NEWS
COMMUNITY GATHERS AHEAD OF DATA CENTER VOTE PAGE 2
LIFE & ARTS
SPORTS
CITY SAVORS SAN MARCOS RESTAURANTS WITH EVENT
SOFTBALL BEGINS CAMPUS TITLE DEFENSE
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TUESDAY
February 3, 2026 VOLUME 115 ISSUE 19
FEATURE
Celebrating 115 years of Journalism Excellence
TXST Welcomes
TWO NEW PAWFFICERS By Arabella DiChristina Life and Arts Contributor
Pawfficer Mando
Content warning: this contains discussion of suicide.
Pawfficer Mando and Pawfficer Baloo get badged during their swearing in ceremony, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, at LBJ Student Center. PHOTOS BY LESLIE BELLO | STAR PHOTOGRAPHER
Pawfficer Baloo
story
Between the applause and wagging tails, Mando and Baloo could hardly contain their excitement as they prepared to be sworn in as Texas State’s newest “pawfficers.” This ceremony marks not only a commitment to uphold the law but also a major milestone in an officer’s career, where they make the formal transition from recruit to officer. On Jan. 28, the University Police Department (UPD) welcomed two new therapy dog officers: Mando and Baloo. Mando is a two-to-three-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer, while Baloo is a year-old black lab mix. However, their ages and breeds are uncertain because both are from a shelter in Florida. Eric Algoe, executive vice president for operations and chief financial
officer, said it’s easy to get lost behind the cuteness factor of the therapy dogs, but they are helpful in many aspects of student health. “They’ve only been here with us now for just a very short period of time, and we had a terrible incident since they arrived: A student committed suicide off campus,” Algoe said. “The therapy dogs were able to be deployed at the scene and to help with the people there, to help with that situation, to help diffuse things.” Police officer Kendra Marsteller and Pawfficer Brady moved to Del Valle ISD in July 2025, due to the officer’s well-being and health, allowing Mando and Baloo to become the two new therapy K-9 units. Algoe said therapy dogs, like Mando and Baloo, are tools to help law enforcement make connections with students in need and break down barriers within the situation.
SEE DOGS PAGE 6
Black student orgs discuss DEI San Marcos Buc-ee’s set changes, Black History Month to open in UNIVERSITY
CITY
July 2026
By Blake Leschber Editor-in-Chief
One year after Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order to ban DEI initiatives from state agencies, Black students at Texas State experience its effects on and off campus. Monay Stallworth, vice president of Black Women United and business management junior, said the removal of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives feels like a reversal of decades of social change. “It’s sad to see replications of the past in a way,” Stallworth said. “I think it’s also motivating because we have to be bigger; we have to do something bigger than ourselves at the end of the day. We have to go out and make change.” On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, less than two weeks before the start of Black History Month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion declaring some DEI policies unconstitutional and suggesting that private companies that engage in DEI practices would open themselves up to “legal liability under state and federal law.” Chisom Ezeonu, senator of the Texas State National Society of Black
By Jakob Salsgiver News Reporter
MEG BOLES | MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
Vice president of Black Women United and business management junior Monay Stallworth (center right) shares information about Black Women United with students at the Student Involvement Fair, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, at LBJ Student Center. Black Women United was established in 2003, and is a social club that seeks to empower and educate women of all ethnicities.
Engineers (NSBE) and computer information systems senior, said DEI repeals are already impacting the conventions the organization goes to. “Even at our whole regional conferences in Houston, we saw a lot of companies pulling out, taking away sponsorship and funding for our
organization,” Ezeonu said. Ezeonu said he’s nervous about the upcoming national NSBE convention in Baltimore and what it will look like for the students attending.
SEE DEI PAGE 3
The new San Marcos Buc-ee’s location is set to open in July, according to Buc-ee’s Media Coordinator Crissy Gonzales. Gonzales wrote in an email to The Star that staff are eager to welcome San Marcos patrons. The location was approved by the city during a March 5, 2024 San Marcos City Council meeting “We are aiming for a projected opening date of July 2026,” Gonzales wrote. “Buc-ee’s is dedicated to offering a ‘clean, friendly, and in-stock experience’ for all our customers.” San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson said Buc-ee’s would bring multiple benefits to San Marcos, including city taxation benefits, no rebates on sales tax and over 200 jobs. Hughson said the building would be an investment of $50 million, with $5.9 million in property tax paid over a period of 15 years, as well as half of the store’s sales tax. The store will be about 74,000 square feet.
SEE CONSTRUCTION PAGE 2
Department of Education proposes new ruling to flag ‘lower earning’ programs UNIVERSITY
By Arabella DiChristina Assistant News Editor
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will now flag “lower-earning” institutions when first-time undergraduates apply for
aid, which could impact some Texas State programs. The Department of Education launched a new earnings indicator, where if an institution’s graduates don’t earn more than an adult aged 25-34 with a high school diploma in that institution’s state, it will be flagged
as a “lower earning” program when a student selects it as their interested institution on the application. If a program is deemed “lower earning” for two to three consecutive years, the program will lose direct loan eligibility for two years according to the document acquired by The Star.
The FAFSA changes won’t go into effect until July 1, 2026, with the earliest programs losing their direct loan eligibility on July 1, 2028.
SEE FINANCIAL AID PAGE 3