NEWS
NEWS MUNICIPAL COURT RELOCATES
TEXAS STATE CONDUCTS INTERNAL PARKING AUDIT
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SPORTS
FOOTBALL PREPARES FOR RED WOLVES PAGE 7
TUESDAY
September 30, 2025 VOLUME 115 ISSUE 8
UNIVERSITY
TXST to reinstate professor after court order PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MEG BOLES, RYAN CLAYCAMP & ARABELLA DICHRISTINA
By Ryan Claycamp News Editor
Texas State will reinstate associate history professor Tom Alter, pending a “due process hearing” after a Hays County judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to block Alter’s termination. 483rd District Judge Alicia Key
issued the order on Friday, Sept. 26, writing that Alter’s defense showed a strong likelihood that he would win the case. The TRO requires the university to follow the summary dismissal policies under the TSUS and Regulations Section 4.53 and Section 51.942 of the Texas Education Code. Both the TSUS Rules and Regulations
FINE ARTS
and the Texas Education Code require a hearing before dismissal of a tenured professor. “Before being summarily dismissed, a faculty member will be provided with written notice of the allegations against the faculty member together with an explanation of the evidence supporting dismissal and an
opportunity for the faculty member to respond to the allegations in a hearing with an administrator designated by the President,” Section 4.531 of the TSUS Rules and Regulations states. According to Amanda Reichek, Alter’s attorney, the reinstatement is pending the due process hearing, not the final outcome of the lawsuit.
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Designer reflects on Selena’s legacy at Wittliff By Linae Lewter Life and Arts Contributor
“The Selena Effect,” an exhibit celebrating the enduring allure and inspiration of Selena QuintanillaPérez, opened on August 8 at the The Wittliff Collections. The exhibit seeks to capture the effect of her mythic appeal. To welcome the collection of photographs, art and fashion memorabilia, The Wittliff invited Martin Gomez, Selena’s fashion designer and close confidant, for a special conversation on Sept. 25. He sat with Hector Saldaña, The Wittliff’s music curator, with an image of his ISABELLE CANTU | ASSISTANT MULTIMEDIA EDITOR late friend projected above them. Hector Saldaña (left) ,The Wittliff’s music curator, sits with Martin Gomez (right), Gomez first met Selena in June Selena’s fashion designer and close confidant, during The Selena Effect, Thursday, 1993 at the Sunrise Mall. He had Sept. 25, 2025, in the Alkek Teaching Theater. The event celebrated and discussed recently moved to Corpus Christi, Selena’s life as a Mexican-American Tejano superstar.
when he saw her at a café. At the time, Gomez was on track to become an executive designer at Dillard’s. He approached her because her beauty and style “took [his] breath away.” “I was infatuated with fashion, and I had not ever seen someone like her in Corpus Christi,” Gomez said. “I remember gasping, looking directly at my friend and colleague, Roseanne, and saying, ‘Wow, who’s that?’” Gomez and Selena instantly connected from their shared passion for design. She implored him to design for her. He was committed to his executive career path at Dillard’s yet wanted to help her achieve her dreams. She pursued the talent and spark she saw in him, and after four months, her tenacity convinced him. Together, they
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FEATURE
Texas State alumnus ‘pushes pickles’ and positivity By Cara Cervenka Life and Arts Reporter
Among the coolers of snacks and drinks usually in Sewell Park, Rodrick Hockley carries one filled with bags of homemade pickles. What makes Hockley, a former Bobcat cornerback from 2020-23, stand out isn’t his football past or the pickles themselves, but the way he’s blended both into campus life. From handing out pickle bags on campus to stocking local convenience stores, Hockley turned a middle-school hobby into a business that became part of the San Marcos community.
“[San Marcos] is actually where I built my foundation in general,” Hockley said. “I do have a following back home in Galveston, but the support here was different. [It’s] just that atmosphere. So, to have the opportunity to be out here when people are going to push me up to, I can’t run from that.” In middle school, Hockley wanted to make money, so he would bring pickle bags to class and sell them to his classmates and football teammates. Hockley was close with his grandmother and initially learned the recipe from her because he liked her sweet and spicy take on the pickles. Hockley MAYA CONTRERAS | STAR PHOTOGRAPHER continued to grow his new hobby, testing flavors and Rodrick Hockley (right) sells his grandmother’s realizing people loved what he made.
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homemade sweet-and-spicy pickles for his business Pickley Pickles, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, at Sewell Park.