News: Crime on Campus SEE PAGE 2
Opinion: Thanksgiving Break
Life and Arts: Pokemon
Star Snaps
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TUESDAY
November 15, 2022
VOLUME 112 ISSUE 14
www.UniversityStar.com
FOOTBALL
A SECOND CHANCE: Spears' life changed by By David Cuevas Sports Reporter
The opportunity to play Division I collegiate football is not something Texas State redshirt junior safety Tory Spears takes for granted, knowing that it can all be gone in an instant. Spears, a Bobcat since 2020, is a fixture in the Bobcat defense, and while working toward getting his degree in criminal justice and potentially hearing his name called in the upcoming NFL draft, he was excelling by many standards. On July 28, 2022, disaster struck, changing his outlook on life forever. Spears and his girlfriend were driving down I-35 when they encountered major traffic. Sitting in traffic with his hazard lights flashing, an oncoming vehicle collided head-on with the rear of Spears' vehicle, totaling both vehicles. “I’m coming down over a hill and I see the car in front of me put the hazards on,” Spears said. “So, I put mine [hazards] on, but I always keep my head on a swivel I look up and see a red pickup truck just flying.” Spears said his initial instinct immediately following the collision was to make sure his girlfriend was okay. After confirming this, he kicked open the passenger door, allowing them to safely climb out of the car. The driver of the truck, an elderly woman, was also not seriously injured according to Spears. Spears categorized the injuries he sustained in the accident as minor and did not have to miss any time on the field as a result of it, something that to this day remains a mystery to him. “I don’t even really understand it,” Spears said. “I don’t know what a car wreck is supposed to feel like, but I know I’m not supposed to walk out without a scratch on me. I can thank God for that.”
near death experience
Texas State junior safety Tory Spears (12) looks downfield while his teammates regroup for the next play, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, at Hancock Whitney Stadium. PHOTO BY VANESSA BUENTELLO
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COMMUNITY
Local nonprofits provide Thanksgiving meals to fight food insecurity Ben Middleton Life and Arts Reporter A pantry full of ingredients and a roster full of volunteers is all Hays County residents need to serve their communities this Thanksgiving. Hays County Food Bank's Turkeys Tackling Hunger and Operation Turkey are ensuring everyone has a meal for the holiday by providing some relief for families facing food insecurity. “Many people, even in September and October, start calling and asking, ‘When can we sign up for this?'” Iris Tate, the community relations coordinator of the Hays County Hays County Food Bank volunteers unload meal kits at Turkeys Tackling Hunger Food Bank, said. “I feel like really just Distribution event, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, at the Bobcat Stadium parking lot. keeping that tradition going and kind PHOTO BY BEN MIDDLETON of letting our clients have the relief of knowing this is just one less thing that they need to pay for around the turkey pozole,” Tate said. “So, it really holiday season.” gives them the opportunity to explore and create together and sit around a "If [students] know that table.” The planning for Turkeys Tackling their friend or their famHunger began in February. Hays ily could benefit from not County Food Bank works with the having to worry about pay- Central Texas Food Bank to buy all of the ingredients at a discounted price. ing for ingredients, they They have also received $50,000 in can spread the word and donations from local companies to tell their classmates that make the campaign successful. Each Thanksgiving meal costs $30. this is a resource." Hays County Food Bank relies on community fundraising to be able IRIS TATE to afford the 1,500 meals. Tate said Community Relations Coordinator, Hays students can help by donating and County Food Bank getting the word out about Turkeys Tackling Hunger. The Hays County Food Bank’s “If [students] know that their friend 16th annual Turkeys Tackling Hunger or their family could benefit from campaign will provide 1,500 meal kits not having to worry about paying for for this Thanksgiving. The food bank ingredients, they can spread the word knows the importance of cooking and tell their classmates that this is a holiday meals together for some resource,” Tate said. families which is why it provides uncooked ingredients in the meal kits. This way families can spend time in the kitchen with loved ones and cook SEE COMMUNITY their food to their liking. PAGE 6 The kit will include a 14 to 16-pound frozen turkey, shelf-stable goods like pumpkin filling and cranberry sauce and fresh produce including potatoes, carrots and green beans. “While some people make just a classic turkey, other families that have different traditions can make like a INFOGRAPHIC BY MARISA NUNEZ
Local artists Jill and Robert Pankey in their studio in Buda, Texas. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT PANKEY
Local couple celebrates indivduality, creativty in artwork Haley Velasco Assistant Life and Arts Editor Married in 1989, Jill and Robert Pankey they knew that their love for art would open new opportunities that they could endure together. Now, the Pankey's have both of their art displayed in galleries in Sante Fe, New Mexico, Coronado Island, California and Buda and Bernie, Texas, have a published coffee table book and a current art show in Buda. Jill, a Texas State alumna and former senior lecturer in the School of Art and Design, co-owned Aerobics Plus Fitness at Corpus Christi in the late '80s, creating designs for marketing and t-shirts. Robert, who is currently a Texas State kinesiology professor, was a professor of kinesiology at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi at the time. The couple met in a fitness class at Aerobics Plus in which Robert was a guest speaker and the rest was history. "We're not very common when it comes to the art dual couples," Robert said. "There's not a lot of married people that both have interest in art, so it's kind of a limited dichotomy."
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