LIFE AND ARTS
EVENTS
GOLF
A salute to service
Cougars seek national prominence
Students created handmade cards that will be delivered to the VA Medical Center in a show of appreciation.
After a strong performance from Kyle Pilgrim and Roman Robledo, UH feels confident moving forward. SEE PAGE 5
SEE PAGE 7 NOVEMBER
CALENDAR CHECK: 13
Sustainability Festival. Go green for this event in Lynn Eusan at 11:30 a.m.
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
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Issue 44, Volume 79
S I N C E
1 9 3 4
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM
STUDENT FEES
Athletics fights for recognition on a budget Laura Gillespie News editor
UH Athletics stretches every dollar, but they are ranked lowest in the American Athletic Conference in total operating budget and student fees compared to the other seven public institutions in the conference.
In Athletics’ presentation for the Student Fees Advisory Committee, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades spoke about the department’s success in sports and academics throughout the past year and about how hard the Athletics Department works to bring the University into the national
spotlight. “Over the course of the last three or four years, we were able to grow revenue, and we will continue to do that. (Budget) has never been an excuse for our coaches, staff and student athletes. We will continue to work hard and continue to improve upon those numbers,” Rhoades
said. “I want all of our students to know that (money Athletics receives from student fees is) well-utilized, and we don’t take it for granted. I think we are an institution that does more with less and are willing to do that.” SFAC Chair Charles Haston questioned Intercollegiate Athletics’
Astronaut descends to campus
Student Fees Advisory Committee Chair Charles Haston (right) and ex-officio member and Dean of Students William Munson heard the requests of the Student Government Association, LGBT Center, Student Program Board, Frontier Fiesta and six other organizations on Friday. The committee has concluded its presentations and will now put together a packet of funding recommendations to be approved by President and Chancellor Renu Khator and Richard Walker, vice president and chancellor for Student Affairs.
Rebecca Hennes Staff writer
“The direct impacts UH students are likely to see from carpools and vanpools include saving money on their cars, saving gas, alleviating parking lots and cost for permits and saving time with the HOV lane,” Kadiwala said. Among these benefits, a sustainability initiative would further UH’s goal of becoming a greener university. Engineering junior Andrew Hernandez, a commuter,
The first African-American woman to travel in space invited students and faculty to join her on the mission to achieve human interstellar flight during her lecture for the 2013 Elizabeth D. Rockwell Lecture Series on Ethics and Leadership. Mae C. Jemison, who served as an astronaut for six years, is promoting her initiative to further increase h u m a n involvement in the future of space exploration. The 100 Year Starship is an indepen- Jemison dent nonprofit organization that was started with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. While the goal is to achieve human interstellar flight within the next 100 years, Jemison said one of the main purposes is to provide for a better future on Earth. “All the capabilities that are needed for an interstellar journey are the same things that we need to
SHUTTLES continues on page 8
ASTRONAUT continues on page 8
Carolina Trevino/The Daily Cougar
TRANSPORTATION
New shuttles help long-distance commuters Contributing writer
Getting to school is about to become easier for students. At the sustainability festival at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Lynn Eusan Park, two initiatives for carpooling and shuttling will be announced. The carpool and vanpool initiative will be helpful for students who travel to the Sugar Land campus. Digital media junior Francis Eyth, who learned that his coursework will have classes there.
“If there wasn’t a shuttle, I wouldn’t have a solution to getting to class next semester,” Eyth said. “I would probably have to try and telecommute — there would be no other way.” Eyth talked to the Transportation Parking Advisory Committee in an effort to establish shuttle to the Sugar Land campus by next semester. He said that the University goal of becoming more resident-friendly was being inhibited by the fact that some students who
ATHLETICS continues on page 3
STEM
Return on investment
Rebecca Heliot
involvement with Homecoming Week, saying that there seemed to be a lack of involvement from the Athletics Department. “The week of Homecoming, it was really difficult to tell that we even had a Homecoming going on.
live on campus do not have transportation to their classes. He said that a shuttle to Sugar Land would solve a lot of students’ problems. Eyth’s and other students’ situations are being addressed by those attending the Sustainability Festival. Issam Kadiwala, a Student Government Association senator of the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, will be one of those at the table promoting teams for carpool and vanpool.