Despite the intense attention races at the top of the ballot have received—and despite the massive voter turnout those races are driving—some of the most important decisions can be found at the bottom of the Hays County ballot.
Getting an apartment in a college town has its benefits, but it also comes with some disadvantages for people with pets that are deemed aggressive.
President Donald Trump's September Executive Order has led to widespread cancellations of and pauses on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training sessions at universities across the nation, many of whom receive federal funding—including Texas State.
Practical time management skills can help one build the confidence and energy to succeed. Such skills can benefit college students’ mental health, especially when all elements of their work, academic and personal life are clouding together.
With 200 e-scooters deployed by Spin throughout San Marcos and the Texas State campus, will students freely zip around town or will their addition end in chaos?
Texas State should cancel the remainder of football games this semester to protect its athletes from contracting a disease that may have deadly long-term effects.
As of 2018, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., with roughly 48,000 Americans dying by suicide each year. In Hays County alone, 35 lives were lost in 2018, and now the COVID-19 pandemic is placing additional stress in people’s lives. The average person is not properly equ…
As universities across the country take steps to be more inclusive, especially for transgender, genderqueer and non-binary students, students and faculty/staff must understand why things like pronouns matter and what resources are available to help aid or protect them.
If we do not demand the U.S. Postal Service change its practices, when debt comes crashing down, it will be us young people who pay the price. The House of Representatives passed a bill Aug. 22 providing $25 billion to the USPS, short of the $75 billion the agency requested in April. Over an…
Some college students have heard of the legendary “Kamehameha” often followed by cupped hands, a thrust forward and a beam of powerful energy. If not, students have been exposed to the world of anime in some form or another, whether it is a brief passing on Netflix, a classmate’s shirt or th…
More than 60 years ago, three ancestors were removed from their resting places in Hays County, then taken to the University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory (TARL). Now, the Miakan-Garza Band of the Coahuiltecan people has fought through a years-long process to b…
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, arguably the two most prominent names in the modern music industry, released a highly controversial track that stirred up outrage on social media. With lyrics demonized as raunchy and immoral, the two music moguls have successfully highlighted the glaring inc…
Police departments have been under fire for vicious acts like the one that took George Floyd’s life and department responses, or lack thereof, to them. However, like any other government agency, many bureaucratic obstacles prevent police departments from holding officers accountable. While 7…
Sex is extremely common when young adults enter college.
After three delays drastically underestimating how long the COVID-19 pandemic would last, Warner Brothers has once again moved the theatrical release date for the next Christopher Nolan blockbuster. While the constant delays could have been avoided by releasing the film over a streaming serv…
The once natural and soothing trek up Alkek Library’s stairs will now lead one’s line of sight toward corporate sponsorship and marketing in an attempt to reach into students’ pockets. The new Starbucks on the second floor of Alkek is a missed opportunity for the university to support the lo…
Texas State students find themselves questioning if their housing contracts and apartment leases were worth the extra expense of living on or near campus as the COVID-19 pandemic runs rampant through San Marcos and Hays County.
Texas State has been persistent in reassuring its students, faculty and staff that this fall we will be getting back to normal—or something approaching normal—with several precautions designed to stop the spread of COVID-19 on campus. Of course, several universities around the country have s…
When Texas State announced major pay cuts—as much as 9.5% in non-fee funded areas—President Denise Trauth said administrators would do everything they could to prevent employee layoffs. However, Trauth then followed up with a statement saying she “[could not] make any promises.” Naturally, a…
In late July, President Denise Trauth sent an email to the university community explaining that the Roadmap to Return prioritizes the health, wellness and safety of students, faculty and staff. However, if any of this were true, Texas State would not house any students on campus this fall. T…
From microaggressions like ignoring those with invisible illnesses when they ask for accommodations due to their higher risk of contracting COVID-19 to outright allowing people to die without medical treatment or even nutrition, medical responses to COVID-19 have knowingly left people with d…
Public health and safety have become a major concern as schools around the state reform their course delivery methods. Some schools have opted to move classes fully online, and others are taking leaps of faith by bringing students back to campus for in-person instruction. As Texas State stud…
In the 120-124 credit hours that Texas State’s pre-medical students must complete to graduate with a bachelor’s in Biology with a Pre-Medical concentration, only three are required to cover social behavior. The College of Science and Engineering deems one course, psychology 1300, necessary t…
People of color exude resilience, innovation and a desire to succeed; however, despite the contributions they make to society, they continue to be placed at a disadvantage and abused by systems that reject their sacrifice. The most recent and disturbing example of the mistreatment POC often …
As a community, we try to direct our political efforts and funding toward institutions and programs that serve our best interests. The only reasons to defund would be if those funds are misused or could be put to better use elsewhere. Local law enforcement should be defunded as its funding h…
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced July 6 that international students would face deportation should their respective colleges choose to operate fully online for the upcoming semester. The decision has since been rescinded, yet it still leaves an ominous reminder tha…
Amid calls for Hays County to release inmates from its jail due to COVID-19, officials and local law enforcement announced July 8 they would implement a cite-and-divert program beginning in September. The terms of the new program far exceed the recently approved cite-and-release ordinance im…
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Texas Democrats’ request to fast-track a bid to allow Texans to vote-by-mail during the COVID-19 pandemic. For now, the case has gone back to a lower court but has the potential to be back before the Supreme Court before the November election. Whatever happens…
PBS’s American Experience documentary about the 1918 influenza pandemic, which infected about a third of the world’s population, states “as soon as the dying stopped, the forgetting began.” With COVID-19 still present throughout our communities, we cannot allow history to repeat itself. Ever…
The CARES Act, signed into law at the end of March this year, set aside $14 billion for higher education. Of that, Texas State was allocated about $31.8 million, with $15.9 million designated to students’ emergency financial aid. Aside from Bobcat Cares emergency grants awarded to those who …
The naming of Flowers Hall honors Dr. John Garland Flowers, the third president of Southwest Texas State College, now recognized as Texas State. He may have had an illustrious career as an educator on national, state and local levels, however, the man was sorely misguided and plain wrong in…
Before COVID-19, students attending class sick was not uncommon if they wished to avoid point deductions and stay on top of their coursework. Now amid one of the biggest health crises in world history, it is apparent the normalization of doing so was always ridiculous. Before the pandemic, T…
The struggle to be heard, for validation and acceptance from others, has empowered performative activism to undermine movements throughout history. Now, that same struggle has gone too far, dominating our social lives, present through our social media and going into the institutions we trust…
Gov. Greg Abbott scolded Texans in their 20s for ignoring safety precautions when they go out in public, insinuating they are to blame for the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state. Instead of Abbott pointing fingers at young people, perhaps a more useful way to help mitigate the spread of COV…
One of Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-Arkansas) most egregious actions has been his sponsorship of the SECURE CAMPUS Act. The SECURE CAMPUS Act, which is also sponsored by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Congressman David Kustoff (R-Tennessee), is designed to prevent Chinese citizens from purs…
The murder of George Floyd prompted thousands of peaceful protests across the nation demanding justice for victims of police brutality. In response, federal and local governments are attempting to silence the voices of citizens, violating the one thing people should never worry about—their F…
Merriam-Webster defines a protest as a solemn declaration of opinion and usually of dissent; the act of objecting; or a gesture of disapproval. On the other hand, a riot is defined as a violent public disorder, specifically a tumultuous disturbance of the public peace. The key between the tw…
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas State President Denise Trauth made the decision to cancel in-person commencement ceremonies for the spring and summer 2020 graduates. Instead, ceremonies will be held virtually Aug. 6-8. The decision to cancel in-person commencement was not made witho…
In light of protests taking place across the nation and news that a student of our own was a victim of police brutality, Texas State President Denise Trauth sent the student body and faculty a statement where she wrote, “Black Lives Matter. It is not debatable at Texas State.” The second par…
An increase of ridicule and racist remarks against Asians and Pacific Islanders has become a trend in the U.S. since the COVID-19 outbreak. Talks of what these cultures eat and controversy around the wet market have sparked outrage from animal rights activists and those protesting against th…
Bobcat Bounty, the student-run food pantry at Texas State, has provided distribution services to the San Marcos community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. To assist Bobcat Bounty workers and their efforts toward providing healthy food, the university’s Agriculture Department should grow a v…
A new weekly Chegg-College Pulse poll shows that college students’ support for Sen. Bernie Sanders was consistently higher than former Vice President Joe Biden’s while both were running for office. Since Sanders’ withdrawal, some of his supporters, young people largely made up of college stu…
Conversations about academic dishonesty are common in the age of online learning; however, the current methods implemented to prevent cheating are ignoring why students cheat in the first place. Instructors’ method of teaching has more impact on students’ actions in a course than teachers ma…
Over 6,000 Bobcats looked forward to the day they were supposed to receive their college degrees in person this summer despite the hardships COVID-19 brought to the university community. However, on May 11, President Denise Trauth announced the cancellation of in-person commencement ceremoni…
As difficult as the sudden transition from in-person to distance learning has been for students, Texas State faculty and instructional assistants, or IAs, have been faced with a series of difficult decisions and realities. With very little preparation for this change in format, instructors d…
It is undeniable—the Austin area is booming. More people have moved to Travis County and its surrounding area, including Hays County. As populations grow, so must infrastructure, but matters become complicated in ecologically sensitive areas like the one we call home. The Capital Area Metrop…
Gov. Greg Abbott recently announced an executive order outlining plans to reopen Texas in phases starting May 1. The proposed phase one allows certain businesses to open at limited capacity. However, reopening the economy too soon is an irresponsible move that disregards any progress made to…
The real problem for struggling communities, like college students who do not qualify for the stimulus check, is not who is president or who controls Congress, but what their stance is toward America’s adherence to for-profit, corporate ideology. The United States did not come to be so blata…
When the SARS-CoV-2 virus was first detected in a patient in the United States in January, public health experts and virologists began working on ways to combat it. Since then, there have been breakthroughs and advances in testing, antibody detection and even a potential vaccine. However, as…
Local governments were not adequately prepared to deal with such high unemployment rates and their rushed solutions are not solving anything. Applying for unemployment benefits is harder than ever before with constant busy phone lines and confusing qualifications. Filing for unemployment pro…
Despite being incarcerated, prisoners are not exempt from the coronavirus, or COVID-19. Prisoners with non-violent offenses should be released to reduce the spread of the virus and ensure safety within the prison system and the surrounding communities. Health experts have been warning that j…
