Although I had been to San Antonio for conferences, I did not know the city until I started working and living there. Before I finished my doctoral degree, read this as "dissertation," I got my first professional job as a counselor at Trinity University. Throughout the Masters and Doctoral degree work I had worked at the university counseling center as a Grad. Asst. At Trinity I was getting a real paycheck.
Trinity University
Trinity University is a private, liberal arts school. The school prides itself on being very selective and its high standards. There are about 3000 students enrolled. Most of the undergrads live on campus. Of course the first two years, the students MUST live on campus, even if your house is two blocks away. The school's thinking is that they want the students to have a sense of belonging and loyalty. I had never worked with such a student population.
The incoming Freshmen had an average SAT of 1250, when I was there. This is when the perfect score was 1600. I think the state average was 800. The Freshmen class was 600, with half of the students coming from Texas. There was an 15-18% enrollment of minority students. Trinity students were led to believe that their wishes and expectations would be met by the faculty and staff. These students were stereotyped to be from wealthy families. Indeed some were. Notable from my time was Ted Koppel's son (dropped out) and recently Karl Rove's son. This young man and his fraternity was prohibited from having a "slave sale." He did not know what was wrong with this.
The housing and eating facilities were great, compared to other schools'. I especially enjoyed the end of the semester. Since most of the students had money to eat out of order in, their food cards went unspent. At the end of the semester, the money would not roll over into the next semester, but return to the University's general fund. The students would be happy to buy my lunch, by a cake, or a box of chips, in order to zero out their cards.
Trinity was fortunate to have wealthy benefactors and an eager group of students who worked the phones asking for money. Each building is named after the individual or family who started the project/ gave the most money - Parker Chapel, Coates Center, etc. The incentive for students to work the phones was usually a trip - to Hawai'i, Europe, or Caribbean.
I enjoyed working at Trinity. I had a chance to do many programs at the residence halls. I enjoyed my job at the counseling center and my colleagues there. However, my duties started to diverge from my title of counselor. These changes were always announced at the start of the new year and I was never part of the discussion about these new responsibilities. One year I became what I called, "Drug Czar." I was in charge of alcohol abuse education programming and making sure that the university was following federal rules and regs concerning alcohol use and abuse. Because the University did not want to offend the students or the parents/ donors, consequences were rarely enforced for breaking the rules.
The new job assigned to me that led me to start looking for a new job was Coordinator of Disabled Student Services. I still don't know why I was picked to do this. Regardless, I took it seriously and tried to make changes. This campus is on the site of a former gravel pit - a cliff and multiple levels. There were no curb cuts, or ramps. The restrooms in the administration building were not accessible. The ramp, from lower to upper campus, would cost about $60K. The President did not approve it. It was said that he had approved the library's new landscaping ($70K) because he did not like how it looked. He also had the landscapers spray paint dried grass patches. During "awareness week," I suggested the the Dean of Students that we could have a person in a wheel chair go to the registrar's office and ask for directions to a restroom. The person would return to report that the wheel chair could not get in, and ask for directions to an accessible restroom. This idea was nixed because it would be embarrassing to the staff person. It was also a struggle to get a professor to relocate his class so that a student in a wheel chair could attend. This job assignment was a struggle all around. I knew it was time to look for something else, and I found Yakima Valley Community College.
San Antonio History
"Remember the Alamo!" is what most people know of San Antonio. I may have been one of them. When I moved to San Antonio, I reconnected with my heritage roots. As I learned about the city and the history, I became upset that I did not know more and upset that we were never taught the real history of Texas and San Antonio.
The Spanish were eager to settle their large land holdings because the French were not too far away in Louisiana and all of that territory. In 1691, Spanish settlers and Franciscan monks came through the area and named it San Antonio. The Spanish King gave the Franciscans permission to set up a series of missions in the mostly unsettled territory. Land grants were also given to individuals to encourage the population and settling of what is now Texas. Very quickly, the new immigrants from the United States outnumbered the native Texicans. (Texicans are of Mexican decent living in Texas). This was all good until Spain lost control and Mexico gained independence. Around 1824, the new government in Mexico set up some laws that the residents on Texas did not like. In 1836 the conflict reached a boiling point and Mexican soldiers marched from Mexico City to San Antonio and we get "Remember the Alamo!" I skipped the stories of Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and John Wayne.
San Antonio Today
San Antonio is 250 miles north of the Rio Grande Valley. Although the ride is easy at 70 miles an hour all the way, it is still close to 4 hours away. San Antonio is a city of close to 2 million people. It is home to 4 military bases. Related to these is BAMC - Brooks Army Medical Center- and it world renown burn unit. San Antonio is also a convention city. It has the meeting facilities for the largest of groups, along with the needed hotel space. The following pictures are of three of the most popular tourist attractions - The Alamo, The Riverwalk, and the Missions.
The Alamo
The Daughters of the Republic of Texas are in charge of the Alamo. They take their charge very seriously. You will be asked to take off your sunvisors and caps. You will be told to speak in low voices. You will be surprised at the size of the building and its location - in the middle of downtown, with souvenir shops and a Ripley's Believe It or Not across the street. The tour of the artifacts and the building may not take too long. Take time to walk the grounds and enjoy the gardens and the huge live oak trees.
The Riverwalk
The San Antonio River was diverted and developed in the 60's around the time of the HemisFair. The water levels are controlled and although it seems as if the water does not flow, it does. The water is not crystal clear, but it does not smell. The banks of the river are lined with restaurants, shops, and bars. A "must-do" for visitors is to take a boat ride. Some restaurants offer dinner rides. These pictures were taken around 10 am on a Sunday, so not many people are seen. There were several restaurants that were busy serving breakfast/brunch. The river is pretty much in the shade of giant trees. My favorite time of the year for the riverwalk is from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. The trees are draped with lights and the edge of the river is lined with luminaries.
The Missions
There are 5 missions in San Antonio, the Alamo, San Jose, Concepcion, San Juan, and Espada. These missions showed the world the presence of the Spanish. They served to "reform the savages" to Catholicism. They also served as a base for incoming settlers from Spain.
The missions were large walled compounds. These walls protected the church and priests' residence, the granary, a cemetery, and maybe a convent. Along the walls were small living quarters for some of the Indians.
San Jose Mission (1720s)
This mission was restored in the 1930s with the help of stimulus money during the Great Depression.
It is hard to get a wide shot that includes the walls and the Indians' living quarters.
This was a Sunday and Mass was in progress.
The arched spaces were the residences of the priests and the convent.
The wall residences for the Indians and an oven in the foreground. These ovens were seen at spaced intervals along the wall.
Beware that these cacti will grow anywhere and are almost impossible to destroy. The cactus fruit, and the cactus pads are eaten today by many people of Mexican decent, including my aunt. I do not like them.
Another view of the arches.
Mission Concepcion
The only thing that is at this site is the church. The grounds include a few ruins, but it has not been restored like the San Jose.
When I think of San Antonio I think of American history. In public school history we learned about the pilgrims and Washington crossing the Delaware. We were never told that 250 miles of us, a very different world existed. I learned that there is an aqueduct at one of the missions that dates to the mid-1600s. Where were we on the American History timeline in the 1600s?
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