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 Comicpalooza takes city by storm LIFE & ARTS »
Why is the library used for everything but learning? OPINION »
THE DAILY COUGAR.COM
Vice president prepares for new role in SGA
gg
By Josh Malone The Daily Cougar St u d e n t G ov e r n m e n t Association Vice President Prince Wilson defeated Carlos Reyes in last week’s presidential runoff election, recording 56.6 percent of the votes to claim the top executive spot. “I’m obviously happy that I won, but students are the final decision maker,” Wilson said. “There’s still a lot of work to do, and a lot we’ve yet to accomplish. Getting elected was the easy part.” Wilson will replace SGA president Kenneth Fomunung on Thursday. Johnnie Jackson, meanwhile, was elected to fill Wilson’s role of vice president. Wilson and Jackson received 1,118 of the 1,997 votes from last Wednesday and Thursday’s runoff, while SGA Director of Finance Reyes and running mate Matthew Davis earned 859 votes (43.4 percent). Wilson, a biochemistry senior, finished first with 35 percent of the votes in the March 8-11 general election, but was forced into a runoff with Reyes because no candidate earned a majority of the votes. Wilson thanked his voters and expressed relief that a month of vigorous campaigning had come to a close. But he believes his campaign strategy wasn’t the main reason for his success. “Students and organizations know who I am and what my work ethic is,” Wilson said. “I know I didn’t win because of one month’s campaign. It’s taken years to gain that trust from students, and that’s why I got elected.” Reyes, a finance and administration senior and former business senator, emphasized school spirit, security and parking as his top objectives along with Davis. Reyes said he expected a closer runoff result, but expressed confidence that Wilson would perform well in his new role. “I’ve worked with Prince, and I know how he operates. He’s a very see SGA, page 3
WEATHER » hi
74 Lo 48
Forecast, Page 2
Check out the Editor’s Desk to see what he does on his off days Monday, March 29, 2010
Issue 118, Volume 75
Wilson, Jackson win SGA runoff
years
®
thedailycougar.com
Pulitzer winner visits class Alumnus shares story of how he got awardwinning snapshot gg
By Hiba Adi The Daily Cougar Communication students got a rare opportunity to listen to the story of a Pulitzer Prize winner and what he went through to obtain a picture now recognized around the world. Adrees Latif, a UH alumnus, established journalist and 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner in the breaking news photography category, was the guest speaker in Richard Carson’s photojournalism class Thursday. Latif was awarded in 2008 for his 10-day investigative work for Reuters in Myanmar in 2007, when he captured a shot of a wounded Japanese videographer being attack amidst a major protest in the city of Yangon.
Latif’s had to go through a strict process when attempting to obtain his visa and faced some hurdles attempting to enter Myanmar. Because of the rise in antigovernment protests at that time, the government wasn’t allowing media to enter the country. “They were protesting about an increase in fuel prices. … I was one of the only journalists allowed into Burma (also known as Union of Myanmar),” Latif said. On Sept. 27, 2007 a major crackdown occurred involving the military. But Latif kept his wits about him. “My objective was to not get arrested before the real crackdown happened,” Latif said. When the protest began to get out of control and violence broke out, Latif said he found that he was the only one still standing. His eyes were locked on the chaotic scene of police and citizens clashing in front of him.
Courtesy of REUTERS/Adrees Latif
UH alumnus Adrees Latif won a Pulitzer Prize in 2008 with this shot of a Japanese videographer being assaulted during a 2007 protest in Yangon, Myanmar. “I looked down at the bridge, and everyone was laying flat,” Latif said. “I hated to be the only one standing up.” He said he had to remind himself that he was there as a journalist. That was when he captured his historic
shot, standing alone as guns sprayed in the background. Latif didn’t get a chance to look at the picture he was snapping until he left the scene later on at a bus stop. see PULITZER, page 3
Students get tips for teaching By Jose Aguilar The Daily Cougar
performed in variety shows. “Seeing as it’s my first year at Fiesta, I was actually really exited. I think they (TKE) did a really good job,” TKE alumni Sean Rakzidich said. “I’m actually surprised to see a fraternity come together and actually do all that in a few weeks.” Fiesta isn’t complete without live music, and this year was no
More than 180 teachers and aspiring educators participated in a two-day workshop last week where they learned tips and techniques on how to better manage their classrooms and provide children with a better sense of ownership in their education. The Discipline Management Prevention Workshop — hosted by the College of Education’s Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline program — used a classroom philosophy developed by UH professor H. Jerome Freiberg, who has more than 40 years of experience as an educator and researcher. “(When I first started teaching), I found that I had some of the most challenging students in the school,” Freiberg said. “The strategies that I was using were not working effectively, and so I had to think of another way of approaching how I taught.” Freiberg felt that his students needed to become more involved in both the managing and discipline aspects of the classroom. This is when he developed a theory that centers on all persons involved in the classroom rather than just the teacher.
see FIESTA, page 3
see WORKSHOP, page 3
Travis Hensley The Daily Cougar
Students received an opportunity to enjoy the many games, shows and rides available over the weekend during Frontier Fiesta. As part of the entertainment, the UH rugby team allowed participants to throw pies at their favorite players.
Fiesta draws rave reviews gg
Attendees call event a ‘success,’ say improvements still needed to be made
By Jack Wehman The Daily Cougar Another spring, another Frontier Fiesta. This year’s Fiesta was even bigger and better than last year’s, hosting a carnival, tons of live music and rows of food and shops. Something for everyone to enjoy was available. From free food to gambling, most attendees seemed to enjoy themselves.
Nicole Sopko, a hotel and restaurant manager senior and co-chair of the UC 2010 Initiative, said her favorite part of Fiesta was “seeing all my friends again. My boyfriend’s here so it couldn’t be better,” she said. As with any college event, fraternities and sororities played a big part in making Frontier Fiesta a success. Along with the separate tents, each fraternity and sorority