Election edition
Cast your SGA ballots today 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 104, Volume 76
Tuesday ®
March 1, 2011
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PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
newsline Got news? E-mail news@thedailycougar.com or call 713-743-5314
CRIME
Sexual contact suspect turns himself in The suspect in a Thursday’s burglary and sexual contact incident has turned himself into the Houston Police Department. Astin Chavers Clark, 22, is accused of breaking into the room of a female student in Moody Towers and fondling her while she was asleep, according to a UH release. Clark is not affiliated with the University. The student says she was awakened at 4:55 a.m. to find Clark fondling her. She identified Clark as her attacker and a warrant was issued for his arrest last week.
Admin against budget cuts Speech in Austin; proposed efficiency plans Nick Ragan
THE DAILY COUGAR UH President Renu Khator took steps to minimize the impact of the massive reductions in state funding proposed in the Texas House and Senate by testifying before both the Texas House and Senate. In a bid to convince legislatures that higher education in Texas should be a top
priority, Khator argued the budget cuts would mean fewer students could earn degrees, and ultimately the Texas economy will end up suffering. “It’s not just about the University of Houston. It’s about the economy of Texas,” said Khator at a Faculty Senate meeting Wednesday. Despite the state deficit, which is estimated to be between $15 and $30 billion, Governor Rick Perry has refused to tap the $9.4 billion Rainy-Day fund. Khator doesn’t feel the same way, saying, “a lot of us feel that it is raining.”
The investigation is still ongoing, according to Lt. Bret Collier of the University of Houston Police Department. The UH police will question Clark later today about the incident. Anyone with information should call (713) 743-3333.
If UH were to pass onto students the budget reduction proposed in the House, tuition would have to be raised 20 percent, according to Khator. The University “can’t afford to raise J KHATOR tuition at that level,” but she stopped just short of saying that tuition costs won’t rise at all. “We have reached the capacity as to KHATOR continues on page 3
PARKING & TRANSPORTATION
The Student Government Association will be holding the Campus Accessibility Tour from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the UH Center for Students with Disabilities.
Site informs students on Metro issues
The event offers participants the chance to see what the campus is like for disabled students and faculty.
Jorge Porras
— Louis Casiano/The Daily Cougar
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Tour offers chance to see what the campus is like for disabled
THE DAILY COUGAR
“The event will give faculty, staff and students the chance to navigate our campus in a wheelchair or with a blind cane stick,” said Jeff Syptak, the SGA chief of staff. The event is free and open to the public. For more information about the event, contact Jeff Syptak at jrsyptak@uh.edu. — Julian Jimenez/The Daily Cougar
CORRECTIONS J
Report errors to editor@thedailycougar.com. Corrections will appear in this space as needed.
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today
Cattle farm exhibit debuts
S
tudents from the Community Learning Agricultural Sustainability Program, a UH Green Initiative, researched meat practices for a one-day display featuring a visual representation of a cattle farm. | Rebekah Stearns/The Daily Cougar
To help students and faculty navigate the changes brought on by the construction of the new light rail system and to be better prepared, University Services has formed an informative blog. “The Southeast Light Rail blog up is a way to promote openness and communication with the University of Houston students, faculty, staff and community,” said Chris Ramsey, a member of the University Service team. The blog provides the UH community with easy access to updates on construction, information about the Southeast Light Rail and announcements from UH on safety awareness. “If anyone is seeking information on the Southeast BLOG continues on page 3
HI
Sunny skies!
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LEGISLATURE
Bill squeezes federal financial aid Daniel Renfrow
THE DAILY COUGAR
EVENTS Clay Walker The American country music artist is headlining tonight at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at Reliant Stadium. The show begins at 6:45 p.m., and tickets are ranging from $15 to $300. Prices for parking start at $10. Ring Orders Representatives from Balfour will be taking orders at the Graduation fair in the UC Bookstore from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
FOR MORE EVENTS, CHECK OUT thedailycougar.com/calendar
A resolution passed in the US House of Representatives that will make substantial cuts to the Federal Pell Grant Program — a program 9.4 million college students rely on to help them pay for their education. The bill, H.R.1, will cut the maximum award granted to students to $4,705 from $5,550. This amounts to an $845 cut to students receiving the maximum award. The bill will need to make its way through the Senate before becoming law. The average Pell Grant will drop by $785, according to higher education
advocate Rich Williams. He believes that hundreds of thousands of students will lose access to the grants entirely. “Due to the budget crisis, states have been slashing financial aid expenditures and it is causing the price of tuition to go up,” Williams said. “It is important that folks know the importance of college aid, because we are needing to make up for a shortage of 3 million college students by 2018. We are not going to get there if we keep cutting aid. “All of this is critical if we want to continue to have a strong work force as the economy recovers.” Chelsea Adams, a business freshman who pays out-of-state tuition, believes
that the resolution will directly affect her ability to stay at UH. “I am out of state. I need financial aid to stay here, and if I can’t get it I will have to go back home,” Adams said. “This bill will really hurt a lot of people.” Adams believes that if the bill is passed in the Senate it will make it difficult for freshmen enrolling in universities for the first time, and that many will have to decide not to go to college. Tessa Long, a double-major Chinese psychology freshman, said the bill would not immediately affect her ability to stay in college, but that it will eventually affect BILL continues on page 3