@thedailycougar www.thedailycougar.com Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Est. 1934
Losing Hope When Geneva Hitzel was hit by a car, it was just one incident in a string of struggles with UH’s accessibility | PG. 2
Issue 12, Volume 87
2 | Wednesday, March 2, 2022
NEWS
HAYA PANJWANI EDITORS & AMINAH TANNIR,
THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/NEWS
@THEDAILYCOUGAR
CAMPUS
‘At a certain point you just lose hope’: Students share their struggles with UH’s accessibility
For students like Geneva Hitzel, getting through manual doors is a challenge, especially with a wheelchair. | James Schillinger/The Cougar
HAYA PANJWANI
NEWS EDITOR @HAYAPANJW
In 2019, theatre senior Allison Funk broke her wrist attempting to leave her suite room. In 2021, marketing senior Geneva Hitzel sustained multiple injuries after being struck by a car when crossing the street. Both students use wheelchairs. But according to the director of the Dart Accessibility Center Kyle Mutz, the University is “pretty accessible.”
Injuries When Funk moved into Cougar Place, her first residence hall at UH, only one of the four wheelchair bound students in the building had a door that accommodated their needs. It wasn’t until she broke her wrist that the school decided to install accessible doors in the building. But Funk and other students with disabilities still find it difficult to get around campus. “It’s (getting around campus that’s) definitely been frustrating, not just with my dorm situation, but just with the campus in general,” Funk said. “A lot of the door buttons don’t work, or the doors just don’t have buttons. I’m not sure if it’s funding, or if it’s just the attitude towards a lot of accommodations.” Funk has a rare neuromuscular disease called congenital hypomyelinating neuropathy,
which affects the strength of her muscles, and has to use a mechanical wheelchair known as a power chair. “When I tell my muscles to do something, the nerves don’t actually tell them to do it,” Funk said. “That’s led me to use a power chair basically since I was in preschool, and so getting around in public with a wheelchair isn’t new for me.” Funk complained about the lack of an accessible door in her residence hall for months by writing emails to Student Housing and Residential Life and President Renu Khator. “According to housing, the room I’m in is wheelchair accessible,” Funk wrote in her email to Khator. “However, I cannot get in and out of my room on my own. The door to my room is extremely heavy, and the keypad buttons are too stiff for me to press. Getting out of my room is a huge struggle, and I’ve hurt my shoulder and my ankle trying to get out of my room just to go to class.” Despite the daily struggles she expressed to University faculty, it wasn’t until she broke her wrist trying to get out of her manual suite door that UH decided to take action. Within weeks, the University made all the doors within Cougar Place and University Lofts automatic in rooms where students with wheelchairs
resided. Funk isn’t the only student who has suffered injury because of lack of accessibility at the University. Geneva Hitzel, a marketing senior, who is also wheelchair bound currently lives at University Lofts. In December 2021, Hitzel was crossing the crosswalk between her apartment and the Nook Cafe, when she was struck by a motorist making a turn through the intersection. She had a few injuries, but the University never contacted her to check on her condition. “I tried to call my Center for Student Disabilities adviser but they never got back to me after that, but you know, at a certain point you just lose hope,” Hitzel said.
Accessing UH daily Since moving to UH, Funk has found it difficult to do everyday tasks that the average able-bodied person wouldn’t think about. As a part of the University’s theatre program, Funk brings up requests to her professors, like doors that don’t work, or areas that aren’t wide enough for her wheelchair, but she’s continuously dismissed. “Instead of people in that department, and in the University in general, being like, ‘Oh, our building has all these problems, we need to fix these things,’ it
turns into ‘Allie complains about everything.’” Hitzel feels similarly. She attends classes at Melcher Hall sometimes, and has noticed a pattern with smaller classrooms that makes it difficult for her to focus on classwork. “The auditoriums have specific, open seats for people with wheelchairs,” Hitzel said. “But for these smaller classrooms, my teacher has to pull the desk out for me. I went to (my class) for the first time, and I was like, there’s no place for me to sit,” Hitzel said. “So I just parked myself in front of the stairs, next to the rows of seats, with my notebook in my lap – which is already hard to write notes, especially if you don’t have a desk in front of you.” Entering buildings is difficult for Hitzel too. If she has a class on one side of a building, sometimes, the entrance will be on the opposite side, making her late to class. “It causes you to be late to class and whatever, or you have to leave earlier than everyone else because they don’t have ramps on all of the four entrances of the building, you know?” Hitzel said.
Making changes The Dart Accessibility Center tries to help with accessibility needs like testing accommodations, captioning services and connecting students with on and off campus health
care. Nationwide, a little under 20 percent of undergraduate students identify with having a disability, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. At the University, there were 2610 students registered with a disability at the Dart Accessibility Center, by the end of the 2021 fiscal year. As of October 2021, Mutz was appointed as the center’s new director, and considers the school rather accessible. “In my perspective, it’s pretty accessible, I know, there are things that we need to improve, like, there’s some sidewalk access, building access, and just in general, I haven’t had a chance to look at every part, but we’re definitely looking to improve physical access.” Students though are still looking for actual change to take place, and Mutz is trying his best to reflect that in the department’s work under his leadership, including hiring some new permanent staff. “We’ve hired some access coordinators that work with students regarding their accommodations,” Mutz said. “We’ve hired a new testing coordinator to work with the entire campus and we invested in hiring an assistive technology
ACCESSIBILITY
Continues on page 3
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 | 3 HAYA PANJWANI EDITORS & AMINAH TANNIR,
THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/NEWS
@THEDAILYCOUGAR
NEWS
CORONAVIRUS
Omicron BA.2 subvariant more transmissible, severe EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF
Donna Keeya
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
MANAGING EDITOR
Ashley Gwananji Lisa El-Amin
WEB EDITOR
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Sydney Rose
Jhair Romero NEWS EDITORS
Aminah Tannir Haya Panjwani SPORTS EDITOR
Sean Thomas Armando Yanez ASSISTANT CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Gerald Sastra
James Mueller OPINION EDITOR
Anna Baker
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Juana Garcia
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.
Gerald Sastra/The Cougar
AMINAH TANNIR
NEWS EDITOR @AMOUNAJT
Approaching the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., the new omicron BA.2 subvariant is slowly becoming more prominent amongst positive cases. Although studies show the subvariant is at least 30 percent more transmissible and could cause more severe disease, recent boosters by vaccines or the original omicron variant will protect the population, according to CNN. “These new studies are providing reassurance that while the BA.2 may overtake BA.1, it won’t necessarily lead to greater numbers of hospitalizations or death per what they’re thinking,” said UH College of Medicine clinical professor Dr. Bhavna Lall. “But as we’ve seen in the past, what people think is not necessarily what happens.” Although some are optimistic with each passing variant, getting our population vaccinated is
ACCESSIBILITY
Continued from page 2 specialist that will help educate in rollout assistive technology across the University.” But they’re not just looking for change at the university level, but in society as a whole. “I’m not saying any of this in like, ‘Oh, I hate this school or whatever, blah, blah, blah,’” Hitzel said. “It’s not even just the University of Houston, it’s society at large. A lot of times, disabled people are put on
something that needs to be pushed to prevent severe disease, Lall said. “In our own country, we are not able to vaccinate the majority of our population because people are refusing to get vaccinations because of misinformation campaigns,” Lall said. “Other countries would just be so happy if they had the amount of vaccines that we did at the beginning, and we have all this, and yet we still can’t convince people to take them. It’s very sad.” The concerning issue with omicron and now this omicron BA.2 subvariant, is it has been able to evade the vaccines in vaccinated and even boostered individuals, Lall said. “But people who are vaccinated and boosted, had a decreased risk of hospitalization and death, and decreased risk for severe disease,” Lall said. “I think that’s what we should be aiming for right now.” Some students like electrical engineering sophomore Samy Abusaif, aren’t as concerned about
the backburner, and we’re just not thought of in any kind of process.” Hitzel says until those changes are made, the University’s claims about UH being diverse are meaningless. “If Renu Khator is going to preach about diversity, you better back it up by actually being accepting and accessible to your disabled students,” Hitzel said. “If you’re not then you know, a lot of your words are empty.” news@thedailycougar.com
contracting the omicron BA.2 variant, but still want to exercise more caution given its increased transmissibility. “I’m not worried about myself, I’m worried about others,” Abusaif said. “I’d probably wear a mask, social distance, just the normal guidelines.” Others like mechanical engineering junior Andrea Castaneda, are concerned about how catching COVID-19 can still greatly impact her daily life. Castaneda’s brother is a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy, and is concerned that her journeys to campus could end up with her possibly transmitting the virus to him. “He can’t go anywhere, I feel like normally cancer patients have to be very cautious anyway, not just (with) COVID,” Castaneda said. “Now he can’t even leave his house to do anything because it’s such a big concern.” Not only is Castaneda worried about her brother, but she is also worried about her own health and
how contracting the virus could disrupt her studies. “I’m in engineering, so missing one day of class you miss a lot. I can’t really afford to do that,” Castaneda said. Aside from vaccine technology continuously evolving, the precautions being taken the past two years will be what helps to get through this pandemic as well as evaluating one’s own risk, Lall said. “We have seen the same things happening for the last two years. It does not take a doctor or a scientist to tell anyone now what they might see in the future,” Lall said. “At this point, we know the tools that we can use to protect ourselves better, which are vaccines, masks, hand hygiene, increasing ventilation, social distancing and all of that. But I think we need to make sure that we emphasize vaccines and masking still, and know that those are tools that we need to continue to use.” news@thedailycougar.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 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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The Justin Dart, Jr. Student Accessibility Center provides accommodations for students with disabilities on campus. | James Schillinger/The Cougar
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4 | Wednesday, March 2, 2022
SPORTS NEWS
JAMES MUELLER, EDITOR
THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/SPORTS
@THECOUGARSPORTS
TRACK AND FIELD
‘Winning mindset’: How UH men’s track and field sustains success SEAN THOMAS
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR @SEANTHOMAS723
For the better part of the last decade, the UH men’s track and field team has been no stranger to success. After winning their seven consecutive American Athletic Conference indoor title some may wonder how the Cougars have maintained consistency. A few key factors are responsible for the team’s streak of conference dominance, according to Shaun Maswanganyi, the AAC Most Valuable Performer and Freshman of the Year. He believes these same factors that sustain success are also responsible for his own individual success.
‘Killer instinct’ Like any successful program, it starts with mentality and culture. Maswanganyi believes UH has built a winning mentality and everyone on the team shares one thing in common. “We’ve always had a killer instinct; you look at our coaching staff and you see they were killers back in their time,” Maswanganyi
said. “The winning mindset we have, they try to instill that upon us.” Generational Cougars such as head coach Leroy Burrell and assistant Carl Lewis made their names known long before the recent stint of conference titles and the accolades they’ve received as a coaching staff, and they make sure to make that point to their team. Maswanganyi said the first thing Burrell and company did when they arrived at UH a year ago was make the point that this team is built on people who have been through the pain and the grind that comes with the program. “The first thing they did when we came here was make us realize this program is not built on some people who just came and went, it’s people who’ve been a part of the Cougar culture and people who are actively trying to give back to this community,” Maswanganyi said. “This program has a lot of legacy in it. The gold medals don’t define the program, the people that were created from the program do.” Maswanganyi believes that having people who were so close to the program during
UH men’s track and field won its seventh consecutive conference title over the weekend led by sprinter Shaun Maswanganyi and the Cougars award-winning coaching staff. | Courtesy of UH Athletics
their competing days makes a tremendous difference. “Nothing is better than someone coaching you who you know has been through that,” Maswanganyi said. “It gives you some sense of satisfaction because you know they’ve handled their own, they know what they’re talking about
and they’ve been in the position you want to be in. That’s the best kind of mentor you can have.” Following the seventh consecutive conference title, Burrell and his staff were named the Indoor Coaching Staff of the Year.
New-school leaders Amid the generational leadership the team receives from the seasoned coaching staff they compete for, there are experienced competitors in the program
TRACK
Continues on page 5
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ALLinforUH.com Let’s Go ALL IN For UH. Join in the fun and participate in University of Houston’s 4th Annual Giving Day! Stop by Butler Plaza — on March 7, 10am–2pm to learn more and pick up swag!
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Wednesday, March 2, 2022 | 5 JAMES MUELLER, EDITOR
THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/SPORTS
@THECOUGARSPORTS
SPORTS NEWS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Fabian White Jr. proves he’s the ultimate winner JAMES MUELLER
SPORTS EDITOR @JDM2186
Competitor. Dedicated. Leader. Legend. Tough. These are some of the words that Fabian White Jr.’s teammates say to sum up one of the all-time great Cougar men’s basketball players. But there was a noun that was the first word used to describe White by nearly each of his teammates — winner. It’s no surprise that winner was the most common word associated with White because Houston rarely loses when No. 35 is on the court. With 110 career wins in a Cougars uniform, White is the winningest player in the UH men’s basketball program’s history. This comes as no surprise to UH head coach Kelvin Sampson. “It’s not a coincidence that it’s Fabian that did it because you can describe him with that,” Sampson said. “He’s a winner.”
Making history On Feb. 17, White experienced a moment he will never forget. As the clock hit triple zeros to seal UH’s win over UCF, White was surrounded and embraced with hugs from every one of his coaches and teammates. While White felt blessed to pick up his 110th career win, seeing the joy in his coaches’ and teammates’ faces meant far more to him than going down in the history books as the Cougars’ winningest player. “It’s great to finally get it out of the way,” White said after the game. “I think my teammates wanted it a little bit more than I did.” This moment further confirmed to White that coming to UH was the best decision of his life.
SUCCESS
Continued from page 4 currently that step up as well. The first name that comes to mind for Maswanganyi is senior sprinter Jordan Booker, but Maswanganyi said he also takes on a leadership role in a different way. “I feel like a lot of our leadership comes from our juniors and seniors like Jordan Booker, he really takes on a leadership position,” Maswanganyi said. “For me this season though, I’ve been more of a silent leader, I lead by performance while he’s more of a vocal leader. I trust him to handle that aspect of things and I trust myself to handle the performance part of the motivation for the team.” Maswanganyi also mentions another veteran competitor on the team, senior sprinter Christian
“It just means I made the right choice in coming here,” White said.
No days off What has made White so successful as a college basketball player? The answer is simple — his work ethic. Missing a workout was never an option for White, even when he was dealing with a broken foot or torn ACL. UH assistant coach Kellen Sampson, who has been White’s position coach for the past five years, said White is as dedicated to doing whatever it takes to win as anyone he’s ever seen. “Even while he was on crutches or even while he was on a scooter, whatever he was dealing with, with his injuries, he never missed,” Kellen Sampson said. “He’s been in my position group five years and he never missed an individual workout. He would schedule his rehab stuff, training room time around when the four’s were going because he wanted to be there for Justin (Gorham) and J’Wan (Roberts). He wanted to be there for Kiyron (Powell). He wanted to be there for Ced (Alley). Whoever was in my group, he made sure he got his work in for the day so that he was present and vocal for our position group.” Whether he’s on the court or off it, White is always looking for things he can do to put the team in the best position to win. And this goes all the way back to his high school playing days. “One of the cool things about Fabian is that he’s used to being part of a good team,” Kellen Sampson said. “He’s used to sacrificing for the betterment of the
Hamberlin as a big leader, mentioning how both Hamberlin and Booker were the ones to really help him come along in the program. “They motivated me coming in my freshman year to make sure I’m always giving my all in practice,” Maswanganyi said.“They showed me how to handle my business not only on the track, but off the track with things like nutrition and getting used to college life.”
Winning culture The culture built within the UH track and field program is a winning culture, according to Maswanganyi, and he believes the culture is what encourages bonding and building chemistry with your teammates to win. “It’s a winning culture, it’s a winning mindset. We’re becoming a family, especially in my sprint
With the Cougars’ win over UCF on Feb. 17, forward Fabian White Jr. became the all-time wins leader in UH men’s basketball program history with 110 career victories. | Victor Carroll/The Cougar
team. He’s always had that kind of winner, it’s about we more than me attitude about him.”
Selfless mindset To White, it’s never been about his individual numbers. The only numbers White cares about are the ones on the scoreboard when the final buzzer sounds. If the team wins, White wins. “Fabian will be the first one to tell you it’s about the team,” Sampson said. “I doubt Fabian would want to talk about himself.” White tends to shy away from talking about himself when asked about all the milestones he has accomplished throughout his career. Instead, he gives all the credit to
group,” he said. “Building and increasing the chemistry is going to reflect on the track eventually because nothing’s better than trusting your teammates to do something.” Maswanganyi believes that despite track and field being a primarily individual sport when it comes to performance, he said there is a domino effect when you see your teammate succeeding. “It brings a sense of relief when you know someone can hold their own and you trust and know how they are. Everything flows a lot smoother,” he said. “There’s a lot of factors in track and it may be individual, but one person’s performance definitely has a domino effect on everyone else’s.”
Looking forward For Maswanganyi and the Cougars track and field team,
those that have helped him along the way. “I thank all my coaches, all the teammates I’ve had over the year,” White said after becoming the UH men’s basketball program’s all-time win leader.
Lasting legacy From earning a starting spot as a sophomore and helping lead the Cougars to the Sweet 16 in 2019 to defying the odds and coming back from a torn ACL, that was supposed to sideline him for the entire 202021 season, to play a key part in UH’s Final Four run, White poured his blood, sweat and tears into the program for five years. “Fabian has been a big part of this program for a long time and
winning the conference is just the beginning. Maswanganyi believes this team has what it takes to go as far as they’re willing to take it and he isn’t shy about looking forward into future competitions. “I feel like we have a shot at placing at nationals as a team if everyone handles their own,” he said. “We just need to keep the winning mindset.” He feels the confidence they got placing first in the indoor competition will carry them through the rest of the big meets. “We definitely have the conference on the ropes and we’re going to carry that into regionals like we did last year,” Maswanganyi said. “We’ll carry that confidence from regionals and take it straight to nationals.” In terms of his own success, Maswanganyi feels no pressure
we’re proud of everything he’s accomplished,” Sampson said. While White’s playing career at UH will come to an end in a couple of months, his handprint will forever be left on the program. And don’t be surprised if White returns to UH sometime in the future. It just wouldn’t be as a player with the No. 35 on his back, as many Cougars fans are used to seeing, but rather as a coach. “I mean it sincerely, I’m going to hire him one day,” Kellen Sampson said. “I hope he plays for the next 15 years and as soon as he’s done I’m going to hire him because that boy has a passion and a gift for being a leader.” sports@thedailycougar.com
to continue following up the impressive performances he has put on in the past, he just wants to continue to get better. “I don’t really feel any pressure,” he said. “I always want to be better than the person I was last year and the day before and I know there’s expectations for sure, but I plan to surpass those.” He said despite looking forward as a team, he plans to take his individual performances one match at a time after dealing with a minor injury earlier in the track season. “I’m taking it one meet at a time, trying to get my rhythm back,” Maswanganyi said. “We’ve got a lot of big competitions coming up. I’m aiming to do pretty well just coming off the Olympics. I’m coming with more confidence.” sports@thedailycougar.com
6 | Wednesday, March 2, 2022
LIFE AND ARTS NEWS
HAYA PANJWANI EDITORS & AMINAH TANNIR
THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/LIFE-ARTS
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ADVICE
Ask Ashley: Advice on TikTok, enemies, more ASHLEY GWANANJI
a great way with words, anon. Apply for a position through Get Involved, purr.
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR @ASHXLES
In The Cougar’s weekly anonymous advice column, I talk about TikTok, how to crush your enemies and skills to know. To submit your questions for future issues, click the “Ask Ashley” button on our home page.
Ashley, what are some skills someone going into your field can learn?
Ashley! What TikToks do you follow? Which ones are fun?! Hello anon, and thank you for asking a question about one of my favorite things: TikTok. I have years of experience on the matter since it’s a huge time-waster and I love being entertained. The TikTokers I follow are mainly astrology and cooking accounts. If you’re into the same thing, my favorite cooking account is nutrientmatters, while croutonianation and laurenashastro are some of my favorite astrology content accounts. However, I don’t think the content I follow is completely accurate to what pops up on my For You page. Much of what shows up revolves around viral TikTok sounds, reality tv, comedy accounts and extremely messy storytimes. If you’re looking for someone really funny, I
It’s OK to dream big. Put your energy to good use. Be open to suggestions and willing to call in experts when necessary. Plan your course and pursue your goals. The only regret you’ll have is not following through with your plans. Thoughts followed by actions will help you accomplish something that makes you proud. Strive to honor the promises you make to yourself. PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- Take what others say in stride. Proceed with passion and use the power of persuasion to make changes that will help you seize the moment and achieve what you set out to do. ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Use your power of
Gerald Sastra/The Cougar
definitely would consider checking out regularguykofi, artbydemarcusshawn and itskeyonn. Hopefully, you like the accounts I provided for you. If not, there’s no hard feelings… sort of.
There are too many opps in my life. What do I do to minimize their presence? This question is funny.
persuasion to your advantage. Preparation, accuracy and compromise will help you get your way. Don’t take a risk regarding your health, position or reputation. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- You will be hitting home runs today. Physical action will be key to your success. Step up and do your best. A material change will lift your spirits. Dig in and work hard. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Be reasonable and expect the same from others. Don’t be afraid to do your own thing and let others do as they please. Being true to yourself may not be easy, but it is necessary if you want to get ahead. CANCER ( June 21-July
Unfortunately, digital footprints exist so I won’t say the most obvious answer: beat them up. I don’t endorse violence so do NOT not beat up your enemies. But hypothetically, let’s say you can’t fight. Unfortunate to think of, but let’s be real, it’s a reality for a lot of y’all. So what now, you may ask. To that, I say that’s a good question. Most people I know with an
abundance of opps typically avoid them. Unfortunately, if all your enemies go to the illustrious UH, that may be hard to do. During my time at this school, I realized that someone will always know your enemy. So consider joining a club and laying low. Have you considered joining The Cougar? I heard it’s a great haven away from your ops. Besides, you have
22) -- Put what you know to good use. You will drum up interest in what you are doing. Set high goals, come up with unique ideas and plans, and seek out people who have something to contribute. LEO ( July 23-Aug. 22) -- Keep life simple, your plans doable and disruptive people at a distance. By keeping the peace and executing your projects strategically, you will overcome any obstacle you face along the way. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- You’ll be drawn to innovative ideas and people who offer different perspectives. Get moving, and you’ll accomplish what you set out to do. Networking events will help
drum up support. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- Use intelligence if you want to get things done. Problems with someone you deal with will leave you in an awkward position if you can’t come to terms. Give others the same freedom you want in return. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- You won’t have to stand alone if you do your part. Words won’t matter if you don’t follow through. You can take a unique approach and achieve excellent results. Make change work for you. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- Stick to your plan, regardless of what others pursue. A steady pace and
Maybe it’s not a skill, but I think resilience is important. As a STEM major, all I’ve learned is pain. What do y’all know about crying at 3 a.m. while studying for an organic chemistry exam? That probably applies to a lot of y’all, so maybe you get the point. My apologies for the PTSD. Anyways, aside from STEM, I think this applies to any field. But don’t get it twisted. Resilience doesn’t mean marinating in situations that make you feel crappy. Over time, I’ve learned to let things go if they don’t make me feel good. For example, if I get a bad grade on an exam, I take the hit and watch some TV. Because, at the end of the day, what else can I do? The only thing I can do is try to do better next time. That said, I think resilience includes accepting your failures and trying again. That and also self care. I think for people like me, those who want everything to go to plan the first time around, that’s a difficult concept to follow. But you live, and you learn I guess. Hope this helps. news@thedailycougar.com
a well-thought-out strategy will pay off. Discipline and understanding will get you where you want to go. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Make a couple of minor adjustments to how you do things, and you’ll have everything you want. Be adventurous and share your thoughts and feelings with a loved one. AQUARIUS ( Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Sit tight and work on presentation and promotion. You’ll know when you are ready to launch your project, but keep improving and updating it until that time. Too much too fast will be your downfall.. by Eugenia Last
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 | 7 ANNA BAKER, EDITOR
THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM/OPINION
OPINION NEWS
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SOCIAL ISSUES
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ANNA BAKER
OPINION EDITOR @ANNA2POINT0
For the past year or so, LGBTQ rights have been under attack in this country. Decades of progress are being erased by bigoted conservative laws. This is worrying and should not be ignored. The anti-LGBTQ sentiment is on a roll in this country with Arizona almost passing a law that would ban gender-affirming healthcare for transgender kids, according to NBC. There are several bills in the Missouri legislature that would take away transgender rights if passed such as restricting healthcare access and not allowing trans kids to play school sports, according to NPR. It was just this last week THAT the Florida House of Representatives passed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, as reported by NPR. This prohibits teachers between kindergarten and third grade from talking about sexuality or gender, or even alluding to the LGBTQ community. This bill is advocated by conservatives under the guise that it will prevent content inappropriate to the students’ age groups from being taught in class. Of course, no one wants students to learn inappropriate things, but one could simply make a bill about teaching sexual content in classrooms at a certain age. LGBTQ subject matter is not
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ABOUT CSM sexual in nature. Gay people exist and children even as young as five should be allowed to know about it. There are plenty of age-appropriate children’s books featuring gay couples that could be in a teacher’s library. This also discourages young children who are questioning their identity. If they grow up in a world where the words “gay” and “trans” are not allowed to be spoken, this will keep them from coming out and being their true self. Much of the anti-LGBTQ action is happening right here in Texas. In January a law went into effect that prevents transgender student-athletes from playing on the team corresponding to their gender, according to the Texas Tribune. Transgender girls will have to play with boys and transgender boys will have to play with girls. Supporters of this law claim to want to protect women’s sports from men, but will ultimately result in keeping kids from doing the activities they love. The fight against transgender kids never ends in Texas. This is seen with Gov. Greg Abbott now claiming that parents allowing their kids to transition is abuse. NBC reports that Abbott wrote a letter to the Department of Family and Protective Services telling it to investigate instances of a minor receiving gender-
affirming healthcare. Abbott also said people who work with children like teachers and healthcare workers could be criminally charged if they don’t report this “child abuse.” Now people must choose between legal penalties and keeping a transgender kid from being themselves. This directive by Abbott is especially insidious considering LGBTQ youth suicide attempt rates are high. 19 percent of LGBTQ youth from ages 13 to 18 attempted suicide in 2021, according to The Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey of LGBTQ Mental Health. Additionally, almost half of LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide. Transgender youth who have people around them affirming their identity reported lower rates of attempting suicide. What Texas is doing with its anti-trans legislation is going to be harmful to transgender kids and their mental health. It will make it harder for parents to affirm their children’s gender for fear of being reported for abuse. It also must be said that puberty blockers, a very common treatment for transgender kids, are temporary in their effects and are reversible, according to Mayo Clinic. They delay puberty to allow kids who are questioning their gender identity to avoid gender dysphoria and understand themselves better. If a child wants
to stop using them, puberty will just resume normally as it would. This is not abuse. This is helping a child come to terms with their identity while avoiding things like dysphoria that negatively affect mental health. This, combined with the largely homophobic book bans happening in Texas right now, appears to be a plot to try to erase LGBTQ kids in Texas. It is not letting them transition, not letting them participate in school activities and not letting them read about themselves to validate their identity. LGBTQ rights, especially transgender rights, are under attack in this country, especially in the state of Texas. This is terrifying and if it’s not stopped, decades of progress will be overturned. Thankfully, there are groups fighting to help LGBTQ people no matter what. Some great resources are txtranskids.org and Equality Texas. There is also the LGBTQ Students’ Rights Toolkit to help people know how to help their queer kid thrive in school. And of course, you can always donate to LGBTQ organizations like GLAAD and The Trevor Project to help queer people all over the country. With LGBTQ rights under attack as they are in this country right now, queer people need everyone’s support. opinion@thedailycougar.com
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8 | Wednesday, March 2, 2022