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Cougars slug Miners out of the park in three-game sweep
Blaffer showcases grad student’s work
March 19, 2012 Issue 88, Volume 77
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Fuel costs cause woes Students deal with rising gas prices by carpooling, biking, taking different routes
Ariana Benavidez, Jed Ocot, Kimberly O’Neal and Travis Gumphrey
THE DAILY COUGAR
Last year’s gas prices at this time were more than $0.30 lower than current rates. | File Photo/The Daily Cougar
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As gas prices continue to rise, commuting students are faced with even more stress on how to balance their social life, schoolwork, workload and financial burdens. “Since I spend so much on gas every week, I try to limit myself from doing things that require driving, like going out with friends because most of my paycheck ends up being used for gas,” said civil engineering sophomore Sarah Eldiraoui, who lives in Katy. Gasoline prices are higher now
than they were a year ago, according to houstongasprices.com — the website that shows the average gas price on any given day compared to a week, a month or a year ago. On Sunday, the Houston average was $3.78 per gallon while the national average was $3.81. A year ago, the Houston average was $3.41 per gallon, and the national price was $3.54 per gallon. Crude represents 76 percent of the price consumers pay, so gasoline prices rise as the cost of crude oil rises. Some students ride a bike, take a bus or carpool to save money. Nick Mead, geophysics and
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chemistry senior, has been riding a bike for three-and-a-half years for his two-mile commute. “Let’s say you drive a truck or SUV to campus, you end up paying almost $1000 a year for gas if it stays around three bucks, and you only drive to school and back home. You have to add in all the other places you drive to,” Mead said. “I generally bike pretty much everywhere else I go in Houston, so I’ve probably saved around $3500 at the low end since I’ve been in college. GAS continues on page 3
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‘Invisible Children’ UH seeks members
Free diabetes screening available at health center UH students, faculty and staff can receive a free diabetes screening from the UH Health Center on Friday. Interested persons can present a valid picture ID between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the UH Health Center to receive the screening. No appointments are necessary, but participants are encouraged to not eat or drink anything other than water for at least eight hours before the test to get the most accurate results. — Cougar News Services
Organization can’t find interested students Max Gardner
THE DAILY COUGAR
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sororities will put on shows this year, including Delta Zeta’s “Silver Spur,” Pi Kappa Alpha and Delta Gamma’s “Crow’s Nest,” and Sigma Chi’s “Bella Union.” The UH Cheerleaders will also make an appearance. A few other organizations that are participating are Bayou Oaks, Cullen Oaks, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, Cougar Red Friday and
Even with the recent surge of attention and controversy surrounding Invisible Children, University of Houston’s chapter is still struggling to garner new members. Originally founded within the Honors College, the chapter has attained most of its current members from that community, naturally. Mathematical biology sophomore Kendall Mills, the chapter’s president, says it is difficult to organize campuswide events with so few roots among the overall student population. “We’ve been trying really hard to make this a university-wide chapter,” Mills said. “We’re listed under the organizations, and we try to do things at PGH, but it’s harder than we thought it would be to get people
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Frontier Fiesta preparation brings parking lot closures Parking on campus this week will be worse than usual due to preparations for Frontier Fiesta. Lot 12B will be closed until April 2 and lots 12A and 15D will be closed until March 26, according to a campuswide email sent by director of UH Parking and Transportation Services, Robert Browand. Students with economy parking passes will not be fined for parking in student lots today through Friday, Browand said. Parking will be available at the Energy Research Park, located at 5000 Gulf Freeway, and shuttles will run every 15 minutes, Browand said. For more information on where to park, go to www.uh.edu/pts. — Cougar News Services
Frontier Fiesta has been a tradition at the University since 1940. The event features carinival rides and musical performances. This year’s festival will feature theme days and more localized talent. | File Photo/The Daily Cougar
Frontier Fiesta returns to UH Courtney Johns
THE DAILY COUGAR Students can expect changes involving this year’s Frontier Fiesta carnival, which will take place Thursday through Sunday. Frontier Fiesta is preparing to bring some new things to the carnival that may surprise some people. This year, students can expect more than the two rides
featured last year, belly dancers and theme days. Thursday’s theme is “diversity,” with a comedian whose name is undisclosed for the time being, a mariachi performance and Russian belly dancers. Friday is “Cougar red,” and Saturday is “family fun day” during the morning and afternoon and “Joe Koppel military appreciation” in the evening. Some fraternities and