January 19, 2021

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TUESDAY JANUARY 19, 2021 VOLUME 110 ISSUE 1

www.UniversityStar.com

DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911

Athletes, coaches reflect on importance of mental health

Opinion: Equip the Counseling Center with more resources

Texas State professors use computational medicine to improve healthcare

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SEE PAGE 5 By The Editorial Board This is one hell of a time for us to be here. The last time we had words printed in our newspaper was right before the beginning of the worst global health crisis in modern history, a catastrophe that has claimed the lives of too many in our world, country and community. Last summer, following the killing of George Floyd and ongoing racial injustice toward Black communities at the hands of police, protests took place throughout San Marcos and beyond with our sisters and brothers — including from Texas State — pleading for their lives to matter to the general population. Then we transitioned to arguably the most polarizing election in American history, a process that fostered divisiveness in our communities before but certainly worsened after, leading to a vicious insurrection in the U.S. Capitol by a mob unhappy with the outcome of our

TXST VACCINE

Texas State prepares for COVID-19 vaccine distribution By Jaden Edison Editor-in-Chief After nearly a year of devastation brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic and recent news of Texas becoming the first state to administer 1 million doses of vaccines, Texas State’s Student Health Center is gearing up for its own vaccination efforts with hopes the campus community will take advantage. Texas State, an approved vaccine provider, created a workgroup during the fall semester to begin planning for distribution and now expects to receive either the FDA-approved Pfizer or Moderna vaccines in the coming weeks. “We've seen those horrible pictures of people standing in line for hours and hours to get the vaccine; that is not how we're going to distribute vaccines on our campus,” says Dr. Emilio Carranco, the Student Health Center director. “The Department of State Health Services is going to tell us which priority groups we are to administer the vaccine.” Carranco suspects the state health department will want to send the Pfizer vaccine but says it is possible Texas State could receive both, "a more difficult logistical challenge" the university can manage if needed. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses (both doses must be the same brand), with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention not recommending the latter dose be taken earlier than three weeks (Pfizer) or one month (Moderna). Once the university has access to the vaccine and knows the

SEE TXST VACCINE PAGE 2

democratic process. It was an event that led to the unnecessary deaths of five people and conveyed a stark contrast between how our country responds to marginalized communities seeking equality compared to those who are white, privileged and angry because something does not work in their favor — a reality members of our own organization have also benefited from. The opportunity to have your stories displayed in our newspaper again, often the first draft of history, was something we looked forward to. We knew Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the start of the spring semester and the presidential inauguration on the horizon — all amid the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic — would lead to more opportunities for us to be a trustworthy presence during a time when people needed it most. We would also be lying if we said the disheartening events that have taken place in recent weeks have not taken a mental and emotional toll on us. It is times like these when we lean on the teachings of historic figures like King, who once wrote, “We are not makers of history; we are made by history,” which we interpret as a condemnation of conformity to wrongdoing. He made it clear we can either choose to be “a molder of society,” or get “molded by society.” King’s words serve as an important

reminder not to succumb to the status quo and actively work against the policies and procedures that have kept everyday people from receiving equal opportunities. That was the motivation behind The Star taking on “The 11% Project,” an examination of Black students at Texas State through History, Election, Hometowns, Activism, Creatives, Mentorship and 10 years from now. We understand the importance of holding our university leaders, city officials and law enforcement accountable and responsible for answering the important questions they have disregarded for decades. From the very beginning of this school year, it was all about us having internal discussions, for better or worse, about what we could do as an organization to not be a part of the systemic problem — with intentions of transforming those discussions into policy we hoped would get passed on once our time as part of this organization came to an end. As we continue to find our footing and work to make sense of everything happening in this community, we will keep the words of King, and others who fought for people to have a chance, alive. "The tough mind is sharp and penetrating, breaking through the crust of legends and myths and sifting the true from the false.”

LABORATORY

UNSUNG HEROES

How Texas State scientists are saving lives in labs By Tania Zapien Life & Arts Contributor Before stepping foot into the clinical lab of Ascension Seton Hays Hospital in Kyle, Gilbert Swink sat fully clothed in personal protective equipment, including a mask and a face shield, ready to run another set of COVID-19 tests. Like many health care workers, Swink, a Texas State alumnus and medical lab scientist, has been working nonstop on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. His work along with many other clinical laboratory professionals across the country is the work of the unseen, keeping turnaround rates for testing as low as possible. As of early January, the U.S. laboratory medicine workforce has performed

nearly 270,000,000 COVID-19 tests, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behind the numbers and often lost in the shadows are the scientists working tirelessly to make sure a high level of testing continues for the indefinite future. Since last spring, Swink has mastered the art of COVID-19 testing; however, his success comes with plenty of roadblocks standing in the way. “When we first started, we had to pretty much come up with our own kits for specimen collection because, you know, supply was very short because of manufacturing,” Swink says. Once rapid testing analyzers became available, Swink became one of the first medical laboratory scientists at his hospital to learn how to use them. He then trained the rest of the laboratory

Alumni Jill Green and Ryan Reyes work through their lab, before the pandemic, under the supervision of Dave Falleur, who founded the CLS program in 1974 and served as chair of the department for three decades.

PHOTO COURTESY OF RODNEY E. ROHDE

SEE LABORATORY PAGE 4 ESSENTIAL WORKERS

Health care workers navigate changes in essential roles By Timia Cobb Assistant News Editor Health care workers have found themselves working to keep a pandemic under control while battling inclinations to get physically close to unwell patients — an action once a natural part of their identities but now a bigger threat to their personal safety. "You have to go in there with all your gear, and you can't really make them feel like you're there for them because you can't touch them and you can't get close to them," says Jennifer Dunnigan, a pre-med senior who works as a medical scribe. "You kind of have to stand on the opposite side of the room.” Equipped with protective gear such as face masks and gloves, local health care workers now encounter an unusual medical environment — one filled with new safety rules and regulations

brought on by COVID-19.

Dunnigan began working as a scribe during the pandemic and says the "YOU HAVE TO GO IN physical distance with patients is more due to safety protocols in THERE WITH ALL YOUR apparent place. GEAR, AND YOU CAN'T As a medical scribe, Dunnigan's tasks include assisting doctors and nurses REALLY MAKE THEM by electronically reporting patients' medical symptoms. While she says her FEEL LIKE YOU'RE job can be stressful, it minimizes the THERE FOR THEM paperwork nurses and doctors have to and opens up more time for BECAUSE YOU CAN'T complete them to focus on patients. “When I first started this job, I was TOUCH THEM AND absolutely overwhelmed [with] every YOU CAN'T GET CLOSE shift, but I think [as] you get more experience as a scribe or wherever you TO THEM." are in the medical field, you learn how to handle larger and larger loads," Dunnigan says. "There’s still those days -JENNIFER where you're like, 'that was just crazy, I even know what just happened'... DUNNIGAN, don’t You have other really good days that PRE-MED SENIOR bring you back up and remind you why

SEE ESSENTIAL WORKERS PAGE 2


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January 19, 2021 by The University Star - Issuu