Wednesday, March 6, 2013 // Issue 87, 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
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T H E
U N I V E R S I T Y
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H O U S T O N
S I N C E
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CAMPUS
Cougars react to false alarm Reported gunman turns out to be staff member with inventory scanner Natalie Harms News editor
Just past noon on Tuesday, students were on high alert after UH sent out a warning of a possible gunman, described as an Asian male wearing a white shirt, seen near Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall and Agnes Arnold Hall. Within the hour, students received an all clear through the emergency alert system, as the UH Police Department said the gun was, in fact, a barcode scanner. “A community member recognized that the description fit that of an employee who was in
the area and carrying a barcode scanner at the time.,” said Lieutenant Bret Collier, the UHPD Chief of Staff. “Once we were advised of this, we met with the employee, had the reporter make a positive ID and confirmed that there was no actual threat,” Collier said. Although the report of a gunman turned out to be false, Collier does not want this to discourage students from making reports. “The student thought that what she saw was a real gun,” Collier said. “In this situation, she did exactly the right thing in calling the police.” Collier said it is important for students to be aware of their GUN continues on page 3
OPINION
Yahoo cuts telecommuting LIFE+ARTS
The area surrounding Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall turned into an apparent ghost town following the clearing of the police investigation. | Nichole Taylor/The Daily Cougar
NATION
Students share sequestration frustration
Dance students show work SPORTS
Mary Dahdouh
last until October; yet sequestration is a 10-year plan that will cut spending by $1.2 trillion over the next decade. College students will begin to feel the strain of sequestration in the coming academic year. In the next eight months, 4,720 low-income Although Pell Grants are exempt from cuts in the students in Texas will lose their financial aid, low-income stufirst year of the budget decreases, it is likely and another 1,450 students will either lose dents in Texas to experience reductions in the coming or be unable attain work-study jobs due to will lose their years, which can affect over 9 million stuthe sequester that went into effect Friday, dents nationwide, according to National according the whitehouse.gov. financial aid Association of Student Financial Aid The sequester, an $85 billion fedstuAdministrators. eral spending cut occurring through dents ts will eeither The Texas state st “The effect will be brutal, but Oct. 1, is intended to reduce the gap lose or be e unab unable to budget get mayy lose g lo up hopefully the universities will make between the nation’s deficit and get to million m changes to their budget to soften the gross domestic project by decreaswork-study stu jobs in cuts public ts to pub blow,” Jerez said. ing government agency and state education producation p Sequestration estration is a “I have studied in a program budgets. grams ra year plan that 10-year that has been cut by state funding “These cuts were largely before and though these cuts were across the board, which essenspendi by will cut spending noticeable, most students adapted tially means that nearly every trillion dduring to the change. I would have prefederal program or service, with the decade. e next dec ferred for education to have been a few exceptions, was evenly cut exempted in these cuts, but they with no discretion,” said political occurred and I believe we are very science and economics senior Jorge The sequester seques UH federal ederal reresilient.” Jerez. was search rch contr contracts The impact of the sequestration “The effects will be considerable and grants rants will wil see goes beyond student financial aid. to those heavily invested in these an billion bill As a research university, our federal programs.” federal spending eral spend a % research contracts and grants will see a 5.1 Funding for education will take a concut cu reduction. uc percent reduction, said UH President and siderable amount of the damage across the Chancellor Renu Khator. nation, and Texas will likewise feel the impact Likewise, as students graduate in the coming of sequestration substantially as the fourth mostGraphic by Andres Garcia years, searching for a job may become increasingly affected state overall and the second most-affected Information from whitehouse.gov difficult. According to whitehouse.gov, assistance for job state for education funding cuts, behind California, searching will lose more than $2.2 million in funding and more according to calculations by the Pew Center on the States. than 83,000 fewer people will get the help they need to find employment The Texas state budget may lose up to $334 million in cuts to public education programs and, according to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, the Texas in just the first eight months of sequestration. Education Agency alone may lose grants totaling as much as $167.7 million. The agenda will occur during the first phase of budget reductions and will STUDENTS continues on page 3
Staff writer
4,720
1,450
Storied career nears end
$334
$1.2 2
5.1
$85
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