Save Green, Go Gruene

Many college students look for something fun to do over Spring Break but not everyone can afford to go to Cabo San Lucas. Some students choose to save some green by visiting Gruene, Texas for a unique Spring Break experience.

Gruene, Texas is a historical district located on the Guadalupe River about 15 miles south of San Marcos. Gruene offers unique shopping and dining and a look into the past. The town’s location on the Guadalupe River makes it a good place for recreational water activities.

Gruene is home to Gruene Hall, Texas’ oldest continually operating dance hall, which has nurtured many talented country musicians including Texas State alumnus George Strait.

Michael Hayes, a regular patron of Gruene Hall, has been coming to the dance hall since the eighties.

“There are shows seven days a week,” said Hayes. “Saturday and Sunday there are two shows and they are usually free. When I first started coming here we used to go out back and play horseshoes all the time.”

For a list of upcoming shows at Gruene Hall, visit www.gruenehall.com.

Another attraction in Gruene is the Gristmill River Restaurant. The Gristmill was once a cotton gin but has been converted to a large restaurant. The restaurant’s outdoor seating overlooks the Guadalupe River, giving guests a unique, scenic experience.

Alan Nelson, who has worked at the Gristmill for a year and a half, says the restaurant draws a large, varied crowd, especially in the summer months.

“Usually Spring Break marks the beginning of our busiest season, which lasts through the summer and into the fall,” Nelson said. “We feature Americana food in relaxed, scenic environment. We get guests ranging from tourists who are here as part of their vacation to locals who can’t get enough of our great food.”

Gruene also has other dining options including Adobe Verde, also a former cotton gin, which specializes in Mexican food and seafood. Mozie’s Bar and Grill is known for its sliders, garlic fries, and garlic crusted chicken.

The Guadalupe River brings a lot of visitors to Gruene as well. Orlando Cantu, an employee of the Gruene Antique Company, sees a lot of activity on the river.

“In the summer the river is a big attraction,” said Cantu. “You have people coming in starting in June and they’re here through August. During the off-season you have kayaking and other river activities going on. There are a lot of places on the Guadalupe to rent tubes, but Rockin’ R is the biggest one.”

Rockin’ R River Rides has four locations to rent tubes or rafts, four retail stores, three campgrounds, and more. For more information about what Rockin’ R has to offer, visit their website at www.rockinr.com.

The Gruene Antique Company offers a wall-to-wall selection of antiques. Sarah Klinkenberg, a senior at Texas State who works at the store, says they offer a wide variety of antique items including furniture and collectibles.

Gruene is also home to the Gruene General Store, which is fashioned after a traditional general store. The store sells a wide variety of homemade foods and unique gifts. The Grapevine, another store in Gruene, sells a wide selection of wines produced in Texas.

Klinkenberg describes Gruene as a place where people from a variety of backgrounds can come together to enjoy everything the town has to offer.

“Gruene’s small town charm attracts tons of people every year, and during the summer people come from all over the world to visit,” Klinkenberg said. “It is a really neat town with a ton of things to do. It’s historic and beautiful and I think that’s why so many people visit. So many come back every year.”

For more information on Gruene, Texas, visit their website at www.gruenetexas.com.

Spring Break Excites More Than Just College Students

Written by Marylea Brown

Freshly shined loafers and beach sandals. Pinstripe suits and tank tops. Leather belts and pierced midriffs. A special time of the year.

Everyday thousands of people enter and exit airports across the nation. During the first few weeks of March eager students flood the terminals on their way to Spring Break vacation.

Photo courtesy of California Aviation Alliance.

Incoming crowds of teenagers grant airport faculty and flight attendants a refreshing change to the typical workday. William Bridges, security officer at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport enjoys the short period of time when Spring Breakers arrive.

“Always checking in men and women with suits and briefcases gets boring,” said Bridges. “It is nice to see the less serious faces of enthusiastic kids every once in a while.”

Having fun is just as important during Spring Break as is safety. Parents rely on the airlines to ensure full security and speedy travel for their sons and daughters.

“My mom and dad didn’t trust me and my girlfriends to drive all the way from

Austin to South Padre on our own” said Laura Alvarado, a junior at Austin Community College. “We had no choice but to take a flight instead.”

Bridges believes air travel is a safer alternative to driving long distances.

“When kids chose to drive to their destination there is a greater possibility of drinking and getting the party started on the road,” said Bridges. “When they’re on a plane there is no chance of getting arrested for DWI or worse.”

While shorter than a car ride, flights can still get very uncomfortable. Over Spring Break, cabin crews share light-hearted laughs with their vacationing passengers to keep them happy. For flight attendant Cindy Hatley her job means more to her than passing out the salted peanuts.

“It is important for the crew to remember that most children and teens on Spring Break are not used to flying often,” said Hatley. “I love helping guests take their mind off the fact we’re thousands of feet off the ground.”

Flight attendants will often crack jokes over the intercom to calm the nerves of others. “We told passengers there was a man onboard who had never flown before and was celebrating his 100^th birthday,” said Hatley. “Everyone was clapping and looking around for him until we revealed it was the pilot!”

Not everyone has such positive experiences at the airport. Flights are frequently overbooked, late or cancelled due to weather and technical difficulties. Senior Marine Biology major at The University of Texas Louise Downs was stranded for five hours in San Francisco at one of the U.S.’s busiest international airports.

“The pilot on our flight said there was a technical problem and SFO couldn’t track and coordinate flight paths,” said Downs. “We had to wait at the terminal because they were only using one runway for all incoming and outgoing flights.”

One aggravated passenger can affect the mood of everyone around them. Flight attendants try to identify this early on to avoid problems after takeoff.

“When a flight is delayed we will usually give out snacks and refreshments as quickly as possible,” said Hatley. “Feeding someone’s appetite can also feed their peace of mind.”

Handling rude guests is one thing. Handling unruly teenagers is another. Security Officer at the Los Angeles International Airport Damien Rousse knows Spring Breakers can be a hard crowd to manage.

“Many young people don’t pay attention to our instructions during check-in and security checkpoint,” said Rousse. “Either because they are too distracted by their electronics, or they get a kick out of challenging authority.”

When a brave few vacationers attempt to test the patience of airport security, it doesn’t take much to get escorted to their office.

“We have a low tolerance for any individual that becomes aggressive, loud or starts using too much profanity,” said Rousse.

Most people on Spring Break just want to have a good time and the airport gives students the opportunity to meet others on their way to the same destination.

“On my flight to Padre Island, I sat next to a group of people that were headed to the same beach as my friends and I,” said Alvarado. “We ended up partying together for a lot of the trip and made great friendships that will hopefully last a long time.”

Spring Breakers enjoy a live show on Coca Cola Beach in South Padre Island.

Students Spend Spring Break Close to Home

By Micah Maxwell

When the words “Spring Break” come to mind many people think of weeklong parties on the beach, extravagant cruises or trips to other various vacation hot spots around the world.

Since the downturn in the economy, however, many students had to cut back on their Spring Break expenses by staying home, working or going on local day trips to various parks, lakes or beaches.

Benny Castro, political science sophomore, is a student who spent his Spring Break locally due to the drop in the economy and the higher gas prices.

“I spent my Spring Break camping at Garner State Park,” Castro said. “My original plan was to go on a cruise to Cozumel, but after I came back to reality I decided on Big Bend National Park. Gas costs and time issues made that trip impossible, so I settled for Garner."

Garner State Park is located in Concan, TX, about two hours west of San Marcos. The park runs along the Frio River providing a convenient and scenic place for fishing and swimming. The park also has miles of hike and bike trails, a mini golf course and paddleboat and kayak rentals.

Castro said he chose to visit Garner State Park because it had everything he wanted and was cheap compared to many other campsites in the area.

“The cost was around $20 a night for two people’s admission and overnight camping fees,” Castro said. “Plus, I had never been there before, so it was a good opportunity to explore and find a good campsite to come back to that is near home.”

Laura Bomersbach, early education freshman, also spent her Spring Break locally.

Bomersbach believes that staying local is more reasonable than taking extravagant trips and that it gives more time for students to spend with family they don’t get to see.

“This Spring Break, I went home to San Antonio and hung out with my sisters,” Bomersbach said. “We didn’t do much, but it was nice being able to spend some time with them since I don’t get to see them very often any more.”

Bomersbach added that her family took a day trip to Corpus Christi at the end of the week because it was much closer than any other beach.

Corpus Christi is located on the Gulf of Mexico and consists of nine island beaches, as well as two city beaches. The city is also home to the U.S.S. Lexington, a naval aircraft carrier from World War II, the Texas State Aquarium and the largest remaining natural barrier in the world, the Padre Island National Seashore.

Kelli Condina, interior design freshman, also went home for Spring Break but said it wasn’t her first choice for a spring break destination.

“I went home to Georgetown, but only because I had to since the dorms were closed during the break,” Condina said. “Georgetown is about 30 minutes north of Austin, so I went to Austin a few days of the week, just to roam around and try to find interesting things to do.”
Condina felt the economy only affected her Spring Break because she didn’t have the money to go to the beach or somewhere out of state.

“I would have liked to go to the beach, but it’s kind of hard to do that when you don’t have any money to spend on things like that,” Condina said. “Besides, it’s not fun to go on a trip like that by yourself. A lot of my friends go to other schools besides Texas State, so most of them were still at school during our break.”

Other students took the chance to go out of state for their break.

Caroline Cook, Texas State junior, is one student who spent the first half of their break out of state in Denver, CO, but she believes the trip wasn’t worth the time or money she spent.

“I was excited we got to go to Denver for break, but it was really hard for me to get off work for that many days,” Cook said. “Sadly, our trip wasn’t even worth losing the hours and money. We didn’t get to go skiing, like we had planned, so most of our time was spent in our hotel or at bars. I would have rather stayed near Austin and gone to the rivers or to the SXSW music festival."

Spring Break trends are rapidly changing for most students, but that doesn’t mean fun isn’t an option. Most communities offer entertainment and fun things for families to do for a small price and more students are choosing to find fun things to do locally before they spend the time and money on big, expensive trips.

Keeping Weirdo's Weird

Comedians and musicians entertained both young and old this Spring Break at Austin’s own Weirdo’s bar and grill.

TAG talent agency and rock station 93.7 KLBJ hosted the event in support of local Austin artists. “We just wanted to create an environment where we have artists entertaining other artists,” said Landon Kash, one of the event coordinators.

The afternoon was divided into two parts. The first half consisted of five comedians doing stand up gigs and filling the crowd with laughter. The second half was occupied with music from some prestigious local Austin bands.

Stand-up comic Jimmie Roulette headlined the comedy section. James Heflin attended the event and said Jimmie was his favorite act of the afternoon. “[Jimmie] was so hilarious. All of [the comics] were, but he was the best,” Heflin said.

Several bands were featured as entertainment including the Josh Langston Band, Muchos Backflips, and Neilio. The style of music ranged from country, to rock, to electronic. There was even a DJ spinning tunes all day inside near the bar.

Winston Bee, frontman for Muchos Backflips, said this was the closest his band had ever come to playing the SXSW music festival. “Technically we’re part of that festival,” Bee said. “Only I think we’re having more fun here with everyone who came out than we would downtown with all the crowds from SXSW.”

Families were also able to enjoy Weirdo’s volleyball courts and sandboxes. Children built monuments in the sand while parents joined with strangers to play volleyball. The afternoon weather was accommodating to athletics occurring simultaneously with the event.

Jackie Gonzalez enjoyed a game of Frisbee with her younger sister. “We got here early to see the stand-up [comics], but now that the bands are playing we can get a little exercise and just enjoy the music,” Gonzalez said.

Weirdo’s is well known in the Austin community as a venue that supports local music and artists. They recently updated the stage on their balcony to accommodate larger bands and produce better sound for the audience during events.

TAG Talent, a sponsor of the event, is one of the leading acting agencies in Austin. Their talent have appeared in productions of True Blood, Friday Night Lights, and many others.

Austin rock radio station 93.7 KLBJ co-hosted the event along with afternoon radio personality Charlie Hodge. KLBJ airs classic and new rock music, and Hodge hosts his own afternoon show on the station from noon to 3 p.m.

Hodge announced on his talk show that he would like to organize more events at Weirdo’s in the future. “It’s a great little venue and we had a lot of fun while we were there,” Hodge said.

Weirdo’s is located at 12408 North Mopac Expressway near the Parmer intersection. More events are planned to take place at Weirdo’s in the future beyond spring break. The next event will coincide with the SXSW music festival.

North Crowley Panthers win in District 3-5A opener

By Chase Hunter

Spring is here. Life seems to be reborn this time of year.

And there’s one important thing that comes with the season.

America’s pastime, baseball, is near.

The North Crowley Panthers opened up district play on March 9 at home with a 4-1 victory over the Haltom Buffalos. North Crowley starting pitcher Andrew Cooper threw six innings and recorded 12 strikeouts in the effort. His pitching and ball control were major keys to the district-opening game.

“My off-speed pitches were working early,” said Cooper. “That kept batters off-balance. I also wanted to keep my pitches down around the knees so they couldn’t hit it easily.”

The game started off as a pitchers’ duel, a term used when both pitchers allow few hits or runs. Both teams were scoreless until the top of the third inning when Cooper gave up his only run of the game.

The Panthers trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth with two outs and two runners in scoring position.

Trevor Russell, designated hitter for the Panthers, scored the two runners with a base hit up the middle. Russell’s hit provided most of the offense for the Panthers during the game.

“I got a pitch down the middle,” said Russell. “With two outs you have to make contact. That’s all I was doing up there and it got our guys home.”

The Panthers would take control of the game at that point with their pitching and defense. Cooper continued to throw strike after strike and did not walk a single batter. The Panthers’ defense showed their skill by committing no errors in the field.

“Those guys really helped me out tonight,” said Cooper. “Without a solid defense it’s hard to limit runs and win games.”

Head coach Steve Brown said he was impressed with the entire team effort but believes his offense needs to improve as the season progresses.

“I thought our guys did a good job on the field [playing defense],” said Brown. “Our offense needs to be more patient at the plate. We looked uncomfortable up there and had too many strikeouts.”

The parents of the boys were even more impressed with the team’s performance.

Kathe Cooper, mother of Andrew, believes the Panthers have a good chance to make the playoffs this year.

“I’m so proud of our boys,” said Cooper. “If we play defense like we did tonight and score more runs we can compete against anyone in the playoffs.”

The Panthers are currently 2-1 in district play and are ranked fourth in the district 3-5A standings.
North Crowley will travel to their next district game at Paschal High School on March 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Behind the scenes aboard Voyager of the Seas
Setting sail on the open seas and exploring new frontiers all while attending to passengers aboard a massive ship is one career path many have chosen to take.
Royal Caribbean is host not only to people in need of a vacation but also to an eclectic mix of crew and staff. The staff aboard Royal Caribbean’s ship Voyager of the Seas is very diverse representing over 44 countries and various fields of occupation.
Working on a cruise ship seems like a pretty adventurous job, but what is it actually like?

Nelly Orbegoso from Peru has been working on the Voyager of the Seas for about five and a half months as a stateroom attendant and enjoys working aboard the cruise ship.
“I have had a good experience with Royal Caribbean. I have learned how to make towel animals and new ways to fold napkins. It’s interesting because every company has new ideas,” said Orbegoso.
A bartender on board the Voyager of the Seas, Fernando Monterio from Brazil, has been with Royal Caribbean for two years and plans to carry on until he is worn out.
“There is more freestyle not as much pressure. You don’t have to follow the rules as much where as other bars take it pretty seriously,” said Monterio

When the ship docks at their port of calls the staff is able to leave the ship and explore the island, city or where ever they may be. Norman Navarrosa from the Philippines, a waiter on the Voyager of the Seas, enjoys experiencing the ports.
“Traveling is so nice you can see the places like Europe, the United States pretty much everything and the different cultures,” said Navarrosa.

Royal Caribbean based in the United States employs more than 40,000 people from countries all over the world. There are a total of five ships that sail to five of the seven continents. Royal Caribbean is also proud to say that their fleet has the largest cruise ships in the world. The cruise line offers their employees six month contracts that may be renewed at the end of the given time.
“I actually got the job by accident. A lady can into the bar I was working at in Barcelona and handed me her business card. I went in for an interview and came straight on,” said Monterio.


The people on board get the chance to interact and learn a little bit about the staff that is serving them throughout their stay aboard the ship. Katherine Bosnyak sailed with Royal Caribbean in March and expressed that the ship and staff were more than she had expected.
“The service was fabulous. Every time I needed help with something there was someone right there to assist me on what to do,” said Bosnyak.

Photos By:www.relevantsearchscotland.co.uk

Creating FashioNation

FashioNation is more than it seams.

FashioNation was sewn together in fall 2008 at Texas State University, since then the program has become one of the largest on campus.

Texas State Fashion Merchandising alumnae Melarie Benson and Dominique DeVeReaux founded FashioNation last year.

Benson and DeVeReaux wanted to create an organization that brought different majors together for one purpose: fashion.

photo courtesy of FashioNation

Junior Fashion Merchandising major Courtni Martin claims she always had a passion for fashion.

“When I was young,” she said, “I used to always wear my Pull-Ups with a pair of black tights, a bathing suit top and a leather jacket with sunshades.”

However, when Martin arrived at Texas State, she did not think about putting her natural fashion sense to work.

“At first I was majoring in Business Management thinking that that major would equip me to open up my own boutique and salon later in life,” said Martin.

“But I realized I had all the business but no fashion.”
“Although FashioNation was still new and had a lot of growing to do, Dominique and Melarie planted a seed on this campus. I saw their vision and wanted to be a part of making it manifest,” said Martin.

“I really love the energy of the organization and what it stands for,” said Martin.

Martin is not alone.

Charae Tucker also found herself switching to the Fashion Merchandising department.

Tucker said she was always interested in shoes, but it was not until she arrived at Texas State that she became interested in fashion and wanted to know more.

“I originally came to school for psychology and now I am a fashion major,” said Tucker.

“FashioNation really opened my eyes to another side of fashion,” said Tucker, who is now the FashioNation Fundraiser Coordinator.

“FashioNation is a very hands-on organization,” said Martin.

FashioNation not only discusses the fashion industry, but it gives members the opportunity to experience the industry through participation in the preparation and production of fashion shows, photo shoots and casting calls.

“We really feel that a person cannot become an expert at what they do until they are given the opportunity to show what they can do,” said Martin.

“My mother was a buyer for Neiman Marcus before I was born, so I was always surrounded by fashion catalogs,” said Fashion Merchandising major Erin Cooper.

“But I didn’t even know the amount of work and talent needed to put on a fashion show until I joined FashioNation,” said Cooper.

FashioNation member Erin Cooper

Aside from fashion shows, FashioNation hosts special guests that speak at meetings about different aspects of the fashion industry.

This year, FashioNation hosted the Store Manager from Buckle at Barton Creek Mall, a makeup artist and a few entrepreneurs who started their own businesses said Tucker.

Because of these opportunities, FashioNation gives us networking skills and gives us the chance to pool our creative resources together said Cooper.

Besides for fashion merchandising majors, FashioNation includes makeup artists, professional and aspiring models, public relation students and a wide array of members.

Advertising major Sophia Gamez, who goes by Sophia Jacqueline, always believed people should “dress how you want to be addressed.”

At one point, Gamez planned on becoming a dermatologist, but decided that in the medical field she would not be able to express herself the way she wanted.

After attending beauty school, Gamez started her own business as a make-up artist and returned to Texas State to complete a degree in advertisement.

“Fashion and makeup isn’t about being so consumed in the way you look, but being comfortable looking the best you can so your true characteristics will show,” said Gamez.

“Everyone loves to feel good.”

“FashioNation has allowed me to network with people who are just as ambitious as I am,” said Gamez.

“It really is motivating to be around people with the same interest as me. I hadn’t really done many fashion shows, but FashioNation has exposed me to the details in what goes into a show and how it is run behind the scenes,” said Gamez.

FashioNation hosts fashion shows with the help of Model Citizens, a section of FashioNation that focuses on only the models.

Sophia Gamez applies makeup before a FashioNation fashion show, photo courtesy of Sophia Gamez

“I’ve done a few fashion shows with FashioNation and have used their models for a lot of my current photo shoots,” said Gamez.

FashioNation’s most recent event was a Go Green Fashion Show. The creative teams created new looks from donated clothes.

Go Green Fashion Show, courtesy of FashioNation

“It was a lot of fun to put all of our minds together and recreate looks, showing others how to revamp their wardrobe while spending little or no money,” said Tucker.

“FashioNation is starting to get more and more members as we put on bigger and better events,” said Cooper.

There are two main events FashioNation hosts every year; Fashion Week and Project Prom.

Fashion Week is a campus-wide week of fashion events. FashioNation plans the events a year ahead.

“It's only weeks away and we are all so excited!” said Martin.

This year’s Fashion Week focuses on Flight for a Cure.

Flight for a Cure’s focus is cancer awareness delivered through the medium of fashion. A percentage of the proceeds from the week will go to the American Cancer Society.

FashioNation participates in the San Marcos community through Project Prom. FashioNation’s Project Prom helps underprivileged girls from San Marcos High School get ready for the prom.

“We assist with finding them a dress, shoes, jewelry, hair and makeup,” said Martin.

“The diversity of FashioNation makes it a unique organization that is dedicated to helping the community,” said Tucker.
“As with any profession, you want to do something that does not feel like work even when it’s stressful. Fashion became my life passion when I realized how much I enjoy it,” said Tucker.

“Everything that I've done in my life has always revolved around fashion and FashioNation has really equipped me with the proper resources that I need to have a successful career in fashion,” said Martin.