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t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e 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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BUSINESS SCHOOL
Career fair today expects over 75 employers to atttend The Spring 2011 Business Career Fair is from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. today in the UC Houston Room. Although the primary focus of the fair is business majors, students from other majors are also welcome. Attendees may dress in business-casual attire, but it is recommended they wear business suits. The fair, hosted by the C.T. Bauer College of Business, expects more than 75 employers to attend. “That’s a lot of employers coming to a college campus in this economy,” said Donna Grady, director of career counseling and leadership at Rockwell Career Center. Students can get more information and see the full list of the companies who are attending the event at http://www.bauer. uh.edu/career-center/career-fair.php. — Miguel Cortina/The Daily Cougar
STUDENT ORGANIZATONS
Auditions and pre-sale tickets available for feminist event The Student Feminists Organization will have auditions for the “Vagina Monologues” at 5 p.m. Feb. 15 and 16 in the Women’s Resource Center. The “Vagina Monologues,” written by Eve Ensler, focuses on women’s sexuality and strength. The monologues will be performed on campus as part of the V-Day movement, a worldwide effort to end violence against women and girls. “Students can expect a show that is funny, down to earth and moving,” said Andrea Platt, vice president of SFO. “Some monologues are hilarious while others are serious, but all of them paint a striking and interesting portrait of women’s experiences.” Performances will be on April 15, 16 and 17 at 7 p.m. in the Pacific Room. Pre-sale tickets will be $5 or $7 at the door and all proceeds will go to the Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition. — Anna Gallegos/The Daily Cougar
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EVENTS Ring Ordering Event Students thinking about getting a class ring can attend the event that is happening from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the UC Satellite. Free Instructor-Led, Hands-On Computer Training Computer classes are being offered to students, alumni, faculty and staff. A class introducing Web design will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in room 110-6 of the Social Work Building.
FOR MORE EVENTS, CHECK OUT thedailycougar.com/calendar
Issue 94, Volume 76
Tuesday ®
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February 15, 2011 Read. Recycle. Repeat daily.
Partnership rights march Daniel Renfrow
THE DAILY COUGAR Students and faculty gathered in front of the cougar statues at the Ezekiel W. Cullen building Monday in support of domestic partner benefits. UH does not currently extend benefits to the partners of employees in same-sex or different-sex domestic partnerships, and the gathering was organized to raise campus awareness of the issue. “Excellent universities are fair universities,” Maria Gonzalez, associate professor of English, said as she addressed the crowd. “Someday we hope the University will treat us like our straight counterparts.” The crowd marched from Cullen to the Human Resource office where some of the participants requested domestic partner benefits and were denied. They were then treated to refreshments by the Human Resource Department. “I thought the event was great,” Joan Nelson, executive director of Human Resources, said. “They need to continue to put a voice to
their cause.” Lorraine Schroeder, program director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center helped organize the action. Schroeder’s partner recently went a year and a half without benefits while she was looking for a job, even though Schroeder works for the University. “It would have been nice to have put her on my benefits at the time,” Schroeder said. “It’s an unfortunate situation that Monday’s march to HR brought focus to faculty LGBT partnerships. we’re in. Sometimes people | Courtesy LGBT Resource Center (in domestic partnerships) have to make the decision to leave or not “It’s affecting students directly,” Lee said. work here because financially it is not the “Some faculty are leaving or deciding not to best decision for them.” take positions here because of the policy.” James Lee, a political science sophomore Lee and the LGBT Advocates are putting and president of LGBT Advocates, agrees that together a petition in support of domestic the policy is having a negative effect on the University. ACTION continues on page 3
Gallery makeover brings café Cancer
project looks for subjects
Reesha Brown
THE DAILY COUGAR In an effort to provide a more functional and attractive space for students, faculty, staff and visitors, the Blaffer Art Museum is scheduled to begin a $2 million remodel to include renovations for the north-side entrance of the Fine Arts building and courtyard. The addition of a sleek, modern café/lounge will also be part of the remodeling project, according to Jeff Bowen, the museum’s assistant director of external affairs. “We are reinventing and rethinking the entire space,” Bowen said. “We’re talking about moving the main entrance to the street side and having some sort of attractive way of getting people in the museum.” The 38-year-old facility’s remodel is headed by WORK Architecture, a company based in New York. The redesign will showcase the museum’s mission of showing emerging and underrepresented artists’ work. Renovations include replacing light fixtures with urban lighting within the building and incorporating them in the new café. The courtyard will undergo a tremendous transformation, making the space more inviting and event-friendly. “This will be good for when we have a gala,” Bowen said. “If we have openings we can have a bartender to serve drinks at the café and make it a place for social events.” The coming café has students excited, because it means fewer long walks to the UC for coffee breaks and snacks. “It would be really nice to have a little café area,” Farah Hasnie, graphic design sophomore, said. “It would be very convenient since we (students) have so much work to do and barely have time to take a break to eat. It (the renovations) would add some life to the area.”
Gilbert Requena
Blaffer remodel will close gallery from July to December 2011. | Nine Nguyen/The Daily Cougar
THE DAILY COUGAR
Students feel that Blaffer has been in need of a remodel for aesthetic and safety reasons. “Our building is shouting for it,” Amber Salim, communications senior, said. “This building is depressing and it lacks inspiration for art students. Art is about not just brown walls, so it would be great to see a change. And it’s really scary to walk through here at night.” Funding comes from University support, private donations and corporations. Bowen said donating to the museum gives people the opportunity to name some of the galleries. Other students feel that those donations would be better directed towards other projects. “I think there are bigger issues that need renovations,” Lindsay Callier, a fine arts junior, said. “I mean I would love for there to be a café, and I think students would really appreciate it, but there are things like the heating and cooling systems that need fixing.” Renovations are scheduled to take place between July and December 2011. The museum will be closed during the construction period and plans to reopen its doors January 2012.
A research team is searching for male participants who identify themselves as Vietnamese to be part of a study aimed at increasing cervical cancer awareness and prevention among Vietnamese women. The research is part of a two-year project headed by associate professor Jenny Yi. The team is looking to investigate the effectiveness of health communication aimed at promoting the HPV vaccine’s acceptance among Vietnamese-American women, according to a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) award letter. “We are trying to develop a program to educate Vietnamese women about cervical cancer, risk factors, prevention and the HPV vaccine,” Yi said. “We are focusing on cervical cancer because Vietnamese women have a high incident rate of this cancer for unknown reasons.” Yi says that screening rates are lower in the Vietnamese community
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RESEARCH continues on page 3