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
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College students across the nation take to the streets in protest Friday, F id M March h 5, 2010
Issue 107 Volume 75
thedailycougar.com
Staff talks budget cuts, scholarships Members to wear name tags while on campus during weekend
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By Alan Delon THE DAILY COUGAR The UH Staff Council discussed budget cuts and scholarship opportunities during its meeting Thursday. “We will not know until 2011 what are the budget cuts,” Staff Council President Ann McFarland said. “A stronger talk on the furlough and how to implement that is on the table.” A one-day furlough may be done
before March 31. Staff members who make $30,000 or more will be more impacted than those who make less than that. The Staff Council has made its own cuts in food and work-studies. “We can’t cut if we want to keep a full-time Staff Council,” McFarland said. The Council is also offering 10 scholarships of $500 to employees who plan to pursue a degree. Committee members announced that they would rank applications in a blind review process and select the top 10 applicants. Don Perry from the Academic Affairs Committee passed around the scholarship
application. “All the staff members should complete the application if you are interested,” Perry said. The application deadline is March 22. M e m b e r Joe Papick also announced that buildings to be locked down would be determined and that staff need to J McFarland wear name tags if they are on campus grounds over the weekend. “The problem is people will not
wear (the name tags) during the night but need them after hours,” McFarland said. “If you are not wearing the name tag you may have to leave campus.” She also said there have been staff who have not been let in into buildings because they were not wearing their name tags. McFarland also asked all members to remember that staff council elections are coming up and that they need to get involved. She also asked members to begin attending more meetings, particularly Board of Regents meetings. She said the council should be better represented and have a
One, two, three ... time to get counted By Fleur Sampath-Kumar THE DAILY COUGAR The U.S. Census is mandated by the Constitution and taken every 10 years on the first of April. The information collected in the census helps determine many things, such as how much money the government allocates to each state, and aids in determining the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. The census allows government representatives to allocate $400 billion to programs such as hospitals, emergency services, schools and job training centers. President Barack Obama recently recorded a public service announcement to encourage all Americans to partake in the census this year. He urged not just citizens but everyone from permanent residents to people in the country on Visa status to take part in the ten-question document. The government requires the
forms be filled out and mailed back with a postage paid envelope. If residents do not mail the form back, they may receive visits from a U.S. census taker. The 2010 Census has given job opportunities to many Americans whose roles are vital to the accuracy of data collection. Census takers will visit all residences that did not mail back a form. They will try up to three times to speak with someone and even leave hangers on front doors giving Americans an opportunity to schedule an appointment. Participation in the Census is required by law. The Census Bureau is informing parents and students at universities across America of the different ways they can be counted. According to the Census on Campus section of the U.S. Census Web site, the Partnership and Data Services Branch wrote, “Historically, the highly mobile
By Robert Garcia THE DAILY COUGAR
Fund’s purpose is to give students the opportunity to gain experience in the management of an investment portfolio while providing a diversified investment vehicle for its investors.” “A lot of those schools invest some of the endowment for the school. We actually invest individual money,” Lugo said. Herbst said that this is the first
UH law professor David Dow has a routine for when he has to make a certain type of phone call. He’ll take out a piece of paper or a Post-it note, on which he will write simple everyday phrases such as “see you later” or possibly “have a good one.” Before Dow picks up the phone, he’ll put the Post-it notes on his desk, maybe on the wall or anywhere he can see them while he’s talking. These are to remind him to not say these things during the call. He did so just as he got ready to call one of his clients, an inmate on Texas’ death row, and inform him his execution is to proceed. Dow said he has been defending death row inmates for the last 20 years, and he’s had to make those phone calls almost 40 times during that span. The lengthy preparation he takes emphasizes that it does not get easier for him. “I do this almost every single time, which illustrates you never get used to it,” Dow said. As litigation director at the Texas Defender Service, Dow represents inmates after they have received the death sentence, before their execution date, in an effort to have the sentences reviewed and possibly
see FUND, page 3
see DOW, page 3
KENDRA BERGLUND THE DAILY COUGAR
Let the games begin
K
appa Alpha Psi hosted the first Kappalympics this week. Different Greek organizations participated in games such as dodgeball to raise funds for St. Jude’s Children Hospital, Star of Hope Family Emergency Shelter and the Houston Food Bank Drive.
see CENSUS, page 3
A team of C.T. Bauer College of Business graduate students won first place in an investment challenge competition hosted by Southern Methodist University and sponsored by the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. The winning team, whose members met each other in the
Cougar Fund class, was named the best in Texas and the Gulf Coast Region and will compete in the national CFA competition in New York March 18. The four UH graduate students, Paul Stewart, Luis Lugo, Karen Herbst and Lenny Bianco, agreed that the Feb. 20 competition in Dallas was a good experience and preparation for competition against top-tier business schools in New York.
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Lawyer speaks about death
Business students win regional competition By Alan Delon THE DAILY COUGAR
stronger presence at this meeting. During the meeting, Esmeralda Valdez from Administration and Finance gave a report on how the University is pushing the green initiatives. She said UH is the first university to mandate reusable to-go containers and is pushing for a more green and sustainable campus. “We don’t want students to be cleaning and washing the containers by themselves,” Valdez said. “We are asking students to return the containers, and we will give new ones.”
“This has been a great experience. We started to work together since Dec. 1 when we got our company, Rent-a-Center, assigned,” Stewart said. “In New York, all the business schools competing will be doing different companies to choose a winner.” According to a Bauer press release, “the Cougar Investment Fund is a $7 million private investment fund managed by graduate students. The