TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2016 VOLUME 106 ISSUE 15 www.UniversityStar.com
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FALL BALL
Fall Ball Recap By Lisette Lopez Assistant Sports Editor @Lisette_1023 The Texas State Women’s Softball team concluded its 2016 fall season and is looking to start spring play in February. During the fall season, the Bobcats won six out of eight games, including wins from UT-Austin and UTSan Antonio. There were two tournaments played in the season, in which Texas State took a loss in each. This season, the team had a chance to compete against the USSSA Pride of the National Pro Fastpitch Softball League. The Bobcats fell 5-0, but had a chance to show what they were made of. There were four games where the Bobcats swept its opponents, winning against Houston 4-0, Howard college 11-0, Temple College 9-0 and UT-Austin 1-0. Randi Rupp, sophomore pitcher, said spring ball cannot come fast enough, and is excited to start another season with her team. “I really see something special with our team this year,” Rupp said. “I look forward to going all the way with these girls and to bring home a championship together.” The start of the spring season starts on Feb. 10 in the Century Link Classic at Texas State. In this tournament the Bobcats face teams Abilene Christian, Iowa, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Big 12 Conference opponent, Texas Tech. There are four tournaments to be played in the spring, and the Bobcats will be up against UT again on Mar. 1. Last season the Bobcats made history with winning 40 games in the season, and being a part of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional at the end of the season. Rupp said she and her team will take it all the way this upcoming season, and be the best that they can be once February approaches. “I expect us to pick up right where we left off in the fall,” Rupp said. “For us to come out with an aggressive mentality and a strong work ethic. We as a team cannot only rely on each other, but play together to win. Leave everything we have on the field because that’s what it truly takes to become the best.” Being the best that you can be comes with great reward. Rupp was invited to the 2017 USA Softball Women’s National Team Selection Camp this season. The prestigious award is only one of 43 to receive an invitation to take part in the annual camp that will be held Jan. 1-5. See,
FALL BALL, pg. 5.
Texas State celebrates Arbor Day by planting 21 trees By Rae Glassford Assistant News Editor @rae_maybe Texas State students and staff gathered in an empty lot on Aquarena Springs Drive to plant 21 trees between the San Marcos river and the Korner Stop store in honor of Arbor Day on Friday, Nov. 19. This event marked the university’s sixth annual Arbor Day planting. Hosting such events is part of the criteria for belonging to Tree Campus U.S.A, an organization promoting the fostering of green spaces on college campuses across the nation, Smith said. Other pieces of criteria including the planting of a new tree for every tree removed, and the dedication of funding intended to provide for the planting of new trees. Such a fund typically includes maintenance and care costs, as well as money for a volunteer incentive. This year’s volunteer incentive included free t-shirts for the first 100 participants who signed in to the event. Festivities began at 10 a.m. with a demonstration of correct tree-planting procedure. Members of the grounds and maintenance staff took turns showing onlookers helpful tips. For instance, the dirt in each tree’s pot must be level with the ground, as it is unhealthy for the tree to be heaped with excess dirt or to be higher than the surrounding earth.
Mary Bosquez, public relations senior, and Mathew Worthington, graduate student, plant a tree at the tree planting event Nov. 18. Texas state is recognized as “A Tree Campus USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation. PHOTO BY BRANDON VALENCIA | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
“I’m in school for Environmental Studies, so it feels right to be a part of something like this,” said Jessica England, geography resource and environmental studies sophomore. “It’s good to be a part of the solution.” Immediately following the demonstration, students and faculty attendees divided into groups and spread out across the plot of land to begin digging holes, spreading mulch and preparing the area for its new occupants. Tools such as rakes, shovels and gloves were provided courtesy of the maintenance crew.
The trees that were planted—redbuds, rough dogwoods and pecans—were purchased from a variety of growers. Before they could be planted, all plastic ties had to be removed and the roots loosened. “The pecans are from a grower close to Garfield,” said Brad Smith, current director of grounds and waste management operations. “The others came from the Native Texas Nursery, east of Austin. We couldn’t purchase them too far in advance, because most trees have to come straight from their nursery before they’re planted.”
All information related to the number of trees on campus is recorded in a database and evaluated by the Campus Tree Advisory Committee, the body responsible for determining annual net loss or gain. This year, Texas State has seen a net gain of about 16 trees on campus, Smith said. “We could talk all day about why Arbor Day is important,” said Nathan Lawrence, assistant director of grounds and waste management operations. “What’s important to me is getting the campus commu nity out here, getting them involved.”
A veteran of nature-related work, Lawrence is a former environmental specialist for the Meadows Center, and graduated from Texas State’s horticulture program. He is currently the only certified arborist on staff. “I believe we’re moving toward environmental deficit disorder,” Lawrence said. “People aren’t close to nature anymore. With all this construction happening in San Marcos, green spaces are disappearing. So we’ve got to make sure we’re creating as many green spaces as we’re destroying.”
FOOD DRIVE
Weekly food distributions help fight food insecurity at Texas State By Daryan Jones News Reporter @DaryanJoness The Hays County Food Bank, United Campus Ministry and Christ Chapel have partnered up to combat food insecurity on the Texas State University campus. Food insecurity is the state of being without consistent access to nutritious food due to a lack of money and resources. This partnership gives students the chance to receive a free meal from 12-1 p.m. every Monday at the United Campus Ministry building. In addition to lunch, the Hays County Food Bank distributes free bags of food and fresh produce to those in need. The food distribution is open to the whole community, but is aimed toward students, faculty and staff. Jason Kamimoto, Hays County Food Bank volunteer services coordinator, said food insecurity is an issue in Hays County—especially for college students. “One in 7 people in Hays County are food insecure, which means that they don’t know where their next meal is coming
The Hays County Food Bank has partnered up with the Campus Ministry to help bring canned foods to the Texas State campus. This food distribution is hoping to accomodate for college students with food insecurities. PHOTO BY JAMIE DORSEY | STAFF
from,” Kamimoto said. “We know there’s need among college students because college can be expensive, so a little bit of extra help can go a long way.” The bags of packed food include bread, sweets, fresh produce, information on the food bank and recipes for eating healthy on a budget. Megan West, health and wellness junior, said, as a student, it can be hard to pay for groceries sometimes. “I’ve realized that it’s
harder as a student to pay for bills, as well as groceries,” West said. “It’s been really hard and I’ve had to go days with just eating peanut butter sandwiches or something really simple until I get my next pay check.” West said trying to make money to purchase groceries can create a higher level of stress because it sometimes interferes with school. “It really has affected me and some of my roommates as well because I have to decide
PHOTOGRAPHER
‘should I go to class today or should I go make that extra money,’” said West. ”Because I won’t have money to buy groceries this week and I don’t know if I’m going to be able to eat.” United Campus Ministry has been handing out the weekly free lunches for about three years, but the food bank has only just begun passing out the food bags. While the program is new, there have already been successful results. “They are only about
a month in, but already there have been students grabbing food for the week,” said Campus Minister Ryan Jenson. Jenson hopes the program will continue to grow to reduce the number of those who suffer from food insecurity. “We would love to continue growing our program, as well as the food bank portion,” Jenson said. “Hopefully between the three ministries we are making a little bit of a dent in the hungry population of campus.” One challenge the food distribution program faces is getting students to recognize that free groceries are available to them. “We are still trying to get the word out, which has kind of been the biggest challenge,” Kamimoto said. “We want to let everyone on campus know we are here and available if they need our services.” The Hays County Food Bank holds multiple food distributions throughout the week at various locations. Students can find more information about the program and its locations on the Hays County Food Bank website.
NEWS
EverGreen awarded with million-dollar grant By JeriLynn Thorpe Senior News Reporter @jerilynnthorpe
The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded the EverGreen project at
Texas State with a fouryear, $1 million grant to continue research and include Hispanic students who are interested in participating. As a part of the Ingram
School of Engineering and Department of Agriculture, EverGreen aims to find solutions for the global food-water-energy nexus while also increasing the number of His-
panic students with advanced technical degrees. The grant was awarded after months of hard work and collaboration between Texas State faculty in the engineering
and agriculture departments. Bahram Asiabanpour, associate professor of manufacturing engineering, applied for the competitive HispanicServing Institutions Edu-
cation Grant Program through USDA after Christmas break. See,
NEWS, pg. 2.