1934 – 2009
t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s pa pe r o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f h o u s to n s i n c e 1 9 3 4
THE DAILY COUGAR
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Forecast, Page 2
Check out this semester’s entire lineup of new comic strips online Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Issue 79, Volume 75
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SGA sets 2011 tuition proposal By Patricia Estrada The Daily Cougar The Student Government Association presented a proposal to the Tuition and Fee Advisory Committee during the Dec. meeting which called for a 5 percent cap on tuition increase and an efficiency task force to be created. The SGA tuition and fee task force
came up with the proposal, after meeting with other SGA leaders and former members. SGA Vice President Prince Wilson said the 5 percent cap on tuition and fee increase is to ensure that it won’t go any higher than that over the next two years. “Either it is 3 (percent increase) in one and a 2 (percent increase) in the second year; it will not give us
a scenario similar to University of California with a huge percent of increase,” Wilson said. “Five percent is a realistic number. As a growing campus trying to reach tier one status, we need to hire more faculty, need new equipment, faculty and staff salary increase, etc.” The efficiency task force to be created in the proposal will examine
wasteful spending and look for options to cut spending. The task force will be expected to study “the policies and practices that cater to the unique social, psychological and financial needs of non-traditional students who have families and may be single parents,” according to the proposal. Another responsibility of the task force will be to supervise scholarships
and financial aid by the University rather than individual colleges and departments. The proposal also asked that tuition rates be set for two years, in alignment with the Texas Legislature. “Several other universities in Texas have this similar option,” Wilson said. “State appropriate money for two see TUITION, page 12
Professor honored as new fellow First faculty member participates in leadership program
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By Morgan Creager The Daily Cougar The University has implemented a Presidential Fellows program that allows faculty members to jumpstart their careers in leadership and step into the shoes of a chancellor. World cultures and literatures professor Marie-Theresa Hernandez is the first faculty member to participate in the 12-month program. Hernandez will attend exclusive meetings, tag along with President Renu Khator on her visits around campus and assist in helping the university reach its goal of attaining flagship status. “The idea is to accompany (Khator) and see how she reacts with the university and the community,” Hernandez said. “This will be a good learning experience.” As a result of becoming a presidential fellow, Hernandez was asked by Jerald Strickland, director of UH’s Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, to attend the exclusive SACS meeting. Khator and selected staff members will discuss plans on how UH will meet and exceed specific professional standards and criteria to be a recognized accredited school. “Without this meeting, we can’t function,” Hernandez said. Although Hernandez has been a part of the program for less than a week now, she has already begun to sculpt a project of her own. see PROFESSOR, page 12
COURTESY OF THOMAS SHEA
In commemoration
A
candlelight vigil and march of honor was held for Haiti by students from Texas Southern University, UH and Rice on Thursday at the University Center. They marched from Moody Towers to Wheeler Avenue to the TSU Campus Plaza, where a moment of silence and prayer took place for victims of the earthquake.
Religious centers take aim at intolerance Focus targets students interested in exploring various faiths gg
By Matthew Keever The Daily Cougar Rice University and UH are doing their part to provide Houstonians with a basic understanding of religions, and to generate peaceful coexistence between people of all faiths as well
as those with no faith. “In a university setting people are expected to be open minded and ready to learn. Students come here to be exposed to new ideas and new cultures, so being intolerant of something as universal as religion is simply ignorant,” Hotel and Restaurant Management SGA Senator John Price said. In 1985, the Religious Studies Program was founded at UH to focus on student interest in
religion. The program promotes knowledge of the history, practices and ideas of different religions, citing their importance for the education of attentive citizens and to preserve a free society, according to the program’s Web site. Professor Lynn E. Mitchell, who proposed and implemented the institution, is the program’s director. Mitchell has been teaching and developing courses in religious studies since its
establishment. Mitchell received his doctorate in religious studies from Rice University. After teaching at the University of St. Thomas for 11 years, he came to UH and began the Religious Studies Program. The A. D. Bruce Religion Center is the focal point for many oncampus religious activities at UH. The building, which serves as the site of many educational see RELIGION, page 12