SPORTS
TENNIS
CITY
Differences help create tighter bond
Ride sharing to change the game
The Cougars’ diversity and chemistry led them to a strong season. SEE PAGE 6
Though companies may need to smooth out some kinks, it can provide many opportunities for students. SEE PAGE 4 APRIL
CALENDAR CHECK: 23
Glow Party. SpringFest will be celebrated from 8 p.m. to midnight at Lynn Eusan Park.
THE DAILY COUGAR
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Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Issue 108, Volume 79
H O U S T O N
S I N C E
1 9 3 4
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM
BRIEF
Cullen to undergo ‘intensive’ repairs The Daily Cougar news services President and Chancellor Renu Khator approved an intensive, full-depth pavement replacement of Cullen Boulevard between Elgin and Wheeler beginning in May at the proposal of the City of Houston. Cullen Boulevard, a sore topic for many student drivers, will undergo the proposed renovations of more than 76,000 square feet of road. CULLEN continues on page 2
After almost two years of the Student Government Association advocating its Rebuild Cullen Initiative, the University and the city are working hand-in-hand to solve the issue expeditiously. | Izmail Glosson/The Daily Cougar
EVENTS
Veteran graduates honored with patriot cords Sara Samora Senior staff writer
As people began to fill Melcher Hall on Friday evening, conversations were heard among those seated, awaiting for the event to commence. “I was in the Army,” one said. “I was attached to the 1st Marine Division,” said another. The people in the seats were student veterans who were about to complete their next chapter after getting out of the service: achieving their college degree. The ceremony for the 2014 Military and Veteran Graduates was to honor them with patriot cords for them to wear during their commencement ceremonies. Most importantly, they were the first at UH to receive this honor. “I didn’t know we were first until I heard it today,” said supply chain logistic technology senior and Marine veteran Alexander Amador. “It’s really good to hear that.” Human resources development senior and Marine veteran Alma Santes-Vargas said she enjoyed the event. “I thought they did a good job with the whole ceremony,” SantesVargas said. “I don’t think they did it last year. It felt really good that they did this for us and they took the time to honor that.”
FACULTY
Award is icing on Italian cake Cara Smith Staff writer
Marine veteran and founder and chair emeritus of the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship William Sherrill fought on Iwo Jima along with thousands of other Marines. He had originally planned to make the
By August, Francesca Behr will have read all of the textbooks required for the courses she’ll be teaching this fall. Behr’s methodologies may strike some as unorthodox — though she’s already read most of those textbooks 20 or 30 times, she isn’t willing to let an opportunity befall her in which she’s unable to assist a student. “I’m Italian, and I know that my genetic tendency is to deviate,” Behr said. “So, before class, I prepare… I don’t want to be missing anything, and (I want to) be ready for any question that my students might have to ask.” As this year’s recipient of UH’s Provost Core Award, an award based on “recognition of outstanding teaching in the core curriculum,” Behr, an associate professor of classics and Italian studies, has a lot to celebrate. In addition to a $8,000 prize, the award serves as the icing atop Behr’s layered career of research, translation studies,
CORDS continues on page 11
AWARD continues on page 2
A ceremony was held to honor military and veteran graduates with patriot cords for them to wear during commencement ceremonies. They were the first group of veterans to receive this honor. | Sara Samora/The Daily Cougar Associate professor and Navy campus liaison officer Lt. j.g. Lawrence J.H. Schulze presented the student veterans with the patriot cords. He credited the event planner, Lawren Bradberry and the Veterans Services Offices. “I’m honored to work with these
guys and also honored to help out and celebrate their successes — that’s important,” Schulze said. “In whatever way I can help out, I’m willing to do that. This is something that is just as hard to achieve as anything else, and it’s something that sometimes is even harder to achieve.”