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
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Issue 123, Volume 75
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UH terminates program By Josh Malone The daily cougar
Courtesy of uh.edu
Class Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies Sarah Fishman said the decision to discontinue the Visual Studies Program was made before the recent mandatory 5 percent budget cut because of a low student enrollment rate.
The UH Visual Studies Program, one of only 12 in the country, will be discontinued after the fall semester because of apparent budget cuts. “I was very disappointed to learn of the decision to discontinue such an important, timely, and cost effective program, which had developed so much good will and support in the community,” Director of Visual Studies Tracy Karner said. A stand-alone minor within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the study explores all
aspects of the visual experience, from innovate uses of visual technology to the images used in art, photography and film. Students who have already declared their Visual Studies minor will have the opportunity to complete their coursework with one final class in the fall before the program is officially discontinued. Sarah Fishman, the associate dean of undergraduate studies for CLASS, said that the decision to cut Visual Studies was made earlier this year and before the recent 5 percent budget reduction plan required of UH.
“All of us loved the idea (of Visual Studies), and intellectually, it’s exciting. But the budget has always been lean and mean, and when we’re told to cut back, it’s painful,” Fishman said. “All programs have to operate on shoe strings. It’s not like we’re rolling in the dough like (the University of Texas at Austin).” Fishman said the decision primarily came from former interim Dean of CLASS Joe Pratt and that Visual Studies was cut because of its relatively low student enrollment. She said that having Karner teach see PROGRAM, page 3
Employment rate rises in local areas Professor encourages students to ‘upgrade’ their education gg
By Aimee Buras The daily Cougar A recent Houston area household survey conducted by the Census Bureau concluded that the local unemployment rate has fallen to 8.5 percent. Director of the UH Institute for Regional Forecasting Barton Smith said that the job growth is too small to get excited about and that new job opportunities are scarce and widely dispersed. “The job gains are small and are scattered about,” Smith said. “There is not a single sector that is contributing much, and in most cases, the gains are to be found in sub sectors, such as oil related energy exploration, etc.” The way the surveys are conducted statistically affects the overall percentage outcome. “Part of it is that discouraged workers have temporarily left the job market, and since they are no longer looking for work, they are not included in the pool of the unemployed,” Smith said. “However, part is due to the fact that the Houston region is adding a small amount of new jobs each month as well.” Smith said that the national unemployment rate (9.7) is in worse shape than the local rate, and that the national rate affects graduating students who are looking for jobs in Houston. “Most students are influenced by the national market, not just the local labor market, and nationally we’ve yet to start adding net new jobs,” Smith said. “That doesn’t mean that there aren’t jobs available, just that the new hiring is still not keeping up with the new layoffs.” Smith said that students majoring in technology and engineering are the most likely to be able to find work, while business and social-science majors will have a hard time finding employment with an undergraduate degree. “Those in tech-oriented areas will do the best,” Smith said. “Business students will struggle. There are see EMPLOYMENT, page 3
Courtesy of richard ma
The UH American Institute of Chemical Engineers will compete in Salt Lake City at the national level of the Chem-E-Car competition for their “Cougalac- the Cougar Cadillac” model. The group won first place at the regional level on March 8.
Engineers craft win
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UH students engage in creating chemical car model for regional competition
By Sarah Raslan The daily cougar The UH chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers won first place at the regional level of the Chem-E-Car competition in Beaumont on March 8, qualifying to compete at the national level in Salt Lake City.
The challenge was to design a car that would travel a distance of 50 feet while carrying a water bottle. The distance was revealed to each team a few hours before the competition. “The car runs on the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of ferric chloride, which is a catalyst (and) accelerates the reaction,” team
member Walter Barta said. “Basically, it produces a bunch of gas, and the gas builds pressure in the tank. The tank feeds to a pneumatic drill, which is like an air-powered tool (that) propels the wheels.” “Air goes to the drill, and the drill see ENGINEERS, page 3