October 18, 2022

HOMECOMING ISSUE

The Legacy of Boko:

Students carry on over 100 years of tradition

By Marisa Nunez, Sophie Somoza Sports Contributors

Adopted in 1919, Texas State's beloved mascot, Boko the Bobcat, has been a symbol of school pride, tradition and spirit for over 100 years.

"It doesn't matter where Boko is, everyone automatically is like, ‘oh my gosh, the Boko is here,'" former Texas State mascot Blain Blanchard said. "It's just uplifting. Everyone’s got smiles on their faces when he's there. And it doesn't matter who he interacts with. It's always a good time."

The search for Texas State's perfect mascot began in 1919 when it was called Southwest Texas State Normal College. Oscar Strahan, the athletic director at the time, fueled the mission to appoint a school mascot and find an athletic nickname to raise school spirit.

The idea of using a bobcat came from biology department head, C. Spurgeon Smith, because of its prominence in the local area. The Texas State bobcat was not named until 1964 when Beth Greenless from Luling, Texas, won the "Name the Bobcat" contest against 100 students for her submission, "Boko." She received a $5 prize and bragging rights for winning.

Today, a small team of four students carry on the legacy of Boko.

The quad consists of a finance student, a nursing student and two theatre education students. Together, they do more than just share the Boko title. The group comes up with new ideas for the mascot every week, brainstorming new mannerisms, signs and dances for games along with skits and videos for Boko’s social media accounts.

Although there is no written document that states that the students must keep their identities as Boko a secret, it is mascot code to do so.

"I'm very honored and I'm proud to be Boko, [all the Bokos] don't want to be any other mascot," one of this year's Bokos said. “I love it because Boko is the logo incarnate, he's the symbol [of Texas State], so it's nice to have the honor to be that and to showcase my love for the school and school spirit with that costume.”

Black excellence reimagined at campus galleries

By Zachary Scott Life and Arts Contributor

Inspired by Ebony Magazine's depictions of Black excellence, artist Dana Robinson shares her own take on Black existence with her exhibition "Just us Chickens" at Texas State Galleries.

The 18-piece exhibit features a collection of collages, fabric works and new monoprints that are made using vintage media and found materials to critique idealized versions of Black

life portrayed in the popular media magazine Ebony.

“It's a publication full of contradictions that I relate to and see consistently in the world,” Robinson said. “To talk about how complicated it is to exist as a Black person is important to me.”

“Just us Chickens” is an idiom Robinson’s mother would say to her and her sister meaning "all of us belong here," or "the regular crowd is here."

Dining halls struggle with overpopulation

By Blake Leschber News Contributor

This fall, more freshmen are walking through The Quad on their way to dining halls than ever before as campus welcomes the largest freshman class of 7,573 new students. With this inflated group, it has put immense pressure on the dining halls to serve food timely.

While the requirement for freshmen to live on campus continues, a crucial aspect of their daily lives is dining on campus, highlighting adjustments that need to be made.

As inflation continues to rise across the country, corporations and businesses have been increasing the prices of their products. This sentiment is no different in buying food for Texas State according to Chin-Hong Chua, resident district manager of Chartwells at Texas State.

“Almost every week food and paper prices increases,” Chua said. “With a lot of shortages, this can cause us to have to settle for different food. Sometimes we are sent chicken tenders instead of chicken breast or foam plates instead of paper and despite the fact that we don’t normally use these products, we have to adapt to these changes.”

According to Chua, the budget for the amount of food bought

increases by 20% year-to-year, but as inflation has increased by 8.2% this past September, that 20% increase might start becoming more restrictive for the amount of food bought and its quality.

“We have to consider inflation when buying food,” Chua said. “We have to account for how the food will be consumed and buy the amount that causes the least waste.”

These are thoughts that were addressed differently not long ago due to COVID-19. Dining halls have not been as busy as they currently are for the past two years.

Currently, freshmen living on campus are required to purchase a meal plan. On campus, there are two traditional dining halls: Commons and Harris; and various dining centers: LBJ Student Center, Jones Dining Center and The Den. These dining centers are spread out on campus to allow easy access for students.

Some students feel the quality of these dining halls doesn’t match up to the number of students.

“They run out of the popular food very quickly and then you have to sit and wait for a very long time,” Sydney Polak, a secondary theatre education freshman, said.

Artist Dana Robinson puts the finishing touches on one of her pieces, "Womens Work," in preparation for the opening day of her exhibit, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, at Texas State Galleries.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DANA ROBINSON

Texas State mascot, Boko, cheers on the Bobcats from the sidelines during a football game, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, at Bobcat Stadium.

PHOTO BY VANESSA BUENTELLO

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Life & Arts Editor: Marisa Nunez starlifeandarts@txstate.edu

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Director: Laura Krantz laurakrantz@txstate.edu

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The saying refers to an allegedly racist joke published in Everybody’s Magazine, in 1908 regarding a chicken thief who jokingly says the phrase, “Nobody here but us chickens,” when confronted by a farmer. The saying was later widely popularized by Black American rhythm and blues and jazz dance band Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five in 1946 with their hit single “Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens”.

Robinson strives to reimagine depictions of Black excellence perpetuated by a white-dominated patriarchal society. She creates a sense of nostalgia for her Black viewers by blurring the subjects of her monoprints which were exploited by advertisements.

“I also like obscuring them because a lot of my work is bought by white people, and I don't really want them to have a clear vision of the Black people in my work,” Robinson said. “I don't think that they deserve that, they do not deserve our images.”

Alongside her monoprints, Robinson uses physical copies of magazine advertisements to create her six collages. Each colorful collage dances with the playful composition of Black body parts mixed with the textures of paint and gold leaf, one of Robinson’s favorite techniques to use while creating her artwork.

“I think that my art looks interesting. It is inviting and is not traditional. Other galleries just have panels or canvas oil paintings, which is the traditional way of thinking about art,” Robinson said. “Because my work uses so many different materials, and it's on so many different non-traditional surfaces, it is just fun to look at and think about.”

The last piece of the collection is a fabric work called "Women's Work," a large quilt of multi-patterned fabrics sewn together by Robinson. She said that she chooses the fabrics in her art simply based on the feelings that she gets from them.

“One of the sections is a piece of a robe that my mom gave me. Another reminds me of my grandpa's pajamas,” Robinson said. “With fabric, you are in contact with intimate material. All of the pieces come together to spark memories.”

Margo Handwerker and Rebecca Marino are the director and assistant director for Texas State Galleries. Although Marino’s main focus is teaching students about art installation techniques and art handling, she also takes on a curatorial role at Texas State Galleries.

Marino, who has been with Texas State since 2017, curated this exhibition because she feels that it is a privilege to be able to showcase art. Providing exposure to artists with a developing platform is one of Marino’s motivations behind choosing to curate this exhibit.

“To be able to give Dana a show where I can pay for the shipping and for her to come and to have all the things, it meant a lot to pass along in a good way," Marino said. “Cultivating an environment for artists to grow is the most important part of my job.”

James Jarmon, an early childhood education junior, visited the exhibit during its opening week. His favorite aspect of Robinson’s artwork was the nostalgic feelings he got from the fabric work and monoprints.

"Even though Texas State is a [predominantly white institution], I thought it was really nice to see Black representation like this," Jarmon said. “The artwork hits close to home and feels familiar, but this exhibit shows a different side.”

Dana Robinson was born in Brooklyn and raised in Florida, where she received a BFA in design from Florida State University in 2012. While living in

Tallahassee, Florida, Robinson worked as a seamstress at a vintage store. She noticed that people were drawn to vintage fabrics and materials that they had no personal relationship with which is where she got the idea for her artwork.

Robinson’s artwork is driven by her interest in creating things she has never seen before, she said. The idea of Black respectability had a large impact on Robinson's upbringing and it is something she continues to battle with. Depictions of Black excellence passed down through generations are the inspiration behind her artwork.

“Creating work like this helps me work through the fact that there are different versions of being Black and successful,” Robinson said. “It's really nice that I get to create art and show it to people in a space like Texas State.”

Robinson has been featured in articles for JUXTAPOZ, It’s Nice That podcast and Art Market Monitor. Her work has been shown in many key museums and galleries like the Fuller Rosen Gallery and is currently being shown at venues like the A.I.R. Gallery in New York.

Robinson will be an artist in residence at the Wassaic Project, a year-round artist residency program in New York, and has an upcoming solo show with Kates Ferri Projects and Turley Gallery later in New York in 2023, according to Marino.

"Just us Chickens" is free to view at the Texas State Galleries located inside the Joann Cole Mitte building until Oct. 28.

Local musicians to take the stage at San Marcos Fest

By Connor Ek Life and Arts Contributor

Right along the banks of Sewell Park in San Marcos, music can be heard from a mile away on the outdoor stage from one of the biggest musical events of the year for locals and students, San Marcos Festival (SMFest) a community-driven showcase of San Marcos artists, musicians and creatives.

SMFest is a free citywide music festival and market featuring local San Marcos bands and artists from Oct. 21 to 23 at downtown San Marcos venues and outdoor performance areas.

For seven years SMFest has been hosting local music, art and comedy, being spearheaded by event group Apogee Presents. Giving a platform to local performers, the event is a footnote in the San Marcos music scene in breathing life into local new artists.

Mike Howard, a lead organizer in Apogee’s San Marcos branch, was handed the torch to run SMFest in 2018, taking on large-scale and local acts. Since taking over, Howard has plans to keep true to the original formula of the event, while also adding his own touch by incorporating a community aspect to the festival.

"This year I vision a festival, a three-day event, where we're doing music at different local downtown businesses [and mixing] that in with a parade," Howard said.

Howard's overall intention and goal is to be able to not only throw a great concert but also to get the community involved

as much as possible in the festival. He highlights and drives foot traffic to the local businesses that are serving as venues for SMFest like Zelick's Icehouse and Red Room Social Lounge.

The contributions Howard has made to the local music community have created several talented groups of musicians, helping them create names for themselves by giving opportunities to each generation of musicians. Summer Rental, a local indie-pop rock band in the works of making a name for itself, is one band that SMFest presents with pride.

Summer Rental started out as a passion project of Garrett Douglas, a Texas State music education alumnus. He spent the time he lived in San Marcos playing small solo acoustic sets while attending Texas State before forming and getting the ball rolling his junior year. Douglas wrote songs for smaller solo acoustic sets before getting serious.

“I [started] writing songs when I was maybe like 14 or 15," Douglas said. "I played in a band in high school out in Atlanta and I was always like the acoustic guy playing like three-hour sets in whatever restaurant or coffee shop anywhere."

Not long after the release of the first album, "Take Me With You," in 2019 which Douglas wrote, produced and recorded, he and his roommate at the time, Sean McDermott who is the drummer of Summer Rental, met keyboardist and guitarist Sean Ryan and Ben Steen, through mutual friends. The band started recording its first album at Steen's father's backyard studio.

Garrett Douglas and Sean Ryan play with their band, Summer Rental, on the Courthouse stage at SMFest 2021.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER PAUL CARDOZA

"The Best Time To Reward Your Hair Is Right After You Punish It" by Dana Robinson on display Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 at Texas State Galleries. The piece is part of Dana Robinson's exhibit titled "Just us Chickens".

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZACHARY SCOTT

Storytellers shine at Star Stories

By Marisa Nunez Life and Arts Editor

Community members gathered at the Performing Arts Center last Wednesday evening for The University Star's fourth annual Star Stories: True Stories of Life at TXST. Organized and presented by The Star's Public Relations section, the event featured true personal narratives from storytellers that revealed something about the community's greatest challenges and opportunities.

Edgar Torres, chemistry senior

Edgar Torres grew up in Rancho Grande, Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. On June 28, 2008, when he was just eight years old, his life changed when he was forced to move away from his roots with the promise of more opportunities along the border. What was supposed to be a trip to see family in the U.S. turned into a 14-year-long journey to get where he is today.

Torres expects to graduate in December with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry and a bachelor of art degree in communication. He hopes to eventually attend a top biomedical engineering program. His experience adjusting to the U.S., the opportunities that his parents have given him, and the Texas State programs and organizations he is involved in helped him reach where he wants to be.

"Never give up," Torres said. "Things will get hard, life is not fair, life isn't easy, but it wasn't designed to be easy.”

Having to adjust to a new country, culture and language, Torres matured at a young age, working twice as hard as other students while his parents worked just as hard to provide for him and the rest of his family.

“Texas State has been very welcoming and has created a very nurturing environment for me to grow, but also for me to prepare for the next stage of my life,” Torres said.

Jordan Stern, Associate Director for Student Success in the School of Music

Growing up, Jordan Stern thought college was an impossibility. His family lived in poverty, no one in his family had ever gone to college before and attending college was discouraged in his family's religion. After showing interest in college in fifth grade, Stern was taken out of school until high school when he was able to attend again.

Stern and his sister were homeschooled by their mother until Stern's sophomore year of high school when he returned to a traditional school.

Stern had excellent grades in high school and a raw talent for music, something that made him stand out. Thomas Valdez, his high school band director and William Berman, one of his teachers, helped convince Stern's father that college was a possibility.

Stern would eventually receive enough financial aid to get him through his first three years at Southwest Texas State.

“Against my mother's wishes off, I went to San Marcos and it was like heaven on earth,” Stern said. “I had never experienced that kind of freedom. It was refreshing and being able to do what I wanted to do, not being forced to go to church three times a week, it was great.”

Stern's father was diagnosed with cancer halfway through his freshman year and passed away shortly after. Stern said his mother wanted him to drop out of school to take care of the family. When he made the decision to stay in San Marcos, his mother refused fill out his FASFA.

The summer before his senior year at Texas State, Stern was accepted to the International Festival Institute program on a full scholarship. He played in an orchestra with students from schools like Juilliard and Eastman. When he was not performing, however, Stern's impending homelessness was heavy on his mind.

quite feel right. I sat up, and I forced myself to breathe a little bit slower and then I realized it was the night before the first day of my fourth year in college."

Stern received bachelors degree from Texas State in percussion performance and music studies with a teaching certification. He received a master's degree in music education as well as a doctorate in musical education degree. He said he is grateful for his job at Texas State as it allows him to bring stability to his students' lives, just as his mentors did when he needed the guidance and support.

Wendi Rios, Administrative Assistant of Scholarships and Events at McCoy College of Business

The day before the start of his senior year, he found himself sleeping in his car without a way to pay for his classes, the aftermath of his mother not filling out his financial aid application.

"Gasping for breath. I woke up in panic," Stern said. "It took a while for me to figure out where I was in these cramped uncomfortable surroundings that didn't

Rios parents owned a grocery store where she lived by the coast growing up. She and her family grew very close with the people on the ferries that they would ride to go to the bank and the store three to five times a week. On the ferry is where she met the man that greatly influenced her life, Jesse.

Jesse witnessed Rios grow up from age nine to when she was a senior in high school. She said that her family embraced him just as he did them. At her high school graduation, in which there were only 16 students, Jesse was there to celebrate. Rios said he was the only Black man in attendance at the graduation.

"Jesse was in my graduation pictures," Rios said. "He celebrated afterwards with us. He was just an amazing young man."

Rios came to work at Texas State in the Office of Retention Management and Planning in 2012. At a campus bookstore sale, she started talking to a nearby family whose son was an incoming freshman at Texas State. Questions quickly turned to familiarity as the student turned out to be Jesse's son.

Jesse's son told Rios that his father had died a couple of years prior. Rios made sure she told Jesse's family how amazing of a man he was to her, and someone whose impression on her changed her life because of his sincerity and kindness.

"[People] can tell heartfelt stories of compassion about people that [they] love, not because of their differences, not because of their color or their religion, because you saw in this being just like yourself, and that's what I want [people] to take away from this story," Rios said.

Anna Garcia, psychology junior

Growing up, Anna Garcia was shunned by many for being herself. She said nobody liked her because of her personality. She energetic, outgoing and enjoyed talking to people, but behind her back she heard others call her annoying.

"I changed every aspect of myself just so I wouldn't feel like an outsider, a burden, just so I could finally be accepted," Garcia said.

Garcia tried to find her place through performing as a cheerleader for 14 years. Still unsure of who she was, she knew that leaving South Texas to attend Texas State would give her the breath of fresh air she was searching for.

Since coming to Texas State, Garcia has found a second home with people she loves. She enjoys hanging out with her neighbors, being with her roommate and knows that she wouldn't have been able to find herself if it were not for her past.

"What I learned a lot was if I didn't have all these past things I wouldn't be here," Garcia said. "Because all that prepared me for this, for now, were those little moments, those little traumas, those tragedies prepared me for this big picture."

Wendi Rios, an administrative assistant of scholarships and events at McCoy Business College, delivers a speech on reconnecting with the son of a past friend at Star Stories, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 at the Performing Arts Center in San Marcos, Texas.

PHOTO BY CARSON WEAVER

Texas State chemistry senior Edgar Torres delivers a speech on moving to the U.S. at Star Stories, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 at the Performing Arts Center in San Marcos, Texas.

PHOTO BY CARSON WEAVER

"THINGS WILL GET HARD, LIFE IS NOT FAIR, LIFE ISN'T EASY, BUT IT WASN'T DESIGNED TO BE EASY.” -EDGAR TORRES, A CHEMISTRY SENIOR

Construction on Hilltop Housing continues

By Carlota Pulgar News Contributor

Dust and cranes have taken up the hill above The Quad bus loop as construction on the Hilltop Housing Complex picks up again. The project was put on pause amidst COVID-19 but is now underway and on a trajectory to be completed by the fall of 2024.

Construction of the building began in 2019 with the demolition of Hornsby and Burleson Halls. The new dorm will have two structures that each will be seven stories and house 1006 beds, according to the facilities department. In May, contractors were given the notice to proceed with construction, moving its original completion date from the summer of 2021 to next fall.

William Mattera, executive director of housing at Texas State, oversees all operations regarding the project and said the decision to pause construction in 2020 was related to them not knowing how long COVID-19 would last and what enrollment would look like after.

“At that time, the administration made the decisions to pause construction until we figured out what would happen in a post-pandemic enrollment situation,” Mattera said.

Director of Housing Facilities Services Kyle Estes is involved in the facilities aspect of the project. His involvement with the construction includes aspects like design, construction schedule and completion of the project. He said they were proactive during the pause to avoid problems related to the construction later.

“I went to the construction people and said, 'I'm thinking this is what they're going to tell us. What steps do we need to take to be properly positioned to pull that trigger and still be on schedule for fall of '24?'" Estes said. “I sat down with some of my partners across in physical plant planning, zoning construction, we talked through what those milestones would be, what would have to happen by when.”

Estes discusses one of the most recent milestones: the second tower crane being brought to the site to get ready to work on the seven floors of both structures.

“The next milestone is the beginning of pouring our concrete moving vertical,” Estes said. “They're supposed to start going when I call vertical the first of November, and that's supposed to finish in May.”

There was a lot of planning on how construction would be affected by factors like widespread inflation costs as well as access to materials and overall shortages.

FROM FRONT UNIVERSITY

This can become an issue, especially during school days when students only have a set amount of time to eat before class. Students with dietary restrictions may have to get food that’s made to order, forcing them to have to wait longer times.

Even students without dietary restrictions can experience longer wait times based on how busy the dining halls are, which is time they may not have.

These factors have caused adjustments in the process, creating a need to use different companies to do things like electrical or concrete work.

“Our general contractor, Vaughn, found that because of the personnel shortages, they didn't have people who could do that,” Estes said. “They hired one company to do the south building and one company to the north building so that you made sure you had the personnel to be able to get it all done on schedule.”

Hilltop was originally supposed to house 806 beds but is now going to house 1006. This change came from a variety of factors of trying to meet demands in a cost-effective way but also in plans for future renovation of other buildings on campus.

“As we continue to open new facilities, we look at other facilities in terms of renovation, replacement, those kinds of things,” Mattera said. “Transparently, the immediate demand we’re experiencing was not even part of the projection to build Hilltop. I am grateful that those 200 beds were added, but they were not necessarily added after that. That's the design that was already in place before we knew we were going to have a really full fall this summer.”

Freshmen are required to live on campus their first

spoons and knives, they never had enough,” Polak said. “They were always running out or I had to bring my own.”

Both Commons and Harris Dining Halls have also recently switched to using plastic plates and plasticware over ceramic dishes and silverware which has created some concern among students like Greg Ordonez, a communication studies junior.

“Considering the fact they’ve been using plastic plates and plastic silverware, that also brings up the sustainability issue,” Ordonez said. “When you make it into a mass scale, then that causes a problem and I hope they can fix that.”

Jordan Mireles, a theatre freshman who works at Commons said this sudden change in the supplies was because the dishwasher broke down. Hopefully, Mireles said, they can return to the normal dishware soon.

However, with the return of ceramic silverware and plates, there is still a chance that the dining halls can get behind on providing the supplies quickly enough.

“We’re trying to keep the dishwasher from washing so many since it can get flooded from having 400 people at a time,” Mireles said.

When the dining halls have to conduct repairs, they run into the struggle of supply-chain issues around mechanical parts.

“Because of a shortage of supplies, equipment may take up to a month to replace,” Chua said. “This forces a lot of adjustment on our end.”

This can cause issues especially when machines used to cook food break down. The wait for supplies forces the dining halls to have fewer resources to cook and serve food for longer periods of time.

“Sometimes they can’t keep up right away due to a large influx,” Chua said.

“Certain items will take longer to cook, so one station may have to wait a bit longer."

Besides the lack of certain foods, the dining halls cannot seem to keep up with the supplies necessary for dining.

“When it comes to things like forks,

Last week, a dishwasher at Harris broke down. According to Chua, a repair that would normally take three days is now taking longer because the parts are not currently available to purchase.

With the large freshman class, these dining halls are simply running out of space to allow students to eat. In Commons and Harris, students are not allowed to bring food outside of

year and with a 14% increase in enrollment of firstyear students this year, there were some shortages in housing. It is not clear if there is a correlation between Hilltop not being completed in 2021 to the lack of housing. As the trend of high enrollment was later in the summer Mattera said.

“If those 1000 beds were in the inventory, that wouldn't have been a challenge for us. It for sure would have softened it a little bit,” Mattera said. “Had we pulled some other levels of things we intended to do, we may have ended up in the same spot, right? Taking a building offline to do a renovation and already starting the work we would’ve been in the same spot.”

Mattera describes the university's master plan, which are conversations about what first year and returning students need in regard to future construction of buildings on campus.

“We are in the middle of having some of those conversations about what is an immediate need, what is future need and what is projected growth. We're trying to look at the problem from a long-term solution and not a short-term fix course," Mattera said.

the immediate building unless they are taking their meal to go. This can create problems, especially during peak dining hours.

“There have been times where I’ve had to stand in Commons and eat,” Polak said.

Chua said the overcrowding issue is one they addressed at the beginning of the semester.

“We had to add more employees and seating in the dining halls,” Chua said. “It was one of the changes we had to make for the students.”

There is also an increased rate of crosscontamination among the food at these dining halls that raises some concern among students, especially with allergies or strict food diets.

“Sometimes whenever I get the utensils to get the food it might be misplaced,” Ordonez said. “It would be better if there was a more specific area where we should put our utensils so there’s no cross-contamination or any

sort of bacteria getting on the utensils.”

Food deserts are prevalent in college communities. Food deserts are not necessarily due to a lack of food but rather a lack of access to food, especially with broken equipment and longer wait times. The employees of the dining halls work every day to ensure that students can eat and have access to proper food.

“The employees move really fast. They put food together quickly and it always looks nice,” Mireles said. “Whenever I go there as a customer, they’re quick and efficient.”

The employees appreciate that even when it is busy, customers can treat them with respect and kindness.

“Whenever things are busy, it’s always nice to see the customers who are patient,” Mireles said. “They understand that we’re working as fast as we can to make sure that we get food out for everybody when the line’s moving slow.”

The Texas State construction crane towers over campus, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, at The Quad bus loop.

PHOTO BY JEFFREY HALFEN

“WE HAVE TO CONSIDER INFLATION WHEN BUYING FOOD,” CHUA SAID. “WE HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR HOW THE FOOD WILL BE CONSUMED AND BUY THE AMOUNT THAT CAUSES THE LEAST WASTE.” -CHIN-HONG CHUA, RESIDENT DISTRICT MANAGER OF CHARTWELLS AT TEXAS STATE.

Texas needs to make voting easier for everyone

By Dillon Strine Opinions Editor

Election Day is less than a month away; most residents must plan to complete their civic duty.

For our democratic elections to continue to be completely free and fair, we need to ensure a fair number of polling locations, extend early voting and voter registration dates and make Election Day a national holiday.

Waiting in line, taking off work, skipping a class or having an alternate voting location too far away should not limit voters.

Hays County Commissioner's Court has discussed discontinuing early polling locations. We cannot continue to allow this to happen, and we need polling locations that more closely reflect the population it is serving.

In 2019, a Leadership Conference Education report found that Texas leads the nation in polling place closures. There is a lawsuit in nearby Bexar County as their county's proposal for polling locations for the general election is the fewest ever.

There have been closures to Election Day voting and early voting locations on college campuses across the state, from the University of Texas at Austin to Texas A&M College Station. On the Texas State campus there have been past elections that cause students to get in line after class and wait hours after poll closing time.

There need to be more places for college students to vote on populationdense campuses. Texas State needs more than just the LBJ Student Center for early voting and Election Day. There needs to be voting at the Student Recreation center and Performing Arts Center.

With population density in an area where tens of thousands of college students reside, there should be numerous locations. College students are not the only ones who utilize these locations, residents of San Marcos are encouraged to use them.

There should not be any polling locations closures, and we need more polling locations.

Another way to limit lines is by early voting, which Texas was one of the earliest adopters of, and it has become trendy to plan to try and avoid queues.

Early voting this year will take place for 12 days, from Oct. 24 – Nov. 4., but Texas would benefit from more.

Across the U.S., early in-person voting varies from three days to 46, with 23 being the average, meaning Texas has a below-average length. Early voting can also begin as early as 55 days before an election and end closer to Election Day.

Oct. 11 was the last day to register in the state, meaning that if an eligible voter did not register two weeks before early voting, they can't vote.

22 states in America allow for sameday voter registration and registration during the early voting period.

Texas should implement more early voting time, with voting days on the weekends leading up to Election Day, and have early and same-day voter registration to maximize voter turnout.

Even with the numerous ways we are allowed to vote-in-person, mailin and curbside, in every state, eligible voters will partake in the 2022 midterm elections by voting on Tuesday, Nov. 9, Election Day.

In the 2020 general election, a record number of registered voters in Texas took part, 66% according to KLTV, which came out to 18.9 million.

But the voting landscape in Texas has

changed for those who have not voted since 2020. New voting laws have made it so that how we vote and who will be watching us cast a ballot is different. Partisan poll watchers can now move freely from one poll location to another, which could cause intimidation. In addition, 24-hour, dropbox mail-in and drive-thru voting are no longer. The trend of disenfranchising voters in the state will continue after drastic changes to the state's voting laws and will create new tension.

If Election Day became nationally recognized, it would release the stress from the American workforce and students. Of the voters that may have registered for the 2020 election, 47% did not vote because of a conflict or being too busy on Election Day, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). A day dedicated to civic engagement would not just be a day off; it would allow students and the working class a day to be prideful.

Detractors will argue that allowing more people to vote will create less informed voters or that the increased ability to vote will cause widespread voter fraud. Or that creating more locations will stretch the poll workers who are overworked and underpaid that, according to Hays County officials, we

only sort of have now thin.

But allowing more citizens to vote will help focus attention on elections, creating informed voters. Moreover, voter fraud is minuscule, according to the AP; in the state with the most cases in the 2020 presidential election, Arizona, it accounted for less than 2% of votes, not enough to swing the results. Also, in Hays County, poll worker's pay was increased to $18 per hour for presiding judges, election techs, early voting ballot board, and central count workers, while election day clerks will make $16 per hour.

Giving every eligible Texan the ability to vote easier would allow for a government more representative of its population and let the disenfranchised in this country have a voice. Encourage your local lawmakers to create fairer elections in your community, and keep in mind what politicians think of elections before heading to the ballot box.

- Dillon Strine is a journalism senior

The University Star welcomes Letters to the Editor from its readers. All submissions are reviewed and considered by the Editor-in-Chief and Opinions Editor for publication. Not all letters are guaranteed for publication.

Online proctored testing is a violation of privacy

By Nichaela Shaheen Opinions Contributor

This summer, a federal judge ruled in favor of a student who argued that the pre-test scan of a student's room was illegal. Yet, at Texas State, this practice is still in use.

On Aug. 22, a ruling by U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese set a new precedent regarding student privacy during online exams. The judge sided with Cleveland State University student Aaron Ogletree, who sued the institution for having to show his testing environment before taking an online exam.

When Ogletree had to show his room while taking a chemistry test, it raised red flags as a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment, which details the right to security. Online proctored tests requiring students to show their bedroom or testing environment is an evident invasion of privacy and needs removal as an option for professors at Texas State.

Online and hybrid courses at Texas State may require students to use the software programs Proctorio or Examity. These services not only require showing your testing environment but proving your identity by showing an I.D. and sharing screens while having audio and visual recording for the exam duration.

As students prepare to take an online exam, removing controversial posters or religious items, organizing their room and moving medical equipment should not be at the forefront of their minds; concentrating on the exam should.

According to Hope Walton, the University of Richmond's director of the academic skills center, a students' environment plays a vital role in academic success.

"Students spend an inordinate amount of time studying, interacting and sleeping in their dorms, so it is important to provide an environment that is conducive to these activities taking place," Walton said in a press release. "I like to see rooms that have pictures and posters, which suggest students feel at home in their space, and a structure where everything is easily accessible to best suit students' academic needs."

A student's comfort in their space can translate into their studies. For some, it may be posters. For others, it may be religious symbols.

Famous artists like Rihanna or Travis Scott, for example, whose brands sell items of them partaking in drug-related activities can be found in college students' bedrooms. These activities are ones that students may not want their professors to know they condone. While adjusting to newly found freedom, however, it becomes essential for students to cultivate a safe haven in their room.

Texas State is a diverse university, and many religious beliefs circulate within the student body, including those who practice the Islamic faith. To those students, having Islamic rugs on display in their rooms reminds them of their values and a piece of home. However, some might feel uncomfortable sharing this sacred part of their lives with professors through online proctored testing.

For some students, especially those who live in close quarters with roommates or relatives, being required to share their living situation on screen is not ideal. Showing a room or living environment may cause embarrassment. Alkek Library only has a select number of study rooms available on a first-come, firstserved basis, so a bedroom becomes the testing room.

According to a University of North Carolina study, roughly 4% of college students have sleep apnea. One of the ways to effectively treat this medical condition is to utilize a CPAP machine, which gives the patients continuous positive airway pressure, optimizing and preventing a lack of breathing.

Users of CPAP machines often keep the life-saving device near their bed with their masks for readily

accessible treatment. As a sleep disorder with many stereotypes attached, college students with sleep apnea should not have to remove their medical equipment before taking an online exam. However, keeping the equipment in the visible area and having to broadcast it to systems like Proctorio and Examity breaches The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) laws.

HIPAA is a federal law that values privacy, security and breach notification. Unfortunately, students who use medical equipment like CPAP machines are losing their protection under HIPAA by showing the testing environment of one's bedroom.

According to an article from The Associated Press, Ogletree's lawyer, Matthew Besser, believes the Fourth Amendment applies to all, even in the college exam world.

"Freedom from government intrusion into our homes is the very core of what the Fourth Amendment protects," Besser said. "If there is any place where students have a reasonable expectation of privacy, it's in their homes."

The U.S. Federal Government requires that all schools have a process for verifying student identity to protect against Federal Student Aid fraud. Some may argue that this is what these services do. According to ProctorEdu, 68% of surveyed students acted dishonestly during their studies. While online proctoring may catch these students, showing one's living environment is a different sort of boundary that universities also crossed during COVID-19.

Texas State allows each professor to choose how academic integrity is measured. Professors may choose Proctorio and Examity, but its testing requirements are a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment. The goal of using lockdown extensions is to promote academic integrity. There must be better ways to still do this without violating one's fundamental rights.

- Nichaela Shaheen is a mass communications junior

The University Star welcomes Letters to the Editor from its readers. All submissions are reviewed and considered by the Editor-in-Chief and Opinions Editor for publication. Not all letters are guaranteed for publication.

Opinions in The University Star are not necessarily those of our entire publication, Texas State University’s administration, Board of Regents, School of Journalism and Mass Communication or Student Publications Board.

ILLUSTRATION BY AFAAF ALNAHAS

Softball seeks return to championship game

By David Cuevas Sports Contributor

After an up-and-down start in 2022, Texas State clinched an impressive 35-17 regular season record and entered the Sun Belt Conference tournament on a redhot 15-game winning streak. The team won three out of four games to play its way into the championship game, where the Bobcats were defeated 7-1 by Louisiana Lafayette.

The loss to the Ragin’ Cajuns has fueled a four-month offseason for Texas State, but with fall practices now officially underway, the anticipated 2023 season is finally nearing.

Senior infielder Sara Vanderford believes after exceeding its own expectations last season, this year’s team has set a new standard for itself for the upcoming season.

“I think we have a really good group of people,” Vanderford said. “I think we have all the people in the right places, everyone shows up to practice every day and everyone’s bought in so I think we have a really high standard this year.”

With key players from the 2022 team returning, like Vanderford, sophomore outfielder Ciara Trahan, senior pitcher Tori McCann, junior pitcher Jessica Mullins and the addition of University of Texas transfer junior infielder JJ Smith, the expectations heading into the 2023 season are high.

“We have larger expectations than we did last year,” Mullins said. “We want to make it as far as the Women’s College World Series and I think we all have that goal in mind whereas last year we were kind of iffy and we really didn’t have all the same expectations.”

Last season, Texas State lost six seniors from the 2022 team that went on a deep postseason run all the way to regionals. However, 13 players are returning from the Sun Belt Conference championship runner-up roster which brings experience and chemistry to the 2023 team; something that the 2022 team lacked during its rocky start.

Even with 13 players returning, Mullins believes it will still take a bit of time for this team to fully come together.

“We still have a really young team; we have just as many newcomers as we do experienced players,” Mullins said. “Having as many returners, we’re able to set a better standard with the newcomers because they need the growth."

Mullins led the Sun Belt last season in strikeouts, ERA, innings pitched and wins en route to the 2022 Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year. Despite her accomplishments thus far, Mullins remains humble and is taking a team-first approach going into 2023.

“Individually I felt like I had to set a goal last year and that goal was just to do the best of my ability for my team and in doing so I just ended up falling into the hands of Pitcher of the Year,” Mullins said. “Now I don’t want to set super high expectations because honestly I just want to play for the team and do the best I can for them."

Even after an award-winning season, pitching coach Josh Trevino believes Mullins has plenty of room to grow. Trevino has already seen a significant amount of improvement from last year and said Mullins is working on layering more changes of speeds in her pitch mix in fall practice.

“I think she’s developed a lot of pitch ability,” Trevino said. “She’s starting to execute better sequences and getting a lot more robust in her pitch calling and pitch effectivity.”

On Oct. 9, the Bobcats played in its second fall scrimmage against the University of Texas, a team who has had Texas State's number in years past. That was not the case for the scrimmage, however, with the Bobcats emerging victorious with an 8-7 win in 10 innings.

Trevino said the coaching staff had one message to the team heading into the Texas scrimmage: you have the talent, so just show up and be yourselves.

“I think that was the most effective way we could prepare them,” Trevino said. “Whenever we were playing the burnt orange, a different feel takes over and it’s easy to succumb to that... it’s not David and Goliath, you show up and be yourself and let the rest take care of itself, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Even though it was just a fall scrimmage, the Bobcats believe the win against Texas is the type that can set the tone for the entire season to come.

“Whenever it’s your second fall game and you come out and beat the number two team in the country in 2022, it sets the bar pretty high,” Vanderford said. “We have to keep working and that is the standard."

Texas State tennis players transition from South America to San Marcos

By Isaac Valdez-Cervantes Sports Contributor

Tennis teammates Maria Lora from Cali, Colombia, and Sofia Fortuño from Caracas, Venezuela, moved to the U.S. from their home countries after high school to further their tennis careers at Texas State.

From playing in tennis tournaments in South America to coming to San Marcos to play the sport they love, their relationship as friends and roommates has made the transition to the U.S. easier.

The bond that Lora and Fortuño share stems from both of their Latin heritages, and they attribute their bond to their Latin connection. They take the opportunity of their relationship to learn more about each other's cultures.

"We learn from other cultures," Fortuño said. "It makes you appreciate the people more... even if you're like from different countries... but you're Hispanic, you're always going to have that connection"

After playing tennis in South America and traveling to various countries to play tournaments, Lora, a finance sophomore, and Fortuño, a marketing sophomore, reached out to their respective friends who played tennis at Texas State.

Both girls received scholarships to play at Texas State and were welcomed by previous tennis head coach Tory Plunkett to play for the 2021-2022 season. They got each other's numbers from Plunkett and became roommates their freshman year at San Marcos Hall and still live together off campus.

Tennis head coach Kendall Brooks said the two clicked right away.

"They immediately kind of formed that bond together," Brooks said. "They both have great personalities, they're a lot of fun, they like to laugh a lot at each other and at themselves... they bring good energy to the team."

Lora and Fortuño said that the Latin culture they share is warm and inviting, a sentiment that is shared by Brooks.

“I love the culture, I love how the community is very family-oriented, they love everyone… and have great energy, I love it," Brooks said.

Living and playing together has provided both homesickness relief and bonding material for the Bobcat tennis players. Around their current residence, they speak Spanish to each other, watch Texas State soccer and enjoy similar music, specifically Bad Bunny.

"The [Latin] music brings so many people together...[people] say being Hispanic is cool and that they wanna learn [Spanish],” Lora said.

The two roommates, with the support of their respective parents, thought the move to the U.S. wouldn't be hard. While the close relationship between Lora, Fortuño and the rest of the tennis team has certainly eased their transition, missing family isn't rare for the two.

Texas State sophomore utility Bailee Welsh (18) pitches to a Roadrunners batter during a scrimmage against UTSA, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Bobcat Softball Stadium.

PHOTO BY VANESSA BUENTELLO

Texas State sophomore Maria Lora takes a drink of water in between matches at Club de Tennis de Cali, May 26,

in Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.

PHOTO BY JUAN

Football:

Football has now lost four road games in a row to start the 2022 season with a 14-17 loss against Troy on Oct. 15.

The Bobcats held a lead going into the fourth quarter, but a touchdown pass by Troy's backup quarterback early in the fourth put the Trojans up for the rest of the game.

Head coach Jake Spavital commended his defense, and said the low score was anticipated.

"We knew that it was going to be a low-scoring game," Spavital said in a post-game press conference. "When we got to the end of the game, they made more plays than we did in those moments."

Texas State will face Southern Miss at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos.

Volleyball:

Volleyball swept Southern Miss in two matches on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, winning 3-0 and 3-1, respectively. With those two wins, the Bobcats are 15-5 overall and 7-1 in the Sun Belt.

Graduate setter Emily DeWalt nearly finished with a triple-double on Saturday as she posted a 48-assist, 9-kill and 7-dig stat line against the Golden Eagles.

Head coach Sean Huiet had high praise for the four-time Sun Belt Setter of the Year.

"Em's a special player," Huiet said in a post-game press conference. "She just has an innate ability to make people around her better... she wants to lead this team to another championship."

Volleyball will face South Alabama in a two match series on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 in Mobile, Alabama.

Soccer:

Soccer won its game against Troy 2-1 on Oct. 16 due to two last minute goals, which marks back-to-back comeback victories for the Bobcats. The win clinched Texas State a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

The two goals, scored by junior midfielder Wimberly Wright and senior forward Kiara Gonzales, were both scored in the final 10 minutes of the game.

Sophomore goalkeeper Katelyn Chrisman had three saves in the game, and is now four away from entering the program's top 10 in career saves.

Texas State improved to 4-0-2 on the road this year with the win.

The Bobcats will host South Alabama at 7 p.m. on Oct. 20, at Bobcat Soccer Complex and will travel to West Virginia to face Marshall at 12 p.m. on Oct. 23, at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex.

Cross Country:

Cross country competed at the Arturo Barrios Invitational on Oct. 15, with junior A.J. Tyler leading the Bobcats with a time of 26:55.9 in the men's 8K.

Freshman Ismael Hernandez set a personal record in the 8K with a time of 27:19.7, his first with a mile pace under 5:30.

In the women's 6K, freshman Abigail Parra led the Bobcats with a time of 23:46.0

Cross country will next compete in the Sun Belt Championships on Oct. 28, in Foley, Alabama.

Men's Golf:

Men's golf placed first out of 11 teams in the Tempest Collegiate from Oct. 9-11, and the Bobcats shot their lowest round of 281.

The team finished the tournament with a four-stroke lead against secondplace finisher South Alabama.

Tom Roed Karlsen shot five under par, including a round of 66 which was the lowest of all players.

Men's golf head coach Shane Howell said the team had a great week at the Tempest Collegiate.

"All of the guys on the team had a hand in the victory at some point during the tournament," Howell said in a press release. "This win provides confidence in each other as we enter our final two events this fall."

Men's golf will head to Tulsa, Okla., for The Clerico tournament from Oct. 24-25, hosted by Oral Roberts.

FROM FRONT SPIRIT

The four students manage Boko's schedule, budget and social media accounts as well as ensure that he is where he needs to be at all times with only one car and costume.

As the university has changed through the years, so has Boko's look. The current mascot costume, which was designed by alumnus Bran Monk, has been Boko's look since 2003. Boko's costume has gone through several changes, a recent one being his change in eye color from green to brown. "Boko the First" was the mascot's official debut at a football game against the Texas A&I, now Texas A&M-Kingsville, Javelinas in Nov. 1964. Instead of a costume, a live bobcat was used.

Being in the costume is no cakewalk. One of the Bokos described the experience as hot, sweaty and exhausting. Through the mascot head's eyes, Boko walks with no peripheral vision, looking at the ground and people's feet to ensure his head faces forward.

Blanchard, who was Boko from 2018 to 2019, said being in the suit became second nature to him. Boko's walk and actions came over him like a switch once the head was on. At events, he drew in energy from the people around him, which made him forget that he was even in a suit.

"When you're in the suit you don't

really realize how hot and sweaty you are," Blanchard said. "What [kept] me going [was] the energy of the crowd, and the energy of the fans the strong bond that the alumni have with the school."

As a mascot, the students' number one rule is that they are not allowed to talk, meaning while inside the suit, Boko has to make his every move more aggressive and exaggerated so that actions are expressed correctly. Football games can become incredibly exhausting for Boko, especially at away games where there aren’t suit trade-offs with one another like at home games.

Boko's walk, mannerisms, personalities and character have been passed down through decades of around 300 student mascots and each one looks for new ways to incorporate more into their act by adding new dances and mannerisms.

Although there are only four Bokos, the cheer coach, cheer team and Boko's manager are there to help them at all times. Whether Boko needs water or a break throughout games, they work as a team. Casey Dworaczyk, Boko's manager, helps brainstorm ideas to promote and produce videos for the mascot's social media accounts.

Dworaczyk and one of the Bokos are best friends who started making videos with one another to bring students out to football games. They tell students

CONTINUED HERITAGE

Homesickness may not creep in all the time, but when Fortuño sees pictures of her little brother, it makes her miss her home in Venezuela.

"I thought it wasn't going to be that hard," Fortuño said. "The feeling that you're safe in your house and like your parents are there ... it's just different I guess."

Lora and Fortuño said they come from hardworking and supportive families who are proud of their journey to Texas.

"I feel we all come from hardworking families that had to work hard to get to where they are, which makes Hispanic people who came to the U.S. more thankful and appreciative of everything here in the states," Fortuño said. "My family is proud even though my mom sometimes jokingly says to return."

Lora and Fortuño are not the only Bobcat tennis players with an international upbringing. Five tennis players on the team are from various countries around the globe, and like Lora and Fortuño, the team bonds around their diverse heritages. Lora said that because of that, the team is very close to one another.

"We all come from different backgrounds, so it makes it more fun," Lora said. “I feel every girl in the team is a hard worker and we have great relationships."

Brooks believes that the diversity of her squad benefits the team.

Brooks, who has been coaching collegiate tennis since 2004, said that she takes the opportunity of having players with different backgrounds, like Lora and Fortuño, as an opportunity to

PHOTO BY VANESSA BUENTELLO

when, where and why they should attend. Boko is an official member of the cheer team.

Cheer practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays along with mascot meetings on Wednesdays are times for Dworaczyk and the four mascots to brainstorm ideas for videos and football games.

“We’re always trying to top ourselves,” Dworaczyk said. “It started off so small, like we didn't have anyone to record so I just like the prop my phone up on the back of my truck was like probably I think we held it with like a water bottle or something. Now it's mostly our friends … we have like a small group of people that are really willing to like, just drop everything and come help us record.”

Boko allows for engagement in an approachable way by being on the field with players, in the stands with fans and at other community events around Texas State and San Marcos. Cheer coach Ryan Riley believes Boko is the bridge that connects spirit organizations and is an important entity to students

“I think he is a great source of energy, not just for the cheer program, but for fans and students all over the place,” Riley said.

Editor's note: The Boko sources are anonymous per university tradition.

Texas State mascot, Boko, rides a motorcycle to lead the Bobcats out onto the field before the start of a football game, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, at Bobcat Stadium.

better herself as a coach.

comes from a different upbringing... and how they've been

coached," Brooks said. "I think everyone brings something different, and that's a good thing... they've both taught me a

Sophomore Sofia Fortuno hits the ball during day two of the Sun Belt Conference women's tennis tournament of Friday, April 22, 2022 in Peachtree City, Georgia.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TEXAS STATE ATHLETICS

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Sincerely,

"At this point, we've put out two albums and an EP, and so it feels like we've had a lot of material where we had like a sound," Douglas said. "I think we're at a point where we realize now we can just kind of release as much stuff as we want, and so we're trying to branch out and find new elements and different sounds to incorporate."

Summer Rental played SMFest at both the 2019 and 2020 festivals, each at different points in their career and each time approaching with a new and fresh sound. Playing gigs around San Marcos and Austin is what helped Summer Rental secure a spot on the SMFest 2019 lineup which led to a plethora of shows that followed.

People like Howard have helped create a new environment to grow the local music audience and promote smaller artists who intend to cement themselves in San Marcos and play in the Central Texas area.

Over the years, Howard has witnessed the incline and decline of each generation of San Marcos musicians and how it affects the local community. His desire to host something like SMFest came to be out of a pure drive to get live music out. Closures of venues like

EVENTS

Triple Crown, a live music venue in San Marcos that permanently closed in 2015, prompted Howard to create new spaces for local musicians.

"The Triple Crown closed down and literally left this vacuum, where there was really no place for musicians to play outside of coffee bars," Howard said.

Howard has helped bring a lot of highly talented musicians into the local spotlight. Kenny Normal, a local alternative band in this year's SMFest lineup, has been playing all over town for years. This will not be their first year at SMFest.

The band started to form with Will Acosta and Kolten Bippert who grew up together in San Antonio. They both attended Texas State and eventually would meet the rest of Kenny Normal in the Bobcat Marching Band.

Started as a cover band that within three years of jamming around had gone through member cycles, leaving Acosta, Bippert, Ben Slade on drums, and Adrian Lamphier on bass, to be what makes up Kenny Normal now. Since then, they have been in the San Marcos circuit of venues and festivals on being SMFest.

"Having played SMFest in the past

like we're able to take the experience we had and like you know, adopt the show," Acosta said. "I mean that's every show. Yeah, you know, we try out different like setlists to try out different parts of songs where we're playing differently than we normally would."

Being around for so long in the circuit officially since 2019, Acosta expresses his generosity and how much support and confidence he has for all of the San Marcos music scene and community.

"Every band has an opportunity to play a show," Acosta said. "Like, if there's a new band, it's not hard for them to get booked for a show. Like it really isn't like a band, the band keeper that's gonna play at our house show now will be their first show. Ever. Because we know these people and we know they play well. They're developing and it's really cool to see it."

For official set times and venue locations for San Marcos Festival 2022, visit @smfest on Instagram. For more information on Summer Rental, visit @ summerrentalband on Instagram. For more information on Kenny Normal, visit @kennynormal on Instagram.

Luis "Wiski" Ignacio, electronic media sophomore

Luis "Wiski" Ignacio grew up in the Philippines in Southeast Asia. There, she attended school. Ignacio said the pandemic affected her by making her home feel like a workspace, draining her motivation to continue with school and take a short break from school to pursue acting for a while.

After her grandma, who lives in the U.S., invited her for a visit, Ignacio took a chance and did not tell her parents she had bought a one way ticket to America.

"I moved here without my family, I moved to my grandmother's place," Ignacio said. "I did not have any plan, was crying about homesickness, was crying about uncertainties, was crying about adulting because I honestly didn't want to go back to school because of all of that."

Upon her arrival in Texas, Ignacio did not know what to do. Her parents gave her a one-year ultimatum to discover what she was going to do in the U.S. before having to return to the Philippines. At first she tried to pursue acting again, but after not being successful she ultimately tried attend school again.

Since coming to Texas State Ignacio is glad that she took the opportunity that she was given. Although there were obstacles along the way, Texas State broadened her horizons with a different learning environment.

"School is really nice and you know it gives you so much great opportunities," Ignacio said. "I didn't know that I could have free time, I didn't know I can have fun, I didn't know that I could still do school and do all of this at the same time."

Nichaela Shaheen, journalism junior and news editor at The University Star

Growing up, Nichaela Shaheen was stuck between two worlds. As a Palestinian-Mexican American, she experienced pressures from both cultures leaving her lost and unsure of her identity.

Shaheen grew up with divorced parents with her dad from Kuwait and her mom from Mexico. She said that while food is the ultimate love language and she was expected to finish her plate in the Mexican culture on her mom's side, her dad's side's Palestinian culture, took great importance in body image and looks.

"At the ripe age of 12, Nicky found herself lost in a [weight watchers] meeting, tuning out the speakers sharing their own personal stories. Instead, she was lost in a thought of thinking what she was going to have for dinner," Shaheen said.

Torn between two cultures, Shaheen wasn't confident in who she was and instead going by her full name Nichaela.

In high school Shaheen found her passion for theater and discovered her love for debate, and slowly she found herself in the in between and now proudly goes by her full name and not her nickname, something that she assigns only to the lost young girl she used to be.

"12-year-old Nicky is looking back and smiling ear to ear because while she remembers that you can be lost in the 'in between,' the 'in between' is where she needed to be," Shaheen said. "She's not Arab enough and she's not Mexican enough but she's enough for herself."

“I THINK WE'RE AT A POINT WHERE WE REALIZE NOW WE CAN JUST KIND OF RELEASE AS MUCH STUFF AS WE WANT, AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO BRANCH OUT AND FIND NEW ELEMENTS AND DIFFERENT SOUNDS TO INCORPORATE.” -GARRETT DOUGLAS, A TEXAS STATE MUSIC EDUCATION ALUMNUS

Texas State electronic media sophomore Luis "Wiski" Ignacio delivers a speech on moving to the U.S. after spending her childhood in the Philippines at Star Stories, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 at the Performing Arts Center in San Marcos, Texas.

PHOTO BY CARSON WEAVER

Texas State professor Jordan Stern delivers a speech on his experiences at Southwest Texas State at Star Stories, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022 at the Performing Arts Center in San Marcos, Texas.

PHOTO BY CARSON WEAVER