YEAR IN REVIEW ISSUE SEE PAGES 4-9
TUESDAY November 29, 2022
VOLUME 112 ISSUE 15
www.UniversityStar.com
FOOTBALL
ACTIVISM
Spavital fired, position to be filled in coming weeks
Understanding your rights: How Prop A affects TXST students
By Staff The search for the 21st head football coach at Texas State is on after Jake Spavital was fired after four straight losing seasons. The team finished with a 41-13 loss to Louisiana on Nov. 26 and did not achieve bowl eligibility once under Spavital, going 13-35 in four seasons. Since moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2012, the Bobcats have been bowl-eligible twice but have not been selected to participate. Texas State is one of three schools in the FBS to have never participated in a bowl game. Texas State President Kelly Damphousse said that decisions like these are always challenging when dealing with a high-profile position like a head football coach, but assured that it was a professional decision rather than personal. With the position open, Damphousse said that he hopes to have it filled by the end of the week.
SEE FOOTBALL PAGE 3 CRIME
Fight for justice continues for Salyer family By Nichaela Shaheen News Editor After over a year of waiting for justice to be served, Bonnie and Rodney Salyer, parents of deceased Texas State student Austin Salyer, finally await a final court hearing on Jan. 6. On Sept. 16, 2021, Austin was killed by negligent gunfire while sleeping in his apartment at The Lyndon at Springtown Center in San Marcos. George Brown, Austin's neighbor, claimed that around midnight, he accidentally fired his gun while modifying it and speaking on the phone with his father. The gunfire struck Austin through their shared wall while he was in bed. Austin was found the following morning around 11 a.m. on the wall beside his restroom where he had crawled before taking his last breath.
SEE CRIME PAGE 10
By Arthur Fairchild Editor-in-Chief The city ordinance titled Proposition A or Prop A will end arrests and citations for up to four ounces of marijuana in San Marcos by San Marcos Police Officers. The ordinance passed in a landslide victory with an 81.84% vote 'for' the proposition. However, enforcement by state troopers and Hays County sheriffs deputies is not affected by Prop A and those agencies can cite and arrest for any amount of marijuana. Social justice groups Mano Amiga and Ground Game Texas worked in conjunction with local volunteers over the last several months to acquire the over 4,000 signatures required to secure Prop A’s place on the November ballot. The ordinance will not expunge arrest records regarding position of marijuana but will no longer allow police officers to use the smell of marijuana as probable cause for a search. According to Samantha Benavides, director of communications for Mano Amiga, the passing of the proposition is just the beginning. “This campaign is about so much more than the policy itself. It’s about showing our community the power they hold as a collective,” Benavidez said. “We are hopeful that policy change on marijuana enforcement might just be the first step in fundamentally reassessing how we treat drug possession in Hays County.”
On Campus
Despite the victory of advocacy groups in San Marcos, the passing of Prop A raises questions about the possession of marijuana on Texas State property. The university is not affected by Prop A or city ordinace and sets its own drug policy. As it stands, university police officers can issue a citation for any amount of marijuana while on university grounds and refer the student to the Office of Student Conduct. Texas State has not changed any policies regarding marijuana position on campus since the passing of Prop A, but President Kelly Damphousse is planning to revisit the issue at the start of the new year. “I have a belief in the effectiveness of marijuana for all kinds of issues and I think it's important for us to be responsive to that. So, I don't know that we have specific plans right now to make changes, but it certainly is time for us to look into that,” Damphousse said.
Marijuana is still federally illegal and the decision of whether Texas State will consider decriminalizing marijuana has to do with federal funds. The university is awarded federal funding for being a drug-free campus and could risk losing that funding if the policy was changed. “To get federal funding, we have
To get federal funding, we have to be a drug-free campus, and that includes marijuana. Proposition A, what it did was it changed how the San Marcos police can respond. So, I think it's important for our students know that you still cannot have marijuana on campus.” MATTHEW CARMICHAEL TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY POLICE CHIEF
ILLUSTRATION BY DILLON STRINE
A and go, ‘I can have up to four ounces’, leave it in their car, forget it's in their car, drive up to Dallas and on the way be in a traffic stop and for whatever reason that gets discovered. And I think that can be problematic,” Carmichael said. Hays Country District Attorney Kelly Higgins is planning to not prosecute anyone for cases dealing with low-level marijuana possession. According to a statement released by Higgins on his website, Hays County cannot afford to prosecute hundreds of people for marijuana possession annually. “Hays County spends an average of $27,000 per case to prosecute possession of marijuana cases. Each year, 400 to 500 of these cases are initiated in our county. Simple math tells us that we are spending $10,000,000 per year prosecuting people,” Higgins said. "Hays County can no longer afford to spend tens of millions of dollars every year persecuting people for possession of marijuana.” Jordan Buckley, the co-founder of the San Marcos Film Club, a local social justice group, said the university’s current regulations regarding marijuana put students’ education and careers at risk. “International students can get deported. If you get a drug charge, you get kicked out of the country. Of course, for others you know, it's a two-strike penalty. You get kicked off campus," Buckley said.
to be a drug-free campus, and that includes marijuana. Proposition A, what it did was it changed how the San Marcos police can respond. So, I think it's important for our students know that you still cannot have marijuana on campus,” University Police Chief Mathew Carmichael said. Carmichael wants students to fully understand their rights following the passing of Prop A and worries that it could lead to students getting prosecuted outside of San Marcos The University Star will continue to due to a misunderstanding. update this story as more information “A lot of our students, they may becomes available. live part-time in San Marcos, but at some point go home. So, I'd hate to see a student read into Proposition
DANCE
Grupo Folklórico Ocotochtli to present annual showcase By Elijah Cardenas Life and Arts Contributor
Grupo Folklórico Ocotochtli dancers, recereational administration freshman Nancy Cruz and physics graduate student José Perez Chavez, strike a pose in front of Old Main. STAR FILE PHOTO
Evans Performing Arts Auditorium will be lit with golden hues when Grupo Folklórico Ocotochtli (GFO) dancers walk onto the stage, their shoes clacking on wood as they get into position for the opening number. Damas hold their colorful and elaborate skirts in their hands and caballeros fold their hands at their backs. The air hums with anticipation as the dancers wait for their musical cue. Grupo Folklórico Ocotochtli, Texas State's ballet folklórico student organization, will present its annual showcase from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Dec. 3, in Evans Auditorium. The free entry performance will present some familiar and new choreography that the group has mastered this 2022 fall semester. According to Bianka Gonzalez, animal science senior and president of GFO, the group hasn't had a showcase since the pandemic started, making this event especially important to the GFO leaders. "We're preparing this showcase to start off a launch for next year, which is our 30th anniversary," Gonzalez said. "So we're going to try to make [this event] big, and get donations so we can make that possible."
SEE DANCE PAGE 10