Issue 90, Volume 77

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

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Scouts check out Houston’s finest at UH Pro Day

Prof’s autobiography makes the big screen

UNIVERSITY

March 20, 2012 Issue 90, Volume 77

STUDENTS

Students use materials outside of UH Cougars use break to assist children

Cougars turn to other universities’ free online material, including textbooks, lecture notes, assignments Taylor McGilvray and Joshua Mann

THE DAILY COUGAR

Students frustrated with classes offered at the University of Houston have turned to free material offered by several other universities, including Rice University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

Computer science junior John Cates said he takes the classes to further his understanding of the face-to-face courses he’s enrolled in at UH.

“I have found the MIT lectures to be more interesting, and it’s refreshing to take (courses) at your own pace,” he said.

Rice University began offering textbooks and course lectures online for free in February using Connexions, and other universities — like MIT — using OpenCourseWare.

Material from the courses — ranging from class notes to quizzes and paper assignments to full textbooks — is available free of charge on the websites.

Cates said the online classes have a downside, however. Without a professor to hold students to deadlines, it is easy to get behind

schedule.

“If you want to take a class from OpenCourseWare, you just do it yourself,” he said.

Though UH students may use the sites, the University does not provide a similar service.

UH Executive Director of Media Relations Richard Bonnin said the University is aware of other higher education institutions with a “more robust funding structure” offering free materials online.

“The University of Houston does not offer any free classes at this time — online or

Students go to New Orleans to help out in low-income classrooms

FREE continues on page 3 Mohammed Haider

THE DAILY COUGAR

Students try to raise awareness

Students from the Graduate College of Social Work spent time assisting children in the Greater New Orleans area during Spring Break.

“You can’t knock it until you try it. I’ve done a lot of mission trips in a religious capacity. I’ve always wanted to do an ‘alternative Spring Break,’” said graduate student and Instructional Assistant for Leadership Development Courtney Reynolds, who organized the trip.

“Making an impact and seeing the difference on just one person’s face is way worth it. Yes, there are other things I can do, but those things can wait.”

Reynolds and the group worked in conjunction with Head Start, a program that provides educational and health services to children of low-income families.

“Most ‘alternative Spring Breaks’ consist of building and cleaning up things.

“I was surprised how much

S

tudents going to and from the University Center were stopped by members of the Students for a Democratic Society at their Palestinian Marketplace on Monday in the UC North Patio. The event, which was held to inform students about Israeli-Palestinian relations, is part of Israeli Apartheid week. | Nine Nguyen/The Daily Cougar

BREAK continues on page 3

LSAT

Free LSAT workshop offered by pre-law organization Phi Alpha Delta, Pre-Law is hosting a free LSAT workshop from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday in the University Center Spindletop Room.

The workshop will focus on LSAT fundamentals, and discounts for Blueprint — an LSAT training service — will be provided.

“This is a great opportunity to learn about prep options for

the June LSAT or any of the other upcoming exams,” said a campuswide email.

Free pizza will be provided to attendees.

For more information, contact info@uhpadprelaw.org.

— Cougar News Services

UNIVERSITY

Khator named one of top influential Indian women UH President and Chancellor Renu Khator has been named one of the top five most influential

Indian women in the US by siliconindia.com.

The Indian news site cites Khator’s status as the first president of the University not born in the United States and the first Indian-born woman to head a major US research university — among other achievements — as reasons for her place on the list.

The UH Board of Regents unanimously elected Khator to her current position in November 2007, said that year’s November/ December issue of Cougar Parent Connection.

— Cougar News Services

GREEN UH

Recycling competitions to be combined into one event UH will combine the RecycleMania Olympics and The Art of Recycling Contest for an event that will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday in Butler Plaza outside M. D. Anderson Memorial Library.

Participants can compete in at least five games for prizes in the RecycleMania Olympics and then make art out of recycled material for a chance to win gift cards.

Several organizations will also attend to promote recycling and sustainability education.

RecycleMania is a nationwide competition between universities that ranks schools according to the amount of recyclables collected per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables collected, the least amount of trash per capita and the recycling rate.

— Cougar News Services

CORRECTIONS

Report errors to editor@thedailycougar.com. Corrections will appear here as necessary.

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NEWS

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

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Do you think UH should offer free online courses or textbooks?

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“UH needs to start thinking about implementing free online classes. It will help students to save money and might even encourage more people to get higher education. I don’t feel like I get my money’s worth (with online classes at UH). We are paying the same amount of money (as face-to-face classes) to teach ourselves.”

“Economically, free classes don’t make sense because you have to pay the professor for the time they spend making the online course, but if they can find a way to make it free, then it’s for the better.”

Adam McPowell communications senior

Katherine Guevara corporate communications junior

“I think online courses are very beneficial and and I even think some more courses should be offered.

It just depends on the teacher, you might get a teacher that interacts a lot ... it felt like I was getting my money’s worth.

“I dont see why not, it will benefit certain people because some people have busier life styles and it would be easier for them.”

Joshua Smith Biology sophomore

Robert King Logistics junior

What do you think?

Let us know by commenting at thedailycougar.com.

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ABOUT THE COUGAR The Daily Cougar is published Monday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and Wednesdays during the summer, at the University of Houston Printing Plant and online at http://thedailycougar.com.

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H’s Office of Sustainabilty along with The Metropolitan Volunteer Program planted 15 trees at the Law Center on Saturday as part of “Plant the Pride.” The event “aims to bring awareness to the University of Houston and city community about the many economic, communal and environmental benefits that trees provide,” said a press release written by MVP officer Quyen Phan. | Courtesy of Quyen Phan

FREE continued from page 1

otherwise,” Bonnin said.

Bonnin said UH uses part of the tuition and student fees to develop online classes.

“We are not currently in the position to offer the resulting materials to the general public at no charge,” he said.

Rice professor of electrical and computer engineering Richard Baraniuk began a non-profit

publishing project 13 years ago called Connexions that aimed to make high-quality textbooks accessible to anyone online — at no cost.

“The OpenStax College is a new initiative out of Rice to develop a free library of open textbooks,” Baraniuk said. “These are books that are not just to be used at Rice University, but for two- and fouryear colleges across the country.”

Baraniuk says that by implementing free online textbook initiatives, students can save money

and finish their degrees more effectively.

“What we are striving to provide is high-quality learning materials that are really easy to adopt and they are saving students tremendous money,” Baraniuk said. “The more the students save, the more they can continue the program and finish and enhance the work force.”

Additional reporting by Audris Ponce, Eduardo Venegas, Courtney Johns and Kimberly Grady.

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We are an action-oriented environmental group dedicated to green initiatives, a push for clean energy, and protecting the environment on campus and in Texas.

continued from page 1

this group wanted to work with more of a person-to-person capacity,” said Reynolds.

Some of the activities included work projects every morning at the schools and tutoring in the afternoons. The group also took one afternoon off to explore the culture of New Orleans.

New Orleans was one of several cities that were selected for this project. Reynolds said New Orleans was a very attractive place for the participants to go because of the early-childhood education. The only requirement for the trip was that the students should be completely invested in helping the children.

“We just put out what we were doing. People who were passionate applied for it. We didn’t have

Members of the Graduate College of Social Work went to the Greater New Orleans area to volunteer at schools over Spring Break. | Courtesy of Courtney Reynolds to use any gimmicks or anything like that. If we can get students who are passionate about it without any gimmicks, I think that says a lot.”

Reynolds plans to continue “alternative Spring Breaks” every year in even bigger cities. news@thedailycougar.com

Y O U C A N D O I T A L L O N T H E D A I L Y C O U G A R . C O M . T R Y I T T O D A Y.

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OPINION THE DAILY COUGAR EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF MANAGING EDITOR NEWS EDITORS SPORTS EDITOR LIFE

& ARTS EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR CHIEF COPY EDITOR

Daniel Renfrow Mary Baak Taylor McGilvray, Joshua Mann Joshua Siegel Jose Aguilar David Haydon Amanda Hilow

STAFF EDITORIAL

Radical Christianity dangerous for nation

B

efore Louisiana pastor Dennis Terry introduced Rick Santorum to his congregation on Sunday, he took a few minutes to hurl some fire and brimstone down from the pulpit.

“I don’t care what the liberals say, I don’t care what the naysayers say, this nation was founded as a Christian nation...There is only one God and his name is Jesus. I’m tired of people telling me that I can’t say those words,” said Terry.

“Listen to me. If you don’t love America, if you don’t like the way we do things, I have one thing to say — get out. We don’t worship Buddha, we don’t worship Mohammad, we don’t worship Allah. We worship God. We worship God’s son Jesus Christ.”

In his diatribe Terry indirectly addressed the biggest threat to our nation. The biggest threat to our nation — our liberty — is radical Christianity.

Terry’s diatribe, and Santorum’s complacence, reveal that radical Christians don’t want a democracy — they want a theocracy.

They have created a historically inaccurate dual narrative of American history, a narrative in which all of our nation’s founding fathers were devout Christians. In this narrative, it is the devout Christians who have held our nation together, fought for social justice and the downtrodden. In this narrative our nation has prevailed because of the influence of the Christian god.

In reality, our nation has prevailed because of the separation of church and state, which has thus far prevented us from crumbling into a theocracy.

Many of the Bibl Belt revisionists who are trying to pervert this separation are the descendents of the same Christians who supported slavery, were against granting women the right to vote, were against desegregation and interracial marriage.

Do not be fooled by their rhetoric, their “compassionate conservatism.” Radical Christians want to reverse our nation’s steady march towards equality. They want to send us back to the days when they could force their beliefs on other Americans, shame them into complacency.

Rational Americans have two choices. They can either sit by and watch our democracy dissolve into a theocracy, or they can fight back.

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 to (713) 743-5384. Letters are subject to editing.

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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.

EDITOR David Haydon E-MAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/opinion

Moderation needed when celebrating

There is no invincibility factor for young students when it comes to drinking

S

t. Patrick’s Day is a day full of celebration and, in turn, drinking, sometimes to a frightening degree.

With cities across the country reporting an Lucas increase in drunk drivSepulveda ing arrests, this year’s March 17 seems to have been no different.

These reports are truly sad, and represent a much bigger issue than just one day’s mistakes. While we like to think our society grows safer and smarter with each year, many of us are actually steadily regressing in ways of responsibility. We don’t realize the dangers of driving drunk until an incident forces us to.

Perhaps learning the hard way is too embedded in human nature to ever expect alcohol-free roads. If that’s the case, humans prove to be much less intelligent than we thought.

It’s time to smarten up. If a man is charged with a DWI, that man shouldn’t think of himself as unlucky — he should be counting his blessings and grateful that his buzz was the only thing killed.

It’s surprising how thin the line between misdemeanor and murder charge can be.

As college students, alcohol might be an unavoidable part of the experience and can make for a great time, if consumed correctly. But sometimes, after excessive drinking, we revert back to our childish sense of ignorant invincibility that should have been abandoned long ago. We’re not invincible, not in any sense of the word, and nothing will prove that quicker than getting behind the wheel after a night of drunken festivities.

Sadly, while drunk driving is a big issue amongst younger college students,

the problem has proven to be more complicated than that of simple maturity. Drunk driving is a crime that holds no age prejudice, which contributes enormously to its danger and presents difficulty in finding its solution. It is one of the only crimes that can make a 16-year-old kid just as dangerous as a fully-grown adult.

Our society is handling drunk driving completely wrong. While strict penalties are obviously helpful, and may even need to be stricter in some cases, they will never do enough to solve the problem. There will never be a charge so severe that it completely eliminates drunk driving.

The intoxicated person isn’t one to worry about much, and the more drinks consumed, the less worrisome he or she becomes. That drive home starts to look easier and easier with every drink. Before long, any thought the person may have had concerning police is out the window.

Our lawmakers need to realize that it is extremely difficult to scare a drunk person. On top of that, by the time a drunk driver does get convicted, the damage has already been done; the car has been totaled and a person has been killed — the crime has been committed.

The whole process is flawed. We spend too much time focusing on punishment when we should be focusing on prevention.

Considering how advanced our technology is these days, it’s shocking that in-car alcohol detection devices aren’t inside every vehicle on the road, preventing the car from functioning if it senses the driver is too drunk.

That would make a difference in the number of drunk drivers. Although the devices would probably be less perfect

As college students, alcohol might be an unavoidable part of the experience and can make for a great time, if consumed correctly. But sometimes, after excessive drinking, we revert back to our childish sense of ignorant invincibility that should have been abandoned long ago.” in actuality than they are as an idea, but I think that’s the direction we need to move in if we want to make a dent in drunk driving. Technology is often criticized as being bad for us — its negatives outweigh the positives. But I think using technology to prevent drunk driving could help reduce a huge social issue more than ever before.

Enjoying yourself is important, especially on holidays. Taking time out to loosen up and relax is crucial, and alcohol is many people’s way of doing so, which I understand. But when it comes to driving, nobody should take a risk.

Alcohol has the ability to turn a quick trip home into a tragedy, and it’s been proven time after time.

It’s just not worth it, and it’s unfair to everyone involved. It’s terrifying to imagine possible outcomes of careless drunk driving mistakes.

Some things in life you have to learn the hard way, but this is most certainly not one of them.

Lucas Sepulveda is a creative writing and media production junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Removing one soldier is only a start Detaining the soldier who allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians is not enough

P

resident Barack Obama guaranteed on March 13 that a thorough investigation will take place about the bloody rampage by an American soldier.

Robert Bales, the accused staff sergeant Saniya for the US Army, is susMaya pected of killing at least 16 Afghan civilians.

Obama said he was heartbroken because of the murder of civilians, and that he felt as if our own citizens or children have been murdered.

It is absurd how American soldiers could take lives of innocent people, considering the soldiers are in Afghanistan because of 9/11.

Although brutal terrorists murdered innocent Americans, that does not mean American soldiers should do the same.

Although the militants were fired on an Afghan delegation in the village, there is peace everywhere else.

However, the Afghans have started protesting the shooting.

The American soldiers have upset the president and created tragedy within the country.

Although the troops are always supposed to follow what the commander says, they committed a crime.

It is absurd how American soldiers could take the lives of innocent people, considering the soldiers are in Afghanistan because of 9/11.

Although brutal terrorists murdered innocent Americans, that does not mean American soldiers should do the same...The American soldiers have upset the president and created tragedy within the country.”

Obama has promised to Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, that he is going to get under the attack, wind down the war and bring the troops back to the United States.

“The administration already has withdrawn 10,000 troops from Afghanistan and plans (to return) 23,000 more by the end of the summer,” Obama said.

“Meanwhile, we will continue the work of devastating al-Qaeda’s leadership and denying them a safe haven.”

By bringing back the troops, half of

the tension of Afghanistan would be over; the war will finally end.

America’s situation will get better as well.

US troops coming home will bring more international positivity for the country. If done correctly, it will bring peace back to the States and disperse conflict.

Obama has made positive changes before, such as ending the war in Iraq.

The president is performing excellently under current conditions and his administration is finally supporting his decisions.

The administration is putting forth much effort in getting to the root of the problem.

Bales attorney expects him to be charged Thursday, but it has still not been confirmed.

Meanwhile, Obama promised nothing like this will ever happen again.

Afghans live in fear and our president is trying his best to make the situation better.

The president’s promise to find a solution is still a work in progress, but he will continue to work until he has completely ended the war.

Saniya Maya is an journalism senior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

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EDITOR Joshua Siegel E-MAIL sports@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/sports

FOOTBALL PRO DAY 2012

Auditioning for Sundays Hayes’ skills impress scouts at UH Pro Day

PRO DAY NOTEBOOK

Saenz breaks out, Edwards overcomes injuries Despite saying he was only at “70 or 80 percent” because of a quad injury, Patrick Edwards still managed to run a 4.59 in the 40-yard dash on Monday.

“When I’m running, I can’t accelerate or kick it in gear because my quad is still messed up,” Edwards said. “I feel like I could do way better than that, but it’s just a matter of me focusing on one thing and getting it back 100 percent.

“I’ll be in somebody’s camp playing slot receiver or outside receiver.”

In preparation for Pro Day, Edwards has been running routes with quarterback Case Keenum.

“It was real cool because over the whole process, we got to work on timing and everything,” Edwards said. “We’ve just been playing pitch and catch the whole time. He made me look good; I made him look good.”

Safety Nick Saenz made some noise on Monday, running a teambest 4.46 in the 40.

Keenum threw the ball well and said the hamstring injury that affected him at the NFL Combine was no longer an issue.

Joshua Siegel

THE DAILY COUGAR A gaggle of scouts and NFL front office personnel filled the bleachers inside of Yeoman Field House on Monday to see what this year’s crop of UH seniors had to offer to their respective teams.

Quarterback Case Keenum and receiver Patrick Edwards were on draft boards for most of last season, but it was the Cougars’ under-the-radar players that impressed.

Running back Michael Hayes doesn’t have a stat line with counting statistics busting at the seams like Keenum or Edwards, and he might not be drafted on the first or second day, but according to a source close to him, multiple scouts are keen on him and he will find a home in the NFL. After rushing for 727 yards and 11 touchdowns on 138 carries and catching 44 passes for 483 yards, Monday’s drills were another opportunity for Hayes to show off his myriad abilities and versatility.

Hayes ran a 4.55 in the 40-yard dash, did 23 reps on bench press and registered a 35-inch vertical — all second best on the team.

“It was very big for me,” Hayes said. “Just for people that haven’t seen me play or haven’t seen me at all, just to come out and see what I can do.

“There were a few things that I would like to change, but overall as a whole, I think I did pretty (well).”

In addition to splitting carries in the backfield with Charles Sims and Bryce Beall, Hayes also was a key special teams player, a role that will make his resume more attractive to NFL teams.

“It just shows that I can do more than run the ball,” Hayes said. “I can go down and tackle somebody and I’m more than just a running back, I’m a football player.

“It actually helped me a lot and I thank coach Levine for giving me the opportunity to play on special teams.”

His ability to fill multiple roles has one unnamed NFL scout looking at him as a “gunner” on special teams.

Hayes said that after Monday’s workout he was approached by the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. sports@thedailycougar.com

—Joshua Siegel

RESULTS

Monday’s top performers 40-yard dash

Twenty-two NFL teams were in attendance for Monday’s Pro Day — Arizona, Buffalo, Carolina, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, New England, New Orleans, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Tennessee. Twelve UH student-athletes participated in Monday’s Pro Day at Yeoman Field House. Linebacker Sammy Brown (below) impresses with a 4.64 in the 40-yard dash and a team-best 37-inch vertical leap. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

Nick Saenz, DB ....................................... 4.46 Mike Hayes, RB ........................................ 4.55 Patrick Edwards, WR ................................ 4.59 Sammy Brown, LB ................................... 4.63 Bryce Beall, RB ....................................... 4.64

Bench press

(225-pound reps) David Hunter, DL ........................................ 32 Mike Hayes, RB ........................................... 23 Marcus McGraw, LB .................................... 22 Chris Thompson, OL .................................... 21 Sammy Brown, LB ...................................... 20 Case Keenum, QB ....................................... 18

Vertical jump

Sammy Brown, LB ................................37.00” Mike Hayes, RB .....................................35.00” Patrick Edwards, WR .............................33.12” Nick Saenz, DB ................................... 33.00” E.J. Smith, WR .................................... 33.00”

Broad jump

E.J. Smith, WR ...................................... 10’2” Patrick Edwards, WR ............................... 9’10” Mike Hayes, RB ......................................... 9’9” Justin Johnson, WR .................................. 9’8” Bryce Beall, RB ....................................... 9’6” Sammy Brown, LB ....................................9’6”

3 Cone drill

Case Keenum, QB .................................... 6.89 Marcus McGraw, LB ................................. 7.08 Mike Hayes, RB ........................................ 7.10 Nick Saenz, DB ....................................... 7.11 Patrick Edwards, WR ................................ 7.12 Sammy Brown, LB ................................... 7.13

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ACROSS 1 Mercedes’ partner 5 “Support the ___” 11 Turned on, as a bulb 14 Whitecentered cookie 15 Extravagant publicity 16 WSW opposite 17 Turner on the boat in “Proud Mary” 19 “That’ll be ___ day!”

20 Particle physicist’s particle 21 Tightening tool 23 “Shaft” scorer Hayes 26 Resort for reducers 28 Aesop racer 29 Falafel bean 31 Bar tender?

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6 Boardingpass word 7 “Check THAT out!”

8 Wagner composition 9 “Not guilty,” e.g.

10 Bad thing to get in a wound 11 Like an asp’s bite 12 “Come ___ at once!”

13 Balance on the brink 18 It may be picked 22 Armor defect 23 “If looks could kill”

type of stare 24 Body part often kicked 25 Aboriginal Japanese 26 Catalogue issuer of yore 27 Access provider 30 Suffers from sunburn 31 501 and 505 32 Cannonball’s trajectory 35 More than double 37 Dum-dum 38 Boring necessity?

39 Things that can be bruised 40 Advertise broadly 43 You see them after they’re taken out 44 For a short span 45 End of the rainbow?

46 As a group 48 Comfortable, as accommodations (Var.) 49 Appraisers 51 Just waking up 54 Blackbordered news item, briefly 55 “Ali ___ and the Forty Thieves” 56 Agate and amethyst, e.g.

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EDITOR Jose Aguilar E-MAIL arts@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/arts

STUDENT LIFE

MOVIES

In the last of a four-part series, a reporter shares her photos from her 2-year weight loss campaign

Jose Aguilar

Weight loss: then and now Darlene Campos

THE DAILY COUGAR With this article, I conclude the story of my weight loss journey, which began in 2010 at the end of my first year at UH. I must give special thanks to the UH Wellness and Recreation Center, and to 24 Hour Fitness. Weight loss can be a difficult task, but with the right resources and support from loved ones, it can be truly amazing.

While my weight loss came with several advantages to both my physical and emotional health, there is one thing which makes me the happiest — I can finally walk around campus without having aching feet.

Read Campos’ earlier entries in this series at www. thedailycougar.com/life-arts. arts@thedailycougar.com

BEFORE: DECEMBER 2010

Weight: 156 pounds Body-Mass Index: 31 (obese range) Pant size: Junior’s 13

Flynn speaks, no bull

THE DAILY COUGAR Poet, playwright and UH creative writing professor Nick Flynn took a moment from promoting the opening of the movie, “Being Flynn,” to talk with The Daily Cougar about the process of turning a written work into something visual.

The film, which is based on Flynn’s 2004 memoir, “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City,” opened in Houston on Friday at the Sundance Cinemas.

The Daily Cougar: After screening the film, a quote from Sherman Alexie’s “Reservation Blues” came to mind: “It’s hard not to see a father’s life as prediction for his sons.” It seemed like it was true for you on a number of fronts until your father “absolved” you. How about now?

Flynn: That’s just the nature of life, I think. Sherman Alexie has it right — we are the physical manifestation of our parents, for better or worse. I hope it came across that my father is complicated, but also he has some sort of basic humanity, too. So, going with that — the humanity rather than the madness, some days are better than others.

TDC: Some scenes from the book were brought to life in a pretty fantastic way, namely the invisible ! " Flynn man part and the scene with the ice cream. Did you have any favorites in particular?

Flynn: It’s interesting that you agree on those two. The invisible man one, where (Robert De Niro, who plays Flynn’s father) sleeps on the crates the first time he sleeps outside, that was quite an elaborate shot where the crane suddenly does this thing to your sense of perception — vertigo and disorientation in a visual way. I was just kind of amazed by it.

Also, the ice cream scene was a scene that came out of editing. We took that (scene) and dropped it in the middle of the crazy, collage scene of the film. We put these two things next to each other to sort of create this whole other level of energy, which I think was amazing. Those are good scenes to choose, I think. Those are different

“Being Flynn,” the movie based on UH creative writing professor Nick Flynn’s life, stars Robert De Niro and Paul Dano, who portray Flynn’s father and Flynn, respectively. | Courtesy of Focus Features things you can do with film that you probably can’t achieve through writing.

TDC: Creative writing professors are always saying to get the character out of his/her head. Turning a memoir into a movie seems like the perfect example of why you should get out of the character’s head. Did you find a lot of difficulty in translating the book into film?

Flynn: Well, it’s interesting because the film, you may have noticed, has a lot of voice-over, sort of internal meditations from people … so there’s a lot of actually “in the head” moments. But I think that works with the movie because it layers on top of what you’re seeing. It’s sort of that what you’re seeing almost contradicts what’s being said. We sort of kept the disconnect between what goes on in the head and the reality — and that’s a big part of the movie.

TDC: You wrote about it, then saw it replayed take after take and now you’re doing “The Reenactments” (a new work

by Flynn where he writes about the whole process of turning the book into a film). Do you think that will be a little too meta or something?

Flynn: I’m sure it won’t be too meta for you. Everybody is asking me what it’s like to see your real life recreated

by Robert De Niro and Paul Dano (who plays Flynn in the film). It’s not a simple answer, there’s not like one answer.

It’s actually quite a complicated one.

And what I do is write books and that’s sort of how I deal with complicated

questions, you know. I think it’s a good question, but it’s a longer answer.

TDC: Did you have any part in the soundtrack? It seems to fit the movie really well.

Flynn: I’m glad you liked it. Paul (Weitz, who directed the film,) has worked with Badly Drawn Boy before on “About a Boy.” We were looking at all sorts of music and at one point Badly Drawn Boy had a new album come out and there were a couple of songs on it … that really sounded like they fit the right tone for this movie.

He wasn’t someone that I would have really actually gone towards. He worked for “About a Boy” because he’s so British, you know? And this is a very American movie. But the song was just so haunting; I think it’s called “Safe Hands.” And then the whole thing just came about from that one song. It was good to collaborate with him.

Read the full interview online at www.thedailycougar.com.

WATCH

“Being Flynn” Starring: Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, Julianne Moore Where: Exclusive Houston engagement at Sundance Cinemas, 510 Texas Info: Visit www.sundancecinemas.com

EVENTS

Coogs yield to mob mentality for charity Alexandra Doyle

THE DAILY COUGAR

AFTER: JANUARY 2012

Weight: 116 pounds Body-Mass Index: 23 (healthy range) Pant size: Junior’s 7

As a local rapper spoke about overcoming hardship at a Houston Aeros game March 11, a group of Cougars led hockey fans in a choreographed dance to raise public awareness about a local organization that helps underprivileged children.

About 50 students from the C. T. Bauer College of Business gathered at the Toyota Center during the game in the green and purple colors of their charity to participate in a flash mob.

Most of these were friends of the organizers, but with help from local media outlets and the intense use of social networking sites, many others received word about the event in time to arrive.

The group decided to hold the flash mob at the Houston Aeros’ Breast Cancer Awareness Game.

“Our idea was to work with the Aeros as well as the Young Survival Coalition, another nonprofit organization in the fight against breast cancer,” said pre-business junior Matt Williams.

The high media coverage and visibility of the other organization’s

involvement at the game would also cast the spotlight on Will’s Kids, a lesser-known organization.

The idea for the flash dance came from an assignment in a “Connecting Bauer to Business” class, geared toward preparing Bauer students for realworld situations.

Williams was one of eight students who chose the flash mob as their project.

With the help of a sponsor, group members had to communicate with Will’s Kids, and organize, market and FLASH MOB continues on page 8

7

8

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LIFE+ARTS

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The Daily Cougar

A group of students from the C.T. Bauer College of Business led a flash dance routine during a recent Houston Aeros game. | Alexandra Doyle/The Daily Cougar

FLASH MOB continued from page 7

perform the flash mob essentially on their own.

This project took a lot of preparation from the organizers.

They arrived at the stadium hours early to lay a pair of pink latex gloves on each seat at the Toyota Center — 30,000 gloves in all.

“The hope was that fans would put on the gloves during the flash dance, which turned out to be a big success,” Williams said.

The gloves not only made the hand motions of the simple dance more apparent, but also served as a reminder of a higher cause that many members of the crowd took home with them.

According to its mission statement, “Will’s Kids exists to eliminate barriers and breathe life into the dreams and passions of children in need of support, because the best in any one single child enriches us all.”

The charity provides after school and mentorship programs for children and teens whose parents are unable to afford these services on their own. It also sponsors youth in extracurricular activities and hobbies, allowing donors to “sponsor” a child with a one-time donation for a specific cause.

For more information on or to support Will’s Kids, call (281) 594-0548 or visit www.willskids. org. arts@thedailycougar.com

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