WEDNESDAY JUNE 8 , 2016 VOLUME 106 ISSUE 2 www.UniversityStar.com
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Gennaro family from Cibolo, TX enjoying the San Marcos River April 8 at Cape’s Dam. PHOTO BY PABLO MEJIA | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The removal of Capes Dam provokes disagreement By Bri Watkins News Reporter @briwatkins17 Debates are occurring between groups of San Marcos residents regarding the city council’s approval to remove Cape’s Dam. City council approved plans to demolish the 150-year-old structure on March 15. The decision was made in order to economically improve the San Marcos River, but some residents believe this a gambling risk that isn’t worth taking. Capes Dam, creator of Mill Race, Mill Race Falls and Thompsons Island, is a popular recreational area for kayakers, canoeists, tubers and swimmers. The determination to remove the dam has been a sought out idea for years.
After waging battles from previous floods, the safety hazard of the dam has intensified. It no longer serves as a purposeful function and imposes danger due to its detrimental compositions, said Dianne Wassenich, program manager for the San Marcos River Foundation. “The recent floods in 2015 are really what sparked it, but there have been people looking at all the dams on this whole river, all the way to the coast, and looking at which ones are good candidates for removal,” Wassenich said. The decision to immediately remove the dam proceeded from Dr. Thomas Hardy’s comprehensive report he composed after studying the dam. With biology and hydraulic expertise, the river scientist from Tex-
as State’s Meadows Center for Water and the Environment reported an outline to affirm the benefit of the removal. According to the study, the dam has created a sediment buildup in the river, as thick as 10 feet in some areas, posing threat to the aquatic life. Once the dam is removed, the river’s flow will gradually spread the sediment downstream causing the river to deepen all the way up to Lucio Park, said Wassenich. With sediment being washed downstream, the river will divert more naturally and achieve a positive effect, both environmentally and recreationally. The flowing river will then cause an increase in the Texas Wild Rice and aquatic species inhabiting the river. “(The) scientists are sup-
porting dam removal because they know it is the best thing for the river, and Hardy has assured us the river will not be shallower. It will deepen, and it will have more water in it,” Wassenich said. The controversy over the dam removal stems from disagreements between science and recreation. Brian Olson, a Texas State graduate and San Marcos resident, set aside his business to pursue further research in addition to preserve the dam. Olson said we shouldn’t make a permanent decision based on one person. Science can be argued from different perspectives, so we should bring experts in every field to decide on a permanent decision for our community. “From my perspective
I think we would be erasing our history. I think we would be erasing a huge beautification of a natural resource that we have,” Olson said. Capes Dam creates Mill Race, a spot that attracts tourists to the area and also has a grasp on the hearts of local adventurists and veterans. Olson said his main concern is less recreation due to lower water levels from removing the dam. Olson is a part of the Save the San Marcos River organization. He, along with other members, is actively seeking signatures for a petition to stop the removal of the dam. There has been an exponential increase in members who have joined their Facebook page. “People care about this,” Olson said. “All we are trying to do is to keep water
flowing around the island because when the island goes dry and the Capes Dam goes out, there’s no more island. Thompsons Island is no longer an island.” The decision to remove the dam should be extremely thought out with carefulness because once the dam is removed, there will be no way to retrieve it again due to the expense, Olsen said. “I felt from the bottom of my heart, I feel like I could possibly make a positive difference in just getting the right information out there. I’m trying to do the best that I can do to stick with the facts,” Olson said. “I’m a citizen that has nothing to gain from this except wanting to preserve a lot of our history and preserve a habitat.”
as transgender. Claims like these are completely unfounded and are used as a facade to hide transphobic beliefs.” The Obama administration’s directive comes after North Carolina lawmakers passed a bill that mandates people must use the restroom corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate, ra-ther than their gender identity. The directive requires schools to allow transgender students into locker rooms, housing and
other school facilities based on their gender identity. Texas State College Republicans said the organization believes such a policy is unconstitutional. Government officials do not have the constitutional authority to regulate an individual’s personal business ventures and attempting to do so leads closer and closer to a slippery-slope, said Brad-ley Hurt, president of Texas State College Republicans. “We personally see this
as a trivial issue which has no place in our democratic discourse,” Hurt said. “The fact that our generation is facing the greatest challenges to humanity the world has ever seen, (but) our news headlines present an argument over bathroom use as a major concern, is downright humiliating to our political system.” Hurt said focusing resources on making sure people are comfortable going to the restroom, in-stead of ensuring people can live
comfortably without the fear of starving, succumbing to pre-ventable illnesses or having nowhere to turn when their homes are reduced to rubble, reflects badly on the nation. “To have any hope as a nation in solving the real problems of our time, we as American citizens must hold ourselves personally accountable to not sensationalize insignificant matters such as the bathroom controversy,” Hurt said.
POLITICS
College Democrats, College Republicans speak about transgender restroom debate By Lesly De Leon Senior News Reporter @leslyd28 As national debate about policies concerning transgender individuals and public restrooms con-tinues to heat up, Texas politics are at the center of it. Texas and 10 other states filed a lawsuit on May 25 to stop a federal government directive in-structing school districts to let transgender students to use the bathroom corresponding with their gender identity. Texas State College Democrats said the organization supports and advocates for the equality of all people, including those of the transgender and gender nonconforming communities. “We completely support policies that recognize and protect the rights of transgender individuals to use the bathroom they are most comfortable with,” said David Eisenberg, president of Texas State College Democrats. “We are appalled at
the unfounded claims, false narratives, and flat out discrimination used to try to undermine these rights.” Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Obama administration’s guidelines are outside the bounds of the constitution. State officials are taking action to protect a school district with a policy re-quiring students to use bathrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the fight against the federal directive was just beginning and he was sending letters to all Texas school districts advising them to ignore the directive. Eisenberg said individuals don’t have to be Democrats or “left-leaning” to favor policies promot-ing equality. “I’m also very disturbed by arguments that are made by conservatives on this issue,” Eisenberg said. “Their positions revolve around the claim that predators will gain access to women’s re-strooms by identifying
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