THE DAILY COUGAR California dreaming: softball starts season with out-of-state tourney/sports
Classic love story retold in time for Valentine’s Day weekend /LIFE & ARTS
Monday, February 9, 2009
Issue 88, Volume 74
®
TODAY’S WEATHER
3-day forecast, Page 2
Hi 74 Lo 62 www.thedailycougar.com
Man shot to death on campus By James Rincon and Abdul Khan The Daily Cougar A man was shot to death Saturday at the Metro bus stop outside Hofheinz Pavilion on the 3400 block of Cullen Blvd. The unidentified victim was a white male between the ages of 40 and 50 with long, unkempt hair and a “weathered look,” police said. The Homicide unit of the Houston Police Department is investigating with cooperation from Metro. Police said the shooting occurred between 6 and 7 a.m. The victim, who was likely homeless, was sleeping on the bus stop bench before being shot once in the head, police said. Police said the incident was probably not a robbery and are referring to it as a “random act of violence.” The University has 490 security cameras with two in the immediate vicinity of the shooting which may have recorded footage useful to the case, police said. Despite the shooting, classes will be held as scheduled today. Carl Carlucci, UH System vice
President and vice Chancellor for Administration & Finance, issued a statement to the campus community. “With more than 60,000 individuals on our campus at any given time, and an area that encompasses nearly 600 acres, UH is the size of a small city. As such, we’re subject to the same amount of crime and violence any community faces,” Carlucci said in his statement. “How e v e r, statistically speaking, the university remains as safe and secure as most areas of Houston and safer than many. This is no accident.” The victim was found by a UH student who then called 911. Carlucci said he and UH President and UHS Chancellor Renu Khator are committed to maintaining campus safety. “Nearly 50 police officers and two dozen security officers safeguard us, and more than 400 security cameras allow us to monitor the campus around the clock,” he said in his statement. “We have an emergency see SHOOTING, page 3
Yvette davila The daily cougar
Houston Police Department Homicide Unit investigates the crime scene hours after the fatal shooting outside of Hofheinz Pavillion on Saturday.
Name dispute deepens By Jasmine Harrison The Daily Cougar The University of HoustonDowntown’s deadline for changing its name was extended when the UH System Board of Regents voted to indefinitely delay the name change at a special session Friday. The new name was originally to
Patricia Estrada The Daily Cougar
Students are encouraged to help grow their own food every Thursday in Lynn Eusan Park.
Campus dining future takes root in garden By Patricia Estrada The Daily Cougar UH Plant Operations unveiled a new produce garden on Thursday, where students will be able to have a hand in growing the food they eat on campus. The 1500-square-foot garden is the fruit of a cooperative effort between the Student Government Association, University Services and the Campus Sustainability Task Force. “This is a living learning laboratory for our students,” Assistant Vice President for University Services Emily Messa said. “This will give
students a chance to know where their food is coming from, rather than think it is coming from Wal-Mart.” The garden, located in Lynn Eusan Park, outside of the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, is growing over 10 varieties of vegetables and herbs. The UH dining staff will use the produce, which includes corn, okra, carrots, pimento peppers, garden beans, sugar beets and bell peppers, as fresh ingredients in the cafeterias. The vegetables need about three months to reach full harvest. see GARDEN, page 9
be submitted to the board by Jan. 30 and forwarded to the state legislature, but UHD officials now have as much time as they need to come up with a suitable name after Chairman of the Board Welcome Wilson’s motion to delay was passed. “Today, it’s not about a namechange issue; it’s about a name selection,” board member Lynden
Rose said. “The name change issue has already been voted on.” Still, several in a packed house of students and faculty from both UH and UHD came with testimonies as to why the name should or should not be changed. Michelle Moosally, president of the see UHD, page 3
Dorm proposal benefits UH By James Hale The Daily Cougar Projects designed to provide more freshman housing and to improve on-campus dining passed Friday through the UH System Facilities, Construction and Master Planning Committee. Carl Carlucci, Elwyn Lee and Dave Irvin outlined the benefits of increasing housing for freshmen, which include improved student retention and graduation rates as well as fostering a community atmosphere for incoming students. “This housing is directed toward a living, learning environment,” said Carlucci, vice president of administration and finance. “The layout of the floor, the way the rooms are laid out are all designed to encourage student social interaction.”
If passed by the finance committee, the Undergraduate Housing Program will provide 1,000 more beds for freshmen living on campus as well as rooms that can serve as classrooms, seminar rooms and student lounges, Carlucci said. Lee, vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, said the new expansions will increase chances of housing all first-year students on campus. “Freshman housing is very important because studies show that they’re much more involved in their studies and campus life,” Lee said. “Ideally, students would move from freshman housing with more community to apartment-style housing as they become juniors and seniors.” To determine what the new housing should offer students, the committee listened to reports gathered from other schools looking
to increase the number of students living on campus. “We looked across the country to find what works for freshman housing and what doesn’t,” said Irvin, associate vice Chancellor for Plant Operation. “We saw there was a huge need for economical housing, and they wanted to stay on campus.” The new housing will be built on Wheeler Street between the Moody Towers and the Justin Dart Jr. Center for Students with Disabilities. Construction will begin as early as April and be completed by August 2010 at an estimated cost of $59.75 million, part of which may be subsidized by the government, Carlucci said. “We expect that this will be a very favorable financial situation. see REGENTS, page 3