November 8, 2022

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News: Public Defenders Office

Opinion: City Funding

Life and Arts: Into The Woods

Sports: Womens Basketball

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TUESDAY

November 8, 2022 VOLUME 112 ISSUE 13 www.UniversityStar.com

ELECTIONS

Poll workers persist despite public opinion, Election Day challenges By Ireland Sargent News Contributor Hays County poll workers continue to fight the misconception that involves working for an election-based job, giving insight into the work they do for the community throughout the election season. Poll workers are responsible for facilitating poll stations by confirming eligibility, distributing voter passes and assisting in various tasks to ensure the voters' experience is effortless. Kelley Cato, a poll worker for Hays County, said the importance of community outreach and educating the public about the financial benefits will hopefully lure in more individuals willing to be poll workers. "I think a lot of people assume we are doing this out on a volunteer basis and that's not true because the county pays us," Cato said. "I think if the county expressed the pay involved, more people would be willing to do this job." To become a poll worker in the state of Texas one must undergo a series of modules and training before assuming the role. Jennifer Doinoff, the elections administrator for Hays County, said poll workers are dealing with the new rules and regulations that continue to change in Texas. "Poll workers are working under new laws that passed the last session and are given a limited amount of time to understand the material," Doinoff said. "They had to train and get up to date on these new laws giving us a small amount of time and affecting the poll worker's typical way of doing things. If they were

Where to vote in San Marcos Broadway (Christus Trinity Clinic) San Marcos Housing Authority/ C.M. Allen Homes Brookdale San Marcos North San Marcos Public Library Calvary Baptist Church Sinai Pentecostal Church Centro Cultural Hispano de San South Hays Fire Department Station #12 Marcos Stone Brook Seniors Community Dunbar Center Scan For more First Baptist Church San Marcos information: Hays County Government Center, Conference room LBJ Student Center Promiseland Church San Marcos Fire Department Station #5 Links to hayscountytx.com

INFOGRAPHIC BY ELLE GANGI

not properly trained that could put them at the risk of criminal penalty." Stereotpes surround poll workers and others question their intent for encompassing the job. Cato has had daunting experiences with voters. She described one instance in which a voter who was not registered in Hays County berated the poll workers because he could not vote at that location. Cato said a large part of the job is to remain calm in those types of situations. Some believe poll workers are at polling locations to change ballots or express views, though the misconception is far and few between.

"People come in to vote and think that sites run smoothly comes from the work we are there to work against them," Cato completed by the elections judge in each said. "They are so sure that everything county. Larry Thompson, the elections we are doing there is a sham." judge for Buda City Hall, shared his The number of hours poll workers hope for the community throughout spend at the poll stations is the most the election season. difficult part of the job, according to "I open the polls each day, arriving an Cato. hour early to our original start time, I "We spend 10 to 12 hour days each work alongside the poll workers to run week and that's not factoring the time tests on the machines to ensure they we spend setting up the equipment," weren't tampered with overnight and I Cato said. "That's for sure the hardest check our supplies before we open the part of the job, but I enjoy the people polls," Thompson said. "My goal is to I work with and we are a tight-knit get them in and get them out as fast as group." possible." A significant part of ensuring voting SEE ELECTIONS PAGE 3

ART

San Marcos Art Center honors veterans and military with November showcase By Benjamin Middleton Life and Arts Reporter Trigger Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide. An eclectic mix of photographs, sculptures, jewelry and paintings lines the walls of the San Marcos Art Center. Each individual work of art has a unique emotion behind it, but they have one thing in common. All of the almost 20 different creators featured in the showcase are veterans or on active duty. Nancy Brown, director of the art center, envisions the Veterans' Art Showcase as a way to repay them for

their service and give a platform to those who have served. By giving local veteran artists an audience, she is able to reward and recognize them in a meaningful way. “I think it's important to recognize the service that they provided to the country,” Brown said. "It's all very well and good to say 'oh, thank you for your service,' but this is a little more concrete.” Valarie Seelye, a second-year master’s student studying secondary education, is one of the artists participating in the showcase. She joined the Air Force in 2017 and was on active duty for three years. Now, she is a member of the Air National Guard until next spring. Her work for the show combines watercolor

The Veterans Art Showcase is installed at the San Marcos Art Center, Monday Oct. 31, 2022. PHOTO BY BENJAMIN MIDDLETON

and LED lights to show a mermaid posing in front of glowing water. Seelye loves to work with any medium that is not digital and is drawn to work with physical mediums because she loves the process of creating art with tangible things. Not only do the textures of the mediums calm her anxiety, but they also spark her creativity and inspire the direction in which her art goes. “I have been learning a lot from art materials rather than learning how to be an artist,” Seelye said. “I have been trying to do what feels good to make and I like the sensory experience of the materials in my hand.” Seelye believes that the Veterans' Art Showcase helps humanize them in the public's eye. In her eyes, people have narrow views of the personalities of veterans. Even though they have all served, she said everyone still has wildly different beliefs and personalities. To her, the showcase is a way to show all of these different personalities to the public. “We're just regular people who have different interests,” Seelye said. “I'm not all about putting on some more paint and to go back into the field. I paint with watercolors and I have interests that aren’t all just hardcore military things.” Another artist involved is Dan Gamez, a Texas State art senior. As a 58-year-old veteran who served in intelligence in Europe during the Cold War, Gamez came to Texas State to get a degree in art so he can teach it to children. Gamez's current focus is abstract painting. His technique involves strategically pouring primary colored paint onto a canvas and then using toothpicks and torches to modify the painting. His goal with his paintings is to spread happiness and bring something beautiful to the world. “The pouring is so beautiful,” Gamez said. “It doesn't mean anything. All it is is color. No message. Nothing political. Nothing religious. Just color.”

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