Issue 65, Volume 79

LIFE + ARTS

OPERA DEBUT

BASKETBALL

Comedic show brings high energy to audience.

SMU made key plays to defeat UH at Hofheinz Pavillion in a pivotal conference matchup.

Unmasking true love

Cougars stumble down stretch

SEE PAGE 7

SEE PAGE 5 JANUARY

CALENDAR CHECK: 27

Open House. The New UC North will be open to the students from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

THE DAILY COUGAR

T H E

O F F I C I A L

S T U D E N T

Issue 65, Volume 79

N E W S PA P E R

O F

T H E

U N I V E R S I T Y

Monday, January 27, 2014

O F

H O U S T O N

S I N C E

1 9 3 4

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM

STUDENT LIFE

Campus housing not filled to capacity Rebecca Trejo Staff writer

Even though the spring semester is in its third week, there are still housing options available for students who are looking to live on campus.

According to Student Housing and Residential Life, there are openings in all seven of its residence buildings, but this availability changes every day based on students who move in or out.

“With 2,000 new beds from Cougar Place and Cougar Village II that were added in August, that left a good amount of space open,” said Don Yackley, Student Housing and Residential Life executive director.

This open space is mostly found in Moody Towers and the Quadrangle — UH’s oldest and least expensive residential buildings — while Calhoun Lofts and Cougar Place have scarce openings despite being the most expensive.

Economics and accounting senior Nam-My Le lives at Calhoun Lofts and said he loves it.

“It’s a good mix of dorm and apartment life,” Le said. “It’s a more mature environment, it’s definitely quieter and I get access to a full kitchen.”

HOUSING continues on page 3

Old residence halls like the Quadrangle have been overlooked as housing options as students choose to live in newer ones, like Calhoun Lofts and Cougar Place, leaving suites vacant and floors barren. | Carolina Fernandez/The Daily Cougar

NATION

Health care thriving despite slow economy Timothy Payne Staff writer

Medical assistant Kenya Williams provides flu vaccinations not only for students but for faculty and staff as well, including Dr. Scott Spear, executive director and chief physician of the Student Health Center. | File Photo/The Daily Cougar

Although the United States is struggling with a wavering economy, reduced hours for part-time workers, student debt and heightening unemployment rates, the health care industry is thriving, and seven of the top 10 jobs in U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 jobs list are in the health care field.

Faculty members from the University evaluate the national trend of this upward swing of job creation in the private health care industry and make predictions to the future of job creation in the health care industry.

Earl Smith, UH’s chief health officer,

said there are not enough people to fill the growing job openings in the health care industry.

“Pick any profession — optometry, nursing, general practitioners, physical therapists — the number of practitioners per 100,000 folks is lower than it should be. We definitely don’t have the funds to meet the demand right now. That’s why you are seeing immigration to the U.S. of healthcare providers and the recruiting overseas,” Smith said.

There is an expected growth in the independent practices of health care as a result of the baby boomers HEALTH continues on page 3

2 \\ Monday, January 27, 2014

The Daily Cougar

CALENDAR Today Organizations: Student organizations housed in the University Center North, including the Center for Student Media, will host the building’s open house 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Seminar: A job selection seminar will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the University Center Theater, Rooms 103 and 203.

Memorial: The World Trade Center Memorial Dedication ceremony will be from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in front of the UC Theater.

Lecture: A lecture on the Middle East conflict will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Oberholtzer Hall Ballroom.

Music: Guest artist Fredi Gerling will teach a violin master class from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Moores School of Music, Room 160.

Ceremony: Barnes and Noble will have a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate their new location in the New UC from 2:30

Drawing takes place

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on Thursday, January 30th. FREE games, food, music, give-a-ways and more!

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Members will receive special offers and savings as well as information on future promotions and tournaments. So come see us today!

Drive: A blood drive will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Entrance 14 Circle near the Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall.

Party: Gamma Rho Lambda will host a mad tea party from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the University Center North, Room 212. Go dressed as your favorite fictional character.

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Don't forget our GAMES ROOM OPEN HOUSE

Open House: The Honors College will host its open house from 5 to 8 p.m.

If you would like to suggest an event for The Daily Cougar calendar, please submit a time, date, location and brief description to calendar@thedailycougar.com. The Cougar calendar runs every Monday and Thursday.

Newsroom (713) 743-5360 editor@thedailycougar.com

02/03/14

Wednesday Dining: The UC Dining Services will have a ribbon cutting ceremony 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Art Talk: The Brown Bag Gallery Talk series will be featuring a lecture by Center for Creative Work Director John Harvey about artist Anton Ginzburg from noon to 2 p.m. in the Blaffer Art Museum.

Must be a current UH Student with a valid UH email address.

State of the Union: The Student Government Association will host a watch party for President Barack Obama’s address from 7 to 10 p.m. in the University Center Theater.

Workshop: New York Times bestselling author George Saunders will speak at an InPrint writing craft talk from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Honors College Commons.

Tuesday

GIVE-A-WAY

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Copy chief David Bryant

Closing editors

Natalie Harms, Jenae Sitzes

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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SUBSCRIPTIONS Rates are $70 per year or $40 per semester. Mail subscription requests to: Mail Subscriptions, The Daily Cougar, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-4015.

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

Monday, January 27, 2014 // 3

The Daily Cougar

NEWS EDITOR

Amanda Hilow

EMAIL

news@thedailycougar.com

ONLINE

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HONORS COLLEGE

Professors show human side with written works Konstantina Angelides Staff writer

Students can get a look inside an instructor’s mind with the “First Thursday Readings,” which will feature two faculty or staff members of The Honors College to present passages from their personal writing.

The mastermind behind the project was Hayan Charara, visiting assistant professor of the Honors College, “It was a product of a conversation with a few other faculty members. We were noting how many (of us) are creative writers and published authors,” Charara said. “A lot of our students know us as teachers but not as writers. It’s an opportunity to show another side — a creative side — that defines who we are in many ways.”

The first event in the series took

HEALTH

continued from page 1

and the Affordable Care Act. “Some of the independent professions, like doctor-level nurse practitioners and advance nurse practitioners, I see a tremendous opportunity in growth; particularly in the ACA because they are in essence, primary care providers and any profession in primary care is going to be in high demand,” Smith said.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. will see a 14.5-percent employment rate growth by 2022.

Professor and Chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences and Administration Kevin Garey said he believed that colleges may not be meeting the demand of future

HOUSING continued from page 1

Cullen Oaks and Cambridge Oaks, which are managed by private companies but are on-campus housing options, also have not reached full occupancy.

Rates at Cullen Oaks begin at $670 a month for a single-occupancy

place Jan. 16 and presented professors Ricardo Nuila and Gabriela Maya. The authors collaborated their works to design a theme for the evening, called “Written on the Body.”

Maya’s piece, “The Melville,” illustrates the clueless nature of those who have not witnessed true suffering and the eerie disposition of someone who has. The short story evokes fear, pity and tension as it unfolds.

“The students were engaged,” Charara said. “The works were

powerful and breathtaking.”

With a few lines, Nuila aimed to extract deep feelings in his audience as well by appealing to their ethical senses. Drawing on the complexities of human nature and moral values, he presented the audience with the questions of life and death in relation to compassion for another human being.

Charara said that compositions can define an author and the works of professors can potentially add to their character and complexity as

A lot of our students know us as teachers but not as writers. It’s an opportunity to show another side ­—a creative side— that defines who we are in many ways.”

Hayan Charara, visiting assistant professor

pharmaceutical jobs.

“It has always been an attractive area for undergraduate students to want to pursue a pharmacy degree.

Most colleges would have 800 to 1,000 applicants per 100 seats. A lot of universities have seen these numbers and have opened up their own College of Pharmacy,” Garey said.

“In the last number of years there has been a number of new pharmacies. The debate is: Are there too many colleges of pharmacy? Or, perhaps, there is still not enough because all of these potential job openings. That truly is a hot debate at the moment.”

Garey said pharmacy will continue to thrive and may develop to being considered as primary care.

Marc Piccolo, associate dean for professional advancement and executive director of Surgical Services at the UH College of Optometry, gives

insight on why health care has grown in the past few years.

“As the baby boomers get older, there is going to be an increased demand for health care and the result of that will be an increase for health care manpower,” Piccolo said.

“Additionally, health care is a little bit more difficult to deliver these days than it has been in the past. Those of us who are involved in health care delivery find ourselves really working a lot harder to provide the care.

“Reimbursements from federal agencies, in particular Medicare and Medicaid, have a lot more regulations on them, a lot more hoops we have to jump through, which requires us then to hire personnel to help process claims and to get reimbursed from services that we provide.”

room, while two people can share a room at Cambridge and pay $470 each a month.

The least expensive rate is for a double or shared room at Moody Towers for $2,252 a semester, while the most expensive is for a furnished single room at Calhoun Lofts for $5,710 a semester.

Some students, like pharmacology graduate student Hesong Liu, find a

happy medium at Bayou Oaks.

“You don’t have to worry about utility fees,” Liu said. “It’s very convenient to live on campus. I don’t drive, but I can get to campus in about ten minutes.”

Students can sign up for housing at any point in the semester at housing.uh.edu.

individuals.

Nuila’s story takes place in a hospital — a setting fit for the work of an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine and hospitalist at Ben Taub General Hospital.

“I really enjoy the community aspect with the other writers who are teaching here,” Nuila said. “One of the things I have been looking for is people to critique my work and the confidence to ask for that help.”

The next reading, scheduled for March 6, will feature Kimberly Meyer and Robert Cremins with the theme “what to expect when you’re not expecting.”

“It was nice to have students there to get to know another side of me,” Maya said, “and to see me like a human being.”

READINGS Upcoming faculty members for “First Thursday Readings” Students will have the opportunity to listen to faculty members’ personal works and delve deeper into their personalities. They will be presented in The Honors College.

•

Robert Liddell

•

Laurie Lambeth

•

Robert Cremins

•

Kimberly Meyer

•

Peter Hyland

•

John Harvey

news@thedailycougar.com

news@thedailycougar.com

news@thedailycougar.com

The University of Houston is looking for Orientation Peer Assistants To Help New Students prepare for their on-campus experience!

Applications available January 27 and due February 7, 2014

For Applications go to

www.uh.edu/pa

4 \\ Monday, January 27, 2014

The Daily Cougar

OPINION

EDITOR James Wang EMAIL

opinion@thedailycougar.com

ONLINE

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CAMPUS

Bleak prospects for the commuter experience

L

ast fall, University faculty and students alike enjoyed the 12 new additions to the Cougar Line, UH’s on-campus public transportation system.

Most of us have probably experienced them in one way or another — whether by Cara enjoying some Smith rest and reprieve on the plush seating emblazoned with the UH logo or being silently greeted by one of many largerthan-life Cougars who grace the buses’ exteriors.

They’ve been a great asset to our lofty commuter population, which makes up roughly 85 percent of UH’s total student populace, according to Commuter Student Services.

“We think students will really enjoy the experience of riding our new buses as they get around campus,” said Robert Browand, director of Parking and Transportation Services, in a press release published by the Division of Administration and Finance University Services.

“Once they step on board, they will immediately notice how much of an upgrade they are to the temporary shuttles that were in place last semester.”

The new buses are undoubtedly an aesthetic improvement from our former fleet — though still fully functioning, those buses provide none of the amenities that the new Cougar Fleet boasts, including an audio video system, handicapped seating and an increased number of seats per bus.

An investment in public transportation might be more beneficial citywide than an expanded bus fleet ever could be, according to a study released by Reason Foundation.

As reported by the Houston Chronicle, changes in public transit have no statistical effect on a

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar city’s traffic congestion. The addition of roads, however, showed statistically sound improvements in the city’s traffic.

According to this study, things like buses, trains, Houston’s METRORail and UH’s Cougar Line do nothing to alleviate our city’s traffic, which could certainly use some alleviation as The Christian Science Monitor named Houston as the fourth-worst city in the nation for traffic.

On campus, some students haven’t ever boarded the buses.

“I actually haven’t even used

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

MANAGING EDITOR

the (Cougar Line) bus line,” said political science freshman Michael Benz. “I just come up in my own car and walk from there.”

The study examined 74 metropolitan areas over a span of 26 years. In Houston, there was only a brief period of traffic improvement between 1982 and 2007 when, in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Houston added a slew of major roads that alleviated traffic congestion by a whopping 35 percent. It makes sense — the completion of Beltway 8’s South Belt happened in the early ’90s.

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

Hardy Toll Road was completed in 1987. Spur 5 and SH 288 were both completed in the ‘80s.

“It is also interesting to note that what happened in Houston between 1986 and 1993 has no equal among the other 73 urbanized areas studied over this period,” the report said.

“The previous increase in traffic congestion was not only stopped but reversed — and this during a time of significant growth in vehicle-miles traveled in what was already one of the most congested urbanized areas

words and signed, including the author’s full name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major.

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in America. This feat was clearly achieved by significantly expanding the capacity of the road system.”

A natural progression is to try and apply these findings to the University, which caters to more than 30,000 commuters each year. We’ve got a great bus fleet, sure, but the many dollars that were put toward improving our public transportation might have more lasting effects elsewhere.

It’s a tough situation to take COMMUTER 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 N221, University Center; e-mail them to letters@ thedailycougar.com; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. All submissions are subject to editing.

Monday, January 27, 2014 // 5

The Daily Cougar

SPORTS EDITOR

Christopher Shelton

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ONLINE

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MEN’S BASKETBALL

SMU, Brown orchestrate Texas-sized turnaround Jordan Lewis Senior staff writer

SMU head coach Larry Brown has revamped his team in his second year in charge, but he is used to quick turnarounds for dormant teams and programs. After a 5-11 finish in Conference USA play, Brown’s Mustangs are in third place in the American Athletic Conference.

Brown, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, has coached greats in the NBA and NCAA and is the only coach to win championships in both programs.

Much like his games with great NBA point guards Chancey Billups and Allen Iverson, his floor general led the Mustangs to a win on Sunday afternoon at Hofheinz Pavilion.

SMU point guard Nic Moore scored 22 second-half points, allowing the Mustangs to pull away during the last few possessions and come away with a 75-68 win. SMU (16-4, 5-2) increased its winning streak to five games.

Brown said he expects the matchup, which brought out UH’s largest home crowd of the season, has the potential to be a competitive in-state rivalry.

“I look at (the Cougars’) roster, and they have a lot of young kids coming back, like their transfer point guard (L.J. Rose) who knows how to play and make people better,” Brown said.

SMU’s success has been vouched for by their stingy defense and good decision-making on the offensive end, ranking 15th nationally with a 49 percent field goal percentage.

“He’s an outstanding coach, obviously a Hall of Famer, and I have a lot of respect for Coach Brown. He has done a terrific job with that team defensively,” said UH head coach James Dickey.

SMU is ranked 13th in the nation in points allowed with 60.4 and rank 28th in rebounds, snatching 27.1 per game.

He wants his team to focus on winning conference road games.

SMU is undefeated at home (10-0), but 4-3 on the road.

“We haven’t accomplished anything yet until you start winning road games in a conference,” Brown said. sports@thedailycougar.com

Danuel House’s four 3-pointershelped keep UH in contention, but a 50-pointoffesnive-outburst in the second half proved to be too much. The Mustangs defeated the Cougars 75-68 at Hofheinz Pavilion. | Caitlin Hilton/ The Daily Cougar

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Clutch plays doom Cougars Marcus Gutierrez Staff writer

As SMU drained a pair of free throws with just three seconds remaining, the largest home crowd of the season — 4,567 people — began to slowly file out of Hofheinz Pavilion, but a contingent dressed in blue didn’t move from their seats, chanting, “S-M-U.” Sophomore guard Danuel House led the Cougars in scoring with 22 points, and junior forward TaShawn Thomas had his eighth double double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. However, it wasn’t enough, as the Mustangs were able

to make key plays down the stretch for a 75-68 win.

Thomas’ costly turnover, after a missed put-back dunk with 2:27 remaining, negated a chance to bring the Cougars within two. Instead, with a free throw and two converted field goals, including a jumper by sophomore guard Nic Moore as the shot clock expired, the Mustangs were able to pull off their fifth straight win and give the Cougars their fourth loss in five games.

Moore had a game-high 28 points, shooting 11-12 from the free throw line, while sophomore forward Markus Kennedy added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

SMU started off the game with a 7-2 run. The Cougars got their first field goal six minutes into the game and had a 31-25 lead due to the help of redshirt freshman forward Danrad “Chicken” Knowles and House.

Knowles went 3-3 from the field with 8 points and 2 rebounds.

SMU coach Larry Brown said his team “can’t expect to get a win if we don’t play great.”

UH had 16 turnovers and the Mustangs capitalized by scoring 16 points. Brown said Houston made his team play out of their comfort zone.

The Cougars allowed only 25 points in the first half, but gave up

50 in the second.

“They came out and punched us in the mouth in the second half, and we didn’t respond the right way,” House said.

Hofheinz Pavilion’s attendance was loud and made it tough at times for SMU, but in the end, it was just not enough.

“We have some great fans.

They‘re just hungry to support our team, and they want to see us win at home,” Dickey said. “We need to win at home, so that we can continue to grow that. Our crowds have been growing.” sports@thedailycougar.com

6 \\ Monday, January 27, 2014

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ACROSS 1 “And others” abbreviation 5 Singer LaBelle 10 Play-___ (tiebreakers) 14 Tibetan holy man 15 Type of committee 16 Red’s Kadiddlehopper 17 Spill a secret 18 Military blockade 19 Gallery near the Thames 20 Dickens classic 23 Bid the bed adieu 24 Stave off 25 Crown 28 Garage band offering 30 “Go back!” on a computer 31 Activist’s passion 33 Poor grade 36 Hemingway classic 40 DeLuise of film 41 Macho 42 Drainage pump 43 Cooped

up 44 Dishearten thoroughly 46 Animal on Wyoming’s flag 49 Hardly swanky 51 Classic case for Sherlock 57 Autocrat of yore 58 Speak bombastically 59 Speck 60 Dry, as tobacco leaves 61 Bridge authority 62 “Green Gables” girl 63 They’re home on the range 64 Immobile, as a gas 65 “Hud” Oscarwinner Patricia DOWN 1 Napoleon’s place of exile 2 Pool shooter’s powder 3 Asian maid 4 Type of retriever

5 Footnote word in Latin 6 Mine entries 7 Motif 8 Roman get-up 9 Boardwalk refreshments 10 6 x 9 in. book 11 Motorist’s gun 12 Disagreeable stench 13 Small, silvery fish 21 Anger 22 Minor role for a major star 25 Pair 26 Compressed data 27 One of TV’s Cartwrights 28 How some things are noted 29 NYC clock setting 31 Gummachine input, once 32 It’s this or nothing 33 Beat it!

34 Mrs. Peel on “The Avengers”

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35 Observe in the distance 37 Make corrections (var.)

38 Not exactly ruddy 39 Babylonian’s neighbor 43 Allowed to flow 44 Adequate, as a living 45 She’s “sweet as apple cider” 46 Cookie amount 47 Disputed matter 48 Brenda of comics 49 You may do a roll on it 50 “Poly” attachment 52 Meditation master, say 53 Multivitamin supplement 54 Sans accomplices 55 Italian kin of Mt. St. Helens 56 1.3-ounce Asian weight

Monday, January 27, 2014 // 7

The Daily Cougar

LIFE & ARTS

EDITOR

Monica Tso

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OPERA

Masks unveiled in classical comedy Sonia Zuniga

Contributing writer

Freezing temperatures and a few icy roads weren’t enough to halt the opening production of Gioachino Rossini’s famous opera buffa on Friday night at the Moores School of Music.

“The Barber of Seville” is a classical comedy that was composed in the 17th century. Numerous renditions of the play have survived throughout hundreds of years.

Although portrayed countless times, has stayed true to the original work — but this time with an eccentric Cirque du Soleil twist that flowed effortlessly with the harmony and captured audiences’ interest.

“The music, the high energy of the whole play is what keeps the story alive and modern,” said Buck Ross, director of the play and founder of Moores Opera Center. “It’s fun for everyone.”

The musical satire follows the lively Count Almaviva’s, played by Brian Yeakley, intricate adventure, filled with disguises and countless missteps, all in order to win over his love interest, the beautiful Rosina, played

by Kyla Knox, as she is locked up for arranged marriage by the evil physician Dr. Bartolo, played by Cesar Torruella. Count has the help of the barber of Seville himself, Figaro, played by James Rodriguez, and a dozen amusing pulcinellas, or black-masked clowns, who also play accompanists and police

Founder of the Moores Opera Center Buck Ross directed Gioachino Rossini’s classical comedy, “The Barber of Seville,” on Friday. | Courtesy of Buck Ross officers and literally move the story forward by rotating the stage through different scenarios.

One of the starting pulcinellas, music theory senior Joshua Hines, agreed that the composition, conducted by Jacob Sustaita, helped everyone’s performance, including his own, as this was his first-ever acting role.

“We imitate the music. It becomes my identity as a clown,” Hines said. “It

guides the storytelling.”

The seamless music had the biggest role, carrying the story forward while interpreting the characters’ emotions.

Although the entire play was performed in Italian, the subtitles hung above the stage weren’t needed due to the orchestra’s fluent arias.

Audience members and violinists Dustin Shaw and Laura Callon, both violinists, know all too well of the

appreciation of this classical work. “(‘The Barber of Seville’) is a very popular opera within the field of music,” Shaw said. “It’s iconic. Everyone should get to know the story if they haven’t already done so.”

“It’s a great comedy,” Callon said.

“Sustaita and the orchestra lifted the plot.”

The Moores School of Music starts the year with a warm rendition of one of Rossini’s famous stories and

well-known compositions, some of which were widely used years later in comedies such as “The Simpsons” and childhood favorite “Looney Tunes.”

“This play is a great way to start your love for the art of classical music,” Hines said.

The last showing of the opera will be at 7:30 p.m. tonight. arts@thedailycougar.com

MOORES

On the run, moving toward freedom Maritza Rodriguez Staff writer

The story of a woman trapped in bureaucracies and spying was brought to life on Thursday on the opening night of the operatic drama, “The Consul,” presented by the Moores Opera Center. | Courtesy of Buck Ross

As the curtains rose and the lights dimmed, students and family members listened and gazed onto the stage for the semester’s first opera at the Moores Opera House.

Thursday night was the opening of “The Consul” at the Moores School of Music.

With passion and drama, the singers played dramatic roles that emphasized the lives and struggles of individuals during the post-World War II era.

Guest artist Raymond Harvey conducted the school’s orchestra, which added intensity and emotion to the characters’ image.

“The music is really dynamic, and they’re very good players,” said music senior Rey Gonzalez.

“The whole production to me seems flawless, and I’m actually really impressed. I can’t wait to see future productions of this.”

Not only did the music and singers have to get into the story, but the setting was displayed as the story went along. Walls were shifted around to change an apartment to an office, while a kitchen table and oven were quickly swapped for an office desk and benches.

Second doctoral candidate in vocal performance Gwendolyn Alfred played the main character, Magda Sorel, who was one of the individuals in the story struggling to save not only her husband, but also herself.

“I feel as it was a great role and it was very touching and heart-wrenching,” Alfred said.

“I really had to set myself aside because I had to get into character and put myself in that situation. I had to think for myself as if it was really happening to me.”

Although the ending of the story was unexpected, the audience whistled and cheered as the cast took their bows on stage.

The cast even invited Harvey and stage director Lynda McKnight to take their bows as well.

McKnight was easily touched by how well the cast’s performance went and hoped that the audience was impacted by it.

“In a way it is very depressing, because it doesn’t have a happy ending, but in a way it does,” McKnight said. “There’s hope at the end — it’s not hopeless.” arts@thedailycougar.com

8 \\ Monday, January 27, 2014

The Daily Cougar

OPINION

COMMUTER continued from page 4

on, especially since the roads of UH aren’t under the jurisdiction of the University.

Rather, the city of Houston is in charge of any and all happenings regarding our streets, which many of us already know due to universal frustration with Cullen Boulevard’s condition and the press it has received.

“I know that space is tight on campus, but I know that a lot of the roads could use a bit more renovation,” Benz said. “I know our infrastructure isn’t exactly solid, but improving the roads might help some of the problems we do have today.”

Last semester, another Daily Cougar columnist wrote a piece on Mayor Annise Parker’s responsibility to patch up Cullen Boulevard. Even then, the prospect of the street’s potholes getting repaired seemed bleak.

It seems like a shot in the dark, but perhaps smoother, more operable roadways would help speed up the flow of campus traffic.

“I don’t think the traffic issue is fixable for commuters because

most of the traffic occurs too far from school,” said petroleum engineering senior Rohail Ullah.

“But the one way UH could help with traffic within the area is by fixing Cullen and Elgin.”

“The roads are so bumpy and messed up that people drive more slowly and carefully,” Ullah said. “They take more time to get around the area.”

Even if that were the case, SGA or the UH administration can’t just redesign our University’s veins of transportation — unfortunately, that responsibility falls in the lap of Houston, which repairs and rebuilds roads on the basis of the road’s condition, not need.

It’s tough to imagine that there are roads out there worse than Cullen Boulevard, but that unfortunately seems to be the case.

Adding roads to the sprawling UH campus also seems to be an extremely improbable, nearimpossible solution. Our campus simply isn’t in the position for a massive upheaval of buildings and roads — we’re already adding in a MetroRail, and the discussion of adding more concrete veins to our university also means the relocation of buildings, smoking areas and many more things that

would cost many more dollars.

Simply put, it isn’t feasible.

For now, it seems, UH’s commuter population won’t experience much traffic alleviation — until, that is, the city of Houston decides to invest in even more expansion of our roadway system.

The cost of building an urban highway can be anywhere from $2.4 to $6.9 million per mile.

Parker’s tentative 2014 fiscal budget has nearly $180 million invested in street and sewer improvements through Rebuild Houston, the city of Houston’s initiative to “improve the quality of life and mobility for residents of the city by rebuilding our drainage and street infrastructure.”

Though the possibility of massive roadway expansion seems bleak, our existing roadways seem to have a makeover on the books.

Commuting Cougars, it seems like dense traffic will continue to be a part of your mornings for a while, but the ride to campus might soon be a bit smoother.

Key word: “might.”

Senior staff columnist Cara Smith is a communications junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

Peace in the Middle East: Where is the Problem?

Camera Presents

Mordechai Kedar Director, Center for the Study of the Middle East & Islam at the Begin - Sadat Center for Strategic Studies

Kedar is an expert on the Israeli Arab population, often described as “one of the few Arabic-speaking Israeli pundits seen on Arabic satellite channels defending Israel.”

Monday, January 27 at 7:00 pm Oberhaltzer Hall Ballroom University of Houston

Speak Up: Israel Advocacy at UH