Jan. 30, 2017

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UC reaction to DAPL

Students react to Trump’s executive order on the Dakota Access Pipeline

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‘Dragon Play’ at Know Theatre

A mystical and interesting love story takes the stage at the Know Theatre

THE NEWS RECORD / UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI MONDAY , JAN. 30, 2017

NEWSRECORD.ORG

‘Defense’ act comes back FADA could have serious impacts on students CLARITY AMREIN | STAFF REPORTER

ERIC SEALS/DETROIT FREE PRESS/TNS

Tom Molina-Duarte, left, 28 and husband Bryan Victor, 30, pose for a portrait on Oct. 3, 2015 in their Detroit, Mich., home. The couple married in August but had been dating four years prior.

U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee announced earlier this month that they plan to reintroduce a bill called the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), according to NBC News. At one point, the bill was unable to get a hearing due to opposition from Democrats, but now its’ more likely to succeed due to a Republican-controlled congress, and Trump has pledged to sign FADA if passed by Congress. The bill would overturn one of former President Barack Obama’s executive orders, which ordered employment protection for LGBTQ+ and transgender federal or federallycontracted employees, according to LGBTQ Nation. The FADA prohibits the federal government from taking “discriminatory action” against any business or person that discriminates against LGBTQ+ people, according to Congress.gov. The act aims to protect the right of businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ+ people if they have an established religious or moral conviction that, as the bill states, “(1) marriage is or should be

recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or (2) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage,” also according to Congress.gov “FADA allows individuals and businesses to sue the federal government for interfering in their right to discriminate against LGBTQ people, and it would mandate the Attorney General defend the businesses,” according to NBC News. Mississippi passed a similar law, HB 1523, which is nearly identical to FADA, as it allows people and businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ+ people. The 2016 state law was blocked by a judge, and the case has gone to a higher court after a federal court ruled it in violation of the federal Equal Protection and Establishment Clauses, according to NBC News. Some politicians suspect that if this law passes, it will be heavily challenged in court with legal precedent to support it. However, if the bill does pass, it could have devastating results on the LGBTQ+ community across the country and here at home, according to some. Several UC students and

members of the university’s LGBTQ Center commented on how the bill might affect students on campus. Julia Draznin, a secondyear entrepreneurship and marketing student, and Ariel Shaw, a firstyear women’s gender and sexuality student, said that they know some students will be outraged, hurt and upset, and even worried that “it might inspire companies to put up anti-LGBTQ signs,” said Draznin. Warren Davidson, also a women’s gender and sexuality studies student, mentioned that because of rising awareness and acceptance, refusing to serve LBGTQ+ people might cause people to boycott businesses, causing them to close. He recalled a similar incident that occurred in his hometown. Regardless, it seems that if the bill passes, it could be met with great opposition, and the students at UC’s LGBTQ Center predicted that protests, boycotts and equality activism would only increase. The LGBTQ+ community and its many allies remain optimistic as more information about FADA surfaces.

Campus reacts to historic Crosstown Shootout DAVID WYSONG | SPORTS EDITOR

It was a sea of black, something Cincinnati has never seen. Almost 13,500 people piled into Fifth Third Arena Thursday, an arena record, all to witness the Crosstown Shootout. The home team, No. 19 Cincinnati Bearcats, took on their cross-city rival, No. 24 Xavier University, and the UC fans made sure their voices were heard. Like their black shirts, everyone’s voices blended in unison as many hoped to reclaim their city. Cincinnati fell threestraight games to their rivaled Musketeers, but that losing streak was halted that night in front of the sellout crowd. “The atmosphere was incredible. Definitely one of the best games I’ve experienced at Fifth Third in my five years here,” said fifth-year informational technology student Kyle Klingler. The atmosphere was not just felt by the people in attendance as those watching the game from home could tell the impact the fans had on the game. “Even just watching the game on TV, it was evident that the atmosphere was incredible. I think the crowd was definitely a catalyst in the victory,” said fourth-year sports administration student Chandler Patterson. The Bearcats defeated Xavier 86-78, but the crowd was not always loud and was not the only piece of history made during the night. Xavier guard Trevon Bluiett was the story of the first half, scoring 26 points in the period, leading to a 44-36 halftime lead over UC. He sunk his first eight three-point attempts and went on to make nine of them, tying a school record. Bluiett scored 40 points in the game, the second-most by an opponent in a game at UC. The only player with more points was Dell Curry, father of Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, with 41 during the 1985-86 season. “I kept saying to myself ‘He’ll start missing,’” Patterson said. “Well, that wasn’t the case. He had an incredible game, but the guys guarding him kept their heads up and played their game.” One of the biggest shots

Bluiett made was when he made an acrobatic threepointer at the buzzer, right before heading into the locker room at halftime. “At the end of the second half when he made the shot, I fell to my seat and thought, ‘Here we go again,’” said third-year sports administration student Joey Urenovitch. “UC has had trouble guarding the three and it showed at the game. They were able to slow him down in the second half, but it looked like nothing

could stop him.” Slowing him down is what the Bearcats did to win the game, holding him to 14 points in the second half, ultimately contributing to their win. Cincinnati is on an 11game winning streak, and Xavier was the second top25 team UC has defeated this season. The recent excelled play of the Bearcats is leaving their screaming fans hopeful that this season is special. “Other years, UC would

have probably lost, but not this year,” said Urenovitch. “This team is different, and I think with the rest of the schedule UC could be one of the top seeds in the [NCAA] tournament. A deep run is expected.” Urenovitch is not the only fan expecting a deep tournament run. “I think this win will spur them into a great end of the season. The Bearcats are a force to reckon with,” Patterson said.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY HYPERLOOP UC’S FACEBOOK PAGE.

UC Hyperloop team competes in SpaceX competition in Cali PARKER MALATESTA | NEWS EDITOR

JEAN PLEITEZ | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Troy Caupain (10) celebrates as the Bearcats take down crosstown rivals Xavier 86-78, Thursday, January 26, 2017 at Fifth Third Arena.

The University of Cincinnati Hyperloop team is one of 27 teams that competed in the SpaceX Hyperloop pod competition Friday through Sunday. The event took place at SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. With the initial idea deriving from entrepreneur Elon Musk, the purpose of the competition is to improve the development and implementation of a functional Hyperloop prototype and to encourage student innovation in the project. The ultimate goal is to create a mode of transportation that is safer, faster, cheaper, more convenient, weather immune, sustainably self-powering, earthquake resistant and undisruptive compared to today’s planes, trains and automobiles. This competition is the first of its kind anywhere in the globe. Due to a high volume of initial submissions, Musk has declared that there will be numerous competitions in the future. Dhaval Shivani, president of Hyperloop UC, looks at the competition with a broad scope. He said the UC team plans to continually refine their prototype for future competitions, focusing on always improving and strengthening core fundamentals. In the days leading up to the competition, the team did not run into any unexpected problems. “Things are going exactly as they should be,” said Shivani. The proposed transportation system claims that with the final product, you can travel from Cincinnati to Chicago in half an hour. The Hyperloop prototype

is made up of four main proponents: The capsule, the tube, the linear accelerator needed to propel the pod and a route with stations. With the creation of a Hyperloop pod, the initial problem you run into is the Kantrowitz limit. This is known as nature’s top speed law for a given tube to pod ratio. There are two solutions to Kantrowitz limit, one that leaves the prototype going slowly and another that pushes the pod to high acceleration. The current conventional approach to solving this issue is mounting an electric compressor fan on the nose of the pod, which will actively transfer high pressure air from the front to the back of the pod. Now that ideas are developing, innovators are looking at the needed economics of a Hyperloop prototype. The benefit of building a tube track instead of a railroad is that it can be constructed in prefabricated sections that are entirely put together by an orbital seam welder. Because of the necessity to build the track on pylons, you can nearly avoid the option to buy land and instead place the route along a very straight highway, such as California Interstate 5. By placing solar panels on top of the pod, the Hyperloop can produce surplus energy needed for transportation. In terms of energy cost, the Hyperloop is incomparable. Conventional modes of transportation use roughly 15 times more energy. The final goal of this Hyperloop project is to create a mode of transportation that is inexpensive, quick and environmentally sound.

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