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TUESDAY APRIL 20, 2021 VOLUME 110 ISSUE 11
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DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
Opinion: Young Life members should pressure their organization to be stewards of the environment
New university initiative hopes to bring former students back to finish degrees
Up and coming alternative band rocks San Marcos with eclectic indie-inspired music
Softball slump continues against Louisiana
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MEMORIAL
THEATER
The cast of "Spring Awakening" celebrates its return to the stage at a "Spring Awakening" rehearsal, Monday, April 12, 2021, at the Patty StrickelHarrison. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKKIE LAMAS
'Spring Awakening' musical weathers storm after positive COVID-19 test Community members place flowers on fallen San Marcos Police Department officer Justin Putnam's '442' wreath, a tribute to his badge number, Sunday, April 18, 2021, at Five Mile Dam Parks Complex. PHOTO BY JADEN EDISON
San Marcos remembers officer killed in line of duty one year later By Jaden Edison Editor-in-Chief During the early hours of Dec. 4, 2017, Justin Putnam was finishing his shift at the San Marcos Police Department when Kenneth Copeland entered the briefing room he was in. In preparation for his day shift, Copeland, a veteran of the department, asked Justin Putnam to change the battery in his radio. Copeland proceeded to firmly shake Justin Putnam's hand, as he always did when the two crossed paths, and asked him how he was doing. "I gave [Copeland] the standardized reply of 'great but tired,'" Justin Putnam later types in a Microsoft Word document discovered by his loved ones. "We laughed and went our separate ways with his police radio fully charged. Ken shook my hand with sincerity; I shook his hand out of routine." "Had I known that the last time I would see Ken Copeland alive was December 4, 2017, I would have given
The U.S. and Texas flags sit at half-staff during a memorial service for fallen San Marcos Police Department officer Justin Putnam, Sunday, April 18, 2021, at Five Mile Dam Parks Complex. Putnam was killed one year earlier while responding to a domestic disturbance call in San Marcos. PHOTO BY JADEN EDISON
him a hug; I would have thanked him for the many sticky situations he pulled me out of," Justin Putnam types about his at-work fatherly figure. "I would have squeezed his hand so hard that his fingers lost color. I wish I could have a day like that back." Justin Putnam used his experiences
with Copeland, who was killed while serving an arrest warrant, as a grieving reminder to never take people for granted. He would spread the same love and lessons he received from Copeland to many he encountered. On April 18, 2021, hundreds of people in the San Marcos community gathered on a chilly, sunny evening at the Five Mile Dam Parks Complex to celebrate the life of Justin Putnam, who was killed one year earlier while responding to a domestic disturbance call, and share stories like the one about his last encounter with his mentor. The event consisted of remarks from SMPD Chief Stan Standridge, Chaplain Mike Hollifield, Mayor Jane Hughson, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, Director of Public Safety Chase Stapp, SMPD officers and family members of Justin Putnam. Officers Franco Stewart and Justin Mueller, both of whom were wounded in the ambush at the Twin Lakes Villas apartments that left Justin Putnam dead and led to the shooting suspect's suicide, received purple hearts for their sacrifices a year earlier.
SEE MEMORIAL PAGE 3 VACCINE PROCESS
Explaining local COVID-19 vaccine registration, distribution By Timia Cobb Assistant News Editor From registration to getting a shot, Hays County residents and local distributors are finding the process for getting a COVID-19 vaccine easier compared to previous weeks as doses become more accessible throughout the state. As of March 29, all adults in Texas are eligible to receive a vaccine for free, with the federal government paying manufacturers to provide and distribute vaccines. As a result, local private practices, grocery store pharmacies
and Texas State have ramped up their efforts to provide residents with shots. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), 45% of Hays County residents 16 or older have received an initial dosage of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 29% of residents 16 or older are fully vaccinated. At Texas State, all students, faculty and staff are eligible to receive a vaccine. The university's vaccination site is located at the LBJ Student Center, and anyone with a Texas State email can sign up through a registration link sent from the university.
Nursing instructor Joy Hargraves LVN (right) administers a COVID-19 vaccine to San Marcos Academy Boarding Director Stephanie Ramirez (left), Friday, March 11, 2021, at San Marcos High School. PHOTO BY DOUGLAS SMITH
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By Payton Russell Life & Arts Reporter With rising heart rates and sweat sliding down their spines, the cast members of Texas State's spring musical production, "Spring Awakening," is exploring sex and sexuality while singing through masks, dancing across distances and adapting its timeline after a cast member tested positive for COVID-19. Instead of being stilted by the university's COVID-19 regulations, the show's artistic team used masks and distance as part of its design. This shifted the lens of the show, causing what traditionally is a show dripping with on-stage sex and visual intimacy to mold into an exploration of sexual repression and separation.
SEE THEATER PAGE 5 LUPUS
Alumna addresses lupus disparities faced by Black, brown women By Kiana Burks News Contributor Najha Marshall knew early on her passions for social justice and science would have a strong influence on her life. After a lupus diagnosis at the age of 7 and growing up in the grips of a flawed health care system, deciding what she wanted to write her honors thesis about was not a difficult decision. Recounting her own struggles with lupus treatment, Marshall, who graduated from Texas State in December 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in microbiology, approaches the issue of health inequalities through a social justice lens. Her Honors College thesis, “How Lupus Crossed the Color Line: Chronic Illness and the Reproduction of Racism in Health Care,” addresses the treatment and diagnostic disparities faced by women of color with lupus. “I've personally experienced growing up and having to constantly deal with the health care system,” Marshall says.
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