Issue 60, Volume 78

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 // Issue 60, 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 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 T O N

TEXTBOOKS

Renting to be the new norm

S I N C E

1 9 3 4

OPINION

UH bookstore sees an almost 50 percent increase from last year, according to official reports Demetrious Mahone Staff writer

During the first week of school, students face sky-rocketing textbook prices and are turning to other purchasing options.

The price of textbooks has been climbing higher in the last 30 years — up to 812 percent — according to a report by the American Enterprise Institute.

The increase has dwarfed the 559 percent increase in tuition and fees, according to the same report.

The National Association of College Stores found that the average student at a four-year college will spend roughly $300 on each textbook.

“I usually buy my books,” media production junior Jacob Millwee said. “Sometimes the prices are crazy, but I got enough to worry about. I don’t want to have to worry

about damaging a book or making sure I return it before a deadline.”

According to a representative for Barnes & Noble College, Judith Buckingham, the University Bookstore has not seen a decline in sales because they offer an array of textbook options.

The Bookstore saw a 49 percent increase in rental sales from the year before, according to Buckingham.

“Textbook rentals offer the features that students The winding check-out line weaves throughout the store, yet students’ most want most: convenience and depressing moment occurs at the register. | Yulia Kutsenova/The Daily Cougar affordability, with students saving more than 50 percent “We strive to make learning Rosensweig said in a press release of the price of a new, printed texttechnology easier, more accessible for its new eTextbook reader. book,” Buckingham said.

There has also been roughly a 10 The past few years have seen a and more productive for today’s rise to many websites offering book college students,” president and chief executive officer of Chegg Dan TEXTBOOKS continues on page 3 renting services like Chegg.

Christie sets good example LIFE+ARTS

WRC supports students SPORTS

EDUCATION

UH funds diversity seminar Laura Gillespie Staff writer

A roomful of tutors patiently await their eager students who have yet to seek out help in the first week back. | Hendrick Rosmond/The Daily Cougar

ON CAMPUS

LSS offers workshops Channler Hill Contributing writer

After moving to Cougar Village from the Graduate School of Social Work, Learning Support Services continues to advance its overall mission: student success.

“We want (students) to continue enrollment and progress toward graduation so we’re more interested in retention and graduation — help the students come here, help them to complete the degree in a timely fashion and get them the support they need,” said executive director of LSS Patrick Daniel.

LSS has created a number of workshops for the semester for students to reach any goals they set for themselves.

It has started a series of workshops including “Get Your Semester off to a Good Start,” which will end Feb. 11; followed by “Mid Semester Test Preparation,” which will be between Feb. 12 and 27; and will conclude with “Ending the Semester Successfully,” which will be between March 6 and April 23.

“For this upcoming semester, we LSS continues on page 3

The National Multicultural Conference and Summit, a biannual event held to discuss mental health and diversity and sponsored in part by the UH College of Education, will be on Jan. 17 and 18 at the Royal Sonesta Houston hotel. A free preview will be open to the public today.

“We are hoping to draw students, faculty and community members to get a taste of the prestigious event,” said Jeylan Yassin, director of communications for the College of Education.

“The NMCS 2013 would normally involve a conference fee, but by coming to the preview, students get a sense of what these professional conferences are like without paying the fee or traveling to the event.”

The NMCS, first held in 1999, will feature programs on a variety of topics such as appropriate therapeutic responses to LGBT clients, violence on marginalized groups and the best practices in health disparities, according to the official website.

“While we would imagine that psychology students would be interested

in this lecture, folks interested in issues — the experiences of ethnical and racial minorities, sexual orientation, gender and gender expression as well as disability, language and learning issues,” Yassin said.

“The discussion will be lively.

For anyone who plans to work in the human services fields or among people, these discussions will provide special insights into broader issues.”

The conference will also honor two speakers — former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and Phyllis Randolph Frye, grandmother of the National Transgender and Political Movement and the first transgender judge in Texas. With UH being the second most diverse university in the country, Yassin explained that both the UH and Houston are great hosts for the conference.

“Our students encounter more diverse experiences and will have to understand other perspectives more so than previous generations and more than folks who live in a more homogenous part of the country,” Yassin said. news@thedailycougar.com

UH looks for first road win GET SOME DAILY

thedailycougar.com

ONLINE XTRA See the expanded version of Sarah Backer’s column.

TOMORROW Our coverage on things you can do to avoid catching the flu.

COUNTDOWN

6

Days until the last day to add a class.

No pressure, this will just determine how you spend the next three months.

The Daily Cougar

2 \\ Wednesday, January 16, 2013

FLASHBACK Recreation Center soft opening

STUDENT PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

MEETING

Monday marked 10 years of what has become the second tallest rock climbing wall on a university in Texas after its debut in January 2003.

The Campus Recreation and Wellness Center houses a 53-foot climbing wall by Nicros and is 6,100 sq. feet, completely built with two auto belays and five top rope lines. It was originally the tallest until University of Texas at San Antonio built a similar facility with a 54-foot climbing wall.

WHEN 4 P.M. THURSDAY, JAN. 17 WHERE ROOM 306, M.D. ANDERSON LIBRARY WHAT UPDATES AND DISCUSSION ABOUT STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BUSINESS

The entire facility took more than two years of planning and construction. Students and individuals with a membership are free to use the wall and facility. A harness and special climbing shoes, which are both free to rent, are required when escalating up the wall.

The SPC meets monthly during the school year to hear updates from the department’s units, to give a forum for public comment and to elect the editor in chief of The Daily Cougar. For more information,

Khator joins UH as Chancellor and President

visit www.uh.edu/sp/committee

Renu Khator was offered the position in 2007 and was sworn into office on Jan. 15, 2008. Her previous position was as provost for University of South Florida for almost four years. When Khator took office, she received 12,000 community suggestions, two of which were to become a Tier One university and to provide access and success to its students. UH is currently a Tier One research university and is continuing to mold the campus into its future.

If you require disability accommodations to attend the meeting, please call (713) 743-5350 to make arrangements.

Khator

+

CONTACT US Newsroom (713) 743-5360 editor@thedailycougar.com facebook.com/thedailycougar twitter.com/thedailycougar

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Issue staff Copy editing Bryan Dupont-Gray, Alison Valach

ABOUT THE COUGAR The Daily Cougar is published Monday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and Wednesdays during the summer and online at thedailycougar. com. The Daily Cougar is supported in part

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Closing editors Amanda Hilow, Joshua Mann

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The Daily Cougar is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. studentpress.org/acp

®

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 // 3

The Daily Cougar

NEWS EDITOR

Natalie Harms

EMAIL

news@thedailycougar.com

ONLINE

thedailycougar.com/news

DINING SERVICES

Avoiding food allergens on campus Evelyn Hurtado Staff writer

dietitian Caroline Sullivan encourages UH community to schedule free nutrition counseling sessions to help provide a diet that meets their needs.

Students like Austin can check the daily menu on the Campus Dish app on her phone and on the dining website.

“The staff is also pretty good about answering any questions I have about what is in whatever they are serving, especially in the gluten-free and vegetarian section,” Austin said.

Dining Services has not reported any incidents where students accidentally consumed a food allergen.

“University of Houston Dining

Services understands that more and more students are being affected by food allergies, and our staff has received specialized, on-going training that focuses on serving diners with food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities to avoid any cross contamination or unintentional ingestion of an allergen,” Sullivan said.

Nursing junior Chrissy Totilas is allergic to pecans, almonds, and other nuts, excluding peanuts.

She normally eats in the University Center Satellite but has to double-check when she is buying any foods.

“If a small amount of nuts are consumed, I get severe itching around the throat and mouth, but if it’s a large amount, I would probably not be able to breathe,” Totilas said.

While dining options can sometimes be limited, Austin has no plans to change her meal plan.

“There is rarely a time when they aren’t serving anything I can’t have, and I always resort to the salad bar,” Austin said.

T h i s s u m m e r b e f o re s h e attended orientation, Madelyne Austin hotel and restaurant management freshman planned on petitioning a meal plan.

“I thought a meal plan would be a waste of money,” Austin said. “But then I heard that the University was trying to get a gluten-free line so I decided to try it out and see if they offered enough food that I can eat, and it worked out.”

Austin is one of many students who live on campus with allergies to certain foods. She is allergic to dairy, eggs, gluten, chicken and pork. When she consumes these products, she gets severe headaches, sinus and stomach issues.

UH Dining Services strives to accomodate students’ dietary needs. Both dining hall locations, the Moody Towers and Cougar Woods, offer glutenfree foods, lactosefree products and vegetarian dining options.

Cougar Woods is one of the allergy-friendly dining locations on Dining Services campus. | Hannah Laamoumi//The Daily Cougar

LSS

continued from page 1

really want to provide more learning strategies counseling — this is where students can meet with our learning strategies counselor one-on-one, where they can more clearly identify what our needs might be to become more efficient learners,” Daniel said.

“So that’s something that we will be able to provide: identifying courses where students are having difficulty and try to identify tutors and have more tutors available for those courses.”

Faculty-in-residence of CV and associate history professor Raúl

TEXTBOOKS continued from page 1

percent increase in the eTextbook sales at the Bookstore.

“Today eTextbooks represent a small percentage of student

news@thedailycougar.

Ramos views the center to be a wonderful and welcoming environment for students.

“No one judges, and everyone is there to lend a hand. The extra seminars and workshops on study habits and time management should be required,” Ramos said.

LSS will also begin its “Jump Start Your Semester, Attention Deficit Disorder and Graduate Student Workshop” series in an effort to reach students of all needs and disciplines.

“When students come in, they sign into our computer system, and there is a list at the screen, and if there is nobody waiting, a tutor will work with them for 30 minutes, and they can always sign back in,” Daniel said.

“Part of the reason is because we want the students to become independent learners.”

Freshman students in CV can benefit most from LSS because of the close distance. Ramos offers a gentle reminder of the presence of their resources.

“Going to college should be a transformational time in a student’s life. One change involves developing the ability to become a self-learner,” Ramos said. “How that happens is not obvious, and LSS provides the resources and mentoring for students to master the material in their courses through their time at UH.”

purchases, but one that is growing significantly,” Buckingham said.

“We provide students with access to over three million titles, many with savings up to 60 percent off the new print price, and as students experiment with the new technologies, more students will be able to

decide if the format makes sense for them.”

With so many options, students may find that buying their next textbook may not be that hard after all.

news@thedailycougar.com

news@thedailycougar.com

The Daily Cougar

4 \\ Wednesday, January 16, 2013

OPINION EDITOR

Aaron Manuel

EMAIL

opinion@thedailycougar.com

ONLINE

thedailycougar.com/opinion

POLITICS

Common sense Christie James Wang Staff columnist

I

n the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and former Mass.

Gov. Mitt Romney’s failed presidential bid, the Republican governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, has emerged as both a leader in the struggling region and of a battered GOP. While Democrats and Republicans have been busy driving a wedge down the already wide partisan gap, Christie showered praise on President Barack Obama as thanks for authorizing a prelandfall emergency declaration to prepare New Jersey for Hurricane Sandy. In an article by The Huffington Post, the declaration would “expedite federal assistance for the state,” which in turn would allow New Jersey to request federal funds before the storm.

This kind of bipartisanship would normally be praiseworthy if not for the election. It’s a problem for a Republican nominee when

a supporter like Christie actively praises the other candidate for his swift response to a major disaster.

It was this praise that Politico.com attributed to Republican Paul Ryan being Romney’s vice presidential candidate instead of Christie.

A recent Time magazine article

by Michael Crowley went even further by saying, “Christie’s post-Sandy embrace of Obama provoked the ire of Republicans.”

This kind of behavior is what makes Christie so endearing as a person and gave him so much potential as a candidate. His vivid candor and street-level dialect makes him a man of the working class. He specializes in a rarely practiced brand of politics that many Republican politicians have abandoned.

Christie’s “common-sense conservatism,” as described by Reihan Salam of CNN, appeals to the broader base of conservatives.

OnTheIssues.org, a nonpartisan website dedicated to researching

and recording the stances of politicians, says Christie has hit a middle-road on many of his policies.

He takes traditional conservative stances — no to same-sex marriage — but gives compromises — yes to civil unions. On abortion, he avoids the religious context most other conservative politicians deliver. Instead, he gave a personal account to Piers Morgan on CNN about how he adopted a pro-life stance upon hearing his daughter’s first heartbeat.

There are no talking points for Christie to memorize, and there’s no need for him to scribble down notes on his palm just so he doesn’t screw up — and he does screw up. His candidness has gotten him into hot water more than enough times, perhaps most famously in 2011 during the Hurricane Irene evacuation when he berated beach goers.

Christie is in no way a master wordsmith: Instead of a silver

tongue, he brandishes a bronze mace covered with intentions.

There’s no way he can weasel his way through anything.

That is what makes him a preChristie is a ferred model rising star in the of the new GOP and popular conservative in New Jersey. politician.

Sneaky wording is no match for pure honesty. Christie doesn’t beat around the bush, and even if that means he occasionally steps into a big, stinking pile, it doesn’t matter to the largely liberal and largely democratic residents of New Jersey.

According to a recent NBC report, Christie now has a 73 percent approval rating, and while much of that has come from the high of his relief efforts toward Sandy, he wasn’t exactly hated.

A November report from CBS showed his pre-Sandy approval rating at 48 percent — not bad for a Republican in a Democratic stronghold.

Hopefully, other rising Republicans will follow Christie’s model of leadership, because the GOP ship is sinking fast. The loss in the November election was a large blow to the egos of Republican politicians, and many conservative voters are now looking elsewhere to cast their votes.

The blind-eyed partisan politics have sunk Congress’s approval ratings into around the low double digits — and even into the single digits. If the GOP has any hopes of serving its purpose of giving conservatives representation in the government, it has to adopt the middle ground common-sense conservatism of Christie.

James Wang is a history sophomore and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar. com.

POLITICS

Liberals, media and the double standard Sarah Backer Staff columnist

H

ypocrisy might stretch across both sides of the political aisle, but when it comes from the left, the media seems willing to overlook the double standards and deception and move on.

When MSNBC commentator Chris Matthews said he was glad Hurricane Sandy hit the northeast because it helped Obama win re-election or that the reason Hillary Clinton was elected U.S. senator was because her husband “messed around,” Matthews gets a slap on the wrist. When a conservative says something incendiary, bad things happen. Advertisers were put under pressure by liberals to boycott Glenn Beck’s show on Fox News because he said Obama had “a deep-seated hatred for white people.” Beck eventually left Fox News

THE DAILY COUGAR EDITORIAL BOARD Joshua Mann Amanda Hilow ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR Samantha Wong NEWS EDITOR Natalie Harms SPORTS EDITOR Christopher Shelton LIFE & ARTS EDITOR Paulina Rojas PHOTO EDITOR Rebekah Stearns OPINION EDITOR Aaron Manuel ASSISTANT EDITORS Channler Hill, Ellen Goodacre, Jessica Portillo EDITOR IN CHIEF

MANAGING EDITOR

— despite having excellent ratings — to stop the onslaught of advertisers abandoning his show. Sure his remarks had been inflammatory, but Beck has been vilified for his remarks while Matthews has enjoyed 16 years on air despite his provocative comments.

At a final campaign stop in Philadelphia, the day before the election, former President Bill Clinton said while campaigning for Obama, “When I was a kid, if I got my hand caught in the cookie jar where it wasn’t supposed to be, I turned red in my face, and I took my hand out of the cookie jar.”

In the same speech, he asked Americans if they wanted a president who lied to them.

It is laughable that a former president who was impeached for lying under oath about having an affair while in office would give

anyone a lecture about that issue.

Furthermore, the American Civil Liberties Union, a highly liberal-leaning organization, is the first to file a lawsuit seeking to ban any public display of Christianity. The Tangipahoa Parish School Board in Tangipahoa Parish, La., has been criticized by the ACLU at least six times in the past 10 years. The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the school board for opening board meetings with prayer.

“Board members who pray before public meetings should be removed from society,” the ACLU of Louisiana said.

Though in September in San Diego, the ACLU actively defended the right of Muslims to pray in public schools, which is hypocritical to the ACLU’s attack on Christian prayer in public.

Obama and his campaign spent the

entire 2012 campaign lambasting Romney constantly as a liar, and yet he lied for weeks about Benghazi and still has not produced all the facts. He continually promoted the idea that the attack on Benghazi was caused by a spontaneous riot resulting from an anti-Islamic video. Within 24 hours, the administration knew it was a terrorist attack.

An encyclopedia could be filled with these examples and many more of liberal hypocrisies. And yet the duplicitous Left continues to get a free pass by the media and American people. They profess their support for freedom of speech only as long as the express beliefs conform to their political ideologies.

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.

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,

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

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

Sarah Backer is a business sophomore and can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 // 5

The Daily Cougar

JAN. 16 AT ECU

JAN. 19 JAN. 23 JAN. 26 JAN. 30 FEB. 02 FEB. 09 FEB. 13 FEB. 16 FEB. 20 VS UCF

VS. TULSA

VS UAB

AT RICE

AT SMU

VS TULANE

VS UTEP

AT TULSA

AT MEMPHIS

FEB. 27 MAR. 02 MAR. 06 MAR. 09 AT UTEP

VS MARSHALL

VS RICE

AT TULANE

OO MEN’S HOOPS Second time’s the charm UH searches for its first conference road victory against ECU Christopher Shelton Sports editor

Before conference play began, head coach James Dickey knew the Cougars had things to work on to accomplish their goals.

He wanted the Cougars to play more consistently on both ends of the floor, shoot free throws better and play more of their offense through sophomore forward TaShawn Thomas and senior forward Leon Gibson in the paint because games would get tougher to win.

“In conference play, everybody thinks they can win the league. The intensity level is going to rise. Everybody is going to start over and start 0-0,” Dickey said.

Dickey’s concerns reared their ugly head in a 73-54 loss to Southern Miss.

The Cougars had captured seven consecutive victories before the trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., in their Conference USA road opener but could not consistently threaten the Southern Miss defense from the perimeter or inside.

The Cougars’ four top scorers didn’t meet their season scoring average.

Freshman forward Danuel House, who posted a career high the previous game, went 0-5 from the field and only scored on four points on free throws.

MATCHUP

Redshirt freshman guard Jherrod Stiggers is a threat behind the arc, shooting 40 percent on 3-pointers for the season. | Rebekah Stearns/The Daily Cougar The Cougars’ three point guards combined for eight points and three assists.

The offense can’t afford to sputter against East Carolina. The Pirates lead C-USA in scoring with 78.1 points per game and have the inside-out game the Cougars aspire to have.

Senior forward Maurice Kemp is C-USA’s second leading scorer and provides an inside presence with six double-doubles this season. Senior guard Miguel Paul steadies the offense with consistent point guard play. Paul has 72 assists and only 45 turnovers.

On Saturday, in a win against UCF, all of ECU’s starters scored double figures in points.

Dickey hopes the Cougars can find a similar inside-out balance.

STANDINGS C-USA Men’s Basketball CONF.

Record: (12-3, 1-1) Last game: L, S. Miss 73-54

Record: (9-8, 1-3) Last game: L, Memphis 89-55

Starters

Starters

F - TaShawn Thomas

F - Maurice Kemp

16.1 pts, 9.7 reb, 2.2 blk

F - Danuel House 12.9 pts, 5.2 reb, .461 fg%

F - Brandon Morris 4.5 pts, 2.8 reb,

G - Joseph Young 17.6 pts, .931 ft%, 30.4 mins

G - J.J. Thompson 7.3 pts, .463 3pt.%, 2.4 ast

17.5 pts, 8.3 reb, .717 ft%

F - Ty Armstrong 7.5 pts, 3.8 reb,

F - Robert Sampson 10 pts, 9.1 reb,

G - Shamarr Bowden 6.7 pts, .391 3pt%

G - Miguel Paul 12.2 pts, .885 ft%

OVERALL

Team

W L GB W L Pct Str

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

2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2

— — — 0.5 1 1 1 1 1.5 2 2 2

12 13 9 10 12 11 10 8 11 12 8 3

3 4 6 7 3 5 5 9 7 5 9 12

.800 .765 .600 .667 .800 .688 .667 .471 .611 .706 .471 .200

W6 W5 W3 W1 L1 L1 W1 L1 W1 L2 L2 L5

“We talk all the time about getting to the rack, throwing the ball to the block, getting your feet wet in the paint and getting to the free-throw line. We have to have some balance there,” Dickey said.

The Cougars are right behind ECU in points, averaging 78 points per contest. Sophomore guard Joseph Young has been effectively scoring the basketball: He’s had five 20-point games in the last seven contests.

The Cougars know they need to play championship defense to compete for a conference title.

“We have to play defense to be successful,” House said.

“We have to push the ball up and down the court. If we can do that, we’ll be good.”

UH is eighth in scoring defense and sixth in field percentage. Young said communication is the key to their success.

“You can’t play great defense without talking to one another.

You have to help your teammate by communicating in situations,” Young said.

“When you help your team in that aspect, everything else comes

FULL SLATE Today’s C-USA games Men’s basketball Houston @ East Carolina Memphis @ Rice Southern Miss @ SMU UTEP @ Tulsa

After posting a career-high of 28 points against SMU, freshman forward Danuel House went 0-5 from the field in the Cougars’ 73-54 loss to Southern Miss.

He averages 12.9 points per game. | Rebekah Stearns/The Daily Cougar

The Daily Cougar

6 \\ Wednesday, January 16, 2013

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ACROSS 1 Where people lose on purpose 4 Food from heaven 9 Detect, as a rat?

14 New Haven Ivy Leaguer 15 For the whole world to hear 16 Dr. Salk’s conquest 17 Teacup part 18 Seisms 20 Ticks off 22 Like Aesop’s grapes 23 Acted snobbishly toward 26 Rye bread seed 31 Peruse again 33 Remove, as a calcium compound 34 “Dancing with the Stars” network 36 Bygone, like days 38 The best overall material?

39 Deal killers 41 Moving-day challenges 43 Part of a blade

44 Kind of hug or therapy 46 Convoy members 48 Senior’s junior 49 “A Tale of Two Cities” setting 51 Hot dog condiment 53 Quickmovement dance 55 Rascally 58 Prefix with “dynamics” 60 Sibling’s offspring, perhaps 61 Certain emergency service provider 67 Universal workplace?

68 Fisherman’s wicker basket 69 Arthur’s mail 70 Hi and Lois’ kid 71 Group of key personnel 72 “By all ___!”

73 “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, ___”

DOWN 1 Appears to be 2 “... above the fruited ___” 3 Film in which Ford was president 4 Bigwig at the podium 5 Fla. neighbor 6 It goes with “neither” 7 Relative of bananas?

8 Committee type 9 Urged 10 Bygone ostrich kin 11 Yellowstone bugling beast 12 Tell a tall tale 13 ___ Alamitos, Calif.

19 Campus gathering place 21 Hostile force 24 Lengthy lurkers of the deep 25 Carpenter’s grooves 27 On the protected side 28 Certain automobile parts 29 Spanish friend 30 Middle

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COMICS UH huh... by Roberto Torres-Torres

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Eastern country on the Red Sea Postpone an action ___-Saxon Element no. 5 One who assigns an identifying word Soap and water results Cylindrical storage tower Beverage John Hancock and others “... ___ the twain shall meet” ___ generis (of its own kind) “Iliad” king Big news exclusive “Witch of Wall Street” Green Fairy tale baddie Broadcast watchdog letters Nest egg item, briefly Old Glory stripe color Always, to an old poet Org. for doctors Put on

Puzzle answers online: www.thedailycougar.com/puzzles

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 //8

The Daily Cougar

LIFE & ARTS EDITOR

Paulina Rojas

EMAIL

arts@thedailycougar.com

ONLINE

thedailycougar.com/life-arts

WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTER

Gender talk tackles invisible wars From toxic words to salaries and questionable monologues, weekly discussions aim to inform students Jessica Portillo Assistant life & arts editor

History senior Lyndsie Hariss and creative writing senior Joy Lester joined the gender talk disscusions during the fall semester. | Bethel Gumac/The Daily Cougar

The Women’s Resource Center will start their weekly Gender Talk on Jan. 23 as they cover topics such as the novel “Fifty Shades of Gray,” binge drinking and men, as perceived by gay men and straight women. The group will meet every Wednesday from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Also hosted by the center is the One Billion Women Rising event, which will be held on Feb. 14. The event will honor women who were killed during a violent relationship. To show remembrance, students and alumni will leave roses and women’s stories on empty seats in classrooms and auditoriums.

“The Invisible War,” a documentary about sexual assault and women in the military, will be showing from 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on March 6 in the University Center’s Houston Room, followed by a panel discussion.

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The Start Smart workshop will be held on April 5 in room 279A of the UC and will be aimed toward college women starting their careers and teaches them how to get into the job market and how to negotiate a better salary.

Performances of The Vagina Monologues will be held at 7 p.m. on April 19 and at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on April 20 in the UC Houston Room. It is co-sponsored by the Student Feminist Organization.

The center is set to launch the semester long BackBone Project to inform the public on sexist and homophobic language. The project will include distribution of clever posters throughout campus aimed at educating and changing the way words affect our perceptions of gender roles.

Women’s Resource Center director Beverly McPhail is looking forward to the events planned for the spring semester.

“I think this will be a very exciting and fun semester while we tackle some tough topics on sexual assault and then do some exciting performances with Vagina Monologues,” McPhail said. “I hope students stay tuned to our activities and join in.” arts@thedailycougar.com

The Daily Cougar

7 \\ Wednesday, January 16, 2013

LIFE & ARTS EDITOR

BOOKS

Paulina Rojas

EMAIL

arts@thedailycougar.com

ONLINE

thedailycougar.com/life-arts

STUDENT LIFE

Graduate toughs it out with poetry Welcome back, Cat Kevin Cook Staff writer

“Farewell and Goodnights” by UH alumnus Ricardo Bates is a collection of 50 poems specifically dealing with an incident Bates experienced as a youth: seeing his father almost killed in front of him.

Though the poems’ themes are far-ranging — addressing love, race, family and other topics — the collection is a response to that moment from Bates’ life and more broadly, a response to the past in its entirety.

The “Sound of Glass” is a direct reference to the violence Bates witnessed his father inflict and endure.

He poses a question about the nature of love and whether it is supposed to be violent, and he peppers this theme through the rest of the collection.

He ties the memory of his father bleeding profusely from punching the windowpane of his lover’s house in anger while Bates

watched silently from the car to the uncertainty about the nature of love, which initially appears capitalized in its entirety.

Race also plays a role in the poems. “I, TOO, Am Smart,” is dedicated to the memory of poet and social activist Langston Hughes and explores the apartness Bates felt in academic settings.

“Farewell and Goodnights,” the collection’s titular poem, marks a thematic transition toward healing and growth. Bates feels the impact of past tragedies and says embracing love is a way to erase anger and hurt.

Bates also establishes his commitment to rhyme, emphasised by “Farewell and Goodnights,” but somehow the haphazardly scattered couplets that begin to accumulate don’t feel genuine, free flowing or honest.

The latter rhyming half of couplets feels like it’s been drawn from a rhyming dictionary as a companion to the first half, which creates a distracting effect.

In “Hell’s Ways of the Florida

Days,” Bates is at his absolute most blatant in both rhyme scheme and message.

His pairing juxtaposition with prison before concluding in all capitalized letters, “WAKE UP AMERICA!,” which is a didactic and heavy-handed admonition that doesn’t fit well into the poetic paradigm.

Bates writes in “YESTERDAY’S GRIEF,” that “one should never waste tears / over the griefs of yesterday,” which can serve as a thematic tagline to the entire collection. Bates suggests that although the past is inescapable, it does not ultimately define people.

The collection seems to propose the events of the past, both the significant and trite, resonate deeply and carry weight into the decisions and emotions of the present.

Bates offers the notion that no matter how traumatic the past may be, it can be bid farewell and goodnight. arts@thedailycougar.com

Campus-wide event promises to kick off the semester with a bang, hundreds expected to attend Kevin Cook Staff writer

UH kicks off the spring semester today with the inaugural Cat’s Back: Spring 2013, hosted by the Division of Student Affairs’s Student Life organization, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in and around the University Center.

The celebration aims to connect new and returning students with the various student organizations and programs on campus by highlighting them in a Student Organizations Fair that offers participating students free food, activities and an opportunity to win prizes.

The fair is in the UC Houston Room, with representatives for campus organizations on hand to meet and talk to fellow students about getting involved.

Taco Cabana is catering in the UC Bluebonnet Room, providing free food and refreshments.

The activities offered include the Council of Ethnic Organizations’s “Name Art,” taking place on the center stage of the Houston Room.

In the circle drive, students can compete in a Wii dance-off provided by Dance On, play Giant Jenga and Connect Four with Student Government Association representatives and visit the Student Program Board’s Amazon.com Fun Zone.

The prizes for participating in the fair include an iPad mini, a movie and dinner gift card pack, a suite seating 16 at a UH Basketball game, a Starbucks Coffee gift pack, and a UH Bookstore gift pack that includes school supplies and a Barnes & Noble gift card.

All students are encouraged to take part in the communitybuilding festival, which promises to be a great time. arts@thedailycougar.com