citizens of San Antonio are intelligent enough to accept such change,” stated Andrews. After civic leaders met on March 16, 1960, seven Woolworth downtown stores agreed to desegregate lunch counters. This victory caught the eye of Jackie Robinson who was quoted by The New York Times as saying it was “a story that should be told around the world.”

The Woolworth building within Alamo Plaza serves as a successful cornerstone that initiated social change for civil rights.

However, a concern was raised for the status of the Woolworth building after 2018 when the conceptual groundwork for a new Alamo museum did not show the mapping of the

historic building anymore. The Conservation Society of San Antonio is fighting for the stay and incorporation of the Woolworth building within Alamo Plaza. The history of civil rights and progressiveness for African Americans and Hispanics was cultivated on the corners of the Woolworth building.

Bexar County judge Nelson Wolff expressed his frustration while calling on the Texas government.

“Not a question of can they do it, it is a question of will they do it,” Wolff stated. His message resonated heavily as the audience erupted into cheer.

The symposium continued with distinguished speakers who highlighted the historical significance of the civil rights legacy within Alamo Plaza. Everett Fly, a 2014 National Humanities Medals recipient, awarded by Barack Obama, lectured about the struggles for African Americans to gain racial equality. Fly discussed the time that African American advocates for social change during the 60s were chased approximately a mile west to a church. Incidents such as those served as a reminder that civil rights were imperative at that time.

The symposium resulted in the Conservation Society calling upon the people of San Antonio to contact the Texas government for the preservation of the Woolworth building.

“Both the Woolworth and the Alamo symbolize a fight for freedom,” an audience member yelled.

Photo by Summer Mathis

Rami El-Farrah’s Recital

UTSA professor’s personalized show

By Sofia Garcia Arts & Life Editor

Review UTSA faculty member Rami El-Farrah delivered an impeccable saxophone solo to family, friends and students in the UTSA Recital Hall on Jan. 29. To see the full review, go to paisano-online.com.

Fe b ru a r y 4 – F ebru ar y 1 1, 2020

sports@paisano-online.com | 7

Sports

Jacob Germany shoots a free throw after a foul in the game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The ‘Runners lost to the Blazers 76-68. Photo by Julia Maenius

Eric Czumbel drives past the defenders to the basket. The ‘Runners dropped the game to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Photo by Julia Maenius

Men’s basketball falls in back-to-back games Frohnen sets rebounding, career starts records

By Ryder Martin Staff Writer UTSA men’s basketball was back in action with a two game home stand from Jan. 30, to Feb. 1. The Roadrunners dropped both games at home with a 76-68 loss to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers (UAB) (14-9, 5-5 C-USA) on Jan. 30, and an 83-80 loss to Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders (6-17, 2-8 C-USA) on Feb. 1. The ‘Runners now sit at 10-13 on the season with a record of 4-6 in conference play, ninth in the conference.

Jackson and Wallace continued to shine. Jackson continued his torrid scoring pace, putting up 20 points against UAB and delivering a 32-point performance against the Blue Raiders, maintaining second place in the nation for points per game. Wallace scored 26

against UAB to lead the ‘Runners in scoring and 22 against the Blue Raiders.

Senior forward Byron Frohnen set the UTSA career records for rebounds and career starts.

The ‘Runners fell behind early against the Blazers, but a block followed by a step back 3-pointer from Wallace late in the half would spark a UTSA rally and a 17-7 run, entering halftime with a 36-34 lead. An 8-2 run midway through the second half opened up an eight-point lead for the Blazers. Wallace scored 12 straight points down the stretch for UTSA, but the ‘Runners’ baskets missed in crunch time were their undoing. In the battle on the glass, UTSA was dominated by the Blazers in the rebounding column 42-24 and 14-6 in offensive rebounding.

Against the Blue Raiders, freshman center Jacob Germany made his first ca-

reer start and instantly capitalized, throwing down a huge alley-oop off the feed from Wallace to start the game as UTSA raced out to a quick 11-2 lead. A hot shooting Blue Raiders squad jumped out to a 48-36 lead at halftime. Jackson and Wallace would score the first 17 points of the second half for UTSA to draw them back within two points. A 13-0 run by the Raiders extended their lead back to double digits midway through the second half. UTSA rallied and tied the game at 80-80 with 15 seconds to go. A UTSA foul on a Blue Raider three-point attempt as time expired led to three free throws, and UTSA was unable to get another shot off, handing them an 83-80 loss.

UTSA will be on the road for their next two games, first traveling to Virginia to face the Monarchs of Old Dominion University (9-14, 5-5 C-USA) on Feb. 6.

Old Dominion enters the game allowing 64.2 points per game, ranked 56th in the nation, as UTSA comes in averaging 78.5 points per game, ranked 29th in the nation. Old Dominion also averages 27.17 rebounds per game led by senior forward Aaron Carver who is ranked 33rd in the nation, averaging 6.83 rebounds per game. The ‘Runners then head to North Carolina to take on the University of Charlotte 49ers (12-9, 6-4 C-USA) on Feb. 8. Charlotte comes into the game allowing only 63.4 points per game, which ranks 42th in the nation. Much like UTSA, Charlotte relies heavily on their backcourt to put up points as their top four scorers all play at the guard position.

UTSA must pick up these two wins on the road for a better seeding position.

Both games will broadcast on ESPN+.

Athlete of the Week: Keaton Wallace

By Julia Maenius Assistant Sports Editor Junior guard Keaton Wallace, part of Conference-USA’s highest scoring duo, continues to lead the team alongside Jhivvan Jackson for the UTSA men’s basketball team.

The business finance major has been on the court since the age of four, preparing for his future as a Roadrunner.

“I took business finance to learn how to invest and get into stocks, so that is what I plan on getting into after college,” Wallace said.

Wallace was named to the All-Conference USA team for the current season after ranking fourth in the league for points per game in his sophomore season.

“My family inspired me to keep playing,” Wallace said. “I have older cousins that played and older uncles too, so it is in my blood.”

Wallace has been named ConferenceUSA player of the week multiple times for his efforts in the backcourt and has been etching away at UTSA school records since his start on the team in 2017.

“I chose UTSA because I feel like they took a chance on me,” Wallace said. “I wasn’t highly recruited outside of high school, and I felt like they were being honest, and they were a good group of guys, so that was the main focus for me in my recruiting.”

Coming from Dallas, Wallace has started in every game for the past two seasons for the ‘Runners.

Keaton Wallace brings the ball up to make a lay-up. Wallace is the second half of Conference USA’s highest scoring duo. Photo by Julia Maenius

“The recruiting process was kind of slow,” Wallace said. “I didn’t really start getting heavily recruited until late senior year. I feel like everything worked out good for me, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

When asked about his pre-game rituals, Wallace takes an hour nap to recharge before he steps onto the court.

“A hobby that I have outside of basketball is that I like to make beats,” Wallace said. “I’m kind of creative and I have a little art in me.”

With lots of inspiration in his life, Wallace’s athletic role model comes from his family.

“My biggest inspiration would be my big cousin Terrel Harris,” Wallace

said. “Growing up he was one of my big cousins I saw on TV playing at Oklahoma State, and he got a chance to play in the NBA. I wanted to do the same things he did.”

Reflecting on his career thus far, Wallace credits a matchup against Old Dominion University to be the best moment in his career to date.

“The most monumental moment would be last year when we played Old Dominion here, and we came back from an 18-point lead,” Wallace said. “That was crazy. It was the best moment of my life.”

Averaging 18.5 points per game, he claimed a season high of 31 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and recorded 121 3-pointers in his sophomore season, surpassing the record of 96 for a single season.

“You never know what is going to happen,” Wallace said. “We are going to fight until the end, and we are going to play until the end. We don’t have quitters on our team, and that is what I like about UTSA.” Wallace has stepped up his game on and off the court, fulfilling the leadership role as an upperclassman on the team while adapting his game to contribute to the team dynamic and goals.

“I feel like I have stepped up a lot,” Wallace said. “Before, I used to be a quiet guy, laid back, chill, but now I have to add a part to my game which is being more vocal. Being a vocal leader is important to me.”

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8 | sports@paisano-online.com

Quick Hits Track & Field Bashiru Abdullahi broke the UTSA men’s track & field record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.80 seconds.

Football Head coach Jeff Traylor hires the last of his coaching staff by bringing in Tyrone Nix as defensive coordinator/linebackers coach.

Women’s Tennis The Roadrunners defeated the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals 5-2 to claim their second victory of the season.

Men’s Tennis The men’s team will head to Lafayette, Louisiana to take on the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns on Feb. 9.

Softball Softball season will start their season Feb. 7 at the 34th Annual Louisiana Classics tournament in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Jake McDaniel glides over the bar during high jump. Both track teams competed in the Houston G-5 and Mid-Major Invitational over the Jan. 31 weekend. Photo by Jack Myer

Track headlines Houston meet

By Lindsey Thomas Head of Special Projects

At the end of January, the Roadrunners track and field teams competed at the Houston G5 and Mid-Major Invitational at Yeoman Fieldhouse.

On the men’s side of the Invitational, sophomore All-American Gary Haasbroek ranked fifth in the NCAA this indoor season. He finished with a final score of 5,712 points and a day-one total of 3,121 points on Friday, Jan. 31.

Hassebroek ran the 60-meter hurdles in 8.4 seconds, finished pole vault at 5.00 meters (16-4.75) and the 1,000-meter run in 2:47.04. In the distance medley relay, Zach Kovar, Cameron Hudson, Caleb Devereaux and Mathew David ran in with 10:14.65. In triple jump, Andre Douglas hit 15.71 meters, placing fourth.

Freshman Joel McFarlane finished close behind Haasbroek in the heptathlon with a two-day score of 6,276 points. Four places behind McFarlane, Jake McDaniel finished his two-day score with 4,742 points.

On the women’s team, freshman Sigrid Kleive finished in fourth place for the pentathlon alongside Maren Wilms in fifth. Both girls ended their two-day score with 3,550 points. Senior Gabby Gonzales finished the 5,000-meter race in fourth place with a time of 19:04.67.

Close to the end of the Invitational on Jan. 31, Bashiru Abdullahi broke a UTSA record in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking in at 7.80 seconds—barely skimming the previously held record of 7.81 second by Carl Johnson in 2003.

In the distance medley relay, Sofia Salinas, Creshaun Cresser, Brooke

Lomax and Amber Boyd ran in with a time of 12:09.37. For the 4x400-meter relay, Armstrong, Darionne Gibson, Maisey Snaith and Alanah Yukich finished in ninth place for the ‘Runners with a time of 3:52.06. Triple jump duo, Douglas and Danielle Spence pulled in a fourth-place finish on Saturday. Posting a career-best, Douglas had a 15.71-meter jump. Throwing 13.58 meters in shot put, Lacee Barnes finished in seventh place for the ‘Runners. Launching at a height of 3.40 meters, Natasha Purchas finished in 19th place for pole vault.

The ‘Runners regular indoor season will be continued into Feb. 7 and 8, hosted by Texas A&M University for the Charlie Thomas Invitational.

There is still hope for UTSA men’s basketball Commentary

By Dalton Hartmann Staff Writer The UTSA Roadrunners men’s basketball team (10-13, C-USA 4-6) is currently ranking ninth out of 14 teams, but their record does not reflect the talent of this roster.

The ‘Runners started off the year poorly with five consecutive losses and an average point difference of 17.4 points per game (PPG).

Since then, out of their other eight losses, they have lost by 10 or less in six of those games. The ‘Runners are slowly beginning to gel more as they come closer to play-ins for the NCAA March Madness bracket and could make the tournament.

The ‘Runners have a strong offensive presence with Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace being two of the top three players with the highest average points per game in Conference USA (CUSA). Jackson is averaging 26.3

PPG which is leading C-USA, and Wallace is third is averaging 18.5 PPG. These outstanding players, along with the rest of the ‘Runners’ roster has made them the second highest scoring offense in C-USA. The ‘Runners also have a huge presence when it comes to offensive rebounding with Byron Frohnen averaging the sixth highest rebounds in C-USA. While the ‘Runners have the second highest offensive rebounding, they also have the twelfth lowest rebounding defense. Along with other factors, their low rebounding defense makes them the lowest scoring defense in C-USA. The ‘Runners have been looking better on defense, but it has not been enough to stop them from losing close games. If the ‘Runners can fix their defense, they can go far in the post season playoffs. If they cannot, they might not make it at all.

The ‘Runners have four more games until the beginning of the C-USA Bonus Play begins, three of which are in conference games, and are looking to make it into the top eight before the C-USA Championship begins. The ‘Runners are playing the Old Dominion

University Monarchs (9-14, CUSA 5-5) on Feb. 6, who are tied for the eighth seed, the University of Charlotte 49ers (12-9, C-USA 6-4) on Feb. 8, who are tied for the fourth seed and the Marshall University Thundering Herd (1013, C-USA 4-6) on Feb. 13, who are tied with the ‘Runners for the ninth seed. If the ‘Runners win all three of these conference games, they could make it into the playins at as high as a fourth seed, depending on the other games in the conference.

While the ‘Runners have their success on the court the school spirit does not seem to be with the men’s basketball games, averaging 1,277 people per home game, making them the twelfth team with lowest average attended games in the conference. This attendance is abysmal for such a talented team. As they play their final games this season, the ‘Runners need their fans to cheer them on. If you have not been to a men’s basketball game this season, you should try to see their last couple of home games against Marshall on Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. and Western Kentucky on Feb. 15 at 2 p.m.

Jhivvan Jackson drives to the basket around the Middle Tennessee defenders.

The ‘Runners lost back-to-back games at home. Photo by Julia Maenius

Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV

Graphic by Max Aguirre

By Ryder Martin Staff Writer Up 20-10, the 49ers were 12 minutes from Super Bowl glory. After intercepting Patrick Mahomes in San Francisco territory, all they needed to do was keep possession of the ball and keep Mahomes on the sideline. Instead, Mahomes would lead the Chiefs to touchdowns on three straight possessions, outscoring San Francisco 21-0 in the final six minutes, stunning the 49ers 31-20 and securing their first Super Bowl in 50 years.

The game appeared an even match,

with the teams locked in a 10-10 tie nearing the end of the first half. Questionable clock management by 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and a critical penalty on tight end George Kittle stalled their last drive.

San Francisco’s halftime adjustments saw a strong run game, set up play action passes for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and brought a 20-10 lead into the fourth quarter. Though the Chiefs’ offense struggled, the 49ers were unable to finish, as drive after drive stalled in the fourth quarter.

After two interceptions, Mahomes played an almost flawless six minutes of football, finishing the game 26-42 for 286 yards with two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Mahomes’ performance solidified him as the youngest player ever to win Super Bowl MVP honors. Perhaps Chiefs’ running back Damian Williams was more deserving, scoring the go ahead and game sealing scores and becoming the first player in Super Bowl history with 100+ rushing yards, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown.