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Est. 1981

Vol. 65, Issue 10

THE PAISANO

April 4 - April 11, 2023

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio Community /ThePaisano

/PaisanoOnline 1 | News

3 | Opinion

By Kara Lee Graphic Artist

@PaisanoMedia

ueer Youth Assemble organized rallies and marches nationwide for this year’s Trans Day of Visibility. On March 31, protesters gathered in front of the Bexar County Courthouse, which was the starting point of the San Antonio-based march. Different groups participated in the march, including the Party for Socialism and Liberation and Veterans for Equality. The march took place because American lawmakers are currently attempting to pass 449 bills that would harm the LBGTQ+ community. These bills would limit healthcare that would be accessible to trans individuals, ban dressing as a male or female impersonator in

public and discussing sexuality in schools. If even a minority of these bills pass it can still be devastating to the LGBTQ+ community. The Trevor Project, a national LGBTQ+ youth suicide-prevention organization, stated that 71% of LGBTQ+ youth said the debating of these bills has made their mental health decline. The Trevor Project also stated 86% of trans youth said this legislation had negative outcomes on mental health. Benjamin Clodfelter, a Veterans for Equality member, spoke about bills such as SB 1029 and SB 14 that target the LGBTQ+ community. “So our group and myself included feel really passionate about trying to defend marginalized people and marginalized groups all across the country,” Clodfelter said. “I also have

‘Building the Nest:’ A university-wide fundraiser for 1969 minutes

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5 | Arts & Life

dear friends that are trans, and with the nature of the discourse that’s happening across the country right now, myself and a bunch of other veterans felt motivated. [We said], ‘Hey, I’ve got the training and experience to do something about it and try to step in and help keep people safe.’” Clodfelter remarked that the U.S. government’s target of marginalized groups is an attack on the people of the United States. “Several of my close friends have children, and they’re at risk of losing their children to Child Protective Services,” Clodfelter said. “There [are] a lot of other veterans that I know that are trans that will not be able to identify [as such] on official documents. If this legislation passes, these people will not be able to receive the health

care that they need. We already have a huge problem with veteran suicides in the United States, further ostracizing trans veterans that already were [at] great risk of suicide as it is; it’s just asking that they’re saying they want my friends to kill themselves, and I’m not okay with that.” Ariana Ruiz, one of the march’s participants, talked about the first-hand impact of anti-trans legislation. “Being a trans woman of color in San Antonio is just really nerve-racking these past couple of months because of all that’s going on with these antiLGBTQ+ bills, and feeling safe in my city is important to me,” Ruiz said. “That’s pretty much why I’m here.” Ruiz explained why the political spotlight has been focused on the trans community these

Paisano-Online.com 7 | Sports

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past few months and why the lawmakers are attempting to enact these measures. “I think we’re being targeted because people just don’t understand us,” Ruiz said. “They don’t. They’re afraid to know the truth about who we are. This is a country of diversity, and [it] does not need to be divided anymore.” Despite the presence of counter-protesters, speakers continued to share personal stories and tales of hardships about what it means to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community. As the speakers finished, the march began. Participants made their way to St. Mary’s street before ending in front of Heat, a popular gay nightclub.

New grant will improve OER awareness and engagement

By Gauri Raje News Editor

Chloe Williams/The Paisano

See Giving Day on Page 2

UTSA recently received a $10,000 grant to “promote faculty adoption and student awareness” of open educational resources, also known as OERs. OERs are openly licensed educational resources, including textbooks, that are available for free in the public domain. The university’s efforts to promote OERs began in 2016 with the Adopt A Free Textbook initiative. Since then, UTSA Libraries has been working with faculty to implement OERs into their courses as a way to defer the cost of textbooks. “It is important to recognize that open educational resources are critical in our pursuit as a multicultural institution in promoting equity in our education,” Zachary Nepote, Student Government Association presidential candidate, said. This new grant, awarded by the Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3)

Collaborative, will further help the university identify any gaps in its efforts to promote OERs. “The goal is to basically assess ourselves [with regards to] OER,” DeeAnn Ivie, UTSA’s open education coordinator, said. “We’re trying to see how [we] can do better as far as awareness and engagement with OER amongst faculty and students. But also, how can we leverage OER in more equitable and inclusive ways at UTSA.” Ivie applied for the grant along with two other campus partners after receiving an email from UT System Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Rebecca Karoff. The grant was collectively awarded to UTSA Libraries, Academic Innovation and Student Success. The assessment will be conducted based on a Creative Commons Licensed rubric created by DOERS3. This means that the rubric can be customized.

Jonathan Porter/The Paisano

“We have the permission to adjust [the rubric] for our institution,” Ivie said. “We can choose and adjust things based on what we feel like works best for UTSA.” At UTSA, the focus will be on “student and practitioner aspects.” This includes looking at OERs in the learning environment, the impact of OERs on underrepresented groups of students and the general awareness of OERs amongst students to ensure they are aware of classes that specifically use OERs. “We’re choosing to tailor it and focus on those particular groups because that’s where we feel like we need more help,” Ivie said. Currently, Academic Innovation, UTSA Libraries and Student Success are working individually to conduct a gap analysis which is due in April. Read the full article at paisano-online.com