The Daily Cougar
Monday, August 23, 2010 n 1
News
Author to speak on civil rights By Ashley Evans
The daily cougar Mississippi author Alex Heard has spent the last five years researching and writing about a real life case that parallels the events in To Kill a Mockingbird. In his book The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crowe South, Heard investigates the case of a young black man from Laurel, Miss., who was put to death for the alleged rape of a white housewife. Heard said McGee’s case is an often-overlooked major event in the early civil rights movement. The case gained national attention when the Civil Rights Commission, a group affiliated with the Communist party, came to McGee’s defense. The 50th anniversary of the Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird has brought light to just how far society has come from the times of racial injustice and oppression in the South. Heard was introduced to the story while studying at Vanderbilt University under journalism professor Jim Leeson, who also served as Vanderbilt’s director of student publications and had been a young reporter in Mississippi at the time of the trail. “I became interested in the case in a roundabout way when Jim Leeson shared a live reel-to-reel recording of the execution of Willie McGee with me and a few other students,” Heard said. “Leeson had held onto the tape as an interesting artifact to show students that it wasn’t that long ago when racial injustice was prevalent in the South and how far we had come since then.” The recording struck a chord with Heard, and upon further investigation, he discovered that nobody had ever written about the story in length. So five years ago, he began researching the facts of the case in his spare time. Heard wanted to get as much firsthand information as possible and his search for living relatives led him to Ann London Liberman, the daughter of Alvin London, a Mississippi lawyer who came to McGee’s defense. Liberman is also the Director of Alumni and Career Services for the UH Graduate College of Social Work. “My father never spoke of the case to me,” Liberman said. “Only that he had defended a black man who was wrongly put to death and the injustice of it saddened him.” Heard agrees that the injustice in the legal system at the time is evident, but the question still looms — was it rape or was it an illicit affair? “This experience really reminded me about how important it is as a journalist to get face-toface with the people who are going to be affected by what you say,” Heard said. “In this case, a lot of people assumed the woman was HEARD continues on page 2
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Editors' note gg
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Jose Aguilar
The Daily Cougar is the official student newspaper for the largest university in the city, UH. As the news editors, our goal is to obtain as much information as possible and feed to you in a timely manner. We receive hundreds of news releases a day and we do our best to read and respond to every one of them. Regardless, there is always room for more. Interpreting what's newsworthy is not an easy task. News is never ending, fast and always changing. What's important or relevant to someone may not exactly be to others. Therefore, sending us your thoughts or ideas is always welcomed and appreciated. Here at UH there are a countless number of groups and departments to keep in touch with, and we always enjoy covering the achievements and events within our community. So please send us any upcoming functions that you would like us to cover. news@thedailycougar.com
UH Information Technology (IT) invites you to visit our Cougar First Impressions tent located on the south side of the Technology building (“T” on your map) on the first two days of classes.
August 23 and 24, from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day. Dozens of IT volunteers will provide you with information about campus computing, directions to buildings and departments, and plenty of water. We’ll also be passing out cool giveaway items.
Email & CougarNet Accounts • Blackboard Vista Support Services that can be obtained at the ITSC: D Set up Cougarnet accounts and resetting passwords D Accessing People Soft Accounts / MY.UH.EDU D Set up Mail.uh.edu / Exchange email accounts D Install and setting up VPN / UH Wireless on client laptops D Provide information on how to access and manage Blackboard Vista accounts Visit the University of Houston Information Technology Web site at www.uh.edu/infotech for current news, continued support, and a complete list of available services
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lying, and that caused a great deal of pain for her family.” The Eyes of Willie McGee does not promise to solve the case, Heard said. But it does give readers a lot of new information so that people can draw their own conclusions. Alex Heard will be at the Rockwell Pavilion at the M.D. Anderson Library at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 to sign and discuss his new book. The Graduate College of Social Work is sponsoring the event along with the Law Center and the Department of African-American Studies. All students are encouraged to attend. news@thedailycougar.com
Speak up whenever you want.
D Assist with the installation of antivirus software and automatic updates D Provide access to and answer questions about Skillport E-learning D Provide discount software to the departments for UH faculty/staff through volume purchasing arrangements with vendors
Computer Training Classes, E-learning, Live Chats, GetHelp and more... LOCATION AND HOURS The IT Support Center (ITSC) is located in the room 116, Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall (PGH). Walk-up support is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday (except university holidays). M.D. Anderson Library, Main Floor, Adjacent to Information Desk. Moody Towers, room 15 hours are 8AM-4PM, Mon-Fri. Welcome Center location, 1st floor, hours to reflect the Welcome center hours. 58 MD Anderson Library basement, 24/7 (except University holidays). Phone support, at 713.743.1411, is available 24/7 (except university holidays).
Special Hours Saturday August 28! The ITSC will be open Saturday, August 28, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., to provide all services.
Register with the Web site and comment on any article at thedailycougar.com
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First Lady helps tackle child obesity New health law requires schools to meet specific nutritional guidelines By Amanda Trella
The daily cougar Congress has taken its first step in challenging child obesity by passing the Healthy, HungerFree Kids Act earlier this month. Although the act does not apply to college students, it sets a healthier trend for future generations. The act allocates $4.5 billion over the next decade to feed more low-income children and make the foods served in K-12 schools more nutritious. "We can only hope that this will be the ground-breaking change to help fight child obesity,” UH Dining Services Executive Chef Tori Bergersen said. “If students start eating healthier sooner, they will acquire the healthy eating habits that will continue throughout their lives and into college. Plus with healthy eating habits, they won’t have to worry about the ‘freshman 15’ any longer." The act requires the food sold in schools to meet certain nutritional guidelines instead of those loaded with high in fat and sugar. This includes using healthier products and ingredients. "I wish this act would have been implemented sooner. The foods served when I was a kid were so saturated with fat that I felt sluggish
and never wanted to exercise,” public relations senior Monae Carter said. “Healthier foods equal more energy, which will lead kids to be more active and lead a long and healthy life." In order to help with the cost of the healthier food options, the bill grants that the reimbursement rate for federally sponsored school meals be on a non-inflationary basis, totaling an additional 6 cents for every meal provided. In addition to healthier and more nutritional foods served in schools, the act calls for an expansion in the number of children from low-income families that are eligible to receive free or reducedprices meals. The act also calls for an afterschool program that provides meals to children who might not be able to receive the nutrients they need to sustain a healthy lifestyle at home. In an attempt to fight childhood hunger and help promote a healthy lifestyle, first lady Michelle Obama pushed for the act as a part of her "Let's Move" campaign. "I am thrilled that Congress has taken a major step forward today in passing … a groundbreaking piece of legislation that will help us provide healthier school meals to children across America and will play an integral role in our efforts to combat childhood obesity,” Obama said in an official statement from NUTRITION continues on page 7
Start Thinking about your Career! ; Help Choosing Your Major
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E-mail: ucs@uh.edu
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Biology group research oil spill aftermath Professor and a team of five spend grant money on travel, salary and processing expenses By Sarah Raslan
The Daily Cougar The UH Department of Biology and Biochemistry received a $131,115 grant to collect and test spiders, crabs and insects from the Gulf and Atlantic coasts for effects from the oil spill. Biology professor Steven Pennings and his group are in charge of the research. “We’ve sampled two sites in Texas so far, Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge,” Pennings said. “We are heading east, sampling another seven or eight sites on the Gulf Coast and then about 11 sites on the Atlantic Coast.” He said that the sites that have been sampled have shown no obvious signs of oil. “We’re expecting these sites essentially in Texas to be control sites that should be the same this year as they were last year,” Pennings said. “Most of the oil is in the Louisiana area, and if it’s moving, it’s moving toward the eastern gulf rather than the
western gulf.” This project evolved from a previous study that involved geographic variation in salt marsh food webs that Pennings and his group worked on last year. “We had sampled 22 sites along our coastlines in 2009,” Pennings said. “So when the oil spill happened, that put us in a great position to go back and sample those sites again and see how things had changed at sites that had been exposed to oil compared to sites that had not been exposed to oil.” Pennings’ group consists of five people, including two graduate students, a summer student employed by UH and two volunteers from Germany. “They came from Germany to work in my lab, and then we made plans when this opportunity came along because it was the perfect thing for them to do,” Pennings said. “It is an interesting project for them to do because they’re reading about the oil spill in German newspapers, so it’s very interesting for them to come and work on it.” Brittany DeLoach McCall, a master’s candidate from Pennings’ lab, leads the group. McCall also led the previous year’s geographic variations study. The grant was received over
the summer and is a special category of grant called a “rapid grant” that the National Science Foundation gives in response to unexpected events. “It was three to four weeks from when I first contacted them to when I had the money in hand, so that allowed us to know that we could start planning for this trip,” Pennings said. The grant covers travel expenses, the salaries of the three people in the group who are being paid and the processing expenses of the samples. “Without the grant, this project would not have been possible,” Pennings said. According to a UH news release, the group uses giant vacuums powered by lawnmower engines. Samples will be taken over the next two months from the Texas Gulf all the way up the Eastern seaboard. Processing of the samples, which will be preserved in alcohol and sorted at UH, is expected to take six moths. “The strength of this research is that we have the ‘before’ data from last year so we can see how things have changed in response to the oil spill,” Pennings said in the news release. news@thedailycougar.com
Hundreds show up for job fair By Hiba Adi
The Daily Cougar University Career Services partnered with University Services and the University Center to host the second annual Campus Jobs for Coogs fair Aug. 11 in the UC Houston Room. More than 50 UH departments attended the event in attempt to fill more than 400 student-worker positions. “It was very successful. There were 897 students at the event,” Employer Relations Coordinator Jessica Campbell said. Many students have the intention to work but don’t know where to go for student worker positions. At this event, departments had the option to interview students seeking jobs right on the spot. “One frustration for students and departments was that there was a significant decrease in the number of students awarded college work-study in their financial aid package this year, while there were many departments looking to hire college work-Study students,” Campbell said. “However, there were also many departments at the event who were looking to fill a large number of non work-Study positions.” Departments looking for student workers and wanting to participate had to register in advance. At the event, they set up booths to speak with the students JOB FAIR continues on page 7
Parking matters
T
he UH Department of Public Safety exempts students without a valid parking permit the first week of school in order for students to have time to obtain their passes. The Parking and Transportation services have created an on-line registration service, if students fail to comply they will be fined. | Daily Cougar File Photo
Group leader, undergraduate student Brittany DeLoach McCall, samples insects in the salt marshes as part of the group's research. | Courtesy of Steven Pennings
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The University Center Campus Jobs for Coogs had booths set up to help answer questions and assist students find the specific job they were looking for. | Courtesy of Jessica Campbell
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about what they have to offer. “Departments are grouped together by what type of job openings they have (college work-study, non-college work-study or both college work-study and non-college work-study),” Campbell said. There were representatives from the International Student and Scholarship Service Office to help international students with questions about eligibility and from the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for questions about college work-Study programs. The next Campus Jobs for Coogs will be in August 2011. “This is a great opportunity for students to find out about various job openings on campus and for departments to connect with a large number of students at once
Hundreds turned out for the job fair where students were being interviewed on the spot. | Courtesy of Jessica Campbell about their student-worker job openings,” Campbell said. news@thedailycougar.com
TURKEY! WHERE WORLDS COLLIDE!
Take a step and open the door to a
WONDERFUL LANGUAGE AND CULTURE! Register for Beginning Turkish I (TURK 1501) in Fall Semester, 2010 TURK 1501 meets Mo/We/Fr 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
LEARN TURKISH!
The UH Recreation and Wellness Center is one way students stay fit on campus. Athletic equipment and personal training is available. | Kendra Berglund/The Daily Cougar
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the White House. As the battle against childhood hunger and obesity continues, older students like Patricia Bielecka hope that this act will be implemented at the college level as well. "This act acts as a perfect basis for what college and universities
have to do to fight the obesity epidemic as well,” Bielecka said. “Although upper-level educational centers were not included in this equation, it does not mean that we can't do anything to make a difference in our lifestyles and food choices. It's time we take a stand and make nutrition and health a priority.” news@thedailycougar.com
A World of Business! A World of History! A World for YOU! Students who complete the course with A (50% Discount), A (40% Discount) or B (30% Discount) qualify for a partial scholarship towards a 10-day trip to Turkey during spring break! The price ($1400) includes transportation, accommodation, and fee for attractions, breakfast, and dinner. The cost of student course books will be met by a grant from the Raindrop Turkish House of Houston.Questions regarding TURK 1501 may be directed to Dr. Mehmet Kanik (mehmetkanik@gmail.com) or to the Modern & Classical Language Dep’t student advisor. Untitled-20 1
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Expand your horizons. Study in CLASS. MaJors Anthropology Art
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Communication Sciences & Disorders American Sign Language
Economics
Bachelor of Music with Elective Studies in 1. All Level Teacher Certification - choral, piano, voice or instrument 2. Music Business 3. Music Religion
Philosophy
English
Minors African American Studies Air Force Leadership (Air Force ROTC) Anthropology Art
Military Leadership (Army ROTC) Modern & Classical Languages
Communication
Art History Studio Art
Advertising Corporate Communication Film Studies Health Communication Interpersonal Communication Journalism Media Production Media Studies Public Relations
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Values, Law and Policy National Security Studies Quantitative Social Science
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* Options for teacher certification are offered through the College of Education in the following CLASS areas: Art, Dance, English, French, German, History, Italian Studies, Music, Social Studies composite and Spanish.
For more information call 713-743-4001 or visit www.class.uh.edu expand horizon 5x16 process.indd 1
Our Academic Affairs Center is located in Room 320 of Agnes Arnold Hall.
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