Issue 07, Volume 85

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Wednesday, September 25 , 2019

Issue 7, Volume 85

King: ‘I’m staying here’ after redshirting this season, senior Qb D’eriq King reassured that he will return to UH next year. | Pg. 6

SpECIAl: FAITH ISSUE news: following tropical Storm imelda, students and staff shared their stories on how they dealt with the storm. | Pg. 2

Faith: the Supreme Court has continuously upheld religious freedoms in its decisions. | Pg. 4

Sports: With King redshirting this season, UH will have a much tougher time against Unt. | Pg. 7

2 | Wednesday, September 25, 2019

NEWS ian everett, EDITOR

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CITY

In Imelda’s wake: students, staff share their stories The tropical storm impacted much of southeast Texas, stranding drivers, flooding roads and putting UH commuters at risk Ian everett

features editor @ianeverettuh

When Tropical Storm Imelda passed by the city on Sept. 18, Houston sighed in relief that the storm had missed the city. After all, Harvey was only two years ago, and many Houstonians are still nervous when it comes to flooding.

Yet Houston forecasters warned we hadn’t seen the last of the storm. They were proven right the next day when the storm fell on the city with sudden fury.

Students said they felt pressured to go to classes, as Imelda descended on a week of midterms and important labs, and faculty weren’t all entirely understanding of the situation.

“I told my friend UH should have canceled classes and that we should not be driving,” said electrical engineering sophomore Stephanie Rendon.

Rendon made the trek to UH from the Aldine area and noticed how dark the clouds were over the northern Houston area.

Rendon said that she dismissed her own fears when she arrived on campus and

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found the rain relatively light, but other students didn’t feel safe driving and decided to stay home.

“The people saying the school said you won’t get penalized for not showing up don’t realize that information came way after we were stuck at school,” said computer science sophomore Daniel Águila.

Imelda’s return Students that came to campus ended up distracted from their classes when rain started to pour.

“The majority of students in my lab were more focused on looking out the windows at the worsening weather and thinking about how they will possibly be able to get home than actually performing the experiment,” said biochemistry sophomore Katherine Yaeger.

Some were overwhelmed with panic or anger when they realized the storm had come back.

“I left the library at 11:30 a.m. only to find it pouring and stressing the hell out because I wasn’t able to move my car from Zone E to a higher place,” said business junior Aaron Vasquez.

UH announced at 12:20 p.m. that campus would close with minimal services open, such as shuttles and certain food options.

“When I finally got the notice that the school was closed,” Vasquez said, “I struggled not to scream in rage.”

Vasquez was not alone in being overwhelmed by the school’s decision to close campus that late into the day.

“I don’t think UH realizes the panic they put their students in after they closed midday,” said psychology sophomore Amber Ayala.

Dangerous conditions Mayor Sylvester Turner warned Houstonians at around 10 a.m., especially those living on the north side, to not drive until the storm passed. Some students decided to brave the storm and not stay trapped at UH. “The rain was still coming and flooding the streets around UH, and the water was not going to have a chance to recede until the

rain stopped completely,” Ayala said.

Some students never even made it to campus because they were trapped on the highways by Imelda.

“I left work for class on Thursday and spent six hours in traffic, and two hours into that class was canceled,” said construction management senior Gabriel Rodriguez. “I did some very dangerous things to make it back to work and sleep there until I could go home.”

Metro shut down operations just after 9 a.m., an hour before campus closed, so commuters that used public transportation weren’t able to get home.

“I had friends who had their cars flooded and people were stuck due to negligence of the school since Metro shutdown,” said Águila.

Rachel Fairbank, communications coordinator for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and UH alumna, was among the many campus staff that came to work despite concerns for their safety.

She also put her son in UH’s daycare.

“When UH finally made the decision to close, I went to the daycare for my son, and waited there until I figured out a safe route to get home,” Fairbank said.

Lingering problems UH opened the Cougar Village lounge to people trapped on campus overnight and buses ran as long as they could. In the end, UH closed campus through the weekend, giving students Friday and Saturday off “to allow our community to recover,” according to the alert announcing the campus closure.

However, many students have lingering issues from the storm, like biology major Karen Rojas, whose car sustained water damage and is not currently usable.

“I still have to get to work, and I still need to study for my pushed back exams in a few days,” Rojas said. “And now on top of that, I have to spend countless hours trying to salvage the car and find new transportation.”

President Renu Khator in a letter sent on Monday asked

Students fought flooded roads and hours-long drive times to make it off campus after UH closed and Imelda hit downtown. | Courtesy of Amber Ayala

supervisors and faculty “to be flexible and compassionate in accommodating the needs of those still recovering.”

A recent Rice University study into the mental impact of flooding found 20 percent of Houstonians surveyed have post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression from Harvey, and more than 70 percent reported they had anxiety about future flooding.

Students and staff alike were angered by UH’s decisionmaking during Imelda, and even pointed to similar incidents

like Hurricane Ike, where Renu Khator sent out an apology for her decision to open campus early.

Five deaths have been reported in Imelda’s wake.

“Making the decision to stay open, even when there is personal risk involved in getting to and from work, exploits a balance of power between employer and employee,” Fairbank said. “UH has a responsibility to keep its community safe.” news@thedailycougar.com

Karen Rojas, biology junior, said that her car was flooded and now she has to find means of transportation until she salvages it. | Courtesy of Karen Rojas

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 | 3

ian everett, EDITOR

THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/NEWS

NEWS@THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM

NEWS 713-743-5314

Administration

How UH decides when to close campus for emergencies impact a student’s academic career.”

Impact

Jiselle Santos/The Cougar

CRISTOBELLA DURRETTE

STAFF WRITEr @crist0bella

When emergency weather situations arise, such as last week’s Tropical Storm Imelda, decisions regarding campus closure and class cancelation are made by the University’s president, or a designee, in collaboration with the Executive Operations Team.

Just two hours after stating operations would continue as normal but students who couldn’t make it wouldn’t be penalized, the University announced that its main campus, as well as UH at Katy and UH at Sugarland, would be closed for the rest of the day. The University remained closed Friday, Sept. 20, as well as through the following weekend.

The EOT is tasked with making recommendations to the University president regarding campus closure, the safety of the University and campus response to an emergency, according to the UH Emergency Management Plan. However, only the University president or his/her designee has the authority to cancel classes or close the University in the event of a campus emergency.

“The EOT is updated by the

Office of Emergency Management and is able to monitor changes in real-time through the virtual (Emergency Operations Center) that allows for streaming and real-time communication between University stakeholders, such as (Office of Emergency Management), facilities and police,” said Executive Director of Media Relations Shawn Lindsey.

Making recommendations regarding Imelda was challenging, according to Eric Berger of Space City Weather.

The flooding event was far more severe than expected.

“The operations team uses the information available at any given point in time, but it’s still a calculation with a number of uncertainties,” said Rachel Fairbank, communications coordinator for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “When the conditions and information change, adjustments have to be made.”

The University relies on the Emergency Management Plan and the Continuity of Operations Plan to guide its management of an emergency and the subsequent recovery, according to a letter from President Renu Khator sent

“The operations team uses the information available at any given point in time, but it’s still a calculation with a number of uncertaintanties.”

Rachel Fairbank, NSM Communications Coordinator in 2008.

The EMP is designed to provide an organizational structure for the University’s response to on-campus incidents, while the Continuity of Operations Plan is intended to ensure that essential University functions are “performed throughout, resume quickly and return to normal operations during a wide range of emergencies,” including major rain events.

The EMP is reviewed annually by the Emergency Planning Committee in the OEM, but the document can also be changed as required over the course of the academic year.

Following Hurricane Ike in 2008, the EMP was rewritten, amended and passed, said the former Director of Emergency Management Joe Mendez.

This revision came on the heels of Dr. Khator’s apology for her decision to reopen the University

three days after Hurricane Ike made landfall on Sept. 13, 2008.

As was the case following Hurricane Ike, the University announced during Imelda that students would not be penalized for absences due to severe weather and that they should only come to campus if they felt safe to do so.

The concept of individual flexibility in regards to attendance penalties is broadly defined so that the University can be nimble in the event of an emergency, Lindsey said.

“The colleges, Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services and the Office of the Provost work directly with students in these situations to understand their specific circumstances and to determine if and how they can be accommodated,” Lindsey said.

“It’s in no one’s best interest for a weather emergency to adversely

Thousands of students, faculty and staff flocked to the University last Thursday following the announcement that UH would continue operations.

“Imelda proved particularly challenging — conditions changed quickly leaving much of the city stranded,” Khator said in a letter on Monday. “After each event like this, we listen to your feedback and no matter the outcome, look for ways to do things better. This time is no different.”

Fairbank was among those who made the journey to campus in spite of the weather. She was worried about getting her son, who was staying in UH’s daycare, home safely and wishes that the University had considered the weather reports more seriously.

“UH has a responsibility to keep its community safe. Their decision to keep the University open, even when there was a reasonable risk of flooding, betrayed that trust,” said Fairbank. “Making the decision to stay open, even when there is personal risk involved in getting to and from work, exploits a balance of power between employer and employee.”

Following the closure of campus, some students were unable to return home safely, leaving them stranded. The Student Centers and Moody Dining Commons continued operations in order to provide students on campus a safe place to go.

The LGBT Center and Cougar Village I also opened their doors to students stuck on campus, with the former offering movies and warm beverages and the latter opening its lounge overnight to students unable to travel home.

For Fairbank, who was concerned about making it home safely the day of the storm and assumed the University would close for the storm, she plans to study the weather reports more carefully going forward.

“I think the powers-that-be need to leave E. Cullen every once in a while, in order to understand the day-to-day realities of the rest of the UH community,” said Fairbank. news@thedailycougar.com

4 | Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Faith

Michael slaten, EDITOR

THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/NEWS

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NATION

Supreme Court continuously upholds religious freedoms OScar aguilar

originally published aug. 15, 2018

Promises are pledges that do more than just guarantee the promised something. It holds the person doing the promise accountable. The Supreme Court has kept the promise — the Constitutional amendment of religious freedom — since the framers penned what is now an almost 227-year-old basic right.

“Especially recently, I would say the Court has been very sympathetic to religious freedoms,” said Emily Berman, an assistant professor at the Law Center.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees free exercise of religion and prohibits the government from establishing one — an amendment the Supreme Court regularly reviews to clarify its limits.

Two clauses protect freedom of religion: the establishment clause and the free exercise clause, Berman said.

The former prevents the government from giving preference to one religion over another, while the latter protects people’s ability to practice their preferred religion, she said.

The Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch – one of the three branches of government. The Supreme Court is made up of nine justices, all appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Justices serve for life unless they retire or Congress impeaches and convicts them.

File art

Past decisions

“The time for thinkers has come.” – Mary Baker Eddy “I believe that unarmed Truth and unconditional love will have the final word.“ – Martin Luther King "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God." – Matthew 5:9 “Love your fellow as yourself.” – Leviticus 19:18 The New Jewish Publication Society

Berman said religious liberties don’t excuse compliance with government regulations that affect everyone in a general manner.

In Employment Division v. Smith, the plaintiff, a Native American, said smoking peyote was part of his religion and that a restriction violated his religious liberties, Berman said. But the regulation applies to everyone, not a specific group, she said.

The Court said rules don’t infringe on religious liberties if they don’t intentionally target specific groups, she said.

To implement regulations targeting specific groups, the Court said the government needs to prove a compelling government interest, she said.

In Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, the city passed a rule prohibiting people from sacrificing chickens, Berman said.

Though it applied to everyone in a general manner, it primarily impacted only members of the church because of its focus on their religious customs, she said.

Courts examine regulations intentionally imposing limits on religious practices with strict scrutiny –

the most difficult standard to meet, she said.

“Long story short, the government’s intention becomes important,” Berman said.

In Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v.

Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Court dealt with a rule of general applicability that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation, she said.

The plaintiff said the rule burdens the ability to freely exercise religion, Berman said.

Although people expected the Court to establish precedent on how to deal with similar cases, the Court treated it like the chicken case, she said.

“When the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled against the baker, someone in that commission made statements that were derogatory of religion,” Berman said.

They treated the rule as if it targeted religion because of the individual’s statement, she said.

But the Court gives deference to the executive branch in matters of national security, Berman said.

In the case involving President Donald Trump’s travel ban, the Court decided that national security concerns justified Trump’s actions, she said.

The Court has less leeway to enquire on the government’s motives in these situations, she said.

Core values Berman said religious freedom was one of the reasons colonists came from England.

“You could say free exercise and the establishment clause were sort of reactions to things that the framers objected to under English rule,” Berman said. “It was sort of one of the founding ideas of the United States.”

Caryn Tamber-Rosenau, an assistant professor of Jewish Studies and Religious Studies, said humans have a desire to find meaning and that they find it in the idea of a higher power.

“Life can be really confusing and scary and terrible at times, and the idea that everything happens for a reason can be helpful to people,” Tamber-Rosenau said.

Religion helped people understand the natural world, and it’s a system for organizing life, Tamber-Rosenau said.

Belief creates a sense of comfort for people, and ritual and practice help organize their lives, she said.

“It’s a way of connecting you to your ancestors,” Tamber-Rosenau said. “If you’re a Muslim and you’re observing Ramadan, and you know that your ancestors have observed Ramadan, that has to be really powerful.” editor@thedailycougar.com

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 | 5

michael slaten, EDITOR

THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/NEWS

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Faith 713-743-5314

family

When does religious devotion go too far?

Jasmine davis

originally published aug. 15, 2018

The first time I begged for my life, I was 12.

One month into the seventh grade, I sat helpless on the edge of a hospital bed as a surgeon told my parents there was a strong possibility I would need a blood transfusion. My father told her to let me die instead.

From the moment on the way to the operating room that the doctors told my parents they couldn’t come any farther, I begged my surgeon not to let me die for a religion that wasn’t mine. On the operation table, I refused critical minutes of anesthesia until she promised.

When I made my first postoperation visit to my dad’s house, he lectured for hours on my lack of integrity and morals.

I’m not going to go name names when it comes to his views, so let’s just say his community is known for knocking on doors, occasionally denying modern medicine, and

most importantly, exiling family and friends who don’t agree.

Unfortunately for me, I have only ever fallen in the latter group.

My dad’s devotion to his religious views and subsequent community have been his highest priority since before I was born.

Among his peers, my dad is praised for this fact. In my eyes, it was that love for his faith that prevented him from attending a single athletic event throughout my childhood. When I brought home good grades, he disapproved on the basis that I could have instead reserved that time and effort for the faith we didn’t share. His faith has been more important than anything I’ve ever done.

My parents have been divorced since before I started elementary school. The arrangement was that I would visit him and his new family every other weekend. For those four days each month, friends, schoolwork and any entertainment that didn’t align with his views were

off-limits, and I was subject to the worship activities of his choosing.

It only took a few years of missed birthday parties and family holidays before I started asking my mom to stay home on those weekends, but she didn’t want to disrespect his right to parent me.

By middle school, I was begging with more and more success.

There was a weekend during my freshman year of high school that I asked to stay home. We had just moved, and I had nearly a week’s worth of schoolwork to catch up on

by Monday. Getting permission to stay home was an uphill battle on a good day, but there was a special event at my dad’s church that weekend.

After about an hour of back and forth, I told my dad it just wasn’t possible for me to go that weekend if I couldn’t get the necessary work done. He sent my mom three emails informing her that I was evil — yes, Biblical evil.

We didn’t speak for two years.

When my stepsister told him I did well on the SAT, he broke the silence to tell me I made him sick.

A moderate level of devotion keeps faith alive, and I’m not here to say religion is in any way bad.

Religion follows the same rule as just about everything else: It’s good in moderation.

In excess, even a religion that lists family, love and tolerance as some of its most important tenants can change people for the worse.

When I think of my father, I think about the details my mother and grandmother have told me about the person he was before. I’m confident I’ll never be lucky enough to experience having that person as a parent — which is a shame because my dad supposedly used to be pretty damn cool — and I made peace with that a long time ago.

But if the job of a good parent is to love and want the best for their children, isn’t he trying in the only way he knows how? If he thinks the best he can do for me is ensure I

do right by the god he believes in, should I excuse the negative impact it’s had on our lives and relationship?

As a teenager and young adult, I used those questions to cushion blow after blow of rejection and disappointment, and I would tell myself that even if he doesn’t like or believe in me, at least his continuous effort to right my religious “wrongs” proved his love.

Adulthood, and my changing relationship with both parents, has taught me that it’s OK to cease my efforts to make him proud, to connect with him. The knowledge that I’ll never earn his love is as brutal as it is certain.

Today, I ask whether I would have brought pride to the father I feel I missed out on, the father I never knew. Love, the kind religion teaches and that we should all strive to feel for those around us, asks only that we become better people, not different ones. editor@thedailycougar.com

A.D. BRUCE RELIGION CENTER The focal point for on-campus religious and spiritual activities

For more information, visit uh.edu/adbruce

UHADBruce a.d.bruce

6 | Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Sports jhair romero, EDITOR

THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/sportS

Sports@THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM

713-743-5303

football

King to redshirt, vows return to UH in 2020 The star quarterback will sit out his senior season and said he’s committed to staying at the University.

Senior quarterback D’Eriq King threw for six touchdowns and rushed for six more before deciding to sit out his senior season and redshirt. Sophomore quarterback Clayton Tune, who took over for King in the final two games of 2018 after a knee injury sidelined the starter, was tabbed by head coach Dana Holgorsen to start in Houston’s game against North Texas on Saturday. | Kathryn Lenihan/The Cougar

jhair romero

sports editor @justjhair

After a 1-3 start to 2019, star senior quarterback D’Eriq King, with the support of head coach Dana Holgorsen and his family, announced he will sit out the rest of the season to redshirt and return to Houston in 2020.

King said his decision is what’s best for himself as a player and as a student, in a statement released after the news broke.

“After carefully thinking through this process with my family and coach Holgorsen,” King said, “I have decided the opportunity to redshirt this season gives me the best chance to develop as a player, earn my degree and set me up for the best success in the future.”

King, who threw for six touchdowns and two interceptions in 2019, said in a press conference on Tuesday that his choice to redshirt was one of the most difficult he has ever made and that it wasn’t as sudden as it seemed.

“It’s the hardest (choice) I’ve made so far in my life,” King said.

“It wasn’t a decision that I just woke up one day and wanted to do.”

The ball started rolling on the process, according to Holgorsen, after Thursday night’s 38-31 loss to Tulane in New Orleans, UH’s American Athletic Conference opener that was a must-win for new coaching staff.

Following the game, King, frustrated with the Cougars’ last-minute defeat at the hands of the Green Wave, sat down with Holgorsen for a meeting, which the former West Virginia coach encourages his players to have with him.

“D’Eriq was pretty upset after the game,” Holgorsen said. “I brought him first thing Friday morning, and we talked. I presented every option that was available out there.

“I want him to have every opportunity to do what he wants to do. It’s his life, and it’s his college career.”

With the NCAA’s new redshirt rule, which allows players to retain a season of eligibility as

long as they appear in no more than four games, Holgorsen and King settled on the Manvel native sitting out.

While Holgorsen admits that UH’s use of the rule isn’t as the NCAA envisioned, he believes that the program is within its rights to redshirt King.

“The NCAA is probably upset with me, because this wasn’t the intent of the rule,” Holgorsen said.

“But four games is four games.”

Holgorsen, who inherited the Houston program nine months ago, believes the extra year would be beneficial for King, but laments other players not having the chance to redshirt, mentioning UH’s youth standing in the way of an AAC title.

“When you get a team that’s old and mature and experienced,” Holgorsen said, “something happens to those guys who are fifth-year seniors. We got way too many guys on this football team that are not in position to be fifthyear seniors, and that makes it hard to win championships.”

Along with the time for

development that King said went into his decision, Holgorsen, citing his first stint with the Cougars from 2008-09 as offensive coordinator, admitted that Houston was likely to better in his second year as head coach than his first.

“Year two is always better,” Holgorsen said. “As good as we were in ’08, look at what those ’09 numbers were.”

For King, the consistency that Holgorsen said is crucial for quarterbacks has not existed during his time in Houston.

Since he arrived, the graduate of Manvel High School has been in the middle of several coaching changes, including four offensive coordinators and the hiring of Holgorsen in January.

And it has not been easy.

“Being here for four years and having four different OCs and three head coaches,” King said, “that takes a toll on anybody.”

Many players, Holgorsen said, will not have the chance for stability like King in their college careers, but the decision to

redshirt 2018’s national leader in touchdowns responsible for is a step in the right direction.

“That sucks, and it’s not fair,” Holgorsen said. “We have a chance to rectify that.”

Shortly after King’s decision was made public, rumors of him transferring quickly came to light, and UH Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Chris Pezman dealt with the criticisms from fans and boosters angry at the possibility of losing the Cougars’ star quarterback.

Luckily for Pezman, the supporters calmed down after hearing King’s reasoning.

“Unfortunately, I’ve kept my number the same for the last 10 years,” Pezman said laughing.

“Once they hear what the kids have to say, everybody settled down.”

Despite the rumor, King’s status — and commitment — to the University remains resolute.

“I’m staying here,” King said.

“I’m here.” sports@thedailycougar.com

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 | 7

jhair romero, EDITOR

THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/sportS

Sports

Sports@THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM

713-743-5303

volleyball

Roundtable: Picking volleyball’s MVP so far named UH’s most valuable player so far this season.

The Cougar’s sports staff shared who they thought volleyball’s MVP is heading into AAC competition:

Katie Karbo – Sports editor Jhair Romero

Katie Karbo leads UH in digs with 328 in 2019. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar

The cougar sports staff @thecougarsports

With its American Athletic Conference schedule set to begin Friday night against SMU at the Fertitta Center, it’s time to see which players will step up to lead Houston.

Multiple players shown out for the Cougars this season, and a select number deserve being

Many players have stood out for the Cougars in head coach David Rehr’s first season, but for me, the MVP is clear — senior defensive specialist Katie Karbo.

The Azle native is top-five in three of the five major statistical categories for Houston, including a No. 1 spot in digs with 328.

Junior setter Abby Irvine is the next closest on the team with 143.

Karbo recently reached a milestone after surpassing the 2,000-dig mark in her collegiate career, becoming only the third player in Houston history to do so.

If that weren’t enough to convince you, the 5-foot-5-inch

Karbo earned All-Tournament honors Sept. 14 after being named Best Defender at the Baylor Invitational in Waco.

Against the No. 5 Bears, Karbo led the team with 18 digs in the match in a losing effort that saw the Cougars almost take down their opponent in four sets.

Houston still has a lot of season to play, but Karbo has been the best of the Cougars.

Isabel Theut – Staff writer Armando Yanez Sophomore middle blocker Isabel Theut has been the spark the Cougars have been looking for game-in and game-out, and her presence is felt every time she steps on the court.

Theut has played in 54 of 64 sets this season for the Cougars, sitting third on the team in kills with 112. She also averages 2.07 kills per set.

The sophomore has been a

force on defense, recording 39 blocks so far this season, which ranks second on the team behind freshman middle blocker Rachel Tullos’ 64.

The Columbus native has also contributed 139.5 points for the Cougars, third on the team behind freshman outside hitter Abbie Jackson’s 235.5 and senior outside hitter Megan Duncan’s 145.0 Her all-around game, stats and presence on the court prove why she has been the MVP for the Cougars so far this season.

Abby Irvine – Staff Writer Andy Yanez Irvine has made a strong impact on both offense and defense, which has separated her as the most valuable player on the team.

Irvine leads the Cougars in assists on the season with 545. As a comparison, the second best on the team, Karbo, has 59.

The Willis native excels at setting up her teammates to deliver kills, but her impact does not end there for the Cougars.

Irvine’s presence on defense also makes a difference for UH. Irvine is second on the team in digs with 143, and she is also second on the team in service aces with 14.

Her defensive stats do not end there, as she is also fifth for the Cougars in blocks with 15.

Irvine’s ability to keep the ball in play for Houston while also limiting opposing teams from even being able to pass the ball makes her an irreplaceable talent.

Much like a Swiss Army knife, Irvine does a little bit of everything for the team. She is in the top five of four different major statistical categories for the Cougars, which is why she is MVP heading into conference play. sports@thedailycougar.com

football

The Cougars head to Denton to play Mean Green Jhair romero

The 6-foot-3-inch Tune recorded 851 yards of total offense in 2018 that included eight touchdowns in the air and another on the ground.

sports editor @justjhair

Houston will face off against North Texas Saturday night at Denton’s Apogee Stadium in the Cougars’ final non-conference game of the regular season before a much-needed bye week.

UH, coming off a 31-38 loss Sept.

19 against Tulane on the road, sits at 1-3 on the season and is a favorite heading into the matchup.

UNT, meanwhile, found itself victorious in Week 4 with a 45-3 dismantling of UTSA that saw senior quarterback Mason Fine toss for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cougars and the Mean Green have split the all-time series between the two, with each sitting at seven wins apiece dating back to 1946.

Houston is sitting on a four-game win streak dating back to 1980 and has outscored North Texas 147-73 since then.

The team has struggled in its first three weeks due to the brutal first quarter of its schedule, but it is going into the game with more rest than it has had at any other point in the season.

Needed rest Houston’s scheduling woes have

From the same tree

In Houston and North Texas’ 2012 matchup at Robertson Stadium the Cougars beat the Mean Green 44-21. | File photo

already been well documented, and so have the effects of them.

During the 18-day span that saw the Cougars play four games to kick off the season, UH’s exhaustion has shown, especially in the second half.

During its win against Prairie View A&M and losses to Washington State and Tulane, Houston shut down in the final 30 minutes, and much of it can be attributed to the team being tired.

For each of those three games, the Cougars had only six days to rest and prepare, but, fortunately for them, they will take on the

Mean Green with a full week of rest.

Although the team is going in well-rested, the Cougars are without their star quarterback.

Tune in UH and UNT are evenly matched when it comes to scoring and total offense — the two average just over 30 points and 420-plus total yards per game.

With the announcement that senior quarterback D’Eriq King will redshirt and sit out the rest of the season with plans to return for the Cougars in 2020, however, Houston will look much different on the

attack against North Texas.

Sophomore quarterback Clayton Tune is projected to start against the Mean Green in King’s place, and the native of Carrollton will likely be UH’s man under center for the rest of the season.

While Tune has not seen in-game action since Houston’s 70-14 loss against Army in December 2018’s Armed Forces Bowl, he appeared in five games for the Cougars last season as a true freshman.

Two of those, losses to Memphis and Army, came after King’s lateseason injury in 2018 that kept him sidelined for rest of the year.

For the third time this season, head coach Dana Holgorsen will take on a familiar face.

In the loss to Oklahoma, Holgorsen faced off against OU coach Lincoln Riley, who he worked with under Mike Leach during his time at Texas Tech over 10 years ago.

Against Washington State, Holgorsen went head-to-head with the man himself — Leach, WSU’s head coach since 2012.

UNT coach Seth Littrell, another one of Leach’s disciples from his days at TTU, will be the latest member of Leach’s coaching tree to play Holgorsen and the Cougars.

An offensive mind like Holgorsen, Littrell was a running back coach under Leach before jumping around Arizona, Indiana and North Carolina before landing in North Texas as head coach.

Holgorsen is 0-2 against Leach and those under his coaching tree, but he looks to earn his first win against a former coworker this weekend. sports@thedailycougar.com

8 | Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Opinion Maryam baldawi, EDITOR

THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/OPINION

713-743-5304

OPINION@THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM

Dining

UH Dining’s day pass donation program is good, but limited

Editorial Board editor in chief

Michael Slaten managing editor

Morgan Horst

creative director

Jiselle Santos News editor

McKenzie Misiaszek

features editor

Ian Everett

sports editor

Jhair Romero photo editor

Trevor Nolley opinion editor

Maryam Baldawi assistant editors

Kathryn Lenihan Autumn Rendall Juana Garcia Santiago Gaughan Katrina Martinez

Chief Copy Editor

Mason Vasquez

Staff editorial The Staff Editorial reflects the opinions of The 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 Cougar do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Houston or the students as a whole.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The UH Dining donation program has a limited time frame and number of passes, which should be extended to allow more students to give back. | File Photo

KYLE DISHONGH

columnist writer

The University’s Auxiliary Services has partnered with the Urban Experience Program, an organization on campus designed to aid students in need, and Student Government Association to provide free meals to food-insecure students.

Through this program, meal plan holders with guest passes can donate some of them to students in need, and it’s incredibly admirable. While it’s a noble idea, however, it’s held back by strange roadblocks, preventing the service from reaching its full potential.

Most notably, students are incredibly limited in the number of passes they are allowed to donate. Platinum meal plan holders are only allowed to donate five of their 30 passes, gold holders are allowed three of their 10 and silver holders may only give one of their five. No other meal plans receive any day passes.

Additionally, students are given only a week to donate their passes. Perhaps there is

a logistical or bureaucratic reason behind this, but such a limitation seems unnecessary to an outsider.

While Auxiliary Services does send out an email to all meal plan holders once the donation window opens in an effort to get the word out, one can’t imagine it would hurt to leave the donation window open for a greater period of time.

The day pass program does work as is, though. Students donated a total of 236 meal passes in the Spring 2019 semester, which is nothing to scoff at.

While data regarding supply and demand of these donated passes are scant, the ones that were donated were probably invaluable to those who needed them.

UH clearly cares about feeding the hungry. In fact, it won the 2017 Food Recovery Challenge national award.

Additionally, Auxiliary Services has donated a substantial number of guest passes itself, donating 200 every spring and fall since the Fall 2017 semester, which is great, and it offers

meal plan scholarships to a few students every year. Taking all of this into consideration should make one ask why there are such limitations on the donation program.

Of course, the answer to this question is obvious to most: money. Giving out free food is undoubtedly unattractive to the University from a financial standpoint. But the solution to this issue is, once again, obvious to most.

All people should be allowed to donate money in order to gift guest passes to food insecure students in a modern caffè sospeso, or “suspended coffee,” style of system.

At approximately $10 per pass, non-meal plan holders would be able to pay in advance for any student who needs the support. Casting a wider net in this way would only open the door for more help for those who need it.

Regardless of whether or not the service is expanded in the future, you should donate to it if you’re able to. This semester’s donation window has closed, but you’ll be able to donate for

the spring semester in January.

Please consider it because, as you probably know, it’s nigh impossible to overstate the importance of food, and studies have shown correlations between food insecurity and a lower GPA. If you feel you would benefit from this system, it’s offered through the Urban Experience Program. Additionally, as a proper student organization, the benefits of joining it extend beyond food security. Give it a chance, if you feel inclined.

Digressions aside, hopefully the appropriate parties consider expanding this program.

It truly is a noble and charitable cause, worthy of even more attention and care than it already receives. Any student who is willing to put their all into their studies shouldn’t be held back by their socioeconomic status, and this system is perfect for preventing that.

Opinion writer Kyle Dishongh is a finance junior and can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

The Cougar welcomes letters to the editor from any member of the UH community. Letters should be no more than 250 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 N221, University Center; 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 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.

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