A former Texas State student spent nearly a year battling leukemia, and now his sister, touched by her brother’s trials, is fighting to make the need for bone marrow donations more widely known.

Mark Moreno came to Texas State in fall 2006 as a music education major. He attended through fall 2010, after which he became dissatisfied with his academic progress and left Texas State. He spent a portion of the next year working construction alongside his father. 

In April 2012, Moreno began to experience fatigue and chronic pain from a toothache, for which he was prescribed antibiotics for two weeks. The pain failed to recede, so he had the tooth pulled on Easter weekend. His symptoms, however, remained. 

A group of Texas State theatre students will question the circumstances of unconditional love conflicted with hardship in their upcoming short film “Love is Blindness.”

Centered around a young couple, Julian and Emma, “Love is Blindness,” tells of Julian’s struggle to adjust to Emma’s going blind after a car accident. The couple’s future is uncertain as they deal with the mutual frustration of just how unconditional their love is for each other.

Writer and director Shane Wellesley, theatre junior, began writing the script for his short film in lecturer Bryan Poyser’s spring 2012 screenwriting class as an assignment. He was inspired by a blind man he met in high school, whose happiness in life moved Wellesley.

“Originally, it was a very personal script, and I hadn’t shown it to many people,” Wellesley said. “Eventually, I asked myself, ‘What question can I ask to get others to connect?’”

The 2013 All-Student Juried Exhibition opened April 8 to showcase selected student works.

The artistic works of Texas State students were celebrated Monday in University Gallery 2 at the 2013 All-Student Juried Exhibition, an annual competition exhibit for art and design students.

The opening ceremony kicked off in the Joann Cole Mitte Building at 5 p.m. with the opening of the exhibit and went on until 7 p.m. Students, including the featured artists, their parents and friends were able to wander about the gallery and observe a selection of the collection of student pieces.

The Social Awareness Documentary Film Club and Feminists United teamed up with the Department of Philosophy Monday night to raise awareness on gender inequality with the screening of Miss Representation.

Released in 2011, Miss Representation is a documentary film that illustrates under-representation of women in politics, the media and entertainment.

“It’s a really well-done film,” said Rebekah Ross-Fountain, senior lecturer in the Department of Philosophy. “It covers the range of what’s problematic about showing women as sex symbols.”

Lydia Kurtz, interior design freshman, and Corey Davey, interior design senior, participate in Bobcat Build Mar. 23 at a resident's home in San Marcos.

The event officially began at 9 a.m. in the Strahan Coliseum parking lot with a kickoff celebration featuring appearances by Texas State President Denise Trauth and San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero, who thanked and wished the participants well on their community projects.

Some filmmaking alumni are already looking ahead to next year’s event to submit their documentary film, even before the 2013 South by Southwest has begun. 

The film “Yakona” will be a feature-length documentary when completed and will tell the story of the San Marcos River from periods preceding human existence to today. 

Directors Paul Collins and Anlo Sepulveda and producer Dean Brennan originally expected to release “Yakona” in the fall of 2012, but creative decisions pushed the film back by almost a year.

The film is now in the final stages of production, and should be completed by the end of the summer. Once finished, “Yakona” will be submitted for entry in both the upcoming Sundance Film Festival and South by Southwest 2014.  

Brian Donohoe, saxaphonist and band leader, is a member of Progress, a rock and jazz influenced band that formed in late 2011.

Originally formed in Dec. 2011, Progress features the talents of saxophonist and band leader Brian Donohoe, guitar players Matt Muehling and Carter Arrington, trombonist Paul Deemer, drummer Daniel Watson and bassist and Texas State alumnus Nick Clark.

The law enforcement officers who gave their lives protecting others were honored Friday with the screening of the documentary film “Heroes Behind the Badge.” 

The film was directed by Academy Award-winning film and television director Wayne Derrick, grandson of former Texas State President Leland Derrick. Derrick’s connection with Texas State served as reason for the Kyle Citizens’ Police Academy Alumni Association to host the event on campus, as well as an opportunity to introduce the new organization to the local community.

“Heroes Behind the Badge” presents viewers with an inside look at the actions taken by law enforcement officers every day. Some officers lived to share their tales of heroism and loss, but the stories of those who sacrificed their lives are shared by those closest to them, officers and family alike.

Texas State students will glimpse into the world of professional pottery through insight and instruction Monday when distinguished studio potter Ayumi Horie pays a visit to the School of Art and Design.

For more than a decade, Horie has established herself as an accomplished independent artist, entrepreneur and activist through the art of studio pottery while giving lectures and demonstrations throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Now, Horie will teach Texas State students how they can become successful in independent art with the use of business skills and social media.

“Because the internet is such a direct link to people, I feel like anything can happen,” Horie said.  

Jacqueline Guillen, theatre senior, and Eugene Lee, artist-in-residence, act out a scene in the production of Richard III Feb. 10 at the Theatre Center. The play will have performances Feb. 12-17.

The infamous downfall of the Plantagenet dynasty will come to life as the Texas State Department of Theatre and Dance premieres its production of William Shakespeare’s “Richard III.” 

“Richard III” tells the eponymous tale of a notorious British monarch who kills his way to the throne, only to lose it soon after.

Professor Chuck Ney, production director and avid fan of Shakespeare, prepared for more than a year to bring the monarch’s tale to the Texas State stage. He sees it as a timeless story on which American audiences thrive.