NEWS NEW DISTRICTS SET FOR TEXAS VOTERS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS PAGE 2
OPINION
SPORTS
SEEING GROWTH AS A POSITIVE FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
HUML PROMOTED TO DIRECTOR OF HITTING
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TUESDAY
September 1, 2026 VOLUME 115 ISSUE 35
Remembering Home
COMMUNITY
Nepali students show strength in the face of tradegy By Cady Clements Life & Arts Editor
PHOTO COURTSEY OF THE NEPALESE STUDENT ASSOCIATION
For Prashant Panta, one of the hardest parts of the devastating flooding in Nepal is knowing his home will never look the same, a sentiment shared by hundreds of international Texas State students. Flooding and landslides in Northern Nepal caused devastating damage Wednesday morning after a glacial collapse, leaving hundreds dead and over a thousand still missing, according to the BBC. At Texas State, the large Nepali student population is coordinating efforts to help their home, even while being over 8,000 miles away. The Nepalese Student Association (NSA), a resource hub and community for Nepali students at Texas State, held an emergency meeting Monday to show support for
FOOTBALL
All Eyes on TXST: ‘Cats to take on No. 5 Texas By Ayden Oredson Sports Editor
For the first time in nearly a century, Texas State football will travel to Austin, opening its inaugural Pac-12 season against one of the best teams in the nation: the No. 5 Texas Longhorns. Despite being just 31 miles apart, the schools have not faced off since a devastating Longhorns win in 1930. Both schools have taken drastically different paths, but they are meeting when the hype around both programs is at an all-time high. Texas State is fielding an impressive offense with a standout quarterback and receiving core, but Texas’ resources and star-studded roster make this season opener quite possibly the hardest game the Bobcats have ever played. The prelude
In January 2020, Texas and Texas State signed a contract to play each other, with the Longhorns paying the Bobcats $1.2 million, according to documents obtained by The Star. There is a considerable, obvious gap between the two schools. Typically, large power programs will pay smallbudget schools a large amount in what is referred to as a “guarantee game,” in a one-time match-up on the bigger team’s turf to tune up their program. The Longhorns are a perennial contender and among the most elite of the college football world. They have been quite successful recently under head coach Steve Sarkisian, with threestraight 10-win seasons and back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances in 23’ and 24’, narrowly missing the playoffs last year. The Bobcats’ story certainly doesn’t mirror Texas’, but it does rhyme in some ways. Head coach G.J. Kinne, who
GOVERNMENT
affected students and their families, and what members can do to help. Panta, a computer science senior and student advisor for NSA, spent days after the flooding hit Nepal coordinating efforts to comfort the organization and raise funds for the community. “You want to help, but there’s [only] so much you can do from here,” Panta said. “Even the people in Nepal, also, there’s [only] so much they can do.” For many students, the best way to help is to listen. Panta said his family was unaffected, but the village his mother grew up in, Nuwakot, was completely washed away. “A part of my childhood is gone,” Panta said. “Before moving to the U.S., I thought next time I’ll visit the countryside, and I’ll see it, but there is no next time.”
SEE NEPAL PAGE 7
TRANSPORTATION
City, TXST approves contract with Lime scooters By Fernanda Sauceda News Contributor
Texas State and the San Marcos City Council approved a partnership AYDEN OREDSON | SPORTS EDITOR with the owners of Lime to make Texas State junior wide reciever Beau scooters accessible to residents, Sparks (11) hauls in a catch, Saturday, students and visitors of San Marcos. Nov. 22, 2025, at UFCU Stadium. Scooters are expected to begin operating on Sept. 1, after Texas State’s arrived in 2023, has breathed new Sustainability Department executed a life into the program, including three- contract with Lime to allow scooters in straight bowl game victories. designated areas around campus, and after the city council approved their partnership with Lime on Aug. 18. SEE PREVIEW PAGE 6 Emma Parsley, program manager for the Office of Sustainability, said in an email to The Star that the agreement is intended to support Texas State’s sustainability efforts by expanding the transportation options available to Bobcats. The ridership data will be shared with both the city and Texas State. “That information can help the university and city understand how the service is being used and evaluate its role within the overall transportation system,” Parsley wrote. The agreement hopes to provide alternative transoportation, particularly for shorter trips around campus. During the meeting, it was stated that the new agreement with Lime will operate using the same map as SPIN ,with the addition of the east side of the interstate. San Marcos previously had a contract with SPIN, a dockless scooter STAR FILE PHOTO company; the contract ended on June San Marcos locals protest the building 30, 2025.
State Senator expects dispute to data center ban By Ca’Myah Robinson News Reporter
Citing non-compliance with state law, a state senator is expecting a challenge to San Marcos’ citywide data ban. Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), referencing House Bill 2559, which limits cities from placing a pause or moratorium on property developments, as a possible challenge. San Marcos became the first city in Texas to ban data centers at its June 16 meeting, where the council voted 4-3 to ban data centers from the Land Development Code after listening to community input throughout months of public hearings. Similarly, Hood County placed a moratorium on data center development in their area. Bettencourt
sent a letter stating counties don’t have the power granted by the state to do so, citing HB 2559 as his reasoning. The legal threat led to Hood County rejecting the moratorium. HB 2559 is a state law created to limit how local governments can place a ban on property development, according to the Texas Legislature. Due to San Marcos banning data centers from its development code, Bettencourt said he expects this to be challenged legally due to the rules of HB 2559, according to an interview with the Texas Tribune.
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of a new data center, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2026 at San Marcos City Hall. The data center was denied in a 5-2 vote.
SEE SCOOTERS PAGE 2