THE DAILY COUGAR Ouch, that Herd: UH lets close road contest slip away /SPORTS
Growing pains: Interactive show eexplores xploress writer’s childhood /LIFE & ARTS Thursday, February 19, 2009
Issue 96, Volume 74
®
TODAY’S WEATHER 3-day forecast, Page 2
Hi 70 Lo 41 www.thedailycougar.com
SPC: coverage necessary By Patricia Estrada THE DAILY COUGAR The members of the Student Publication Committee Wednesday addressed the The Daily Cougar’s decision to run a photograph of the Feb. 8 Metro bus stop crime scene, in which a shooting victim’s body was visible. The picture ran in the newspaper’s Feb. 09 issue 88, volume 74. “We felt it was a shock that represented the reality of what happened, not much different from what students watch on television,” Zaneta Loh, The Daily Cougar’s editor in chief said. “Our goal was not (to) sensationalize it.” The Daily Cougar received letters and e-mails regarding to the photograph, Loh said, some in approval of the decision to run the story and many on see PUBLICATIONS, page 12
Student art depicts urban environment By Holly Prevost THE DAILY COUGAR The Department of Anthropology is asking students to submit posters by March 2 as a part of its Urban Health and Anthropology symposium. Student posters should reflect how anthropology enhances understanding of health in a multicultural urban setting. “It is imperative that students be included in a symposium such as this one,” anthropology professor Jerome Crowder said. “They need the experience of presenting their work to their peers and faculty.” The Anthropology Department began planning the symposium last summer after noting the rapid expansion of urban areas in Texas. Texas is home of the nation’s largest amount of rural area, which represents 17.2 percent of the state. The original date of the symposium in October 2008 was postponed due to Hurricane Ike. The two-day event begins at 1 p.m. on March 6 with an introduction by UH Provost and Senior Vice President John Antel. Throughout the day, panels will address topics of urban health in prehistoric and historic populations, see POSTERS, page 3
JONATHAN TRAN THE DAILY COUGAR
Paying respects astor Bradley Fuerst leads a candlelight vigil Wednesday to pay respect to shooting victim Joe Tall. The vigil was held at the sight of Tall’s death, the Metro bus stop on the corner of Holman Street and Cullen Boulevard. Tall’s brother Randy Tall Craven was present at the memorial with more than twenty people from the UH community.
P
State to cut school funds University officials review budget plans at request of Texas legislature By James Hale THE DAILY COUGAR UH System Chancellor Renu Khator outlined the University’s plans to secure federal funding in the face of a possible drop in state funding at Wednesday’s Faculty Senate meeting. Khator and several representatives of UH System recently returned from Washington, D.C., where they RRenu presented projects Khator for consideration in the allocation of the $787 billion stimulus package signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday.
“We wanted to make sure that our delegation knows about our projects,” Khator said. The federal government is looking for construction projects that are ready to go and waiting for funding, Faculty Senate president Dan Wells said. Executive vice president of Administration and Finance Carl Carlucci said UH is pursuing funding for all University programs that qualify. “We have a list of items that we put in, mainly research, and some other projects that may fall under transportation,” Carlucci said. “Once we know where those will be routed, we will begin lobbying for them.” Concurrently, a “budget reduction exercise” by the Legislative Budget Board
could mean cuts to state funding in 2010. On Feb. 3, the LBB asked Texas colleges and universities to submit proposals for a 2.5 percent reduction in general revenue appropriations. With the exercise coming halfway through fiscal year 2009, Provost John Antel said a 5 percent cut could be in the works for 2010. “They told us this might happen,” Antel said. Although no budget cuts have been announced, the possibility brings up grim prospects for the University, Antel said. “We’ve got to be ready for it,” he said. “We might have to freeze some staff hirings. We might look again at our summer school see SENATE, page 3
Film raises labor awareness By Bill Barajas THE DAILY COUGAR UH students piled into the Cullen Performance Hall on Wednesday for a glimpse into the life of a maquiladora. Maquiladoras are the factory workers of Mexico working for corporations that manufacture in the country using cheap labor. Students Against Sweatshops showed a video at the event of five women from Tijuana, Mexico struggling to survive. SAS organized the event to raise awareness about human rights and invited Carmen Duran, the film’s
main cast member, to host a questionand-answer session with interested students. Duran, who was visiting the campus for the second time, said she wished for students to “continue studying and raise awareness of her situation.” Sociology sophomore and SAS member Brendan Laws said there was a good turnout and he hopes students were adequately informed by the event. “There were a lot of students that hadn’t been exposed to these issues before and hadn’t learned that much about them, so I hope a lot of people
learned, ” Laws said. The video gave viewers an in-depth look into the lives of factory workers, focusing on issues like workers’ rights and giving viewers perspective on what an average maquiladora dealt with to provide for their families. The documentary showed the living conditions of people that make the equivalent of $68 a week and live with factories dumping waste in their neighborhood. Philosophy senior and SAS member Markos Mendoza said that while bringing Duran to Houston see SAS, page 3
YVETTE DAVILA THE DAILY COUGAR
Sociology sophomore Brendan Laws informs listeners about the world of the sweatshop worker Wednesday in Cullen Performance Hall.