Recent world tensions have trickled into a main focus of young social media users and some of our beloved brands have taken a side that many do not stand for. The conflict going on in the Gaza Strip has been going on since October of this year and sadly doesn’t show a stopping point anytime soon. The tensions started when Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, led surprise attacks on multiple locations in Israel including a music festival, towns, and even a military base. Since this, Israel has vowed to put an end to Hamas and will do anything necessary to reach this goal. Here is where the issue lies, they are using many tactics that some would feel unethical and very drastic. Israel has besieged Gaza and since launched a ground invasion and since there has been a back-and-forth bloodbath from both sides.

What has really taken the internet by storm was the lawsuit that Starbucks issued against one of its own workers unions. Starbucks Workers United shared a post on their social media depicting their support for the Palestinians during this tough time and Starbucks struck back with a lawsuit claiming that the group cannot use their name and a logo resembling their own. The union returned with a comment claiming that Starbucks is against Palestinian support. This caused outrage on both sides and in such has stirred up the younger adult online community, the majority of Starbucks customers.

Many college students and other young adults across social media have spoken out about their position against Israel and its inhumane use of military force and even calling the ground invasion and other attacks “genocide” of Palestinian people. The lawsuit and all the drama around Starbucks and other brands has sparked a boycott of certain companies that show support of Israel and that send funds to them, essentially supporting the war effort and encouraging and actively participating in the act of genocide. A student from Texas A&M University- Texarkana says, “ I think big corporations were at some point thinking about making money [over the conflict] so they went towards the money without thinking about the people and now they are realizing that their choice to make money is actually losing them money.” Currently, there hasn’t been too much buzz locally but knowing that some students may feel a certain way about the conflict and also having a Starbucks at the Patterson Student Center, may influence some to protest and boycott on campus.

Hopefully the conflict will end soon in the most humane and peaceful way, allowing both sides to come to an agreement and stopping the unneeded killing, but until that happens, will you be dining at Starbucks?

As announced on October 25th, 2023, Texarkana A & M University Texarkana plans on expanding its athletic programs come the new year. Among the planned additions, Varsity Esports is one that may catch the attention of some students. For the past four years, the Esports club on campus has been working to get funding and faculty backing to compete with other campuses. Even local high schools achieved this goal before our very own Eagles, but now that has finally changed.

The club started in 2019 and has since been growing its numbers and putting on events for the campus to get the attention of students and faculty to show that this is a big interest amongst the student population. Strides were made when the club acquired its very own room in Spring of 2023. Since then the club has hosted multiple MarioKart 8 and Super Smash Bros Ultimate tournaments in this space.

When reaching out to longtime Esports club member and co-founder George Sawyer on his opinions of the big news, he said, “I am glad it’s finally coming. We have worked very hard but at the end of the day it wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the new university president so thanks to him everything will finally be becoming real after over 4 years.” The club has changed much since its conception so when asking one of the new current members about what they have planned going forward now with this new support, Quencey Jones, the current vice president of the club says“ I am very excited that we are being funded. I am hoping for the future that we get our PCs soon and [gain] access to better tournaments…really looking for Valorant, Cs2, and Overwatch 2 players.”

Many options will soon be available for all interested, but currently the club is focused on Apex Legends, a first-person-shooter game that has characters with unique abilities fight until one stands victorious. Juan Couchenour, the club’s current treasurer says, “We do weekly scrims [on] the weekends. We have a five person Apex team for these tournaments with some alternates.” When asked about the future and other titles Juan had similar names while also including Rocket League as another focus once this all falls into place.

Big things are coming for our Eagles and any student can be a part of it. Though the varsity teams start in the 2024 year, the opportunity to meet with club members is still possible by attending meetings in UC 323 and participating in any upcoming events that they have planned, one being a FIFA tournament that will be occurring on November 12th in the Patterson Student Center with more information being posted there or outside of Student Life. With all these new opportunities coming to campus, are you game?

Rain or shine, our Eagles make it right! The Eagles took on Jarvis Christian this past Thursday for their 17th game in their 2023-24 season. They played at their home turf of Judy Kelley Morgan Field, where they have been evenly matched with a 4-4 win-loss record. This game is important because if lost, they would not have qualified to compete in the upcoming Conference Tournament.

The match starts with Jarvis Christian kicking off and keeping control but soon the Eagles take possession when JC tries to push down field. Fouls begin happening with JC fouling Damilare Origunloye and the Eagles getting a free kick. This would start the cascade of fouls that begin to unfold from both teams in this tough game. The foul that was the most important in this first half was one that was unfortunately done by our own Coastes Heckman which looked like maybe a grab towards the other player that caused the call. This free kick would allow JC to put themselves on the board with a shot that was more than half the length of the field, putting the score at 1-0 Jarvis Christian leading.

For the remainder of the first half, it was very back and forth between both teams. There was a yellow card given to Dante Zavala for what looked like too high of a kick hitting the opposing team member. Not too long after, Jaret Rojas received a  yellow card for an unintentional headbutt given to the other team’s player. With no more scores, the first half came to an end.

The second half begins with an Eagles kick off, trailing still with Jarvis Christian leading with a 1-0 score. There was back and forth at the beginning but then fouls started stirring up again with JC fouling our own Patrick Cowley just about 25 feet from the opposing goal. With a strong kick, it sadly does not make it, barely missing the top crossbar. The tension continues with shortly after another foul being called that was done to Emmanuel Mubanga allowing a free kick right on the center line with a nice kick that ends up being a goal kick for the JC Bulldogs. The ball is juggled between both teams for possession and with the Eagles still down by 1 they need to quickly score to keep their ranking of 8th to be able to qualify.

With nothing happening and the time clock steadily counting down, with just five minutes remaining the Eagles get fouled inside the goal box resulting in a 1-on-1 penalty kick. This is exactly what our Eagles need to secure a possible tie and even the playing field. Oluwafisayo Oduwole goes up for the kick and shoots a beautiful top left shot making the score 1-1! For the rest of the match it was back and forth with a few fouls and another yellow card given to JC’s goalie because of unsportsmanlike conduct by kicking the ball over the fence during a pause.

Overall, a very stressful game for the Eagles but in the end they were able to pull through and score a goal to tie it up leaving their home games scores at 4-4-1 and overall record being 9-8-1, allowing them to go and compete in the Red River Athletic Conference. Go Eagles !

Professor Paul Goodchild is a new assistant professor in the accounting department here on campus. Meeting him was a real treat that allowed some insight on both the life of a professor, along with someone who cares deeply about student concerns and needs. Paul hails from Massachusetts where he grew up and attended UMass. Before deciding on coming to Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT), he worked at a few other universities like USC-Aiken, Quinnipiac University, and UCM.

Paul has only been working for TAMUT since July and some of his favorite things about the campus is the fact that it is alive and growing. He really enjoys student engagement and hopes that the way things are going, student engagement and attendance can boom and benefit the surrounding community.

Mr. Goodchild is an assistant professor and wants to help the student population with his skills. The Volunteer Income Tax Association or VITA is a program that Paul would like to get started and grow an interest in to help students who do not know how to file taxes. This program works alongside the IRS and allows students to get taxes done or help those in the community file taxes that have an income of $64,000 or lower. If any students or faculty members are interested in joining or learning more, please email him for information. His email can be found in the school directory located here.

But Paul is not all work and no play, he has some interesting hobbies alongside his work life. He is an avid dirt bike rider and enjoys tinkering and repairing any small motors that come with the hobby. This can all be found on a YouTube channel that features all the places he rides and even includes some input on the surrounding area in case one is interested in visiting. His channel can be found here.