Issue 122, Volume 75 by The Cougar

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Issue 122, Volume 75

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Men’s basketball coach announced Group New hire says focus will be on recruitment, developing players, academic success gg

By John Brannen The Daily Cougar

Courtesy of UH athletics

James Dickey was named head coach of the UH men’s basketball team at a press conference Thursday.

Thursday marked the beginning of the James Dickey era of the UH men’s basketball team. President Renu Khator and Athletic Director Mack Rhoades introduced Dickey as the eighth head coach in the school’s history to a crowd of UH faithful at the O’Quinn Great Hall in the UH Alumni Center. With the recent Conference-USA trophy on display, Khator wasted no time in letting Dickey know that he will be expected to improve upon last season and to give UH consistent appearances in the NCAA Tournament. “Winning is very important. I want you to know, coach Dickey, winning is very, very important,” Khator said. Rhoades said the hire was based on Dickey’s leadership and recruiting abilities, and he knew Dickey would not compromise his integrity. “This is about taking the University of Houston men’s basketball program and moving it forward. That’s an unbelievable task when you talk about the

tradition we have here,” Rhoades said. “When we started this journey ten days ago, we wanted somebody who really valued this job (and) saw it for what it was  someone with fire in their belly and would do whatever it took to get the job done. We’ve accomplished that. “We wanted somebody that was going to come in, roll up their sleeves and get in the trenches with us  build this brick by brick, piece by piece. Most of all, we wanted a leader of men, and we have it.” Dickey said it is imperative for UH to recruit local players, a response to a popular criticism of the basketball program’s recent tendency of bringing in junior college transfers and players from other parts of the country. “We’re going to start recruiting as soon as the recruiting period opens, and our goal, first and foremost, is to recruit in Houston and the greater-Houston area. There are so many great players in this area, and it’s time for some of those guys to stay home,” Dickey said. Dickey hopes to attract future NBA prospects but said he wants to instill a mentality of academic

Nutrition senior Nada Sarraj was selected to exhibit her scientific research on Capitol Hill this month as a part of the annual Posters on the Hill event. “It feels really good to be able to be recognized for something I did and worked really hard at and to able to present it in a nationwide conference,” Sarraj said. Sarraj will present her abstract, entitled “Moderate Treadmill Exercise Prevents Oxidative StressInduced Anxiety in Rats.” “Anxiety disorders affect approximately 40 million people in the U.S.,” Sarraj said. “Although effective treatments for anxiety disorders are available, a vast majority of anxiety patients experience side effects from these medications. The failure to treat these patients costs $42 billion a year in lost productivity. Therefore, improving the understanding of mechanisms of anxiety is important.”

To test her theory, Sarraj injected two groups of rats with a drug called L-Buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine, or BSO, which increases stress levels. One of these groups was then subjected to moderate treadmill exercise before being reevaluated. “After several weeks of treatment, we measured the amount of oxidative stress markers in the serum, urine and brain tissue,” she said. “As expected, the group of rats that was injected with BSO alone did in fact increase anxiety-like behavior, unlike the group that was subject to BSO and exercise.” Samina Salim, research assistant professor with the Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, served as Sarraj’s mentor, prompting her to compete in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. “Nada convinced me that she was genuinely interested in my research on anxiety and would appreciate the opportunity to learn,” Salim said. “I was impressed with her persistence, determination and curiosity.”

By Morgan Creager The Daily Cougar

“I expect this experience to not only reinforce her ambition for a career in research but also to [let her] interact with her peers and broaden her perspectives as she decides to choose her career path,” Salim said. All of the enthusiasm and work put into this research has sparked a potential lifelong interest for Sarraj, who said she would love to pursue a future in pharmacy after her graduation next year. news@thedailycougar.com

see FORUM, page 3

see COACH, page 3

Steven Oster The Daily Cougar

Nutrition senior Nada Sarraj’s research will take her to Capitol Hill, where she will present her findings along with her mentor, research assistant professor Samina Salim. Salim agrees that the problem of anxiety in humans is a pertinent one. “The topic of anxiety is very timely, as more and more Americans are being diagnosed with anxiety disorders,” she said, “and the frustration in the field is [the] lack of responsiveness to the traditional anti-anxiety medications available in the market.” Both Sarraj and Salim are confident that their trip to Washington, D.C. will be a successful and productive one.

Officials seek to inform campus of thrifty literature alternatives gg

University Services held a textbook affordability forum on Wednesday to discuss with faculty members and students what they can do to lower the costs of textbooks. “Affordability for textbooks is a big deal,” Jonas Chin, program coordinator for University Services, said. Chin said the bookstore has little control over the cost the publisher wants to place on the book, but there are steps that they can take to help decrease the amount of money students are paying for g g Chin their books every semester. “It is important to make sure we do the little things,” Chin said, such as making students and professors aware of the different types of books that are available and the price differences that come with those options. UH bookstore manager Felix Robinson said many professors are not aware of the variety of book options they have, and they can sometimes be fooled into believing they are saving students money when they are really costing them more. “Communication is key,” Robinson said. Robinson said that publishers might offer professors the option of a loose-leaf textbook, a cheaper version than the hardback, which sounds like a great idea. But what the professors are not aware of, said Robinson, is that most of the time, students are unable to sell back the loose-leaf textbooks, costing them more money than the professor intended due to a communication error. “It’s ultimately up to the faculty members, the ones who pick the books,” Chemistry professor Simon Bott said. Chin said that one of the biggest obstacles students face when trying to save money on textbooks is a fairly

Research student gets national recognition By Sarah Wiggins-Goff The Daily Cougar

aims to cheapen books

2 n Friday, April 2, 2010

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THE DAILY COUGAR presents ®

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CALENDAR

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TODAY 2010 School of Art Masters Thesis Exhibition: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., The Art Museum of UH. Each year, Blaffer Gallery presents an exhibition showcasing works by graduating Master of Fine Arts students in the School of Art. This year, 11 students are featured in the exhibition. The MFA candidates are Debra Barrera, Nancy Douthey, Geoff Hippenstiel, Sura Khudairi, Robyn Lehmer, Grant C. MacManus, Richard Nix, Anne J. Regan, Keijiro Suzuki, Tala Vahabzadeh, and Vanessa VanAlstyne. Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact the Blaffer Gallery at kveneman@uh.edu or the Web site blaffergallery.org

What are the best places to eat, hang out and study around Houston? You tell us!

Census on campus: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., UC Satellite, University Center and the Center for Public Policy (104 Heyne Building). Census on Campus/Census representatives and CHIP interns will provide assistance and resources about the 2010 Census at various information tables. For the Houston community (including UH) to prosper, everyone should participate. For more informa-

CO R R E C T I O N S gg

Enter your picks for a chance to win an iPod, free movie passes or freebies at several Houston-area restaurants such as Domino’s, Wing Stop and It’s Just Good Soul Food. Enter today! Limit one entry per person.

Best shopping: ___________________________________________________________ Best bar/club: ____________________________________________________________

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Return the entry form to Room 7, UC Satellite. Questions? Call 713-743-5340. Responses will be tabulated by Daily Cougar staff and the winning picks will be featured in Houston’s Top Spots, which hits the stands on campus and around town on June 1.

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The 2010 Tenneco Distinguished Lecture Series: 4-5 p.m., Science Center Building 593 Room 102. In the daunting field of theoretical particle physics, UH professor Carlos Ordóñez and guest lecturer Fernando Quevedo have discovered more than formulas and theories. The old friends and colleagues have both realized a passion for recruiting budding researchers in Latin-American countries for graduate studies and postdoctoral fellowships in the United States and Europe. The University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the department of history and the department of physics welcome Fernando Quevedo, recently appointed as the new director of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), to the Tenneco Lecture Series. The Texas Center for Superconductivity is cosponsoring the event, which is hosted by Ordóñez. The event is free of charge. For more information, contact Professor Carlos R. Ordonez at 713-743-3586 or ordonez@uh.edu

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About the Cougar The Daily Cougar is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer, at the University of Houston Printing Plant and online at http://www. thedailycougar.com. The University seeks to provide equal educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability or veteran status, or sexual orientation. The Daily Cougar is supported in part by Student Service Fees. the first copy of the Cougar is free; each additional copy is 25 cents. Subscriptions Rates are $70 per year or $40 per semester. Mail subscription requests to: Mail Subscriptions, The Daily Cougar, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-4015. news tips Direct news tips and story ideas to the News Desk. Call (713) 743-5314, e-mail news@thedailycougar. com or fax (713) 743-5384. A “Submit news item” form is also available online at thedailycougar.com. Copyright No part of the newspaper in print or online may be reproduced without the written consent of the director of the Student Publications Department.

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Friday, April 2, 2010 n 3

Panel hopes to set standard By Abby Lee The Daily Cougar A hunger for knowledge, a positive attitude, hard work and determination are the keys to success according to a panel of successful businesswomen who participated in a discussion with UH students on Wednesday. The discussion was titled The Female Success Factor: Dynamic Women in Business, Community and Family. A panel of women composed of CEO of Lane Staffing Carla Lane, co-founder of The Principle Partnering Group Karen Becerra, senior account manager Marcia Paige, executive director of Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance Susan Repka and community reinvestment manager at Comerica Bank Vanessa Reed, sought to make students think about their goals and what it will take to achieve them by sharing their own success stories. Lane, a UH alumnus and 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, told the story of how she got into the company staffing business as an accounting clerk while

FORUM continued from page 1

new feature called an access code. The code is an extra tool that can be purchased along with the textbook to allow students access to additional online features. Professors will request that their students buy one along with their textbook, but by the end of the semester, many students will have never used it. Access codes are one-time use only, so the bookstore can’t buy them back if they were used. Chin said that students can help lower their textbook costs by talking to their professors. If they gain a basic understanding of the textbook options out there, they might be able to present those options to their teachers. “Professors do care,” Chin said. “There are very few bad apples out there.” Marc Eckhart, a regional manager for Barnes & Noble

at UH and eventually started her own firm. She said she never planned to be in the staffing business, but because she was so willing to learn, she was able to manage the business on her own. “Be a student of your craft. Learn whatever you can learn from whomever you can learn it,” Lane said. Reed, a New Orleans native, became involved with banking because of her interest in dealing with money. She said she didn’t always know everything, but her attitude in the workplace made people think she knew exactly what she was doing. “You’re not going to show up the first day knowing everything. You have to put your game face on and just listen and sit back and take things in and look it up later,” Reed said. “You have to be willing to learn and listen.” Alongside a confident attitude, Reed said she believes in looking the part too. She suggested that students always dress as if they are always a level higher than they actually are. “I was always in a suit and I had my roller bag. Nobody knew I didn’t

have anything inside. So I looked like the person I wanted to be.” Paige summed up her keys to success with six words: goals, activate, reputation, determination, energy and networking. Paige said once goals are created, they should be acted upon aggressively. “I hate ending the day with ‘I meant to do that!’ or ‘Somebody else beat me to it,’” Paige said. “The first ‘no’ is not always the final ‘no.’” Mayor Annise Parker was also present to close the discussion and provide her insight. “We should follow our passions. Life is too short to go through the motions,” Parker said. “If you can earn a living and love what you do, you are truly blessed. For the last 12 years and three months I’ve been excited to go to work every day. It’s never felt like work. “The best gift you can give yourself, in addition to a good education, is to surround yourselves with friends who will push you to be more than you think you are.”

College Booksellers, suggested that professors access the Faculty Center Network to help them choose their books. “It is a complimentary tool in their textbook selection process,” Eckhart said. The FCN compares the costs and styles of different textbooks offered by many different publishers. Though different textbook options are available, some students are beginning to look for other options. “Why don’t we use the facilities we have?” said Student Government Association Business Sen. Tushar Chawla. “[Professors] don’t understand that WebCT is the best thing to use.” Chawla proposed the idea that professors should look into posting texts and notes online to lower the costs for students every semester. Chawla said that professors like

Simon Bott have already taken this action. To further help students save money on their books, the bookstore has begun taking back exclusive loose-leaf textbooks. “If they are in sellable condition, they will buy back the book for half of what students paid for it,” Conrad Stiller, a textbook employee, said. During the forum, Robinson also said that the bookstore is willing to buy back, at half the price, the access codes that students never used. Chin emphasized his desire to continue to host these types of forums to educate professors and students about the process of buying and selling textbooks. “We hope to make this a oncea-semester deal,” Chin said. “Every year is going to get better.”

Abby lee The Daily Cougar

A group of successful businesswomen came together Wednesday to share their stories with UH students and give them advice on how to achieve their goals.

Teaching Opportunities in Pasadena ISD Plan to attend our Career Choice Seminar:

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2010 @ 7PM

at the Beverly Hills/Challenger Location:

news@thedailycougar.com

11111 Beamer Houston, TX 77089

The Pasadena ISD Teacher Certification Program is offering Career Choice Seminars for anyone interested in becoming a Texas certified teacher. Potential candidates must have a bachelor’s degree or above by May 2010 and must have an overall GPA of 2.5 on the 4.0 system in ALL semester hours attempted or a 2.7 GPA in the last 60 hours attempted. The application deadline for the 2010-2011 academic year is May 14, 2010 The seminars will provide an opportunity for potential candidates to learn about our program and the areas of certification offered.

For more information, please call:

news@thedailycougar.com

(713) 740-0029

also, visit our website at: www.pasadenaisd.org/atcp

COACH continued from page 1

excellence along with athletic success. “We want them to come here and leave with a degree. We hope we recruit some guys who are good enough to compete at the next level. If they leave early, we want them to be on track academically,” Dickey said. Dickey’s last coaching stop was as at Oklahoma State as an assistant under Eddie Sutton. In 2004 Dickey helped the Cowboys reach the Final Four. He was previously the head coach at Texas Tech from 1991 to 2001 where he had a record of 164-123. He led the Red Raiders to two NCAA tournament berths in 1993 and 1996, and was named the Southwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1996. Dickey graduated from the University of Central Arkansas and earned a master’s degree in education from Harding University. sports@thedailycougar.com

Monday 9-week beer pong tournament Win a vacation for 2

Wednesday 1.00 Dom draft/2.00 well

Thursday Rib eye steak $1 per ounce w/fixings $200 karaoke competition

Friday & Saturday Karaoke nights

book parties @ christianstailgate.com

Wii Sports Dress code enforced

2000 Bagby St Houston, TX 77002 in Midtown

4 n Friday, April 2, 2010

The Daily Cougar

OPINION

ONLINE: Follow the Opinion section on Twitter at @TDCOpinion

EDITOR Alan Dennis E-MAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/opinion

THE DAILY COUGAR

EDITORIAL CARTOON

editorial B oard Ronnie Turner, Editor in Chief Matthew Keever, Managing editor Patricia Estrada, News editor Hiba Adi, News editor Phillipe Craig, Sports editor Robert Higgs, Sports editor Travis Hensley, Life & Arts editor Alan Dennis, Opinion editor Jarrod Klawinsky, Special projects editor

STAFF EDITORIAL

Foursquare app ruins (social) lives, hotspots

JOHN PALAMIDY The Daily Cougar

Disagreement should be respectful In the wake of Congress’ passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, reports of members of the tea party movement inciting acts of violence against supporters of the legislation have Patrick Levy surfaced. Democrats are accusing the Republican Party of fanning the flames of hatred and domestic terrorism in an attempt to paint the entire tea party faction as a fringe movement. This accusation, however, is a gross misrepresentation of what the movement is fundamentally about, with sweeping generalizations based on a few isolated incidents. It is no secret that many members of the Republican Party receive shocking death threats; it is also undeniable that some people consider opponents of President Barack Obama to be racist and fundamentally prejudiced. Despite my own identity being within

the African American and Hispanic cultures, I have been called everything from a “snot-nosed rich kid” to names too profane to print. This isn’t to say that my racial heritage should give me an automatic exemption from being improperly labeled as being in favor of the status quo, but rather to point out that this debate is primarily based upon ideologies, not race. I can emphatically say that in spite of the name-calling I have suffered, I have never returned such hateful rhetoric. For the sake of the argument and American values, I strive to emphasize my arguments and abstain from making threats and launching unproductive attacks on the personal character of others. Instead of having my ideas listened to, I was immediately shut out and deemed to be a person against health care reform; worst of all, I was once accused of being un-American.

It seems as if some people are unable to focus on real issues, as many continuously allege that Republicans are not concerned with minorities in regard to health care or any other social well being for that matter. There is absolutely no way to determine whether any alleged tea party aggressors were actual conservatives or merely plants by political opponents in an attempt to smear the Republican Party, and the same can be said of everyone making threats against Republicans. But no matter what one’s political affiliation may be, violence is never an acceptable form of political protest. We must all treat each other with the utmost regard for safety. Let us not lose our dignity and respect in attempting to convince others to change their opinion. Patrick Levy is a communication freshman and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

Guest Commentary

US needs to remain on Israel’s side In a column in Thursday’s edition of The Daily Cougar titled “U.S. needs to sit down for punch and pie with other countries,” writer David Brooks portrayed the U.S.– Israel relationship as a liability to the safety of Frank our troops. Carroll The article concluded that the Israeli government’s policies endanger American troops and that Israeli “whims” subvert our foreign policy needs. While it is certainly true that the U.S. and Israel will not agree on everything, open and contemptible disagreement is far more dangerous to our foreign policy agenda in the Middle East. The announcement regarding new construction in East Jerusalem made during Biden’s visit was recognized as a deeply regrettable incident, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately apologized for the timing of such an announcement.

As in any relationship, there will be times of tension and disagreement. However, disagreements between the U.S. and Israel should be handled directly and privately, in a manner befitting the close relationship between the two nations. As Biden said during his trip, “Progress occurs in the Middle East when everyone knows there is simply no space between the United States and Israel.” The interests between the U.S. and Israel are not merely based on mutual qualities of democracy and freedom. The U.S. and Israel face many of the same threats, including nuclear proliferation in Iran and state-sponsored terrorism. Israel has served as an anchor in the region, preserving moderate regimes without the type of deployment of U.S. forces required in Europe, East Asia, Iraq or Afghanistan. If the goal is truly to advance U.S. foreign policy interests, we must remain inseparable from Israel.

The Israelis have taken steps toward peace; it’s time the U.S. demands the same of the Palestinians. Let’s not let this simple disagreement between two friends cloud our view of the real issues that are of paramount importance to U.S. foreign policy interests: the prospect of a nuclear Iran, the expansion of state-sponsored terrorism and the stabilization that Israel brings to the Middle East region. What’s good for Israel is good for America’s foreign policy agenda, and all rhetoric aside, we should remain ever cognizant of this fact when future disagreements arise between these two great allies. Open disagreement only sets the peace process back and emboldens those who wish to hurt the U.S. — outcomes that truly place our troops and our nation’s interests in danger. Frank Carroll is a first year law student and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

e’ve complained about Foursquare before, but no matter how many times we block it from our Facebooks, it just keeps showing up. Then, Wednesday, we stumbled upon an article from Gawker.com that caught our eyes: “If You Use Foursquare, You Are an Annoying (expletive).” You all can search the Internet for the last word; we can’t print it here. Social networking is great; we’re communication majors, for crying out loud. We get it. The Internet is awesome, yes, but the problem with all social networking Web sites, not just Foursquare, is that some people think they are meant to be personal and that everyone cares where they are and what they are doing all the time. This simply isn’t the case. Even your sweet grandmas don’t care about everything you post, and never mind robbers. Oh, you didn’t realize that? Yes, bad people have access to the Internet, too. And if you tell them that you just checked in at your favorite bar, they might check if your address is available online – which we can almost guarantee it is somewhere – then they can rob you blind. All of this is thanks to narcissism, selfcenteredness and a lack of common sense. “The lede in the Observer of the inevitable FoHo (that’s short for fauxhemian) backlash almost writes itself. ‘An increasing number of New York’s exclusive hotspots are forbidding visitors from ‘checking in’ on Foursquare to keep the hip locations secret and oh so fabulous.’ The article will detail how Paul Sevigny isn’t letting anyone Foursqure from his latest boîte, so that the unwashed masses don’t know how fabulous it is and come crashing into his velvet rope,” the article said. Now, we’re not promoting secrecy or snobbiness, but you also happen to be ruining our favorite dive bars and hidden coffee shops for us. One of the reasons we liked the places so much was because they weren’t constantly packed, which they may be soon. So this is our pledge to you, students. The Daily Cougar needs not use Foursquare. If you need to find us, just shoot us an e-mail or call us. Nine times out of 10, we’ll be in the newsroom. Working.

E D I TO R I A L policy STAFF EDITORIAL The Staff Editorial reflects the opinions of The Daily Cougar Editorial Board (the members of which are listed above the editorial). All other opinions, commentaries and cartoons reflect only the opinion of the author. Opinions expressed in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Houston or the students as a whole. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Daily Cougar welcomes letters to the editor from any member of the UH community. Letters should be no more than 250 words and signed, including the author’s full name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Anonymous letters will not be published. Deliver letters to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@ thedailycougar.com; send them via campus mail to STP 4015; or fax them to (713) 7435384. Letters are subject to editing. ADVERTISEMENTS Advertisements published in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the University or the students as a whole. GUEST COMMENTARY Submissions are accepted from any member of the UH community and must be signed with the author’s name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Commentary should be kept to less than 500 words. Guest commentaries should not be written as replies to material already printed in the Cougar, but rather should present independent points of view. Rebuttals should be sent as letters. Deliver submissions to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@thedailycougar.com; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. All submissions are subject to editing.

Friday, April 2, 2010 n 5

The Daily Cougar

SPORTS

COMING MONDAY: Catch up with Cougar-turned-Astro Michael Bourn

EDITORS Phillipe Craig, Robert Higgs E-MAIL sports@thedailycougar.com ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/sports

Baseball

Cougars fall hard to in-town foes By Tristan Tippet The Daily Cougar On Friday the Cougars were looking to bounce back from a Tuesday’s disappointing loss to Texas-San Antonio and snap a four-game losing streak to Rice. Unfortunately for the Cougars, efficient work by Rice starter Taylor Wall regular doses of situational hitting gave the Owls a 6-0 shutout, their first over UH since a 12-0 walloping in 2007. The loss gives UH (12-12, 2-2 Conference USA) a two-game losing streak overall and a fivegame losing streak to the Owls (15-12, 2-2). The Cougars are also down 2-0 in the Silver Glove Series for 2010, and 83-61 all-time against the Owls. In the first inning UH starter Michael Goodnight weaseled in and out of what appeared to be a game-deciding jam. With runners on second and first and only one out Goodnight retired Anthony Rendon and Diego Seastrunk to escape unscathed. Goodnight, however, would get himself into one too many jams and allowed too many runners on base. In the second inning, runners were on second and first with two outs and Chad Mozingo hit a single in the hole between third and short. Blake Kelso ranged

deep in the hole and kept the ball from rolling to left field, but the ball squirted out of his glove and rolled away, scoring Jeremy Rathjen to give Rice a 1-0 lead. “It just went in the hole, hit off the heel of my glove, and my knee hit it. When I was on my way to pick it up, I saw him turn third, so I picked it up and threw it home. I thought I had him, but it was a close play,” Kelso said. Rice scored again with one out in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Rathjen, which scored Rendon and gave Rice a 2-0 lead. Rice had a two-run inning in the fourth with an RBI single by Ratterree and a sac fly to go up 4-0. Goodnight only went 3.1 innings and was fortunate to only give up three earned runs considering he allowed seven hits and five walks. The Cougars’ offense had just as many problems against Wall. After Joel Ansley hit a single in the first inning, the Cougars were nohit the rest of the way. The Cougars had only four runners reach base after the first inning, via two errors and two walks. Wall at one point retired nine consecutive batters, and went the whole nine for a one-hit shutout, recording seven strikeouts. “He was getting ahead with

Justin flores The Daily Cougar

M.P. Cokinos was one of may Cougars who struggled at the plate against Rice on Thursday, as UH was shutout 6-0 and recorded only one hit against its in-town rival. his fastball, and spotting it up pretty good first pitch and we weren’t hitting it,” Kelso said. “He was getting the low calls -- just pitchers’ pitches, and that’s the

way it is. The Owls scored one run in the sixth and one in the seventh for good measure. The Cougars will try to bounce

back with two more games at 6:30 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Saturday at Reckling Park. sports@thedailycougar.com

Tennis

softball

UH looking to end year with flurry

Cougars take attitude adjustment on road

By Joachim Clarke The Daily Cougar

After suffering two losses against Louisiana-Lafayette in a mid-week doubleheader, the Cougars hit the road to face off against ConferenceUSA rival UAB for a three-game series in Birmingham, Ala., starting with a doubleheader today. Head coach Kyla Holas knows it is imperative for her team to take advantage of this opportunity to make some headway in the C-USA standings. “Right now, with our record and the spot we are sitting in, conference is the one thing you have to take care of if you want a chance for the postseason,” Holas said. UH (18-16, 5-4 C-USA) swept UAB in a three-game series last season at Cougar Softball Stadium. Returning 13 letterwinners, the Blazers (17-9, 3-3) will not be easy opponents for the Cougars this time, according to Holas. The Blazers are hot at the plate with four batters averaging over .350, but UH’s Brooke Lathan, Melissa Gregson, and Ashleigh Jones are a talented offensive trio who lead the Cougars statistically. “One of their hitters, the catcher,

With only five matches remaining before the Conference USA Championships, the Cougars know that the time to produce is now. UH will take on Prairie View A&M at 2 p.m. Saturday at the John E. Hoff Tennis Courts. Head coach John Severance sees every match as an opportunity to bring UH back to its winning ways. After a disappointing loss to Missouri on March 21, he hopes that UH will bounce back and have a strong showing Saturday. “There is no easy opponent this year,” Severance said, “so hopefully we’re going to go out and have all our girls playing well. There is very little time before the conference tournament, so we have to be firing on all cylinders.” Severance said he thought the match against Missouri was a lot closer than the final score would suggest. UH lost the match 7-0, but by no means was it a blowout. “We haven’t been blown out of any match,” Severance said. “In the

By Chris Losee The Daily Cougar

newton liu The Daily Cougar

Laura Ring and the Cougars host Prairie View A&M on Saturday and hope to bounce back from their latest loss with a strong showing as the regular season winds down. Missouri match we should have won the double’s point, and then we were close in four matches. We could have had the score 5-2 in our favor if a few more points had gone our way.” UH has battled its way to an 8-6 overall record this season, but in order secure a good spot in the conference tournament, it would be best for UH to win out the remaining games of the regular season.

“We have five matches left, and I feel we need to win all five so that we can have the best chance possible in the conference,” Severance said. As far as what the team needs to do in order to win, Severance feels that the desire to win is a key factor. “The girls have to go out and want it,” said Severance. “They’re see TENNIS, page 8

is having a really great season, and she is putting up some big numbers in conference,” Holas said. “And they have a freshman pitcher that is doing a lot of things for them and winning a lot of ball games. “This is going to be a much better UAB softball team than we are used to seeing. They are playing in a brand new stadium this year, so they have some home-field advantage. We are really going to have to make sure that we put our best foot forward.” After the Cougars lost the pair of games Tuesday, Holas said that the team needed to work on its mentality before going on the road. The Cougars are without go-to pitcher Amanda Crabtree; Holas is uncertain what doctors will say this week about her status going into this weekend. “She is a big key to our success right now,” said Holas, “not only just in her pitching, but also in her mentality.” Today’s first game at UAB Softball Stadium will start at 4 p.m. and the nightcap is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday’s finale will kickoff at 11 a.m. sports@thedailycougar.com

LIFE & ARTS

6 n Friday, April 2, 2010

The Daily Cougar

POWER UP

‘Mass Effect 2’ plotline makes for great game By Jeff Jost The Daily Cougar

from characters in the first game reminding you of what you did for them. But it’s still a rewarding feature for fans of the first game. One of the best elements to Mass Effect has always been its storytelling. In Mass Effect 2, however, the main plot and world have already been established, so the game focuses on character development. This is where the game shines brightest. Some of the characters from Mass Effect make a return, but most are fresh faces. They are varied, interesting and pretty cool for the most part. The game also has some great voice acting, even going so far as to bring in high-profile actors such as Seth Green, Carie-Ann Moss and Martin Sheen. On top of that, all of the character interactions are quite detailed, realistic, and sometimes even cinematic. Mass Effect 2 is the second installment in a trilogy and it’s not hard for gamers to catch on to this while playing. The game’s creators appear to be experimenting with innovative elements, as they forgo old ones in an attempt to find the right balance for Mass Effect 3. Mass Effect 2’s game play isn’t drastically different from the original. The firefights are somewhat smoother; mainly a side effect of Mass Effect’s massive

Only a few months into the year, one of the video game industry’s big contenders has shown itself. Mass Effect 2, the sequel to the award-winning space epic from 2007, has started this year in gaming with a bang — a phrase that becomes all too literal as you watch the credits fade after its explosion filled ending. Although slightly flawed, it appears to be a strong candidate for game of the year. The plot of Mass Effect 2 ties directly into the first installment, taking place just after those events and involving the same enemy and political environment. Mass Effect 2 relies the assumptions that gamers have experienced the Mass Effect universe. The sequel is enjoyable without playing the first one, but much of the experience is lost. One of the big features of Mass Effect 2 is the ability to import your character from the first game so that the new story responds to your previous decisions. Most of the time, this feature can be a little ham-fisted and feels a little tacked on. A great deal of the signs of this come from random interactions and short messages

Bioware

Despite some of Mass Effect 2’s graphics issues on a normal TV, the storyline of the game makes for a great gaming experience. overhaul of its inventory system. But as always, the game’s action pieces are invigorating, as they combine easy-to-use sci-fi powers with gunfights and strategic cover (courtesy of the all too familiar video game chest high wall). The RPG elements of this game have been massively toned

down, though. While leveling up characters and choosing their abilities wasn’t a huge element of Mass Effect, it’s now nearly non-existent in the sequel. There are only a few abilities for your character to choose from and level up, and gamers eventually max all of them out. But even with this drastically bare bones

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