Issue 96, Volume 76

life+arts

We speak to Broken Social Scene

Mustangs leave UH happy

sports

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

THE DAILY COUGAR thedailycougar.com

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Issue 96, Volume 76

Thursday ®

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February 17, 2011 Read. Recycle. Repeat daily.

Admin keeps flagship sights

Bauer to host coach Kevin Sumlin

Despite cuts, officials hope a change of system allows UH to continue on path to Tier One

A breakfast for networking featuring football head coach Kevin Sumlin is scheduled for today by the Bauer College Alumni Association. The event will take place in the Houston City Club.

Jesus Acevedo, Miguel Cortina and Tap Nguyen

“We like him because Bauer has partnered with the football team, and he’s also a great speaker,” said Billy Tilotta, Chair of the Breakfast Committee for the Bauer College Alumni Association and a Partner of HEIN & Associates LLP. The breakfast is scheduled to start at 7 a.m.

“The primary goal is for Cougars to team up with other Cougars,” Tilotta said.

The Alumni Association holds a breakfast every month where multiple politicians and CEOs have been the feature speakers in past events.

— Miguel Cortina/The Daily Cougar

Residency for master teacher begins with lecture on Jefferson Political scientist Michael Zuckert will participate in the Ross M. Lence Master Teacher Residency this year.

Zuckert will give a lecture called “Jefferson’s Moral Philosophy” today at 5:30 p.m. in the Rockwell Pavilion. On Friday, Zuckert will discuss Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” at noon.

“Attending these events and meeting with a renowned teacher like Professor Zuckert will enhance the education of UH students by adding to their usual classroom activities and assignments,” Beth Borck, director of development at the Honors College, said.

Both events are open to the UH community.

— Ayesha Mohiuddin/The Daily Cougar

CORRECTIONS J

The Graduate College of Social Work and the Houston-based Isla Carroll Turner Friendship Foundation also co-sponsored the lecture on aging with Fernando Torres-Gil on Feb. 11.

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EVENTS February Bauer Alumni Breakfast Head football coach Kevin Sumlin will be the guest speaker attending the monthly networking breakfast held by the Bauer College Alumni Association today from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Houston City Club.

A.I. Lack Series The Moores School of Music is presenting an A.I. Lack Series from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Fine Arts Building Dudley Recital Hall.

FOR MORE EVENTS, CHECK OUT thedailycougar.com/calendar

THE DAILY COUGAR A bill currently being proposed within the Texas House of Representatives will cut UH’s state funding by almost 20 percent, or $65 million, if passed. A companion bill in the Senate has reductions at 16 percent.

“The proposed House budget is an absolutely drastic reduction,” Khator said.

“It means losing the funding for 7,000 students or closing down five colleges, offering 1,000 fewer courses or employing 300 fewer faculty.”

Khator said the University may not enact those measures but simply offers them as examples of how a $65 million budget

reduction would impact UH. A decline in state funding for higher education has been occurring over the past 30 years.

Currently, the University operates with only 26 percent of its funding coming from the state, a 34 percent drop from the 59 percent it once received in 1981.

A 5 percent budget cut during fiscal year 2010-2011 resulted in a $15 million loss in state funds. If subtracted from the proposed $65 million, UH is looking at a $50 million loss for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, or a $25 million reduction for each year.

Welcome Wilson, a UH System Regent and chair of the University’s ‘Drive to Tier One initiative,’ said the University is ready to TIER ONE continues on page 3

SPECIAL REPORT

Budget cuts Every Thursday, The Daily Cougar will take an in-depth look at how proposed cuts to the state’s higher education allocation will affect the University and its future.

Today: Tier One intitiative Feb. 24: Staff terminations March 3: Athletics programs March 10: The role of community colleges March 24: Public vs. private debate March 31: Financial aid Track this series and find expanded resources on thedailycougar.com/budgetcuts2011

UPCOMING

Students don’t take violence to heart ‘Vagina Monologues’ production to be staged in April; benefits charity Anna Gallegos

THE DAILY COUGAR The Student Feminist Organization is hoping to educate students about violence towards women, one vagina at a time.

“Students can expect a show that is funny, down to earth and moving,” Andrea Platt, vice president of SFO, said in an email. “Some monologues are hilarious while others are serious, but all of them paint a striking and interesting portrait of women’s experiences.”

SFO spent the last two days casting for the “Vagina Monologues”, a play written by Eve Ensler that focuses on women’s sexuality and strength through dialogues about sex, rape, love and other actions relating to the female orifice.

“I sort of felt a connection (to the performance),” Joy Lester, an English sophomore and self-described feminist who auditioned, said. “Reading the stories about these women VAGINA continues on page 3

A presentation during the Action Alliance workshop describes methods used to bully in the era of the Internet and how schools can help children who are suffering. | Naheeda Sayeeduddin/The Daily Cougar

CONFERENCE

Taking bullies by the horns Officials meet to discuss safety measures, curbing techniques Julian Jimenez

THE DAILY COUGAR Educators and administrators from school districts all over the Houston area met to discuss bullying at the Action Alliance Workshop & Luncheon held on Wednesday at the University Hilton Hotel.

The event, hosted by the Alumni Association and the College of Education, invited staff, faculty and administrators from the surrounding areas to discuss the issues and challenges that schools face today.

The keynote speaker, Barbara-Jane Paris,

has received numerous awards for her work on cyber-bullying and serves on the board of directors for the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

“Kids don’t have a choice about school; they have to go.” Paris said. “As educators, we have an obligation to make sure that their environment is safe. Students deserve a chance to learn, feel safe and to grow, and the staff needs tools to make that happen.”

Rayyan Amine, the executive director for campus improvement and research, said that the workshop draws a wide variety of education professionals who are focused on improving their techniques.

“This year we definitely had a record BULLYING continues on page 3

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ONLINE

Thursday, February 17, 2011

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR YEARBOOK + SENIOR PORTRAITS Class of 2011 seniors and yearbook portraits are being photographed FREE next week!

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TOP DISCUSSIONS 1. Fears of Arabic, Muslims are irrational 2. Listeners protest KPFT: radio for peace 3. Streets off-limits for UH 4. Perry’s pro-life bill is a sound solution 5. Congress decides to show patriotism

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“Since we’re going to be deeply involved in the middle east for probably the next 10+ years, maybe it should be mandatory to learn about the culture and people that we brazenly write off as some sinister “other”. Maybe the next generation can aspire to something slightly better than imperialistic barbarism. or maybe they just need another semester of Texas history.”

— user “cakewalk” Re: Fears of Arabic, Muslims are irrational “The issue here is not Xenophobia or hatred of Arabic people. It is the fact that students were forced to learn about Arabic language, culture, and history in order to graduate with absolutely zero input from parents.

They were not scared of the Arabs or Islam. They were concenred about their lack of input in their own children’s education.”

this a great state and country. I find it offensive that you would bash your state as such. I think it is important that we know the history of our state and country first and well before we go off and dabble in others.”

— user “Mac” Re: Cop beatings prove that riots are needed “I don’t think anyone said they didn’t like the fact that people were exercising their ability to protest, people just thought the reason was stupid. I tend to agree with those people. Both are demonstrations, there is no picking and choosing.”

— user “Jbasc” Re: Colorado student needs marijuana at school “The despicable cruelty of the Know Nothing prohibitionist is about as extreme as a blackened heart can be. As horrid as the treatment of the boy is in the instant article these people are capable of much worse.”

— user “Smutco” Re: Staff Editorial: Banning asking for zip codes: seriously now?

“I would have rather like to see that the Court outlawed having to provide Social Security or Driver’s License numbers for store credit, both of which can be used to commit ID theft far more easily than by lifting someone’s Zip Code.”

— user “Spyderman”

— user “RickyRicardo” Re: Fears of Arabic, Muslims are irrational “As for the Texas history, just further shows your own bias. That all you focus on is the negativity in the past and not the things that made

Re: Staff Editorial: Student messes means more moronic work “This is an embarrassment to this university and another reason why admission standards need to be tightened.”

— user “Cougar Pride”

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TIER ONE continued from page 1

make the necessary cuts to ensure it achieves Tier One status.

“We are preparing to cut, and we have made cuts,” Wilson said in a Houston Chronicle article. “We’ve cut a number of programs and we’re going to lobby for our fair share, but the University is making the cuts that are needed.”

UH is in the process of making cost-saving moves that will allow it to continue its path towards flagship status and join The University of Texas Austin and Texas A&M University as the only public flagship universities in Texas.

“The University is working hard to identify areas that reflect a duplication of services or programs,” Provost John Antel, senior vice president for Academic Affairs, said. “We are compiling a list of

possible actions that we can evaluate and consider, and part of the review process involves identifying actions with proven, quantifiable results that do not violate state rules or compromise the mission of UH.” Amid the drop in state funding, the University is starting to make a change from an academic model to a business one with the notion that it will increase value and make up for the decrease in state funding.

“With state funding at 60 percent, we looked and operated like a state agency,” Antel said. “But now the goal of moving toward a business model is to increase efficiencies, while lowering costs and maintaining our commitment to educational opportunity.”

Khator said the University is doing everything possible to bring more efficiency, effectiveness and consolidation into the University’s business operation, and said the

University has been moving in that direction following two previous budget cuts.

“Our goal is to be nationally competitive and to serve Texas in the best capacity,” Khator said.

“And that goal is non-negotiable.”

In January, UH was categorized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a research university with “very high research activity”. It is the highest classification given to research universities and is one of the benchmarks of a flagship institution.

“We are already operating on a very lean budget, but our commitment to achieving Tier One status is unwavering as evidence by our new Carnegie ranking for research,” Antel said. “We will continue to prioritize and make decisions that will enhance our academic programs and graduation rates.” news@thedailycougar.com

VAGINA continued from page 1

discovering who they are, and overcoming things what inhibited them really struck a cord with me.”

Students were not the only ones who auditioned. Professors and UH staff members did so as well, Lester said.

This is the second year that the “Vagina Monologues” will be performed at UH by SFO with help from the Women’s Resource Center.

The monologues were originally performed on campus in 2009 and produced independently by then political science sophomore Blair Wallace.

Wallace’s production only ran once and did not continue in 2010, but this year SFO is being more ambitious by producing three separate performances.

Staying true to the purpose of the performances, SFO’s production will support V-Day, a worldwide movement that seeks to educate and end sexual and physical

Members of the Student Feminist Organization held a bake sale to raise funds for their production of the “Vagina Monologues.” | Courtesy Student Feminist Organization violence against women. For its part, SFO will donate a portion of all ticket sales to the Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition, a local organization that helps victims of human trafficking.

“As the Student Feminist Organization, we feel it is our privilege and duty to help such a fine organization,” Platt said.

SFO hopes that students will come out to be educated and entertained while helping a good cause.

“It is a bit more for a mature audience, but if you come in with an open mind,” Lester said, “I think you’ll enjoy it immensely.”

The “Vagina Monologues” will be performed on campus at 7 p.m.

April 15, 16 and 17 in the UC Pacific Room. Pre-sale tickets will be $5 and can be bought by contacting SFOatUH@gmail.com. Tickets will be $7 at the door.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

UH representatives aid children in obesity fight Organization passes out free book that encourages exercise Louis Casiano

THE DAILY COUGAR The PlazAmericas shopping mall was the site of a health fair Sunday afternoon that provided free services for low-income families.

Arte Publico Press wellness program ¡Salud, Familia! distributed copies of the children’s book “I Kick the Ball / Pateo el balon”

by Gwendolyn Zepeda, to the first 5,000 children to come up to their booth at the fair.

The book is intended to combat childhood obesity and related illnesses.

“Our plan is to have four healthrelated children’s books published this year,” Program Coordinator for Salud Familia Katherine Rodriguez said. “We will be working with our nationwide partners to distribute these to Latino communities across the country.”

Children At Risk, a non-profit group that focuses on the health and safety of children, hosted the fourth annual Nuestra Familia, Nuestra Salud Latino Children’s Health fair in conjunction with The Spanish-language network Univision.

An estimated 5,000 people from the Hispanic community attended the fair to receive free health and dental screenings for children, Children’s Medicaid Insurance Pro g ra m ( C H I P ) re g i s t ra t i o n

assistance and educational and nutritional information from over 60 organizations.

“The goal here is for people to come out to the event and to first find a medical home,” Children At Risk Assistant Director of Public Policy Tanya Makany-Rivera said.

“We want kids to get vaccinated along with other screenings like vision, dental, glucose and cholesterol because these are things that are affecting our community.”

A report released by the US Census Bureau found that 46.3 million Americans are without health insurance. CHIP offers low-cost health coverage to working parents who cannot afford coverage through their employers.

According to the Texas Medical Association, 64 percent of Hispanics in the state are more likely to lack health insurance, and areas with the highest rates of the uninsured are predominantly Hispanic.

CHIP outreach worker Alma Gutierrez said there is a need for this within the Hispanic community.

“They want their kids covered, they want their kids to stay healthy and they look for us,” Gutierrez said.

Arte Publico Press is the largest publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by Hispanic authors.

For more information on the press, visit www.latinoteca.com/ arte-publico-press.

For more information about Children At Risk, visit www.childrenatrisk.org. news@thedailycougar.com

Join the conversation.

Comment on any article at thedailycougar.com

continued from page 1

turn-out for the luncheon. We have people from elementary school to the university level — consultants, principals and councilors — all of whom have an interest in improving the schools,” Amine said.

Many of the attendees of the event were actively engaged throughout the workshop as they noted important points about the nature of bullying and how to best combat it.

They took many of the stories and lessons presented at the workshop to heart as they learned new techniques aimed at dealing with bullying and its repercussions for students.

“Everything was very informative. We deal with bullying all the time at our schools,” said Teresa Baranowski, an assistant principal at Cy-Fair ISD. “It was reassuring and validating for what we do, and I really feel that the event gave us more great ideas about how to best handle these types of situations.”

According to the Cyber-bullying Research Center, 20 percent of 11to 18-year-old students have been a

Sound like you?

These symptoms could be more than just PMS — they can also describe PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder).

Representatives from school districts across Houston convened on Wednesday to discuss efforts to combat bullying within schools. | Naheeda Sayeeduddin/The Daily Cougar victim of cyber-bullying, and a 2009 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 18.7 percent of Texas students surveyed were bullied on school ground the previous year.

But even in the face of such numbers, many of the educators present at the workshop expressed

a committment to combating bullying.

“Are we going to make bullying go away? Of course not,” Paris said.

“But we can change it and we can adjust it. We can do our best to contain it.” news@thedailycougar.com

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COMMUNITY

news@thedailycougar.com

BULLYING

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Baylor College of Medicine is conducting a clinical study of FDA-approved drugs ,YAZ and YASMIN, to determine if they are effective in relieving PMDD stress in women ages 13 to 20. Participants will complete a diary in addition to receiving medication in this study.

Females between 13 and 20 experiencing these symptoms and comfortable with tampon use may be able to participate. Parental consent is required under age 18.

Call 713-798-7549

obgynresearch@bcm.edu

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Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Daily Cougar

opinion THE DAILY COUGAR

EDITOR Andrew Taylor E-MAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/opinion

SMALL GOVERNMENT...WAIT, BIG! WAIT... Courtesy of USBICEF

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF MANAGING EDITORS NEWS EDITORS SPORTS EDITORS LIFE

& ARTS EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR

Jack Wehman Newton Liu, Christopher Losee Jose Aguilar, Cristi Guerra John Brannen, Joshua Siegel Mary Baak Andrew Taylor

STAFF EDITORIAL

Republians favor budget cuts to public radio, TV

H

ouse Republicans announced their plans to reduce the deficit last Friday — and the cuts they proposed cut precisely down party lines.

One of the cuts would eliminate the funding for public television and radio completely. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is just one of the many places House Republicans are targeting under their guise of trimming the budget responsibly.

Eliminating the CPB completely would reduce government spending by $531 million, according to the Associated Press. Of the $60 billion that House Republicans are trying to cut, the CPB represents less than 1 percent of the total goal.

The funding that the CPB receives was originally created by Congress in 1967. Since its creation the CPB has been vital to public communication and education throughout the country.

The CPB “helps support the operations of more than 1,100 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services,” according to the CPB website.

The CPB represents the government’s investment in making sure that all Americans have access to public radio and television, even in the most rural of areas. The proposal to eliminate the CPB is so unreasonable that it is hard to see why cutting it would be proposed if not for partisan motivations.

Eliminating CPB funding would affect programs like the Public Broadcasting Station, National Public Radio, KUHF and other local radio and television programs that many people rely on for information on a daily basis. The cuts would have a disproportionate affect on rural stations and programs that have fewer methods of funding.

The House Republicans are making it clear that they’re not interested in meaningful solutions — and are risking the channels of communcation for many Americans.

Budget woes mean prisoner paroles

B

udget concerns mean crazy things for Texas. One of these crazy plans deals with releasing people from prison in order to save the state some money.

“Texas lawmakers have been discussing the possibility of releasing more nonviolent prisoners early to help the state deal with a projected $15 billion budget shortfall,” Andrew according to the HousTaylor ton Chronicle.

The implication of releasing nonviolent prisoners is something that should be given a lot of thought. Depending upon how long of a sentence they have already served, some of these people may get parole and then immediately return to their criminal ways. Others whom have served sentences of various lengths may be unfit for society after their prison experience.

Many of these non-violent offenders are serving time for drug-related offenses.

We should be asking what the effects would be of releasing potentially drug-

addicted people back into society.

The same question should be applied to prisoners that are serving for crimes like driving while intoxicated, theft of property and scam artists. Serving time in jail has never been a cure for criminal behavior, and allowing prisoners to come back into society afterward doesn’t fix the problem.

Texas lawmakers should instead think of different approaches — ones that wouldn’t just cycle criminals to fix state budgetary problems. They could increase state revenue if they amended certain laws so that some criminal activities resulted in significant fines instead of sending people to prison.

Since the rise of the debate on legalizing marijuana, many studies have found that by decriminalizing, states could reap billions in tax revenue. Similar things could be done for other nonviolent crimes.

People often forget that keeping people in prison costs the state significant amounts of money. The Texas prison system is also overwhelmed with inmates, which results in the state spending more

money to employ the workers of these prisons.

Another concern is what happens to the foreign prisoners who occupy our jails throughout Texas.

Granting these people parole doesn’t guarantee that once they’re deported they no longer become a threat or a problem.

Much of the criminal activity that lands these people in prison is hard to escape from, and for some it is all they know.

The time spent in prison isn’t exactly the most helpful thing for them once they’re let go.

If jobs are tough to find, and a criminal record makes finding one even harder, doesn’t this sound idiotic or counterintuitive?

Releasing people from jail because they no longer seem dangerous sounds more like a disguised way of saying we can’t afford to imprison these people or care for them in prison so to the streets they go.

This is far from a well-thought-out solution.

Andrew Taylor is a economics senior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

E D I TO R I A L P O L I C I E S 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) 743-5384. 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.

COMMENTS FROM THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM Give us your two cents — it might show up here In response to: Colorado Student needs marijuana at school The despicable cruelty of the Know Nothing prohibitionist is about as extreme as a blackened heart can be. As horrid as the treatment of the boy is in this article, these people are capable of much worse.

I’d like to point out that there are only 24 cardholders under 18 and that parental permission is required for a minor to get on the registry in Colorado. Children do get sick you know.

—Smutco In response to: Sexual Orientation shouldn’t matter Nothing against homosexuals, but I’m tired of the LGBT community acting like the world doesn’t know they exist. If I (a heterosexual) decided it was important

to make sure everyone knew my sexual status on applications, they would label me homophobic.

—Rude “Assuming that an individual’s academic ability is tied to their affiliation with a particular group is inherently biased.”

“The belief in the merits of ‘diversity for diversity’s sake’ often motivates minority groups to emphasize irrelevant personal traits and manners while downplaying the importance of ability and achievement.”

So why do you assume that people of minority groups downplay the importance of ability and achievement? Are you suggesting they are inherently inferior?

—Joshuaism

In response to: Congress decides to

show patriotism I wish the writer of this opinion based article would mention that 26 domestic terrorist attacks have been stopped, thanks to the P.A. Agenda at its best —Louie HERE WE GO AGAIN. At first I thought Dana had switched over to a different topic, and I’m completely in agreement with her when she says that blocking the PATRIOT act is a good thing.

But come on, the PATRIOT act affects all Americans, not just Americans of Middle-eastern descent.

Stop acting like you’re a victim. We all have to deal with BS in life.

—Rude

Have your opinion heard. Leave your comments at Thedailycougar.com

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Daily Cougar

sports

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EDITORS John Brannen, Joshua Siegel E-MAIL sports@thedailycougar.com ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/sports

overtime

AARON CISNEROS/THE DAILY COUGAR

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Cougars looking for 12th straight The Cougars look to make it 12 straight victories in Conference USA against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at 7p.m. tonight at the Donald Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Its last time out, UH (20-4, 11-0) beat East Carolina at Hofheinz Pavilion 77-60 behind guard Brittney Scott’s 20 points and forward Lesslee Mason’s double-double.

The Golden Hurricane (5-14, 1-10) have lost seven in a row and are looking for revenge after being the Cougars first victory in their historic 11-game winning streak in C-USA. Tulsa lost their last game against SMU 66-58 in Dallas.

Their lone bright spot was guard Taleya Mayberry, who had 24 points and 7 rebounds.

In the last meeting, UH demolished Tulsa by 30 points on Jan. 6 at home behind Scott’s 17 points and nine rebounds.

The Cougars will return home Sunday to face off against UTEP at 2 p.m.

Point guard Zamal Nixon had a consistent performance with seven points, three assists and four rebounds in his 32 minutes of play, but the UH offense was never able to establish a rhythm. | Joshua Siegel/The Daily Cougar

MEN’S BASKETBALL

SMU gallops away with win

— Lance Jaramillo

Miners fall, Memphis tops UAB

UH comeback attempt halted, Cougars are losers of six of last seven games

Southern Miss. (19-6, 8-4 Conference USA) defeated UTEP (19-7 , 7-3) 64-51 Wednesday.

Jesus Acevedo

C-USA BASKETBALL

The Golden Eagles were led by R.L. Norton who had 20 points. Freshman Devonte Newbill added 15 points and Gary Flowers chipped in with 13. UTEP’s Claude Britten led all scorers with 21 points, making 10-of-11 shots from the field.

Memphis (20-6, 9-3) topped UAB (18-8, 8-5) 62-58 to take possession of first place in the conference. Will Barton led the Tigers with 17 points and six rebounds. Joe Jackson added 12 points. UAB forward Ovie Soko led all scorers with 18 points.

Memphis will head to Houston this weekend to take on Rice on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Marshall (18-9, 6-6) outpaced the Owls (11-13, 3-9) 72-61 at the Henderson Center in Huntington, W. Va. Johnny Thomas led the Thundering Herd with 13 points.

Rice guard Tamir Jackson notched 21 points. Sophomore forward Arsalan Kazemi added 16.

The Golden Hurricane (15-11, 8-4) blew out East Carolina (13-13, 5-7) 86-67 at home. Tulsa guard Justin Hurtt put in 21 points, teammate Scottie Haralson added 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Jordan Clarkson added 17 points.

THE DAILY COUGAR After losing 64-51 to SMU, head coach James Dickey stressed that there are always two things that a basketball player can do.

“Everday I think you can play hard and I think you can play defense,” Dickey said.

“Some days you may not shoot the ball well, and some days you may not handle it well, but the two things you can do everyday are play hard and play defense. I’m a firm believer in that.”

The Cougars (12-12, 4-7 Conference USA) struggled to do either of those as the Mustangs continually found open looks and converted 57 percent from the field.

Several Cougars will get a final chance to compete before the Conference USA Indoor Championships next week.

UH will head to the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse Baton Rouge, La. for the LSU Twilight on Friday.

UH will host the Conference USA Championships from Feb. 25-26 at the Yeoman Fieldhouse in the Athletics/Alumni Center.

— Cougar Sports Services

sports@thedailycougar.com

Whitting starts UH career versus old foe Gilbert Requena

UH Bayou bound

job to get them ready, but we were not ready.

“We don’t have a guy who can individually go out and just have a big night and beat somebody. We have to play together and play with energy.”

The Cougars lack of aggressiveness combined with the Mustangs zone defense limited UH to only one free-throw attempt, and it came on a four-point play by Thibodeaux.

The last time UH attempted zero free throws was in 2005 against TCU. “Offensively in the microcosm of things we can look at one column, and that’s free throws,” Dickey said.

“We weren’t aggressive, and we didn’t attack, and we talked about that, about attacking the glass and making Dia and Nyakundi guard them.”

The Cougars will have to regroup quickly as they play second-place UTEP (19-7, 7-3) at 8:05 p.m. Saturday at the Don Haskins Center.

BASEBALL

— Cougar Sports Services

TRACK & FIELD

Inside, UH gave up 38 points in the paint and Mustangs forwards Papa Dia and Robert Nyakundi combined to post 43 points on 17-of-26 shooting.

“I made a bad decision not starting Adam (Brown) or Thib (Darian Thibodeaux) on Nyakundi. We started Alandise (Harris) on him, like we did up in Dallas, and it didn’t work out. Robert and Papa Dia just killed us in the first half. We switched in the second half, and our wings did a much better job on him.”

The Cougars hung with the Mustangs (16-9, 7-4) for the first 10 minutes of the second half, coming within three points of the lead after a 9-2 run with 9:18 remaining in the second half. SMU responded with a timeout and proceeded to finish off the Cougars.

The Mustangs ran off 15 straight points coming out of the timeout. The Cougars did not score for an 8:40 stretch, and SMU ran away with the lead.

“Probably the worst performance that we’ve had all year,” Dickey said. “It’s my

THE DAILY COUGAR The distinct sound of baseballs making contact with aluminum bats will return to Cougar Field this weekend as UH opens its season with a three-game homestand against UT-Arlington at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

“Just like us, they’ll be extremely excited about opening day,” head coach Todd Whitting said. “I’m looking forward to a great series” Whitting is familiar with this UTArlington squad after spending seven

seasons as an assistant at TCU. “Being in Fort Worth, we played them twice a year,” Whitting said. “Coach Thomas will come in here with a very competitive ball club.”

Both teams are coming off of sub-.500 seasons and are looking to bounce back.

Whitting has pegged junior Codey Morehouse as his opening-day starter.

Morehouse appeared in 14 games last season, pitching 18 innings to a 9.50 ERA with 34 baserunners allowed.

“We’re a little limited as far as depth goes, especially in the pitching staff,” Whitting said. “But limitations in depth give opportunities to guys to perform.”

One of the new faces in the Cougars lineup will be shortstop Chase Jensen, who takes over for the departed Blake Kelso.

“Chase is a tremendous shortstop,” Whitting said. “He has had a good year in practice so far.”

The Cougars hold a 5-1 all-time series lead over the Mavericks and defeated them the last time they met 8-3 in 2007.

The Cougars will play again at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and wrap up the series with a 1 p.m. Sunday showdown. sports@thedailycougar.com

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LIFE&ARTS

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Daily Cougar

MEET THE ARTIST

MUSIC

Peroff talks life, love, Broken Social Scene

First time’s a charm for Caney Creek Heroes

Ben Muths

THE DAILY COUGAR With its release of “Forgiveness Rock Record� in May 2010, Broken Social Scene struck a chord in the world of personal indie rock. The use of ethereal musical texture with overlaying powerful lyrics makes this album one of the best of the year.

The album was conceived after a significant hiatus due to solo careers and new collaboration projects. We had the opportunity to speak first-hand with drummer Justin Peroff, one of the founders of the band.

Q: Broken Social Scene has come a long way since the release of “Feel Good Lost� in 2001. What direction can we expect the band to go in after this tour?

A: That’s a question that I could ask the band, and the band could ask itself. The nature of the band doesn’t necessarily include designing ahead. We can be a take-it-day-by-day kind of band, especially at this stage of the touring cycle. All we can see is what’s directly in front of us. Keeping it interesting and staying on our toes can be helpful for the creative process.

Q: Though this record seems to be

a reformation of the core group of BSS, do you think the “Broken Social Scene Presents‌â€? trend will continue?

A: Again, we’re not one to anticipate, but I for one can say that the “Broken Social Scene Presents‌â€? series has lived itself out. I would love to see a “Broken Social Scene Presents‌â€? film. It’s been spoken about briefly and a very long time ago. So I think if we were to continue that trend it would go in that direction.

Q: “Forgiveness Rock Record� is unique in that each musician has contributed their own personal experiences. What does the word “forgiveness� mean to your life and experiences with the band?

A: I use the metaphor of the record being a love letter, each song acting as a chapter. It’s a love letter regarding the state of the world, as well as immediate relationships, whether it’s a group of musicians or blood relation. That’s what music is, right? Musicians just communicate in a different language. They try to find a group of people they can communicate with and that will create results that are a little bit of everybody. Lately, it’s been a core group of five or six of us writing these letters together.

Q: Houston is seen as undeserving of indie tours with the strong hip-hop

Emily Holley

THE DAILY COUGAR

Justin Peroff is part of the Toronto-based Broken Social Scene. The band has been together since 1999. | Courtesy of Dave Gillespie scene we have here. Do you feel the difference in fan presence as you travel farther away from Canada?

A: Absolutely. Even within Canada, going province-toprovince. For example, when we go to Montreal, sometimes it doesn’t feel like you’re even in Canada anymore; you’re just in Montreal. It’s just a different dynamic wherever we go. I personally love the crowds in Texas. I’m actually really stoked about this whole southern run because Florida and Texas especially have always been good to us and brought the noise. I’m just grateful that I’m still able to do this, and people are still listening to our music. And that’s exactly why we’re doing this. We’re touring for us just as much as we are for our listeners, and it’s great.

Broken Social Scene plays tonight at Warehouse Live at 8 p.m. arts@thedailycougar.com

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Upon picking up Caney Creek Heroes’ album, “Forgetting Yesterday,� one can’t help but be immediately attracted to the cartoon artwork on the cover.

It was drawn by vocalist Nick Fisher; other members of CCH include Sebastien Fisher, David Fisher, Ivan Cagle and Shuja Yasin.

Their sound is a unique mix of punk rock with a hint of hardcore.

The album begins with a lovely melody that introduces pop-punk guitar riffs, which set the tone and lead into the second song on the album, “Inside You�. The lyrics are strong, and their faith is unabashedly brought to the forefront passionately. “Sleepless Night� changes the mood a bit when the vocals come in with the traditional ‘90s punk sound that continues into the chorus.

The hardcore guitar chords creep in during transitions, keeping the listener on his or her toes and breaking the nostalgic tone.

Skipping ahead, “Forgive� boasts a quirky chorus, synthchoir background and is a unique addition to the album. The message of love and forgiveness shines throughout the lyrics and melody.

This leads to the upbeat track,

“Jack.� One of the best features of this track is the keys that pound out a beautiful melody; coming in at a close second were the guitar riffs in the background.

The nostalgic punk sound returns in “The Princess and the Pauper,� which is most notable in Nick Fisher’s vocals and the guitar’s melodic intro.

The clichĂŠ of the dorky guy wanting the princess is told through a musical narrative that fits well with the punk tone of the song. A hardcore scream that surprisingly fit well within the track left the song with an open-ended feeling. “Forgetting Yesterday,â€? the album’s namesake, certainly did not disappoint. The message of forgetting the past and looking toward the future along with the synth choir gives the track a hopeful tone.

The last track on the album, “Thousand Dream� opens acoustically and swells into a dramatic band entrance. The acoustic break is a calm refreshing sound that is mixed well with the spoken word.

The message of needing something more than ourselves is the heart of this song — and perhaps even the entire album; it was a great ending track.

Caney Creek Heroes return to the UC-Satellite today to promote their show at Fitzgerald’s on Sunday. arts@thedailycougar.com

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The Daily Cougar

COMICS & MORE

Thursday, February 17, 2011

comics

crossword

Robbie + Bobby by Jason Polan

ACROSS 1 Chiang — -shek 4 Wharf 8 Liniments 13 Morays 14 Tien Shan mountains 15 Piano exercise 16 Desert art colony 17 Intellect 18 Trumped-up 19 Beattie or Blyth 20 Neanderthal (2 wds.)

22 Tourist’s burden 24 La senorita 25 Before 26 Sweetheart 28 Glamorous wrap 31 Tech talk 34 Rushes past 35 Hollow fruits 36 Beowulf’s drink 37 Some canines 38 Onion relative 39 Labyrinth 40 Rough shelters 41 Rx amounts 42 Shelley opus 43 Whisper loudly 44 Fair-hiring letters 45 Coat rack 47 So-so 51 Vent (3 wds.)

55 Open meadow 56 Kodiak native 57 Guardian’s charge 58 Fortas and Vigoda 59 Not those 60 Jacques’ girl 61 Made a loan 62 Put on the payroll 63 Can’t do without 64 Whale domain

Chili Fingers by Nam Nguyen

sudoku How to play

Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9; and each set of 3-by-3 boxes must also contain the numbers 1 to 9.

Previous puzzle solved

DOWN 1 Reeves of “Speed” 2 Go — (cooperate) 3 Shuttle destination 4 Cost, informally 5 Uniform color 6 Rum source

1

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64 ©

26 27 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 37 41 43

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Notorious pirate Happened to — — costs Nursery songs Inventory wd.

Crystal-gazer Term paper abbr.

(2 wds.)

Wagon Celtic language Rock shop curiosity Cuts calories Makes a decision Curved molding Says please Hunter’s supply — my lips!

Reference book Muses’ father Bowl over Cat burglar View as Weighed by lifting

28

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7 8 9 10 11 12 13

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44 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 58

Weaseled out of Shake awake Condor’s abode “The Zoo Story” penner Davis of films Toward sunrise Backing for plaster Grades 1-12 Ballet lake Change from wild to mild Hirt and Pacino

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Previous puzzle solved S P C A

T E A L

R O A R S

E R N I E

L A C S

E P E E

E S T A

W O O D D P A R U N A L Y P O O R N D S A O A R N I N D E E D

L A T I N

I L A C V I L A A P E R N COC B O G A P P P A L A C E R T I N A S OON E Y R E L S K WA E D T I G E R A S E L E G A L SWO R D

R O C K N E

A V O N

F E M E

T R E Y

A S T O ON UG G H T E U S N T A

C I R C A

E L M E R

E R I K

N O T E

RENT ME! Daily, Weekly & Monthly rentals available!

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Thursday, February 17, 2011

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