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
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Issue 34, Volume 79
H O U S T O N
S I N C E
1 9 3 4
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM
SYSTEM
UH-D campaigns for name change Julia Davila Contributing writer
UH-Downtown has received criticism for the costly effort it has taken to change its name. UH-D hired Stamats, a higher education marketing company, for thousands of dollars to supervise the failed attempt to change the university’s name. “Stamats is a leader in higher education marketing. They were chosen following a Request for Proposal posted by the university and after considerable work with a local marketing firm and by internal UH-D staff,” said UH-D director of media relations Claire Caton. The discussion regarding the name change began in 2007 and occurred over a period of two years. “The discussions were focused on eliminating confusion between the University of Houston and the
University of Houston-Downtown and increasing visibility for UH-D,” Caton said. Caton said that the university took perceptions internally and externally based on feedback from students, alumni, staff and faculty. In Fall 2008, former UH-D President Max Castillo announced the university was seeking a name change. “We are part of the UH System, but we are not part of UH,” said Castillo in a statement. “We are a separate and unique university in the UH System. This university is not a branch, not a satellite, of UH.” There was no plan to change the name of the System’s other two universities, UH-Clear Lake and UH-Victoria. A change to UH-D’s name caused those who were against it to believe that a new name would be confusing and that it would lead to an
UH-Downtown invested $50,000 in a failed campaign to change its name | Aisha Bouderdaben/The Daily Cougar explanation regarding the name change to be completely avoidable. Those who were in favor of the name change believed it would bring endless opportunities to the university, such as reaching Tier One status. Two years after the discussion of the name change was brought up
and regents voted to ask the Texas Legislature to support and approve a new name for UH-D, the issue was stuck. Former State Sen. Mario Gallegos, a graduate of UH-D and representative of the campus, said he would sponsor a bill if his colleagues thought it was a good idea.
“If they say no, then no,” said Gallegos in a statement. “There’s no use in filing a bill if my colleagues aren’t going to be for it.” UH-D Student Government Association President and applied mathematics senior Isaac Valdez believes UH-D continues on page 3
ACTIVITIES
ACADEMICS
Trip puts STEM majors to the test
Minor energizes students
Andrea Sifuentes Contributing writer
UH has been declared one of 12 universities in the U.S. to take part in BP’s 2014 Ultimate Field Trip competition for STEM students. “The Ultimate Field Trip is a two-week global experience with BP. Through a case competition, a winning team is selected from each participating country to engage in the global experience. Each participating university will host a campus competition,” said Aimee Close, U.S. University Relations Projects and Programs Manager at BP. “The winners will go on to represent their university at the national finals in Houston, Texas, and the U.S. champions will win a place on to the Ultimate Field Trip. In 2014, the winning team will go on to explore our operations in Illinois and Alaska alongside the winning teams from the U.K., Angola, Canada and Trinidad and Tobago.” This is BP’s Ultimate Field
Trip’s fifth year, but the first year to include more than five universities. “Each year we are looking at ways to develop the competition to ensure that the students have the opportunity to gain a truly meaningful experience from taking part,” Close said. “We are really excited by this year’s competition, with five countries now involved, more universities in the U.S. and a fantastic challenge; it will be great to see what ideas the teams do with this year’s challenge.” This year’s challenge asks students to identify an innovative solution to reducing energy consumption to be implemented by 2025, according to a press release, and the purpose of the competition is to attract talented students and expose them to energy. “BP developed the Ultimate Field Trip competition to attract and retain top talent beginning in the early years of higher education. The energy sector needs to do more to engage with tomorrow’s
Sabrina Lloyd Contributing writer
degrees apply in a real-world situation. Each year, we are looking at ways to develop the competition to ensure that the students have the opportunity to gain a truly meaningful experience from taking part,” McIntyre said. The 2013 winning team was Hybrid Alternative Power Systems of the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. “It was really great to go out and see everything in the real field,” said Michael Richards of
The Honors College is bringing a new minor to UH, allowing students to broaden their horizons by studying in multiple disciplines. The Energy and Sustainability minor is open to all majors on campus and includes courses in the college of business, technology, architecture, political science, chemistry, English and history. “The intersection of energy and environment contains a variety of issues that will remain important throughout the 21st century,” said history professor Joseph Pratt. “This minor gives students a chance to understand these important issues, gives them a potential boost in job markets, and (allows them) to become knowledgeable citizens.” Pratt partnered up with chemistry professor Ognjen Miljanic to
TRIP continues on page 3
ENERGY continues on page 3
In Norway, the past Ultimate Field Trip winning teams hiked to the top of Pulpit Rock, 600 meters. above the Lysefjord. | Courtesy of Victoria Turek
generation of talent, and BP is tackling the challenge head-on. The UFT offers BP the chance to engage and interact with students, allowing us to provide them with insight and experience of working on real life challenges within the energy sector,” Close said. Paul McIntyre, group head of resourcing at BP, sees the Ultimate Field Trip competition as a chance for students to get real-world experience. “The Ultimate Field Trip competition offers STEM students the opportunity to explore how their