February 13, 2018

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DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

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DEBATE

Volume 107, Issue 19

VOTING

DEBATING POLICY

Minority engagement higher in last Student Government election By Tyler Hernandez News Reporter

it," Miller said. Miller was referring to an hour-long conversation with Fernando Gomez, vice chancellor of the university system, whom according to Miller, said they could not accomplish getting an attorney on campus. "UT Dallas, Texas Tech and UNT all have immigration attorneys and if anyone has a problem with funding, we spend $32 and a half million dollars on athletics," Miller said. The prospective student presidents were also asked about individual pieces of legislation and Student Government's legislative process overall as some pieces that have passed have still not been implemented including the Diversity Liaison Act. The act would have appointed a liaison to go to various groups on campus and meet to hear their concerns but was not implemented and the candidates were unaware of where the Act was in the implementation process.

Available data for voter demographics provided by student affairs at Texas State indicate that minority participation in Student Government elections far outnumbers minority political engagement on the national stage. While there is no official record of voter demographics during campus elections, the amount of students who accessed the voting website during the last election is almost identical to the number of votes tallied. 4,461 students accessed the site, while 4,328 total votes were cast according to. Taylor Brimer, election board chairman and engineering technology senior, said the lack of data collected is due to a lack of effort to be consistent through changing administrations. “You gotta remember this is a student-run thing, students are only here for four years so there’s not that sense of longevity,” Brimer said. Matt Flores, assistant vice president for university advancementcommunication said he believes the data accurately represents the constituency of Student Government. “It's the number of students who accessed the voting system,” Flores said. “My take is that this is a fair representation in terms of the breakdown of minority groups that voted.” The topic of inclusion in elections has long been controversial, often provoked by large discrepancies between the participation of minority and white voters. While national engagement of minority groups in elections has increased steadily over the last 20 years, white voters still make up around 70 percent of the total national electorate.

SEE DEBATE PAGE 2

SEE STATS PAGE 2

Student Government Presidential Candidates hold their last debate before the election Feb. 12. Pictured from left to right: Brooklyn Boreing, Preston Nieves and Elijah Miller.. PHOTO BY JOSH MENDS

Presidential candidates discuss campus issues and legislation During Student Government's annual presidential debate candidates discussed legislation, campus issues and other concerns important to Bobcats. More than 100 attended the student body presidential debate in the LBJ Teaching Theatre on Feb. 12. Brooklyn Boreing, presidential candidate and business management junior, said she was pressured by Texas State administration to vote no on a piece of legislation that would have brought an immigration attorney to campus. "I would say that that our administration was pressured by the overall administration of Texas State to vote no, and I felt extreme pressure to vote no," Boreing said in an interview following the debate. Candidates Elijah Miller, criminal justice junior, and Preston Nieves, political science sophomore said during the debate students overwhelmingly supported the Student Government resolution to recommend hiring an immigration attorney.

INSIDE

Navigating the health of relationships SEE RELATIONSHIPS PAGE 4

The unrealistic expectations of love SEE LOVE PAGE 5

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Elections will be held from Feb. 19-22. Students can vote on the second floor of LBJ across from Wells Fargo from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m or online. "The research that we did during the immigration subcommittee was a complete lie," Nieves said. "Based on false information the idea that we can't have one (immigration attorney), sometimes a symbolic vote is necessary, we will not let our immigrant community be oppressed." Miller said that he did not understand why Texas State's administration would be against hiring another attorney, despite budgeting issues. "I'm tired of hearing that we can't do

PROFESSOR

Professor to run for Texas House By Sandra Sadek News Reporter English professor, Rebecca BellMetereau, announced her candidacy for the vacant 45th District seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Bell-Metereau filed her candidature Dec. 8 last year, and will be on the ballot during for the democratic primary, March 6. "I decided to run because I felt like I could win," Bell-Metereau said. "I was going to wait until 2020 but then I saw the opportunity." "I have more experience than my (opposing) candidates and the 45th district is a flippable district, BellMetereau continued." She is currently registered as a democratic candidate and will be running against opponents Les Carnes and Erin Zwiener. "(My opponents) are nice people with good ideas," Bell-Metereau said. "But I feel like my experience will be beneficial because I know a lot about

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the area, how it works and I have plenty of allies and connections from previous campaigns. Also, since I am a professor, I can be a champion for public education." She ran for State Board of Education three times in the past, coming within four percent of the incumbent in the 2016 election. She also participated as a member of San Marcos' Planning and Zoning Committee, the Solid Waste Commission and the Blue Ribbon Bond Commission. Bell-Metereau is planning to run on issues regarding education, health and the environment, as well as finding ways to improve the economy and reallocate the budget. "We need to stop relying on property taxes to fund educational programs," Bell-Metereau said. "We should have legislation that funds at least 50 percent of the schools, K through 12 and higher education."

SEE PROFESSOR PAGE 2

Rebecca Bell-Meterau, English professor, is running for Texas House.

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The march on Clegg

PHOTO COURTESY OF REBECCA BELL-METERAU


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February 13, 2018 by The University Star - Issuu