Last Story

Texas State Students Talk Holiday Traditions
By: Gabriela Perez

SAN MARCOS- Texas State University students share their favorite holiday events and traditions as winter break approaches and school comes to an end.

As the temperatures slowly drop and decorations begin appearing almost over night, students at Texas State University anticipate the arrival of the last day of class.

For many students, this means cramming test material days before their finals in preparation for the holiday season. For others, this means events, parties and a lot of shopping.

“Formal with my Theta Chi Fraternity Brothers is my favorite tradition. It's not a holiday party but I always felt like it was in the holiday spirit. It usually lands on the last week of class in December and kicks off the Christmas break for us,” said Enrique Rodriguez Del Bosque a senior at Texas State when asked about his favorite holiday tradition.

Several students have traditions of their own they look forward to every holiday season.

  

“My roommates and I throw an ugly Christmas sweater party every year after finals. We give out a price to the person with the ugliest sweater, its sort of become our way of celebrating the holidays and end of the semester all together,” said Cole Heck, a junior at Texas State.

Others enjoy the annual events and holiday entertainment San Marcos has to offer.

Meegan Moore an advertising major of Texas State said, “I’ve been going to Sights and Sounds the last few years and its become a yearly thing for me. It’s just nice to be able to take a little break from everything and get a feel for the holiday season.”

Sights and Sounds of Christmas is a festival held in San Marcos every December, several students and families attend it every year. Other events in the area include, Santa’s Vilage in the San Marcos Civic Center which partakes in an annual tree lighting.

*All Photos Taken By: Gabriela Perez

Last Story - Pros and Cons of Owning a Dog

By Jason Lanthier

Jal244@txstate.edu

Puppies and dogs, we all adore them. They can be a person’s workout partner, lazy Sunday evening couch partner and our best friend, but sometimes these furry friends of ours can take a whole lot of work to have around.

Wensley Guthrie

If you’re in the market for a dog and don’t know which to chose, you’re in luck. There are close to 340 different breeds of dogs on this planet for you to choose from. Before you go out looking for a dog you might want to do some research first. Some research questions to ask are, smartest breeds, breeds least likely to shed, how big certain breeds get and average behavior of a certain breed. Research is the number one thing a dog buyer can do prior to making the purchase.

There is a great deal of people with many different thoughts on purchasing and owning a dog.

Kurt Lanthier

 “Hope has really helped ground me and give me more of a set routine. I feel like having the extra responsibility has really matured me,” says Wensley Guthrie, a 21-year-old student at Texas State University. It is interesting to see this kind of viewpoint from a young adult who is still juggling multiple activities a day while still caring for a dog.

Along with almost anything else in the world, dogs have their cons.

 “Having a dog can limit your freedom and your ability to come and go as you please. Don’t get me wrong, I love having a dog around the house, but sometimes she knows how to really push my buttons,” Says Kurt Lanthier, a long time dog owner and father of three.

Tyler Ware

“My favorite part about owning a puppy is how great of a companion it is. I love having Palmer around me at all times while at home. One downfall to owning a dog is the expense that comes with it. The food, vet care and accessories can all add up. The goods definitely outweigh the bad,” says Tyler Ware, a 20-year-old Texas State student.

Owning a dog will ensure its ups and downs, but nonetheless a dog will be a great friend that will always be around.

Racist group posts violent messages in Texas State bathrooms

By Ben Mcinnis

bmcinnis3@gmail.com

(956) 205-3751

On Nov. 9, fliers found posted in Texas State University bathrooms expressed white supremacist sentiments and called for the torture of university leaders who advocate increased diversity on college campuses.

The author of the fliers hailed the election of Donald Trump and the takeover by Republicans of the United States Congress as an opportunity for “vigilante squads” to “arrest and torture those deviant university leaders spouting all of this diversity garbage."

 This message was printed on one of the fliers alongside a picture of four armed men striking a menacing pose in front of an American flag. Two other fliers contained rambling essays using dark humor to describe fantasies of illegal immigrants being killed and forced into slavery. 

The literature was allegedly posted by a Pro-Trump organization called the “Texas State Vigilantes”. The group made its debut with this stunt and little is known about it apart from the views expressed in its fliers.

Rightly, some students here at Texas State are quite alarmed by the rhetoric used in the fliers. Hispanic students, like finance major Christian Castaneda are particularly worried about the possibility of racially motivated attacks against them by the group that posted the fliers. “Whoever wrote that stuff is obviously really sick. They said they want to see people get killed. We should take their threats seriously, ” said Castaneda.

The 2016 Presidential Election has caused great upheaval on college campuses across America and Texas State has been no different. Following the victory by President-elect Donald Trump, students took to the quad en-masse to denounce the results. Pro-Trump forces have offered little in the way of public demonstration at Texas State until now.

Many are blaming such expressions of hatred on the chaotic state of American political discourse during the election. Some Texas State students, like geography major Will Keeter attribute the actions of groups like the Texas State Vigilantes to the prevalence of inflammatory rhetoric on social media. "Propaganda on social media is leading people to behave irrationally, " he said.

Although instances like this are bringing attention to the racially-charged statements made by groups endorsing the President-elect, some are quick to defend Trump against accusations of bigotry. Many, like nursing major Phillip Oser do not believe Trump should be held responsible for the extreme views of his supporters. "Trump supporters take things a bit too far sometimes but Trump is not the racist that people think he

is, " said Oser.

The most important question raised by this incident is who wrote and proliferated these fliers. University Police are investigating the incident as a criminal act and they are confident they will be successful in apprehending the perpetrators. Until then, Texas State students are waiting on edge for the next outrageous act of political expression on their campus and hoping that like this time, it is only words.

Career Fair (Optional last story)

Mass Communication Career Fair

By Dionna Womack

October 18, 2016

 

LBJ Student Center- Location of Career Fair

*Image accredited to Texas State University

           On October 18, 2016 the school of Mass Communication and Journalism hosted a career fair held in the LBJ Ballroom.

With more than 50 employers in attendance; many Texas State students were able able to meet and talk with potential employers in their prospective fields. Whether it be in TV, radio, or managing the social media for a large organization, this fair was the place to be.

            The first vendor interviewed was an employer of Enterprise. Known predominately as a car renting service, this company is great for students seeking to have an internship dealing with accounting and/or management. The vendor was adamant in saying that Enterprise was a great place to start your career before you graduate, “We’re a proven training ground, where every day you’ll be on the job learning, gaining real-world experience and getting paid.”

Official Texas State logo

*Image accredited to Texas State University

            The second vendor in attendance was SXSW. Recognizable by their music festivals and conferences that celebrate film and music this was probably the most sought after table throughout the whole fair and thus questions (and answers) were a little difficult to attain. When speaking over the large crowd the vendor was very outspoken about what a career with SXSW could mean to recent graduates. Known predominately for their music festivals, this company is involved in many things such as: logistics, production, marketing, advertising, programming, design, and accounting.

Official Logo Mass Communication Week logo

*Image accredited to Texas State University

            The last vendor questioned was iHeart Media. Known predominately for their radio station, iHeart Radio, iHeart Media is the leading media and entertainment company
with the largest reach of any digital, radio, outdoor or television entity in the U.S. or so says the speaker. He was also adamant in saying, “We are
always on the lookout for innovative people to help grow our brands”, those brands including: iHeartMedia, Clear Channel Outdoor, Katz Media Group, Total Traffic & Weather Network (TTWN), Premiere Networks and RCS.  This company is also involved in many things and seems to hold an endless amount of position for recent graduates who have a degree in any of the following fields such as: statistics, production, marketing, advertising, programming, design, and accounting.

            Texas State strives to assist their students with finding careers. If you’d like more information, go on the official Texas State website or look into the following information provided below:

 http://www.careerservices.txstate.edu/

Diverse Sources Story Assignment: Tanner Murphy

Does campus carry make campus scary?

By: Tanner Murphy

trm92@txstate.edu

Throughout the state and even across the nation, news of the recently implemented campus carry laws within Texas universities has polarized students, parents and educators alike. Starting on August 1^st, licensed gun-owners 21 years of age or older may now legally carry concealed firearms on college campuses. The consequences of such a law remain to be seen, but that hasn’t stopped people from forming strong opinions on the matter.

Elisa Castro, Texas State Senior
Photo by: Tanner Murphy 

While the right to carry concealed handguns has overjoyed many supporters of the 2^nd Amendment, others express concern for their safety.

“I get that this whole thing is supposed to make people feel more protected, but that doesn’t apply to everybody,” said Elisa Castro, a psychology major from Texas State University. “I’m a minority. A pansexual Hispanic feminist. I shouldn’t have to be afraid to be myself because some hick with a gun might get offended by my existence.”

Others, like Texas State freshman Amanda Livingston, take a more empathetic stance.

Amanda Livingston,
Texas State Freshman
Photo by: Kim Livingston

“I think it’s really sad that some people feel endangered enough to feel the need to have a gun,” she says. “It’s a shame to think that nobody feels safe anymore and that there are people in this world willing to hurt others and scare them into feeling vulnerable.”

It should be noted that certain restrictions to this law have been put into place, such as prohibiting firearms from certain locations on campus and reserving the right to deny them at campus events.

A few of these campus carry naysayers had some concessions to make, however. Upon being asked to provide an argument to the contrary of her stance, freshman Leigh Anne Crowell had a few humorous words to say in defense of the people who choose to exercise their right to bear arms.

Leigh Anne Crowell
Texas State Freshman
Photo by: Tanner Murphy

“The only thing I can think of at the moment would be to protect us from this bizarre clown epidemic,” said Crowell, before backing up her original argument by saying, “seeing as there aren’t typically a bunch of masked crazies on the loose I really don’t believe that this new policy is at all necessary.”

For a closer look at all of the policies and restrictions regarding campus carry at Texas State, check out their campus carry webpage.

Confidence or Concern? 

An article on Campus Carry 

By Dionna Womack 
Dcw57@txstate.edu

 SAN MARCOS, TEXAS- A public Texas University has implemented a campus carry policy onto a populace that has very mixed views on the subject matter.

Texas legislation signed a bill (SB 11) on June 1, 2015 that permits individuals to carry a concealed handgun on public university grounds. On August 1, 2016 Texas State University put that bill into action. As long as the individual has a concealed handgun license and is over the age of 21 he or she is legally able to carry a gun on campus.

 For some students, this new Texas legislation is a cause of concern. For others, they are more worried about the clowns roaming on campus than concealed handguns.

 Mario Flores is one of the students more concerned about the latter. Flores supports the decision but when asked about his opinion on whether or not concealed handguns should be permitted on campus Flores had this to say.

“It’s good in theory but not smart. Fact of the matter is most people in college are under a lot more stress than the average person.”

Texas State Graduate student, TJ Young, opposes the bill be cause he worries more so about the mental stability of Texas State Students and how it may affect their ability to handle a firearm.

“I feel like with the huge onset of mental health issues on campus, having a weapon in the hands of those who might not know when they need to seek help, or find an outlet, and having a weapon in their hands could be extremely dangerous.”

Alicia Dorado, Texas State Senior, is supportive of the new bill but has some points of concern. Dorado said she has some,” reservations about the fear that it may inflict upon students who do not feel safe learning in an environment where such things are permissible.” Alicia adds that there should be “safe zones” on campus such as residence halls, the counseling center and Alkek Library.

Texas State hears the concerns of their students and has posted resources on their site including a list of campus "Safe Zones" as well as an entire page dedicated to Campus Carry.

Campus Carry: Affecting Students on Campus

Campus Carry: Effecting Students on Campus

By: Bailey Green

Bmg106@txstate.edu

 Texas Legislature passes a law enacting the carry of a concealed weapon with a license on campus.  Texas State students and faculty discuss how the law is affecting their safety on campus.

photo and quote taken by Bailey Green
Paula Monzon 

On August 1, 2016 the law was put into act on all Texas college campuses. The law clearly states in the Texas State Carry Campus page that there are numerous safe and gun free zones.

 Even with the regulations, students are still concerned about their safety on campus.  Paula Monzon, a freshman at Texas State, states, “It makes me feel really uncomfortable. I feel like it makes school shootings more likely to happen." 

There are many mixed emotions to law for all students and faculty members on campus. The uneasy feeling of seeing a weapon freely has been more a distraction and safety awareness. Especially when students do not know what other students are going to do with the weapon.

photo and quote by Tanner Murphy
Leigh Anne Crowell

Leigh Anne Crowell, a Texas State student, expresses her thoughts on the situation by saying, “…it's much easier for people to access weapons, and then be able to bring them onto a busy campus whenever. Anything could happen, and you have no way of stopping it in a timely, non-life-threatening amount of time.”

Although there are many other students and faculty members that feel much better when they are able to protect themselves and have a concealed weapon on campus.

Kerri Fitzgerald, an English senior lecturer, expresses as to why carrying a concealed weapon can be beneficial for students on campus, “"I've been a victim of assault before, and I've considered protecting myself with a firearm. I do think that's completely acceptable."

photo and quote by Stacee Collins
Kerri Fitzgerald 

Due to these situations the law does give a protection for all types of students that have went through similar situations or are weary of this situation occurring in the long run.

Many students are just as in favor of the law. Students like Mason Gann, a junior from Burleson, say that, “Yes. For protection. If I felt like the threat to society were great enough.”

Even though there is both equally credible reasons as to why and why not to enforce the law, some students choose to not be affected by the law. Since the law has been passed, film major student, Weston Morgan, says that, “I don’t think they should be allowed or encouraged but the law isn’t going to change the way I feel in a classroom.”

Therefore, since the passing of the law many students and faculty are still concerned about their safety whereas others are finding the law a way of protection against harmful situations.