TUESDAY April 23, 2024 VOLUME 114 ISSUE 28 www.UniversityStar.com
Earth Day celebration highlights resources and sustainability By Blake Leschber News Editor The Meadows Center hosted the 11th Annual Earth Day Festival to honor the unique environment of San Marcos and to bring awareness to sustainable practices in residents' daily lives. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Spring Lake, the festival housed over 40 vendors and served as a way to connect students and residents to the local environment, according to Miranda Wait, deputy director of Spring Lake at The Meadows Center. Wait said the event was in the works since last year and was planned with one common goal: to connect both city residents and Texas State students with the environment they live in. “There’s not a lot of community events in San Marcos that include the university and the city,” Wait said. “When you think of the San Marcos River, it doesn’t just go through the university or just through the city; we’re all responsible for it.” At the beginning of the festival, the Indigenous Cultures Institute blessed the river. According to Bobbie GarzaHernandez, member of the MiakanGarza Band of the Coahuiltecan and community pilam for the Indigenous Cultures Institute, the river is a sign of life for the tribe and treating it with respect is crucial for their culture.
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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DJ ROSS
City parking fines increase in SMTX By Eleanor Munoz News Contributor Effective April 19, San Marcos parking fines more than doubled for the first time since 2003. According to City Marshal's Parking Coordinator Samantha Deyo, parking fines increased due to city-wide problems, such as non-compliance with downtown parking rules. Deyo said level one violations increased from $20 to $50, level two violations increased from $30 to $100 and level three violations increased from $50 to $250. Level four violations comply with the state standard, so the fine fee remains $500, according to Deyo. Deyo said the Parking Advisory Board studied parking fines from nearby cities compared to San Marcos, and San Marcos' parking violation rates were the lowest of surrounding cities such as New Braunfels, Fredericksburg and Austin. "There's generally over-utilization of downtown street parking that's in excess of posted time limits," Deyo said. According to the resolution the Parking Advisory Board presented to the city council on June 6, 2023, the board "expects the increase in realized consequences for violating the city's parking regulations to result in increased compliance and orderly management of the city's limited public parking resources."
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“We are the stewards of the river, without water humanity cannot exist,” Garza-Hernandez said. “So we believe that it is our responsibility to be good stewards of not only the land but especially the river because it’s our water and making sure our generations down the line can continue to exist.” According to Garza-Hernandez, the Indigenous Cultures Institute is working on building a community building right by The Meadows Center and wants residents and students to be aware of the Indigenous community that occupies San Marcos. Garza-Hernandez said the institute’s goal of the event was to bring awareness to the community about the sacred nature of the river. Courtney Lyons-Garcia, parks & trails specialist for the Great Springs Project said the purpose of Earth Day is to connect the community with the environment they live in. “[The goal is] making sure the community understands the big gifts that they have and to create an environment in the community that wants to protect them,” Lyons-Garcia said. “Getting all of these amazing organizations out that do different things to help and showing the community how they can be a part is critical to move forward.” San Marcos is situated in a unique area of Hays County, adding to the importance of Earth Day for residents and students, Wait said.
San Marcos to develop new park
PHOTO BY MAYA CONTRERAS
The Quail Creek Country Club sign is overtaken by weeds and trees, Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Marcos.
The largest regional park in the city will take place of Quail Creek Golf Course. By Candace Taggart News Reporter The city of San Marcos is planning to build its largest regional park on the site of the former Quail Creek Golf Course, following the property's annexation.
At its April 2 meeting, San Marcos City Council approved the second reading of Ordinance 2024-13, a proposal to annex approximately 176 acres of the city-owned, east-side Quail Creek land to turn into a park with amenities. Director of Parks and Recre-
ation Jamie Lee Case said the city's current largest parkland is the riverfront parks along the San Marcos River, totaling about 120 acres. However, these parks are spread out, while the Quail Creek park will be a single property that will offer amenities to people who live in East San Marcos.
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McCloud gets comfortable, profitable with first NIL deal By Jacob De Luna, Jalan Tolliver Sports Reporters
PHOTO BY NATHALIE YANEZ
Senior transfer quarterback Jordan McCloud signs autographs for fans following the Texas State football spring game, Saturday, April 13, 2024, at Bobcat Stadium.
The reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Jordan McCloud, transferred to Texas State on Tuesday, March 26th. McCloud said this past Saturday’s spring game went well, even after facing adversity early in the day. “I thought it was a good day, we started kind of slow but we bounced back," McCloud said. "We had a few scoring drives in a row.
That’s a part of football and you can’t let it hold you back for the rest of the game.” According to McCloud, the community and team at Texas State are loveable factors that coincide well and make a good football team. “I love the town, I love the people and the team,” McCloud said. “We are gelling together and the offense is very explosive and fast. We are gonna score a lot of points.” After previous rumors of transferring to Auburn for his final year, McCloud said he’s unsure of why the Auburn rumors arose.
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