A Texas Tech archaeology team’s discovery of historic artifacts unlocked new knowledge of the Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo, a Spanish mission in South Texas.
Harper Thaxton’s unusual pet, Tucker, poses unique challenges and requirements. Thaxton said owning Tucker, a prairie dog, reflects some of the adventure she’s experienced in college.
editor.
By ERIN DEMBO Staff Writer
On an early Friday afternoon in 2016, the first innocence case of Allison Clayton’s career hit her desk, beginning her journey of attempting to exonerate those she believes to be wrongly accused by the justice system.
Clayton, the deputy director of the Innocence Project of Texas and director of the Texas Tech School of Law’s Innocence Clinic, first began her work when she opened her own firm — Allison Clayton Law — in 2015.
Not long after, she began working with a variety of different clients facing difficult legal battles. She said the emotions that come from seeing her clients become free are unimaginable.
“The birds, the wind and the cars passing by all go gray,” Clayton said. “You’re weightless for a moment in time.”
The average exoneration takes nine to 14 years, Clayton said. The Tech Innocence Clinic is currently
working on roughly 30 ongoing cases.
Despite the many cases that have hit her desk since beginning her career, Clayton said there was one case in particular that stood out.
In 1999, a Midland family died in a house fire. One of the suspects, Butch Martin, was arrested and charged with their murders.
She said the evidence, mostly based on forensic studies, proved he was innocent, but the court still chose to convict him.
Her class visited him for many years since 2016, and she said their hearts were moved by how difficult it was to see Martin struggling because of his conviction.
“You get really close with people like that,” she said. “He made all the students a variety of presents, flowers and mugs from his ingenuity in prison.”
In the spring of 2022, Clayton got a call from the Dutchess court coordinator in Lubbock — who is responsible for overseeing court operations — saying Martin would
be released.
Due to her family vacation at the time of the verdict, Martin was the first client she couldn’t personally walk out. However, once she made it back to town, she said she didn’t wait another second to go see him.
“After all those years, I finally got to give him a hug,” Clayton said. “We had a party. All his family
was there.”
Linzy Hill, an associate attorney at Allison Clayton Law, said she met Martin in prison when she was a student at the Innocence Clinic in the fall of 2022. Martin was freed in 2022, a year after Hill graduated. Despite him being released after her time at the clinic, she drove hours down the road to the detention center to see him.
She said she had never experienced anything as powerful as seeing Martin reunite with his family.
“To see him walk out and his sister with all the grandbabies who had never gotten to meet him before in the car, I don’t have words,” Hill said.
By AUSTIN JACKSON Staff Writer
Before the 2025-26 academic year began, the NCAA implemented roster limits while simultaneously removing scholarship caps for all sports. The sudden increase left athletic departments across the country with a decision: invest in revenue-generating sports or Olympic sports that may be in contention for national titles.
For Tech, that meant investing in its revenue-generating sports or maximizing scholarships for its track and field team, which won four Big 12 titles last season.
“We had to make sure that football and basketball got the maximum,” said Wes Kittley, Tech track
and field coach. “They are the ones that are the bread and butter for our programs as far as financial.”
Tech football was coming off a season where it finished sixth in the Big 12 conference with an 8-5 record, while men’s basketball finished second in the Big 12 with a 28-9 record. The Athletic department decided to go all-in on those programs and maximize their scholarships.
Olympic coaches, like Kittley, were left to build their rosters without an increase in scholarships while some of their opponents received significant increases.
“We didn’t get any (additional scholarships for track and field),”
Kittley said. “Texas A&M and Georgia and all these people, they went 45 (scholarships) in the women and
35 (scholarships) in the men.”
Before the scholarship cap was removed, track and field programs were allowed 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 for women. The removal of the scholarship cap allows for 45 track and field scholarships for each gender.
“Some of them (other schools) chose to do that and take the hit the first year,” Kittley said. “Texas Tech chose to not hurt football and basketball the first year, which I think was smart.”
in hopes that the success those teams had would generate increased revenue, which could then be used to give more scholarships to Olympic sports.
(Tech Athletics is) committed to helping us. I am real pleased with where we are going for next year.
WES KITTLEY
TRACK & FIELD COACH
Tech decided to give scholarships to its football and basketball teams
Less than six months after Tech made the decision to invest in its revenue-generating sports, the football team won its first Big 12 Championship and received a first-round bye in the College Football Playoffs. The increased revenue from recent success in revenue-generating sports will allow the athletic department to invest in its Olympic sports.
“It made it where it’s possible for them to help the Olympic sports now after one year,” Kittley said.
Success from the football and basketball teams has increased Tech Athletics revenue, allowing larger scholarship allotments for Olympic sports. Kittley said he has been given an approximate figure of 25 scholarships for men and 35 for women to build next year’s roster. He has been able to use the number to recruit top high school and international talent to compete for Tech next season.
“They (Tech Athletics) are committed to helping us,” Kittley said. “I am real pleased with where we are going for next year. I’m gonna be able to recruit with more scholarships for next year.”
is making sure that the
roads are passable,” Moudy said. “That includes University, Indiana, Quaker, 19th Street, 4th Street, 34th Street, 50th Street — making sure that you can get to hospitals or making sure that first responders can get around, or making sure that the power stays on.”
Moudy emphasized how keeping utilities functional is one of the city’s top priorities and it works closely with LP&L and Atmos Energy to monitor the grid and gas supply during extreme cold.
The City of Lubbock’s Public Works director, David Bragg, said his department focuses on clearing major roads and maintaining traffic infrastructure. He added how much of the preparation occurs months in advance. The city begins ordering materials used to combat winter as early as August.
“We start meeting departmentally and planning our approach, what we’re gonna do, and make sure everybody knows their part so that when severe weather hits, we will be ready for that day,” Bragg said.
Ahead of potential overnight weather, city crews will begin to monitor roads as early as 4:30 a.m. Traffic cameras positioned throughout Lubbock helping identify slick intersections allow crews to respond quickly and treat affected areas.
“We focus heavily on the hospital districts to make sure that the roadways
around those are clear for our emergency personnel,” Bragg said. “From there, we just maintain the other roadways, the main roads, the arterials, as best we can.”
The City of Lubbock has partnered with community partners like Open Door, the Salvation Army and Grace Campus to provide shelter for individuals without stable housing — including any off-campus students dealing with heating outages.
The best way for students to avoid misinformation is to rely on official sources of information during a disaster or large-scale emergency. The city publishes verified updates through three social media channels, Lubbock Police Department, Lubbock Fire Rescue and City of Lubbock.
The most reliable weather alerts come through LBK Alert, the city’s mass notification system. Residents can sign up by texting their ZIP code to 888-777 or visiting LBKalerts.com. Verified updates also are posted on the city’s emergency communications page at myLubbock.us.
Tech students can stay informed by monitoring LBK Alert and TechAlert! — the university’s automatic emergency notification system. Both provide timely and important safety updates throughout the winter season.
By CHRISTIAN JETER L a Vida Editor
For almost a century, the colonial Spanish mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo has eluded archaeologists with its mysterious location. Yet, buried beneath the thick underbrush of South Texas, a team of Texas Tech archaeologists uncovered several artifacts indicating the lost site’s final resting place.
Led by Tamra Walter, an associate professor of archaeology, the team of students and faculty under the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work relied on surveys and metal detectors to uncover colonial tools, including scissors, pottery and ammunition, which serve as markers for the potential location of the mission discovered in December.
Despite the fact plenty of other Spanish missions have been uncovered in Texas, Walter said Espíritu Santo’s importance stems from its role as a key turning point in Spanish, Texan and American history.
“The events that played out here were very important for the trajectory of Texas history,” Walter said. “Had this not happened, it’s likely that Texas history would have been quite a bit different.”
... Had this not happened, it’s likely that Texas history would have been quite a bit different.
WALTER
TAMRA
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ARCHAEOLOGY
The mission and accompanying fort were initially established near present-day Goliad as a French colony in the late 17th century by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, the French explorer known for leading an expedition into the Mississippi River basin in 1682.
However, after he left the colony to return to the
mouth of the Mississippi River in 1687, the Karankawa tribe, a local indigenous group in the area at that time, had either killed or captured all the settlement’s inhabitants in an attack.
Following this, the Spanish discovered La Salle’s colony and refurbished it as their own, establishing the mission to convert the local natives and presidio to protect the colonists’ daily living.
Walter said it was this spiraling of events which led to Spain taking the modern-day Texan territory more seriously, leading to many of the moments which molded both Texas and United States history.
“It was really a catalyst for Texas history that changed the trajectory,” Walter said. “I’m not sure what would have happened if (the mission events) had not occurred. Maybe it would have taken the Spanish a while to take Texas seriously.”
Yet, even with this dense history, the mission was only inhabited for a short period from 1721 to 1725.
Though this might’ve fared poorly for the Spanish, Walter said this means uncovering the site allows a precise opportunity to examine how colonists during this specific period lived.
“We get to see what life was like on the colonial frontier of Texas at that moment,” Walter said. “It’s a snapshot, and we get to see what it was like for people to live in Spanish Texas at that very moment. … We really haven’t had that opportunity before.”
Echoing that same sentiment, Joshua Etheredge, a member of the Tech team that helped locate the artifacts and mission, said Espíritu Santo differs from many other sites due to never leaving its juvenile operation stage.
“Most of the missions that we deal with had decades and decades of operation happening; so you don’t really get to see what the early establishment of those missions looked like,” Etheredge, a first-year historical archaeology graduate student from Big Spring said. “What you see is occupation on top of occupation, and it all gets jumbled together so you’re not able to differentiate which occupation exactly.”
With the mission’s unique position in mind, he said he also hopes Espíritu Santo will provide answers to the many unanswered questions about early Spanish colonial life during that period.
“What did the trade look like with the local Karankawa? Were there French goods coming in? How many Spanish goods were there? Did they use mostly native pottery or was it a mix of European and native potteries?” Etheredge said. “Those are questions that can’t really be answered from a lot of the mission sites that we (already) have.”
The discovery itself was
done in tandem with the Texas Historical Commission and Summerlee Foundation, each aiding the team in their search for the artifacts.
One such artifact — a pair of scissors — was located by Carissa DeAnda, a team member and fourth-year anthropology major from San Angelo.
Knowing both the significance of the artifacts and the mission’s history, she said holding the pair of scissors in her hands provided a unique perspective regarding the real lives of the individuals who might’ve used them.
“To be able to have physical evidence of what happened and compare it to historical documents just really shines a really neat picture about what really went on,” DeAnda said. “You’re not just reading from somebody’s diary, but you’re actually getting a piece of real history.”
Despite the fact the artifacts may seem like a small find, DeAnda also said this discovery has put archaeologists a few more steps ahead in the search for Espíritu Santo.
“That’s the interesting thing about the site: we only
get what they left behind. So, we’re still getting a very, very small picture of what life was like,” she said. “But that’s a huge step closer than what we had before.”
In the hopes of discovering more evidence, select members of the team plan to return to the site later in January and in early February to perform a magnetometer survey, a type of magnetic scan which could potentially reveal more objects or artifacts buried beneath the Earth’s surface.
Although she hopes to eventually find specific structures indicative of the mission itself, such as a chapel or living quarters, Walter said she and the team remain ready for the possibility of more questions than answers as the search continues.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions about the mission itself and how it operated. You go in with a lot of questions, and then you start digging, and new questions arise,” Walter said. “So, you have to be flexible with your goals because you never know what surprises you’re gonna find.”
By MANDIE HANEY Staff WritEr
After months of independence in Lubbock, some Texas Tech students return to childhood bedrooms that look the same but feel different during academic breaks. Photos still hang on the walls, beds remain in the same corners and blankets still carry a familiar scent.
Yet, the change is found in routines that once defined home but no longer fit. Old schedules slip away, family dynamics shift and the idea of home becomes something more complicated than a place.
For freshmen, the journey away from campus and back can reveal just how much can change in a single semester.
For Davis Martindale, a firstyear mechanical engineering major from San Antonio, the difference was immediately noticeable because home no
longer demanded the structure that once filled his days.
“Going home for break felt more like a vacation,” he said. “I didn’t have a set schedule whenever I was home. My family still had work, and my brother had school, and that was weird because I was not used to not having a schedule whenever I am at home.”
Cayden Johannes, a firstyear mechanical engineering major from Wiley, said despite the feeling of his house no longer feeling like home, not everything was different. His family relationships and friendships remained mostly the same.
“Going home was weird because it doesn’t feel like your house anymore,” he said. “(But) my family dynamic didn’t really change that much. My sister missed me, but it was pretty much the same with my friends.”
For Karter Partin, a first-year business major from Kosse, the contrast between college and home life was defined by her daily pace. The busyness of campus faded, and her days became quiet and family-focused.
“I had a lot more to do because of school and work, and I would go out all the time with friends. Now that I’ve gone back over break, there was a lot less to do,” she said. “I had to find stuff to do around the house, and I was outside a lot. I also found work with my brother, like running cattle, and that was really fun.”
on break, he said the biggest change came in the form of an emotional shift between him and his father.
I was definitely looking forward to coming back to Tech because I like the freedom. I like my friends here.
CAYDEN JOHANNES FIRST-YEAR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR
Although Martindale had to navigate a less structured life
One (1) stainless steel wristwatch, located on Texas Tech University (main campus). If you have lost a wristwatch on campus and you can describe the item in detail (brand and type of band) or have proof of ownership; you may come to the Texas Tech Police Department to contact one of our Evidence Technician’s and claim the item.
If the owner does not claim such property within (90) days from the date of publication, such property will be disposed of in accordance with Texas State Code of Criminal Procedure – Article 18.17(c).
“During break, my dad seemed a lot more open with me. He has always been my best friend, especially throughout high school,” he said. “We do everything together, so I knew that he was feeling more emotional, and that made me feel more loved.”
Martindale said despite the good times, he confronted the break with nerves for a difficult conversation he had to have with his parents about an academic setback.
“I was nervous going back
home because I didn’t do too well in one of my classes. So, I was really nervous to confront my parents about that, but once we got past that, my nerves settled, and I was just really excited to see my brother play basketball,” Martindale said.
As winter break came to an end, Partin said leaving home wasn’t easy, but the normality of campus life remained exciting to return to.
“I was really excited to come back (to Tech) because I had a lot more stuff to do, (and) I was really excited to see all my friends again,” she said.
The end of break meant the thrill of returning to Lubbock which revolved around independence and relationships, Johannes said.
“I was definitely looking forward to coming back to Tech because I like the freedom. I like my friends here,” he said.
Similarly, as she returned to Lubbock, Partin said time spent with her family helped quiet doubts and offer reassurance about being far from home.
“During break I definitely felt more confident about going far for college because my family was supporting me,” Partin said.
Martindale said the backand-forth between home and campus ultimately solidified his passion for Tech as well as a calling that goes deeper than comfort or routine.
“I feel like Texas Tech is exactly where God has put me. I’m very at home here. I feel like I have a purpose here,” he said. “I feel like I’m on a Christ-focused mission here, and so it feels like this is exactly where I’m supposed to be, and I’m very blessed to be here.”
@CJeter_DT @DtHaney06
By CHRISTIAN JETER L a Vida Editor
Harper Thaxton has been around all types of animals her entire life, ranging from rabbits to chameleons, with each testing her in new ways. Yet, no pet poses more of a challenge than her latest adoption: Tucker the prairie dog.
Thaxton, a third-year animal science major from San Antonio, first met Tucker in May of 2025 when visiting a Lubbock pet store that happened to be selling prairie dogs. It was here where she said her soon-to-be pet would catch her eye with his small stature and unique care requirements.
“(When) I got him, he was as big as my hand. He was six weeks old when I got him, and he was the runt,” she said. “He actually had to be bottle fed, and that’s why he likes to suck on my fingers.”
Shortly after meeting Tucker, Thaxton said she knew he was the one for her because of how calm and attached he was when she held him.
“When I went back I said, ‘I want the one I was holding, the sweetest one,’” she said.
It wasn’t long before she formally adopted the prairie dog, named him Tucker and took him
Martin was found inno -
cent and completely exonerated in May 2024, Clayton said, making this the most recent exoneration from the Tech Clinic as a part of the Innocence Project.
Just like with Martin’s situation, Clayton said no matter how strong a case might be, there’s always
to get all his appropriate shots and vaccines.
Since before meeting Tucker, Thaxton has been around a variety of different animals, both as pets and patients. She has owned tree frogs, bull frogs and even savannah monitors. Yet, as a student studying animal science, she has also picked up numerous animal care skills, such as administering vaccines.
Given this existing knowledge of pet care, Thaxton expected to have to go through the same medical routine with Tucker as her other past pets and patients. However, she said Tucker began to challenge her knowledge and skills in new ways shortly after his adoption.
“One of the first things was the first vet appointment. I was like, ‘What vaccines do you do for a prairie dog?’ Because I know all of them — I do them myself on dogs. So, I (thought) it’s got to be different,” Thaxton said. “But I took him to the vet, and they said no vaccines.”
The differences in care didn’t end there; Tucker’s diet is also distinct from most other animals, Thaxton said.
Unlike similar pets, such as rabbits requiring food like hay and grass, prairie dogs require additional sustenance through a more varied palette of vege-
the chance it could not go her way.
“Even if the state’s on board, even if all of the sciences are in our favor, until I hear (or) see a judgment, I’m nervous about it,” Clayton said.
She said a big part of being a lawyer is handling those unfair losses, especially when she feels so strongly that her client is innocent.
tables and fruits.
“Compared to other pets I’ve had, he loves corn on the cob and sweet potatoes,” Thaxton said. “When I bought him, they said to make sure to feed him sweet potatoes and corn on the cob.”
Thaxton said prairie dogs’ distinctive physical appearance can make maintenance and husbandry just as tricky as their dietary and behavioral habits. In specific, Tucker’s dark nails, which contrast most other animals’, make trimming without hurting him difficult.
“With other nails, you see the quick faster, because once you start trimming down, you see a dot. You know when to stop,” Thaxton said. “Black nails, it’s harder to tell.”
Shae McDaniel, Thaxton’s roommate, said Tucker’s intelligence can be as challenging as his physical qualities, such as when he finds new ways to escape his fish-tank-turnedmakeshift-cage.
“He gets out all the time because he’s so smart. He’ll get on his log in the cage and jump through the top of the fish tank wires because he’s chewed it, and we have to put stuff on top,” McDaniel, a third-year finance major from Broomfield, Colorado, said.
“You have to understand how not to let it stop you from continuing, and I know that the system is not broken, but the system is doing exactly what it was designed to do,” she said.
Clayton said her students who work alongside her in the clinic are able to experience the special process of walking someone out of prison, seeing how their hard work could change the
Since adopting him, McDaniel said she and Thaxton have gotten Tucker a new cage to give him more room to move around. However, he has increasingly found new ways to attempt to escape his latest living quarters.
Despite his tricky care necessities, McDaniel said Tucker’s uniqueness represents the new, unfamiliar challenges that come with attending university.
“Having a prairie dog, it’s definitely unusual, but I think
course of someone’s life.
She said the emotional high that comes from saving these individuals is what drives her to continue her work, but she must equally realize they may never be free from the effects incarceration had on their minds.
One client, Clayton said, continued eating the same food they had in prison even after they were officially released.
that it brings something new to the college life,” McDaniel said. “In college, you’re always trying new things and exploring a bit and being adventurous. And I think having a prairie dog is adventurous, and I’m learning so much that I never knew about prairie dogs before.”
Similarly, compared to the many other animals she has owned and worked with, Thaxton agreed Tucker’s prairie dog nature makes him the most
“I had this one client who the (Texas Dep artment of Criminal Justice) just broke him, and his grocery list was Pringles, Ramen, Tang, which is commissary food,” Clayton said.
When Clayton first started this line of work, she said it was difficult to keep going with her head held up high. Now, she has a heart to experience the pain and help others walk through
unique pet she has ever had.
“Compared to a rabbit or guinea pig, this is the best pet I’ve ever had. He will sleep on my lap while I’m studying. He’ll burrow in my bed to the point where he wants to sleep in my bed — but I’m not gonna let that happen,” Thaxton said. “He’ll run around the house and greet you like a dog. He’ll bark, and that’s just so different to me.” @CJeter_DT
the same legal struggles and turmoil.
“ I’m so incredibly fortunate I have the best job in the world,” Clayton said.
“Apart from the fact that none of my clients can pay, I get to work with these beautiful souls who’ve been wounded in a horrific system.”
JACOB NADOLSKY/The Daily
Taylor
O’Shea is a junior journalism major from Missouri City.
At the beginning of a semester, Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms are filled with perfectly curated routines, and students are excited to start anew. Peers seem to be more motivated and disciplined than ever with work and routines, and some are already pulling ahead in their routines and schoolwork.
In reality, most students are trying to remember their schedules, getting used to having a good sleep schedule and are attempting to read the syllabus without
feeling overwhelmed.
Feeling behind at the start of a new semester is common amongst students, but it is not mentioned enough. Instead, students are met with constant reminders of productivity and discipline online, which can make the already stressful adjustment period feel isolating, as if nobody else is struggling in the same way.
The productivity that is often shown on social media is highly curated, showing what an ideal start to the semester should look like rather than what it is in reality. Nobody shows the mental exhaustion that comes with adjusting to new classes, unfinished to-do lists and slow days of not getting up on time or needing more
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Across 1. TV remote button, for short 4. Heart rate and blood pressure, e.g. 10. Pie ___ mode 13. Kermit the Frog greeting 14. Slowly, to a musician 15. Quick instant 16. Without a doubt 18. Firm up 19. Overseer of Minions 20. Attila’s subjects
21. Currency in Cannes or Cologne
22. Entrance workers
24. Music dude?
27. “Back ____ again”
28. No longer in use
30. SpongeBob neckwear
33. Takes lunch
34. Twins wreaking havoc, or the spelling difficulty 16-, 28-, 42- and 56-Across each contain
39. Prefix to ‘pay’ or ‘pilot’
40. Kitchen tearjerkers
42. In great supply
47. Windsor or square
48. Cooks again
49. Allergy medicine brand
52. Shorten, as hair or a beard
53. Common place for 47-Across 54. “I didn’t need to know that!”
55. Hotel or motel
56. Duty 60. Actress Lucy ___ 61. Maker of Camrys and Corollas
62. Australian birds
63. Si, oui, ja, da 64. Intervene
65. Feature of doxxed and xeroxed
Down 1. Buzzed 2. “You have no proof!”
counter
3. Plural “el”
4. Assign worth 5. Shrugged reply
6. Inks, for short
7. 250, to the United States
8. Little, colloquially
9. Tofu constituent
10. Surmise
11. Fix one’s stare on 12. Playwright’s exposition
13. Dallas-based menswear
J. M. ______
17. Unit of resistance
21. Fish in an unagi roll
23. Caesar’s third- and second-to-last words
24. Letter-shaped gym machine
25. “We agree!”
26. Beach day gripe
29. Place a wager
31. Apple Cash storage location?
32. Dodge
35. Navigation estimates
36. Eco-friendly commuting method
37. “________ no see!”
38. Gigantic
41. Colors, as glass
42. In a crafty way
43. Vermont senator Sanders
44. An 80, to a student
45. School south of Little Rock
46. French island resort
50. Reese of “Zoey 101”
51. “Glee” star Michele
53. Trough food
56. Tiebreaker periods
57. CAPTCHA enemy
58. Parting word
59. Lubbock’s state, briefly
patience.
A lot of students need time to settle into a routine, and comparing the real struggles of everyday life can be discouraging to students.
This external pressure that is placed on students needing to feel perfect often evolves into an internal struggle. The feeling of needing to achieve certain goals by a specific time or be on the same personal routine as others can quickly turn into self-doubt.
Productivity becomes a measure of one’s self-worth, where students may convince themselves they just need to try harder, wake up earlier or manage their time better, when in reality they are already doing the best
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor-in-Chief Jacob Lujan jaclujan@ttu.edu
Managing Editor Aynsley Larsen aylarsen@ttu.edu
News Editor Sofia Bueno sbuenoro@ttu.edu
they can.
There is also a very demanding feeling to start strong — which is often exacerbated by parents, guardians or even professors — that implies how a semester begins will be how it ends.
This mindset leaves little room for growth and change, especially if the beginning feels out-of-place or messy. Productivity can look different for everyone. While some students thrive with structure immediately, others need a few weeks to find their own routine. Neither of these experiences are wrong. Ultimately, it is OK if the planner is still blank, the routine feels chaotic or motivation has not fully settled in yet. Students
La Vida Editor Christian Jeter chjeter@ttu.edu
Sports Editor Ty Kaplan tkaplan@ttu.edu
Opinions Editor Will Wright wri71469@ttu.edu
deserve to give themselves grace during a time that is already mentally and physically demanding. Protecting mental health is far more important than living up to an unrealistic version of productivity online.
Doing small things, one at a time, is a great way to achieve these smaller goals students have set for themselves without feeling overwhelmed.
ule, then move forward with a good plan to incorporate studying and homework, and so on.
Making good and productive progress is not done all at once.
Protecting mental health is far more important than living up to an unrealistic version of productivity online.
Trying to change completely overnight is unrealistic and can lead to more stress and discouragement. Start off by getting a good sleep sched -
Multimedia Editor Makayla Perez makapere@ttu.edu
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Every time I personally have to get back in the groove of things, it makes it so much easier to start with these smaller accomplishments, such as waking up two hours earlier than usual, writing all of my future assignments into a planner and staying up and busy to make for a better and clearer mindset.
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The Daily Toreador strives for accuracy and fairness in the reporting of news. If a report is wrong or misleading, a request for a correction or clarification may be made by calling (806) 742-3393 or emailing dailytoreador@ttu.edu.
By KEITH INGLIS SportS reporter
The conclusion of Texas Tech baseball’s 2024-25 season on the mound was met with scrutiny as former pitching coach Matt Gardner resigned following a dropoff in the team’s pitching standards.
Tech head coach Tim Tadlock turned to Major League Baseball experience for answers. The Red Raiders hired Colorado Rockies pitching coach Steve Foster to replace Gardner and named Steve Merriam as director of Pitching Development over the summer.
With the recent development of college coaches across the country leaving for opportunities in the MLB, Foster and Merriam have found themselves innovating ways to improve at the collegiate level. The two put together a pitching lab based on the forefront of technology through the program’s operating budget.
“To go from having a
TrackMan in there and a few electronic cameras to bioscientists and motion capture things,” Tadlock said. “I don’t know the names to all of them but to put together one of the best labs in the world in a short amount of time, and to be able to use the lab and information that’s coming from the lab has been really eye-opening.”
The Red Raiders rounded out last spring with a 20-33 record — their worst since 1985, according to Tech Athletics. Tech ranked No. 13 in the Big 12 Conference with a 6.53 earned run average and a 6.19 the year before.
While Tadlock has yet to finalize a starting lineup, he’s been able to assess beyond the base level of what goes into the pitching process. The combination of biomechanics and traditional baseball knowledge has allowed the coaching staff to better analyze players.
A KineticPro was installed to assist players with understanding pitch shapes and
various types of spins. The machine sets players up with a throwing program that allows for improved arm testing by setting the number of pitches they have for the day.
“In my 33 years, I’ve never had access to that,” Tadlock said. “You go look at most major league programs; major league teams are using that maybe once a week. Maybe twice a month. Our guys are using it every day. It’s a different level.”
The coaching staff has held meetings to discuss the utilization of the KineticPro. The science-backed machine will allow coaches to analyze players’ arm strength and determine the soreness of pitchers after a game.
Knowing the arm strength of players will help determine starters for different games across a three-day series, Tadlock said. He added that a player with a stronger arm is in a better position to throw sooner in the series rather than on day three.
As Foster and Gardner look to stabilize the program
on the mound, Tadlock said the experience and knowledge they both bring have been phenomenal.
“There’s a lot of old base-
ball people with experience and wisdom,” Tadlock said. “There’s not a lot of old baseball people that are using the science, and these guys
are using information that’s being used at the highest levels of the game. They’re two of the best in the world.”
By CORY WHITMAN SportS reporter
Early this season, Texas Tech men’s basketball head coach Grant McCasland struggled to find a consistent defensive effort from his team. When shots weren’t falling on offense, frustration often carried over to the other end.
That mentality was challenged prior to Tech’s victory over Duke University on Dec. 20. Beforehand, McCasland made it clear to the team that the defensive standards wouldn’t correlate with offensive production. He said defensive effort would go hand-in-hand with players’ time on the court.
Since the game against the Blue Devils, results of McCasland’s challenge have shown. The Red Raiders have ranked inside the top 10 for defensive efficiency in the country since Dec. 30, according to the Bart Torvick rating scale.
“I just like the willingness and the heart and the connectedness that our guys are looking at me with,” McCasland said. “Early on they were just like, ‘You want me to do what?’ I’m like, ‘Yes that’s what I want you to do.’
And now they’re looking at me like, ‘OK, coach, I got it. This is gonna be really difficult, but I see what you’re saying.’”
Defense in college basketball is rarely an individual effort, with different schemes, switches and rotations constantly in play. However, McCasland said two of his players, with a full season of experience in his system, have laid the foundation for the rest of the team.
way they’re able to communicate with each other, keeps improving quickly.”
I think our defensive awareness and competitiveness and leadership from Christian and JT, that’s where we’ve made the biggest jump.
GRANT MCCASLAND MEN’S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH
He said junior forward JT Toppin and sophomore guard Christian Anderson have been crucial in helping coordinate the defense, helping match intent with effort.
“I think our defensive awareness and competitiveness and leadership from Christian and JT, that’s where we’ve made the biggest jump,” McCasland said. “Those guys’ ownership and how we want to play, and the
Competitiveness wasn’t an issue on defense early in the season, McCasland said. The issues stemmed from playing hard without a specific purpose, leading to fouls and easy baskets for the opposing team. With help from team leaders, McCasland said there’s now an objective behind every defensive possession allowing the players to combine the effort with a motive.
“What we’ve finally merged is our effort, and our competitiveness is matched with an intelligence of understanding what’s happening with the other team,” McCasland said “Not just playing hard for the sake of competing. And now there’s communication. There’s synergy. There’s a connectedness.”
@CoryWhitmanDT
By SOFIA BUENO News editor
Raider Red’s Food Pantry is expecting an increase of student demand as the semester begins.
Raider Red’s Food Pantry is open to all current Texas Tech students and provides supplemental non-perishable food and hygiene items to students facing hardships, according to the Raider Relief Advocacy and Resource Center website.
“Our ultimate mission is just to make sure students are staying fed and focused and that they feel supported in order for them to be successful,” said Isaiah Ortiz, assistant director of the Raider Relief Advocacy and Resource Center who oversees Raider Red’s Food Pantry.
Ortiz said the food pantry experiences ebbs and flows in student usage throughout the academic school year and typically sees an increase during the first few weeks after winter break.
As the semester progresses, the food pantry begins to see
a wider variety of students, including those who have run out of dining plan funds or lost employment as their teaching assistant or resident assistant positions end.
He said international graduate students rely on the food pantry the most — out of the 400 students served last semester, 300 were international graduate students.
Raider Red’s Food Pantry staff members are keeping a close eye on specific trends in student usage, Ortiz said, like rising food prices and federal budgets and programs being cut.
Ortiz said food insecurity can affect students’ academic performance or wellbeing.
“If students are not able to have food, then they’re more worried about where their next food source or meal is going to come from, and that has a heavy impact on them,” Ortiz said.
While scheduling a meeting with Raider Red’s Food Pantry may be uncomfortable or intimidating for students, Ortiz encourages them to reach out,
as the pantry can connect them with additional support.
Any currently enrolled students can seek help at Raider Red’s Food Pantry once a semester with no questions asked by presenting a physical student ID at their time of visit, Ortiz said.
Students who need assistance beyond the first time at Raider Red’s Food Pantry must schedule a meeting with a staff member from the Raider Relief Advocacy and Resource Center to discuss further needs in order to be considered.
“(If) a student is not able to support themselves and they are struggling with food insecurity, chances are that they are going to be struggling with something else that’s tied to a basic need, whether that’s falling behind on paying rent or falling behind on utilities,” Ortiz said.
The Raider Relief Advocacy and Resource Center is a branch of units offering support to students facing hardships with their basic needs, aiming to empower students by easing
Raider
financial, physical and emotional burdens, fostering their well-being and academic success, according to the website. It offers units of resources like the Raider Relief Fund, providing one-time emergency assistance to Tech students facing serious financial hardship threatening their ability to continue their education, and Fostering the Future, which offers support for students who are currently or formerly in
foster care.
“There’s no reason for anybody on this campus to go hungry because we have the resources to help them. Whenever I meet with a student, I always try to ask about it. ‘How are you with food? What does that look like?’ You know, and just kind of normalize it,” said Ashly Collet, a couples, marriage and family therapy doctoral student and research assistant at Raider Relief Advocacy and Resource Center.
Anyone interested in donating to Raider Red’s Food Pantry can email foodpantry@ttu.edu directly to ask what the food pantry is in need of, as it changes from time to time.
Spring 2026 hours for Raider Red’s Food Pantry are posted on the Raider Relief Advocacy and Resource Center website under the About Us tab, and the office is located in Drane Hall 170.
By NOAH DAVILA staff writer
Developers behind Calvano Development, a proposed AI data center in northeast Lubbock, have withdrawn their zoning request, halting the project before it could be considered by the Lubbock City Council.
The withdrawal was confirmed Jan. 16 by proposal advocate John Osborn, president and CEO of the Lubbock Eco-
nomic Development Alliance. The decision came a week after the Lubbock Planning and Zoning Commission voted against recommending the rezoning needed for the project. If passed, the proposal would have developed roughly 936 acres near East Municipal Drive and Loop 289 for a large-scale data center. The development would have required a zoning change due to its industrial nature.
The developers, represented
by Hugo Reed and Associates on behalf of Texas Solarworks LLC, did not publicly disclose details about potential power demands or a construction timeline during the zoning proposal.
Residents who spoke during the Planning and Zoning Commission hearing raised concerns about air quality, noise, water use and the placement of industrial infrastructure near residential neighborhoods.
Brandy Williams, a local
community advocate, highlighted historical inequities in zoning and industrial development.
“Zoning decisions like this continue a pattern that has shaped our community for generations,” Williams said publicly at City Council’s Jan. 8 meeting. “For generations, East and North Lubbock have absorbed a disproportionate share of industrial land use.”
Developers and city representatives stressed that the
data center would not function like a traditional industrial plant.
“This is not an industrial plant producing smokestacks. It’s an enclosed building. The air being emitted is just air-conditioned air,” the Hugo Reed representative said at the Jan. 8 City Council meeting.
“The building would be in the middle of the land, away from neighborhood areas.”
Because of the zoning request’s withdrawal, the larger
proposal will not be advancing to the Lubbock City Council for consideration. LEDA officials said the developers plan to revise the proposal and may submit it at a later date.
“It’s unclear what the applicants plans are going forward,” said Adam Hernandez, community advocate, in an Instagram post. “But thank you to everyone who spoke out, shared posts and contacted the city council!”
@NoahDavDT
