Vol. 65, Issue 3
Est. 1981
THE PAISANO
February 7- February 14, 2023
Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio Community /PaisanoOnline
/ThePaisano
UTSA among several Texas universities in possession of Native American remains By Mason Hickok Editor-in-Chief
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through the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and we are in full compliance with the federal law.” Upon entering the Main Campus’ 78249 zip code into the open-source program Native Land Digital, four tribes are listed as having lived on the land within the zip code. While it remains unclear what specific tribes the remains and objects in CAR’s collection belong to, a summary of CAR’s process for repatriation notes that “191 of those unaffiliated remains are associated with a single archaeological site in Live Oak County—a legacy collection from excavations associated with the expansion of Highway 281 in the 1970s.” On UTSA’s 50th anniversary page is a brief mention of artifacts — believed to be from the Tonkawa people — that were excavated on the East side of campus, near the intersection of UTSA Boulevard and Valero Way. More information regarding the steps that are required to be taken under NAGPRA can be found at https://www.nps.gov/ subjects/nagpra/getting-started. htm
espite a 1990 federal law from the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), several Texas universities, including UTSA, have the remains and cultural items of Native American tribes. According to a report from Axios, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at UTSA holds 297 remains, the fourth-largest collection of unrepatriated remains in Texas. Of the entirety of the collection, 294 remains have not been made available for return, while three have, according to data from ProPublica. In a statement to The Paisano, UTSA’s Chief Communication Officer Joe Izbrand commented on the steps CAR is taking to comply with federal law. “The remains and objects that are in the care of UTSA were recovered decades ago from archaeological excavations by the university or donated to the university from other institutions and private entities,” Izbrand said. “They are preserved with dignity and stored in a secure facility. It is our intention to repatriate all of the remains and objects to the rightful parties, and we are working methodically to facilitate their return, enabled in part by a grant from the National Park Service. This is a complex The Center for Archeological Research, located at UTSA’s Main Campus, continues to house Native procedure, established American remains.
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New partnership to make contraception accessible on campus “I read an article [this past summer] about how some women were choosing which Four months ago, UTSA colleges to attend Wellbeing Services partnered based on whether up with Project Ruby to abortion is prohibited make contraceptive services in that state,” Chloe more convenient and acRotonda, a 10thcessible for students at grade student in UTSA. Project Ruby New York who (PRJKTRUBY) is an reached out to online platform where UTSA regardindividuals can obtain ing PRJKTRUaffordable contracepBY’s services, tive services without explained. “I sacrificing their rights started in states to privacy and confithat have the dentiality. strictest abortion Through PRJKlaws, and I identiTRUBY’s easy-to-use fied [UTSA] as a website, users can schedcampus with at least ule a same-day tele30,000 students, Photo Courtesy of Chloe health consultation so I wrote [to] the Rotonda (pictured above). with a doctor and president, Dr. Taylor receive a three-month supply of Eighmy, and he connected birth control in just a few days. me with [UTSA Wellbeing Regardless of your insurance Services].” status, their service offers three Working alongside Wellbemonths of birth control for ing Education Coordinator $20 per month and emergency Jamie Singh, Chloe was able to contraception for $50, shipped spread the word about PRJKin discreet packaging directly TRUBY to students at UTSA, to your house for no extra cost. providing at least 85 students Users can also use the promo with monthly contraceptive code “MYCHOICE2022” packages thus far. to get $10 off of their first See Contraception purchase.
By Jessica McLaren Assistant News Editor
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Four attempted motor vehicle thefts reported on Main Campus
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By Gauri Raje News Editor On Monday, Jan. 30, UTSAPD responded to reports of “several vehicles [being] damaged during attempted motor vehicle thefts” on the Main Campus. The police department’s daily crime log shows that the first incident, categorized as a “Burglary of a Vehicle,” occurred in Resident Lot 3 and was reported at 1:44 p.m. on Monday.
Three other incidents with the same description occurred at Barshop Blvd. Lot 1, Resident Lot 3 and Brackenridge Ave. Lot 2 and were reported at 3:45 p.m., 4:14 p.m. and 4:24 p.m., respectively. Students were notified of the incidents last Monday night through the university’s alert system. “These incidents focused on specific vehicle types — Chevrolet pickup trucks and Dodge
Chargers. Two of each model were targeted. We have a very active investigation underway including reviewing camera footage that could help us track down leads and identify suspects,” UTSAPD Chief of Police Stephanie Schoenborn said in a statement to The Paisano. To report any additional information about the incidents or suspicious activity related to them on campus, you can reach UTSAPD at (210) 458-4911.
UTSA hosts State of the University address By Mason Hickok Editor-in-Chief As UTSA begins another academic year, President Taylor Eighmy hosted a State of the University address, followed by a panel discussion with faculty, staff and senior Public Health major Erica McFarland. On Monday, Jan. 30, Eighmy addressed an audience of leadership, faculty, students and staff in-person and online about the university’s trajectory. Much of the address was centered around UTSA’s three strategic destinations. Eighmy took time at the beginning of the conversation to recognize where the university is today while looking toward the future, returning to the belief that “great cities need great universities.” “The concept of our great city of San Antonio needing us to be a great university is a powerful driver for where we have been going, where we are today and where we will go,” Eighmy said. At the beginning of the Fall
2022 semester, UTSA launched its Bold Scholar Program, bringing in about 220 first-year students to live on campus for their first year of college. Eighmy acknowledged the changing landscape of higher education and UTSA’s place within that. “One big feature … especially for public higher education is that we will be measured now not by the exclusiveness of our admissions policies, but by our inclusiveness; about who we let in and who we advance,” Eighmy said.
ity. For example, the graphic included data from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, which lists UTSA in the top 18% of the nation for long-term return on investment. “We’re crushing it in how well we do around advancing economic mobility,” Eighmy said. Eighmy took time to recognize the partnership with UT Health San Antonio.
“We’re crushing it in how well we do around advancing economic mobility”
“We’re grateful for that,” Eighmy said. “The fact that we could work to bring UTSA Courtesy Photo forward a joint school of In speaking about this, there public health for San Antonio is was a graphic displaying some immensely powerful.” of UTSA’s rankings around Read the full article at economic & social mobilhttps://paisano-online.com
Professor part of brain health treatment study By Kylar Royer Staff Photographer Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive, fastgrowing brain cancer with a high mortality rate. Most patients do not live more than one year after their diagnosis, and only 12% live for five years. A team of scientists from UTSA and UT Health San Antonio is working to find a viable treatment option for GBM patients. Their research aims to develop a compound to reduce GBM tumor size, thereby decreasing the symptoms patients may experience and adding another treatment modality to existing cancer therapies. Dr. Stanton McHardy, a chemistry professor at UTSA, became involved with the project due to two of his collaborators — Ratna K. Valdlamudi, a professor in the OB-GYN department at UT Health San Antonio, and Andrew Brenner, M.D., Ph.D., from the Mays Cancer Center.
“They came to me and talked to me about this program, and it was perfect for me because it combined two of the things that I am passionate about — neuroscience research and cancer,” McHardy said. Most of McHardy’s time is consumed by research dedicated to developing preclinical drug candidates as the Center for Innovative Drug Discovery (CIDD) director. The CIDD is funded by the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT); grant’s from the institute have allowed the generation of preliminary data on fundamental projects at the CIDD and paved the way for funding granted by the National Cancer Institute. “The team recently was awarded $3 million by the National Cancer Institute (NCI)”, an article from UTSA Today reads. “The grant, which began on January 1, 2023, follows previous NCI funding of $2 million that supported laboratory studies yielding
fundamental understandings needed to progress to drug development.” A primary focus of McHardy’s research is on “developing novel small molecules for therapies.” “We think of ourselves as molecular architects,” McHardy said. “So, the heart and soul of what we do is designing new molecules for improved biological activity.” McHardy explains that it is “an incredibly large challenge to develop a small molecule that could kill the GBM tumor because in order to kill the GBM tumor, it has to get past the blood-brain barrier.” The blood-brain barrier is a crucial part of the CNS. It surrounds the brain, protecting it from harmful substances. The barrier is like a gated neighborhood; it only lets in the residents who keep the community running while preventing unwanted guests that could disrupt their environment.
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