Flambeau Parade Attracts Hundreds of Thousands

A Star Wars themed float at the Flambeau Parade (photo by Isabella Weston)

By Isabella Weston

Close to 750,000 people lined the 2.6 mile parade route on the streets of downtown San Antonio Saturday, sitting in their lawn chairs and patiently waiting for the Flambeau Parade to start.

The parade marks the second Saturday of Fiesta every year, featuring hours of progression of themed floats, dancers, live music, and bands all clad in light-up costumes. It is one of the most popular Fiesta events.

This year’s parade did not disappoint the hundreds of thousands of spectators. The festivities kicked off with the Fiesta Fun Run, where several hundred runners of all ages dressed in costumes and ran through the streets where people cheered them on.

University Students Unsatisfied with Mayoral Election Town Hall

Manuel Medina (left), Ron Nirenberg and Mayor Ivy Taylor at the town hall
Photo by Andrea Acevedo

By Andrea Acevedo

Better public transportation, lower homelessness rates, and representing the interests of the San Antonio people were promised Tuesday night at a mayoral town hall debate. Yet for college students, the event left much to be desired.

The town hall was hosted by the Rivard Report, a local nonprofit online news organization. San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor and her mayoral election challengers, city councilman Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Manuel Medina, participated in the debate.

A handful of college students joined about 150 community members in the low lit Pearl Stable, hoping to get better insight on the city politics. Zabdi Salazar, sophomore business major at Trinity University, is from Austin. “While this does not have a direct effect on me right now, if I ever choose to stay in San Antonio, it will be important to be informed,” she said. “I think that undergraduates need to be involved in these sorts of events because right now it is the older populations that mostly come to these events.”

Trinity University Marches for MLK Day

Trinity Univesity participates in the MLK March
Photo by Taylor Moser

By Taylor Moser

More than 300 Trinity students gathered at the Bell Center on Monday morning to march down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

The gathering started at 8:30. Upon arrival, each student received a grey shirt bearing a quote from Dr. King: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Trinity University President Danny Anderson led the pack. "The MLK march in San Antonio is a great show of community commitment on behalf of Trinity University,” he said.

Ted Cruz Visits San Antonio Right Before Super Tuesday

More than 1500 people gather in the Shrine Auditorium in San Antonio for a Ted Cruz rally on Monday
Photos by Robert Smith

By Robert Smith

Over 1500 people packed the Shrine Auditorium near Stone Oak Monday afternoon during a rally for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz.

Just one day before Super Tuesday, Cruz is visiting Texas’ major cities in a last minute attempt to sway voters. With his wife Heidi and two daughters next to him, Cruz took the stage to a standing ovation and patriotic country music.

“This election is going to focus on three issues: jobs, freedom, and security,” Cruz told the supporters. “The heart of our economy is small business; you wanna hammer the economy you hammer small businesses. You wanna lift the economy then have the federal government lift their boots of the necks of small businesses.”

Trinity University President Leads Day of Service

Volunteers at Lamar Elementary School
Photos by Sara McCarty 

By Sara McCarty

Dr. Danny Anderson, Trinity University’s new president, spent Saturday morning raking leaves and helping with landscaping at Lamar Elementary School, as part of the Trinity Gives Back community service day.

Instead of his normal attire of suit, Anderson was wearing jeans and the "uniform" of the day, a maroon Trinity Gives Back T-shirt. As soon as he arrived at the elementary school, he went straight for the gardening gloves and began raking.

Lamar Elementary, which is in Trinity’s neighborhood, is one of a dozen locations around San Antonio where volunteers, including Trinity students, faculty, staff and alumni, spent the day doing various community services.

Houston Underground Hip-Hop Comes to San Antonio

By Robert Smith

Fat Tony
Photo courtesy of Fat Tony

Fat Tony and his DJ were playing a zombie arcade shooting game in a corner of Limelight, a music bar in San Antonio where the Houston-based rapper was about to start a show on Saturday evening.

The sound engineers tested a pre-recorded "Sushi," Tony’s hit single recorded alongside Asher Roth. Shrill whistles and kick drums come together to form a song that is unique and catchy. Red lights turned blue and then green, each color matching the mood of the subsequent songs. Finally, Tony left the arcade—he ran out of quarters.

Anthony Lawson Jude Ifeanyichukwu Obiawunaotu has one hell of a name. But his stage moniker pays homage to the likes of Big Moe, Slim Thug, and Fat Pat, all legends of the Houston underground hip-hop scene. “Houston made its best music, in my opinion, during the 90’s when it was…like Ghetto Boyz, Scarface, Devin the Dude; not just Houston but Texas,” says Tony.

Trinity Sophomore Performs in California with Improv Group

Sarah Jacobs
Photo by Abby Stigler

By Abby Stigler

Sarah Jacobs, a Trinity University sophomore, spent her winter break in California performing with a San Antonio improvisational group.

The six-member Alamo City Improv performed at an Upright Citizen’s Brigade Club, among other places, in Los Angeles. UCB is the improv group that launched comedian Amy Poehler’s career.

They performed 10 shows in eight days. Jacobs’ favorite part of this experience? “Having really funny people laugh at [my] jokes and being surrounded by fellow improvisers,” she says. Or, in the words of Jacob’s group member, Jeremy Zenor, 36, “I wasn’t sure how they would respond, we got the Texas jokes, but everyone was so supportive.”