The South Texan Vol. 96 Issue 5

TheSouthTexan

Texas A &M University-Kingsville Award-Winning Student Publication

The King of Kingsville

Vee is Kingsville’s only drag king

Bright lights flashed upon the stage; the au dience silenced immedi ately as the music slowly started up. The blaring sound of the beginning of “Bernadette” by IAMX quickly overtook the open space and applause and cheer flled the air as the performer popped out of a cardboard jack in the box for their act at the June 2022 Austin International Drag Festival.

After watching her frst drag show in 2019, Kings ville resident Ashley Vee knew right then and there becoming a drag king was her true calling. Now, Vee performs under the name Arson Nick, who also happens to be the com munity’s only drag king.

Being a “humon gous fan of true crime,” played a huge part on the day Vee was coming up with her drag name. She was watching a true crime documentary and thought, “I love a poison name, like arsenic” and thus the name was born.

Vee identifes as her/she, but when in drag as Arson Nick, Vee identifes as he/ him/they.

Catch up on exclusive stories about our campus and community when you sign up for our newsletter. Here’s a sneak peak of what you missed online.

CAB hosts

Kahoot event at Jones Auditorium

Over one hundred Texas A&M Universi ty-Kingsville students gathered to compete in a Halloween themed game of Kahoot last week.

Although her debut drag show was at Joe Cools Bar in 2021, Vee has been doing costume work since she was just a kid, as it was something she found so alluring.

Growing up in a con servative town and area meant the performing artist had to constantly watch her back when do ing any kind of costume work, cosplay or drag, since art in that form is typically not supported in areas like Kingsville.

However, given the opportunity to perform for Javelina Nation earli er this semester at Texas A&M University-Kings ville’s very first drag show, So You Think You Can Drag, showed Vee how quickly things can change. For it being the university’s frst show, the event had a huge turnout and the audience showed nothing but love and sup port for the drag queens and king.

“My performance that evening was an extension of myself: the ugliness I felt and the exhaustion of being someone I didn’t want to be,” Vee said. “The moral was to release your inhibitions and give into the person of your own creation.”

While Arson Nick’s drag could be considered diferent from your typi cal drag queens and kings because he presents as masculine during shows, Vee describes her drag aesthetic as very glamor

ous and campy, with a bit of horror and spookiness. Being the only drag king in the area, Vee has an opportunity to show people what that is like. She is able to perform whatever she wants, which is mostly deter mined by how she feels that day. Throughout many past performances, Vee has done wild things on stage, which range from drowning in digi tal shows to being buried alive on stage.

“Arson has quickly be come one of my favorite performers and a good friend,” fellow drag queen and colleague Robyn Val entine said. “He always brings amazing energy and he makes himself available to help his fel low performers. I fnd his art incredibly thoughtful, exciting and intriguing

Encouraging breast cancer awareness

ment and cure,” Director of Counseling Services Renee Weiss said.

As of 1985, October was declared as Breast Can cer Awareness Month, a campaign created with the purpose of promoting prevention and attention to the dangers of breast cancer as well as creating awareness of the disease.

“[Breast Cancer Aware ness Month is] an annual international health cam paign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for re search into its cause, pre vention, diagnosis, treat

At Texas A&M Univer sity – Kingsville (TAMUK) services like Student Health and Wellness are ready to provide students with more information through the Peer Edu cation Program and the Wellness program. It also provides outreach and presentations to educate campus. It holds the an nual Breast Cancer Aware ness Walk and encourag es TAMUK to wear pink throughout the month.

“The Breast Cancer Awareness Walk is mean

National Domestic Vi olence Awareness Month (DVAM), is held in October to acknowledge, support and be a helping voice to domestic violence survi vors.

“Domestic Violence Awareness Month is a month where diferent ini tiatives take place to bring awareness to relationship violence,” Title IX Coordi nator Tasha Clark said.

This month serves to ad vocate for change as well as educating individuals to look out for any signs that could help prevent further victimization.

“Domestic Violence Awareness Month is not only important to college students, but to the whole

community,” The Purple Door intern Melisa Avalos, senior social work major, said. “It is important to spread awareness, educate the public on the resources available and advocate for change.”

Domestic violence can afect anyone regardless of gender, age, race and those 18 to 25 years old may at some point experi ence some kind of violence within relationships. At Texas A&M University – Kingsville (TAMUK), Title IX holds events like webinars and the annual “In their Footsteps” event to bring awareness across campus.

Title IX aids in diferent ways like talking about safety planning, connect ing students to the Univer sity or Kingsville police department, connecting them with counseling either through Student Health and Wellness or The Purple Door and to advocacy. If anyone needs to switch halls, classes or

set up mutual orders of no contact, a university doc ument that would require students to not contact each other on campus can be drawn up.

Title IX can also get stu dents information on how to contact individuals like the Legal Aid or advoca cy to talk about protective orders as well. That goes through the court sys tem so Title IX would try to connect students with somebody that has more legal expertise on how to do that. If a student does get a protective order, that is something that you can provide to university po lice so they can keep that on fle.

Along with Title IX, there are other resourc es available for students around campus and the community like The Pur ple Door and Student Health and Wellness.

The Purple Door is a private, non-proft agen cy that provides services and resources to victims of

and staff reflect upon his death. Phaup passed away on Sept. 29 leaving many memories to his son, daughter and many former students.

Phaup was named Pro fessors Emeritus in 2011, and taught political sci ence at the university.

Annual health campaign targets breast health Acknowledge, support, be a helping voice

“Some of the key rea son smy father taught for so long is that he loved his school and what he did,

Warning Signs of Domestic Violence 5

A student until the end 1. Isolation or gaslighting 2. Belittling 3. Conversations without respect 4. Outbursts of anger 5. Invasion of privacy

both domestic and sexual violence.

“It does not matter how long ago the victimiza tion occurred, victim ad vocates, legal advocates or case workers are there to support victims,” The Purple Door intern and social work major Yara Green-Jordan said.

The Purple Door’s ser vices can range from shel ter, transportation, safety planning, legal advocacy, free counseling, 24-hour hotline, casework (refer

rals to other services in the community), parenting classes, hospital accom paniment, support groups and more. It depends on what the victim prefers or needs.

“When I list [signs of abuse], there’s a lot of un healthy relationship traits and we see that a lot in movies, things that are sometimes passed of as normal, and certainly just because you see a couple of them does not neces

Produced by Sigma Delta Pi, Gamma Lambda Chapter; the Spanish Program, The Department of Language and Literature; the Hispanic Heritage Committee, and The South Texan

Submitted Photo

Arson Nick posing in his award-winning 2022 Corpus Christi Comic Con cosplay as Spongebob the Goofy Goober.

Submitted Photo

Drag King Arson Nick performs on stage.

Courtesy of Alpha Sigma Alpha

Members of Alpha Sigma Alpha help with TAMUK’s annual breast cancer walk/run.

Dr. J.D. Phaup’s 40 years of serving Texas A&I and Texas A&M Uni versity-Kingsville (TA MUK), is remembered as former students, faculty

Early voting begins now through Nov. 4

causes a change.”

Junior TAMUK student Meagan Morales is eager to vote.

Monday, Oct. 24, marked the frst day of early voting.

Senior Texas A&M Uni versity-Kingsville (TA MUK) student Crystal Trigo plans to vote early.

“It is easier to do the ear ly voting. It’s in one spot, you beat the lines and it doesn’t feel like such a hassle,” she said. Trigo also wanted to remind fellow students to, “get out and vote. Be the voice that

“I believe voting makes a diference. It’s the only way we can have a voice and help bring change to whatever issues are up coming by choosing the person we believe has everyone’s best interest at heart,” she said.

Graduate student Ul yssa Perez said with her busy schedule she plans on voting early.

“I do believe that voting is a way for my voice to be heard. As I vote yes or no or whether selecting one certain candidate over an other on paper or electron ically, it’s my way of voic ing my choice through the act of voting,” Perez said.

Voting information for Kleberg County.

“Through my vote, my voice is heard and factors into who gets selected.”

Perez wants to remind her fellow classmates to get out and vote.

“If you have questions about voting, don’t hes

itate to ask someone for information or look it up online,” she said.

Most studies are show ing that this election is going to come down to college students, as col lege students have a lot of

power right now. The most contested seat this election is for Texas Governor, with Beto O’Rourke hoping to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott.

Early voting for all Kingsville residents, in cluding college students

who live in the dorms, will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 24 through Oct. 29 and Oct. 31 through Nov. 4 at the Early Voting Annex Ofce located at 720 E. King at 12th Street. Election day is Nov. 8.

Supers taking over Little Theatre

Written, produced by Garcia-Ginnett

| Texas A&M Universi ty–Kingsville’s (TAMUK) communication-jour nalism major Erica Gar

cia-Ginnett is directing her play, Supers.

Supers is about a college kid named Cal who lost his mother and sister in a fre when their apartment collapses and he was the only one who survived.

A superhero then saved him and his mission is now to even the playing feld.

The play follows Cal as his mission is to get rid of the superhero, who the au dience never fnds out the

identity of.

“I got the idea for this play when I saw someone walking, who was dressed from head to toe looking like Clark Kent. His hair was nice and slicked and his backpack was Bat man,” Garcia-Ginnett said. “This transformed into the idea of [the play] for a supervillain to be ob sessed with a superhero.”

While Garcia-Gin nett’s talent is portrayed through her writing and

producing, theatre actors Gage Roberts (Cal) and Nadia Hernandez (Deb by) will showcase their onstage magic as the play’s lead actor and the love in terest.

“When I read Cal, [the character] stood out to me, as I fgured [he] was really important,” Roberts said.

Since Supers is a brandnew play, auditions were a little diferent than they typically would be if the actors were performing a

play they have previously done. Because of this, the original read was very cold.

“We’re usually given a few minutes to take a look over [the script] before we’re called onto a stage,” Roberts said. “I just did the audition to the best of my ability.”

However, both leading actors did get the role they frst auditioned for.

“This was the original role I auditioned for and I

was very happy I got it,” Hernandez said. “Usually, I do a lot of melodramas, so for me to do a serious play, especially a superhe ro drama, is wonderful.”

Students, faculty, staf and members of the Kingsville community can show their support for Garcia-Ginnet and TA MUK theatre by watching Supers, which will be per formed at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 through 15 at The Little Theatre.

Submitted Photo

Rae Martinez

Actors rehearsing for Supers

Student by day, lash tech by night

Casarez becomes licensed lash tech

the route Casarez took to get licensed.

The freshly licensed lash tech started beauty school in May 2022 and completed her 320-hour course by August.

No light yet creeps in as a hand reaches across the pink pillows to stop the obnoxious beeping from continuing any more than it has to. A light is switched on, the faucet starts to run and the back door is opened for a teacup yorkie to be let out at the crack of dawn. The nec essary holy grail of bags: a backpack, snack bag and purse, is snatched up from the ground as senior communication major and licensed lash tech Brieana Casarez is headed out the door and into the hour and a half-crowded drive that lies ahead.

Casarez makes the drive from one ville to the next, hitting the road by seven in the morning every weekday from her house in Beeville to under graduate school at Texas A&M University - Kings ville (TAMUK).

In the state of Texas, eye lashes can be performed by either a licensed cos metologist or esthetician, after concluding a 1,000hour course. The alter native option is to take a 320-hour course and pass a written and practical hands-on test, which is

After a day of scattered classes, Casarez once again makes another lengthy drive back home and upon arrival, turns on the ring light near her pink massage table and opens her pink box kit to expose her pair of glue tweezers, glue rings and extensions, preparing to start on her frst client of the day.

Casarez spends any where from two to three hours working on clients’ lashes after school and finds time after to get homework done and rest for the same routine, a dif ferent day.

Casarez is qualifed to do eyelash extensions in which she places an ex tension on the individual lash, however big or small desired. She can also per form lash lifts, which is similar to a perm but for lashes, and brow lamina tions where she manip ulates the growth of the natural brow hair.

“It wasn’t too bad bal ancing my spring semester with starting lash school because I had a bit of a gap so it wasn’t too hard to adjust, but then sum mer classes started and it hit me that it was a lot. It worked itself out though because my summer class was online,” Casarez said.

The hour and a half drive from home to TA MUK is not the only drive

to school that the student has grown accustomed to.

The beauty school Casa rez attended was an hour drive away in the neigh boring town of Calallen, forcing Casarez to yet again make another ex tensive drive.

Senior Communication major and fellow commut er Nadya Garcia explains the efects of having to drive hours a day.

“Just having to make those early morning drives, to make it on time to class whether at TA MUK or at her beauty school, shows that she does take responsibility in her education. I highly respect Brie because com muting every day is a tir ing process that can take a toll on any student’s emo tional and physical health, yet she always comes to class looking presentable with a smile on her face,” Garcia said.

Lash school occupied six to eight hours of Casa rez’s day, Monday through Friday all summer long.

“I sacrifced my whole summer to go to lash school. I think it’s worth it if it’s something you re ally want to do. I think if you have the mindset to do something in that feld then go for it,” Casarez advises.

The student and lash tech is scheduled to grad uate December 2022 with a B.A in Communication.

“I feel so happy. I have worked so hard to get here and I feel like 2022 is my year because I got licensed and I’m

graduating with my bach elor’s so I think things are slowly falling into place for me,” Casarez said.

Garcia states that she admires Casarez for be ing well-rounded and multi-talented, having worked in radio, writing for the school newspaper, and now being a licensed lash tech on top of fnish ing school.

“She has the perfect voice that automatically draws you in for the radio. Not only does she have a talent for speaking, but she could also write real ly well. The last thing Brie is good at is cosmetology. She has a big passion for doing lash extensions. I know she is still in train ing and is working hard to make all her clients feel beautiful at the end of the day,” Garcia said.

Junior Business Admin istration major and boy friend Angel Valencia also states his admiration for Casarez in what she has set her mind to achieve.

sets her mind to,” Valencia said.

Casarez is determined to go back to school to be come an esthetician after graduation. She considers opening her own esthe tician business or salon that allows her to focus on more trades like facials and waxing.Her favorite experience during the summer was spending time around cosmetol ogists and barbers who share similar interests.

One of Casarez’s class mates at Blessed Hands Barber and Cosmetology College, Caitlin Macias, states that she met Casarez when she started doing lashes and what bonded them was more than just the school.

“She would help me with my struggles with my mom having can cer since she also went through it. I very much appreciate Brie more than she knows. She’s a lot of help,” Macias said.

Casarez said.

Casarez has been in terested in this feld since graduating high school and decided to add this skill now while lashes are trending.

“Having a degree is great but also learning a trade is benefcial for me. Trades can range in all dif ferent things and this is one that I’ve always want ed to do so I think that’s the reason why I added it. I also didn’t want to prolong the process any longer,”

Casarez explained.

Casarez will continue to take on clients as she wraps up her last semes ter of her undergraduate career and looks ahead to her new future.

With the fall semester getting closer to ending, spring registration is com ing up and opening soon. Registration opens Nov. 7 for priority one students and opens up Nov. 8 for all others.

“The last day to register for the spring semester is going to be Jan. 30 at 5 p.m. We don’t want to wait that long because by that time it’s late registration and class has already start ed…you want to register as soon as you’re eligible to,” Academic Advisor Priscilla Guerra said.

Registering early is im portant and should be a top priority for students so that they can get the class es they need and want.

“It’s important for mul tiple reasons one of the first being that classes fll up and we have a lot of students who have a schedule preference…but at the same time for kine siology our upper-level classes they fll up very fast so it’s important that students who need to be in the class get into the class so they won’t fll up quick,” Academic Advisor Sarah Ramos said.

Sometimes students may not always know what to take next or what they need to take next in order to get them to where they need to be to gradu ate. Students should not hesitate to contact their advisors and ask for guid ance.

“We’re there to help you not only to talk about your degree plan, pick out your classes, help you build your schedule but most importantly if you need the help to register or you’re not sure how to do it or you want to make sure you’re doing it right

that’s where we come in,” Guerra said.

Students have a couple of options when register ing for classes such as on line or in person with an advisor’s help. Some stu dents feel registering is a daunting task and some students see it as a breeze to accomplish.

“Usually when I regis ter for classes I do it on my own by having my degree plan printed out. It is help ful to have your degree plan so you can see what classes you have taken and what classes you need to take…this method has made the registration pro cess easy for me and has helped keep me on track to graduate on time,” junior Aylin Rubio said.

To register, log into JNet then to go to the campus resources tab. Once there, select Blue and Gold, then registration, and then log into schedule planner. You then should be redirected to that page and then se lect the term you are reg istering for.

“Going to lash school for Brie was important because she wanted to show her parents that she was capable of taking on another task and being successful at it. She also really enjoys doing lashes and she not only wanted to have a degree but she also wanted to have her lash tech license so that way in the future she can have more doors open work wise. I’m proud of all her accomplishments. She will always have the support from me and her family with anything she

Along with being sup portive emotionally, Casa rez is supportive profes sionally, allowing Macias to practice her daily spe cials on her, performing manicures, blow drys and thermal curls.

“When you go to beauty school it’s completely dif ferent than when you’re in college. I felt like I was where I belonged. I was doing something that I had wanted to do. I was taking a step into the di rection I wanted to go and it really made me realize I wanted to go to school for more than just lashes,”

“What motivates me is success. I want to be suc cessful and I’ve always wanted to do this. So what motivates me is having this opportunity, now it’s just a matter of executing it and making sure that I really go through with it and get it done,” Casarez fnished.

No outside light dares to seep in as the lash tech shuts of her ring light and closes her pink lash kit. Her hand, yet again, reaches for her phone, this time setting an alarm for the crack of dawn to do it all again.

For any questions re garding Casarez’s services or to book an appoint ment, follow @lusciouslash esbybrie on Instagram and like the @The Lash Studio page on Facebook, shown with a pink profle picture and green header.

Submitted Photo

Casarez practicing her lash techniques on a dummy.

Submitted Photo

Submitted Photo

Close up of a client’s lashes during the service by Casarez.

Our Opinion

Vote like your kids’ lives depend on it

Texas Senate Bill 2158 is a law that allows the Tex as government to distribute DNA and fngerprint test kits in order to help identify and locate miss ing children. However, after the massacre that took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas government’s distri bution of DNA test kits is highly insensitive and a complete abandonment of the true problem plagu ing our children and the responsibility to protect the people.

At least one mother’s group, Moms Demand Ac tion for Gun Sense in America, sees the DNA kits as a means to identify not missing children, but vic tims of school shootings. Shannon Watts, founder of the group, tweeted about Gov. Abbott:

“Texas Gov Greg Abbott is choosing to send DNA kits to schools that parents can use to identify their children’s bodies AFTER they’ve been murdered rather than pass gun safety laws to proactively pro tect their lives.”

We agree.

Parents should not have to rely on DNA and fn gerprint test kits when their kids are at school but instead should have the reassurance that their kids are safe. Our public school system has become a dangerous and anxious environment with the lives of children being at risk each day. Our government is focusing on hardening the security of campuses but not acknowledging the real problem: the easy access to guns.

Along with Arizona and Arkansas, Texas is one of the states that has the least amount of gun reg ulations. With a zero-day waiting period and no universal background check required, obtaining frearms is excessively easy for anyone over the age of 18. After the school shooting that took place in Uvalde, many eyes began to look towards our gov ernment for not only answers, but prevention.

It is inexcusable for our government to have to rely on DNA test kits, rather than acting against guns to prevent gun violence and school shootings. Vote like your kids’ lives depend on it on election day, Nov. 8, because that is the only way we can protect them in school.

When life knocks you down, get back up

I was raised in Refu gio, Texas, a small town an hour away from Kingsville, and even though it was small, it did not stop me from hav ing big dreams. Ever since middle school I always wanted to play football. Since then, I have trained hard every day and set goals that I took with me to high school that helped me reach a state

title, my frst and second year of high school.

Trying to keep the momentum from my sophomore year to my junior year proved to be harder because of Hur ricane Harvey. Harvey did some damage to the town and the school fa cility just as football sea son was about to begin.

My coaches, team mates and I realized that we needed to fx the facility to have a good season. We could not succeed if we did not have a place to practice. We also realized that we could not just fx the fa cility and leave the town

uncared for. Slowly but surely, we were able to restore the town and the team qualifed for state for the third time with the help and support of the town and many from the surrounding areas.

My team fought hard but came up short that season. I gave it my all that season and I could not have done that with out the help of my fam ily, coaches, teachers and friends. My eforts did not go unnoticed, I was able to collect big time division one ofers throughout my junior year.

No matter how far

away the stars seemed to me, I kept reaching. Growing up, I had a lot of trouble believing I could achieve remark able things. I realized that the only person that can stop me is me. I be gan to push myself to be better until that was the only thing I could do. I am now achieving ev erything I set my mind to. No matter how bad Harvey hit, I was still able to go out and help the town. I also helped myself in the process. Life can get hard, but you have the choice to stay where you are or pick yourself up.

The importance of public transportation

Texas A&M Univer sity – Kingsville has a student population of al most 7,000.

As of 2021, about sev en percent of the stu dent popu lation is in ternational, meaning TAMUK has about 600 inter national students on campus. So, the question remains, how do these students get around the city?

TAMUK ofers a shut tle called the B&G Ex press. It operates from the campus to adjacent apartments from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and goes into town from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Apart from the

B&G Express, Kingsville has little public transport options. Students who are not local and don’t own a car have a hard time going around the city and constantly must rely on their friends to take them places. A student-athlete class schedule is based on their practice sched ule. If they are not able to catch the bus during those times, they are left stranded in their dorms with no groceries. Public transport apps like Uber and Lyft do not operate in the city of Kingsville due to the scarcity of registered cars. How ever, Kingsville ofers “Paisano Transit” that ofers services that range from taking people to buy groceries or driving them to areas in the city and surrounding area

for medical purposes. This public transporta tion is available to Kle berg and Kenedy county residents. All riders are required to call 24 hours in advance. TAMUK, as a school, can encourage their students to try the local transportation ser vices.

Kingsville is very spaced out and almost everything worthwhile is more than a mile away, making it less accessible and walking is not an option.

As an international student, my life in Kings ville would have been very diferent during my freshman year if I had not befriended lo cal students. I am very grateful to my friends who helped me during my freshman year and showed me around

Kingsville and Corpus Christi.

Public transportation at a college campus has many benefts. It is better for the environment as it would mean multiple people can travel togeth er which then results in less CO2 emissions as well as the parking is sues at TAMUK.

Having public trans portation is also import ant because it reduces the risk of drunk driv ing when students are tempted to participate in activities like going out on a college night.

The ratio of benefts overthrows the draw backs and having the option of public trans portation may make TA MUK a bigger attraction, therefore, resulting in a more diverse student body.

Smoking Crab Seafood: exactly what I was searching for

Smoking Crab is locat ed right across Javelina Stadium next to the Javelina Mart. Be ing born in a seafood city, I heav ily rely on good sea food occa sionally, and Smok ing Crab has settled that argu ment really. The amount of love that the employ ees put into the food and customers when they

stop by the restaurant is unmatched.

Smoking Crab has a lot of diferent options to choose from. Their menu ranges from sea food boils to seafood sandwiches. They have a wide variety of every thing. One of my person al favorites is the Shrimp Po’boy, a classic toasted French bread with let tuce, tomatoes and gold en Cajun fried shrimp, topped of with the classic but secret Cajun sauce that hits the right way every time. Another favorite is the fried fsh

and shrimp combo over a spread of tasty Cajun fries with a side of secret Cajun sauce.

Born in New Orleans, La., the amount of tasty food that I have tried over the years has been a part of the good things in life. Being able to have some good seafood re minds me of times when I was little, and my fam ily would go back often.

The utmost respect must go to the Cajun seafood boiled combo which includes crab, shrimp, sausage, pota

toes and a boiled egg. The entire boil is made to perfection and that is the only way it should be.

The star of the show, in my opinion, is the shrimp because it brings everything full circle along with that perfect Cajun blend that al lows you to sink in that moment, taste the best part of the meal, and re member why you chose that specifc boil combo. Without a doubt, Smok ing Crab Seafood has unquestionably carved its way into my dinner list every day.

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The South Texan is a student publication produced by Texas A&M University- Kingsville students. The views, opinions and commentary do not necessarily refect the views of the Texas A&M University system. The South Texan uses student fees in part to publish. The South Texan is part of the Art, Communications, and Theatre Department (ACT) and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA).

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Review: Lamb of God rocks the crowds in thrilling concert

Lamb of God holds a concert in San Antonio

Concerts and the cul ture that they bring have always been something I’ve enjoyed, so when I was given the opportu nity to see metal band Lamb of God in San An tonio with my father, we were ready to go.

Playing alongside the headliners were the bands Fit for an Autop sy (FFAA), Animals as Leaders and Killswitch Engage. Each band brought their “A game” and gave the city a great show.

The opening was FFAA, a New Jer

sey-based deathcore band, who I was unfa miliar with so I was a little skeptical, but I am glad to say they blew me away.

The guttural vocals performed by Joe Ba dolato were the perfect mix of high and low. It was obvious that he had perfected his style of screaming.

His voice accompa nied his band, consisting of amazing drums that you could feel in your gut from the powerful rhythms and their low sounding guitars and bass that made every thing complete.

Next up to perform was Animals as Lead ers and they were not that great compared to the opening act. Though completely diferent

genres of music, Animals as Leaders brought a dif ferent energy that I was not interested in now. I was also unfamiliar with this group and quickly learned that this Wash ington D.C.-based band is an instrumental pro gressive metal band.

I am not one to usually turn away a new band to discover but, in that mo ment, I wanted to head bang, wanted to thrash around and Animals as Leaders did not make me feel that way.

Do not get me wrong, they did not play bad music at all, they were a weird choice to tour with and should have opened instead of FFAA.

Luckily, the next band brought back the ener gy with Killswitch En gage. This Massachu

setts-based metalcore band opened with mak ing us laugh by playing Van Halen’s “Jump” while screaming at us “I get drunk!” instead of “I get up.”

These musicians knew what to do as they nev er lost the crowd, every single song they played nobody lost energy and moshed like there was no tomorrow.

I was surprised when they did a cover of the late Ronnie James Dio’s song “Holy Div er” which was executed well. But Killswitch En gage was only warm ing us up for what was about to happen with Lamb of God.

I can only describe their set as amazing, with every song wanting me to get up and thrash

like nobody was watch ing me. I have nothing bad to say about Lamb of God; they always play great no matter where

they go, the whole ex perience was something I will never forget, and I am glad I was able to see it with my father.

Review: The School for Good and Evil

A flm about a world with two sides

Once upon a time, there were two friends Sophie and Agatha, one who is brave and one who is beautiful. The movie, “The School for Good and Evil,” is a fan tasy flm directed by Paul Feig. The flm is about the story of Agatha and Sophie, who are enrolled in schools of title. While Agatha joins the School for Good, Sophie joins a

How to Adult: Planning for tomorrow

Going through the motions without burning out

writing down what needs to be done can help ease the burden of trying to remember ev erything.

Time is a weird and limited aspect of our lives that we should al ways account for and it can be easy to lose track of it when trying to make long-term plans.

It’s important to have a rough idea of what’s to come alongside your plan of approach for it but having some shortterm plans and goals can help you reach whatever it is you’re looking for ward to without much strife.

The future is unpre dictable but you can cir cumvent that unpredict ability by doing a little bit of planning for the following day or week and approaching work as it comes to you.

You don’t need a high ly detailed planner that breaks down your ac tions by the hour but

That would free up space in your mind to focus on the task at hand and tackle things efciently. If nothing on your list has a set dead line then you can ap proach things by what’s most important to you and work your way down from there.

A planner (digital or physical) also brings the beneft of having a tangi ble checklist so you can get that wonderful sense of progress by checking it every so often.

Having your week planned out on the weekend before it be gins can make getting through each day easier.

Taking the time to write down everything you have to do once a week is also going to be less time consuming than if you set aside time at the end of each day to create a new list.

This level of planning also brings the added beneft of being prepared since you’re less likely to forget about something if you have it written

down and look at it con sistently.

It can also be an eas ily modifable style in case something sudden comes up that needs your immediate atten tion.

Writing your day-today will see you noting errands or work that needs to be done but be sure to write down some space for your hobbies and interests as well.

They may not be essen tial to what you’re doing daily but those tasks can be seen as ways to re ward yourself for knock ing a few things of your to do list.

If not as a reward, then they can serve as breaks in an attempt to destress from the daily grind.

Seeing so many tasks checked of daily may also help improve your overall motivation which will carry into the other work that you’ll com plete on the list.

It creates a good feed back loop for getting work done without worrying heavily about what’s coming in the long run since that will eventually get pulled in the loop with everything else.

gothic School for Evil. Agatha and Sophie are two best teenage friends with diverse dreams. The movie addresses diferent themes, like the diference between good and evil or night and day along with impossible expectations. The spirit of good and evil takes the two girls to the mag ical land of supernatu rals, where everything seems perfect for them. Even though Agatha had witch-based nightmares, she ended up attending the good school.

They describe Agatha as a mean girl because her mother makes mag

ical potions. Converse ly, Sophie had prin cess-based dreams, but fate led her to the School of Evil. Sophie’s family treats her with disrespect because of her diferenc es. Agatha is determined to save Sophie from evil. Indeed, the supernatural powers inform Agatha and Sophie that they possess a larger destiny.

The fantasy in the flm presents impossi ble expectations in life.

The flm shows that the School for Good teaches enlightenment, beauty and love. On the oppo site end, the School for Evil teaches immoral

acts, evilness and back wardness. The flm sug gests that only a true kiss can reverse the situation and send Agatha and Sophie to their rightful schools. The schools ex pect Agatha and Sophie to do all their tasks with out failing three consecu tive times.

The computer-generat ed imagery becomes ug lier towards the movie’s end. I wish the director had worked harder to ward the flm’s end to avoid force-feeding the story to the audience. I would recommend the movie to the teenage girl inside each of us.

Screenshot from @lambofgod on Instagram.

Image from imdb.com

Kingsville recruits international student athletes

Javelinas from all over

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A lot of sports at Texas A&M- Kingsville (TA MUK) have recruits from all over the United States.

The recruiters from each sport look in the hot spots of athletes to build their roster around. For example ,in Texas the hotspots include the big cities like Houston, Aus tin and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. But some times the recruiting hand can reach further out and reach outside of Texas and the United States.

This is a prime exam ple of what is going on with the TAMUK base ball program.

The coaching staf currently has two inter national recruits, Ivan Duarte, a senior from Chihuahua, Mexico, and Colton Taylor from Am herstburg, Canada.

Both of these players are not only international recruits but also starters from last year’s baseball team that was one win away from making it to the Super Regional for the NCAA College Base ball Playofs.

Being far away from home is not an easy sit uation to be in. Missing family and friends back home weighs on them constantly, but making new friends in Kingsville and getting used to the area helps them create a home away from home.

Duarte is not com pletely foreign to the United States nor Tex as. He played two years at El Paso Community College in El Paso, Tex

as. Duarte had to learn English his whole frst year. “My frst year there was only English classes. I was redshirted because of that,” Duarte said.

He then talked about how it was very difcult to be without baseball the game he loved and not know how to talk to anyone.

“At the beginning it was really hard, to be honest the hardest time of my life. The language barrier was hard to over come, it took me a cou ple of years to get conf dent,” Duarte said.

Taylor on the other hand has been in Texas his whole college career. He frst started of at Frank Phillips College his frst three years.

“My favorite part about living in the States and especially down south here in Kingsville is the weather because it is so much warmer and

also the culture change and the people,” Taylor said. “I have made a ton of really good friends, some that I even con sider family. I couldn’t imagine staying home these past four plus years and never meeting them or making those connec tions.”

Now with the holidays coming up these two individuals want to go home and see their fami lies. But, it’s not that easy. Taylor can’t just drive up to Canada and back in a couple of days. He has to fy from Corpus Christi all the way to Canada to see his family.

“It is great to see fam ily and friends when I am home. They know I am living my dream and I am always eager to get back to Texas, where I think I belong,” Taylor said.

Duarte on the other hand being from Mexico

makes the trip in his car to go back and see his family.

“And for the holidays

I drive back home - 11 hours,” he said. “I leave at 5 a.m. to get there not so late, and during school I can’t wait to go back home.”

Both players being

away from home is a sac rifce, but both agree that it is a sacrifce they are willing to make for the love of the game.

Duarte and Taylor hope to lead the Javeli nas back to the post sea son this year and try to reach the College World Series.

Wellness is key

Athletes look to keep healthy

Recovery is a major part of how successful a program and athlete can be.

If an athlete’s body and mind are not at their best, they cannot play at their best. The university has many outlets for its athletes to recover and get to optimal health.

Victor Smith is a soph omore football player for the Javelinas and plays on the stout defensive line that has helped the team to their 7-1 record.

He played at Lakev iew Centennial High School and went to West Texas A&M before transferring to Texas A&M-Kingsville (TA MUK).

“I take a nap for at least an hour after prac tice or workouts. I also refuel with chocolate milk,” Smith said about how he recovers. “If I am just stressed and need to get homework done, I will not take that hour nap and use that hour to get some work done.”

While some people may not do a lot of re covery to get back to full strength, some go to greater lengths to make sure their body is in top shape and ready for the next day.

Kerry North is fresh out of high school and is a true freshman for the Javelina football team. This is his frst year at TAMUK and he is red shirting to keep a year of eligibility.

“I usually drink a protein shake right af ter practice or weights. I also drink a lot of water throughout the day, and stretch right before I go to sleep to get my sore ness out,” North said.

“I sometimes drink an

other protein shake and stretch more if I am feel ing more sore than nor mal.”

Every athlete’s body is diferent and college athletes know what works for them. They have been playing their sport at a high level for a long time and know how to maintain their peak physical perfor mance.

James Hester is a red shirt freshman for the Javelinas and plays the tight end position. He has been at TAMUK since last year and came from Hendrickson High School.

“It really just depends on how I am feeling that day. I have some things I do every day like eating a lot of meals, drinking a lot of water and getting a good night’s sleep,” Hes ter said, “but I also pay attention to my body, and if I feel banged up, I will go to the training room to get treatment, or do a little extra such as stretching.”

Transfer students fnd new opportunities

be.

Students transfer to Texas A&M-Kingsville for a variety of reasons, including a better oppor tunity or they reached the ineligible marker.

Here at TAMUK there are a lot of transfer stu dents, including interna tional students.

Alex Smith, who plays on the defensive line for the Javelinas, is a big guy. His position on the defensive line is nose guard and his job is to ft and clog holes in the middle to make the ball bounce outside. wSmith is originally from Ana huac, Texas, which is on the outskirts of Houston. Smith graduated high school in 2019 and then attended Kilgore Junior College to achieve his college dreams.

“The reason I chose to go to college was for an opportunity to play foot ball and to get my educa tion,” he said.

After two years of hard work and dedica tion Smith was recruited on a full scholarship to attend TAMUK.

“My favorite aspect about TAMUK is play ing football, there’s just something about the lights and atmosphere on Saturday nights,” Smith said.

Some players are not

from Texas or had never been to Texas.

CJ Odom, who plays running back, is a tank. He runs through defend ers and makes it look very easy. Odom is orig inally from Los Angeles, Calif., graduating from high school in 2019.

“Ever since I was a young boy, I always liked the game of foot ball, which helped me have a good mindset and dedication to get to where I am now,” Odom said.

After giving his high school four years of blood, sweat and tears, Odom was able to contin ue his journey at Angelo State University. Putting up big numbers during the season at Angelo State Odom received more acknowledgement and encountered coach es from other schools, but only one caught his eye. With the beautiful southern skies and the tower of palm trees, TA MUK has a coastal vibe Odom enjoyed.

“With me being from California and seeing the palm trees on campus it made me feel like I was back at home and right away I knew it was my future home,” he said.

James Bell, who is originally from Houston, had a big spotlight on his name during his football career and still does to this day. Bell balled out during his high school years from freshman to his senior year but it wasn’t enough to get him where he wanted to

“When I graduat ed from high school, I thought to myself what was I going to do next with my life? So, I de cided to continue my academic and athletic career at Texas Luther an University,” Bell said. “Giving it all I had and playing lights out, I was rewarded with All American football and thought it was my

chance to try and move up in the college divi sions, so I tried my shot in the transfer portal.” Bell received good feedback from many schools and coaches, but Kingsville wasn’t far from home.

“One thing I like about TAMUK is the sport events, not only because we are good but because of the fan base we get,” he said.

Javelina Athletics Javelinas preparing for the spring.

Jeesica Tijirena

Toneil Carter looking for the endzone against Sul Ross.

Arelia Williams

Transfer James Bell assisting on a tackle.

Jessica Tijirena

Transfer Craig Clemons.

because I never know what tricks are up their sleeves.”

Since her drag debut, Vee has been with AZUL Entertainment, a drag and live artist entertain ment business based out of Portland, Texas, and is currently managed by her mother, JoAnn Vasquez. Vee is also AZUL’s frst drag king and has been performing with the own ers since last year.

“I originally had some reservations about their coming out and wanting to make a career of per forming as a drag king,” Vasquez said. “However, I started attending Ar son’s performances and supported [their career]. I soon thereafter became his assistant and am now their manager. Arson is an absolute pleasure and professional artist to work with. We would all be hard pressed to fnd

ingful to me and my chap ter, Alpha Sigma Alpha (ASA), as it is one of our philanthropies that helps fundraise for the Susan G Komen Foundation along side Student Health and Wellness on campus,” Se nior education major and member of ASA Micaela Gracia said.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer, after skin cancer, that is diagnosed in women in the United States. It is more com monly found in women, but it can also be found in men. It is important for students to check them selves and stay up to date with their bodies. Breast cancer screening and ear ly detection can save lives and prevent the cancer from progressing.

Alongside Student Health and Wellness, the Men’s and Women’s Health Services of the Coastal Bend aids in keep ing students informed and ofering their services.

“We want to make sure that people are taking care of their general reproduc tive health. We also want to let people in the local areas know that they have places they can go to,” Community Educator for the clinic Cinda LeBus said. “We want to make sure that people who do not have insurance have a place they can go to re gardless of their ability to pay.”

Individuals should be on the lookout for any lumps or thickening in the breast that may feel different from the sur

someone as dedicated to their craft as Arson.”

rounding tissue, change in size, shape or appearance of breast. Changes to the skin over the breast, such as dimpling, peeling, scal ing, crusting or faking of the pigmented area of skin surrounding the nipple or breast skin. Redness or pitting of the skin over the breast, and more. They are highly encouraged to see a doctor if they notice any changes in their breasts.

LeBus is a breast cancer survivor. She said it was a scary, eye-opening ex perience but she fought through it. She explained that once she moved past it, she got to what is called “a new normal.”

“You just want your life to go on, you want to get back to normal, but things are subtly diferent,” LeB us said. “They are difer

sarily mean it’s an abusive relationship,” Clark said.

It’s also important to know what warning signs to look out for.

“What you are looking for in healthy relationships is open communication and respect and knowing how to talk through prob lems, so it does not get to a situation where people lose their temper,” Clark said.

Students are encour aged to report incidents.

“[Domestic violence] is a very important issue. We want to highlight what some of these warning signs are, because when somebody is in a relation ship, it can be difcult to leave,” Clark said. “It is an issue that we want to look out for within the commu nity and provide support to anyone that reaches out.”

ent physically, mentally and emotionally. You just have a new awareness.”

For more information on Breast Cancer Aware ness, contact the Student Health and Wellness center at (361) 593-3991 or visit the Men’s and Wom en’s Health Services of the Coastal Bend online at www.wahs.org.

which was to help guide the next generations on their way. He also had a deep respect for his col leagues and frequently collaborated with them to create a framework to support their students and help them to fnd opportunities beyond university,” son of J.D Phaup and Javelina alum nus Jonathan Phaup said.

Jonathan Phaup grad uated from TAMUK in 2011 with a degree in Art.

“He taught me that when we cease being stu dents we stop growing as people. He was a student to the end of his days and through his jour ney was able to teach me that healthy debate is not about winning. It’s about learning from each other and understanding dif ferent points of view. No matter how much they may difer,” he said.

Though Jonathan Phaup never took any of his father’s classes he be lieves these lessons were present in his classroom

During his 40 years at the university, Phaup worked with many facul ty and staf members.

“He consistently up held the value of good teaching in the Depart ment. Dr. Phaup high lighted the need for fac ulty to give importance to the aspirations of our students,” Professor of Political Science Dr. Nir mal Goswami said.

Goswami worked with Phaup for 15 years, and remembers most the commitment he had to his students.

“Refecting back on my time as his student, I re member most how engag ing he was with students and how much he genu inely cared. He didn’t just care that we did well in his class, he cared about our future and how we were doing outside the classroom, even after graduation,” Director of Marketing and Commu nications Adriana Gar za-Flores said.

Phaup retired from the university in 2011.

Submitted Photo

“I can think of no man I have ever known more worthy to carry the Shield, and lift Mjolnir,” Jonathan Phaup said of his father.

Submitted Photo

Arson Nick joyfully performing.

Courtesy of Alpha Sigma Alpha Ashley Elizondo passes out pink ribbons and beads to participants.