FREE!
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2021 VOLUME 110 ISSUE 3
www.UniversityStar.com
DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
Opinion: Texas State fails Black students...again
Women’s basketball looks to rebound from two straight losses as they face Little Rock
Community reacts to new council to preserve Indigenous and Tejano history
Texas State instructors help navigate graduate school possibilities
SEE PAGE 6
SEE PAGE 7
SEE PAGE 2
SEE PAGE 4
T S A P E U D Low-income apartments, residents struggle through pandemic
ILLUSTRATION BY BLAKE WADLEY
By Jaden Edison Editor-in-Chief Low-income apartments in San Marcos are responsible for 30% of all complex evictions filed in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving questions about what lies ahead for residents as the virus and financial uncertainty surrounding it worsens. “I have seen what a lot of people are doing is they’re filing for bankruptcy, which temporarily can freeze an eviction,” says Thomas Just, a family law attorney in San Marcos with previous experience working with evictions. “People are doing whatever they can; it’s rough all the way around. People have lost their jobs, they’re out of money... both the tenants and the landlords are in
a horrible position.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order temporarily halting residential evictions for individuals unable to pay rent, effective between Sept. 4, 2020, and March 31, 2021, an extension of the deadline originally set for the end of 2020. The moratorium for evictions, however, did not stop all proceedings that began before. Apartment data for early 2020 prior to the pandemic, obtained from the Hays County Justice of the Peace courts, shows the Sienna Pointe apartments, Country Oaks apartments, Encino Pointe apartments, Villas at Willow Springs apartments and Asbury Place apartments — all with some form of low-income housing — are responsible
for 45 total apartment evictions filed out of 151. “Right now, a landlord can’t really do anything...it really doesn’t make sense for any landlord to even try to do anything at this point,” Just says. “A lot of what needs to happen is — something needs to be done in terms of paying the mortgage because the landlords are hemorrhaging money they don’t have.” Just believes once the moratorium is lifted evictions will spike, a scenario Langston Neuburger, an assistant manager who processes rent at Encino Pointe, also thinks is very likely. “For the month of November (2020), [we only collected] 73% [of our rent],” Neuburger says. “We’re missing almost 30% of our income from the property — and that’s totally because of the
pandemic...typically we’ll see collections more within the 85 to 90% range, so we’re definitely tanking as far as what our overall percent collected looks like.” Encino Pointe is considered a tax-credit property, a property where a landlord can claim tax credits in return for renting some or all of their apartments to lowincome residents at a restricted rent; taxcredit property landlords receive those credits for keeping their apartments affordable. Landlords have to ensure their prospective tenants are within a certain income restriction to qualify for a lease. Encino Pointe rents units based on 60% and 30% of the median income of the surrounding area, resulting in tenants below the poverty line and median income of the average San Marcos family
SEE EVICTIONS PAGE 3 COVID-19
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Pandemic fatigue: Students battle exhaustion from new-found reality By Sarah Hernandez Assistant Life & Arts Editor For nearly a year, social distancing rules and mask mandates have compromised the day-to-day leisure and comfort people are accustomed to. As cases of the virus fluctuate and the long-awaited vaccines are distributed, students are finding themselves burnt out from the nation's new way of life. The World Health Organization defines pandemic fatigue as a "demotivation to follow
recommended protective behaviors, emerging gradually over time and affected by a number of emotions, experiences and perceptions." Student Health Center Director Emilio Carranco says people experiencing pandemic fatigue have lost sight of the value of following prevention measures. "I think anytime we're asked to do something that's very different from what we usually do, there's always the possibility that we'll tire of it," Carranco says. "Especially if we're doing something that prevents us
SEE COVID-19 PAGE 5 1969
THE FIRST BLACK STUDENT ORGANIZATION AT SWT IS FORMED Black Southwest Texas State students formed UMOJA, the first black student organization at the university. The Swahili word "Umoja" means "togetherness," and the club aimed to provide fellowship and a means of communication for the growing Black community at SWT.
The first majorette dance team, The Golden Texas State's Black Men United members Elites, perform at the Naturally Y.O.U. pose in front of the honors hall at Texas State Hair Show in 2020. for a career photoshoot in fall 2019. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GOLDEN ELITES TWITTER
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL SMITH
Black student organizations adjust to pandemic-era Black History Month By Cristela Jones Life & Arts Editor Black History Month serves as a time for communities from all racial backgrounds to celebrate and preserve Black history through art, activism and education. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, student organizations have still made it a point to honor Black excellence through esteemed principles and newfound traditions. Throughout February, student organizations will begin hosting various virtual and limited in-person events to
recognize Black History Month and reflect on its meaning to students at Texas State. Charnae Brown, a social work senior and president of the Mu Phi Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. says Black History Month is an important time for her and her sorority sisters to remember the impact their founders have had on their organization. “We are the only Greek organization under the National Pan-Hellenic that was founded at a [Public White Institution], and so because of that, [Black History Month] is very important to us,” Brown
SEE BLACK HISTORY MONTH PAGE 5