TUESDAY MARCH 7, 2017 VOLUME 106 ISSUE 26
DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
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Black and Latino Conference raising money to help program By Amanda Heileman Lifestyle Reporter @busybeeamanda Representatives of the Black and Latino Playwrights Conference have been spotted crowdfunding on campus to spread awareness about the annual workshop, which highlights the works of minority playwrights. The conference, which is held in the fall, features black and Latino playwrights from across the world who submit their plays while professional guest directors and artists further cultivate the productions. “We want to let people know that this is happening on campus, and we’re asking them just for a dollar. Just donate a dollar and spread the word,” said Matthew Ybarra, theatre arts senior. If BLPC members raise $25,000, they will receive a match grant for $25,000. If every enrolled Texas State student donates one dollar, the crowdfunding goal could be met. John Fleming, dean of fine arts and communication, said the all the profits from the crowdfunding campaign will go to the conference. “100 percent of every penny pledged goes to the project,” said Fleming. Fleming said the conference uses funding to help bring in theater professionals and playwrights. “We bring in nine or ten theater professionals and they get a $1,000 stipend for the week and we pay for their airfare
PHOTO COURTESY OF VIVIAN MEDINA
and hotel,” Fleming said. The theater professionals take a week off from their jobs to attend the conference, according to Fleming. “Every year we have to cobble together the money,” Fleming said. “Ultimately we need to get a permanent endowment so we’re not always chasing
Prestigious program selects Bailey Thomas as sole Texas participant By Ashley Skinner Assistant News Editor @Ash_Marie54 Hard work and determination: the two things that have pushed Bailey Thomas to do everything she can to reach her career goals of becoming a veterinarian. Bailey, agriculture animal science senior, was one of 20 undergraduate students in the nation chosen to participate in the USDA’s 93rd Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum Student Diversity Program in Arlington, VA this past week. “I didn’t realize how big a deal this
money.” Eugene Lee, artistic director of BLPC, said there aren’t many resources for playwrights to work on and develop their plays. “I know (the conference) is important by the fact that I’m getting 250 scripts every year from writers across the coun-
try who are looking for a place to develop their work,” Lee said. “This helps to level the playing field.”
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A cause worth running after
Texas. Bailey is taking all the right steps to get into veterinary school and achieve her goals.” Benavides is not only Bailey’s professor and PVS sponsor, but also her go-to person. “I met Benavides my sophomore year when I got involved with the PVS,” Bailey said. “Since my first meeting with her, we have developed a plan for my future and a close relationship. She is the person I go to for everything and has become my personal mentor.” Bailey has been passionate about animals since she was seven years old. Growing up, she always had at least Volunteers of School Fuel pack lunch bags Feb. 23 for elementary school children who suffer from food insecurity. PHOTO BY NATHALIE COHETERO | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
“I didn’t realize how big a deal this conference was until I was awarded it.” -Bailey Thomas conference was until I was awarded it,” Bailey said. “We were told on the first day of the program that it is highly prestigious. By the end of the week, I was told that there will be internships and jobs being held for me just because I went to this event.” The application process is extensive. Dr. Elizabeth Benavides, assistant professor of agriculture, announced the program in class during the fall semester, and Bailey knew that she needed to apply for this opportunity. “Bailey is very dedicated to her goals of being a veterinarian and is eager to succeed,” Benavides said. “The participant had to be from a land-grant institution, like Texas State or A&M, and Bailey was the sole candidate from
one pet, and her maternal grandparents played a big role in the development. “My parents had many animals while I was growing up and while Bailey was growing up,” said Amanda Parker, Bailey’s mother. “Bailey was never in 4H because we lived in the city, so I believe that her passion for animals comes from the volunteer work we’ve done in Houston in part with the genetic passage from my raising animals as a young child.” According to Bailey's dad, David Thomas, she has passed every expectation he has ever had for his daughter.
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SPRING BREAK TRIPS PAGE 5
By Shayan Faradineh News reporter @ShayanFaradineh Child hunger is an issue that is affecting children across the nation, according to Feeding America’s research. However, School Fuel—a local volunteer-based organization—is urging people in the San Marcos area to join the fight against this issue. There are currently 577 elementary students who are provided free and reduced meals throughout San Marcos CISD, leaving some families with little options to provide food for their children during the weekends. School Fuel has been combating child hunger since 2013 by sending elementary school children home with two meals and four snacks for each day of the weekend. For $215, School Fuel provides food for children who are at high-risk of little or no food at home during the entire school year. “We are currently in four of the Elementary Schools here in San Marcos looking to add one more this next year, and eventually the long-term goal is to be in all the SMCISD schools,” said
Anti-vaccine movement Vaccinations are one of the most important medical breakthroughs in history. They have been credited with eradicating diseases such as smallpox, and have made the regular contraction of polio, hepatitis A/B, measles, mumps, rubella and other diseases in the United States nearly impossible.
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Shelby Hebert, School Fuel volunteer coordinator. Over 75 percent of elementary school age children are already on reduced or free meals at school. The teachers and school administrators play an instrumental role in selecting the students who will be without food over the weekend. With many kids in need for food, School Fuel provides various opportunities for the community to help the organization help students. Although donating financially, volunteering to pack food and sponsoring fundraisers are yearlong options, School fuel is hosting a unique event in March. This year, School Fuel has organized its first 5k benefit run, Fill the Sack. Beginning at 8 a.m. on March 25, runners will gather at Country Estate’s Pool for a 5k and kids race. “This will hopefully be the first of many,” said Jenny Mangrum, director for School Fuel. “This is another way of providing funds for the organization to buy more food.”
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