NEWS
LIFE & ARTS
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POLLINATORS REBUILD AFTER DECLINE
TRACK & FIELD BREAKS U.S. AIR FORCE BAND STOPS AT TXST DURING COMMUNITY TOUR RECORDS AT INVITATIONAL
TUESDAY April 7, 2026
VOLUME 115 ISSUE 27
COUNTY COUNTY CITY
State Community, family call Texas hires students over for father’s release from to900watch campus ICE custody cameras UNIVERSITY
By Jakob Salsgiver News Reporter
ARABELLA DICHRISTINA | ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Gerardo Reyes’ daughter, Guadalupe “Lupe” Sarinana, calls for her father to be released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody during Mano Amiga’s press conference, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in front of City Hall. By Arabella DiChristina Assistant News Editor
Community members are advocating for the release of a San Antonio father in ICE custody after San Marcos Police conducted a stop that led to an arrest. SMPD performed a traffic stop on March 14, responding to a report about a missing
FEATURE
15-year-old girl seen with an older man in a pickup truck. The vehicle description matched the truck Gerardo Reyes and his 17-year-old son Esteban Reyes were in, leading to both getting arrested and charged with interfering with an officer’s duty after refusing to exit the vehicle twice. Esteban Reyes was
released on bond shortly after the arrest, while Gerardo Reyes, who is undocumented, was transferred from SMPD to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, according to Gerardo Reyes’ daughter, Guadalupe “Lupe” Sarinana. Mano Amiga, a local advocacy group that supports immigrants and marginalized
families in Hays and Caldwell Counties, organized a press conference on April 2 in front of City Hall, demanding SMPD drop all charges and Gerardo be released from ICE custody. Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra sent a letter to ICE asking that they let Gerardo
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The Texas State University Police Department initiated a campus program, hiring students to monitor around 900 cameras on the San Marcos and Round Rock campuses. “Project Overwatch” will hire students to the UPD dispatch center to observe cameras for the full duration of their shift. Student workers will be on the lookout for incidents so they can directly report them to a dispatcher, without UPD having to wait for a call to come in. The program will not only provide student employment, but could help ensure quicker
SEE CAMERAS PAGE 3
“Pete is basically part of our family”
Local photographer shares bond with ‘Cats softball By Julia Chew Sports Reporter
While competing teams, fans and athletes cycle in and out of Bobcat Softball Stadium through the years, one person is a constant presence. Nearly 20 years ago, Peter Vives, also known as “Photo Pete,” was looking to include more variety in his photography portfolio, specifically women’s sports. On March 11, 2007, an advertisement for a Texas State softball game caught his eye, and he decided to make the drive from San Antonio. From that day, Vives was hooked. “I was like, this is fun,” Vives said. “I came back for
a doubleheader a week or so later and it just bit and stuck with me.” What drew him in was the culture surrounding the program and the environment head coach Ricci Woodard created. He is grateful for the numerous “moments and memories” he’s had with the team. Vives said during his second trip to Bobcat Softball Stadium, he was looking over the photos he took after the game when Woodard approached him. She stopped in the middle of her busy schedule to ask him if he got anything good during the game.
SEE SOFTBALL PAGE 7
AIDEN FRITSCHE | STAR PHOTOGRAPHER
Texas State photographer Peter Vives, better known as Photo Pete, leaves a softball game, March 25, 2026, at Bobcat softball Stadium. Vives captures women’s sports and photographers.
FINE ARTS
Cultural cornerstone: San Marcos Studio Tour grows in fourth year By Carlene Ottah Life and Arts Editor
ABEL BARCENAS | STAR PHOTOGRAPHER
Multimedia artist Alicia Philley stands next to her untitled artwork, Friday, April 3, 2026, at MotherShip Studios.
Art enthusiasts and curious visitors surrounded MotherShip Studios within an hour of the fourth annual San Marcos Studio Tour to explore the local art scene. The San Marcos Studio Tour is a two-weekend event where local artists and art collectives open their creative spaces for the public to visit. MotherShip Studios, a women-built art space that offers studio spaces to local
artists, launched the event last week with a kick-off party on April 3. Rebekah Porter, assistant director at MotherShip Studios, said the studio tour gets people from Central Texas and beyond to see what the San Marcos art scene is all about, ranging from home studios to artist communes. She said she believes the studio tour continues to grow in cultural significance, as she spends less time explaining what it is and more time helping people plan who to
visit and make the most of their experience. “It’s a great way for these artists to not only showcase their skills and the works they make, but showcase where that gets made,” Porter said. According to Porter, MotherShip Studios co-founder Jacqueline Overby developed the studio tour to build a young and vibrant art scene. She realized artists would leave San Marcos to go to Austin or San Antonio once
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