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Cougars get back in action today with first practice of the spring
March 21, 2012
Prominent Houston rappers come to UH
Issue 91, Volume 77
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
President, vp, senators disqualified Election commission found students guilty of voter fraud Taylor McGilvray
THE DAILY COUGAR The Student Government Association election commission has disqualified four students — including the president-elect and vice president-elect — on the basis of election fraud for using students’ personal information to cast votes without their consent during the general elections. Numerous witnesses told the election commission College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences senators-elect Brandon Balwant and Laxmi Ramana, members of the
McHugh-Aijaz party, approached students with a “petition” to change faucets in the M.D. Anderson Library that required the students’ first and last names, PeopleSoft numbers, birthdays, classifications and the college they were enrolled in — all information that was required to vote in the election, said Arsalan Razakazi, chief election commissioner. Michael McHugh, who was elected president in the run-off elections, and his running mate Mohammed Aijaz were also disqualified because of the fraud. His party — McHugh-Aijaz — was the main beneficiary from the fraudulent voting, Razakazi said. “Candidates who are members of a Party are held individually accountable to the
provisions of this code, although parties as a whole may be held accountable to the provisions of this code,” says article III, section three, clause four of the SGA elections code as quoted in the election commission’s decision. Two other sections from the code that are quoted in the decision say that candidates found guilty of election fraud can be disqualified and candidates that don’t meet requirements of the code can not win the election. “We interviewed; we contacted each of the witnesses; we tried to make conferences with them in our office. We do thank them for their time,” said Dre Perez, an assistant election commissioner. “It’s not easy for them to come over here...they have to study
Students left with little options on spring break
Students can get into zoo free for Shasta VI unveiling
CREATIVE WRITING
James Franco backs out of UH creative writing program Actor James Franco has once again decided not to attend UH’s creative writing doctorate program in the fall. Franco deferred his acceptance in the program last fall for a year, but he will not be attending this fall either due to scheduling conflicts. “His plans do not permit him to enroll in the doctoral program this fall,” Director James Kastely of UH’s creative writing program told the Houston Chronicle. “The problem is, he’s just very busy, so the future is uncertain.” — Cougar News Services
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STUDENTS
MASCOT
Shasta VI, the newest live UH mascot, will take his place in the Houston Zoo’s cougar exhibit. UH students with valid student IDs can get into the zoo for free to attend the event, which will last from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Although Shasta will not reside on campus like previous live mascots, the UH Alumni Association and the zoo are working to set up a webcam service that will allow students to view the cougar online. Shasta VI is the first male cougar to represent UH. The last live Shasta died in 1989. — Cougar News Services
for exams; they have to write papers, so we just thank them for time and their diligence in helping us come to this decision.” All four students have 24 hours to appeal the disqualification to SGA’s judiciary branch. If the appeal is accepted, they will go to trial, Razakazi said. “We’ve done a lot of research...we’ve been working countless hours — we even worked over spring break. This decision wasn’t easy... it wasn’t something we took lightly,” said Said Jalajal, an assistant election commissioner. “Even though it’s tough, we’re sticking by this decision because we believe its fully right to those people who were done wrong.” McHugh refused to comment.
Audris Ponce
THE DAILY COUGAR
Shasta III served as the mascot from 1965 to 1977. She was known as “The Lady” and was featured in commercials for the American Motors Corporation. | File Photo/The Daily Cougar
CAMPUS
Live mascot to represent UH after 20 year absence Joshua Mann
THE DAILY COUGAR New traditions will be blended with old on Saturday when the UH Alumni Association unveils a live cougar mascot for the University after more than two decades without one. Though Shasta VI’s predecessors have lived on campus, this incarnation will remain in his exhibit at the Houston Zoo, said President of the UH Alumni
Association Mike Pede. “There are all kinds of reasons why a live cougar should not be out of where he’s being handled by professionals,” Pede said. “He will be there 24-7 with the 4-yearold cougar that already lives there named Haley.” The Alumni Association has been in communication with the zoo since Jan. 2011, but they have been working on getting a new SHASTA continues on page 3
Dining hall closures and the lack of campus activities make spring break less of a treat for international students living in residence halls. Of the 3,249 international students enrolled at UH this semester, 237 live on campus, according the Office of International Students. “The school should have more events for on-campus students to celebrate spring break together like parties or field trips because international students do feel lonely, especially during spring break,” said accounting and finance senior Quan Tran. For some international students living on campus, the early closing hours for dining facilities and the recreation center during the break were a nuisance. “There’s no choice but to eat outside of campus,” said Sascha Lulla, a finance senior from Singapore. Lulla drove to the nearest Wendy’s or Subway when businesses like the Calhoun Loft’s convenience store closed at 3 p.m. “The school should really cater to its international students since they have so many,” Lulla said.
We should be able to eat. But if we can’t, they should put it in the contract, so we understand and aren’t left in the dark.” Agi Anthony, on living on campus during spring break Other international students, like hotel and restaurant management post-baccalaureate Agi Anthony don’t have vehicles to drive to a restaurant off campus. Anthony, who moved to Houston from Nigeria two years ago, said his meal plan was wasted when dining facilities on campus were shut off, and the current contract he signed did not warn him of this problem. “No one does anything about it,” Anthony said. “It’s a challenge that international students have experience with during Thanksgiving.” Since using his meal plan wasn’t a viable option during the break, Anthony used money to buy snacks or dine at China Star when it was open earlier in the day. “We should be able to eat,” Anthony said. “But if we can’t, they should put it in the contract, BREAK continues on page 3