Kendall Peters, mass communications junior, has been invited to compete in the Miss Texas United States Pageant as the representative for San Marcos in August.

Kendall Peters, mass communications junior, has been invited to compete in her first pageant appearance at the Miss Texas United States Pageant.

After applying for the opportunity last year, Peters was invited to participate alongside the rest of Texas in her first pageant appearance.

“She’s a quick learner, friendly and works well under stress,” said Jenn Roland, South by Southwest assistant registrar.

The Miss Texas United States Pageant is a preliminary to decide who goes on to compete for more than $100,000 in scholarships. The winner also has a chance to compete for the title of Miss United States.

The chain-link fence lined the parameters of the octagonal, matted floor at Seguin Mixed Martial Arts. This space has been used by 120 amateur mixed martial arts fighters to learn from the sport’s top professionals in Texas. But only 12 will compete live in the cage on May 5 at the Guadalupe County Fairgrounds to continue their quest to be the best amateur fighter.

Kuro Tawil, communications senior, has followed amateur fighters at Seguin Mixed Martial Arts since February as producer of the television series, “Cage Quest.”

Tawil, Randall Robinson, mass communication senior, and Phillip James capture hours of footage on Saturdays. They create 24-minute episodes that allow viewers a glimpse into the reality of mixed martial arts.

Tawil said his reputation for producing quick, high-quality commercials for the San Antonio-based independent television station KCWX led to his involvement with “Cage Quest.”

Food trailers, a must on tourists’ to-do lists, have been a big part of the Austin scene. That trend has arrived in San Marcos with The Hitch and newly opened Mimi’s Food Trailers.

Jon White, owner of the Cajun Cruiser, tosses and seasons Cajun fries April 23 for a customer’s shrimp po’ boy combo.

Many of the trailers are family businesses or start-ups of former Texas State students. Kevin “KK” Kneese, who now runs Trade Winds Pizza, took it over from his dad.

“This was kinda thrust upon me, so I had to put a few things on halt,” Kneese, music sophomore, said. “But, how often do you get to run a food trailer? I saw it as an opportunity in the making.”

Ann DuPont, fashion merchandising program coordinator, returned to Texas State five years ago with a passion for program building after working at the University of Texas for 32 years.

DuPont spoke to The University Star about wardrobe, history and the progress of the fashion merchandising program.

AG: What was your role at UT?
AD: I was the director of their retail merchandising program and I was also the curator of the costume collection. We worked a lot with the Harry Ransom Center. I’ve helped and had students help with research, display, mounting and conservation for the “Gone with the Wind” collection, as well as many other collections. The university collection itself is close to 4,000 pieces.

Tucked away in a small corner of the shopping center off North LBJ sits Deli-cioso, a lunchtime restaurant offering “tacos, tortas, soups and more.”

Deli-cioso, owned and operated by Rene Palomarez and Adam Gronski, opened its doors Feb. 1, 2012.

“It’s one of those random hole-in-the-wall places where you can stop in for a quick bite on the way to school,” Jillian Wiatrek, education senior, said. “But you’re not going to find another taco in town like the ones here.”

Palomarez, who grew up in a large family and learned to cook from his mother, said he went to the University of Texas for a finance degree because he always knew he would open a restaurant eventually. 

Gronski, Palomarez’ business partner, learned from his grandmother and perfected his skills by taking culinary classes from the Art Institute of Houston.

Hip Hop Congress proved the diversity of the university by bringing more than 2,000 students to their annual event, “The EpideMIC: Freestyle Battle and Showcase” Wednesday night.

Winners of the rap battles were chosen through audience participation. Spectators held up signs that said “sick” to indicate they liked the performance.

The non-profit multicultural student affairs program is a merger of artists, students, music and community members looking to utilize hip hop as a positive motivational tool.

Students sponsoring the event worked to bring a variety of lyrical entrepreneurs and dance crews together for an arrangement of performances. These were followed by a freestyle Rap competition with a prize of $500.

Pieces of orange loquat and banana spun in a blender attached to a stationary bicycle as a Texas State student sat on the seat and pedaled.

Texas State and San Marcos organizations celebrated the 2012 Earth Day on April 18. The Quad was filled with displays of handmade energy-efficient devices, movie screenings, nature walks, petitions and donation requests.

Katherine Tritsch, geography-resource and environmental studies senior, was responsible for the “bike machine blender.” She said her inspiration came from members of a permaculture community in Oregon during her six-week nature and heritage tourism internship through the Texas State department of geography.

Members of the Oregon permaculture community had created a bicycle-powered washing machine.

“Permaculture’s very DIY: do it yourself,” Tritsch said. “Use the energy that you have available to make the things that you need.”

Students and their loved ones will battle cancer Friday during Texas State’s fourth annual Relay for Life.

This year’s theme is “Declare War on Cancer.” Participants are encouraged to race for the cure in their best camouflage outfits.

Candice Pajestka, interdisciplinary studies senior, and Melika Abrahams, nursing junior, are members of the logistics team for Colleges against Cancer. This year they are in charge of organizing Relay for Life.

“Right now, it’s crunch time,” Pajestka said. “We’ve been busy running around getting donations and sponsorships from local businesses.”

Pajestka said at least 47 student organizations including fraternities and the Quidditch team are participating in this year’s relay. Chi Beta Delta, a service sorority, raised more than $5,000.
All donated money will be sent to the American Cancer Association and to patients in the Hays County/Austin area.

San Marcos citizens can hack down evasive plants, clear up springs and swim with turtles in the Diving for Science program.

The program was established right after the Aquarena Theme Park was purchased by the university for research. It was originally used to monitor the activity of federal agencies and professors in Spring Lake.

“We needed a way to control the amount of people in Spring Lake, but now we are more comfortable with who can enter the lake,” said Ron Coley, director of Aquarena Springs Center. 

“Now people can go through a scuba certification and help with the habitat restoration project.”

Training to become a science diver takes two days, usually during the weekend, and educates people on the Edwards Aquifer, San Marcos River and the plants and animals who inhabit them. After a lecture, students are quizzed on the endangered species and plant life specific to Spring Lake.

Online voting for the third annual International Documentary Film Festival has begun.

Puntos de Vista is a film festival hosted by the Center for the Study of Latino Media and Markets at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The festival recognizes the inspiration and originality of documentaries written and produced by Hispanic students from eight different universities across the globe.

Communication and film students will be commuting from their universities in Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Spain and various parts of the United States for the competition.

The 15 to 20-minute documentaries being shown address several issues. The films illustrate the violence on the border, disparities in the distribution of wealth, drug trafficking, social or cultural diversity and situations involving accomplishments of people with disabilities.