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universitystar.com

The Student News Site of Texas State University

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The University Star – The Student News Site of Texas State University Full homepage screenshot

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What is The University Star?

The University Star is the independent, student-run news site serving Texas State University and the surrounding San Marcos community. Its homepage reads as a working newsroom feed rather than a brochure: campus administration and city government stories sit alongside sports results, life-and-arts features, opinion letters and student obituaries.

H3 What it actually covers

  • Campus and city news — student government, lawsuits involving faculty, degree-policy changes from state officials, and San Marcos City Council decisions on budgets and utility rates.
  • Sports — Texas State teams across seasons, including game-by-game coverage of wins, losses and conference milestones.
  • Life and arts — local clubs, festivals and community groups.
  • Opinion and letters — reader-submitted pieces, such as a complaint about crowded campus shuttles.
  • Breaking and sensitive stories — for example, reporting that identified remains as a missing Texas State student.

H3 Who it is for Current students, faculty and staff who need campus news; San Marcos residents who want city government reporting; alumni and parents tracking the university; and journalists or researchers looking for a student-press perspective on Texas State. Because reporters are students, bylines often carry titles like "News Reporter," "Sports Contributor" or "Life and Arts Reporter," which tells you how much newsroom experience sits behind a given piece.

H3 How to use it Start with the latest-news column for chronological coverage, then check the editor's pick and trending list if you only have a few minutes — those surface the stories other readers are actually opening. For anything time-sensitive, compare the byline and date, since contributor-written items may be lighter on sourcing than staff-reported ones.

A practical next step: if you are a Texas State student, use the site to track one ongoing local issue — the city budget or campus transit, for instance — across several weeks. You will see how student reporters build a beat, and you will know more about San Marcos than most people around you.

For comparison, other student and campus-adjacent outlets include The Daily Texan at UT Austin and Texas State University for official university announcements, which is where to confirm administrative decisions that The University Star reports on.

How can I subscribe to The University Star newsletter?

Subscribe through the newsletter signup on The University Star homepage. The site shows a "Subscribe to Our Newsletter" prompt, which is the direct route: enter your email address there and confirm the subscription if a verification message arrives.

If you prefer not to hunt for the form each time, a practical approach is to create a browser bookmark for the homepage so the signup box is one click away, or check whether the site's Instagram account (@universitystar) links to the same signup page.

A reasonable next step: subscribe with an address you check regularly, then watch for a confirmation email. If nothing arrives within a few minutes, look in spam or promotions folders before trying again.

What is happening with the Texas State University shuttles and overcrowding?

The University Star has covered shuttle overcrowding as a student-experience issue rather than a service announcement. One item in its latest-news list is a letter to the editor by Shar Kiefer, dated September 25, 2026, titled "Letter to the Editor: On overcrowded Texas State University shuttles." That is a reader-submitted account of crowding, so treat it as one person's observation and a prompt for questions, not as a verified operations report.

What the coverage shows

  • The topic surfaced through a letter to the editor, meaning students are raising it directly with the paper rather than only through official channels.
  • The Star's news desk covers local government closely — its recent City Council stories include budget and utility-rate decisions — so transit funding and route changes could appear there next.
  • The paper's newsroom is student-staffed and organized by beat (news, life and arts, sports), with named reporters and contributors on each story.

What to do next

If you ride the shuttles, capture specifics: route name, time of day, how many buses passed full, and wait time. Those details turn a general complaint into something a reporter or transit office can act on. Then check The University Star for follow-ups and search its news section for "shuttle," and compare with the university's official transit page for route and schedule changes.

How the sources differ

Source Best for Trade-off
The University Star Student-reported experience, campus context, local government angles Opinion letters reflect one rider's view; not official data
University transit office Schedules, route changes, official capacity figures Less likely to describe day-to-day crowding

For a quick decision: use The Star to understand how the issue feels on the ground and who is talking about it; use official transit channels to confirm what is actually changing.

What are the details of the Texas State history professor lawsuit ruling?

The University Star reports that a judge ruled in favor of a former Texas State history professor in a lawsuit, in a September 25, 2026 story by News Editor Arabella DiChristina. The headline and the site's news index are the only details available here: the page evidence does not name the professor, the court, the claims, or the remedy, so anyone who needs the specifics should open the story itself at The University Star rather than rely on the headline.

For context on how to read it, this is student-reported campus journalism, so the ruling is covered as a campus news item rather than as a full legal analysis. Expect the article to carry more detail than the index entry, and check whether it links the underlying court documents or quotes the professor's attorney.

A practical next step: if you are a student journalist, a faculty member, or an alum tracking the case, start with the Star's news section and search the site for the professor's name and "lawsuit" to pull earlier stories that establish the background. If you need the authoritative record, the ruling docket or court filing will be more complete than any news summary.

How is Texas State University responding to the missing student case?

The University Star reported that remains found in the search for a missing Texas State student were identified, with the story credited to Foster Conner and Arabella DiChristina on September 23, 2026. That report is the clearest public signal of how the case moved from an active search to a confirmed identification, and it anchors the student newspaper's continuing coverage.

For anyone following the case, the practical next step is to track the paper's news section rather than rely on a single article. Follow-up angles a campus outlet typically pursues include statements from university administration, any campus safety or counseling resources announced in response, and community reaction. A reader wanting the university's own position should check official Texas State channels alongside student reporting, since a student newsroom and an administration communicate for different purposes: the newsroom documents and questions, while the university issues formal guidance and support information.

The University Star

What are the latest Texas State sports results and Pac-12 wins?

The University Star's sports desk is the place to look for Texas State team results, including the program's first Pac-12 victories. Its latest coverage highlights a Bobcat football win over Incarnate Word, a football loss to Colorado State, and a volleyball sweep of Utah State described as the first Pac-12 win in program history.

What the coverage shows

  • Football: A win over Incarnate Word and a loss to Colorado State, with consistency cited as an issue in the latter.
  • Volleyball: A sweep of Utah State, framed as a milestone Pac-12 result.
  • News context: Stories are filed by student reporters and contributors, so results are reported from a campus angle rather than as a national wire recap.

How to use it

If you want scores plus context — who played well, what it means for the season — start with the sports section and check back after game days, since student outlets publish quickly but may not cover every away event. For schedules, rosters and official stats, the athletics department's own site is the better reference; The University Star is strongest for reaction, student-athlete quotes and campus perspective.

A practical example: after a weekend, scan the latest sports stories for the result and a player or coach quote, then verify the final score and standings against the official athletics site before citing it.

Related questions

More questions →
What Is The University Star?

The University Star (universitystar.com) is the student-run news site of Texas State University, covering campus and San Marcos community news, life and arts, sports, and opinion. It is aimed at Texas State students, faculty, and San Marcos residents who want student-reported coverage of local and university issues. If you are looking for official university announcements or administrative communications, this is a student news outlet rather than an official Texas State channel.

Who runs it

The site identifies itself as "The Student News Site of Texas State University." Its content is produced by students in roles such as News Reporter, News Editor, Life and Arts Reporter, Sports Reporter, and News Contributor, based on the bylines shown on the homepage. The site also references a "Star News Network."

What it covers

The homepage organizes content into clear sections:

Section Example coverage from the site
News City Council budget and stormwater utility rates; EMS rates and fiscal year 2027 budget; a judge's ruling in a former history professor's lawsuit; remains identified as a missing Texas State student; a three-year degree framework directed by Abbott; suicide prevention
Life and Arts Clay Club SMTX; L Fest at Tantra
Sports Bobcats football vs. Incarnate Word and Colorado State; Texas State volleyball sweeping Utah State for a first Pac-12 win
Opinion / Letters A letter to the editor on overcrowded Texas State University shuttles

The site also maintains an "Editor's Pick" and a "Trending Stories" list, which on the captured homepage included a new H-E-B in San Marcos, a Texas THC ban, Nepali students, and a counter-protest at TXST.

How to use it

  • Read the latest: The homepage leads with a "LATEST NEWS" feed, each item showing headline, author, role, date, and a "Read Story" link.
  • Browse by section: Use the News, Life and Arts, Sports, and Opinion sections to narrow coverage; each section has a "View All" option.
  • Follow updates: The site offers a newsletter signup ("Subscribe to Our Newsletter") and links to its Instagram profile (@universitystar).

What to keep in mind

Because it is student-produced, treat it as student journalism: useful for campus and San Marcos community reporting, but not an official source for university policy or records. For decisions that depend on official information, confirm with Texas State University directly.

How to Follow or Subscribe to The University Star

You can follow The University Star through its website, where a newsletter signup and an Instagram feed are both featured on the homepage. The site is the student news publication of Texas State University, and its front page is organized around Latest News, Editor's Pick, and Trending Stories, so you can either subscribe for updates or browse by section without creating an account.

Subscribe to the Newsletter

The homepage includes a "Subscribe to Our Newsletter" prompt. That is the site's stated subscription channel for getting content delivered rather than checking the page manually.

  • What you need: an email address and access to the universitystar.com homepage.
  • What to do: locate the "Subscribe to Our Newsletter" section and enter your email where prompted.
  • What to expect: newsletter delivery of The University Star's content. The available site information does not specify frequency, send times, or whether any login is required, so treat those as unconfirmed until you see the signup form itself.

If the signup form asks for more than an email address, that detail would appear on the form — it is not described in the site information available here.

Follow on Instagram

The homepage embeds an Instagram feed under the heading "INSTAGRAM FEED," linking to the profile @universitystar. Following that account is the direct social option shown on the site.

This is useful if you prefer scrolling a feed over reading email. The embedded feed shows recent posts without leaving the homepage, while following the account adds new posts to your own Instagram timeline.

Browse the Site by Section

If you would rather not subscribe at all, the homepage is already organized so you can find current content quickly:

Section What it shows
Latest News Most recent stories, each with a reporter byline and date
Editor's Pick A highlighted story selected by the editorial staff
Trending Stories A numbered list of the most-read items
News News-category stories in reverse chronological order
Instagram Feed Recent posts from @universitystar

Each story listing includes a headline, author name and role (for example, News Reporter or Sports Contributor), and a publication date, plus a "Read Story" link. A "View All" link appears at the end of the News section for older items.

What You'll Be Following

The University Star covers Texas State University and the surrounding San Marcos community. Recent homepage items illustrate the range:

  • Campus and local government: City Council budget and stormwater utility rate decisions, EMS rates, and the fiscal year 2027 budget.
  • University administration and policy: a court ruling in a former history professor's lawsuit, and a state directive on a three-year degree framework.
  • Student life and community: a letter to the editor about overcrowded university shuttles, suicide prevention coverage, and profiles of student clubs and cultural events.
  • Sports: TXST victories and losses, including a program-first Pac-12 win.
  • Campus news: reporting on a missing student whose remains were identified.

Because the publication is student-run, bylines identify contributors and editors by name and role, which makes it easy to see who reported a given story.

Practical Notes

  • No account is mentioned for reading. All homepage stories are listed with direct "Read Story" links, and nothing in the available information indicates a paywall or login requirement for reading.
  • Subscription is separate from following. The newsletter is an email signup; Instagram is a social follow. You can do either, both, or neither.
  • Check the date on each story. Listings carry explicit dates, and the homepage mixes very recent items with slightly older ones, so the date is the reliable signal of how current a story is.
  • The Trending list is not chronological. It ranks by readership, so a trending item may be several days older than the top Latest News story.
How The University Star Operates as a Student News Site

The University Star is the student news site of Texas State University, and it operates as a student-run newsroom: Texas State students serve as reporters, editors, and contributors who produce news, life and arts, sports, and opinion coverage for the campus and the surrounding San Marcos community. That structure is the key to understanding everything else about the site — the beats it covers, the voices in its bylines, and how its content differs from official university communications.

Who produces the content

The bylines on The University Star show students in named roles rather than a professional, off-campus newsroom. Recent examples from the site include:

  • News Reporter — Ca'Myah Robinson, covering City Council budget and rate decisions
  • News Editor — Arabella DiChristina, covering a lawsuit ruling involving a former history professor
  • News Contributor — Madison Winzer, covering EMS rates and the fiscal year 2027 budget
  • Life and Arts Reporter / Contributor — Vanessa Rivera and Kaylee Cantu, covering local art and community events
  • Sports Reporter / Contributor — Julia Veilleux and Rhianna Aleman, covering Texas State athletics

The mix of "reporter," "editor," and "contributor" titles indicates a layered student staff: editors assign and review, reporters file regularly, and contributors add pieces without holding a full beat. That is the standard shape of a college newsroom, and it means the site's quality and focus shift each semester as students rotate through roles.

What it covers

The Star's coverage splits into recognizable sections, each with its own scope:

Section What it covers Example from the site
News Campus governance, city government, university policy, public safety City Council approves new fiscal year budget and stormwater utility rates
Life and Arts Local culture, community groups, student life Clay Club SMTX shapes community through art; L Fest at Tantra
Sports Texas State teams and athletic milestones Bobcats beat Incarnate Word; Texas State sweeps Utah State for first Pac-12 win in program history
Opinion / Letters Student and community viewpoints Letter to the Editor on overcrowded Texas State shuttles

Two things stand out about this mix. First, the news section treats San Marcos city government as a beat alongside campus news — City Council budget votes and utility rates get the same treatment as university matters. Second, the site carries reader-submitted opinion, such as the letter about shuttle overcrowding, which is a distinct category from staff reporting.

How it relates to Texas State University

The Star is the student news site of Texas State University, not a department of it. Its content is produced by students and covers the university as a subject — including stories that are critical or sensitive, like the letter on overcrowded shuttles, coverage of demonstrators and a counter-protest at TXST, and a judge's ruling in a former professor's lawsuit. That editorial independence is what separates a student news outlet from a university press release page.

It also covers state-level policy that affects students, such as a directive from the governor on a three-year degree framework aimed at lowering costs. So the scope runs from the city council chamber to the state capitol, always filtered through how it lands on campus.

How to follow it

The site offers a newsletter signup ("Subscribe to Our Newsletter") and maintains an Instagram presence under the handle universitystar. It also identifies itself as part of the "Star News Network." If you want to track a specific beat — city budget votes, Texas State athletics, or campus events — the section structure above is the fastest way to filter, since stories are grouped by News, Life and Arts, Sports, and Opinion rather than published as one undifferentiated feed.

One practical note: because the staff is made up of students, contact information and beat assignments change between semesters. If you need to reach a specific reporter or editor, check the byline on their most recent story rather than relying on an older listing.

What Kind of News and Topics Does The University Star Cover?

The University Star is the student news site of Texas State University, and it covers four main areas: campus and university news, the city of San Marcos and its local government, Texas State athletics, and life, arts, and opinion content. If you want student-reported coverage of what is happening at TXST and in the surrounding San Marcos community, this is the site to follow. Its reporting is produced by student staff and contributors, with sections labeled News, Sports, Life and Arts, and Opinion.

Campus and university news

This is the core of the site. Recent coverage includes:

  • A judge ruling in favor of a former history professor amid a lawsuit
  • Remains identified as a missing Texas State student
  • A state directive for a three-year degree framework aimed at lowering costs
  • Community and conversation around suicide prevention

These stories show the range: university administration and legal matters, student safety, state policy affecting TXST, and campus health issues.

San Marcos city government and community

The Star treats the city of San Marcos as part of its beat, not just the campus. Examples from the site include:

  • City Council approving a new fiscal year budget and new stormwater utility rates
  • City Council discussing EMS rates and the fiscal year 2027 budget
  • A new H-E-B opening in San Marcos in the fall

If you live off campus or want to understand how city decisions affect students, this section is relevant.

Sports and Texas State athletics

Athletics coverage focuses on the Bobcats and includes game results and program milestones, such as:

  • Bobcats offense shining in a victory over Incarnate Word
  • TXST struggling with consistency against Colorado State
  • Texas State sweeping Utah State for the first Pac-12 win in program history

This section suits readers who follow TXST teams and want student-press recaps rather than national coverage.

Life, arts, and opinion

The Life and Arts section covers local culture and community groups, for example:

  • Clay Club SMTX shaping community through art
  • L Fest bringing connection and creativity to Tantra

Opinion appears through letters to the editor, such as one on overcrowded Texas State University shuttles. The site also maintains a trending stories list, which recently included a Texas THC ban argument, Nepali students responding to tragedy, and a counter-protest at TXST.

How to decide whether to follow it

If you want... The University Star is a good fit
Student-reported campus news Yes — News is a primary section
San Marcos city and local policy Yes — City Council coverage is regular
TXST athletics recaps Yes — Sports covers Bobcats games
Arts, culture, and opinion Yes — Life and Arts plus letters to the editor
National or global news No — coverage is local to TXST and San Marcos

The site also offers a newsletter signup and an Instagram feed, so you can follow it through email or social media rather than checking the homepage. One practical note: because it is a student publication, staff and contributors change by semester, so the depth of coverage in any given section can vary over time.

Website Overview

Identifiable technologies and additional version or configuration signals make the service easier to fingerprint, which may help targeted scanners narrow their checks. An established domain and managed infrastructure suggest continuity of operations and may support dependable delivery, although neither guarantees service quality.

Domain and Registration

Registered in 2000, this domain has about 26 years of history. That suggests continuity, although ownership and purpose may have changed. Transfer-protection status is present, helping reduce the risk of unauthorized domain transfers. The registrar is NameCheap, Inc., a widely used domain service provider. The domain uses the common .com extension, which is not an independent safety signal.

DNS and Email

MX records exist, but SPF, DKIM and DMARC were not detected. Protection against domain impersonation may be incomplete. Nameservers are provided by Cloudflare, indicating managed DNS hosting. MX records point to the Google Workspace email service. No CNAME was found; the observed records resolve directly to addresses. TXT records include verification markers for Google. Such markers may also remain after a service stops being used.

TLS and Certificates

The public key uses EC with 256 bits. The server supplied a complete certificate chain. No organization name is present in the certificate; the available fields are consistent with domain validation. The certificate was issued within the Google Trust Services cloud or CDN ecosystem. The certificate's total validity is about 90 days, consistent with a short renewal cycle.

HTTP and Browser Security

No X-Powered-By header was found, reducing one common source of backend fingerprinting information. All six checked browser-security headers are present. Their effectiveness still depends on the policy values and application behavior. The cf-ray response header indicates a CDN or caching proxy in the delivery path. No obvious internal addresses or debug information were found in the headers. The Server header identifies cloudflare without an exact version.

Technology Stack Analysis

The public page identifies WordPress 7.1.2, jQuery, Bootstrap, Google Analytics, Cloudflare, with exact versions exposed for 1 technologies. These details can narrow vulnerability checks, although exposure alone is not a vulnerability.

Search and Social Sharing

The title has 69 characters and may be truncated in search results. The Generator tag identifies WordPress 7.1.2, making the publishing system easier to fingerprint. No homepage canonical URL was detected. If duplicate URLs exist, consolidation may be less explicit. A meta description is present, with 47 characters. A viewport declaration is present, providing a basis for mobile layout.

Hosting and Email

DNSCloudflare
HostingCloudflare
EmailGoogle Workspace
Approximate IP geolocation (inferred; a CDN or proxy may differ from the origin server) Location unknown Inferred 104.21.95.41

Registration details

RDAP / WHOIS

RegistrarNameCheap, Inc.
Registered2000-07-27
Expires2027-07-27
Domain statusclient transfer prohibited
Nameserversowen.ns.cloudflare.com、sima.ns.cloudflare.com
DNSSECunsigned

DNS records

DNS

TypeNameValueTTLPriority
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MXuniversitystar.comaspmx.l.google.com3001
MXuniversitystar.comalt1.aspmx.l.google.com3005
MXuniversitystar.comalt2.aspmx.l.google.com3005
MXuniversitystar.comaspmx2.googlemail.com30010
MXuniversitystar.comaspmx3.googlemail.com30010
NSuniversitystar.comowen.ns.cloudflare.com86400—
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TLS and certificates

TLS / SSL

AssessmentNormal configuration
Supported protocolsTLSv1.2、TLSv1.3
Negotiated protocolTLSv1.3
Certificate subjectuniversitystar.com
IssuerGoogle Trust Services
Valid until2026-12-02T05:29 · Remaining when checked: 65 days
Verification detailsCertificate trust: Passed · Hostname match: Passed

HTTP response headers

HTTP

HeaderValue
content-typetext/html; charset=UTF-8
cache-controlpublic, max-age=600
servercloudflare
strict-transport-securityincludeSubDomains; preload; max-age=63072000
content-security-policyframe-ancestors 'self';
x-frame-optionsSAMEORIGIN
x-content-type-optionsnosniff
referrer-policystrict-origin-when-cross-origin
permissions-policyaccelerometer=(), camera=(), geolocation=(), gyroscope=(), magnetometer=(), microphone=(), payment=(), usb=()

Identified technologies

WordPress 7.1.2jQueryBootstrapGoogle AnalyticsCloudflare

Pages, Search and Sharing

Meta descriptionThe Student News Site of Texas State University
Canonical URLNot detected
LanguageEnglish (default)
Twitter CardNot detected

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