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Volleyball team ends season on low note
Local music hits Avant Garden
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School of Theatre & Dance to hold performance The UH School of Theatre & Dance will perform its annual Choreographers Showcase titled “Synthesia” at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday at the Jose Quintero Theatre at the UH Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts. The show will feature pieces worked on by UH students and faculty. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $10 for senior citizens and students. For more information, contact the School of Theatre & Dance box office at 713-743-2929. — Sara Nichols/The Daily Cougar
Student art exhibition opens this week at Blaffer
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Issue 68, Volume 76
Tuesday ®
November 30, 2010
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Students opt for textbooks Hard copies of books remain popular as more electronic versions become available Paulina Lam and Naheeda Sayeeduddin
THE DAILY COUGAR In this fast-paced technological age, where students depend on electronics for everything from text messaging to surfing the Internet, a traditional textbook still prevails over its newer counterpart — the electronic book, or e-book. “One of the reasons I don’t buy e-books is because I don’t like looking at the computer screen too long,” interdisciplinary studies junior Thi Nguyen said. “I’m
more traditional. I like the whole textbook thing.” Students have the ability to write in the margins and highlight passages in traditional textbooks, which they may refer back to at a later time. They may also flip through the pages of their physical copies without worrying about failed Internet connections or slow page loadings. “It sometimes takes about 15 seconds for each page to load on an e-book,” political science freshman Angela Kao said. “They are cheaper than textbooks, but they don’t include some pictures that are included within the textbook edition.” When purchasing an e-book, students have the option of either downloading
the book or having access to the Internet version. If there is limited Internet connectivity where a student would like to study, they are unable to access their digital book, Kao said. “You can resell textbooks, but some e-books are limited for a period of one year. You are given a username and a password and you can’t access it after that year,” Kao said. With the rising costs of tuition and expensive textbooks, some students have turned to e-books as an outlet. The electronic books are cheaper and help students juggle the expenses of their college TEXTBOOKS continues on page 6
UH considers budget cuts for holiday season
The 2010 UH School of Art Annual Student Exhibition opening reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the Blaffer Art Museum. “This show has a lot of variety. It’s very energetic and fresh,” John Reed, director of the UH School of Art, said in a news release. “This is our chance to open a window and let members of the community see what we do. It is a popular event for the school and the museum.” The opening will be sponsored by KUHF 88.7 FM and Real Ale Brewing Co. For more information, visit www.class.uh.edu/blaffer.
Darlene Campos
THE DAILY COUGAR
— Sara Nichols/The Daily Cougar
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AROUND TOWN Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio The Museum of Fine Arts will present the premiere of a new film named “Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio.” The film documents the teachings of a revolutionary architect. The screening will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets can be found at mfah.org. Slim Thug Houston rapper Slim Thug will be performing at the House of Blues tonight at 8:30 p.m. His new album “Tha Thug Show” is scheduled to be released today. Find more campus and local events or add your own at thedailycougar.com/calendar
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Final days
S
ome students will be studying for their final exams during the “Reading Period” next week, while others are under pressure this week. The last day of classes is Saturday. Spanish sophomore Elizabeth Martinez took time to study in between her classes in the UC-Satellite on Monday for an upcoming exam. To see a complete list of the final exam schedule, visit http://www. uh.edu/academics/courses-enrollment/final-exam-schedules/. | Hiba Adi/The Daily Cougar
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Cutbacks have been made continuously by universities throughout the recent economic crisis. This year, the state of Texas reduced its revenue, leaving its public universities, including UH, with less money. “Last year, the University was required to reduce our budget by 5 percent, which we tried to do strategically, with a maximum of reform and a minimum of brute force,” Provost John Antel and Executive Vice President Carl Carlucci said in a joint e-mail sent to all UH faculty and staff. As the holiday season approaches, UH has installed a different policy regarding festivities because of the budget cuts. Carlucci and Antel have asked faculty and staff to remember those who had to leave the University and the possibility of future lay-offs. “Our wish is not to abandon our traditions or the holiday spirit, but to celebrate in a manner that respects this circumstance,” the e-mail said. “With this in mind, we want to caution against holiday celebrations or events funded from university sources. Celebrations of the season supported by our own contributions are not a problem.” They discouraged any large or lavish celebrations or off-campus celebrations, and said the University will not support it. Antel and Carlucci requested that any events be approved beforehand to make sure that it is not a ‘large or lavish’ one. In order to properly do so, a form called Addendum A is available through the UH events policy page. “We can expect to see a similar letter for the new reduction shortly,” Carlucci said. “We will post it when it arrives, but until then, we have no details as (to) the size and duration of the reduction.” Carlucci also said that Chancellor and UH President Renu Khator has been soliciting cost-saving ideas for the UH campus, which have been posted on her website. news@thedailycougar.com