ARTS
HOLIDAYS
OPINION
Students recognize National Sibling Day by celebrating the importance of family.
SGA proposed Josephine Tittsworth Act is the next logical step in the move for equality at UH SEE PAGE 4
A familiar relationship
Trans community seeks equal rights
SEE PAGE 12
APRIL
CALENDAR CHECK: 10
Race and genetics. Controversial speaker will address the topic 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Honors College Commons
THE DAILY COUGAR
T H E
O F F I C I A L
S T U D E N T
Issue 102, 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
O F
Thursday, April 10, 2014
H O U S T O N
S I N C E
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM
SGA
Bringing gender identity issues to forefront Cara Smith Staff writer
touchdown passes and led his team to the BBVA Compass Bowl despite a 41-24 loss, and he will lead the Cougars again on the field Friday for the annual Red and White spring game. “He’s real mature for his age. He goes out there and makes plays that he’s not supposed to make,” said junior receiver Deontay Greenberry. “John was looking to play immediately and has handled his position pretty well.”
The Josephine Tittsworth Act is a bill that has garnered considerably notoriety in its brief lifespan. Though it’s existed for only around a month, many questions have been raised because of the bill’s tendentious content — namely that it directly advocates the recognition of UH’s transgender community in regard to record-keeping at the University. To address possible concerns surrounding the Student Government Association University Bill, a town hall meeting was held Wednesday in the SGA Senate Chambers, where more than 50 students, faculty members and alumni were able to voice their opinions about the bill. The bill, which was authored by SGA President Charles Haston, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Senator James Lee and former CLASS Senator Guillermo Lopez, cited the University’s nondiscriminatory policy as grounds to allow “students, faculty and staff to apply their preferred first name, title and personally discerned gender in all standard forms of documentation or record keeping,” including “admission applications, housing applications and all other University documents that require persons to designate their gender regardless of the individual’s biological or birth-determined sex.” A panel composed of the three co-authors as well as LGBT Resource Center Director Lorraine
O’KORN continues on page 8
SGA continues on page 3
On the road to glory Andrew Valderas Assistant sports editor
He doesn’t get riled up before storming onto the field — he’s not the rah-rah type. He stays calm and prefers to sit alone at his locker to prepare for the emotional roller coaster by going over quarterback reads in his head. He calls himself a perfectionist in everything, from being the most prepared player on the field to keeping his notebooks and bedroom perfectly
organized. John O’Korn’s actions are synonymous with his character, and as a leader of the football team, he has to be that way. He rides a humble personality — yet is quick to inform anyone that no one on the team can beat him in NCAA Football `14 — because relationships with coaches and teammates help keep his role as the UH starting quarterback in perspective. “Sometimes you’ve got to take a deep breath, relax and just
realize how awesome it is. I’ve always dreamed about it, and it’s just been unreal. Now I’m living it,” O’Korn said. “A coach trusting you to lead a football team as a true freshman and the action of putting me out there means more to me than anything. So many people would kill to be in the position I’m in.” He’s just 19 years old but has the voice of a man twice his age. He was named last season’s American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year after leading all true freshmen with 28