March 10, 2020

Page 1

FREE!

TUESDAY MARCH 10, 2020 VOLUME 109 ISSUE 24

www.UniversityStar.com

DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911

Colorful murals take over city traffic boxes

The Main Point: Our vote should not be silenced

SXSW Canceled: The City of Austin raises health concerns over economic growth

SEE PAGE 4

SEE PAGE 5

SEE PAGE 2

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH Women's History Month fact: 58.9% of students at Texas State University are women and 6 out of 10 current college deans are women: Dr. Denise Smart, Dr. Andrea Golato, Dr. Ruth B. Welborn, Dr. Heather Galloway, Dr. Mary C. Brennan, Dr. Christine E. Hailey

COVID-19

Texas State responds to spread of coronavirus By Daniel Weeks Assistant News Editor Campus administrators prepare for the possibility of a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak by introducing guidelines for self-quarantine and cancelling all education abroad programs for spring and summer. As of March 9, nine Texas State students and one professor are in selfquarantine. There are no confirmed

cases of COVID-19 in Hays County. Faculty, staff and students returning from countries assigned Centers for Disease Control travel warning levels 2 or 3 are required to self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to campus. Currently, countries with a level 3 travel health notice include China, Iran, South Korea and Italy, while Japan is level 2. The 10 quarantined individuals returned from Italy, South Korea, Japan and Germany.

Director of the Student Health Center Dr. Emilio Carranco said the 14-day isolation period is important due to health professionals' knowledge of the COVID-19 incubation period and tendency to initially exhibit no symptoms. "Researchers know that the incubation period for coronavirus is two to 14 days, so it's very important that people either self-monitor or selfisolate for that 14-day period to make

sure that they are beyond the incubation period," Carranco said. Texas State’s newly implemented coronavirus information page states it is also required for students with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection and mild to moderate illnesses to self-isolate at their homes to protect the public. The CDC's recommended actions for self-quarantining can be found on its official website. Travel warning SEE COVID-19 PAGE 3

POLLING

MEN'S BASKETBALL Students wait in line to vote on Super Tuesday, March 4, 2020, on the third floor of the LBJ Student Center at Texas State. PHOTO BY JADEN EDISON

LONG LINES AT LBJ Student center polling location packed on Super Tuesday By Chase Rogers News Editor Long lines of students ready to cast their ballot stretched across the LBJ Student Center Tuesday, March 3, with some waiting for five hours before getting to vote for their chosen representatives. According to voter check-in data from the Hays County Election Office, students were casting ballots for five hours past the 7 p.m. cutoff time, with the last voter check-in registered at 11:54 p.m. Of the 49 polling locations in Hays County, the 10 voting machines from the LBJ Student Center were the last ones brought to the Hays County Government Center to be votes tallied.

Testimonials of students' long wait times on social media prompted a response from MOVE Texas, a nonprofit organization that aims to register students on campus to vote, who provided pizza and water as an incentive to keep students waiting in line. Two days following Super Tuesday, Texas Civil Rights Project President Mimi Marziani addressed a letter to Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs to express "alarm over the widespread voter suppression our organization documented across the State of Texas during the March 3, 2020 Primary Elections," later citing Texas State as one of the examples. Rachel Stevens, dance junior, waited in line for over three hours and

believes the county can do a better job to accommodate students attempting to vote. "I think having a polling location on campus is a great accommodation for students, but I do think it should be improved upon," Stevens said. "People need to realize how many students want to vote and put more workers, polling locations and more polling machines here on campus." According to Hays County Elections Administrator Jennifer Anderson, the long lines were a symptom of a majority of students arriving close to the 7 p.m. closing time and the length of the Democratic ballot. "Specific to (the LBJ Student Center polling location), we've looked at those numbers and we know that SEE POLLING PAGE 2

ORDINANCE

Cite-and-release ordinance scheduled for a vote next month By Gabriella Ybarra News Reporter The San Marcos City Council will soThe San Marcos City Council will vote on a proposed ordinance encouraging the use of cite-andrelease. If passed, it will be the first ordinance of its kind in the state of Texas. The council met March 3 to discuss the proposed ordinance for the first time in a public setting. The discussion

comes after being rescheduled in February, eight months after it was first proposed in July of 2019. The ordinance seeks to guide San Marcos Police Department officers’ discretion, allowing them to issue citations for class C misdemeanors and some cases of class A and class B misdemeanors instead of making an arrest. According to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, officers can issue citations for low-level offenses but are

allowed discretion. One of the central questions was whether the proposed ordinance would move forward as an ordinance or resolution. Advocates of the ordinance gathered outside city hall and in the lobby to voice their support for the ordinance pushed by local grassroots organization Mano Amiga. A majority of council members support it as an ordinance, effectively setting the stage for a permanent SEE ORDINANCE PAGE 3

Texas State to play in conference quarterfinal By Aidan Bea Sports Reporter

Texas State senior guard Nijal Pearson attempts a free throw in the fourth quarter against UTA, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, at Strahan Coliseum. PHOTO BY JADEN EDISON

Texas State men’s basketball will host their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Tournament game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday as they face No. 6 Appalachian State to fight for a spot to New Orleans for the semifinals. After winning eight out of the last 10 games and rising to the No. 3 seed in the tournament, the Bobcats rode a wave of momentum to close the regular season. Despite a historic rise and the first backto-back 20-win seasons since the 19771978 and 1978-1979 season, Texas State lost the chance at grabbing the second seed in the conference to South Alabama with a 58-54 loss to finish the regular season. Mason Harrell led the way offensively on 13 points and an efficient 5-6 shooting night, while star senior guard Nijal Pearson went cold in the game, going 3-14 from the field and 1-10 from three. According to Head Coach Danny Kaspar, the loss did not properly show the ‘Cats’ tough performance. “They had four guys in double digits scoring,” Kaspar said. “It was a game where we thought that we would have to scratch and claw and fight hard. We did, we fought. We had a six-point lead with 3:20 to go and we didn't score again and they scored 10 and beat us by four.” The tooth-and-nail South Alabama loss does not reflect Texas State or Pearson’s historic season, however. Wednesday’s game will come a week after Pearson was named Texas State’s first Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. Pearson, who was also named to the First Team All-Sun Belt team, achieved the award after leading the league in scoring and taking Texas State to the third seed in the conference with a 2011 (13-7 Sun Belt) record. This year saw many milestones for Pearson as he reached the program’s alltime leading scorer, became the first Bobcat to score 500 points for three consecutive seasons and became a father to a baby gir; this season. Kaspar said he was proud of Pearson and all of his accomplishments. “We’re very happy for Nijal. He’s worked SEE MEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE 8


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.