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
®
GET SOME DAILY
thedailycougar.com
65 LO 50 Monday HI
Cougars beat Oklahoma State, open season with perfect 5-0 ORGANIZATIONS
Valentine’s Day ‘kiss-in’ to support LGBT faculty, staff UH students are invited to gather in Butler Plaza with their significant other and take part in a “kiss-in” at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. Texas Freedom Network UH is hosting the event in order to raise awareness and support for LGBT faculty and staff. Students who want to show their support but don’t want to kiss are also welcome to attend. — Cougar News Services
CARNIVAL
Ethnic organizations council to host Carnival of Culture
Issue 73, Volume 77
LECTURE
Doctor talks tropical diseases Vaccine is too expensive for low-income countries Mohammed Haider
THE DAILY COUGAR World-renowned clinician and investigator of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Peter Hotez, spoke to students Friday about the development of a vaccine that will help prevent the spread of parasites and infections among low-income populations around the world. While the cost of treatment
in countries where NTDs are common is very inexpensive, the citizens of these countries are still unable to afford them, Hotez said. “It would only cost each of us 20 cents a year if we all decided to help,” Hotez said. “A huge difference can be made with a small contribution.” According to a study done by Hotez and the American Society of Tropical Medicine, 1.4 billion people are at risk of being infected with NTDs. Hotez used images of children with roundworms, whipworms
and — the most common — hookworms, in a PowerPoint presentation to show the effects of NTDs in countries of the eastern hemisphere. “NTDs can cause learning deficiencies and stunted growth,” Hotez said. “It affects (student’s) performance in schools.” NTDs are common in Islamic countries and parts of North Africa and India, one reason why students felt the University of Houston was the perfect place NTD continues on page 3
The Council of Ethnic Organizations will host its two-part Carnival of Culture on Wednesday. The first part will feature foods and performances from a variety of cultures and carnival attractions, and it will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Butler Plaza, Lynn Eusan Park and outside Cullen Performance Hall. The second part will feature more performances and entertainment starting at 6:30 p.m. in Cullen Performance Hall. Students can register to perform in the second portion of the event by emailing ceocmd@ uh.edu. — Cougar News Services
Peter Hotez is a professor of pediatrics, molecular virology and microbiology. | Amanda Scott/The Daily Cougar
UH Law Center’s landscape redo
W
ondering if the Law Center has a gopher problem? Was UH hit by a few dozen meteors? Should the University be concerned about an alien attack?
UNIVERSITY CENTER
UC to celebrate 45th, final birthday before renovation The University Center will celebrate its 45th and final birthday on Tuesday. Students can attend a birthday party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the UC that will feature a dance contest, T-shirt tie-dyeing and a noon cake-cutting. The UC will undergo construction into the new UC starting with significant portions of it being taken offline starting this summer. The first phase of construction — the part that includes the east and the north additions, as well as renovation of half of the ground and first floors — is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013. The majority of the new UC complex will open January 2014. Throughout 2014, a second phase of the transformation will add lounge space, update the game room and renovate the meeting rooms and offices currently on the second floor. — Mohammed Haider
February 13, 2012
Famous band to give concert at UH
Turn to page three to find out the cause of the holes and what they’ll be filled with. | Taylor McGilvray/The Daily Cougar
GERALD D. HINES
College hosts design competition Exhibit features architects’ visions for ‘closing the gap’ in New York
John Loner
THE DAILY COUGAR UH’s Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture hosted a competition for architects, urban designers, engineers and students Friday to design a structure to “fill in” a 22-block gap along Manhattan’s East River. “Close the Gap: Envisioning the East
River Greenway for 21st century New York” is an international design competition that was sponsored by d3 and Transportation Alternatives. Director of Interior Architecture and Assistant Professor of Architecture at UH Gregory Marinic and Sandra McKee, adjunct professor of architecture at Columbia University, curated the exhibit and were on hand to give observers a tour of the exhibition. “The idea behind the competition was to make people aware of the problem and to come up with some solutions,” McKee said.
The competition drew 26 responses from 22 countries, ranging from Iran to Bangladesh. The competitors’ visions for the gap included green energy alternatives, how to clean the river’s water, deal with water runoff and a way for pedestrians to cross over Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive. McKee, a member of Transportation Alternatives, said she had been looking at this gap on the east side for a long time and noticed it ARCHITECTURE continues on page 3