04/16/2024

"IT WAS CHAOS"

River Fest results in multiple injuries

Police Department (UPD) Sgt. Michael Rodriquez, who was on-site, said 20,000 to 30,000 people were in attendance. However, UPD Chief of Police Matthew Carmichael, who is out of town, said approximately 5,000 students were at River Fest. Meanwhile, Texas State Fire Marshal James Frye who was also on-site said there were less than 10,000 people there, but he does not know the exact number.

“There would be no definitive way to say [how many people were in attendance]. If you ask five different people you’re probably going to get five different numbers,” Frye said.

In a statement sent via email to The University Star, Texas State wrote the festival closed its gates after the park was at capacity.

TXST remembers, honors fallen Bobcats

By Candace Taggart News Reporter

When sophomore Jeremiah Broussard died in November 2023 at the age of 19, his friends felt there was nothing that could help them heal, but they decided to honor him and his life so that he’ll never be forgotten.

“If you were missing your shoes... and you needed to borrow [Jeremiah’s] shoes, he would let you borrow them and [he'd] walk barefoot,” Cecci Moreno, Broussard's friend and a public relations sophomore, said. “He was so sweet and the most down-to-earth person.”

The 37th annual Bobcat Pause honored

the memories of 26 fallen Bobcats on April 15. The Dean of Students Office hosts this annual event to honor students, faculty, staff and retired faculty and staff who have died between March of the previous year to February of the current year. Prior to the commencement of the ceremony at 6 p.m., attendees wandered through the room, admiring the tables adorned with photographs, flowers and other meaningful items arranged by the honorees' loved ones.

Moreno and

Texas State officers Lyndon and Duke take on training

By Brianna Chavez Life and Arts Reporter

In December 2023, The University Star spoke with Cpls. Aleysha Ortiz and Haley McClaran as they began to work daily with horses Lyndon and Duke at Freeman Ranch.

Since then, the tall and majestic Texas State University Police officers Lyndon and Duke trotted their hooves around campus, learning how to keep Bobcats safe.

Texas State is the first Texas university and first D1 university to have a mounted horse patrol unit and an all-female unit.

Over a year ago, Assistant Chief Daniel Benitez proposed the idea of having a mounted patrol unit and asked for input from the team. Multiple officers, including Ortiz and McClaran, responded with great interest.

"We love the horses and it's just a new way of policing," McClaran said.

"A lot of people don't get the opportunity to do what we're doing, so it's hard work and you feel accomplished."

Department

of

Education,

FAFSA announces more financial aid delays

By Ryan Claycamp Senior News Reporter

The federal Department of Education announced issues related to tax data could delay the financial aid process for students.

According to the announcement on March 29, the issue was caused by errors in tax data sent to the Department of Education by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and is estimated to impact less than 20% of FAFSA applications.

"We recognize how important it is for schools and families to have the information they need to package and receive aid offers. Accordingly, we will continue our joint efforts with IRS to resolve these issues and implement updates to resolve data inaccuracies as expeditiously as possible," the Department of Education's announcement said. Nina Guidroz, a psychology freshman, said due to an error involving her FAFSA form being submitted without her signature, she is currently being told she will receive no financial aid this year.

TXST addresses sexual assault on campus

By Lucciana Choueiry Assistant News Editor

The university has measures in place that prioritize sexual assault survivor support, prevention and safety given the rise in on-campus sexual assault cases from 2020-2022.

It's April and University Police Department (UPD) has received three reports of sexual assault on campus, according to Detective Sandra Spriegel, a UPD investigator with a focus on sexual assault and related crimes. At this time last year, Spriegel said UPD had four reported sexual assault cases.

Spriegel attributed the 135% increase in rapes in the 2023 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report to more students returning post-COVID-19. Due to this, she said the initial impact of the pandemic was already shown in the 2023 report and may not be resembled in 2024.

“When the new report comes out I don’t think it’s going to be that big of a change, I think if anything it will be less,” Spriegel said.

However, Spriegel explained if the numbers were to be high in the 2024 report, a reason may be the university’s purchase of Vistas and Sanctuary Lofts, because any sexual assault incidents occurring there would now fall within the scope of on-campus cases.

“Right after the purchase, one of the three [sexual assault] reports for this year was at Vistas so this purchase might increase the numbers of sexual assault reports we get because we now have more residents on campus,” Spriegel said.

A Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) is a free medical evaluation for individuals who may have experienced sexual assault. The evaluation involves a physical exam, injury documentation and DNA collection for evidence.

If a student experiences sexual assault and opts not to involve the police, they can file a "non-report" and undergo a SAFE at a medical or mental hospital for evidence collection. Texas retains these results for five years, allowing the victim to later report the assault and initiate an investigation. After this period, Spreigel said reporting becomes more challenging due to the absence of SAFE evidence.

Alternatively, if a student contacts the police, the

responding officer offers a SAFE and a report filing. The report is then assessed by Spriegel, who arranges an in-depth interview with the victim.

“If [the victim] decides to press charges, depending on what they say I may or may not get a warrant for the accused’s arrest, but if I don’t feel comfortable getting a warrant, I send the case to the district attorney to get a second opinion,” Spriegel said.

Students Against Violence President Montserrat Luna said survivors face barriers when reporting their assault, including victim-blaming and a fear of their experience being invalidated.

“A big part of that fear [of sharing their assault with police] is identity, victims are being vulnerable when reporting their assault and with their names attached to it that adds another layer of vulnerability,” Luna said.

Spriegel said she observes first hand the fear of identity, prompting survivors to report assaults to UPD under a pseudonym by filling a form out.

“Once they fill the form out, the pseudonym is used in place of everything and their real name is only on that form which is kept locked [at UPD],"

Spriegel said. "Their name stays confidential up until it gets to the court system because there is no guarantee at that point.”

UPD and all police officers in Texas must undergo trauma-informed training to better cater to survivors of sexual assault and related crimes before August 2025 as required by the Texas Commission of Law Enforcement.

UPD is also partnered with Bobcats REACH Project, a federally funded initiative aiding Texas State in addressing sexual assault. Bobcats REACH also established a Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT), uniting organizations like UPD and the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center to support survivors through cross-training.

“We support UPD by connecting them to various trainings that are offered through [Office on Violence Against Women]… it’s added coordination on partnership to ease the burden on individual offices and strengthens the university’s response,” Bobcats REACH Project Director Kimberly Smith said.

North American River Otters return to San Marcos waters

The otters are back for the first time in over 70 years

By Lucciana Choueiry Assistant News Editor

Temperatures are rising and students are heading to the San Marcos River where they might swim alongside North American River Otters for the first time in 70 years.

According to Sam Massey, glass bottom boat manager at The Meadows Center, there have not been sightings of the river otter in San Marcos since the 1950s. It wasn’t until 2021 that otters were seen again when students walking along the river boardwalk came across one and told Massey about their discovery. Now, The Meadows Center has found four North American River Otters since, with the last spotting in February.

“[Otters] have been seen sporadically up and down the whole stretch of the upper river, from Spring Lake to where the Blanco River intersects with the San Marcos River,” Massey said.

Ivan Castro-Arellano, associate professor in biology, said the river otters are an indication the river is in healthy shape as they thrive in unpolluted waters.

According to Castro-Arellano, river otters are also an indicator species, a species whose presence, absence or abundance in an environment serves as a sign of the overall health or condition

of that ecosystem.

“It’s a good indication the ecosystem is working well, our river is in good health and there is enough amount of fish and prey for [otters] to live in the area,” Castro-Arellano said.

Massey said the positive state of the river is attributed to the city’s Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP).

The HCP safeguards endangered species in the San Marcos and Comal rivers by removing invasive species and enhancing the habitat with native plants.

“The [HCP] had a positive impact

on the aquatic ecosystem and because of that it is remarkable that we have river otters in an urban area like [San Marcos]," Massey said. "Especially with the drought, I would think that would decrease the chance of seeing otters here but there has been enough habitat corridor that is worked on so the otters are able to make it up here.”

Executive Director of the San Marcos River Foundation Virginia Parker said it is important to maintain conservation efforts, such as that of HCP, for the species to thrive.

“Anything we can do to improve water quality, to improve the habitat for all the things the otters eat is needed … and as the population in San Marcos increases it’s natural there is going to be more trash but a lot of people work hard to make sure the invasive species are being removed and the endangered species are protected,” Parker said.

Massey said since otters feed on fish, it is important to ensure the fish lives in waterways free of chemicals and heavy metals to avoid the species getting mercury poisoning.

Before coming to San Marcos, the North American River Otters were found in southern and north-central Texas. However, according to Castro-Arellano, a contributing factor to the resurgence of otters since the fifties is the species is no longer hunted for its pelt like it used to be.

“With the restoration efforts and I can’t guess about climate, future droughts or aquifer usage ... we might be looking at a future where the river otter does become a more known species up here and then we would be able to conduct studies on it,” Massey said.

Massey urged river-goers to help conserve this new species by making sure their dogs don’t attack the otters since they sleep during the day in bushes and grasses.

“It’s simple; don’t dump your trash in the river, stay on marked pathways, don’t try to make your own river access point, keep your dogs on the leash and don’t let them go into bushes where you can’t see them,” Massey said.

INFOGRAPHIC BY EVA BOWLER

PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL FLORES

Two North American River Otters swimming in Spring Lake on Nov. 16, 2023, in San Marcos.

FROM FRONT UNIVERSITY

“The venue capacity limit of 5,000 was met at approximately 7 p.m. due to overwhelming demand,” Texas State wrote in the statement. “At this time, UPD and [Texas State] staff members informed individuals outside the entrance gates that access would not be possible.”

While Texas State said the gates closed due to the capacity being met, the River Fest webpage and an Instagram post by the one of the event organizers, Student Association for Campus Activities (SACA), said the gates were scheduled to close to new entries and re-entries at 7 p.m. regardless of attendance.

In response to this, Carmichael said at around 7:30 p.m. students pushed down the gates surrounding Sewell Park three separate times. It took security five to 10 minutes to get the gates back up, according to Carmichael.

“[Security and staff] were scanning IDs and once people rushed the gates, they lost control…," Frye said. "They chose to cram a large number of people in a small area… it was unfortunate things happened like that.”

Carmichael reported two injuries at the festival, but an on-site security officer who chose to remain anonymous said he believed it was more than two injuries. Rodriquez said there were three injured students, and Frye said he witnessed three attendees get transported by San Marcos and Hays County EMS.

Even with EMS on-site, Hays County Citizen Connect shows UPD made two calls labeled as “Assist EMS/Fire,”

FROM FRONT MEMORIAL

showing a need for more medical aid.

“I don’t believe anybody is hospitalized due to injuries,” Carmichael said.

While Texas State wrote in a statement the venue's max capacity stood at 5,000, Frye said he provided organizers with a capacity number of 8,500 for Sewell Park, specifying 4,000 for the left side of the river and 4,500 for the right.

“Had I known the exact setup, I would have probably limited [the capacity] to about 7,000 just because the stage was so big,” Frye said. “The problem was everybody wanted to be in that 100 by 200 feet space [in front of the stage]. So in the future… we need to figure out how to manage the amount of people that we’re gonna allow on that side of the river.”

Flight by Nothing, the opening band for Tyga at River Fest, was set to go on at 7:30 p.m. but had a 10-minute delay due to the events that unfolded, according to Lead Singer Conner Redden. Redden said they had to stop playing multiple times during their performance when they saw audience members in need of medical help.

“It’s clear as day when I would see people waving their hands or shining lights and I clearly know something is going on here… we’re not just gonna stand there and not act like people need help,” Redden said.

According to Carmichael, there were “well over 25” security personnel including sworn police officers, UPD, nonsworn public safety officers and additional security contracted through Gary

Job Corps.

“Had this situation gotten out of control or became unmanageable or untenable, we would have activated emergency mutual aid…,” Carmichael said. “We had adequate staffing to address the event.”

Carmichael said it is routine to call UPD officers from their regular patrols to bolster security at larger events.

“We had to call UPD officers from regular patrol because we weren’t ready for a crowd,” Rodriquez said. “It was chaos.”

Redden said Texas State’s organization was helpful but he believes the university should implement tighter security for future events of this size.

“There was some confusion on stage at certain points about whether to continue through the set or wrap it up,” Redden said. “There were just a lot of problems out in the audience with people passing out… at that point, it was way over capacity; that was after the fence broke down.”

Carmichael said no arrests were made in relation to River Fest. Texas State said the university could not comment on whether the students who trampled the barricade would receive any punishment.

“To adhere to federal privacy laws, TXST University refrains from commenting on specific student conduct cases,” Texas State wrote in the statement.

HONORING FALLEN BOBCATS

A full list of all of the Bobcat Pause honorees at the April 15 ceremony.

Jeremiah R. Broussard

Pierce Dutton

Dr. J.D. Elshoff

Sarah Green

William Kent Hamilton

Dr. James D. Harrison

Rome A. Henderson

Carrasco was wearing a bracelet with the letter “LLJ,” standing for “Long Live Jeremiah" and said that he, Moreno and other friends and family of Jeremiah had matching bracelets.

Moreno said they met Jeremiah through his brother during their first year at Texas State and grew very close.

“When you first see [Jeremiah], he’s a very shy guy and very closed off, but once you get to know him, you get to see the genuine person he is, and it’s beautiful,” Carrasco said. “It’s beautiful that we got to experience his life.”

Dr. Elvin Holt

James "Tommy" Jannett

Christopher Reed Johnson

Dario Mendoza

Christopher "Andrew" Mercer

Romelia "Romy" Morin

Shane Michael Rhoades

experiences that bind us as a university,” Morton said.

President Kelly Damphousse delivered words of comfort, stating the purpose of this event is for the Texas State family to comfort each other through pausing and reflecting together on the memories of the honorees.

When you first see [Jeremiah], he’s a very shy guy and very closed off, but once you get to know him, you get to see the genuine person he is, and it’s beautiful,”

Adriel Carrasco Friend of Jeremiah Broussard and public relations junior

During the ceremony Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Vincent E. Morton and Associate Dean of Students Terrence Parker extended a warm welcome to attendees, followed by a moment of silence. Subsequently, a heartfelt slideshow paying tribute to all the honorees was presented.

“Whether family, friendship, mentorship or association connects us, we come together to pay tribute to these shared

FROM FRONT FINANCE

“Let us pause this evening in remembrance of those who have left us, but will never be forgotten,” Damphousse said. “Let us prioritize the things that truly matter and hold our friends and family close.”

Before the honoree roll call, where each name is called and guests in attendance for them stood, there was a musical performance of “When You Believe” by two senior musical theater majors Hailey Thomas and Zephaniah Divine.

Carrasco said Bobcat Pause was helpful in healing his and Moreno’s grief.

“This is a good-spirited event,” Carrasco said. “We just really love [Jeremiah] a lot, and we remember him every day.”

Dr. Carl Reed Richardson

Sandra Rodriguez

Martha Rodriguez

Dr. Clifford J. Ronan

Katherine 'Katie' Salter

Dr. Ollie J. Seay

Cody A. Smith

Aaron Soto

Gene Stouder

Dr. Dan Tamir

Daphne "Margo" Woollven

David R. Wyly

"When I went back to make that correction of adding my signature [FAFSA] wouldn't let me," Guidroz said. "The [Department of Education] said I had to wait because other students have to have their figures and their complaints processed to make corrections."

According to Texas State's Assistant Vice President of Financial Aid and Scholarships Christopher Murr, Texas State expects the impacts to be minimal,

with plans to send out financial aid offers late April. Murr said while he is optimistic about the current timeline, the Department of Education could announce additional errors that cause even further delays.

"If [another] situation arises we're going to have to assess and address the situation as effectively as we can," Murr said. "Our main goal is to get students timely and accurate financial aid offers notices so students can budget and prepare for the upcoming fall semester." Murr said even after financial aid offers are sent to students, the amount may be subject to change based on updates from the Department of Education. "The hope from [the Department of Education] and other institutions is once we send out letters this month we won't be in a situation where we have to make revisions," Murr said. Guidroz said she relies on her financial aid to pay for classes and the issues with her FASFA form are causing her to stress about registering for classes.

"I don't want to use private loans, that's my last resort," Guidroz said. "If I am unsuccessful [with FAFSA] then I may take out a private loan."

MAP BY DJ ROSS

Attendees observe the shrines at Bobcat Pause in remembrance of those lost, Monday, April 15, 2024, in LBJ Grand Ballroom.

PHOTO BY LUCAS KRAFT

Rethink River Fest featured artists in the future

By Rhian

Texas State Student Involvement hosted River Fest April 11 at Sewell Park. River Fest is a “20-year-old tradition that allows the [Texas State] community to relax, participate in activities and enjoy live music,” according to the Texas State Student Involvement website.

The headliner was Tyga, who is a notable rapper with hits such as “Taste (feat. Offset),” “Kim Kardashian” and “Rack City.” Tyga also has multiple allegations regarding violence against women.

In January, Jayden de Laura withdrew from Texas State University after The University Star uncovered he had recently settled a civil lawsuit stemming from a 2018 alleged sexual assault case. The upset around the de Laura situation on campus lasted almost a week. Students made it clear to Texas State officials that there is no place on campus for a sexual abuser.

Though it remains unclear if de Laura decided to withdraw on his own, or if university officials coached him, he left and the Texas State environment is better because of it.

Student Involvement and the Student Association for Campus Activities (SACA) planned River Fest, meaning they were responsible for booking the artists.

A mere two months, almost to the day, after de Laura’s withdrawal, Tyga was announced as the featured artist for River Fest.

Texas State University once again welcomed someone with assault allegations onto campus with open arms. Though the university is not explicitly responsible for booking Tyga as a performer, Student Involvement and SACA are directly involved with the university which likely means the artists had to be

TXST registration process is hectic

By Madison Green Opinions Columnist

One of the most stressful times of the year for a college student is the class registration period. Enrolling in the correct classes is extremely important.

If Texas State students are unable to take the classes needed to fill sections within their degree audit, they risk having to enroll in courses that don’t contribute to their degree. Worse, if they are unable to register for a required class, their graduation date might be postponed.

Mallory Juarez, a psychology senior, said even with her early honors college registration slot, she had to wait for about half an hour for the Texas State enrollment website to load and confirm the classes she was registering for.

“Whenever I logged on, it pretty much buffered for 30 minutes and I had to just sit there refreshing until it worked,” Juarez said.

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. The year before, Juarez had to wait over an hour for the website to load during her class. Each year, Juarez said she thinks registration will be different or more efficient and each year, she is disappointed.

“It seems like every year everyone has the same issues and you would think that eventually those issues would be figured out and corrected, but, they're not, year after year,” Juarez said.

However, hope is not lost. The main way to tackle issues such as website crashes and long loading times is to understand why the issue is caused in the first place. According to QueueIt, class registration times cause surges in website traffic which slow and threaten the websites.

approved on some level.

Tyga has many allegations connected to his name. In 2012, he was sued by three dancers for breach of contract, invasion of privacy and fraud after their breasts were exposed in one of his music videos when the dancers were promised no nudity. In 2016, the judge sided with the plaintiffs and Tyga was ordered to pay $10 million to each of the three women.

In Oct. 2021, Tyga was booked for domestic violence. Though he was not charged with a felony, he voluntarily turned himself in and his ex-girlfriend claimed she had been "emotionally, mentally and physically abused," according to an instagram story she posted with a photo of her black eye.

Rumors about Tyga's relationship with Kylie Jenner began when she was 17 and he was 24. The pair first

met when Jenner was 14 and despite the seven year age gap, he proceeded to pursue her and they dated for over three years.

Now, students are again left wondering if Texas State truly cares about their well-being. River Fest was advertised as a time to relax, but when the headliner is someone publicly known to have abuse allegations, how is that possible?

Despite these allegations, students showed up by the thousands to see Tyga for free.

In addition to Tyga’s performance at River Fest, The Marc hosted an after-party event, which continued as planned after the chaos at Sewell Park. Texas State, along with one of the most prominent clubs in San Marcos, should not have given Tyga such a big platform in the city.

River Fest is a great tradition and after an eight-year hiatus, it deserved to make its return. However, officials needed to do more to ensure the safety of students.

It is difficult to look past the fact that Texas State almost immediately bounced back from the issue surrounding Jayden de Laura, and put students in another uncomfortable situation with an underlying tone of sexual assault and violence.

The issues surrounding Tyga's prior behavior are readily available with one simple search online. Money and publicity do not matter nearly as much as students do, and nobody with a prominent history of assault should be welcomed onto campus.

The university must show students it cares about maintaining the anti-sexual assault culture students have fought for at Texas State. By no means should River Fest end, but Texas State and the student organizations in charge of planning the event must use more caution. This begins with truly looking into the background of who is invited to campus and reinforcing the values of integrity, compassion and respect.

-Rhian Davis is a journalism sophomore

Texas State invites entire student body to fest limited to 5,000

By Carson Weaver Editor in Chief

Chaos was the word UPD Sergeant Michael Rodriquez used to describe River Fest. After security closed entrances and denied entry at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, concert-goers did not go home. They instead toppled the chain link fences to get into Sewell Park.

“When [staff] said they were shutting down the entrances, everyone started freaking out,” Gabriel Kohl, a pre-med freshman who witnessed the event, said. “They were pushing toward the gate, and I saw a girl get trampled to the ground.”

Multiple people sustained injuries at the event. Reporters from The University Star personally witnessed at least two concert-goers being loaded into ambulances. In a conversation with an on-scene officer who spoke freely on the request of anonymity, said they “wouldn’t doubt it” if there were more than two.

In the background of the interview audio, an emcee’s voice carried over the conversation.

“‘EMS, can we get a medic to the front please?’,” the voice said.

A photo a reporter from The University Star took at the event shows blood splatter on concrete near the Sewell Park pavilion from a person that jumped over the fence. The reporter said that person had to get carried out on a stretcher.

Texas State Fire Marshal James Frye “personally witnessed” three people getting transported by ambulances, but doesn’t know the exact number transported or the exact number of injuries.

UPD Chief Matthew Carmichael said there were “two injuries sustained.”

Carmichael said there were 5,000-6,000 people in attendance. Rodriquez said there were 20,000-30,000. Texas State Fire Marshal James Frye estimated “less than 10,000.”

In a statement sent to The University Star, Texas State said the max capacity for River Fest was 5,000.

“There’s not a good way to get [an attendance number],” Frye said. “A bunch of people rushed the gates, they lost control… we don’t know exactly what the final attendance numbers were… I’m not sure what happened that triggered the students [to knock down the fences]… It was moving along pretty methodically for several hours.”

Lead singer for Flight by Nothing, Conner Redden, saw the fence break down as soon as his band was about to start its performance on stage. Redden said the band started its set 10 minutes late, and had to stop three to four times to make sure people in the crowd were OK.

“There’s a few different occasions where I saw that there was clearly something going on in the audience [I] would stop the song just to make sure that people were getting out. So at certain points I had to stop. I had to stop us,” Redden said. “I’m not just going to stand here and not act like people need help… there’s nobody there to say something or do something and it’s like, ‘Yeah, we got to stop… and make sure those people are OK.’”

Redden said it was the biggest crowd his band ever

played in its seven years.

He said people “were packed in like sardines” and thought the people packed in were “dehydrated” and “overheating,” but attributed that aspect to being just what music festivals are like.

Things like this happen at music festivals. Redden mentioned his own experience of passing out in the crowd at other festivals. He said there can be “a little bit of chaos.” Most Texas State students are no stranger to a wild crowd, whether that be on The Square or at live shows.

Redden even said the event was under control, and UPD Chief Matthew Carmichael echoed similar sentiments the day after the event.

“We had adequate staffing to address the situation,” Carmichael said.

Carmichael cited UPD’s preparedness for the event, and gave the unconfirmed attendance figure of 5,0006,000 compared to the 20,000-30,000 given to The University Star by Rodriquez on the night of River Fest. Extra patrol was called to help, something that Carmichael said is common for events like this.

But the event where at least two sustained multiple injuries, the event Redden said he had to stop multiple times to check on those in the crowd and the event where EMS was asked to the front of the stage, was sanctioned by Texas State.

This isn’t Astroworld. This isn’t ACL. This isn’t Coachella. Those events have a finite amount of tickets and a finite capacity.

This is Texas State’s River Fest – a free event advertised to over 35,000 students with space for only 5,000. All concert-goers had to do was have their student ID to get wristbands. Carmichael said on three occasions the fences fell down, and on each of those occasions student IDs or wristbands were not necessary.

Inviting the entire campus body to an event limited to 5,000 is irresponsible.

Nobody should have been injured. No gates should have been toppled. All students should’ve felt safe at all times and it’s clear that didn’t happen.

Texas State should’ve taken extra precautions and care to ensure student safety and a safe time for all.

Tyga points to the crowd during his performance at River Fest, Thursday, April 11, 2024, at Sewell Park.

ILLUSTRATION BY ABBY FUNDERBURK

PHOTO BY NATHAN MOYA

Spectators observe the torn down fence at River Fest while an official keeps guard, Thursday, April 11, 2024, at Sewell Park.

PHOTO BY RYAN CLAYCAMP

McClaran said the type of training varies daily. One day, they can be training on The Quad, meeting new people and maneuvering through crowds. The next, they could be at

Freeman Ranch, witnessing a mock protest put on by student workers. "They pick up the energy that you're giving, even if you're not aware of it," McClaran said. "It could be a trash bag,

a flag, chanting or yelling. We work on that stuff every day."

Training has been in progress since December 2023, taking place between Freeman Ranch and Manor, Texas with Mounted Patrol International.

Lyndon and Duke will provide a new sense of security to the Bobcat community, giving Ortiz and McClaran a higher view of their surroundings to prevent crime, stop burglaries and view emergencies that wouldn't be able to be seen by a ground officer.

McClaran rides with 10-year-old Duke, who is sensitive and attentive to his environment. Ortiz rides with 5-yearold Lyndon, who is playful and isn't afraid to take the first step.

In addition to Ortiz and McClaran, student workers play a role in taking care of the horses.

Danielle Brown, a wildlife biology sophomore, helps throughout the week by feeding, picking up after the horses, cleaning the area and grooming. Student workers watch Ortiz and McClaran train the horses and help out with training by creating scenarios to prepare the new officers for whatever may come their way.

"You learn something new every day you're there with them," Brown said. "It's like riding a bike. Once you get started, it's just natural at that point."

McClaran said she's already noticed a positive reaction as she rides Duke around campus. Lyndon and Duke made students less afraid to come up to the officers to ask for help or to simply just chat.

"Everybody loves being around them and we've talked to way more people with the horses," McClaran said. "People let their guard down and have a conversation about anything; it doesn't have to be complicated all the time."

The next big events for Lyndon and Duke are spring graduation and the upcoming presidential debate in the fall. For now, the two recruits have some more training to do and some more hay to eat.

"Hopefully by the fall you'll see us," Ortiz said. "We're trying to prepare the horses for what's to come."

Belgian horses Lyndon and Duke will be sworn in on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at Freeman Ranch in San Marcos, Texas

Students raise awareness through April events

By Marisa Nuñez Life and Arts Editor

Editor’s Note: This article includes discussion of sexual assault.

There are rows of red flags on the lawn behind Jones Dining Center. Those flags represent statistically how many students will be harmed by sexual violence this year, based on Texas State's population.

In Alkek, painted hands fill two glass cases; the white represents the age of the survivor and the blue represents the survivor's relationship with their assailant.

Throughout April, Students Against Violence (SAV) will host events for National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Each event allows students to share their experiences without initiating a Title IX report. “TXST Stands with Survivors” and “Like the Back of My Hand” kicked off the month of events on April 1, with more to be hosted until April 29.

“SAV does a lot of awareness during the month of April, especially since it’s Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month,” Montserrat Luna, president of SAV, said. “Giving people the space [and] the community to feel supported, especially if they've gone through something like that, it’s important.”

Of the eight events, three have already passed. “Growing a Culture of Consent” aimed to create a culture of consent through a discussion and the decoration of pots for planting. At “Take Back the Night” students shared their experiences through spoken word and poetry with host Ebony Stewart, an awardwinning slam poet. Students grabbed a coffee and met with Heidy Cortez, Texas State’s new bilingual sexual assault advocate, at “Coffee with an Advocate.”

The next event will be the “Consent Bingo Pizza Party” from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17, at Falls-Sayers Ballroom. Free pizza and consent bingo will be handed out during a discussion about comprehensive consent.

“In Texas, comprehensive sex education is prohibited,” Marisa Montelongo, health promotions specialist and SAV adviser, said. “Talking about consent isn’t something that's [taught]... It’s really important for students [who] come to college [who] maybe have a lack of knowledge and education around consent [to come] here and be able to see what consent is supposed to look like.”

For the “Healing Yoga” event from 7-8 p.m. on April 23 at LBJ Student Center room 3-5.1, SAV will host a yoga session with a trauma-informed yoga instructor from Wild Rice Yoga Studio who is certified to help people with traumatic events.

SAV will wrap up its National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month events with the “Denim Day Art Display” on April 22-26 in LBJ Student Center Hub. On March 25, SAV hosted an event to paint jeans and learn about the history of sexual assault. The jeans on display will have written messages from survivors. SAV hopes to encourage conversations about sexual violence with this event and welcomes students, faculty and staff to wear denim on Denim Day, April 24, to raise awareness and highlight misconceptions surrounding sexual assault.

Although SAV hosts several events throughout April, Luna said SAV’s help and support for students is yearround. Its mission is to create a conversation around sexual assault to raise awareness and educate students. Through its events in April, SAV hopes to bring students together on campus.

“Seeing other people, that you might know... seeing that they are also supporting this awareness and that they also care about the wellbeing of survivors and the fact that they're not okay with sexual assault happening... helps make our campus feel more like a community,” Erin Whitney, SAV staff officer, said.

If someone has experienced sexual assault, they can contact Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) at 800-658-4673.

Window Shop shows live sound in first official album

By AnaBelle Elliott Life and Arts Contributor

Local band Window Shop emits waves of seven-part harmonies and fuzz guitar-filled vibrations into the music scene. Its first official album came out on March 5, channeling its live sound into a 12-track album.

Since 2020, the band performed originals live on and off campus and released several singles. The "rainbow rock” band consists of two alumni and three music majors under the school of music.

A term coined by Aiden Potter, alumnus and guitarist, “rainbow rock” reflects how the band writes in seven layers of harmony, paralleling the seven colors of the rainbow into its take on rock.

“It's psych rock that has a lot of attention to harmony and heady aspects of music,” Potter said. “We think a lot about harmony, and we write in at least layers of seven notes at a time instead of playing power chords."

Window Shop recorded eleven of the 12-track self-titled album in summer 2022 at Yellow Dog Studios in Wimberley, Texas. It recorded the song “Ain’t You

“If you were going to throw all of the colors of the rainbow at a canvas, that is what we do in a sonic sense,” Nora Tomlinson, alumnus, keyboardist and vocalist, said. “We're never really limiting

ourselves to one style or genre."

The band switches up the order of the songs when they play live. It bases the album's order on how the band felt when performing in live scenarios.

“We've played that entire set a few times and so we've just gotten the flow of it,” Kevin Shultz, music senior and drummer, said. “We thought that everything flowed nicely too."

According to Tomlinson, spending time on campus created positive aspects and connections. Shultz, one of the three members who is still in school, said balancing student and band life is challenging.

“It’s constantly a battle in my mind of, ‘oh, I have to do my homework before we get to go rock and roll,'” Shultz said.

While they all have very different processes of composing music, Tomlinson, Potter or Dallas Anderson, music senior and guitarist, write the original songs.

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Cpls. Aleysha Ortiz (Left) and Haley McClaran (Right) stroll with Lyndon and Duke at Sewell Park, Friday, April 12, 2024, in San Marcos, Texas.

PHOTO BY BRIANNA CHAVEZ

(From Left to Right) Dallas Anderson, Aiden Potter, Nora Tomlinson, Logan Potter and Kevin Shultz pose for a photo in Martindale, Texas.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER PAUL CARDOZA

Track and field set for historic outdoor season

By Jacob De Luna Sports Contributor

Fresh off an impressive indoor season, Texas State’s track and field team is off to a bright start in the 2024 outdoor season claiming a national record and multiple school records.

Director of Track and Field John Frazier said the team has potential to have an outstanding year.

“I think we have a good shot this year to win a conference title,” Frazier said. “We’re currently ranked 21st in the country, and a great goal would be to finish in the top 20 or 25 by the end of the

season for both men’s and women’s.”

The Bobcats' most notable meet so far was the Charles Austin Classic when Texas State finished with 19 gold medals overall.

According to Frazier, there are several ways he keeps the team on track and actively competing, including helping athletes with their diets and workouts. “I’m making sure they’re doing the right things in the weight room. We have some hard-throwing days, and we also do things like mock competitions," Frazier said.

By Max Martinez Sports Reporter

Following a historic season, Texas State football aims to build off the success established in Head Coach G.J. Kinne's first year, beginning with the annual maroon and gold spring game.

The game held Saturday at Bobcat Stadium concluded 14 weeks of spring practices through March and April.

The game was a scrimmage between the Bobcats’ offense and defense, giving everyone a chance to step on the field and showcase their respective talent. In the opening minutes of the game, the offense struggled against a fired-up defense. The defensive line swallowed up the run game and the defensive backs flew all over the field.

Kinne praised the team after the scrimmage and said, jokingly, he is now a defensive coach due to how well the defense played.

“We stayed healthy, that’s the most important aspect of this whole deal,” Kinne said. “I thought we got better [and] I thought the defense came out and played well early.”

After some early miscues the offense quickly

got back on track and showed plenty of promise. Junior running back Jaylen Jenkins broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run to give the offense its first big play of the scrimmage.

“The offense bounced back and had a good day, and we had some flashes of what we can be offensively,” Kinne said.

Texas State hired former University of Arkansas Head Coach Chad Morris as the wide receivers coach this offseason and he has already made an impact.

Senior wide receiver Joey Hobert was all over the field after getting himself into a rhythm. Hobert took a short drag route to the end zone for a 40-plus-yard catch and run.

Going into the spring game all eyes were on Texas State's new quarterback graduate student Jordan McCloud. The reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year showed promise in Saturday's scrimmage.

No coach, no problem: Wrestling club overcomes adversity

By Kobe Arriaga Sports Reporter

The Texas State wrestling club overcame uncertainty from earlier this season after sophomore prodigy Jasmine Cortez traveled to Shreveport, LA, to compete in the National Collegiate Wrestling Championship (NCWA) this past March.

On top of being named second in the nation at the division-two level and bringing silver hardware back to San Marcos, Cortez also earned All-American honors for her performance.

“I would say this one is definitely the biggest as far as achievements,” Cortez said. “It’s definitively the farthest I’ve gone as far as competing and the [highest] ranked I’ve ever been.”

Despite the success of Cortez, the wrestling club at Texas State experienced adversity behind the scenes to start its season after parting ways with its head coach last semester.

Aurora Emmons, president of the Texas State wrestling club, faced the forefront of this adversity and said it helped

shape the team to be extra prepared.

“Be prepared for anything and don’t be too comfortable,” Emmons said. “These opportunities were not going to be given to us. We were going to have to work for everything we have.”

Emmons was a part of the club for three years and took a higher management workload since the coach departed from the club.

A.J. Gonzales, a Texas State senior and member of the wrestling club, led the club and uncertainty and prepared himself to take on potential roles that were left in the absence of a coach.

“I felt like I needed to step up to the plate and coach,” Gonzales said. “Being a senior, I’ve had plenty of time competing and I just felt like it was time for me to begin coaching, especially since we needed someone willing to do it.”

Aside from losing its coach, the wrestling team also lost access to its routine gymnasium, forcing the club to find a different dojo or space to train early in the season.

Cortez said after seeing the way the

team persevered through this precariousness, she believes it helped shape the team’s mentality into one that’s malleable and systematic.

“I just wanted to show that we could still do it and we could still compete as a team,” Cortez said. “I was really nervous, but I wanted to just have fun with it.”

Cortez is also a coach on top of a collegiate student and wrestler. She coaches and leads her local youth program, Stingers Wrestling Club, in San Marcos.

“She’s setting an example for those kids because it’s a youth team, and she’s setting up a good example for the future of wrestling also,” Emmons said.

Overall, Cortez looks to build off of this season’s uncertainty and hopes to remain successful as she continues her collegiate career as a wrestler and youth coach.

“With all of the challenges we had this year, it was satisfying the way that I accomplished a goal that I had really been wanting to achieve,” Cortez said. “It encourages me to keep going and keep pushing and achieve more.”

In the end, though the coach's absence could've caused disarray, the Texas State wrestling club bounced back with its willing and virtuous leaders.

By Jackson Kruse Sports Reporter

When junior outfielder Ciara Trahan suffered a left knee injury in the first inning of Texas State’s game against Baylor University on April 3, there were concerns about the offense as Trahan is third on the team in batting average this season with .339.

However, sophomore outfielder Sydney Harvey did a solid job laying concerns to rest.

“[Harvey] looked comfortable out there, which she should be by now,” Texas State Head Coach Ricci Woodard said. “She’s played every outfield position for us this year.”

Before assuming a regular starting role, Harvey was hitting a mere .208 this season.

Since coming in for Trahan against Baylor, she’s hitting .286 in 21 at-bats.

Harvey is counted on to perform for a top-25 program for a reason. In

high school, she posted a slash line of .441/.488/.535 (batting average/ on-base percentage/ slugging percentage) with ten doubles, eight triples and a home run in 161 plate appearances for Victoria West High School’s varsity team.

As a freshman in 2023, Harvey hit .158 in 19 at-bats. Regardless, Woodard said she prepared for an opportunity to play more frequently.

“She knew coming into the season [that] she was the fourth outfielder and probably was going to get some [playing] time,” Woodard said. “She puts in a lot of time working on her game so that when she gets these opportunities, she’s ready.”

Harvey showed why she can play every outfield position proficiently on April 10 in Austin against #1 Texas with a diving catch in which she ran forward in a full sprint before making a dive.

Competent fourth outfielders are always important as they are expected to back up three positions, which means they are more likely to have to step in

compared to other position players who typically ride the bench.

Even though Trahan’s offensive prowess has been vital to the Bobcat’s success, Woodard said she thinks Harvey has what is needed to take the torch.

“[Harvey has] covered for every single outfielder so far,” Woodard said. "She’s gotten some experience. She knew she was our fourth outfielder, so she could go in anywhere, and she’s done a good job of

PHOTO BY MANDALYN LEWALLEN

PHOTO BY MANDALYN LEWALLEN Texas State graduate student sprinter Daniel Harrold (11) competes in the men's 100-meter dash event at the Charles Austin Classic, Saturday,