Issue 47, Volume 78

Thursday, November 15, 2012 // Issue 47, Volume 78 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

THE DAILY COUGAR

T H E

O F F I C I A L

S T U D E N T

N E W S P A P E R

HOUSTON ECONOMY The economy in Houston is faring better than the U.S. as a whole with an unemployment rate 1.1 percent less and a job growth 1.58 percent more, according to Sperling’s Best Places.

8.6% 7.5%

Houston U.S.

1.93% 0.35% Unemployment rate 51.82%

Recent Job Growth

Income Per Capita

$26,792 $26,154

49.15% 43.82% 39.38%

8.8% 7.03%

Income below 50K

Income between 50-150K

Income above 150K

O F T H E

U N I V E R S I T Y

O F

H O U S T O N

Great Recession easier on Houston Alfred Mendez Contributing writer

According to Ted C. Jones, senior vice president and senior economist at Stewart Title Guaranty Co., Houston has more jobs available than ever in the city’s history.

In Tuesday’s second bi-annual symposium, “Houston 2012-2013: A Sparkling Diamond of Many Facets – Medical, Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, the Port… A Real Estate and Economic Outlook,” Jones highlighted Houston’s relatively prosperous economy.

The presentation by Jones, keynote speaker at the Bauer College of Business’s Institute for Regional Forecasting, predicted the creation of 80,000 new jobs in Houston throughout the next year because of the booming medical, shipping, real estate and energy industries in the area.

The amount of industry in Houston is the highest its been in a decade.

The symposium series has been a staple event of the IRF since 1979 and local business leaders rely on it for independent and objective economic projections for Houston, according to Latha Ramchand,

dean of the C.T. Bauer College of Business.

“At the University of Houston and at the business school, we strongly believe we need to stay connected and engaged to the business community and today’s symposium is a good example of that,” Ramchand.

“When you’re forecasting, you’re looking at how your business is going to be for the next year and you’re looking to experts for advice.

The more you know, the better you’re budgeting is going to be and the more accurate your business will be in forecasting profits.”

This was the first time the IRF hosted the event at Bauer, Ramchand said.

More than 700 people were in attendance. Muoy Kuon, an attendee and city employee, was eager to hear how Houston has overcome the financial woes that have burdened the rest of the country.

“This is my first time attending and it was very exciting. I thought it was an enlightening view of what’s going on from a business perspective. I also wasn’t aware of the impact that so many factors, ECONOMY continues on page 12

S I N C E

1 9 3 4

OPINION

Marriage rights march on LIFE+ARTS

Zach Wahls lectures at UH SPORTS MEMPHIS SMU

HOUSTON

Big East unveils divisions

LECTURE

UH gets its chance to ‘¡Ask a Mexican!’

Laura Gillespie Staff writer

Author Gustavo Arellano, who writer the collumn ¡Ask a Mexican!, run in the Orange County Weekly, will visit campus at 5 p.m. Thursday for this year’s first lecture in the Food for Thought lecture series.

The event will be held in room 104 of the Roy G. Cullen Building.

“Mexican food is a multi-billion dollar industry,” said Arellano.

“Salsa had more sales than ketchup in this country.

“Mexican food influences all Americans, not just Southwestern Americans. Nobody has really bothered to examine the history of Mexican cuisine.”

Arellano’s new book, “Taco, USA. How Mexican Food Conquered America” will be discussed in the lecture as he explores the American people’s affinity for Mexican food, and how they’ve taken it and made it their own. He cites the Mexican population of California and Texas as the fathers of this preference.

“Eating, eating and eating. I did archival research, looked in university libraries and oral histories,” Arellano said.

“I just had to go out and find the story and figure out what’s important.”

The Food for Thought Lecture series is co-hosted by the El Paso FOOD continues on page 3

GET SOME DAILY

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LAST NIGHT Update on construction near Cougar Woods and on Cemo Hall

COUNTDOWN

7

Days until Thanksgiving

Start practicing your ‘I’m excited to see you’ face.

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2 \\ Thursday, November 15, 2012

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CEO Presents International Marketplace: From 11 a.m to 2 p.m. in Bulter Plaza, the Counicl of Ethinic Organizations will be hosting International Marketplace.

Various organizations will have booths setup at the marketplace and will be selling various treats, charms, and items.

20th Annual UHCOP International Day: From 11 a.m to 1 p.m. in Dudley Recital Hall, the College of Pharmacy’s Class of 2016 will be hosting the 20th Annual International Day. This event will feature free entertainment including a fashion show, music and dance performances, and other activities. For $5 students can sample a variety of international cuisines. ¡Ask a Mexican!: From 5 to 6 p.m. in room 104 Roy G. Cullen author Gustavo Arellano will launch this year’s Food for Thought Lecture Series. Arellano will discuss his new book, “Taco, USA. How Mexican Food Conquered America.”

Capture the Flag: At 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. . It is sponsored by the Honors College. The two teams are red and white. Anyone is welcome to join.

Friday Film: War/Dance: From 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Michael J. Cemo Hall, the Global Studies Program will be hosting a screening of the Oscar Award nominated documentary “War/Dance”. The film is about the lives of three refugee children living in Ugandan refugee camps..

For more events, check out thedailycougar.com.

Choral and Chamber Concert: From 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Moores Opera House, tChoral artists and the Chamber Orchastra will perform under the direct of Charles Hausmann.

SFAC Presentations: From 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. in the Bluebonnet Room of the University Center several student fee-funded organization will present to the Student Fees Advisory Committee. For a complete schedule of the presentations, visit www.uh.edu/ sfac/fy14_requests/schedule.

Saturday Annual Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes Event: From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Minute Maid Park, the UH College of Technology Cougars for Kids will hold a walk to benefit the American Diabetes Association.

Phill Hansel Invite: From 10 a.m to 7 p.m. in the Natatorium of the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, the UH women’s swimming and diving team will compete against 14 other teams at the Phill Hansel Invite.

UH Men’s Basketball vs.

Grambling: At 7 p.m. in the Hofheinz Pavilion, UH men’s basketball team will be competing against Grambling. Museum.

Sunday Circle of Friends-A Celebration of the Romantic Spirit: From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., works by Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms, Liszt and Mendelssohn will be performed by Nancy Weems and Tali Morgulis at the Moores Opera House.

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Issue staff Copy editing Zachary Burton Ahlam Gani Samantha Wong

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Closing editors Amanda Hilow Joshua Mann THE DAILY COUGAR IS A MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE PRESS.

Thursday, November 15, 2012 // 3

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NEWS

Faculty Senate talks $10,000 degrees Amy Carl Contributing writer

No major public university in Texas offers a full college education that costs less than $10,000.

At the Faculty Senate meeting Wednesday, University leaders discussed Gov. Rick Perry’s proposed “$10,000 degree plan” and the possibility of cuts to state funding Ten Texas universities offer $10,000 degrees. None of the state’s major public universities, including UH, offer such a program, said faculty senate president Dmitri Litvinov.

Te x a s A & M U n i v e r s i t y -

FOOD continued from page 1

Lecture Series, the UH Center for Public History, and the UH Center for Mexican American Studies and Latin American Studies.

“Arellano’s work appeals to us because he brings his signature humor to questions of authenticity, skewering gatekeepers and

Commerce was given a $1 million grant to develop a $10,000 degree and was able to develop a $15,000 fully online plan within a year, Litvinov said.

John Antel, vice chancellor and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, also addressed the $10,000 degree initiative.

“We’re continuing to try to work toward that, but we’re also committed to value and quality. It’s quite a challenge,” Antel said.

Antel continued, speaking about the potential impact UH’s funding the upcoming legislative session could have. He also discussed the constant tuition initiative, which

reminding us of the centrality of Mexicans to the preparation of American food and the interesting process of making American food Mexican,” said Todd Romero, UH associate professor of history and co-director of the series, in an official press release.

“He addresses the topics that animate our interests in studying food in wonderfully entertaining ways.”

would ensure that tuition remains constant throughout a freshman’s four-year career.

“With the new consolidated tuition and fees, we’re very wellpositioned to do that,” Antel said.

“In fact, with the graduation plans that are already in place, we already have a program to hold tuition constant based on student performance.”

There has been discussion in Austin about cutting state funding by up to 25 percent instead of the anticipated 10 percent, Antel said.

Currently, the state funds UH at 22 SENATE continues on page 12

“(The Food for Thought Lecture Series) focuses on the scholarly study of food and encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration on the many ways that food shapes business, economies, nutrition and health, the environment and social relations,” said the press release.

Additional reporting by Julie Heffler. news@thedailycougar.com

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4 \\ Thursday, November 15, 2012

OPINION

EDITOR Lucas Sepulveda EMAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/opinion

CIVIL RIGHTS

Marriage equality progresses in America Bryan Washington Staff columnist

T

uesday evening, Zach Wahls came to the University Center to talk about his moms. This was a guy who’d spoken before the Iowa Supreme Court when he was 19 years old, on virtually every major national news syndicate by 21, and the Democratic National Convention only a couple of months ago.

In hindsight, his audience at UH had to have been underwhelming in comparison.

He had about 70,000 fewer people in attendance.

But he handled it well enough. He told jokes, talked about his childhood and spoke at length about the security a documented marriage provides. He championed love over hate, and the importance of placing intelligent discourse over ignorance.

The topic of marriage equality is unique among the country’s other hotbuttons in that its variables aren’t just social, but challenge standards many believe are biblical.

When you raise a finger in opposition, you come into conflict with someone’s world view. Legalizing marijuana and challenging the use of contraception is one thing, but challenging the interior of an institution’s societal framework is another.

Wahls made it clear that he had no intention of challenging anyone’s philosophy. Whether they agreed with the decision made by his mothers, their advocates and thousands of Americans wasn’t something that concerned him. If anything, it was better for those in opposition to hone their own opinions than latch onto his for the wrong reasons. This indifference towards personal grievances was something he had no intention of changing.

What he did care about was the Golden Rule. It’s a foreign tongue among media pundits, but it’s been road tested. The idea that an individual — regardless of their race or gender — should be treated respectfully by another individual was strong enough to repeal decrees in this country. It’s been the foreground of change for hundreds of years.

We discovered the lack of land ownership didn’t necessarily make you a martian.

Women weren’t dis-proportioned mannequins. African-American, Hispanic and Chinese citizens weren’t useful only in positions of duress, but could function as coherent members of society too. Any member of these groups might actually do something for the country that was worthwhile.

Wahls argued that this vehicle for progress was still being driven. It plowed through North Carolina during the summer.

Zach Wahls The tracks ran through Maine, Maryland, Washington and Minnesotaa little more than a week ago. It’s current trajectory, has become less a question of “if,” and one of “when.” Whether on America’s television

sets or an un-swept conference hall at your university, it’s not slowing down.

Bryan Washington is a creative writing senior and and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

ELECTION

Mentally disabled deserve voice in voting booth Nick Bell

naïveté is different from that of the average voter; it’s not as if we haven’t all seen someone blindly influenced by their parent’s or peer’s political beliefs.

Laws vary on a state level. For instance, Texas limits those declared mentally incompetent by a judge from voting. Some of the laws in other states limit people from voting based on their classification of mental retardation or limited guardianship. These restrictions are an atrocity to equality.

Information provided by the National

Disability Rights Network shows that 30 states and the District of Columbia have loopholes for citizens with cognitive and emotional impairments. The percentage of states with these types of laws have the potential to do more harm than the cases in which a disabled voter is coaxed toward a political party.

There are policy issues that directly affect the mentally disabled, specifically health care.

It would be an insult to anyone to have stand before a judge to be deemed “competent” to receive the right to vote.

If there aren’t any quantitative

measurements to prove that coercion is prevalent among mentally handicapped voters, then it shouldn’t be used as reasoning behind keeping the laws intact.

Despite what most commentators say, there is no right or wrong choice in an election, and the refusal of one law-abiding person to vote based on any physical or mental characteristics defeats the purpose of suffrage in a democracy.

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.

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.

and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Commentary should be limited to 500 words.

Guest commentaries should not be written as replies, but rather should present independent points of view. 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.

ASSISTANT EDITORS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Daily Cougar welcomes

GUEST COMMENTARY Submissions are accepted

Bryan Dupont-Gray, Ellen Goodacre, Christopher Shelton

letters to the editor from any member of the UH community.

Letters should be no more than 250 words and signed,

from any member of the UH community and must be signed with the author’s name, phone number or e-mail address

ADVERTISEMENTS Advertisements in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the University or the students as a whole.

Staff columnist

O

n a state level, certain restrictions have limited citizens deemed mentally incompetent from voting, including those with Down syndrome or other mental disabilities for years.

The reasoning behind most of these laws, including those in Texas, is that those with mental disabilities are coaxed into voting a certain way. The underlying message sent by these policies is that the mentally disabled

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

& ARTS EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR

Joshua Mann Amanda Hilow Channler Hill Julie Heffler Andrew Pate Allen Le Lucas Sepulveda

Nick Bell is a media production senior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Thursday, November 15, 2012 // 5

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OPINION

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6 \\ Thursday, November 15, 2012

SPORTS

EDITOR Andrew Pate EMAIL sports@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/sports

Big East unveils football divisions

UCONN

TEMPLE

BOISE STATE

CINCINNATI

RUTGERS

LOUISVILLE

MEMPHIS

SAN DIEGO STATE SMU

CENTRAL FLORIDA SOUTH FLORIDA HOUSTON

Cross continental, competitive conference This week, the Big East Conference announced its 2013-14 football East and West divisions.

WEST DIVISION

WEST DIVISION: UH, Boise State, Memphis, San Diego State, SMU and Temple EAST DIVISION: Rutgers, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, Connecticut and Central Florida.

EAST DIVISION

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Cougars survive late scare, move to 2-0 Aaron Manuel Contributing writer

The UH men’s basketball team blew an 18-point halftime time lead, but managed to hold off a late second half rally by San José State, winning on the road Tuesday at the San José State Event Center 77-75.

Sophomore forward TaShawn Thomas led the team with 17 points and 10 rebounds including three of the team’s seven blocks. Sophomore guard Joseph Young also contributed 17 points in his return to the lineup after missing the season

open against Florida A&M. Freshman forward Danuel House came off the bench to chip in 11 points and junior guard Brandon Morris contributed 10 points.

After leading 44-26 at halftime, the Cougars had a tougher time scoring in the second half not making a bucket until 17:38 and with 15 minutes to play, the Spartans chiseled the lead down to 13. This is when Young stepped in to take the point for the slumping Cougars, scoring 13 of 17 points in the second half, 11 of which came during the last 15 minutes.

House also contributed big down the stretch, scoring 7 of his 11 points in a 2:19 stretch, putting the Cougars back up by 15 with 4:30 left to play.

Things would get dicey for the Cougars, as San José rallied to make things interesting; however, the Cougars joined to go 8-of-10 at the line down the stretch to improve to 2-0 for the third straight season.

The Cougars return home to host Grambling State on 7 p.m.

Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion. sports@thedailycougar.com

MATCHUP

STANDINGS C-USA Men’s Basketball CONF.

Team: UH Record: (2-0, 0-0) Last game: W, San Jose State 77-75

Team: Grambling Record: (0-3, 0-3) Last game: L, Miami (OH) 80-54

Starters

Starters

C - L. Gibson

C - P. Roberson

11 pts, 5.5 reb, 0 blk

F - J. Stiggers 14 pts, 4.5 reb, 0 stl

F - T. Thomas 14 pts, 15 reb, 8 blk

G - B. Morris 11 pts, 5 ast, 2 stl

G - J.J. Thompson 8 pts, 8 ast, 3 stl

6.3 pts, 6 reb, 5 blk

G/F - T. Rose 19.3 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast

G - W. Hornsby 5.3 pts, 5.4 reb, 75% ft

G/F - R. Higgins 5.7 pts, 2.7 reb, 2 stl

G - D. Copeland 3.3 pts, 4 stl, 3 ast

OVERALL

Team

W L

W L Str

ECU UH UCF Memphis SMU S. Miss Tulsa UTEP Marshall Rice Tulane UAB

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1

W2 W2 W2 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 L1

Standings accurate as of today

Thursday, November 15, 2012 // 7

The Daily Cougar

SPORTS

UH’S ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES CENTER

Offensive explosion

T

he Cougars travel to take on Marshall this weekend. The Thundering Herd rank first in Conference USA in total yards with 511.3 per game while UH takes second with 473.4 yards. — Rebekah Stearns/The Daily Cougar

Post your comments on articles

COMMENTARY Share with friends

Cougars in seek of two closing wins Andrew Pate Sports editor

A season ago against the Marshall Thundering Herd at Robertson Stadium, former quarterback Case Keenum broke the Football Bowl Subdivision record for total offense and the Cougars dismantled their opponent 63-28.

Despite the absence of Keenum, the Cougars head into Saturday's game second in Conference USA in total offense behind only Marshall.

However, instead of a perfect season being on the line, UH and Marshall alike are in seek of two wins to close out the season.

"Marshall is extremely explosive offense; they're uptempo, no huddle, throw the ball all over the field and they've got a group of talented receivers and running backs who run the ball more than people give them credit for," said head coach Tony Levine.

"This week coming up is a great example of two teams who have their backs firmly against the wall. We're both 4-6, we both have two games remaining and we both need to win then next two games to extend our season and go to a bowl game."

The Cougars have dropped two of their last three games and sit at .500 in C-USA. Redshirt sophomore quarterback David Piland insists the importance of winning the last two games cannot be understated.

"These next two games represent a lot," Piland said. "A lot of the young guys don't understand that yet. I don't want them to learn it the way I learned it. Not making the bowl is probably one of the worst options you can have." sports@thedailycougar.com

rt og

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Thursday, November 15, 2012 // 8

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LIFE +ARTS

EDITOR Allen Le EMAIL arts@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/arts

STUDENT PROGRAM BOARD

Zach Whals’ lecture was a mixture of rhetoric, personal experience and political elements. The YouTube celebrity says that while it’s an honor to be an advocate for the LGBT community, he hopes that he won’t have to be any longer in the near future. | Bethel Glumac/The Daily Cougar

‘My Two Moms’ author comes to UH Laura Gillespie Staff writer

When a video of Zach Wahls testifying against the Iowa House of Representatives was put on YouTube in Jan. 2011, the engineering major at the University of Iowa at the time became an overnight celebrity.

With the video gaining over 2 million hits, Wahls published “My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength, and What Makes a Family” in April of that year.

Courtesy of the Student Program Board, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community activist spoke on Tuesday evening in the Houston Room, sharing his personal life experiences as the son of same-sex parents and gave his opinions on common arguments against gay marriage.

Wahls also spoke on his rise to fame, and about the video and how it ultimately changed his everyday life.

“It’s pretty crazy,” said Wahls “It’s catching lightning in a bottle without even holding the bottle. It’s been an unbelievable ride, I’m very thankful for that.”

Wahls received a standing

After the lecture, Zach Whals hosted a Q-and-A session. Skeptical and conservative members of the audience asked Whals questions to try and challenge his beliefs while others wanted to get to know the overnight YouTube celebrity a little better. | Bethel Glumac/The Daily Cougar ovation in front of an audience of individuals of various sexual orientations.

“I already support the issue that he was speaking about. I thought he was a very affective speaker, very articulate,” said third-year law student Kevin Sherlock.

“His story was very compelling and I think it shows that children who are raised by gay parents are normal and they go through the same type of stuff that children who are raised by straight parents do.”

Wahls blended political rhetoric and personal stories to support his stance in support of gay marriage, a move that many students said impressed them.

“I liked his mixture of both emotional and political thoughts, it wasn’t just one way or the other, he kind of did a well-rounded speech,” said sociology major Christian Smith.

Wahls also hosted a Q-and-A session after the show, answering questions from conservatives, skeptics and those who simply

wanted to know more about his home life.

“I also get a lot of people who are perhaps curious, leaning a certain direction,” Wahls said.

“I think I’m a very good messenger for folks in that position, simply because as a straight, cisgender and very much non-queer guy I can have a conversation about certain areas in a way that is not alienating or frightening or scary.”

While Wahls enjoyed sharing his background with UH and

spending time with the community, he doesn’t see it as a longterm ordeal.

“I hope it’s not necessarily for much longer. If this is a job, I’m trying to put myself out of work,” Wahls said.

“I don’t want to be doing this for the rest of my life because I don’t want to live in a world where ten years from now they still need to bring in a guy like me and talk about this stuff.” arts@thedailycougar.com

The Daily Cougar

9 \\ Thursday, November 15, 2012

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The Daily Cougar

10 \\ Thursday, November 15, 2012

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65 Diane, in “The Godfather” 66 Before, of yore 67 Sticky stuff in La Brea

Check out more Studentdrawn comics online... thedailycougar.com/comics

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Thursday, November 15, 2012 // 11

The Daily Cougar

NEWS MAN ON THE STREET

Q: How do you feel about 81,000 Texans, as of yesterday, signing a petition to succeed from the United States?

I think it’s kind of ridiculous. There’s probably those people who are kind of angry about who is in government right now, and I think you could probably check other news outlets where they’re reporting the Texas government is not really supporting it at all. I think its just people kind of mad about how things are going so they just sign a petition. Texas has a ton of people so 81,000 doesn’t really sound very significant to me.

:A

PHOTOS TAKEN AND QUOTES COMPILED BY SAMANTHA WONG

I think it’s somewhat interesting. I think largely that these are kneejerk reactions to people who are frustrated with the current state of their government. But if you delve a little deeper it’s a little interesting to me to see the cost benefit analysis of being a Texan ... and ask ourselves ‘what benefit does being in the United States really bring to us?’ I As far as the 81,000, like I said, I think largely it’s a very emotional reaction, I think there is some truth to what they’re saying, what they’re feeling.

:A

— Brittany Boner, advertising senior — Chad Asten economics junior

A:

Why? It’s not going to happen and if it does we’re just going to get pulled back into the union. I don’t find it very important.

A:

It’s illegal. It was written in our constitution when we joined the union after the Civil War that we were the only state that could not, and when we were our own republic before we could, but since it was rewritten into our constitution we can’t, so I don’ agree with it.

— Freddy Davalos, Italian freshmen

— Andreanna Taylor, advertising sophomore

I’m not in favor of seceding. My main reason is I don’t think we should is just because I don’t think Texas can stand on it’s own strong enough. I don’t think we have the military force we would need, I don’t think the budget would be there, in just the way politics works in this state already I wouldn’t want to see that for that to be my only government. .

:A

I think it’s kind of dumb. Do they realistically think that can happen? I just think it’s dumb, a little childish. I understand they’re not happy with the elections or whatever, but we’re all Americans. Get over it.

:A

— Brian Ford, media productions junior — Joseph Espinosa, political science sophomore

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The Daily Cougar

12 \\ Thursday, November 15, 2012

NEWS

Students use energy drinks to make the grade, increase health risk Monica Cordova Contributing writer

Energy drinks pose a variety of health risks to consumers. | Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Nearly 30 percent of college students consume energy drinks regularly, according to a study featured in The New York Times. As the semester comes to an end, many students are relying on energy drinks more often.

Some students work part-time jobs in addition to taking a full course load and use energy drinks to keep going. Advertising sophomore Marcus Rivera is no exception.

“Sometimes I would have to work anywhere from 20 to 40 hours (a week). That’s when I would usually take them,” Rivera said.

Some energy drinks claim to keep consumers awake for five hours — time that could be used to complete

assignments or study. But according to Mary Rae, chief physician at the University Health Center, the amount of caffeine in energy drinks could be harmful.

“The main concern is the high dose of caffeine in these drinks. With soft drinks, the (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) can regulate the caffeine content,” Rae said.

“But when it comes to energy drinks, they can’t, so you don’t know how much you’re getting.”

Side effects of energy drinks include anxiety, headache, nausea, diarrhea, insomnia and an elevated heart rate. With a background of more than 20 years medicine, Rae has seen and dealt with complications caused by caffeine consumption.

The Health Center experiences

an increase of students with toxicity levels and caffeine withdrawal around exam times.

“Withdrawal symptoms can include fatigue, headache and depression. Students usually think they’ll feel better in an hour, but it can actually take up to 24 hours to get back to normal,” Rae said.

Two-thirds of energy drink consumers use energy drinks as mixers with alcoholic beverages, according to a recent study by the University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions.

“I usually mix in some red bull when I drink vodka because it helps cut the taste, but it also gives me more energy throughout the night,” said accounting junior David Duncan.

Energy drinks can give many

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students a false sense of security by masking their level of intoxication as their energy levels continue rise, according to an article from The New York Times.

“Alcohol lowers your inhibition while energy drinks stimulate you, and this might lead students to partake in dangerous activities,” Rae said.

There are safer and healthier alternatives out there for students, Rae said. Regular exercise can help increase energy, Rae said, and low caffeine consumption can also help.

For severe levels of fatigue, it is encouraged to get a medical evaluation as it could be a symptom of a larger problem such as depression. news@thedailycougar.com

ECONOMY continued from page 1

such as Europe and the elections, could have on our economy,” Kuon said.

While an increase in economic growth in Houston is expected, the early 2013 growth could be flat because of the current turmoil of international markets, said Bill Gillmer, executive director of the IRF. “With the trials and tribulations going on in Europe, Europe is having a greater effect not on us, but in Asia, and now Asia is having an effect on us,” Gillmer said. “We are a world community today and we need to understand that.” news@thedailycougar.com

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to 25 percent. While a 10 percent cut in government funding would only impact UH’s total revenue by 2 to 3 percent, the impact of a 25 percent cut would be more substantial.

There was also discussion about working toward a UH Health Sciences Center, improving programs for transfer students and implementing continuing professional education for staff members to increase revenue.

“There are opportunities around several colleges. The University always supports entrepreneurial behavior,” Antel said.

The next Faculty Senate meeting will be Dec. 12. news@thedailycougar.com