Issue 57, Volume 79

SPORTS

VOLLEYBALL

EVENTS

Cougars hungry after humbling season

Snow covers campus park

UH is embracing whomever they will play in whatever bowl game after enduring a tough 5-7 record a season ago.

SEE PAGE 5

Students enjoy food, activities while playing in snow, provided by Student Program Board.

SEE PAGE 7

CALENDAR CHECK:

DECEMBER

7

Last day of classes. It’s not over yet - grab a friend and hit the books for finals.

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Thursday, December 5, 2013

Issue 57, Volume 79

H O U S T O N

S I N C E

1 9 3 4

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SCIENCE

RESEARCH

Memory research flies to UH

Language study to influence education

Dennis Kunichoff Staff writer

Using fruit flies and strong odors, UH researchers have made significant progress in understanding memory formation and the works of Pavlovian conditioning. The research has revealed important activity in nerve cells as well as interactions with proteins that regulate and control the mechanisms behind forming memories.

The research is headlined by Gregg Roman, an associate professor of biology and biochemistry as well as director of the Biology of Behavior Institute at UH, and Shixing Zhan, his postdoctoral associate. Their findings were published recently in Current Biology, a scientific bimonthly journal published by Cell Press, titled “Presynaptic Inhibition of Gamma Lobe Neurons Is Required for Olfactory Learning in Drosophila.”

Brigitte Dauwalder, the co-vice director of the BoBI, said Roman’s research strongly contributes to the institution’s researching goal.

“BoBI provides an enriched intellectual environment that emphasizes interdisciplinary research and creative approaches to understanding behavior,” Dauwalder said. “This is cutting-edge research published in a top journal. It increases our visibility and demonstrates the high quality of work performed in this department and the University.”

Veronica Reyes Contributing writer

Hunter is familiar with the UH landscape, having held a job at the campus as the assistant director of admissions. She has also had senior-level marketing positions at health companies Health Net Inc.

The Laboratory for the Neural Bases of Bilingualism has published a new research study on bilingualism and how new languages are assimilated in the brain.

The six-month research explained why certain individuals were better at detecting speech sounds instead of vocabulary words. The different possible factors ranged from socioeconomic status, genetics and even musical ability. Director of the LNBB and developmental psychology professor Arturo Hernandez used brain activity to determine whether bilinguals are better than monolinguals at learning a new language.

“I would hope the results of this research would allow us to dramatically change the time at which we introduce a second language and the method that we use, such as a stronger emphasis on learning the sounds of a language rather than learning vocabulary and memorizing it for a test,” Hernandez said.

The research study indicates that bilinguals have proven to be better vocabulary learners. They have to learn more words, allowing their brains to stretch, which is something underestimated by many. It is easier to learn Romance languages in six months, as compared to Arabic and Chinese, which can take two years to learn. The best time to introduce a new language would be before the age of 20.

Hernandez hopes that by using speech as its basis, the educational system will begin teaching foreign languages at a younger age to yield better results.

“We underestimate the importance of speech. Everyone becomes

MARKETING continues on page 3

LANGUAGE continues on page 3

Associate Professor of Biology Gregg Roman’s research makes strides in understanding the mechanism of memory formation and nerve functions in relation to protein interaction, which can help treat dementia. | Courtesy of UH.edu Roman said that within Drosophila — a genus of fruit fly — exist nerve cells called gamma lobe neurons that play a role in olfactory learning, which is a type of Pavlovian conditioning that focuses on the recollection of memories of odors.

“Drosophila readily learn to associate odors with punishments and rewards,” Roman said.

“While flies can learn using other sensory modalities, these paradigms and circuits are not as well-defined. We focused on

olfactory learning in order to take advantage of the genetic tools and knowledge previously developed for this paradigm.”

According to Roman and Zhang’s research, the gamma lobe neurons are activated by odors, and training the flies to associate an electric shock with an odor changed how the cells responded to odors by developing a modification in the gamma lobe neuron activity, called memory trace. Ultimately, the cells responded more strongly to the trained odor

than to the untrained odor.

They also were able to show that a specific protein — the heterotrimeric G(o) protein — was involved in inhibiting gamma lobe neurons.

When removing this protein, the gamma lobe neurons resulted in a loss of memory trace and caused poor learning. They could therefore conclude that inhibiting neurotransmitters from the gamma lobe neurons, with the help of the protein, is MEMORY continues on page 3

ADMINISTRATION

University hires new marketing VP The Daily Cougar News Services UH has brought on a new head of the University’s branding and marketing team.

Richie Hunter, the associate vice president and associate vice chancellor for marketing and communication for UH and the UH

System, is the most recent addition to the UH marketing team.

“Richie Hunter is an exceptional

Hunter

professional with a strong and unique background in higher education and the corporate community,” said Eloise Stuhr, vice president and vice chancellor for advancement for the University and the UH System in a news release.

The Daily Cougar

2 \\ Thursday, December 5, 2013

CALENDAR Today Meeting: Students, faculty and staff will learn all the steps in order to create NIH proposals through tools in InfoEd from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building, Room 407.

$2000 off any Invisalign case started in 2013 Invisalign prices increase slightly in 2014 $1000 off the extraction of 4 wisdom teeth

FULL DENTAL SERVICES INCLUDING Emergencies Preventive Restorative Major Whitening Invisalign Wisdom Teeth

CONTACT US UH Health Center building, #525, Entrance 6.

Call us at

713.22.SMILE (713.227.6453)

Event: Snow will come to Houston at Winter Wonderland as the Student Program Board brings in hundreds of pounds of fake snow, games, food and more from noon to 4 p.m. at Lynn Eusan Park.

Friday Networking: Students will get to rub shoulders with local advertising agencies like the American Advertising Federation in Houston in the 8th Annual HCA Holiday Mixer from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at Ei8th in the Heights at 5102 Washington Avenue.

Saturday Men’s Basketball: The Cougars will face San Jose State at 5 p.m. at Hofheinz Pavilion. Tickets are free with a UH ID. Academics: Last day of classes.

Sunday Outdoors: A graffiti run, which benefits the Department of Health and Human Performances’ undergraduate scholarship, will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Lot 16D on the intersection of Cullen Boulevard and Elgin Street.

Music: UH Choirs will perform works by Mendelssohn, Luboff and other composers from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Moores Opera House.

Monday

Art: Painting block seniors and juniors will open their studios to the public from 6 to 9 p.m. on the fourth floor of the School of Art Room 402.

Finals: Students can cuddle with certified therapy dogs to de-stress from finals from 6 to 8 p.m. at the M.D. Anderson Library Rooms 106-T and 106-P.

Music: The Symphony Orchestra will perform works by Bartok and Beethoven with conductor Franz Anton Krager from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Moores Opera House. Student tickets are $12.

Men’s Basketball: The Cougars will face against Alcorn State at 6 p.m. at Hofheinz Pavilion. Tickets are free with a UH ID.

Dance: A showcase of emerging student choreographers from the School of Theater and Dance will take the stage from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Quintero Theater.

Student tickets are $10.

Networking: The Committee of Chief Risk Officers will hold its 4th Annual Risk Networking Summit to help its members collaborate on dealing with the most pressing issues facing the energy, commodity and related financial sectors. The event will be held from noon to 6 p.m. at the Hilton UH.

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

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Thursday, December 5, 2013 // 3

The Daily Cougar

NEWS EDITOR

MEMORY continued from page 1

essential to forming memories.

“By studying the flies, we can get more of an understanding on learning and memory,” Zhan said.

“The study can promote our understanding of biological mechanisms of memory and then improve the treatment of memory-related diseases.”

The research even confirms ideas about memories and learning that could aid students during one of the most important weeks of the semester: finals week.

“There are properties of Drosophila learning that we share. When Drosophila, like people, cram or study over long blocks of time without breaks, they do not form longlasting memories,” Roman said.

“Consolidating long-lasting memories requires the lessons to be learned over several short sessions with breaks in between.”

The importance of sleep, another function that is heavily manipulated during finals week, in learning can also be seen with the flies.

“When Drosophila undergo sleep deprivation, they learn very poorly and do not remember very well,” Roman said.

Although the research has proven to be significant, it only opens the door for a far-from-finished understanding of memory. Roman says there are many more molecular processes that prove to be just as important as the one they identified, and they plan to investigate these processes, as well as look deeper into the functions of the G(o) protein. news@thedailycougar.com

LANGUAGE

MARKETING

interested in vocabulary, grammar rules and reading and do not think about speech,” Hernandez said.

Though knowing several languages may be important for development, it doesn’t boost auditory development, according to post-doctoral researcher at the LNBB Pilar Archila-Suerte.

“We surprisingly found that there is no advantage of bilingualism in the auditory domain. Instead, we found that some individuals, regardless of their monolingual or bilingual status, have a better-equipped neural system that allows them to more accurately perceive phonetic features in novel speech stimuli,” Archila-Suerte said.

Although it is difficult for educators to teach, Hernandez feels the best program for children to learn a new language is dual-immersion. In this program, children are placed half the day learning one language and the other half of the day learning a second language.

“This is the program they use in California, Chicago and even in some schools in Houston, but it is not the norm here because it is hard to teach and test,” Hernandez said.

For schools, it can be quite challenging to teach a new language, but parents’ involvement can help the process immensely. For psychology senior Emilio Ontiveros, the research hits home.

“As a father, I didn’t feel they needed to learn Spanish. I find the research helpful in understanding why my children (have) difficulty learning to speak Spanish,” Ontiveros said.

and Well Point. Her experience at the campus level doesn’t stop at UH — she’s also worked at Lamar University.

Currently, Hunter is the president of CORE media LLC, a marketing and advertising company that she co-founded in 2003.

“Richie is a passionate leader and a well-respected professional in her field nationally,” Stuhr said in a news release.

“She is enthusiastic about the UH community and the opportunity she has to make a difference.”

continued from page 1

news@thedailycougar.com

continued from page 1

news@thedailycougar.com

Laura Gillespie

EMAIL

news@thedailycougar.com

ONLINE

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Q &A Looking to the future with SGA CEDRIC BANDOH The Daily Cougar sat down with Student Government Association President Cedric Bandoh to provide students with a wrap-up of the numerous accomplishments that SGA has achieved throughout the fall semester and its plans for the spring semester. SGA will have a new office in the New UC, featuring its senate chambers for biweekly senate meetings. SGA will reveal the University’s newly acquired piece of the World Trade Center during the WTC dedication ceremony at 1 p.m. Jan. 29 at the New UC, followed by a celebration of SGA’s 50th anniversary at 6 p.m.

The Daily Cougar: What types of bills has SGA passed this semester that will impact students?

Cedric Bandoh: We passed a resolution unanimously with the UC Policy Board to change the name of the University Center to the Student Center. The other day I wrote a memorandum, so it went through (Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Richard) Walker, who has approved it. Now it’s going to go through (President Renu) Khator, and I talked to her in our last meeting, and she said she’s fine with it. To make it official, we’re writing up the correct paperwork to make the name change in January 2015, once the whole project is complete.

TDC: How were you able to extend the library hours for students this semester? Will UH ever see a 24-hour library?

CB: We already have a 24-hour lounge, but the feasibility of opening up the whole library 24 hours just wouldn’t be cost-efficient. So we worked with the dean of libraries and the library administration to say, “OK, what can we do in the interim, and what can we do to maybe one day end up at a 24-hour library?” So the dean, she’s fantastic over there. She said, “OK, you know I’ll work with you guys, and we use data to support making decisions like that.”

She goes, “We’ll extend the library hours one

hour this year,” and we agreed to that. So now the library closes at 2 a.m., and we’re really excited about that. What we’re doing is actually monitoring the traffic and in those last couple of hours to see if the traffic there warrants extending the hours even more.

TDC: How effective has the Improve UH site been for students since its launch in August?

CB: It’s been an extreme success. You know, we have different subject areas that students are able to kind of give their ideas. Some really good ideas have been submitted. Some issues have come up and been submitted and we’re able to address it — things that we never would have even known of if it didn’t come through Improve UH — like for example, Farish Hall.

Apparently, the bathrooms there need a lot of work. Actually, the stalls were missing, and some of the ladies sent us some information on (Improve UH) that you can’t get any privacy when you’re using (the bathroom). … I was able to send that over to facilities; they’re already working on it. But they gave me specifics: ‘This is the project timeline, this is the project manager.’

For the rest of the Q&A, visit thedailycougar.com/news.

— interview conducted by Channler K. Hill

The Daily Cougar

4 \\ Thursday, December 5, 2013

OPINION EDITOR James Wang EMAIL

opinion@thedailycougar.com

ONLINE

thedailycougar.com/opinion

ENVIRONMENT

Methane emission control crucial for life

Y

ou’re a college student, and you’ve just turned on the stove to warm up some soup for a long night of cramming for your finals. Or maybe you’re somebody who neglected to recycle your water bottle last week, because carrying it around all day in the hope of Cara finding a green Smith bin just seemed annoying and inconvenient.

You could also be a farmer, or a coal miner, or a goat, but whatever the case may be, rest assured: you’ve probably added a significant amount of methane to our toasty atmosphere, one that might contain more methane than we’ve ever come to realize.

NPR published findings of a study that has completely changed our estimation of just how much methane is in the atmosphere as a result of the United States emissions. Basically, we’ve vastly underestimated the girth of our ecological footprint. The study was originally published in an issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences.

“Our numbers for the entire United States are about a factor of 1.5 times larger than the (estimates of ) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Scot Miller, the study’s co-author and doctoral student in earth sciences at Harvard University.

Now, a 50 percent discrepancy is something we can universally acknowledge as being pretty significant. It really takes knowledge of the magnitude of our low-ball emission estimations, though, to realize the full degree of what such a discrepancy could mean for our climatological future.

First and foremost, methane is a greenhouse gas. According to the EPA, it’s the most prevalent greenhouse gas in our atmosphere, behind only carbon dioxide. Further, a greenhouse

gas can be roughly described as something that traps heat in our atmosphere that would otherwise escape through natural processes.

Greenhouse gases trap infared heat from the sun and heat emitted from the Earth.

Left unmonitored, they could turn the surface of our planet into something of a cyclically heated hot plate, warming up our oceans, wetlands and four-legged inhabitants past the point of functionality.

The U.S. emits methane in terms of hundreds of millions of tons annually. According to Andrew Dessler, professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, methane was found in 2010 to have an atmospheric abundance of 1.8 parts per million — meaning that it makes up around 0.0018 percent of our atmosphere. For perspective, carbon dioxide makes up around 0.039 percent of our atmosphere.

Now, trust that if you’re wondering why we’re even worrying about something that’s so explicitly negligible, you’re not alone.

Most of our policies regarding the mitigation of greenhouses gases involves carbon dioxide, mostly because the atmospheric lifetime of carbon dioxide can exceed several hundred years.

Basically, what that means is that CO2 emitted today will probably be around to welcome our greatgreat-grandchildren in the world, which makes controlling the gas an obvious priority.

In contrast, the atmospheric lifetime of methane is a mere decade. There’s exponentially less methane than carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, and that “itsy bitsy” little presence will only linger around for 10 years or so. It doesn’t make much sense, really, to allocate our precious funds and resources into something that’ll cycle itself out repeatedly in each of our lifetimes.

Methane, however, is also 20

THE DAILY COUGAR EDITORIAL BOARD Channler K. Hill Natalie Harms WEB EDITOR Jenae Sitzes NEWS EDITOR Laura Gillespie SPORTS EDITOR Christopher Shelton LIFE & ARTS EDITOR Paulina Rojas PHOTO EDITOR Fernando Castaldi OPINION EDITOR James Wang ASSISTANT EDITORS Jessica Crawford, Nora Olabi, Justin Tijerina, Monica Tso, Andrew Valderas EDITOR IN CHIEF

MANAGING EDITOR

David Delgado/ The Daily Cougar times more potent than carbon dioxide. That potency means methane will trap 20 times more heat in our atmosphere than CO2. It might not hang around for the party that long, so to speak, but it’s got a much lower tolerance for Shiner than CO2 and won’t hesitate to wreck your coffee table and smash your old Outkast records before bouncing out early.

Its presence might not be as prolonged as CO2’s, but it does its darndest to make that presence known as much as humanly possible.

Taking this into account, it’s also important to realize the sense of “committed warming” that CO2 has placed us under.

Today’s efforts to control the emission of CO2 will be beneficial to future generations. We may not see the effects of those changes in our lifetime, but they’ll undoubtedly be there to cool off our

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.

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

long-suffering descendants.

By understanding the pattern of greenhouse gases, it’s now evident why such a gargantuan increase in methane might prove to be mildly catastrophic. An increase in 50 percent — and reported increases in 150 percent above Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas — suggests that our models of predicting climate change might need to be significantly changed.

It also raises the alarming question of how such a discrepancy in measuring national methane emissions could’ve arisen.

Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist with Duke University, cited the ineffectiveness of “bottom-up” measurements in determining atmospheric methane consistencies.

“I think bottom-up measurements are lower because we miss the few percent of sites that are really leaking a lot of gases,”

words and signed, 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.

GUEST COMMENTARY Submissions are accepted from any member of the UH community and must

Jackson said. “We probably have 90 percent of oil and gas operations that are pretty clean, and a few percent that leak like a sieve.”

These bottom-up measurements determine how much methane individual oil and gas sites are emitting and then extrapolate that data into a projection of how much methane is in our atmosphere.

“Top-down” measurements, by contrast, measure the amount of methane in the atmosphere but fail to determine which sites are responsible for increases in atmospheric methane.

Jackson explained to NPR that the bottom-up measurement system is desirable, because it allows scientists to figure out just which operations are responsible for the inordinate amount of methane going into the atmosphere. He also explained that bottom-up METHANE continues on page 8

be signed with the author’s name, phone number or e-mail address 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) 7435384. All submissions are subject to editing.

Thursday, December 5, 2013 // 5

The Daily Cougar

SPORTS EDITOR

Christopher Shelton

EMAIL

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ONLINE

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FOOTBALL

Young team rebounds to make bowl Andrew Valderas Assistant sports editor

Before the season started, the Cougars created a motto: ‘Something to Prove.’

The Cougars stood at a disappointing 5-7 this time last year because of a poor defense and inconsistent offense, and were watching other teams play bowl games in December and January.

Levine “We didn’t want to go back to having the same year we had last year,” said senior defensive back Zachary McMillian.

“A lot of the young guys bought into it, and we all took it personally that we didn’t avert back to doing what we did last year.”

Now, the Cougars have performed a complete 180, gashing

teams with an effective inside passing game and consistent running game, topped off with a opportunistic defense that leads the country in forced turnovers (40), propelling them to a bowl game whose opponent is yet to be determined.

“Last year, we knew we weren’t going to a bowl game,” said junior receiver Daniel Spencer. “We came out hot this year and won eight games. That’s a great season. We’re happy about a bowl game.”

What a difference a year makes: a freshman starting quarterback, several new coaching staff members, no actual home stadium, and a new tougher conference. They may have lost three of their last four, but UH’s win last weekend against SMU was a much-needed end to the regular season.

“To end with the win and not end the season with four consecutive losses was important. The message we send to our student athletes is about being 1-0 at the

UH OC Meacham reportedly offered same job with TCU

With its bowl placement still uncertain, The Daily Cougar takes a look at the three of the Cougars’ bid options following an 8-4 season.

1

PINSTRIPE BOWL

The New Era Pinstripe Bowl is played in The Bronx, N.Y., and is the fourth bowl to be picked from the American Athletic Conference. ESPN analyst Mark Schlabach predicts UH will play Notre Dame. The total payout is $2 million.

2

BELK BOWL

The Belk Bowl is played in Charlotte, N. C. CBSSports projects UH to play North Carolina in the Belk. In last year’s game, Cincinnati defeated Duke, 38-34. The payout is $1.6 million 3

BBVA COMPASS BOWL

The BBVA Compass Bowl, which is held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. has the fifth AAC choice. The total purse is 1.9 million. The Tampa Bay Times, The Orlando Sentinel and Scout.com project UH to play against Mississippi State in the Compass Bowl.

Graphics by Andres Garcia

sports@thedailycougar.com

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www.las.uh.edu Offensive coordinator Doug Meacham was offered the same position at TCU, according to reports. | Justin Tijerina/ The Daily Cougar

STRESS FREE!

Oklahoma State offensive coaching staff that led the Cowboys to top-20 national finishes in total offense in 2006 (16th), 2007 (seventh), 2008 (sixth), 2010 (third), 2011 (third) and 2012 (fourth).

He has coached the Dallas Cowboys’ Dez Bryant and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Justin Blackmon.

Go from

to

UH offensive coordinator Doug Meacham is expected to be hired for the same position by TCU, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Meacham has been a candidate for the vacant job for weeks, the StarTelegram said.

He has been offered the job at TCU, but is still yet to decide whether he will take it, Meacham according to the Houston Chronicle.

Meacham has guided the Cougars to 57th in total offense and has helped mold freshman quarterback John O’Korn to lead the team to an 8-4 record and a bowl to be played later on this month.

Before coming to UH, Meacham was a household name at Oklahoma State, as he has been part of the

LANDING SPOTS

Senior forward Destini Texada is averaging six points and six rebounds after sitting out last season because of transfer. | Caitlin Hilton/The Daily Cougar

STAFF CHANGES

The Daily Cougar News Services

end of every week,” said head coach Tony Levine after the win.

Now that the regular season is over, it’s 8-4. That does sound better than 7-5. The win today gives you some momentum going into whatever bowl game we are invited to.”

The Cougars will have to wait at least until next week to see who they will face.

The bowl they’ll be invited to is likely to be either the Belk Bowl, the Pinstripe Bowl or the BBVA Compass Bowl.

UH’s destination will largely be predicated on Rutgers (5-6). If it can win its game against South Florida this weekend, it will be become bowl-eligible and will be a front-runner to be invited to the Pinstripe, which is played at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx.

Nevertheless, the Cougars will have almost a month to regroup, leading up to wherever and whomever they will play this month.

The Daily Cougar

6 \\ Thursday, December 5, 2013

CLASSIFIEDS Find a home. Find a job. Find it here.

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COMICS Cynical Ted by Francis Emelogu

want more?

Check out more Studentdrawn comics online...

ACROSS 1 Horsedrawn conveyance 5 They might be renewed or exchanged 9 Ulan ___, Mongolia 14 Olin of “Chocolat” 15 Huge production 16 Muscat citizen 17 “Island in the Sun” author Waugh 18 Mona who just hangs around 19 Banned from polite conversation 20 What uninteresting words sound like 23 Make sense of 24 “Open mouth, ___ foot” 28 Hotel spa, e.g.

31 Spoil 32 Pig’s nose 36 Free throw score 37 Eat by

38 42 43 44 45 46 49 51 56 59 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69

candlelight Doesn’t shut up Bug and then some Ore-___ (Tater Tots brand) Unfathomable chasm Reproductive cells Popular Pontiac of the past Crushing tool Small waves “You know the rest” Room at sea Balcony box Schleps Unbroken horse, for short Frankenstein flunky Lode finds Actors’ platform Earth tones ___ a one (none)

DOWN 1 Marble hunks 2 Name-tag word 3 Words after “bend” or “lend” 4 Spinnaker’s setting 5 Heavy parchmentlike paper 6 Sleepinducing drug 7 “When You ___ Upon a Star” 8 Abrasion aftermath 9 Horticulturist’s study 10 Asian caregivers 11 One may be kept running in a bar 12 The avantgarde’s Yoko 13 South American cruise stop 21 Gravy containers 22 Bar orders for the calorieconscious 25 Poet Dickinson 26 Major and captain, e.g.

27 Lock of hair 29 Hurler Ryan

thedailycougar.com/comics Household Haiku by Marian Smith

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THE DAILY COUGAR

30 Publicity 32 Barber’s band 33 Hardly ready for the world 34 Earthenware cooking pots 35 Luau singer’s accompaniment 37 Apply with light strokes 39 Ran out of steam 40 Abbr. on a toothpaste box 41 Buccaneer’s port 46 Take a gander 47 Mythical fire source 48 They help 50 Failing to win or lose 52 Pilot’s guidepost 53 Hillary preceded her 54 Trimming tool 55 Pert 57 Made it to the ground 58 Bodybending exercise 59 Big rig fixtures, for short 60 Picasso piece 61 Python’s cousin

Thursday, December 5, 2013 // 7

The Daily Cougar

LIFE & ARTS EDITOR

Paulina Rojas

EMAIL

arts@thedailycougar.com

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EVENTS

Walking in a winter wonderland Monica Tso Life & Arts assistant editor

Students will be able to enjoy sledding on more than 120,000 pounds of snow thanks to the Student Program Board. There will also be warm and sweet funnel cakes. | File photo/The Daily Cougar

The Student Program Board is presenting the fifth annual Winter Wonderland today from noon to 4 p.m. at Lynn Eusan Park for students to enjoy a short break from studying to get into the holiday spirit.

The park will be covered in 120,000 pounds of snow, and students can participate in a snowman-building competition and have snowball fights.

Organizations will also host their own games and prizes, while funnel cakes and hot chocolate will be served to help students stay warm.

“It’s a tradition that is unique to the University,” said Aziz Rajan social media and communications chair of SPB. “With Houston lacking in snow, it makes for a wonderful event that the student body loves.”

Other activities include photo snow globes, gingerbread house decorating and more.

“The most popular activity is the snow because it usually brings in the students, and usually a snowball fight breaks out,” Rajan said.

“We hope this event brings holiday cheer and a form of relief from finals.”

Singing for a spot Tuesday night The Student Program Board held the first round of auditions for its newest project “UH Voice.”

Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar

arts@thedailycougar.com

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The Daily Cougar

8 \\ Thursday, December 5, 2013

OPINION

HELP WANTED H

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measurements have been known to report smaller concentrations of atmospheric methane, many times being grossly inaccurate.

UH is no stranger to the climatological issues that we face. Our university has also proven to be one of the most actively engaged institutions in the nation, in regards to minimizing and mitigating our environmental footprint.

When Chancellor and President Renu Khator took charge of the University, she did her best to open up our doors to the outpouring of support that our nation had to offer. In an interview with the Houston Business Journal, Khator cited the generosity of the Bayou City as having allowed her to accomplish so much in so little time. “The reason for our success, and for my personal success, is Houston. We’ve had several generous gifts,� Khator said. “Without the foundations, corporate and individual support, it would be tough to accomplish the goals we’ve met.�

And boy, has she

accomplished some hefty goals.

One year after Khator’s arrival, UH purchased the 74 acres of park space now known as the Energy Research Park. ERP’s research plan includes the development of low-to-non-emission energy sources. “The University is (hoping to work alongside) world-class programs designed to train the next generation of workers in wind, solar and electric power generation and industrial partners who will be working with our researchers to develop new manufacturing techniques,� said Carl Carlucci, UH Vice President for Administration and Finance.

Encouraging student involvement in such activism, the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics recently hosted a four-part energy symposium series. They consisted of moderated debates about climate change, renewable energy and governmental support, the exportation of liquefied natural gas and hydraulic fracturing.

It’s a bold invigoration we’ve been given, and much of that thanks should go to Khator as well as to our thriving home that is the city of Houston. Efforts like these help to make us one

The university is (hoping to work alongside) world-class programs designed to train the next generation of workers in wind, solar and electric power generation, and industrial partners who will be working with our researchers to develop new manufacturing techniques �

Carl Carlucci, in regards to the University’s efforts in aiding environmental efforts and promoting green energy of the most ecologically aware universities today — however, it’ll be a true test of longevity if these efforts can help the lives of tomorrow’s students and not just bolster today’s students’ ecological awareness.

Senior staff columnist Cara Smith is a communications junior and may be

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