TUESDAY
SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 VOLUME 104 ISSUE 13
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DENISE CATHEY STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Stephanie Austin performs Sept. 6 at Veterans of Foreign Wars for the LGBTQIA Pride celebration.
San Marcos residents celebrate city’s first-ever Pride weekend “It was a vision brought together by friends and family,” Sandoval said. “Everybody wanted it, so we created it.” Four years ago, Sandoval, along with Gia de la Flor, began hosting Rainbow Night, a once-a-month Pride-themed party. Eventually, Sandoval said, they were able to create a solid foundation and connections so they could organize a Pride event. “Over the four years, we’ve endured pain, harsh words and closed doors,” de la Flor said while addressing a crowd. “Growing up as a local, there weren’t a lot of
By Carlie Porterfield SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
F
orty-five years after the first brick was thrown at Stonewall, the first Pride celebration has finally come to the City of San Marcos. The sun beat upon on the downtown courthouse grounds Saturday as about 300 people, Texas State students and city locals alike, congregated for the first San Marcos Pride Parade. Silvia Sandoval, the coordinator of the event, said it was a long time coming.
places we felt comfortable in.” De la Flor, who is a drag performer, remembered being belittled growing up in San Marcos. “For me, as a younger person growing up here, you would get the looks,” de la Flor said. “I could handle it when I was on my own, but I think when I was with my family or with friends and someone said something to me or looked at me a certain way, it made me feel really small.” Sandoval said the Texas State
community was an integral part of the event. “I was going to plan this in June, but the students weren’t here, so we decided to work with them,” Sandoval said. “Now it’s September, and look at this. It’s beyond my expectations. I’m grateful and proud. I feel really, really happy about this.” Gabby Parker , criminal justice senior, said the Pride event in San Marcos was a positive experience for her.
See PRIDE, Page 2
School psychology program awarded $1.05 million grant By Mariah Simank NEWS REPORTER The School Psychology program has been awarded a five-year, $1.05 million grant from the United States Department of Education (USDE) for the development of Spanish-English bilingual school psychologists. The grant will support 24 fully credentialed, high-quality bilingual school psychologists in order to improve teaching and learning by attempting to remove language barriers, according to a university news release. It is part of a larger project that will add a new training and a certification track in bilingual school psychology. Jon Lasser, program coordinator for the School Psychology Program and a principal investigator for the grant, said this program will be essential in helping students in the Texas public school system thrive. “There is a great need for these types of programs,” Lasser said. “The graduates are going to develop the skills and competency to be able to help kids in schools who are having behavioral issues, and they will be able to do that in the child’s native language.”
See PSYCH, Page 2
CITY
Loop 82 overpass construction to begin January 2015 By Tayler Chambless NEWS REPORTER To improve the flow of traffic, the City of San Marcos will begin construction on a new overpass over Aquarena Springs Drive. The new Loop 82 project will begin early Jan. 2015 and take approximately two and a half years to complete, said Kelli Reyna, TxDOT public information officer. Located at the intersection of IH-35 and Aquarena Springs Drive, the project will construct a bridge over the railroad tracks to alleviate traffic congestion. The purpose of the proposed project is to increase area mobility and safety by providing a way for traffic to travel along State Highway Loop 82 within the city without the current interruptions caused by numerous train crossings, according to the city’s website. “Construction-wise, the project cost is $20.7 million,” Reyna said. “We are receiving money from San Marcos,
TxDOT and federal dollars from the (Federal) Highway Administration to fund the project.” During the two-and-a-half-years of construction, the contractors will be putting up message boards to limit the impact of the lengthy project, said Ben Engelhardt, TxDOT south Travis/ Hays area engineer. “The city and TxDOT both have accommodated a lot of events that the university has to try to keep the traffic flowing while the overpass is under construction,” said Juan Guerra, associate vice president of Facilities. According to the contract with the city, the contractor is supposed to accommodate major events, Guerra said. “During spring, they are supposed to accommodate commencement—the contractor is supposed to have two lanes of traffic in each direction—and for football games the contractor is supposed to make sure they have four
See LOOP 82, Page 2
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