TUESDAY
February 7, 2023
VOLUME 112 ISSUE 20 www.UniversityStar.com
FOOTBALL
Bobcats lock up 33 on National Signing Day By David Cuevas Assistant Sports Editor Head coach G.J. Kinne officially announced the 2023 Texas State recruiting class on Feb. 1 on National Signing Day, officially commencing his and his coaching staff's goal to "Take Back Texas." Since being named head coach, Kinne and the coaching staff he assembled went right to work, spending the past two months out on the recruiting trail. It appears their collective hard work has paid off as Texas State managed to sign a promising 33-man recruiting class. “I’m really excited about the guys we added,” Kinne said. “We wanted to add length, wanted to add speed. We had to get some impact guys, guys that could come in and play right away. We felt like we did that to go along with our current roster.”
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Texas State football head coach G.J. Kinne gets introduced at a Texas State men's basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2022. PHOTO BY KOBE ARRIAGA
Veterinarian technician Alex Robbins (left) and PALS office manager Renee Vanderford give a dog a vaccine, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at Prevent a Litter. PHOTO BY ABBY RUSSELL
ANIMALS
Prevent a Litter provides low cost pet services By Christian Martinez News Contributor
On Feb. 3 Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra declared February as spay and neuter awareness month. Prevent a Litter or PALS is a non-profit organization made up of volunteers located in San Marcos to help students with low-
Stray dog brought into PALS after the freeze recieves treatment, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at Prevent a Litter. PHOTO BY ABBY RUSSELL
cost pet needs. The awareness is to help stop free-roaming cats and to promote trap-neuter-return guidelines for strays. PALS provides low-cost spays, neuters, vaccinations, animal food and more. They were created to help stop pet homelessness and pet overpopulation. Lauren Foye, the president, and clinical director of PALS said she wants more people to know about their non-profit and to take advantage of their services. "If you are a certain low-income bracket you can get a spay and neuter for free," Foye said. "If you just qualify outside of that, and you still need to use our service then we have the low-cost option." Foye knows that students love to adopt a pet right away when they get to college since most students are alone for the first time, and she wants people to know that PALS is the place to get their pet set up if needed. "We want to make the students aware on campus that there are options," Foye said. "They get their first apartment and they're super excited to buy a pet, but that comes with a lot of responsibility and a lot of costs."
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COMMUNITY
Common Experience event opens up the discussion about identity By Carlene Ottah Life & Arts Reporter A new Common Experience event, Naturally You, will host conversations about natural hair, discussing what hair means according to ancestry and culture and how society and professionalism play a part in its presentation. Last summer, the Common Experience Leadership Team visited the colleges around campus to brainstorm ideas for events relating to the 20222023 theme, Systems Thinking. During one of these visits, Nabila Cook, senior administrative assistant for the College of Liberal Arts, approached them about a conversation she had with a few Texas State Strutters. They wanted to keep dancing in the program but were asked to style their hair by straightening it to keep participating in the activity. "For many people, their style, their hair represents more than just something that is exterior," Nielson said. "Like, it's connected ... to their family, to their culture, again, to their very being." The team brought the situation to the attention of other faculty and staff, where it was revealed that such experiences on campus were not exclusive to just students. "It allowed for a larger conversation about how can we, you know, support individuals with natural hair so that they have that sense of belonging and how can we draw in a campus-wide
conversation," Camrie Pipper, assistant director of the Common Experience, said. The event's name is a nod to Naturally Y.O.U., a student organization that aimed to help individuals lead a healthy lifestyle while embracing their natural beauty. The organization is currently inactive due to its members graduating. Using the organization's name for the event would help continue what its members worked toward. The event will consist of two parts. The first, a resource fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., will connect students, faculty and staff with community resources like San Marcos salons and stylists, and student organizations and services. The second event, a panel discussion from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., will feature faculty, staff and students sharing their
experiences of navigating natural hair. "This event is celebrating everyone with natural hair and seeing individuals who have to use a scalp routine," Pipper said. "This is also an event for people who wear wigs, not just individuals who are Black. There are many individuals and demographics who wear wigs, so we were trying to ensure that everyone was helping foster that sense of belonging." One of the panelists is Kelley Glover, a third-year doctoral graduate student in the School Improvement Program at Texas State. She was initially on the planning committee for Naturally You but became a panelist when Pipper approached her after she saw her class presentation about growing up in the U.S. and her experiences with internalized racism.
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ILLISTRATION BY AFAFF ALNAHAS
INFOGRAPHIC BY NICHAELA SHAHEEN
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