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A group of students have used a 3-D printer to gift prosthetic hands to community members for free.

PG. 2

NEWS

Parking woes

When students purchase permits in the next few weeks, they will pay more money for the lots farthest from the University. | PG. 3

Full-circle ending

UH just terminated the dining contract, but the former SGA executives have spent years working for 'Better Food.' | PG. 4

FEATURE

OPINION

SPORTS

Dramatic impact

Bringing us up to code

Pitcher pays his dues

Dome dialogue

Spring back into play

In the '70s, two professors convinced the renowned writer Donald Barthelme to come back to UH — the school he had loved but dropped out of to move to New York and become an editor.

Today, Barthelme's influence on the creative writing program, the University and the literary world can still be felt as a local theater stages the world premiere of his play, 'Snow White.' | PG. 6

The Bauer MIS program needs to teach more inter-connected coding practices if they are to keep up with the industry. | PG. 8

The plans to repurpose the Astrodome signal a turn around of demolition culture in Houston. | PG. 10

Sophomore left-hander worked his way up from being a relief pitcher to placing in the top 10 in the nation. | PG. 11

In the annual Red & White game, Cougar fans get a first look at an Applewhite-led Houston football team. | PG. 12

2 | Wednesday, April 12, 2017

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Marialuisa Rincon, EDITOR

COMMUNITY

Hands-on org makes prosthetics for kids C. MCRAE PEAVY

The Cougar

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ABOUT THE COUGAR The Cougar is published every Wednesday during the fall and spring semesters and online at thedailycougar. com. The Daily Cougar is supported in part by Student Service Fees.

STAFF WRITER

@MCRAEPV1

Nine-year-old Rafael Esquivel is just like any other third grader — except that he was born with part of one hand missing.

He was always treated differently by his classmates because of his hand, Rafael's mother Maria Sanchez said. He was unable to do many things by himself, and even playing with other kids proved difficult. Rafael often cried in sheer frustration.

But then, one of Rafael’s teachers put the family in contact with e-NABLE, a national non-profit organization that prints 3-D mechanical prosthetic limbs for children and adults missing portions of their hands or forearms.

Using the technology of the University of Houston chapter, Rafael received a prosthesis, or a prosthetic limb, earlier this year.

“I thank e-NABLE every day," Sanchez said. "Daniel and Jalal’s work, doing what they did for me when I lost hope, they gave it right back to me.”

The organization had five members when it started, but mechanical engineering sophomore Jalal Yazji and engineering technology sophomore Daniel Bahrt mainly founded the UH chapter in Spring 2016. Yazji serves as president and Barht, vice president.

Yazji met e-NABLE members in high school when he had his first brush with prostheses during a school project, and he brought his connections to college with him.

Yazji and Bahrt also enlisted the help of other students in their residence hall, Cougar Village II, to start the organization.

“When I came to UH, I brought the idea and the passion with me,” Yazji said. “Over a casual college dinner with Daniel and some other guys, I brought up this idea. They were like, ‘No, that’s not gonna work,

i

COPYRIGHT No part of the newspaper in print or online may be reproduced without the consent of the director of Student Publications.

ISSUE STAFF WEB EDITING

Emily Burleson CLOSING EDITORS

Trey Strange Alex Meyer Leah Nash

Rafael Esquivel was born with part of his hand missing, but e-NABLE printed him a free prosthetic hand. His mother said that Rafael's new hand has boosted his self-esteem and made classmates jealous. | Courtesy of Maria Sanchez

this is crazy,’ but I convinced them, somehow, and we got it to work.

Now, we’re swamped with prosthetic hand recipients.”

Yazji and Bahrt meet with the parents of the children who receive the prosthetic limbs. Yazji said parents usually find them through the e-NABLE website or on Facebook.

During the meeting, they assess the children to determine what kind of prosthesis they need.

E-NABLE has 24 members with five officers. Each officer heads a different project, Bahrt said, because they are usually working on multiple prostheses at a time.

'Where we come in' The prostheses begin as nothing more than a 3-D blueprint built through software called computer-aided design (CAD). The UH group measures the dimensions of each recipient's limb and modifies the blueprint to fit each person. The process forms a CAD file, which can be used to print models in a 3-D printer.

"Depending on the extent of modification, it can take quite some

Daniel and Maria Sanchez got in contact with the University of Houston's chapter of e-NABLE through Rafael's gym teacher. | Courtesy of Maria Sanchez

time and be quite tricky," Bahrt said.

"It might only take a few hours, but we're college students, so we have to spread it out."

Bahrt said that finishing a prosthetic takes about a month.

After the CAD file is completed, the printer takes about a week to print the model. The group uses the 3-D printers at the Cullen College of Engineering to print the prostheses for free, but they have to supply the filament.

The UH e-NABLE chapter prints roughly 30 pieces simultaneously that will become the models. Then, they separate the parts, shave them of excess plastic and assemble the models. One of the primary functions of the e-NABLE general members is to help with this process because it requires a significant amount of labor hours and knowledge of the modeling software is not needed.

Most commonly, e-NABLE prints a model for children missing about 40 percent of one hand, usually without fingers. The prosthetic fingers bend with the flexing of the wrist by using a mechanical pulley system that requires no electronics to work.

Because of this, the fingers can grip items as forcefully as the recipient can bend their wrist.

The type of grip is adjustable with a screw. For example, if the hand needs to pick up a set of keys, it can be adjusted so that only the pointer finger is closed with wrist motion.

“The entire purpose of the hand is to provide a very cheap, temporary solution until you have reached an age in your life when you will no longer outgrow a prosthetic,” Bahrt said. "It costs, on average, about $10,000 for every prosthetic hand.

If you’re a 6-year-old going through these hands every six to 12 months,

it’s wholly impractical for a family to continue buying them. That’s where we come in.”

The majority of the recipients of e-NABLE’s UH chapter are children, but Yazji said they have had one adult recipient so far. Other chapters of e-NABLE have also helped military veterans who lost limbs in combat while they were on waiting lists for proper prostheses.

The national e-NABLE organization has a library of CAD files that are free for members to use and modify to fit recipients’ needs.

They also have forums online that members can use to ask for help in designing prostheses.

Recipients choose the colors for their prostheses. Yazji said a girl wanted hers to be themed after the Disney movie “Frozen." Another boy wanted a prosthesis that looked like Iron Man's suit.

Rafael’s mother said he chose three colors based on things he likes: Baby blue for the sky. White for God. Gray because he loves sharks.

"It’s boosted his self-esteem, it’s made him more secure,” Sanchez said. “He loves all the attention.”

The UH e-NABLE chapter has delivered four completed prostheses; by the end of the semester, they will have completed seven prostheses total, including Rafael’s.

With his new prosthetic, Rafael is able to do things with his prosthesis that he was never able to do before, like open water bottles, use his phone, and play with his Beyblades.

Sanchez said that Rafael’s classmates never ask about his hand.

“They’re just amazed by it, and they want one,” Sanchez said. “He’s so cool because he has a robot hand." news@thedailycougar.com

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TRANSPORTATION

Economy permits eliminated in recent parking changes TRAYNOR SWANSON

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

@TRAYNORSWANSON

Students who relied on the low pricing of economy permits this year will soon have a lot longer to travel than the edge of campus.

Parking and Transportation Services will transition all on-campus economy lots to the Energy Research Park, leading the department to rename the economy permit as the remote campus parking permit.

Additionally, a new evening/ weekend permit is tailored to students who are on campus only on weekends or after 4 p.m. on weekdays, allowing students to either park on campus or at ERP, said PTS Director Robert Browand.

“These changes are part of our long-term parking plan to help better manage the use of parking resources on campus,” Browand said in an email. “The new permits will allow PTS to offer more permits without affecting the oversell ratio, therefore increasing students’

access to their desired parking type.”

One of the adjustments effectively changes all economy lots to student lots, which Browand said is the second phase of a process PTS started last year in accordance with its 10-year parking plan.

This change, he said, will help PTS manage the oversell rate — the rate at which PTS sells more parking permits than existing spaces because not everyone with a permit is on campus at the same time. The current oversell rate for student lots and ERP, Browand said, is 1.6 and 2, respectively.

“These changes will consolidate the two student lot options into either main campus or remote campus parking,” Browand said.

“This will make the oversell rate consistent across all main campus lots, which in turn should improve the overall campus parking experience.”

The remote campus parking permit, Browand said, was renamed to reflect that the permit will not be

valid on the main campus, though he said it will allow main campus parking Saturday, Sunday and after 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The remote campus parking permit, which costs $10 more than this year's economy permit, could utilize approximately 500 parking spaces that go unused daily at ERP, he said.

“People will know what they’re getting when they get (the remote campus parking permit),” said Elliot Kauffman, chair of the Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee. “Buildings have been built that make what was economy closer than certain student lots.

"Parking has just changed on campus, and we had an underutilized ERP. They changed the name so that people have a full understanding that these parking spots are not going to be nearby per se. They are going to be for a remote lot, but there’s still parking on campus, and there are still shuttles that take them from those parking spots to campus.”

Browand said the ERP’s hours of operation for the shuttle service — 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday — will not be altered for remote campus permit-holders who are on campus during late hours.

“There are no plans to extend the hours of the ERP shuttle service since students with the remote campus permit can park in the main campus lots after 4 p.m.,” Browand said.

One change to the shuttle service will be made, he said, with the creation of a new bus stop on the shuttle route, although the exact location has not been finalized.

“In order to better serve the arts and professional districts on the north side of campus, we will be adding a stop on the PGH-ERP route near entrances 17 and 18,” he said, referring to the area on Elgin Street near the General Services building.

Kauffman said students who park at ERP should download the Double Map phone application,

which provides users with shuttle times and each bus' location.

“You can see all the buses, and it has GPS trackers on all the buses,” Kauffman said. “I’m not one to plug anything, but if you take the shuttle, there’s no reason not to download this app. It helps you know where the bus is, so that you’re waiting at a stop like, ‘Oh, the bus is literally right there.’”

The new evening and weekend permit, available for $105 for the full 2017-2018 academic year, is for employees with nontraditional work hours and students enrolled in night classes, Browand said.

“The evening/weekend permit was created to provide individuals who only park on campus during the evenings and weekends a lowerpriced alternative to a daytime permit,” he said. “Additionally, this will allow PTS to better manage the oversell of student parking permits resulting in more students being able to purchase that permit type.” news@thedailycougar.com

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Marialuisa Rincon, EDITOR

DINING

The end of an Aramark: 'A personal crusade' JASMINE DAVIS

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR @JPDAVIS_TDC

For former Student Government Association President Shane Smith and members of his executive cabinet, the impending termination of the University of Houston's food services contract with Aramark represents more than the fulfillment of the "Better Food" part of their party's platform.

As a freshman, Smith presented to the Food Service Advisory Committee about the high price per meal for residential students.

He left feeling that students were being dealt an unjust hand and no one was stepping in to stop it.

Now that the contract will end, Smith feels his quest to improve dining services has come full circle — and that his 18-year-old self would be in awe.

"He'd be excited as hell," Smith said.

On March 10, the University posted a Request For Proposals regarding dining services. The current contract with Aramark will be terminated in the summer — nearly five years before its expiration.

"We were not in a good contract," said Dean Suchy, the former SGA director of research.

"One of the terms they keep on using is that the contract didn't have enough 'teeth.' It wasn't able to properly force Aramark to do what they should be doing for the students."

As chair of the Food Services Advisory Committee his junior year, Smith requested data on how students were using their meal plans. Following his appointment to Smith's cabinet a year later, Suchy evaluated this data to determine whether bulk meal plans were financially benefiting students.

The goal, Suchy said, was to see if a residential student saved money at the dining halls in comparison to a student paying out of pocket but eating the same number of meals. Suchy said his results indicated otherwise.

Unless the residential student used nearly all of their swipes over the course of a semester, spending nearly 135 of the lowest-offered 160 plan, the student without the meal plan came out financially on top.

When faced with a situation in which students are not using meal plans they are often required to purchase, Suchy said, the University essentially had two options:

increase the quality of the food so more students are willing to buy it or offer smaller meal plans that better meet student habits.

The University chose the former, Suchy said, by electing to terminating the current contract in favor of signing one that ensures food quality and ideally encourages more students to eat at the dining halls.

Seeking 'teeth' Nearing the beginning of the fall semester — months after winning the election with 58.6 percent of the total vote — Smith filed a request to view the existing contract between Aramark and the University.

The current problems with dining services, Smith said, stem from the contract between Aramark and UH being vague in many areas and failing to provide a way to enforce quality standards on the provided food and services.

“It wasn’t just Aramark," Suchy said. "It was a lack of the administration having a contract with a service provider that provided the correct things to stop them from doing bad stuff like this.”

Smith said that students are not only losing out as a result of the current agreement, but Auxiliary Services, the department that oversees dining, is losing an estimated $1 million per year on a program designed to be self-sustaining. On the other hand, Smith said, Aramark receives an

"Surround yourself with smart people that will help accomplish a shared goal," said Shane Smith, former SGA president, regarding students working toward similarly large changes. "Always be respectful, but never be patient." | Marialuisa Rincon/The Cougar

cantly unhappy and had been applying that pressure for years," Smith said.

Former SGA Chief of Staff Robert Comer said the University is seeking to ensure long-term quality in its next dining agreement by stipulating how student satisfaction will be ensured — a feature missing from the current contract.

Dining, Comer said, is a vital part of campus culture at UH, and he believes the current program plays a part in discouraging students from living on campus. The value of housing is already high, he said.

"If you don't see the value in a

"We don't want price to ever be something that turns someone away from having the living-on-campus experience."

Dean Suchy, former SGA Director of Research estimated $3 million per year in revenue from unused student swipes.

"I know that sounds bad, but that's how they make their money — is by this unused swipe count," Suchy said. "We're just trying to lower it so it's not this bad."

Though Aramark replaced its on-campus leadership this year, Smith said the situation with the current contract was past the point of repair.

"It all came together where the University was actively losing money, the situation with the operator had been stagnant for a long time with little improvement and the students were signifi-

meal plan, then you see this one lump sum that you have to pay and it seems like an unnecessary burden," Comer said. "You go, 'Well, I could probably feed myself for cheaper and it would taste better, so I should just stay off campus and spend that money I would spend on food on a nicer apartment."

The purpose of terminating the contract in favor of a revamped dining program, Suchy said, was not to oust Aramark from campus. In signing an agreement with more "teeth," Suchy said the University is trying to avoid another situation in which there are not adequate protections

outlined to safeguard quality food and service.

Maintaining affordability Suchy, Smith and Comer will remain involved in the reform to ensure that the proposed higher food quality does not come at the cost of low-income students being able to afford on-campus living.

Excited for the termination of a contract that was not benefiting the University or the students but uncertain about the future of the program, the trio maintain that they are "cautiously optimistic."

"At the time in which we heard that the contract was being terminated, there was other news regarding what they were planning on doing with the contract that we strongly did not agree with," Suchy said. "So it was kind of like a, 'Yes, but what the hell are you doing?' type thing."

UH hired Porter Khouw Consulting to evaluate the dining program earlier this year. Though it was their recommendation that led to the decision to terminate the contract, Suchy said the firm didn't take the price students were willing and able to pay into consideration before determining that students were interested in more expensive meal plans.

The proposed improvements, boasting features such as 24-hour operation and enhanced accommodations, received a positive response from students in the survey conducted by PKC. However, a later survey from SGA found that many students were not willing to trade affordable options for the new amenities.

Maintaining affordability has

since been the focus of SGA's involvement in the reform, Suchy said.

"We don't want price to ever be something that turns someone away from having the living-on-campus experience," Suchy said. "The 150 meal plan will still be there — it will actually be a lot better."

'Worth it' Smith first became involved with UH's Food Service Advisory Committee after comparing the cost per meal paid by commuters and residential students at the dining halls and realizing students living in the residence halls were paying significantly more than others to eat on campus.

"So I went to FSAC and I presented as a freshman. I had handouts and everything — it was really over the top — and they said, 'Well, thank you for bringing this to our attention. We'll look into it,'" Smith said. "I came to learn over the years that that's the phrase they give you when they have no intention of doing anything about anything."

Smith said food was ultimately the deciding factor to run for SGA president as a senior.

"Very few people will remember SGA; even fewer will remember me. They'll never know anything about the four years that I rallied about this all the time," Smith said. "But being able to feel like I've made a difference will help me know that the thing that I went through — taking this job, for one thing — which isn't always fun, will have been worth it." news@thedailycougar.com

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Marialuisa Rincon, EDITOR

TECH

No clog in oil production: capstone project increases efficiency TRAYNOR SWANSON

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR @TRAYNORSWANSON

What started as a project for four University of Houston students with the help of a professor for the University’s petroleum engineering capstone course last year might end as a technological breakthrough for the oil industry.

The new technology — a rudimentary prototype designed by Konstantinos Kostarelos, associate professor of petroleum engineering at UH — corrects the problem of pipeline clogs caused by components of crude oil known as asphaltenes. These molecules, Kostarelos said, are costly to the industry because they cause delays in oil production.

“The problem they cause is they coat the inside of a pipeline, and that means the coating inside the pipeline builds,” Kostarelos said. “The inside diameter of the pipe gets smaller, and the flow that can get through the pipe gets restricted. It’s a similar problem that happens in household waterpipes, although the cause is different.”

Kostarelos said that two current solutions are either to pump additives into the oil to break up the blockage or temporarily stop the flow of production and physically

remove the obstruction with a pick.

The prototype, which is the first of many steps in the development process, was designed and tested during the 2015-2016 academic year by Kostarelos and UH petroleum engineering students Clint Martin, Kyo Tran, Jose Moreno and Aaron Hubik, as well as Shahab Ayatollahi of the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran.

“It was for our senior capstone class with professor Scott Randall and at the beginning, they encouraged us to look for projects outside of school with outside companies,” said Moreno, who graduated in May. “We couldn’t find an outside project, so we asked Dr. K if we could work on his project. He encouraged us to try the flow, and we just went along with it.”

The process, Moreno said, uses two parallel pieces — one positively charged and one negatively charged — which attract the asphaltene particles out of the blockage.

“It’s similar to a magnet because we would have a negatively charged piece and a positively charged piece, and it would be attracted to the negative part,” Moreno said.

The group’s project produced results that were better than expected: the prototypes

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Professor Konstantinos Kostarelos and four UH petroleum engineering students designed a prototype, similar to a magnet, that attracts asphaltine particles in the oil and could prevent blockages in crude oil pipelines. | Courtesy of Cullen College of Engineering

attracted the molecules from a model oil. The students earned an A for the course.

“We’re taking advantage of the fact that these molecules are polar, or some might call it polarizable, and we’re using charge — an electric field — to attract those molecules to one electrode,” Kostarelos said.

“Our device would get full of these asphaltene particles and remove them from the flow, so they wouldn’t be in the flow anymore to cause problems

downstream.”

This is the first of many steps in the development process, but Kostarelos said he hopes a full-scale prototype can be built and tested on a real pipeline in two years.

“Our ultimate goal is to build a device that would remove asphaltenes from crude oil near the point of production using electrokinetics,” the group wrote in the Journal of Petroleum Technology in March. “Thus, a scaled-down

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device was fabricated and tested using a model oil to prove the concept and study some of the parameters that would influence the design of a larger-scale device.”

Moreno, who works for a small architecture firm, said he hopes to work on the device if it continues to develop.

“I’m not sure if I will,” Moreno said. “But I’d like to, if the opportunity presented itself.” news@thedailycougar.com

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editor@thedailycougar.com

Leah Nash, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

From student to stage: Renowned writer leaves impact on UH

19 62 19 63

The New Yorker publishes “L’Lapse,” the first of more than 100 Barthelme stories the magazine would publish.

Barthelme receives the Guggenheim Fellowship for his creative ability.

19 81

1972

1972

19 67

Barthelme moves to New York and becomes managing editor at Location magazine.

19 6 6

19 61

MAN OF THE ARTS

As director of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Barthelme displays renowned paintings and arranges poetry readings and theater performances.

CITY OF THE DREAMS

FIRST WORDS

FINALLY RECOGNIZED

A BIG BITE

After publishing 16 stories, The New Yorker prints the entirety of Barthelme’s first novel, "Snow White."

BEST OF THE YEAR

Barthelme's “The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine or the Hithering Thithering Djinn” receives the National Book Award.

PROFESSOR SANS DEGREE

Despite dropping out, Barthelme takes a job teaching writing at the University of Buffalo.

RETURNING HOME

Barthelme accepts Cynthia McDonald’s offer to teach creative writing at the University of Houston.

PETER SCAMARDO

SENIOR STAFF WRITER @PLSCAMARDO2

Donald Barthelme may have died in 1989 from throat cancer at the age of 58, but he remains a presence in the halls of the English Department at the University of Houston.

Barthelme, a student in the '50s who never graduated but still taught in the '80s to eventually become one of the most distinguished persons ever associated with the University, continues to have impact on the campus and the literary world — even this month, as a local theater company performs his play, "Snow White," for the first time ever on stage.

“He was a bit of a renaissance man — a kind of dynamo,” said Robert Cremins, a creative writing and honors professor. "He was a very intellectually curious student, was an accomplished journalist from an early age, he directed an important museum here, he knew a lot of things about a lot of things. He could do everything from play the drums to page layouts. He was very nuts and bolts.”

Non-stop writer For Oregon State University professor Tracy Daugherty, Barthelme is more than a name on a book. He had heard of Barthelme when he entered doctoral studies in creative writing at UH, but he could not make sense of Barthelme’s fiction writing. Soon after meeting Barthelme, whom he remembers as gentle and down-to-earth, Daugherty’s apprehension disappeared.

“I saw, right away, I'd better pay attention to what he was doing,” Daugherty said. “He was not the devil in human

form trying to subvert American fiction — he was a very serious dude hoping to refresh our national literature.”

In 2009, Daugherty wrote “Hiding Man: A Biography of Donald Barthelme” to chronicle to life of the man who never graduated but gained enormous fame as a writer.

According to the biography, Barthelme became the amusements editor of The Daily Cougar in his writing foray, crafting reviews for film, television and theater. He also wrote for the Houston Post.

While the University’s writing faculty dissatisfied Barthelme, these two publications gave him an outlet to work on his craft. Notably, he wrote drama pieces as news and covered books, music and theater productions under the pseudonym Bardley — “a play on the Bard of Avon, Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener, and his own name,” Daugherty wrote.

Additionally, Barthelme dabbled in collage and served as director of the Houston Contemporary Arts Museum.

This appreciation and love for the arts grew from living in a neo-modernist house built by his father Donald Barthelme Sr., the famed architect who taught at both UH and Rice University.

But by far his greatest contribution as a student was founding Forum magazine. While the University and Houston had no literary journal, Barthelme created one to discover new voices and legitimize Houston as a place for writers.

The magazine contained fiction, nonfiction and philosophical essays. Over a series of phone calls, he notoriously acquired a piece from French

philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre that crippled the University’s phone budget. Daugherty wrote that “when Don’s boss, Farris Block, saw the phone bill, he exploded. The magazine did not have the budget to cover such expenses. Don replied, ‘I’ll pay for it.’”

Different path As a student, Barthelme was too involved to be a great academic, but he had pride for his school. He wanted to create more opportunities at UH than those available. The only consequence: He failed to earn a diploma.

Philosophy professor Maurice Natanson changed Barthelme’s life. He introduced Barthelme to people like Sartre and expanded his knowledge of Samuel Beckett. Natanson, his first faculty mentor, made Barthelme want to learn as much as he could, which is why he didn't immediately drop out.

“Don used to say, ‘I was too busy to graduate.’” Daugherty said. “Which is to say: He was an extremely serious and diligent student, and never stopped being one, all his life.”

By the '60s, Barthelme had written for two publications, founded a magazine and directed an arts museum.

Later that decade, the New Yorker published the first of his many submissions. To further his career, he did what many writers do: He moved to New York.

Making history at home In his time away from the University, Barthelme became one of the most respected writers of his generation. More than 100 of his stories were published in The New Yorker — an unheard-of amount. He

was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and won the National Book Award.

But despite his accomplishment’s Barthelme jumped at the opportunity to come back to Houston.

John McNamara and Cynthia McDonald founded the University’s Creative Writing Program in 1979 and convinced Barthelme to join the faculty in 1981. The two saw this as a way of putting the English Department on the map in the southern belt. McNamara said it was very similar to receiving a Nobel Prize–winner in physics.

Barthelme took on the mentor role, guiding students on their careers and giving as much help as possible to their success. With Phillip Lopate, he founded Gulf Coast magazine, an outlet for students to get published and the successor to Forum after it collapsed in the '70s.

“That’s something I know he was massively passionate about — giving (the students) as much opportunity and finding them as much money as he could,” said Katharine Barthelme, his daughter. “Coming to UH, I think he found inspiration in being around the students and really loving teaching. Having a degree is not any caliber or judge of intelligence — or clearly of accomplishment.”

A serious teacher who looked for the best in his students, Barthelme gave a tremendous amount of time and energy into helping students publish works he felt were really good, McNamara said. McNamara said Barthelme even called students in the middle of the night to comments on their stories.

This love for his students

Wednesday, April 12, 2017 | 7

713-743-5314 was something Daugherty knew personally. In Barthelme’s novel “Paradise,” he makes reference to both Corvallis and Gainesville. These were the places that Daugherty and Padget Powell, another student of Barthelme and Daugherty’s classmate, went to teach and, in Daugherty’s case, start an MFA program. In their own words they were making branch campuses of the UH community, nurturing places for writers to grow.

“It’s the idea of tradition — being part of something much larger than yourself,” Daugherty said. “With me, (Barthelme) was always the soul of patience, always gentle, always engaged. A tremendous teacher and line editor. He was my stern, funny friend. I loved him.”

Houston's Beckett In honor of what would be Barthelme’s 86th birthday, Catastrophic Theatre opened the world premiere of Barthelme’s “Snow White.” Originally a novel, Barthelme had started adapting his satirical twist on the classical tale for the stage but never finished it.

make a play out of this difficult material and that it would work and be funny and that I could share (Barthelme’s) work in a medium that I would be comfortable working in.”

Professor Cremins praises Barthelme in his creative writing courses every chance he gets. He did not learn of Barthelme until after he died, when a colleague of his at a teaching job in Madrid gave him some of Barthelme’s books.

The intellect and humor of Barthelme’s books intrigued and entertained him. When he came to Houston in 1993, his curiosity grew as he learned about Barthelme’s connections to the city and the University.

In the playbill for "Snow White," Cremins has a threepage story called Barthelme’s Triangle. In that, he details how Barthelme first discovered Beckett at a theater in Montrose. Cremins wrote that it gave him the confidence to write the way he wanted to write. The first-ever production of "Snow White" by Catastrophic Theatre is a way of transforming Barthelme into Houston’s Beckett.

"Coming to UH, I think he found inspiration in being around the students and really loving teaching. Having a degree is not any caliber or judge of intelligence — or clearly of accomplishment.”

Katharine Barthelme, daughter of Donald Barthelme But Greg Dean’s company has aimed to put on a performance that brings Barthelme’s whit and intellect to a new medium.

“Nearly everything that is written sounds good in a human voice and not just in a reader's mind,” said Greg Dean, director of the production. “So (in) making it three-dimensional, I was convinced I could

People will walk into the theater and see an intelligent and hilarious twist on a tale they all know. It is the ultimate way of remembering Barthelme — by carrying on the tradition and inspiring new audiences with something unique and never before seen.

In collaboration with the play, Julie Grob, a Special

thedailycougar.com

FEATURE

editor@thedailycougar.com

Leah Nash, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Collections librarian, helped to curate “Barthelme’s Snow White Between the Covers,” an exhibit on the first floor of the M.D. Anderson Library displaying all the different materials owns of the source material.

This is something students will see every time they go into the library, and spread the word of the production currently performing at 3400 Main Street.

“Snow White was originally born as a written piece, a novel,” Grob said. “I think the exhibit can give viewers an understanding of how it was developed for the page and give them an opportunity to see the original book and various different editions and translations.”

Lasting legacy Twenty-eight years after his death, professors teaching creative writing courses still instruct their students to read Barthelme's work. As an unwritten law, the professors find a humor and intelligence in his writings that they see as helping them in their short stories.

Creative Writing Director Alex Parsons said that in the past, he has seen many failed attempts at minimalist short stories that difficult to read for the sake of being difficult and seeming intellectual. When he read Barthelme, he realized that the students were missing this sense of purpose.

McNamara, who retired in Fall 2016, knew first-hand the importance of inspiring students the way Barthleme could, and he kept this in mind when he taught Introduction to Literary Studies. Rather than focusing on the works of Shakespeare or other Renaissance writers, McNamara selected writings from former members of the UH Creative Writing Program. Of course, one of them was Barthelme.

“It brought home to the

Renowned writer and professor Donald Barthelme helped bring influence and notice to UH's Creative Writing Program. He also founded the University's literary journals, Forum and Gulf Coast. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

students in a very intimate way — the fact that some very well-published and very fine writers had studied and had worked on their writing and had gone on to have careers as writers or (academics)," McNamara said.

Barthelme is in a long line of famous UH alumni and professors: playwright Edward Albee, sportscaster Jim Nantz, actor Dennis Quaid, senator Elizabeth Warren, and many more. Barthelme may not have been as famous as these individuals, but he was one of earliest students to come out of Houston and make a mark in his desired field. Today, the English department has continued hiring professional

writers by bringing in author Robert Boswell and poet Tony Hoagland.

“I think he imbued it with a sense of humor and egalitarianism — an intellectual mission and a sense of the open border,” Parsons said.

“Come here, and we can talk about painting, we can talk about poetry, we can talk about fiction, we can talk about collage, we can talk about literary theory, we can talk about memoir, all these things. It doesn’t really matter.

What matters is this conversation and the tone of it, which is ultimately constructive and inclusive.” editor@thedailycougar.com

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8 | Wednesday, April 12, 2017

OPINION 713-743-5304

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Thomas Dwyer, EDITOR

ACADEMICS

Bauer program needs better coding foundation to prepare undergrads

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF

Trey Strange

MANAGING EDITOR

Alex Meyer

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Leah Nash WEB EDITOR

Emily Burleson NEWS EDITORS

Marialuisa Rincon Jasmine Davis Traynor Swanson SPORTS EDITORS

Leonard D. Gibson III JD Smith

OPINION EDITORS

Thomas Dwyer Jorden Smith ARTS EDITORS

Karis Johnson Karin Keller Julie Araica PHOTO EDITORS

Justin Cross Ajani Stewart SENIOR STAFF

Erin Davis Erin Fehres Dana Jones Emily Lincke Camille Mullery Katie Santana Peter Scamardo

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.

Though the MIS major is one of the best in the Bauer College of Business, the lack of a solid coding foundation hurts students. | File Photo/The Cougar

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

S

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.

oftware development may not be not my long-term career goal but as a Management Information Systems major, having a solid foundation in programming has proven to be an incredHUGO ibly valuable SALINAS asset.

COLUMNIST With this in mind, I assumed the University would take great care in assuring students coming out of this program were as well-prepared as possible.

However, with the current class structure, students can graduate as MIS majors without having fundamental knowledge about software development other than local data manipulation.

The skills that have been covered throughout my time at Bauer are as follows: HTML (Web-Page Structure), JavaScript ( JS) (Web-Page Interactivity), SQL (Database), and Java (Powerful C-based language).

Although these are fundamental languages that would give a developer a foundation to build their skills, it's missing a core aspect of development: interconnectivity.

To repurpose a John Donne quote: No programming

language is an island entire of itself. Every language is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

Although Donne, a poet, did not have programming in mind when he wrote "No Man is an Island," the sentiment still applies.

Interaction in development is a crucial aspect of programming that is seldom covered or even discussed in our curriculum.

Students learn one skill at a time, check it off their list, and archive the information for later. Although electives expand on individual subjects,

structure. It builds prior knowledge the same way geometrical equations require understanding of algebra to solve. And, it takes repetition to understand the concepts.

For example, when developing a website you need to know how PHP, a common back-end language, works with HTML and JS to build dynamic websites.

When working with a database, you need to know how to get the data from the server with a back-end language, or how to access an API (application programming interface) that is essentially a

“Management Information Systems is clearly the best major available at the University of Houston and like Information Technology (IT) the major needs to be ready to adapt to a field that is changing and expanding at an exponential rate."

Hugo Salinas, MIS senior most students are never given an opportunity to see how languages interact with each other — a skill that is essential for the most basic development tasks.

Similar to math, programming follows a

web address that hosts data in a standardized structure rather than a public site.

Our curriculum is missing back-end languages like PHP, Node.js, and Python, which handle communications with

databases, APIs, and servers to get information that exists outside the web browser.

Back-end languages are crucial when building any application as they give the site the ability to communicate with data not contained within the website.

Although it would be useful to cover at least one of these languages, it would also drastically change the curriculum. After speaking with a professor, the reason for the current course structure is so students a get a foundation in development, which gives them the skills to learn more individually.

But a project-based curriculum that connects programming languages and classes together should exist.

When learning JS and HTML in Transaction Processing (TP), our Javascript class should integrate structured query languages, or SQL, to pull data back from a database, store it in a variable and use it to display real time data on the web page.

The class structure could stay the same, but students would gain experience using different data types, working with data that is dynamic and sharpen necessary skills gained during the database course.

In Transaction Processing,

PROJECT LEARNING

Continues on next page

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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OPINION

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Thomas Dwyer, EDITOR

Project-based learning the solution for Bauer Mission to be determined: Syria is the new Iraq KHARTOON

PROJECT

Continued from previous page the professor drafts the assignments, and students are expected only to inject code that manipulates Extensible Markup Language (XML) data in preassigned locations. To allow students to see backend languages and use SQL in an application, the professor should make the database connection or have an API connection with a back-end language to retrieve data on a server for the homework.

The professor could then assign an empty-string variable in which the students would place their SQL query. The students would parse and manipulate a variable holding the results in an object array using JS. Conversely, with an API the data would just be available pre-formatted on a webpage that just needs to be accessed through a few lines of

code.

This would allow students to see how to make a database connection and understand the theory and use of back-end languages while reinforcing simple SQL queries. All the while, the professor would demonstrate how different languages work together.

MIS is a great major at the University of Houston but like Information Technology (IT), the major needs to be ready to adapt to a field that is changing and expanding at an exponential rate.

Without adding another class, Bauer can reinforce topics covered by mandatory MIS courses while introducing new concepts to better prepare their graduates for a dynamic work environment.

Hugo Salinas is a MIS senior and a regular contributor to Cooglife.

He can be reached at opinion@ thedailycougar.com.

10 | Wednesday, April 12, 2017

OPINION thedailycougar.com/opinion

opinion@thedailycougar.com

Thomas Dwyer, EDITOR

The Astrodome has been left unused since it stopped hosting events. Many different proposals have been brought forth in an effort to convert the former Eighth Wonder of the World into something new. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

HOUSTON

Astrodome sparks preservation dialogue

H

ouston has an unfortunate history of tearing down relics from the past, which concerns advocates for preservation of the Astrodome.

The Texas Senate NICK BELL COLUMNIST approved a bill that will require a public vote in order to use taxpayer funds to repurpose the Astrodome.

The project has already been approved, but it is now up to the voters.

I witnessed the final rodeo and the final Astros game in the Astrodome when I was a kid.

Ironically, it wasn’t until Enron Field was built across the street from the Ben Milam hotel that I noticed the scarcity of historic buildings in the downtown area.

The newer ballpark was constructed on the site of Houston’s Union Station, and the Ben Milam hotel across the street was demolished almost a decade later.

The Astrodome has faced a number of proposals for nearly two decades, none of which have been successful. Earlier this year, the stadium was designated a State Antiquities

Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission.

Former Houston mayor Bob Lanier played a role in the 1990s by adopting city ordinances to protect civic monuments.

More recently, former mayor Annise Parker expanded provisions to protect the process of designating landmarks and historic districts.

This allowed progress toward getting the Astrodome preserved.

Houston does not feel like an old city, and I attribute much of that sentiment to inf lux of younger people living in Houston.

The lack of a large population until the latter half of the 20th century fostered an absence of widely felt nostalgia in the city’s population.

For example, there is a void of sentimental value in buildings similar to the Astrodome for someone who moved to Houston to capitalize on the oil and gas boom of the 1980s.

The recent trend in the last two decades of delegating more intermediary control to preservation organizations and the public at large is what Houston needs.

Concern over indiscriminate demolition of the city’s older

buildings has grown out of a collective consciousness being shaped by the successive generations of Newstonians.

Whether the public should fund the restructuring of the Astrodome lot for parking spots is up for debate.

While I don’t believe that is the best use of the space, the general apprehension toward misaligned repurposing projects represents a shifting zeitgeist when it comes to Houston's historic landmarks.

I was a fan of the romanticized visions to revamp the Astrodome as a multiuse facility, but at least parking allows the building to maintain its relevance for a little longer.

The Astrodome exists as a powerful conversation piece for the city's citizens as well as preservationists, and it's considered a relic for many native Houstonians, especially the ones who attended events during its heyday.

The more we debate the Astrodome, the more that preservationists will be able to shape the discussion about the history — and future — of Houston's buildings.

Opinion columnist Nicholas Bell is an MBA graduate student and can be reached at opinion@ thedailycougar.com

PUZZLES

ACROSS 1 Tears For ___ 6 Ride the waves 10 Scot’s sun blocker 13 “As You Like It” girl 14 Santa ___, California 16 They’re fertilized, in biology 17 When a certain guy takes a lady’s coat, he puts it on a ...

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tion “Aw” follower Foot joints Sight, for one Pasty Hawaiian dish 53 When a certain guy fixes your choppers, you’ve been ...

58 Thing to confess 59 Circle a planet 60 Maternally related 61 Measurement of work 62 Perceive with one’s eyes 63 Evil one down below DOWN 1 Govt. airwaves agency 2 Sushi fish 3 Boxing legend 4 Musical phrase 5 Exotic hunting vacations 6 Hardly enough 7 Arm bone 8 Good thing for an oil spill 9 Renews, as air 10 When a certain guy is out there just a-selling, he’s ... .11 Strongly say it’s so 12 Many pins are produced on them 15 Some fighting forces 18 Color choices 22 Suffix with “rich” or “poor” 23 Groupings of eight 24 RNA component 25 When a certain 47 48 50 52

27 29 30 31 32 34 37 38 40 41 43 44 46 48 49 50 51 54 55 56 57

wealthy guy is wifehunting, he’s ...

Like a flag of surrender “Annnyway ...”

Lily type You can fall back on it Letter receiver Like some foamymouthed dogs Double-check “___ you hearing this?”

Elegant garden structure with a roof Plaster of Paris preparations Abbr. on many remotes Grape-loving sot Green, the “Witch of Wall Street” It usually contains the altar Pinot ___ One way to get to grade school Italian stack blower “Scorpion” network Scalp warmer Landing guesstimate Hangout for some animals

Wednesday, April 12, 2017 | 11

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SPORTS

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Leonard D. Gibson III, EDITOR

BASEBALL

Sophomore pitches his way to top 10 in the nation SARA MIRZA

STAFF WRITER

@ SARAMIRZA95

By the end of last year, sophomore left-hander Trey Cumbie had cemented himself as one of Cougar baseball’s up-and-coming pitchers.

Starting out as relief for starting pitchers, he slowly proved his pitching finesse. When it came time for his first career start, he led the Cougars to a 4-3 win over Sam Houston State University.

Cumbie finished his decorated freshman season by being named American Pitcher of the Week, Silver Glove Series MVP, Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, and NCBWA Second Team Freshman All-American.

“It gave me a feel for the college level,” Cumbie said. “I knew what to expect coming into this year, and I had a lot better feel for my teammates as well.”

Early into his sophomore year, Cumbie has already exceeded expectations. He ranks No. 7 in the nation with a 1.04 ERA, leading the Cougar pitching staff.

In seven starts, he boasts a 5-0 record — one of the top starters in the county.

man year, he appeared in 15 games. He finished with a 1.29 ERA and a 5-2 record in 56 innings pitched, while only walking nine and allowing three home runs.

Realizing his talent All of his hard work came together in his March 21 start on the road playing then–No. 10 University of Louisiana — his hardest contest to date.

Louisiana had all the momentum going into the game. They were coming off a series win over Appalachian State University and had a 7-2 record at home.

They were led by Alex Pinero, who had a .375 batting average, 24 hits, 12 runs and 12 RBI. Facing these factors, Cumbie dominated the Cajuns every inning. He finished with his first complete game, shutting out the Cajuns, striking out five and giving up just five hits.

The Cougars won 4-0. His performance earned him American Pitcher of the Week for the first time in 2017.

“There’s not a situation where we think, 'It’s too big for him,'” said junior catcher Connor Wong, “He takes it pitch by pitch and he actually gets the pitches

“I thought (Cumbie) by the end of last year was our best pitcher. He was the most durable, reliable, consistent guy that we had for, really, the last half of the season.”

After mainly being a relief pitcher his freshman year, sophomore left-hander Trey Cumbie has quickly proven himself as one of the best pitchers in the country, ranking No. 7 in the nation with a 1.04 ERA. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

worship DIRECTORY

Todd Whitting, head coach

Starting from the bottom Despite starting only five games as a freshman and spending most of the season as a reliever, Cumbie does not believe that much has changed for him this season. Because of his understanding of the nuanced team dynamics, he feels more confident in his playing style at the elite level.

“I thought (Cumbie) by the end of last year was our best pitcher,” said head coach Todd Whitting. “He was the most durable, reliable, consistent guy that we had for, really, the last half of the season. So, what he’s done this year hasn’t really surprised me.”

When starter Andrew Lantrip went down last year with an injury, Cumbie was the top choice to take his spot in the rotation.

Over the course of his fresh-

he needs to and he’s been doing a really good job for us this year.”

CATHOLIC MASS ON CAMPUS

Consistent performer His dominance against Louisiana was not a freak occurrence.

He has been doing that for the majority of his two years at UH. Since coming to Houston, he has a record of 9-2, with a 1.18 ERA and 78 strikeouts against only 16 walks.

Never letting the situation get the better of him, Cumbie is seen by many as one of the most competitive athletes on the team.

“The thing is, (Cumbie) is a real quiet, competitive guy,” Whitting said. “He’s a leader on our team but he’s not a leader in the fact that he’s real vocal. He’s more about how he acts and how he carries himself.” sports@thedailycougar.com

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Leonard D. Gibson III, EDITOR

TRACK & FIELD

Record-setting jumper sets high mark for teammates PETER SCAMARDO

SENIOR STAFF WRITER @ PLSCAMARDO2

Junior jumper Tonye'cia Burks started 2017 with high goals for herself. Not only did she want to grasp the concept of the triple jump, she wanted to break the school indoor record in the event.

Burks ended up going one step further by breaking the indoor and outdoor school triple jump records. To top it off, she claimed the top mark in the NCAA as well.

"I always wanted to be called the best triple jumper that UH had," Burks said. "I feel I accomplished that goal. But then again, I still have to come back every day and remember that I'm still here. To do better than what I have done. To keep driving."

Burks, senior sprinter Tori Williams and sophomore thrower Taylor Scaife were by far the most consistent performers among the returning athletes.

All three won numerous events throughout the year and set expectations for the rest to follow.

"They understand what they're doing, and they're driving to get that so it gets everyone else on board to follow that path," Burks said.

set school records during the indoor season, contributing 26 of the women's 99 points at Conference.

Claiming victory

Despite not qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships, Burks knew she still had a long season ahead of herself. In just her second meet of the outdoor season, the junior once again made school history as she broke the school outdoor triple jump record at the Victor Lopez Classic at Rice University.

Her mark of 13.23m was No. 1 in the NCAA. The mark is still good for No. 5 in the country, firmly cementing Burks as one of the best jumpers and overall athletes in the nation.

Her success has Burks setting her goals high for herself and her teammates come May and June.

"We're going to take first," Burks said. "No doubt about it.

(We're going to) sweep the conference titles, get to the national meet and keep going as far as I can."

In her first two seasons of competition, Burks failed to place in the top five in the triple jump at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Conference Championships.

After placing eighth and seventh in her first two attempts, Burks claimed gold in her third campaign, setting a new school record, 12.99m, in the process.

"I was at a loss for words," Burks said. "When they called 12.99, I was like 'Really? Oh my God,' because that jump felt so easy. It didn't feel like I was working hard for it. I wasn't tired. It was really pleasing and relieving to know I got there without even knowing I did it."

Burks's win went a long way.

The women's team earned their first top-three finish at AAC Conference since 2014.

Burks, Williams and Scaife all placed in the top three of their events, each either set or nearly

Nation's best

sports@thedailycougar.com

After failing to make top 5 at conference her first two seasons, junior Tonye'cia Burks owns two school records and has proven to be one of the best jumpers in the country so far this season. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

FOOTBALL

Cougars aim to strip away mistakes in spring game J. D. SMITH

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR @ JDSMITH_08

Every spring, college football programs all over the county compete in their annual intrasquad games. For Houston, the 2017 Red & White game will take place Saturday afternoon at TDECU Stadium.

For many fans, this will be the true first showing of a Major Applewhite-led team, after an offseason as head coach.

The game also serves in giving Cougar fans a chance to look at the 2017 squad, which is looking to replace a number of starters.

Redshirt junior quarterback Kyle Allen will see his first live action as a Cougar after sitting out last season following his transfer from Texas A&M University. The Arizona native took a majority of reps in the scrimmages, going 44-of-71 for 373 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

One of only two Houston quarterbacks cleared for full contact, Allen is the current

The Cougars return to TDECU Stadium on Saturday for the annual Red & White game. | Ajani Stewart/The Cougar

favorite to get the nod at signal caller after two-year starter Greg Ward Jr. closed out his career in December.

“Greg (Ward) was an unbelievable player when the play broke down,” Allen said. “Obviously, I’m not near the athlete Greg

is, but I think that I bring a lot to the table from the mental side and from the pocket presence side.”

In addition to Ward, the offense will lose two of its top targets — seniors wide receiver Chance Allen and tight end

Tyler McCloskey. With junior Isaiah Johnson switching to cornerback, seniors Linell Bonner and Steven Dunbar will look to be the top options in 2017, sophomore Terry Mark emerged as one of Allen’s top targets in the first scrimmage.

On the defensive side, the Cougars are aiming to reload as five starters from the 2016 team graduated or left for the NFL. Anchored by sophomore All-American tackle Ed Oliver, the defense allowed just six touchdowns, while scoring one of their own, in two scrimmages.

The Third Ward D will look to its experienced safeties for guidance in the secondary. Despite losing both starting corners to the NFL, senior Khalil Williams and junior Garrett Davis have combined for 27 starts, appearing together in all 12 games in 2016.

“We’ve got a young team.

We’ve got to grow up in one year and become closer,” Davis said. “I told the team we have to grow up together, and it’s a thing where we’re all trying to do great things and progress as players.”

Admission to Saturday’s Red & White game is free to all comers, and kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at TDECU Stadium. sports@thedailycougar.com