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About my experience

I have been writing for a newspaper since 2020 at a variety of publications. During the pandemic, I started a virtual internship while in high school writing for The Borgen Project, a non-profit seeking to end global poverty where I wrote research-based articles about international affairs and global poverty. I then started at my high school newspaper, The Hebron Hawkeye, in fall of 2020 where I published numerous news and culture stories. After graduating high school, I began college at Texas State University, where I began pursuing internship opportunities and reporting on the local community in San Marcos, Texas. I interned in Washington, D.C. for a two-month with a local newspaper, The Well News, where I reported on U.S. Supreme Court decisions and national legal issues. Since 2022, I have also worked as an election data stringer for the Associated Press Elections Division. In fall of 2023, I began reporting for The University Star, an independent school newspaper at Texas State, previously as a Life and Arts Contributor, and later as a News Reporter where I cover now local politics and business. Currently, I am interning with Community Impact, where I cover hyper-local news in the Austin area.

The University Star •

Teen’s death at Cape’s Dam ruled accidental drowning

San Marcos officials ruled on March 21 the death of 17-year-old Ross Webb Jr. as an accidental drowning, according to the case report released in a March 26 public records request. 
Ross Webb Jr. died on Nov. 9, 2024, after getting trapped underwater for approximately two minutes near Cape’s Dam in the San Marcos River, according to the report.
Ross Webb Jr. became “stuck on something under the water” while swimming near river rapids and did not return to the surface, the police report stated....
The University Star •

Alamito, Cibolo halls residents face unresolved electrical issues

Students at Alamito and Cibolo Halls quickly began reporting numerous maintenance issues, such as malfunctioning outlets and recurring elevator outages, after fall move-in. 
According to records obtained by The Star in a public information request (PIR), the first outlet outage was reported on Aug. 7, with similar outages occurring during move-in week starting Aug. 17. 
As of March 7, at least 2,580 total maintenance requests were filed for Alamito and Cibolo Halls, according to the PIRs. Since...
The University Star •

City council discusses new license plate reader technology, approves city contracts

At its Feb. 4 meeting, San Marcos City Council voted 5-2 to postpone approval of installing 19 additional license plate reader cameras until the council reviews its usage policy in June.
If approved, the resolution would allow San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) to have 33 total Flock Safety cameras operating in San Marcos, with 14 cameras already in use, according to SMPD Chief Stan Standridge.
Flock cameras are a network of license plate reading (LPR) cameras that “offer real-time altering and...
The University Star •

Sights & Sounds festival scales back for 2024

The Sights & Sounds of Christmas festival, traditionally held over eight days across two weeks, will be condensed to a single day for the 2024 season.
Since 1987, the Sights & Sounds of Christmas festival has drawn locals and visitors from across Central Texas with live music, carnival rides and a variety of food vendors. However, Elva Zdeb, president of the board of directors, said the carnival vendor responsible for the rides announced they would not operate this year, prompting the board to p...
The University Star •

Hays County property tax increase to impact rent

Hays County residents could see rising rent prices following the commissioners court’s decision to increase property taxes by nearly 14% on Sept. 17.
The Hays County Commissioners Court raised the property tax rate from $0.3075 to $0.35 per $100 of valuation, effective in October. While the new rate is in effect, payments are not yet due, prompting apartment complexes to adjust in advance.
Property taxes are fees paid by property owners based on the determined value of their property. While coll...
The University Star •

San Marcos City Council votes to reverse Tantra live music decibel limit

San Marcos City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday to modify the conditional use permit (CUP) application for Tantra, a local coffee shop and live music venue located in downtown San Marcos, reinstating the original decibel limits of Tantra’s previous permit.
On Sept. 24, the San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission voted 9-0 to approve Tantra’s CUP three-year permit renewal, including a condition that would limit all outdoor live music to no more than 60 decibels.
However, Tantra’s previous permit a...
The University Star •

The Davenport discontinues ‘A Brunch of Drag,’ sparks community concerns

Once a month, A Brunch of Drag brought the San Marcos queer community together at The Davenport. On Sept. 22, the event held its final show before the venue shut it down.
Eileen Dover, drag artist and performer, hosted A Brunch of Drag every fourth Sunday of each month for the past two years at The Davenport on South Guadalupe Street. She said the last show, which celebrated the event’s two-year anniversary, was sold out, which typically consisted of 125 to 150 people.
A typical Brunch of Drag s...
The University Star •

San Marcos community holds memorial to honor Israeli victims of October 7

San Marcos community members and Texas State students held a memorial on Oct. 14 at the Price Community Center to stand in solidarity with the people of Israel and honor those who died on Oct. 7, 2023.
The memorial service hosted Sagi Gabay, a survivor of the Hamas attack at the Nova music festival, to share his experience of escaping the attack.
“Faces of October 7th,” the group that brought Gabay to San Marcos works to bring survivors to different cities and college campuses across North Ameri...
The University Star •

RAs speak out against media policy

Editor’s note: the current Resident Assistant (RA) in this story has requested to stay anonymous as they still work for the Department of Housing and Residential Life and do not want to risk losing their job.
Current and former RAs are speaking out against the Department of Housing and Residential Life’s (DHRL) media policy, arguing it restricts their First Amendment rights of free speech and expression.
As of Sept. 9, 22 RAs were once again required to live with freshmen roommates due to overcr...
The University Star •

Overcrowding at Texas State requires some RAs to share rooms with freshmen

Due to Texas State’s record-breaking freshman class and a lack of on-campus housing, some Resident Assistants (RA) are now required to live with a student roommate if needed based on availability.
At the start of the fall semester, there were 52 freshmen living with their RAs as their roommates on campus. As of Sept. 9, that number now sits at 22 students, according to Bill Mattera, Director of Housing and Residential Life (DHRL).
Mattera said the department plans to relocate all freshmen living...
The University Star •

City council approves McLain Project

Mariah Price, an English graduate student, learned she would potentially lose her housing at Lindsey Oaks on April 14 from a note left on her door by the Tenant Advocacy Group (TAG) due to a city council vote taking place two days later.
“I don’t think any of [the tenants] knew until [the April 16 San Marcos City Council meeting],” Price said. “Any kind of notice would have been useful.”
San Marcos City Council voted 6-1 on April 16 to approve amendments regarding the McLain Project, a proposed...
The University Star •

Local businesses approach to taking on Winter Break

From coffee shops to small boutiques, local businesses in San Marcos are navigating the unique challenges of being located in a college town by preparing for less college students over winter break.
Kevin Kotara, Texas State alumni and manager of Sundance Record Lagoon, said while college students are the store’s largest shopping demographic, the recent growth of San Marcos and the loyalty of the local population helps to support the business over the break.
“Retail businesses anywhere have ups...
The University Star •

Hays County Commissioners Court approves fiscal year 2025 budget, raises property taxes

The Hays County Commissioners Court voted 5-0 on Sept. 17 to approve the budget for fiscal year 2025, with an increase in property taxes and a decrease in the overall budget amount.
The budget totaled nearly $356 million, consisting of approximately $224 million toward maintenance and operations funding and $88 million toward construction and infrastructure funds.
Additionally, the budget also directed $44 million toward debt funding as Hays County currently rests a total outstanding debt nearin...
The University Star •

Annual Sacred Springs Powwow to return to San Marcos and educate community

In a traditional celebration of Indigenous cultures, San Marcos will play host to the 13th annual Sacred Springs Powwow filled with widespread varieties of art, dance, cuisine and other festivities to honor the sacred land in the San Marcos area. 
The event, organized by the Indigenous Cultures Institute (ICI), will be an all-day affair on Oct. 7-8 at the Meadows Center, with over 6,000 people and more than 55 Indigenous arts and crafts vendors expected to attend. 
Aaron Pyle, Ph.D, co-chair of...
The University Star •

Proposed housing project faces local scrutiny, potential legal questions

Questions are being raised around a development company proposing a high-rise student apartment complex called the McLain Project, which is set to be built across the street from Texas State’s campus.

At the first reading of the proposal on April 2, city council voted 6-1 on the first of the proposed amendments after the initial vote failed to secure a supermajority, which is required after the San Marcos Planning and Zoning Committee recommended denial on Feb. 27.
City council also voted to ta...
The Well News •

6th Circuit Allows Tennessee’s Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

WASHINGTON — The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Saturday that a Tennessee law banning doctors from providing gender-affirming care for minors could go into effect immediately.
The 2-1 decision is considered groundbreaking because it marks the first time a federal court has allowed a ban of this kind to take place. 
Prior to the legal challenge, the law had originally been scheduled to go into effect on July 1. 
The litigation began in March 2023 after state lawmakers approved and Gov. B...
The Well News •

Supreme Court Rules Against Navajo Nation in Water Rights Claim

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo Nation Thursday in a 5-4 vote, saying the Navajo Treaty of 1868 does not require the United States to take affirmative steps on the water rights of the tribe regarding the Colorado River. 
The treaty of 1868 designated the reservation, which covers an expansive area of 27,000 square miles across Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, as the tribe’s “permanent home,” a commitment that the Navajo Nation asserts encompasses an ample water supply.
“It i...
Texas State Multimedia Journalism •

Side effects of S.B. 17: How anti-DEI legislation impacted the Texas State community

SAN MARCOS, Texas – While state-mandated changes in diversity offices and hiring at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) have drawn recent headlines and criticism, similar changes at Texas State have played out quieter.


Senate Bill 17 implemented numerous changes to Texas State since going into effect on Jan. 1 through dismantling the Inclusive Excellence office and removing diversity statements and other diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) methods in hiring.


Despite S.B. 17 not explic...
The Well News •

President, Advocates and Educators Slam High Court Ruling on Affirmative Action

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden strongly criticized the Supreme Court’s Thursday ruling against using race-based affirmative action in college admissions, saying the decision “walked away from decades of precedent.”
“We cannot let this decision be the last word,” Biden said in a White House address. “The court can render a decision, but it cannot change what America stands for.” 
According to the court’s ruling, the affirmative action policies implemented by Harvard University and the Universit...

High Court Strikes Down Race-Based Affirmative Action in College Admissions

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down affirmative action admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in a ruling that will have wide-ranging implications for academia.
The 6-3 decision effectively overturns decades of court precedent by establishing the universities’ affirmative action policies violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. 
In addition to last year’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, today’s ruling ma...
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