2 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
NEWS MICHAEL SLATEN, EDITOR
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ACADEMICS
UH-based publisher promotes Latino heritage, writers OSCAR AUIGLAR
FEATURES EDITOR @OAGU_16
UH-based publisher Arte Público Press promotes Latino literature by publishing and recovering Latino writings. | Courtesy of Arte Público Press
While in graduate school in the ’70s, Nicolás Kanellos, director of Arte Público Press, scoured the libraries at the University of Texas at Austin for Latino literature but found nothing in one of the top 10 largest public collections in the country. He has worked to change that for the past 44 years, publishing the work of Latino writers and recovering records of Latino heritage. “We knew that there was a long history of Latino thought and Latino writing in the United States,” Kanellos said. “But not all of that material was available in libraries, classrooms, archives, and our whole written heritage was being lost.” In Chicago, 1972, Kanellos started a magazine, Revista Chicano-Riqueña, after realizing that a lot of Latino writers didn’t have an outlet to publish their work. Kanellos founded Arte
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Público Press in 1979 after the magazine’s success in classrooms, and he brought the magazine and publisher with him to the University of Houston in 1980. Arte Público Press is the oldest and largest U.S. publisher of contemporary and recovered U.S. Latino literature. APP launched the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project to recover records of Latino literature and created Piñata Books, a division focused on children’s books.
Preserving Latino heritage Kanellos said institutions responsible for safeguarding our national heritage were not accessible to Latinos. He wanted to find records of Latino literature, history and culture but found nothing. Kanellos always knew Latino heritage existed, but it was absent from his education, he said. Americo Paredes, a MexicanAmerican author and Kanellos’ professor at UT, directed him to century-old newspapers where he found records of Latino history, Kanellos said. He’d have to wait 20 years for adequate funding, modern technology and a core of professors able to focus on safeguarding Latino heritage, Kanellos said. Then he found 20 scholars in the field and created the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project. Foundations, like the Rockefeller Foundation, began supporting the project soon after, he said. The project is self-sustaining because they sell databases of recovered texts. Latinos participated in almost every movement in American history, ranging from abolition to women’s suffrage, Kanellos said. “We have material evidence, texts, documentation and about 2,000 different newspapers that were published before 1960 that are evidence of our thinking, of our contributions, of our literature, of our art and of our politics that our students and scholars around the United States can access,” Kanellos said. APP launched the careers of most of the important Latino writers in the United States, like Sandra Cisneros, he said. There’s no other recovery program in the United States nor a publisher focused on Latino literature as large as APP, he said.
Promoting Latino writers Gwendolyn Zepeda, Houston’s first poet laureate, said her work wasn’t stereotypical enough for New York publishers, so she published her work with APP. “When I was contacting agents, they were like, ‘I would rather have a story about your family crossing the border’,” Zepeda said. “It occurred to me that whoever published Sandra Cisneros first was the right person for me.” Zepeda’s work doesn’t deal with assimilating to American culture because she’s already American, she said. She was afraid APP wouldn’t want her work because she wasn’t Latina enough, but they liked it and said she should make it longer, she said. APP understands that while Latinos have things in common, there’s individual and artistic differences, Zepeda said. They try to promote as many different voices as they can, she said. “They’re not just looking for the border story or just looking for Dirty Girls Social Club,” Zepeda said. “I believe that no minority in America can be truly respected until we are seen as individuals.” Jasminne Mendez, a UH alumna and author, said APP’s focus on Latino writers ensures their work gets into the right hands. Mendez first published with APP while studying at UH when her professor selected her work to be part of an anthology, she said. “Because of their dedication to only Latino authors, they really are thoughtful in the editing process, marketing and the care they take with your work and your words,” Mendez said. “It was important to me that they would consider my story and honor my story, not try to whitewash it.”
Humble beginnings Kanellos said UH covers some of APP’s indirect costs, such as financial accounting, personnel and facilities, but he didn’t always have these resources available. “When we started at Revista Chicano-Riqueña, we were scrounging for paper at the university (in Chicago),” Kanellos said. “We would be selling them out by hand during community festivals.” It started as a grassroots effort, Kanellos said. Now APP
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works with wholesalers, distributors and movie agents, he said. Marina Tristan, assistant director of APP, said the agency had only four full-time employees when she started in 1986 compared to the current 10 full-time and 10 parttime employees.
They had offices in three different buildings at one point: a trailer behind the law school, Agnes Arnold and the library, she said. “Our warehouse was literally closets and classrooms,” Tristan said. “We’d have a 10-minute window to get in the classroom, haul out the boxes that we needed and not disrupt the class.” They regularly sent out
students, and one of them missed the 10-minute window, Tristan said. He had to hide in one of the closets until class ended, she said. One of their closets located in the basement of Agnes Arnold flooded during tropical storm Allison — a problem they haven’t dealt with since moving to their new office in 2012, she said. Tristan and other APP
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employees now have easy access to books without having to walk across campus, worry about rodents or climb over toilets, she said. Kanellos said APP employs graduate students who oftentimes choose their research topics from the recovery program. Universities and libraries across the country subscribe to their
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databases, Kanellos said. “We’re especially targeting the eight largest school districts with Latino enrollment in the country, like Houston, Dallas, San Antonio,” Kanellos said. “(We’re) getting our books, our heritage into the hands of kids, especially Latinos who haven’t had access to this material in the past.” news@thedailycougar.com
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With more competition, UH plans to grow on-campus housing
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Moody Towers, built in 1970, will be demolished in three to five years to make way for new campus housing in the same location. | Owen Zinkweg/The Cougar
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Nursing sophomore Jose Martinez wants to live on campus, but the limited availability of on-campus housing has pushed him to live at the Campus Vue apartments, the closest offcampus alternative, nearly half a mile away. “The dorms are always full,” Martinez said. “I would like to live on campus, but there is never any room.” Over the past seven years, five third-party student housing complexes have opened up within three miles of the campus. With vast changes planned for the University’s housing options, Student Housing & Residential Life hopes to take back students, like Martinez, who have chosen to live at the new apartments. One goal for the University is to have 60 percent of first time in college students live
on campus. According to a Housing presentation, the University is at 52 percent. In February, the Quadrangle began demolition for a replacement expected to be complete by December 2019. “Even though it has an amazing history, it was time for the Quadrangle to go,” said Don Yackley, executive director of Student Housing and Residential Life. “We are going to be adding an additional 350 new beds so that when it returns it will be able to grow.” The new Quadrangle will draw its design from Cougar Place, which Yackley said is the most popular place to live on campus with its suite-style living and private bedrooms. It will also have some townhouse-style buildings with the purpose of attracting international students and creating more learning communities. “All of this has the goal of being as affordable as
possible and encouraging student-to-student interaction, which we know impacts student success,” Yackley said. The Quadrangle is not the only part of campus housing that has changes coming. Moody Towers will soon be replaced. “The towers are next,” Yackley said. “In three to five years, we expect to be looking at taking down and replacing the towers.” Construction for Moody Towers was completed in 1970. Replacing the towers will be much different than the Quadrangle or any other dorm on campus, Yackley said. “They’re our most affordable housing option, so whatever we replace, we have to focus on affordability,” Yackley said. Housing expects to be full for the upcoming fall semester, Yackley said. “We hear from parents and students after they go
that they want to return,” he said. “What we offer is more engaging, more involved in University activities and events, and we have more resources.” Yackley said he wants more students to pursue oncampus options. “The best is the proximity, you can’t beat it. Being walking minutes from your class or the student center is amazing,” Yackley said. Despite the benefits of living on campus, postbaccalaureate computer information systems student Shaye Wreford chooses to instead live at the Campus Vue because of the freedom and extra space afforded by off-campus living. “I appreciate the ability to take less than 30 steps from my door to my car, as well as freedom from the rules enforced on campus,” Wreford said. On-campus residents must purchase the same parking permit as commuter
students. As a result, residential students are often parked far from their residence hall. In 2014, the University entertained the idea of requiring freshmen to live on campus. President Renu Khator received pushback and nixed the plan before the University of Houston Board of Regents could vote on it. That same year, University reports showed that students who live on campus have GPAs that are .01 to .11 points higher compared to their commuter peers. Students who live on campus also have higher graduation rates, Yackley said. “It’s a very rare and unique opportunity to live with your peers,” Yackley said. “Probably the most impactful dynamic to foster success in school is a connection to other students.” news@thedailycougar.com
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4 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
NEWS MICHAEL SLATEN, EDITOR
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CAMPUS
Zone Parking, increased enforcement kicks off Aug. 20 ALANA HOWARD
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR @ IAMALANAHOWARD
Zone Parking, in addition to stricter enforcement of license plates and evening and weekend parking, is set to begin the first day of the semester. With the purchase of a student parking permit, which became available through the parking portal this spring, students are required to pick from one of six zones (labeled A-F). Remote campus, garage and motorcycle permits will not be zoned. “Anyone parking without a permit for that specific zone is subject to not only a ticket but a tow as well,” said Bob Browand, director of UH Parking and Transportation Services. In the past, drivers parked incorrectly in a student lot received a ticket for the first offense.
The different parking zones at the University of Houston. Zone parking will begin at the start of the fall semester, and there will no longer be free visitor parking at the University during the weekends and evenings. | Fiona Legesse-Sinha/The Cougar
According to Parking and Transportation Services,
Zone Parking is intended to redistribute traffic from heavily
used parking lots throughout campus, so students are more likely to be able to find a spot consistently in the same lot. This summer, UH parking began using license plate enforcement, which involves scanning license plates throughout the parking lots to ensure they’re parked in the correct area and with the appropriate permit. “We are transitioning to license plate recognition to increase the efficiency of enforcement and further reduce the likelihood that someone without a permit can park and not get caught,” Brownard said. “Keep in mind that although we”ll be using license plates for enforcement, properly displayed permits are still required at all times”. An email sent out by Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts Dean Andrew Davis announced that all evening and weekend visitor parking on campus, including evening and weekend parking for arts and cultural events, will convert to paid parking. Visitors to campus will pay $5 in cash or with a credit card to a parking attendant stationed at lots throughout campus. “Clearly this is not ideal for our patrons, but the change is necessary in our dynamic and rapidly changing campus environment,” Davis said in the email Political science senior Raihan Siddiqui believes that the leeway that students were offered after 5 p.m. and on the weekends made PTS’s prices and systems more tolerable. He said it is ridiculous that parking enforcement has been cracking down on ticketing in the summer when there are
plenty of parking spots available. “The fact that they went out of their way to purchase license plate scanners might be a positive during busy hours when people with permits need highly sought after spots,” Siddiqui said. “But, using them when space isn’t an issue seems almost petty. I really hope they choose to ease up and shows students some courtesy and mercy.” Between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, only people with the appropriate permit will be allowed to park in their chosen zone. “We are increasing the shuttle service to accommodate the zone parking program, and this will mean two new routes that will circulate campus. Next year students will find that they can show up to their zone, park and get to class more quickly and efficiently,” Browand said. After 4 p.m. during weekdays and throughout the weekends, anyone with a parking permit can park in any zone or student lot, along with any faculty and staff non-gated lot on campus. “Permits are required at all times to park on campus, even the first day of class,” Browand said. PTS will have representatives at the entrances of all parking lots during the first week of classes to ensure no one parks in the wrong zone and also guarantee that everyone can locate their correct parking location. Permit costs will continue to rise as PTS takes on more debt to build to a total of eight garages on campus, according to a PTS budget from spring. news@thedailycougar.com
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www.uh.edu/mvp One of the six parking zones for student permits. | Michael Slaten/The Cougar
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 5
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academics
UH closing in on its first Rhodes scholarship, administration says michael slaten
ships awarded to UH students, according to University records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Daniel Mendiola, 2017 Fulbright Student Research award winner, was a doctoral candidate studying history and working on his dissertation when he applied for a Fulbright scholarship. He needed access to Costa Rica’s National Archives to help write his dissertation. “In this archive, they have these sources that no one else has, don’t exist anywhere else, and they’re going to take months and months to read because they are thousands and thousands of pages,” Mendiola said to professors when applying for the scholarship. Mendiola began applying for the Fulbright Scholarship in the summer of 2016. He went through six distinct drafts of his personal statement and received feedback on every single one of them from faculty and staff in the Honors College, he said. “We’ve always had great students at UH,” Mendiola said. “Now we are strategically providing additional support to put them in position to get scholarships.” Mendiola successfully defended his dissertation last spring. He is now the Mellon Research Scholar’s Coordinator for the Honors College, helping undergraduates do research in the humanities.
news editor @michaelslaten
Thirty Rhodes Scholars have walked through the halls of the University of Texas at Austin, seven at Texas A&M University. Some Rhodes Scholars have gone on to become senators, governors and Supreme Court Justices. The University of Houston has never had one. The Rhodes Scholarship is one of the most prestigious scholarships a student can win. Only 32 students from the United States earn the award every year. Students who earn the Rhodes Scholarship receive full funding to study at the University of Oxford in England. “One thing I do want over the next five years is for us to have a Rhodes Scholar here at the University,” said Provost Paula Short. “I think we got students that are highly qualified to receive that award, and I’d like to see us have our first Rhodes Scholar.” Over the past several years, the University has successfully increased its efforts and support to have more students win nationally competitive scholarships. Many involved with helping students earn nationally competitive scholarships say now it is only a matter of time before UH has its first Rhodes Scholar.
In time
The road to Rhodes The Office of Undergraduate Research at the Honors College works directly with students to help them earn nationally competitive awards, including the Rhodes Scholarship. Fiona Legesse-Sinha/The Cougar The Rhodes Scholarship requires nomination by the University as part of a seven-step application process. Establishing the College of MedAnother part of the application icine and having the University’s includes five to eight letters of first Rhodes Scholar are two of recommendation. Short’s goals over the next five Honors College Dean Wilyears, she said. liam Monroe, who has helped Last year, the Honors Colinterview students for nationally lege hired Director of National competitive scholarships in the Fellowships and Major Awards past, said there have been some Ben Rayder to help more students Rhode Scholar finalists to come earn nationally competitive scholout of the University. arships. “All the stars have to align “There is a real concerted effort before a student wins one of these in the Honors College to increase major awards,” Monroe said. “In those numbers,” Short said. order to increase that likelihood, Students can be recommended you have to keep getting students by a professor or their college, into the finals.” or they can come apply on their
own for a nationally competitive scholarship, Rayder said. The first UH Rhodes Scholar would signal and inspire students at UH that they too can become a Rhodes Scholar, he said. For most nationally competitive scholarships, Rayder helps students with their application. With the Rhodes Scholarship, however, he nor anyone else can help with a student’s application materials. Even if a student doesn’t win the award they applied for, the application process itself is worth going through, Rayder said. “Working on an application for
a program like this takes months, and it really forces you to reflect on your life, your values and what you want to accomplish,” said Kyle Karinshak, who spent 10 months doing research in Germany after earning his Fulbright Scholarship. “Reflection like that is always going to be a valuable experience.”
Fulbright success This past year, the University broke its own record with six students earning Fulbright awards for research or teaching English in a foreign country. The University now has 41 Fulbright Scholar-
There has been a tripling of students who are competing for nationally competitive scholarships in the last five years, Monroe said. In the University’s history, there has been one Harry S. Truman Scholarship and two Marshall Scholarships awarded to UH students, according to University records obtained through a FOIA request. “Sooner or later we will have our Rhodes Scholar,” Monroe said. Mendiola, with the near two dozen Mellon Scholars he works with, thinks some of those students have the potential to win a Fulbright Scholarship or even become a Rhodes Scholar. “There’s really no risk going through the application process,” Mendiola said. “Anyone who is thinking about applying to it, you should just do it because it will just benefit you.” news@thedailycougar.com
6 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
NEWS Michael Slaten, EDITOR
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nation
Kennedy retires 30 years after being appointed Supreme Court justice
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Oscar Aguilar
Features EDITOR @ oagu_16
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, 82, exited his chambers for the last time July 31, leaving behind a 30-year track record of preserving freedom of speech, LGBTQ rights, affirmative action and abortion. Kennedy, an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, announced his retirement June 27. Kennedy was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 and has been the deciding vote in many landmark decisions, like one concerning a Texas sodomy law. “He was probably the most speech protective justice, most certainly on the court that exists now,” said Emily Berman, an assistant professor at the UH Law Center. “Speech is one right that is essentially protective of all the other rights.” The U.S. Supreme Court heads the judicial branch. As the highest federal court, the Supreme Court is the final interpreter of the constitutionality of federal laws. The Court is made up of nine justices, all appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Supreme Court justices serve for life unless they retire or Congress impeaches and convicts them.
Kennedy’s legacy With the Court’s influence, Kennedy preserved freedom of expression in cases involving violent video games, protesting and
lying. He protected the speaker’s right to engage even when others might find it offensive, Berman said. For example, Kennedy said lying was a respondent’s habit in one of his opinions, according to Justia Legal Resources. He said the respondent had lied about playing “hockey for the Detroit Red Wings and that he once married a starlet from Mexico.” The respondent went on to lie about being the recipient of a Congressional Medal of Honor, which went against a federal statute. But Kennedy’s opinion struck down the law for being too restrictive on speech, according to Justia Legal Resources. Kennedy protects different forms of speech to foster an exchange of competing views, because they help preserve individual rights and the law, Berman said.
Social issues In his 30 years on the bench, Kennedy played a pivotal role in cases involving social issues, Berman said. Though appointed by a Republican president, Kennedy provided the swing vote in many of the Court’s liberal rulings. He furthered LGBTQ rights, starting with his deciding vote and opinion in Lawrence v. Texas — a case concerning Texas’ sodomy law. Twelve years later, he was the deciding vote in Obergefell v. Hodges, where the court legalized same-sex marriage. In both cases, Kennedy voted alongside the liberal wing of the
court, according to Oyez. Jenna Pel, secretary of the UH LGBTQ Alumni Association, said Kennedy’s nationwide influence on LGBTQ rights can’t be understated. “He will depart the Supreme Court with a legacy as a fierce advocate for civil rights,” Pel said. “Justice Kennedy’s vote helped secure the right that I can one day be lawfully wedded to a person of the same sex with the legal guarantee of equal rights and protections.” But Kennedy’s retirement generates uncertainty on the future of LGBTQ rights, Pel said. Berman said Kennedy had just as much influence in cases regarding abortion and affirmative action. According to Justia Legal Resources, he was one of the authors of an opinion reaffirming Roe v. Wade — a decision defending a woman’s right to an abortion. Kennedy was also the deciding vote in the most recent affirmative action case involving the University of Texas, where the Court decided to continue allowing race to be a factor in university admissions, according to Justia Legal Resouces. Corporations received the same amount of protection during Kennedy’s tenure, Berman said. In a case regarding campaign financing, Kennedy said corporate funding of political campaigns cannot be limited, she said.
National influence Pel said the Court decides some of the most controversial issues in today’s society, ranging from voting rights to unions. “This affects Americans every day, including UH students,” Pel said. Tammy Chang, a spokesperson for UH College Democrats, said Supreme Court decisions touch nearly every aspect of our daily lives. “With the appointment of Justice Gorsuch and following Kennedy’s retirement, it’s clear — and concerning — that the Trump administration will leave a lasting legacy on our judicial system,” Chang said. “We hope that the Senate will consider the will of the American people before making a decision on who will sit on such an influential seat.” The nominee’s qualifications and dedication to justice should take precedence over voting along party lines, Chang said. Antonio Cruz, a spokesperson for UH College Republicans, said Kennedy’s influence swayed the Court’s rulings the most on social issues. “I’m hoping that social issues, like abortion, will favor a more conservative view,” Cruz said. “In my opinion, he’s retiring now because he wants a Republican pick to replace him — because a Republican pick will most likely support freedom of speech on issues.” Kennedy and his successor will most likely have similar records
on freedom of speech, as everyone should, Cruz said.
Finding a replacement With Kennedy’s retirement, President Donald Trump will be filling the Court’s second vacancy since 2016. Trump nominated Justice Neil Gorsuch following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, and he will be looking for Kennedy’s successor. Before Kennedy’s retirement, four liberal and five conservative justices made up the court. Kennedy was part of the conservative wing but constantly voted on the liberal side of social issues, Berman said. Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh, a circuit judge of the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, to replace Kennedy. Kavanaugh, a conservative judge and devout Catholic, will most likely maintain Kennedy’s track record of protecting freedom of speech and religious freedom, Berman said. On social issues, like LGBTQ rights and abortion, it’s unclear whether Kavanaugh will vote like Kennedy, Berman said. “I think that conservatives are sort of betting on that in a lot of areas where Kennedy’s rulings were more on the liberal side of the spectrum, Judge Kavanaugh will differ from him significantly,” Berman said. “But Kennedy’s legacy will remain intact.” news@thedailycougar.com
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 7
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campus
UHPD acquires rifles, body cameras to improve campus safety Oscar aguilar
features editor @oagu_16
As part of the University of Houston Police Department’s effort to increase campus safety measures, announced in March, plans are in place to deploy rifles and body cameras this fall. The initial communication came after the UH community reported threatening social media posts from a former student in February. In an effort to ease worries brought by frequent school shootings, the March email updated students and faculty on the department’s ongoing active shooter response training. “Rifles give law enforcement another tool that can be used in specific circumstances where other tools might not be up to the task,” said UHPD Chief of Staff Bret Collier. “UHPD also received body cameras for all uniformed police officers.” Collier said the purchases totaled $97,730, with $15,880 going toward thee rifles and $81,850 spent on body cameras. UHPD didn’t own rifles prior to its recent purchase, Collier said recently. Officers authorized to use the rifles will first participate in a patrol rifle course and scenario-based training, Collier said. Rifles will be used only during active threat responses, not routine patrols, he said.
Collier declined to elaborate on deployment strategies but said they were in line with those of other law enforcement agencies. Despite UHPD’s effort to ease the public, some students have reservations about the new security measures. Cole Patterson, an interpersonal communications junior, said wearing body cameras should be a requirement for police officers, but he isn’t sure purchasing rifles is the correct response. “(A body camera) illuminates their behaviors that are ethical as well as not ethical,” Patterson said. “I definitely say they should not have rifles, because it incites more fear and more confusion and chaos.” Patterson worries that even with the training, the rifles may not be used effectively when needed. In February, an armed suspect was spotted near the athletics district. The suspect was a “black male wearing a gray shirt with black sleeves and black pants,” according to coverage by The Cougar. Michelle Onwudebe, a corporate communications senior, said rifles could be used to shoot the wrong person in situations where someone else may also fit the description. “In the situation with what happened on west campus, if they
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didn’t have the proper description of the guy who was posing the threat, they could’ve just brought out their rifles and started shooting whoever they saw who looked like they were posing a threat,” Onwudebe said. However, UH College Republicans commended UHPD’s efforts. Antonio Cruz, a spokesperson for UH College Republicans, said UHPD officers receive training on how and when to use their rifles. “Based off what we know, it doesn’t seem a big deal,” Cruz said. “UH has been a safe campus, and if it continues to be safe, the rifles will never be used.” Cruz prefers having the rifles
and not needing them over the possibility of UHPD not having the correct tools to combat a threat to campus safety. UH College Democrats, like UH College Republicans, commended UHPD’s efforts but with certain reservations. Tammy Chang, a spokesperson for UH College Democrats, said they expressed concern about the presence of military grade weapons on campus but praised UHPD’s efforts. “The College Democrats at the University of Houston are confident that UHPD has assessed the specific needs of our community and have done their best
to ensure our campus’ measure of safety has stepped up to the standards of the Houston Police Department,” Chang said. She also said body cameras will encourage further transparency and accountability from the department. Collier said rifles allow the department to stop threats faster and more accurately. “We prefer not to disclose the number ordered, but we are comfortable with what we will be able to deploy in emergency situations,” Collier said.situations,” Collier said. news@thedailycougar.com
campus
Law center accepts its first dual degree undergraduate students Oscar aguilar
features editor @oagu_16
Three years after UH launched its 3+3 undergraduate and law dual degree program, the Law Center will receive the program’s first cohort as part of the class of 2021. The Honors College, Law Center and College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences formed a partnership in 2015 to create an undergraduate and law dual degree program, where students major in liberal studies — a degree consisting of three minors. They receive a minor in phronesis, one in the subject of their choice and their law degree counts as the third.
“We have an opportunity within the Honors College for exceptional students to potentially complete their undergraduate studies in three years,” said Alison Leland, director of Honors Pre-Law and Public Service. “Then in what would be their senior year, they begin their studies at the UH Law Center.” To take part in 3+3, Leland said students must first be admitted into the Honors College and then apply to enroll into the program. Those accepted into the program receive their bachelor’s degree only after their first year of law school, she said. Some students within the program decide not to enroll in law school and graduate in four years
instead of three. Law school applicants accepted by the Law Center tend to have at least a 3.5 GPA and a 159 on the LSAT, Leland said. The Law Center accepted all three students who applied from the program’s first cohort into the Class of 2021. Those interested in attending other law schools, or those deciding not to attend at all, are free to complete their degrees in four years. Mason Malone, the first 3+3 student accepted into the Law Center, said he benefited most from the mentorship and exposure available in the program. Leland introduced students to people within the legal
community, Malone said, in addition to exposing them to the different ways they can use a law degree. She also gave Malone advice whenever he needed it. Leland even helped him land an internship with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, he said. Students in the 3+3 program get additional preparation because the program allows them to see the different career paths available, he said. Although the summer classes they took at the Law Center lacked the intensity of an actual law class, Malone said the opportunity gave them a preview of what it would be like. “Probably the greatest help
has been maybe just fully understanding that nothing in undergrad can fully prepare you,” Malone said. “It’s just so hard to be prepared, because from what I’ve heard, it’s just nothing like what you’ve ever had before.” Though law school waives his third minor, Malone is majoring in economics and minored in public relations and Phronesis, the study of moral philosophy, classical literature, political theory and ethics. The program also allows students to build close relationships with their peers, Malone said. He’s good friends with the other two students in his
Law center
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Continued from previous page group, and they mentor students in other cohorts. Stephanie Nweke, one of the students in the program’s first cohort, said she minored in psychology and Phronesis, with law school counting as her third. “I think what I see improving is the directors of the program creating a safe space for the students and the program to explore what they want to do, even if that doesn’t involve going to law school early,” Nweke said. Being around people with similar ambitions and qualities, like Malone, makes it easier to get through potential obstacles, she said. Nweke is the only female student in this cohort, so she said her experience differed from Malone’s. But being female hasn’t taken away any of the opportunities available to her. “It helps you kind of sit back for the ride and enjoy it rather than focusing on getting to the final destination,” Nweke said. news@thedailycougar.com
The Law Center accepted three students from the law and undergraduate dual degree program into the class of 2021. Mason Malone, left, and Stephanie Nweke start law school this fall after only three years of undergraduate school. Director of Honors Pre-Law Alison Leland leads the program. | Corbin Ayres/The Cougar
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Campus
Chartwells rolling out new restaurants, prices alana howard
assistant news editor @ iamalanahoward
Expect to see two new dining locations and increased meal plan prices this fall. In March 2017, the University terminated a long-standing food services contract with Aramark in hopes of revamping UH Dining and boosting student satisfaction. This fall will mark the beginning of Chartwells Higher Education’s second year at the helm of the University’s food scene, and with it comes another wave of changes. “You get what you pay for. Aramark was cheaper, and it also sucked,” said Student Government Association President Cameron Barrett. “Chartwells is more expensive, (but) the difference in quality is higher than the difference in price.” In its pilot year, the new dining program brought a 24/7 operating structure to the dining halls and introduced numerous other upgrades to the accessibility and quality of on-campus dining, but improvements came with increased meal plan prices. Chartwells is looking to add two new restaurants in the fall: Mondo Subs, a sandwich concept in Student Center South, and a sushi bar located in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. “Dining is a large component of any university, especially for those who live on campus,” said District Marketing Manager Abel Valencia. “We address things like access to food, excitement in the dining halls. Through different programs, we try to make sure students are engaged so that they have opportunities to learn about their food.” They made visual improvements to the Moody Towers Dining Commons and rebranded the C-store through The Market branch, Valencia said.
Despite improvements brought by Chartwells, sociology junior Kevin Terry said meal plans have become an issue among students. “Meal plans are too expensive, and that is the main problem I have with eating on campus,” Terry said. “With prices that high, it makes it not worth it.” The cheapest mandatory meal plan for residential students in 2018-2019, the 24/5 bronze plan, comes with $150 in Cougar Cash but does not allow access to dining halls on weekends. At $1,940 per semester, this plan is a $140 increase from the previous base plan for residents — which provided unlimited swipes 24/7 and no Cougar Cash Chartwells begins its second year as UH's food service provider after replacing Aramark. | Michael Slaten/The Cougar — and removes weekend access to the dining halls. per year. who experienced both Aramark but at the same time, more Still, psychology senior Mariah Barrett said the overall and Chartwells would say they students complain about how Smith said she likes the dining concern for meal plans is prefer the latter, he said. crappy Aramark was than the services under Chartwells more reasonable but offset by the “The students rightfully prices on the meal plans now. than Aramark. increased dining quality since complain about the prices.” “I feel like there are better food Chartwells’ took over. Students Barrett said. “It’s very expensive, news@thedailycougar.com options, and the dining halls are very clean and are managed better,” Smith said. “Every experience I’ve had at the dining hall in the past couple of months has been great.” In an attempt to implement more options, Barrett wrote a bill in the summer, which passed, that will encourage dining services to provide more kosher and halal options. “The thought process was, if you open a place with more than two eateries, one of those needs to offer kosher and halal, and they agreed to that,” Barrett said. “They also agreed to contract with different food trucks, CATHOLIC MASS ON CAMPUS because it is a lot easier to get a SUNDAYS: truck to drive to campus than to 10:45 AM - Religion Center 6:00 PM - Catholic Center build a building.” WEEKDAYS: Tuesday—Friday 12:00 Noon Valencia said the goal is to CATHOLIC NEWMAN CENTER make dining accessible and to SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE Confession: Before or After Masses Office # (713) 748-2529 accommodate all students on First Service: 7:15 am campus. Second Service: 9:00 am After working with Auxiliary Third Service: 11:00 am Services, SGA approved an Fourth Service: 1:00 pm August motion to limit meal Sunday School: 9:00 am plan price growth to 3 percent
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sports
EDITOR Andres Chio EMAIL sports@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/sports
Do you have the drive? Women’s Golf does.
2 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Sports Andres Chio, EDITOR
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Football
Cougars secondary ready to show its mettle Christopher Mcgehee
Staff Writer @UHCoogChris
Houston's pass defense has been one of its biggest weaknesses over the last decade, but things are poised to change. After having a top 50 pass defense just twice in the last 14 seasons, the current secondary is loaded with talent that should bring tremendous improvements. Nick Watkins comes to the Cougars as a graduate transfer after being a starter at Notre Dame, while the No. 1 safety of 2016, sophomore Deontay Anderson, transferred from Ole Miss. Applewhite expects to see results from everyone in the secondary, transfers and returning players alike. “Whether it’s a fifth-year guy or a freshman, we expect people that are coming into this program to contribute,” Applewhite said. Last season, the Cougars were No. 36 in the nation in run defense but were No. 119 in passing yards allowed per game out of the 130 FBS teams. Undaunted by last year's struggles, senior defensive back Garrett Davis said he was confident in himself and his teammates. “We’ve worked hard over the summer, and the sky is the limit
for us,” Davis said. “I’m confident that the work that we put in and the work that we will put in during training camp will be more than enough for us to excel as a group.” The nature of football dictates that a great defense cannot have just an elite defensive line or an elite secondary. The linemen and the defensive backs must feed off each other. The Cougars’ secondary has a major advantage to help with that — game-changing defensive tackle, junior Ed Oliver. A consistently strong pass rush can force a quarterback to throw under pressure, and that leads to more interceptions for the secondary and linebackers. A lock down secondary can cause an opposing quarterback to hold onto the ball longer than he would like, allowing the pass rushers to get home for a sack or forcing the quarterback to throw the ball away. “We can always provide a better pass rush,” Oliver said. “But we know that we have a lot of guys that are going to step up in the secondary, so we’re going to have a great year.”
New additions It would be hard to be worse than last season, and the Cougars’ secondary will have something it sorely missed :
Andres Chio
Incoming freshmen and transfer students, or even just someone trying to get caught up with the team, have to know who UH's main rivals are. From decades-old rivalries to a modern nemesis, The Cougar has got you covered.
Rice
Redshirt sophomore Deontay Anderson joins Houston from Ole Miss, where he started as a freshman before sitting out a year. | Peter Scamardo / The Cougar
depth. With the new recruits, transfers and returning players, the Cougars can stay fresher than before and have more time to breathe. The heightened competition also means more pressure for players to perform at their best. "(The players) know now that with the depth that we have, if they slip up, they're probably not going to play. We were probably in a situation at times last season that we didn't have that," said defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio.
The increased depth gives Houston its best shot at having a top 50 pass defense for the first time since 2014, and senior defensive back Isaiah Johnson thinks it is only a matter of time. “With the added depth and the time we’ve spent together this whole year, our secondary can be top-notch,” Johnson said. “That’s how good we want to be, and that’s how good our rotation is going to be.” sports@thedailycougar.com
Four athletes to keep an eye on this fall Andres Chio
The fall season is just around the corner and athletes around campus are getting into full gear. The 2017-18 athletic season was filled with historic performances on the hardwood courts to the green golf courses and everywhere in between. Here are five athletes, and teams, to keep an eye on this fall.
Soccer: Jazmin Grant Under new head coach Diego Bocanegra, the Cougars soccer team had its best season since 2010. The team improved on the offensive side of the ball, but struggled to maintain its defensive skill of 2016. A big part of the offensive growth was sophomore Jazmin Grant who netted five goals and
five assists in just 13 appearances in UH's 17 games. Grant finished second on the team in points, won two American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week awards and earned a spot on the All-Freshman AAC team for her efforts. After a full offseason of training and conditioning under Bocanegra, expect Grant and other cougars like junior Madison Soileau and sophomore Mia Brascia to lift the team to its first winning season since 2010.
For 33 years, Houston and Rice competed in the Southwest Conference alongside other Texas stalwarts like Texas, Texas A&M and Baylor. Though the Silver Glove baseball series has often gone in favor of the Owls, the battle for football's Bayou Bucket has been dominated by the Cougars. This football season should be no different when the Cougars travel to Rice Stadium for the opening game on Sept. 1.
SMU Another rivalry from the days of the SWC is Southern Methodist. Over the years, the Cougars had a comfortable win lead over the Mustangs. But in 2016, the Mustangs upset the Cougars and knocked them out of NY6 Bowl Game contention. SMU even placed a billboard in UH's backyard off of I-45 to try to heat up the rivalry. In basketball, the two teams have been at the top of the American Athletic Conference over the last few years, and the gridiron rivalry has been spilling over to the hardwood.
Memphis
was one of the teams best off the ball players. While the meat of the basketball season is in the spring, playing well in the fall will help
While Memphis is not a traditional rival, it keeps spoiling the Cougars' fun. In 2016, the Tigers defeated the No. 18 Cougars in the final game of the regular season to knock Houston out of the top 25. Memphis struck again in 2017, defeating the Cougars 42-38 at TDECU Stadium to give Houston a major loss on its record. Last season in basketball, the Cougars became ranked for the first time since 2005. Then, Houston lost the next week to Memphis and almost lost its ranking. For those paying attention, Memphis has been a consistent thorn in Houston's side.
Four Athletes
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Senior Corey Davis Jr. scored 103 3-pointers and was third in assists in the Cougars' historic 2017-18 season. | Richard Fletcher Jr./The Cougar
Basketball: Corey Davis Jr. After making it to March Madness for the first time since 2010, the men's basketball team lost three of its senior leaders to graduation. But in a press conference, head coach Kelvin Sampson said that he has faith in the next group
Rivalries you need to know Sports Editor @Chioandres
Athletes
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New students
of Cougars, in particular senior Corey Davis Jr. Sampson said that Davis Jr. was very excited to begin the 2018-19 campaign and be a leader for the team. Last season, Davis Jr. led the team in three pointers and and
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Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 3
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Soccer
Q&A: Bocanegra and Cougars look to take next step in development Jhair Romero
Staff Writer
@JustJhair
UH soccer is looking to redeem itself with familiar and fresh faces a year after missing the conference tournament by just one game. Head coach Diego Bocanegra and his staff have worked hard in the offseason and added 13 new players, including 11 freshmen and two transfers. Houston is also finding comfort in several returning players like senior goalkeeper Rachel Estopare, sophomore forward Jazmin Grant and sophomore midfielder Mia Brascia. The Cougar spoke with Bocanegra to discuss the new season and the team’s long-term goals moving forward. The Cougar: What has been the team’s main focus so far in preparing for the season? Bocanegra: We spent a lot of the spring working on our mentality and
working on being more resilient and stronger mentally.
TC: How did those things affect the team last season, and how might they help moving forward? DB: By the end of the season, once the coaching staff and the players got on the same page, we started doing really well. We added to that. Our returners stepped it up a notch: a little harder in the weight room, a little harder in their fitness and their mentality. I’m excited because I think all that is going to carry over, finally coming together this fall.
TC: There are a lot of new players coming in this season. What do you think they will add to the team? DB: The raw talent that we have coming in increases our soccer playing level. I think we will be able to use more players this year, which will be a major advantage for us.
TC: The returning players are one of the team’s greatest strengths, but what will be the team’s greatest challenge? What do you think will be an obstacle that the
team will have to overcome? DB: We have all the pieces of the puzzle, but making sure we all get on the same page will be our biggest obstacle. I truly believe that we have a team capable of competing with anyone and everyone on our schedule. If we focus on coming together, our results will take care of themselves.
DB: We’ve been waiting for this since the end of last season. We knew the players that we have coming in. We’ve seen the returners and their ability to continue to grow. I think this year we are going to take a massive step toward
what we’re trying to accomplish, which is being a team that can contend with anyone in the nation.
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TC: Who do you think will be the difference maker in the tougher games? DB: We’re always going to rely on some of our veteran players that have the most experience. That core of our leadership group will have an influence on everyone else.
TC: Which teams are you looking forward to playing? DB: Houston Baptist, Lamar, Prairie
View, Incarnate Word, Sam Houston, even McNeese in the neighboring state of Louisiana. Those games are always exciting because they are regional rivals.
TC: How excited are you about the potential your team has going into the 2018–2019 season?
Head coach Diego Bocanegra led the Cougars to a 7-9-1 overall record in 2017 and a seventh place finish in the AAC. | Corbin Ayres/ The Cougar
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Women's Golf
Women's golf makes history despite odds
The women's golf team has won two American Athletic Conference titles and qualified for a four straight NCAA Regionals in just five years of activity. | Photo Courtesy of UH Athletics
Andres Chio
Sports Editor @chioandres
A brand new sports team will tend to struggle during its opening season. Its staff tends not to have the experience or history to attract big names, forcing the team to start small and slowly build itself up. There are far more stories like the Houston Texans', who had five losing seasons starting out, than the Las Vegas Golden Knights, who went to the Stanley Cup in its first year of existence. But UH's Women's Golf team has taken a path rarely walked and won two conference championships and made four NCAA Regional appearances in its first five years. As unlikely as it was, head coach Gerrod Chadwell said he was never in doubt. "I never saw it not happening," Chadwell said. "There was no blueprint to it that was a fail proof plan. A lot of it was hard work ... we got the right kids to buy in and they developed with everything we did at practice."
Building a program
Chadwell said a lot of the team's success stems from being able to compete at high level events that offer exposure and experience. "Being invited to those tournaments when we started the program was huge because you have to be invited," Chadwell said. "You can’t just say you want to play in Texas’ event or we want to go to A&M event." Chadwell gained connections and reputation in the golf world from his time at Oklahoma and Redlands Community College. As the head coach at Redlands, Chadwell won NJCAA Coach of the Year, the Team NJCAA National Championship, and Individual National Championship with golfer Nicola Race in both 2008 and 2009. After that, Chadwell joined Oklahoma as an assistant coach and helped the Sooners become a top program in the nation. In 2012, then sophomore Chirapat Jao-Javanil won the NCAA National Individual Championship for Oklahoma with Chadwell and Co. beside her.
“Chadwell has done an awesome job at developing the talent that we’ve got, building the schedule and competing against some of the best teams in the country," said Jonathan Dismuke, UH's director of Golf. Chadwell was able to secure a tough schedule, which has helped the team be selected for NCAA Regionals. Another boost for the Cougars was the hiring of Mary Michael Maggio, who is now director of Operations for Texas A&M's women's and men's golf teams, as assistant coach of the Women's Golf team. Maggio helped Chadwell manage all the responsibilities of the young program such as training, recruiting, travel planning and acquiring equipment. "When you enter a brand new program, you kind of get to do a little bit of everything," Maggio said. It was a job that helped give Maggio experience for her job at Texas A&M, and though she is now at her alma mater, she and the rest of the golf world have
taken notice of Houston. "You see other programs that started before and after UH did and they haven't accomplished what UH has," Maggio said. On top of the experience, the Cougars had another huge asset in top-notch facilities. Built in 2012 on the Golf Club of Houston, UH's Dave Williams Golf Academy made UH the first university in Texas to have its facilities on a golf course used in the PGA Tour. "It’s a game changer. That stuff when kids come on campus, that they can see and touch," Chadwell said. "The girls that we were recruiting had no idea nor did they really care about national championships that were won over 30 years ago by the men." The golf club and academy have a total of 36 holes to practice on, four hitting bays, and a short game area where the team can drill its short range skills like wedges and chips just to name a few. "Having our own space to store things, having locker rooms and food that I can snack
on while I’m practicing ... just little things made life a little bit easier," said golf alumna Megan Thothong. "Little things like that really add up and you realize they make a big difference."
Recruiting Talent Joining a completely new program was a tough sell for some athletes, but it provided motivation for others. "It was just really exciting for me to know that whatever I did wasn’t just about myself or my teammates, but also the legacy that we’d be setting," Thothong said. Thothong joined the team in 2014 after being recruited as a top 50 golfer of the high school class of 2014. In her four years as a Cougar, Thothong went to the NCAA Regionals twice and had 12 individual top 10 finishes. "We grew quick and had a lot of good girls come. We became known in the golf word really fast," said alumna Kelli Rollo.
Golf History
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Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 5
Andres Chio, EDITOR
Golf History
Continued from previous page "Within our first two years of being a program, everyone knew that we came to play. We were hanging in there with teams that have been there for years." Rollo was one of UH's first recruits and she was with the team in all five years of its existence, including her redshirted freshman year. Another major recruit for the program was senior Leonie Harm, who is currently No. 18 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. The allure of something new and Chadwell's style of recruiting is what brought Harm all the way to Texas from her native Germany. With talented golfers, experienced staff and a quality training facility, the Cougars were poised to succeed.
Starting strong In their first season in 201314, the Cougars had just four active players and did not play in any team competitions, instead competing as individuals. That didn't stop UH from making history when sophomore Raegan Bremer became the first woman to win a golf tournament wearing the UH logo at the HBU Husky Invitational in April 2014. The following season, with a full roster and more experience, the Cougars played in team competitions and claimed their first event win at the UNF Collegiate tournament. After finishing the season with seven top five finishes and third place at the AAC tournament, the women's team made it to its first NCAA Regional. "We coaches can see the ability in them, but getting them to take themselves there is sometimes hard," Chadwell said. "In our sport, the cliché is very true, it’s 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical." The team finished 13th out of 18 teams and since only the top six advance, the Cougars' season came to a close. A positive from the tournament was that UH had two freshman in the top half of the standings, Thothong and Emily Gilbreth.
Rinse and Repeat In the Cougars' third year, the team did not have as many top five finishes, earning two tournament wins but no other top five placements. But the overall level of tournaments the team attended was higher. But the year of hardship
led the team to its greatest heights when it won the 2016 American Athletic Conference championship with a comfortable 10 stroke lead which led to an unforgettable moment. "I remember coach said (before the tournament), 'When we win this championship, we’re running into the ocean,' and we were all like... okay... sure... you know," Thothong said. "But it happened. After the win, coach said 'Ok let’s go down.' and we all said 'What are we doing?' 'We’re running into the ocean as a family, as a team.' That was a really great moment that I’ll always remember." The Cougars started the Baton Rouge Regional with a bang, placing fifth after day one, but were unable to replicate the performance in day two and fell to eighth. Houston rallied on day three to take sixth before BYU birdied on its final hole to snag it away just one stroke ahead of UH in what Harm said was the toughest moment of her career. Though the team's season ended, Harm placed high enough to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championship and became the first woman to represent the Cougars at the tournament where she placed 81st out of 132 competitors after three days. The 2016-17 season was a bit of a down year for the Cougars, as the squad failed to win any team events. The Cougars improved in the final stretch of the season, but the team fell short at the AAC Championship and Columbus regional. Houston rebounded in the 2017-18 season and had four top three finishes and four additional top six finishes in tournaments. Houston won the AAC title once again and it was one of the team's sweetest wins. "They say sometimes it’s actually harder to get a second win because now you know what it feels like. Sometimes it’s hard to stay in the moment and getting that win, I don’t think I’ve cried that much on a golf course before," Thothong said. History repeated itself as Houston was unable to advance out of regionals, but Harm won a seven hole playoff versus two other golfers advance solo again. Harm played better in her second appearance at the championship and finished tied for 45th at the tournament. Though the team has done well, the Cougars are hungry
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to achieve more than regional tournament appearances.
Next woman up More eyes than ever will be on the Cougars this season after winning their second title. But the Cougars path towards a third title will be without many of the team's regulars from last season. Four true freshman joined the team this summer including Dana Puyol and Hannah Screen, who play for the Spanish and English national teams, respectively, and Mario Jose Martinez, who has won three medals at the Mexican Olympics. "We have tons of talent coming in. The girls have set the bar really high and now it's time for these girls to set the bar a little higher," said Chadwell. Getting the newcomers settled before the first tournaments in September is Chadwell's focus, and it's a task that is all mental according to the two time AAC Coach of the Year. "It's funny, the size of the golf ball, the size of the hole... nothing changes except for the surroundings and the comfort level," Chadwell said. "We've just gotta make them comfortable and have them understand its still the same game, you're still playing against the same women you grew up with, you’re just wearing a different color now." Even though the team is almost half freshman, Chadwell's sights are still on the AAC crown and higher. Chadwell said he believes that the current crop of golfers has what it takes to make it to the NCAA Championships, where winning requires a tough mentality and being in perfect form at the right time. "We must become more resistant to pressure, which we put on ourselves. Instead of intimidating us, it must make us rise to become the best golf version of ourselves. And most importantly, we need to believe that we have the capability of doing it," Harm said.
Fiona Legesse/ The Cougar
their favorite golf moments at UH. For Rollo, her favorite moment came after over a year of not playing competitive golf. Coming from small town Mont Belvieu, Rollo said she was in shock during his first year at UH and needed the extra time the redshirt year provided to adjust. Even though she did not compete in tournaments, Rollo said that Chadwell and the team always made her feel like a part of the family. "When I went to my first tournament and the entire team was so happy for me because they knew how hard I had worked. I was kind of a late bloomer on going to tournaments and it was this
Stepping Back While it is easy to get caught up in moving forward and training, looking back on experiences is also important for growth. "Honestly, we really have to stop and think about what these girls have done because if not, you’re gonna keep chasing the rabbit around the track and never gonna catch it," Chadwell said. Both Chadwell and Harm cited the conference titles as
Fiona Legesse/ The Cougar
overwhelming feeling of just love and support," Rollo said. Thothong said the golf successes will always stick with her, but the little day-to-day interactions and get-togethers and how team worked through hardship left a big impact on her. "It’s easy to feel the successes and feel how you made a good choice. For me, a really big part of how I grew as a person and a golfer were the down times. We found a bond in the struggle, trying to fight for each other and for ourselves," Thothong said. "There were no moments where I thought I made the wrong choice. No regrets." sports@thedailycougar.com
6 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Sports Andres Chio, EDITOR
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Football
Roundtable: Most important game of the season The sports Staff
Staff Writer Christopher McGehee
The UH football team will start its second season under head coach Major Applewhite in September, and expectations are for the Cougars to compete for the conference title. The regular season can be a long 14 weeks, and rarely do teams make it through unscathed. But not all games are rated equal, so three of our writers decided what they think is the most important game of the Cougars' 2018-19 campaign.
If we are talking about the most important game as opposed to the hardest, then the answer is obvious. The most important game occurs every time the Cougars step on the field. As a non-Power Five school, Houston cannot afford to lose a single game if it wants to sniff a NY6 bowl game as it did in 2015. The team’s non-conference schedule this season includes four teams that went a combined 16-33 last season. Texas Southern finished eighth in an FCS conference. Tech finished eighth in the Big 12, Arizona was seventh overall in the Pac-12 and Rice was 1-7 in C-USA. Combine that with what one could hardly consider a grueling conference schedule, and what you get is the expectation that Houston should go undefeated this year if it really is a top team. The College Football Playoff selection committee has shown that the only way to overcome a weak schedule and make the playoff is to win handily against inferior opponents. Losing a single game or just squeking by cupcakes would ruin Houston's chances. That is why every game the Cougars play this season matters.
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Senior Staff Writer Jackson Gatlin The most important game of the season will be Sept. 15 in Lubbock, facing off against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. This will be the second year in a row the Cougars have faced the Raiders, losing against them last year at TDECU stadium. This game will carry a lot of weight for two reasons. First, the Raiders ended the Cougars' nation-leading 16-game home winning streak last season, so there's no better way to get revenge than handing the Raiders a loss in their own stadium. Second, the first two games of the season against the University of Arizona and Rice should be easy wins, which means Texas Tech represents the first truly challenging game of the season as well as the most difficult
Texas Tech defeated Houston last season in a close matchup at TDECU Stadium. This season, the two teams rematch on Sept. 15 at Jones AT&T Stadium up in Lubbock in another cross-Texas clash. | Thomas Dwyer/The Cougar
opponent UH will face throughout its 12-game schedule. An early season victory against the Raiders will set the tone for a successful Cougar campaign.
Assistant Sports Editor Trenton Whiting The most important game will be against either Tulsa or Tulane. Of course the games against higher competition will be big, but winning those is obvious. Every year, it seems UH finds a way to drop a game against a team with a poor record that
makes the Cougars' resume seem worse than it is. UH has not been had a double-digit win season since 2015, and in order to start establishing itself as a college football powerhouse, it has to start competing at a high level in the conference. The past wins against highlevel teams have been averaged out by losses against low-performing teams. This leads to UH being an average team on the national scale. Houston has the potential to be much more, but until it can consistently beat lower-rated
teams, Houston will be forced to remain in the middle of the pack. UH also doesn’t play many ranked teams, so it won’t be able to get a single signature win that puts it in the top 25 discussion The team should be at a point where the competition will be close with the higher-ranked teams. If UH is able to avoid what seems to be an annual slip-up, it should be in the conversation for one of the top teams in the conference and New Year's Six bowl game berth.
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Athletics
How the training staff keeps athletes healthy and ready Andres Chio
Sports Editor
@ chioandres
Before the sun rises and the city heats up, the athletic training staff of the University of Houston is already out and about. Football practices don't begin until 9 a.m., but the trainers get to campus by 5 a.m. to start the day. Leading the staff is head athletics trainer Dr. Michael O'Shea, who is starting his 25th season with the Cougars and 55th as an athletic trainer. The staff starts the day by filling ice baths for the players and getting equipment ready before taping up the ankles of every
player on the team to give them extra protection. The process can take up to two hours to complete. Then the players go to their meetings before heading to the field, where the trainers keep an eye on the players to make sure they stay healthy. “The biggest thing that we stress is hydration. They pretty much have to hydrate 24/7 because it is so hot outside," O'Shea said. O'Shea said the indoor practice facility will be a huge boon this season. The $20 million facility opened last November, and this
Training Staff
Continues on next page
Trainers check players for concussions after big hits or signs of dizziness or headache. | Thomas Dwyer/The Cougar
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 7
Andres Chio, EDITOR
Training Staff
Continued from previous page is the first summer it has had to withstand. "We’ve always had a lot of problems with 'Where do we go when it rains?' and we’d have to get on buses and go somewhere, but now all we have to do is walk across the street," O'Shea said. "We have one of the nicest indoor facilities in the country." Nutrition is also a big part of the Cougars' workouts, and the school hired a new performance nutritionist in March. The team uses a new meal program to make sure that all athletes, not just those in football, are eating correctly, O'Shea said.
Four Athletes
Continued from page 2
decide whether the Cougars are defending or chasing a March Madness spot come January.
Tennis: Tsveta Dimitrova The Cougars tennis squad is another team that had a resurgent season last year. After
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athletes as needing help, they send them to UH's Counseling and Psychological Services or other services within the city.
Athletes' mental health has been another point of focus in recent years. Major league athletes like the Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Love and ex-Baltimore Raven Steve Smith Sr. have spoken out about their struggles with anxiety and depression to help athletes and public figures be more willing to come forward. It is a subject that UH Athletics is also taking seriously, O'Shea said. "It’s something that we've really been made aware of... that there are some mental health problems out there," O'Shea said. "You have to take kids seriously. If they say certain things, then you need to sit down and talk to them." O'Shea said when they identify
Concussions and how to treat them is something the team is constantly working on, O'Shea said. Houston, like many other schools, is now more adamant about the subject, and the concussion program has become very strict. The first step is seeing the signs. "It’s not too hard to figure out who has one because you see them get hit. Probably the biggest symptoms are that they have a headache and they are sensitive to light," O'Shea said. After diagnosing a concus-
struggling to get double digits wins the two previous seasons, the Cougars had a 20-4 team record, its best since the 2014-15 season. Junior tennis player Tsveta Dimitrova led the tennis team in wins last year with a 28-8 record and won all-conference honors alongside the now grad-
uated Sveva Mazzari who had a 23-6 record. Her freshman year, Dimitrova won AAC Freshman of the Year and she, and the team, improved with another year of experience. The tennis team fell short at the 2017 AAC tournament, but with rising talent, the Cougars are poised to make more noise
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sion, the team has the player go through the team's concussion protocol, which is a multistep process, O'Shea said. The protocol starts by waiting at least a day, then having the athlete go through a checklist of about 14 different areas, including sensitivity to noise and sensitivity to light. The athlete will rate those areas from a scale of zero to six, with zero being no symptoms and six being heavy symptoms. Once all items on the checklist are zero, the athlete must then wait 24 more hours before beginning to ride on a bike machine. If the athlete shows no symptoms, they wait another 24 hours and then jog before being checked again. This process repeats with dif-
ferent stages of practice every 24 hours, from doing just drills with no pads, practice with pads and limited contact and then finally practice with contact. Players are cleared only when they get through every phase without symptoms. If an athlete reports headaches or symptoms anytime during the process, it starts over from square one at the checklist. It is a long road to recovery, but O'Shea said it is a process that UH is more than ready to do right. "Years ago, we didn’t know what we know now. Now we know lots more, and we’re able to act on it and do something," O'Shea said.
this year.
Oliver already has the eighth most tackles for a loss in UH history, and is 26.5 TFLs away from taking the all-time record. It is not often that such an elite caliber of player is around, so make sure to get a look before he leaves to cause havoc in the NFL.
Football: Ed Oliver No list like this could be complete without mentioning junior defensive tackle Ed Oliver. After winning awards in his freshman and sophomore seasons, Oliver announced that he would go to the NFL after 2018.
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Opinion
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NATION
Gang life, along with all black survival is no game
EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF
Dana C. Jones MANAGING EDITOR
Jasmine Davis
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Fiona Legesse WEB EDITOR
Anusheh Siddique CAMPUS EDITOR
Michael Slaten FEATURES EDITOR
Oscar Aguilar
SPORTS EDITOR
Andres Chio
COOGLIFE EDITOR
Julie Araica
PHOTO EDITOR
Corbin Ayres OPINION EDITOR
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ASSISTANT EDITORS
Alana Howard, Trenton Whiting, Diamond Braxton
CHIEF COPY EDITOR
Morgan Horst
LIFE & ARTS EDITOR
Cristobella Durrette
STAFF EDITORIAL The Staff Editorial reflects the opinions of The Cougar Editorial Board. All other opinions, commentaries and cartoons reflect only the opinion of the writer. Opinions expressed in The Cougar do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Houston or its students as a whole.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Fiona Legesse/The Cougar
T
he notorious gang lifestyle of Compton, California — although not a monolith — is not a myth. My hometown is known for violence and gangsta rap music. Just like any city in America, it has its highs and lows. If you live outside of the city’s reality, then the obvious consequences that comes with gangs and the streets can seem glamorized especially through the DANA C. JONES music that EDITOR IN CHEIF tells its tales. That’s what happened to a white kid named Cameron Terrell. Terrell was the getaway driver for a driveby in South Los Angeles — which overlaps with the city of Compton — committed by the crip gang. Terrell lived in a city called Palos Verdes Estate where there’s a 66 percent population
of White residents and 1.24 percent population of black people according to Data USA. The details are convoluted when it come to whether he was a gang member or if he knew of the driveby plans. The thing with gangs is that they do not allow ride alongs when committing crimes. When they carry out their jobs, everyone involved is apart of the gang. This is to ensure that if they were to get caught, no one would snitch. They two men that did the actual shooting are awaiting trial. Based on the trends of how Black men are treated in the justice system, they could possibly be facing life while their white counterpart was acquitted. According to the NAACP, in 2014, Black people made up 2.3 million of the 6.8 million correctional population and are five times more likely to be incarcerated compared to whites. This is no excuse for two people murdering someone
else. They deserve their punishment for breaking the law. However, justice needs to be served to all involved. You can see in several different instances where the getaway driver is just as responsible for the crime as the person who pulled the trigger. So why in this case did Terrell escape a sentence when he was an accessory to murder? His whiteness protected him. We see this act a lot. Hardly does it go to being an assailant to murder, but some white people view part of the black experience as a game or “cool” because they see it glamorized in film, music and the overall pop culture landscape. These are very real situations that white people outside of those circumstances wear as a mask and take off when they please. But Black Americans don’t have that choice or privilege. It’s the birthright of a minority tax that is forced onto every disenfranchised group of people
in America. White people can use and participate in the culture of minorities but as soon as it gets too reckless or uncomfortable, minorities are disproportionately left to deal with the consequences. Now Terrell is rumored to be coming to the University of Houston to study law. Is he a threat to the campus? No. But his fascination with dangerous activities needs to stop. When it comes to gang culture, you don’t study something like that through participation. There are countless books and classes on gang culture. People in gangs aren’t in them because they want to be cool. Gangs are about territory and protection, hether that's protecting yourself or your family. Gangs are not a game. Editor in Chief Dana C. Jones is a print journalism senior. He can be reached at editor@ thedailycougar.com.
The Cougar welcomes letters to the editor from any member of the UH community. Letters should be no more than 250 words and signed, including the writer’s full name, phone number or email address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Anonymous letters will not be published. Deliver letters to N221, Student Center North or email them to editor@thedailycougar.com. 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 email address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Commentary should be limited to 600 words. Guest commentaries should not be written as replies, but rather should present independent points of view. Deliver submissions to N221, Student Center North or email them to editor@thedailycougar.com. All submissions are subject to editing.
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campus
Invest in yourself through involvement
I
Most of the non-fast food restaurants in the Third Ward are corner stores, making the historic neighborhood a food desert. With meal plans prices rising and food decreasing, students can face hunger issues. | Dana C. Jones/The Cougar
Staff editorial
T
Meal plan inflation contributes to food insecurity
his year if a residential student chooses to purchase the cheapest required meal plan, they will find it does not allow them access to the dining halls on weekends. The 24/5 Bronze plan will be the most affordable meal plan option for the 2018-2019 year at $1,940 a semester. The meal plan gives students unlimited access to the dining halls on weekdays, $150 in Cougar Cash and one meal exchange perweek. Restricting student access to dining halls on any mandatory meal plan will cause harm. There will be students who will go hungry throughout the semester because they chose the cheapest meal plan. Last year, the cheapest mandatory meal plan, which does not exist anymore, was the 24/7 Budget. It gave students unlimited access to dining halls any day of the week and a meal exchange. This plan was affordable and allowed students not to worry about how much Cougar Cash or swipes they have left. The cheapest plan to get unlimited access to dining halls is the 24/7 Silver. It is $390 more than the 24/7 Budget from last year, though it does come
with three meal exchanges a week and five guest passes. Even though students are getting more for their money, theydeserve a cheaper option for 24/7 access to dining halls. Juniors and seniors living on campus can choose the Cougar Choice 150, but can no longer have access to Cougar Cash only meal plans. Meal plans this year went in the wrong direction. Students have fewer option while prices went up. There aren’t enough options to eat on campus, and in the Third Ward, there is an even more concerning lack of food availability. The Third Ward — where the University of Houston is nestled — is a food desert. A food desert is when food, usually in an urban area, is both unaffordable and difficult to find. The Cougar has reported on the food desert of the Third Ward before. The places that sell food other than fast foodin the Third Ward are mostly corner stores where prices are often inlflated. For the students that live on campus, their options for food are becoming dangerously limited. The point of having a meal
plan is to have guaranteed food when you need it. By having the cheapest meal plan unavailable on weekends — when students would have the most time to get amples meals throughout the day — UH is actually contributing to food insecurity not only on campus but on the greater Third Ward community. Not only do the revised meal options contribute to food insecurity, the price hike attributes to the overall financial burden of college. When paying for college, there is an ordered system that determines how loans are applied. First is tuition and fees, which makes sense that being the main reason for a university’s existence. But food along with housing are some of the last things that get paid for through loans, causing, the student and the students family to pay out of pocket. With the inflated meals plans, students and families may have to look toward other options for feeding themselves if this trend continues. editor@thedailycougar.com
t’s okay to not have answers. Every year the University of Houston sees students young and old, from cities all over the world, come to start, continue or finish their college experience. Some students come to college knowing exactly what andrew they want to Bahlmann be and where Frontier fiesta chair they want to go, never wavering from their vision, goals and dreams. Most, however, change majors at least once if not a couple of times. As of December 2017, about 30 percent of undergraduate students change their major within three years of their initial enrollment, according to the Department of Education. After graduation, some have limited ideas about what or how to get moving along a career path. About two-thirds of graduates struggle getting themselves into their career paths. Here’s what you need to know coming to college and going through life in general. It’s okay to not know what you want to major in, where you want your career path to go, how you identify, and what your interests are. You’re in college to learn, develop and grow as a person, and not just in the classroom. College is not purely about academic education and anyone that tells you otherwise is selling you short. College is about challenging yourself to look beyond what you’ve thought your limits were and what you’ve already done. There are more than 500 organizations on campus that can be found through Get Involved in your Access UH. You have social organizations like fraternities and sororities and organizations that allow you to serve people through volunteering and tutoring. There are even clubs for dancing, acting, and non-music major orchestras. There’s larping and event planning organizations as well as LGBTQ and veteran organizations. If social engagement is difficult for you or it seems like
too much energy, reflect on your past experiences to help steer yourself to a hobby or activity to get involved with. Consider being a part of a digital book club or write letters to natural disaster victims for support or get involved with a university committee. The best thing a student can do, even if they think they do have all the answers, is to get involved in something, anything. From all of the clubs and organizations listed above, there are hundreds of ways to step out of your shell and your comfort zone and challenge yourself to unleash some of your potential. Getting involved isn’t just a way to pass time during your years here or at any university you decided to attend. Research from both the University of Georgia and Purdue University shows that students who engage while in college feel more satisfied and are measurably more successful. It also helps bring skills forward to when building that all important resume that you’re hopefully no stressing too much about. It’s okay to not have your identities solidified and it’s okay to not have all the answers. Life is not simple. Everyone has different experiences, backgrounds and identities that make them unique. Getting involved is a great way to foster those differences you have while finding like minded people in the process. You’ve made it this far. You’re here right now and that means your track record for making it through rough days and times is 100 percent, which is pretty good. Do something here at the University of Houston. Make an impact and leave a mark whether it be from the shadows or main stage. Give yourself enough grace, confidence and time. Getting involved here at UH will help you in the short run and long run building and developing all of the skills that you need from your people, to craft, life, and relationships. Frontier Fiesta Chair Andrew Bahlmann is a Managment Informations and Philosphy senior and the. He can be reached at
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UH cheapest parking among one of highest in other Tier Ones UH is marketed as a "working man's college" but some of the highest parking and housing rates say otherwise
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education
Patience for minority students defeats school-to-prison pipeline system
I
was recently hired on as a literacy tutor for elementary school students in the Greater Third Ward area. I never thought this would be something that I would be interested in. But, as the years go on, there is something that becomes more and more prevalent. Minority and low income students are on a stronger schoolto-prison pipeline than any possibility of pursuing Christopher an caldwell education Activities Funding beyond a Board chair high school diploma. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), black students are suspended and expelled three times more than their white counterparts. Those students that do get suspended or expelled are also three times more likely to have some form of contact with the juvenile justice system the next year.
At what point do we take responsibility for our children’s education? The investment of time and patience goes so much farther than throwing in the towel and giving another life to the American Criminal Justice System to foster. It is important to note, that the issue isn’t about race. This issue is about a lack of resources, lack of preparation and ultimately, a lack of investment. It is also important to note that the issue of investing in our young children is not solely up to an educator who is paid just a small salary to teach hundreds of children throughout their career. Children are like sponges. They absorb everything they see and hear around them. Often times, children whom are in the minority and economically disadvantaged, absorb more negative than than they should. In 2015, 20 percent of children ages 0 to 17 where in poverty. Of those children that were in poverty, black children made up over 50 percent
of that group according to childstats.gov. Growing up in poverty lessens the amount of positive reinforcement that a young child should have. This must change. We must create a way to make sure that each child is granted equal opportunity to not only a quality education, but a quality life. I don’t have a holistic solution but I do know one thing that’s evident. Taking the time to help our young children can make all the difference not just for them as individuals, but for the future of society as a whole. It’s a tough pill to swallow when you think about the fact that more young minorities will see the inside of a jail cell, yet never see the inside of a college classroom. They will spend more of their time seeing a probation officer, than meeting with an academic advisor. It makes you think, what if the young man that is headed to prison was given just ten more minutes in class because he couldn’t decipher all of the letters in his textbook alone?
What if the little girl who didn’t have any help at home was given the opportunity to finish her homework in an after school program? Small investments to children shows them that they matter and that the environment around them cares resulting in a huge turnout. I think about how many young men and women sit in jail cells everyday because they were just thrown to the side. I think about the possibility for potential of these students to go on to be the next great doctors, lawyers, politicians, educators and so much more. This can all be achieved if we just gave our young student just a little more care than we did the day before. Over time, we would see all the difference. Before we can change our own mindsets, the system that is the school-to-prison pipeline must be eliminated. At some point we will have to give young children something more to look up to. You may be reading this and
thinking, “why are we thinking about college with a seven year old.” The answer to that, unfortunately, is that by the time a child is in high school, it’s too late. We must begin the positive reinforcement when they are young. Does this mean to not invest in older children? No, not at all. But, the earlier you begin, the more prepared a child feels to handle life on their own. Frederick Douglas once said, “It is easier to build strong children, than to repair broken men.” This quote means just as much now as it did 150 years ago. We must equip these children to be great so they can manifest that greatest into something that we can all benefit from. It is time to rid our country of the school-to-prison pipeline and begin building the pipeline to success. Activities Funding Board Chari Christopher Caldwell is a political science and sociology senior. He can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.
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infographic
Most popular news stories around the globe World events from Saudi Arabia, North and South Korea, and Eritrea and Ethiopia that left an impact simplified into infographics
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Edited by Timothy Parker September 2, 2018
ACROSS 1 Mine exits 6 The beauty of a rose 11 X-raying unit 14 Problematic car purchase 15 Actress Dern 16 “To a ...” poem 17 Sci-fi blaster 19 Pre-GPS helper 20 Ship noses 21 Scarborough’s locale 23 Sign up for 26 Royal headpiece 27 Wreath of victory 28 Hunt for provisions 29 Marx stick-on 30 No-nos for the non-PC crowd? 32 Sketches 35 Some farm mothers 37 Jose of MLB 39 Bluntbladed sword 40 Buoy, as spirits 42 River entering the Rio Grande 44 “___ been better” 9/2
45 Artillery specialist 47 Burst into flames 49 Screen legend Tracy 51 Sound control knobs 52 Bahamian capital 53 Given to copying? 55 Nest egg component, briefly 56 Puts a cherry atop a jam? 61 ___ Ray Beach 62 Countess spouses 63 Diminish, as a signal 64 “Afore” kin 65 Stinging precipitation 66 Fiend DOWN 1 Man who was Clay 2 Common easy chair site 3 Jim Phelps’ TV employer 4 Sluggishness 5 Entangled 6 Played a harmonica 7 Young men 8 Collective possessive
9 Speech giver 10 Kind of race 11 It fell historically 12 “Look before you leap,” for one 13 Bus stop? 18 Hair curler 22 Actor Humphrey, informally 23 Say “y’all,” e.g. 24 With a vocal twang 25 Place to find deals 26 Trig term 28 Any pilot 31 Jesus healed one 33 Twice less than twice 34 They can be the pits
36 Floors 38 Underside of a cornice 41 Coops up, really 43 Sharply cut, as a price 46 Network in the body 48 Attach 49 Nasty, as a remark 50 Layer cutter 53 Can-do 54 “Hey, there!” softly 57 “All bets ___ off” 58 “CD” follower 59 Nuptial agreement 60 Sherwood Forest’s merry denizens
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Faith
letter
Editor's Note: Catholic with a question mark Cristobella Durrette
life and arts Editor @ crist0bella
I'm a cradle Catholic. From the time I was young enough to be in a crib, I was a Catholic. Even my name is steeped in Catholicism. Cristobella is Italian for "beautiful Christ." From the day I was baptized, my parents were set on the idea of sending me to Catholic school. I attended Catholic school from kindergarten through grade 12, and it was one of the most formative experiences of my life.
Elementary and middle school Before I even understood what Catholicism is, I was donning a plaid uniform jumper and heading off to school, a two-story building that shared a parking lot with the church my
family attended. Sometimes, I wondered why I didn’t get to ride the big yellow bus with the kids who waited on the corner every morning, but I didn’t question it. I just knew that I enjoyed going to school and learning new things, including things about my religion. Since kindergarten, religion classes were a mandatory part of the curriculum. At the time, lessons on my faith featured colorful picture books, fantastical tales of men being swallowed by whales and weekly trips to Mass with my class. Mass is a ceremony that celebrates the body of Christ;
I'm a cradle Catholic. From the time that I was young enough to be in a crib, I was a Catholic. Cristobella Durrette, Life and Arts Editor at the time, it felt more like an aerobics class, with all of the sitting and standing and kneeling. These lessons were simple and easy to understand, but I wanted to learn more. As I grew older, I became more aware of what was going on in my religion classes and at Mass. I learned about Catholic doctrine and gained insight into why my faith believed certain things. It seemed as though the more I learned,
the more I came to question these things. As high school drew closer, my parents gave me a choice: I could continue attending Catholic school, or I could enroll in a public school. I not only chose to stay in Catholic school, but I decided to attend an all-girls Catholic school.
High school My time spent in Catholic high school affirmed my belief in a God but created internal
“I wondered how people could use the religion I viewed as based in love to perpetrate hate against other groups of people. Cristobella Durrette, Life and Arts Editor
conflict about other aspects of my faith. While the school possessed strong academics, it had strict rules in place that I didn’t agree with. Using the teachings of the faith to justify treating certain students differently was something I took issue with. I wondered how people could use the religion I viewed as based in love to perpetrate hate against other groups of people. Despite numerous faithoriented activities at the school, I didn’t participate because it didn’t feel genuine. I became a less active participant in the church as
question mark
Continues on next page
Born and raised Catholic, my parents were set on the idea of us attending Mass each Sunday, including at this local church in downtown Houston. | Cristobella Durrette/The Cougar
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 3
FAITH QUESTION MARK
Continued from previous page I began to question my faith even more.
College life Coming to the University of Houston was my first time attending a secular school. No longer in a predominantly Catholic environment, I lost touch with my faith. I stopped going to Mass, no longer studied Catholic theology and prayed infrequently. I was born and raised Catholic, but now it feels more like Catholic with a question mark. Whether you are questioning your faith or are solid in your beliefs, whether you are a member of an organized religion or not, this special section is for you. Regardless of what faith or culture you belong to, I hope these stories give you the opportunity to see religion from a different point of view. arts@thedailycougar.com
Cristobella Durrette in Catholic School. | Courtesy of Cristobella Durrette
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4 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Faith
body image
How faith helps UH students build body positivity diamond braxton
assistant Cooglife editor @twitterhandle
Along their individualistic journeys to loving their bodies, students may struggle with their weight (hello, Freshman 15!) and body image. Striking a balance between keeping up in school and living a healthy lifestyle can be difficult. So, how do UH students do it? Several University of Houston students were able to provide insight on how they’re overcoming their body insecurities through their faith.
Gloria Walker: Christian – Church of Christ Broadcast journalism senior Gloria Walker believes Christianity is the teaching of unconditional love and acceptance of all people, which is what initially drew her to Christianity’s teachings. “Growing up in the church has shaped who I am,” Walker said. When it comes to body positivity, Walker says God creates everyone in His image while also making each individual unique in their own way. “I’m very proud to be myself. God made me unique,” Walker
Faith has had a positive impact on Gloria Walker's body image because it has allowed her to learn to love herself the way God made her. | Courtesy of Gloria Walker
said. She believes that while
everyone may have a bad day, it’s important to remember that “God created His followers in his image and that He doesn’t make mistakes,” Walker said.
Jack Thornton: Buddhist
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After a near-death experience several years ago, electrical engineering junior Jack Thornton began studying Buddhism. Buddhism helps him achieve happiness in spite of suffering, he said. Buddhism helps you “have a more positive outlook on negative things,” Thornton said. “Buddhism teaches that suffering is a result of some form of change.” Thornton believes that individuals practicing Buddhism will take an introspective look at their lives and determine whether they’re releasing good or bad karma into the world around them. Then the individual will make the necessary changes to put good energy into the world and into themselves. “Bodies change. One day you’re gonna grow old, and that’s just how things work. It’s bad karma to sit around and be lazy,” Thornton said. When it comes to body positivity, a Buddhist is “more likely to accept themselves. At the end of the day, bodies change and that’s
Jack Thornton says that being a Buddhist makes an individual more likely to accept their physical appearance. | Courtesy of Jack Thornton
okay,” Thornton said. “A Buddhist who’s introspective would take a look at their lifestyle and say, ‘I’d prefer to eat healthy and be active’ because these are things that will make me happy, and as a result, you will gain a better body image,” Thornton said.
Tristan Durham: Agnostic To architecture junior Tristan Durham, being Agnostic means believing in the existence of a higher power while also accepting that nothing can be known about the specifics of that power. “It’s more about being spiritual than being a part of an organized religion,” Durham said.
“I chose to be Agnostic because that’s what felt right to me. It’s kind of the path to the least resistance,” Durham said. Durham doesn’t believe Agnosticism and body image intersect. “I think it’s something that has to come from you [dealing with body image] and is more informed by your state of mind. However, the more I think about my Agnosticism, the more comfortable I feel just existing and interacting with others, and I think that definitely impacts how I feel about my body,” Durham said. cooglife@thedailycougar.com
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 5
Faith sports
UH athletes demonstrate faith on the field Andrew chio
sports editor @chioandres
Faith and sports have gone hand in hand since they were invented and there are many ways that players express themselves. Some point up to the sky, others say prayers before and after games, and others are straight forward and public with their faith. But with the relationship has come many misunderstandings about when and how players celebrate their faith, and what a simple phrase can mean. One of the most common ways is the simple phrase, Thank God. It is often followed by snide tweets or virtual eye rolls. How or why would God take one athletes side over another? But prayer and faith have had a place in sports for decades. Players say the Lord’s Prayer before football game
from peewee football to the NFL. Head Coach Major Applewhite said the Cougars are a team that always says the prayer before the game and many do it voluntarily afterwards. It is not a mandatory thing, but for many players it was the way they were raised and it is a habit. “Individually, some guys are headphone and music guys, while some guys are spiritual,” said Applewhite. “Whatever you need to do to get yourself prepared for the game, as long as it doesn’t disrupt your teammate, do it. Who am I to get in the way of that?” The meaning is often lost, but it is a simple one. Athletes thank God not to say that God is on their side or that God cares about the Cougars beating the Owls. They thank God not to say that God made them throw the
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ball straighter or made them run faster, but to give thanks that they even get to play. Only seven percent of high school football players get to play at the college level. and a smaller percentage of that ever step foot on a NFL field. Everybody knows that
becoming a college athlete is a combination of hard work, situation and genetics. Eery junior high basketball player does not get to grow up to be six-foot-eight and certainly not every football player gets quality coaches in high school that can teach
them how to stand out. it is for that, for being one of the few to get all the dots connected, that athletes give thanks. sports@thedailycougar.com
6 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Faith
Fiona Legesse/The Cougar religion
Supreme Court continuously upholds religious freedoms oscar aguilar
features editor @oagu_16
Promises are pledges that do more than just guarantee the promised something. It holds the person doing the promise accountable. The Supreme Court has kept the promise — the Constitutional amendment of religious freedom — since the framers penned what is now an almost 227-year-old basic right. “Especially recently, I would say the Court has been very sympathetic to religious freedoms,” said Emily Berman, an assistant professor at the Law Center. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees free exercise of religion and prohibits the government from establishing one — an amendment the Supreme Court regularly reviews to clarify its limits. Two clauses protect freedom of religion: the establishment clause and the free exercise clause, Berman said. The former prevents the government from giving preference to one religion over another, while the latter protects people’s ability to practice their preferred religion, she said. The Supreme Court is the
"Especially recently, I would say the Court has been very sympathetic to religious freedoms." Emily Berman, assistant professor at the University of Houston Law Center
head of the judicial branch – one of the three branches of government. The court is made up of nine justices, all appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Justices serve for life unless they retire or Congress impeaches and convicts them. Past decisions Berman said religious liberties don’t excuse compliance with government regulations that affect everyone in a general manner. In Employment Division v. Smith, the plaintiff, a Native American, said smoking peyote was part of his religion and that a restriction violated his religious liberties, Berman said. But the regulation applies to everyone, not a specific group, she said. The Court said rules don’t infringe on religious liberties if they don’t intentionally target specific groups, she said. To implement regulations
targeting specific groups, the Court said the government
needs to prove a compelling government interest, she said. In Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, the city passed a rule prohibiting people from sacrificing chickens, Berman said. Though it applied to everyone in a general manner, it primarily impacted only members of the church because of its focus on their religious customs, she said.
Courts examine regulations intentionally imposing limits on religious practices with strict scrutiny – the most difficult standard to meet, she said. “Long story short, the government’s intention becomes important,” Berman said. In Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights
supreme court
Continues on next page
.The Supreme Court continues to uphold religious freedoms in recent court decisions. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 7
FAITH SUPREME COURT
Continued from previous page Commission, the Court dealt with a rule of general applicability that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation, she said. The plaintiff said the rule burdens the ability to freely exercise religion, Berman said. Although people expected the Court to establish precedent on how to deal with similar cases, the Court treated it like the chicken case, she said. “When the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled against the baker, someone in that commission made statements that were derogatory of religion,” Berman said. They treated the rule as if it targeted religion because of the individual’s statement, she said. But the Court gives deference to the executive branch in matters of national security, Berman said. In the case involving President Donald Trump’s travel ban, the Court decided that national security concerns justified Trump’s actions, she said. The Court has less leeway to enquire on the government’s motives in these situations, she said. Core values Berman said religious freedom was one of the reasons colonists came from England. “You could say free exercise and the establishment clause were sort of reactions to things that the framers objected to under English rule,” Berman said. “It was sort of one of the founding ideas of the United States.”
"Life can be really confusing and scary and terrible at times, and the idea that everything happens for a reason can be helpful to people. Caryn Tamber-Roseneau, assistant professor of Jewish Studies and Religion Studies at the University of Houston Caryn Tamber-Rosenau, an assistant professor of Jewish Studies and Religious Studies, said humans have a desire to find meaning and that they find it in the idea of a higher power. “Life can be really confusing and scary and terrible at times, and the idea that everything
happens for a reason can be helpful to people,” TamberRosenau said. Religion helped people understand the natural world,
and it's a system for organizing life, Tamber-Rosenau said. Belief creates a sense of comfort for people, and ritual and practice help organize their
lives, she said. “It’s a way of connecting you to your ancestors,” Tamber-Rosenau said. “If you’re a Muslim and you’re observing Ramadan, and
you know that your ancestors have observed Ramadan, that has to be really powerful.” news@thedailycougar.com
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8 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Faith
fashion
The worlds of religion and fashion collide at 2018 Met Gala
This dress is just one example of religiously centered garments on display at the 2018 Met Gala event. (Madonna Wedding Ensemble, autumn/winter) | Courtesy of Regan Vercruysse
julie araica
cooglife editor
@juliearaica
At this year’s Met Gala, the world saw a convergence between pop culture and Catholicism on a grander scale than ever before, revealing the extent of the fashion world’s power in 2018. According to the New York Times, the Met Gala is the annual fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York. Each year, the event is meant to celebrate the theme of the year’s exhibit, and the dresscode is set accordingly. Social media sites were filled with fans reposting photos of how their favorite celebrities interpreted the theme “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” Some attendees embraced the grandness and spectacle of the pre-reformation era, such as Ariana Grande, who wrapped herself in a dress straight from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Others found ways to subtly critique the theme, such as Solange Knowles, who paired a braided golden halo with a black durag that read “My God Wears A Durag.” In doing so, Knowles found a way to
remain afrocentric while sticking to a eurocentric theme and push back against the idea that heaven is white. The theme was met with some pushback, with many people deeming it “blasphemous” and “sacrilegious” on Twitter, spawning the hashtag #myreligionisnotyourcostume. This outcry came in spite of the Metropolitan Museum of Art working closely with the Vatican on its exhibit. Head MoMA Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton worked on this year’s exhibition. In an interview with the Observer, he said that he originally he wanted to focus it on five different religions — Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Catholicism. Bolton opted to focus on Catholicism, citing that 80 percent of the material for the exhibit drew inspiration from the religion. He worried the other four religions would feel like tokens, especially when the Vatican agreed to come on board. Bolton grew up Catholic and wanted the exhibit to focus on the way designers engage with the imagery, iconography and symbolism associated with Catholicism. On a more
fundamental level, he wanted to show how growing up Catholic impacts your imagination. Like Bolton, many of the designers showing work in the exhibit were raised Catholic. The exhibit was carefully thought out. In addition to consulting the Vatican, Bolton also consulted church representatives in New York to get an idea of how different aspects of the event would be perceived, according to the Observer. The exhibition was comprised of fashion designs that drew heavy inspiration from Catholicism, Catholic art and objects lent directly from the Vatican. The pieces from the Vatican were displayed separately. Fashion designers have come under fire in the past for trying to incorporate religious aesthetics into their designs, such as when Nike used a logo on a pair of sneakers that resembled the word “Allah” written in Arabic script. “The West unfortunately sees a design aesthetic without delving into details,” fashion designer Wendell Rodricks said in an interview with DNAIndia. “These negatives should be avoided as there are many hurt sentiments that may turn violent. In these
Evening Dress, autumn/winter, Valentino SpA | Courtesy of Regan Vercrussye
cases, fashion needs to be prudent and avoid looking at design in a single graphic appeal mode.” Fashion — a tool of selfexpression in politics, society, religion, culture and power — has always had a particularly provocative relationship with religion. Fashion is a window into society, highlighting its rules, customs and conventions. Fashion is often a symbol of identification with a particular religion, revealing things like position or devotion within a faith. Tabloid Art History is a team that had been highlighting celebrities’ fashion choices and how they echo
Christian art, even before this year’s Met Gala took place. Elise Bell, a member of the TAH team, told the BBC that the Catholic religion in particular is a visual feast that truly portrays the sheer decadence of the Renaissance period, lending itself to art through those visuals. Bolton acknowledges that the relationship between art and religion is complicated “The issue of religion in art is sensitive, but I believe that exhibitions should provoke debate,” Bolton said in his interview with the Observer. cooglife@thedailycougar.com
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 9
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10 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
FAITH
CATHOLICISM
American bishops speak out against asylum limits, border separations CRISTOBELLA DURRETTE
LIFE & ARTS EDITOR @CRIST0BELLA
Bishops in the United States have spoken out against recent policy changes enacted by the Trump administration that places limitations on asylum and separates children from their families at the US/Mexico border. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) held their annual spring conference on June 13 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This meeting came just weeks after Attorney General Jeff sessions issued the zero tolerance immigration policy and just two days after he announced restrictions on immigrants’ ability to receive asylum. The zero tolerance policy makes illegal entry into the United States a prohibited offense punishable by law, while the restraints on asylum hinder individuals fleeing violence, poverty, and gang-related activity from entering the U.S. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the USCCB, issued a statement regarding the updates to the United States immigration
policy. “At its core, asylum is an instrument to protect the right to life,” DiNardo said. “The decision (to limit asylum) will erode the capacity of asylum to save lives, particularly in cases that involve asylum seekers who are persecuted by private actors. We urge courts and policy makers to respect and enhance, not erode, the potential for our asylum system to preserve and protect the right to life.” DiNardo also commented on the zero tolerance policy, which allowed for the separation of children from families attempting to cross the US/ Mexico border. He condemned this break up of the family unit, stating that “families are the foundational element of society and they must be able to stay together..Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral.” Other bishops who spoke at the conference introduced the idea of sending a delegation of bishops to the border to act as a public witness. The concept gained traction and was placed in the hands of the USCCB’s working group on immigration
Bishops in the U.S. have spoken out in dissent of recent policy on border relations. | Cristobella Durrette/The Cougar
issues. This idea became a reality when a delegation of bishops took a two-day trip to the McAllen-Brownsville area at the southern border of Texas, according to the Catholic News Service. This excursion included a
trip to the Casa Padre facility, a Walmart-turned-detention center that houses children separated from families and unaccompanied minors that have crossed the border. Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, Pennsylvania, who was part of the delegation and visited Casa Padre, stated that while the facility was clean and provided access to medical care, schooling, and recreation, there was a sadness that permeated its inhabitants. “On too many occasions, our government has taken a posture and established policy which is in
principle and in practice hostile to children and families fleeing violence, gangs, and poverty,” Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley said in a statement about border immigration. “At its core, immigration policy is about people, young and old, alone or in families, often fearful and abandoned. Immigration policy is a moral question that cannot be separated from decisions of what is right and wrong, of justice and injustice. It is about respecting and reverencing the dignity of the human person. arts@thedailycougar.com
Catholic bishops have dissented the separation of parents and children at the U.S./Mexico border. | Cristobella Durrette/The Cougar
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 11
FAITH ENTERTAINMENT
Different ways religion is portrayed in video games
Screenshot from God of War Skyrim: Elder Scrolls.
MICHAEL SLATEN
CAMPUS EDITOR
@MICHAELSLATEN
Four decades removed from the golden age of arcade games, video games have changed a lot. Video games have been able to tell more engaging stories than ever before with advancing technology. With this, religion has found its way to be represented in games, whether it’s based on real-world religions or a fictional representation of religion. Here are three game series and one standalone game that represent religion in various ways.
Sid Meier’s Civilization Originally released in 1991, this classic PC turn-based strategy game puts the player in control of a civilization, for example America or France, to guide them throughout history. Religion is a tool in this game either to enhance your civilization or as a way to win, depending on the civilization. Players can create their own religion or choose a default name based on real-world religions like Hinduism or Judaism. Once players have their religion, they compete with other civilizations to have theirs be the most influential and followed religion in the world. Players can choose their bonuses earned from religion. Tithes will grant you extra money or military units can be acquired using faith, as examples.
The Elder Scrolls The Elder Scrolls series has fully developed lore for its fictional faiths. Faith is prominent in
several parts of the Elder Scrolls series. There are several deities with history behind them, conflicts arising from whom characters worship, storylines involving religion and even mods expanding religion in the game. Players don’t have to touch or learn the lore behind religion in the long-running action roleplaying game series. But if they choose to, they can dive deep into learning about how religion helps guide the Elder Scrolls’ world of Tamriel.
The latest game, released in 2018, draws from Norse mythology instead of Greek
mythology. However, Greek mythology elements still remain in the series.
From Dust In this game, the player is an unknown god terraforming the land and sea to help guide a tribe seeking knowledge across the land. Rituals, totem worship and dividing the ocean like Moses did to the Red Sea in Exodus are featured in the game. Random natural disasters get in the way of the tribe completing their journey to seek out knowledge. Only the player, being the game’s “god,” can help save the tribe during these tsunamis or volcanic eruptions.
God of War The longtime PlayStation series is overt with how it draws from religion to shape the game. The game is heavily inspired by Greek mythology. The protagonist Kratos is the God of War after killing Ares, and he is the son of Zeus. The setting is Ancient Greece for the beginning of the series. Athena, Hercules and Hades all make appearances in the games.
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12 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
FAITH CHURCH
Pastor using spiritual prowess to prey on congreagtion DANA C. JONES
EDITOR IN CHIEF @DANACJONES_
Fiona Sinha/The Cougar
Most Black people — no matter how agnostic or indifferent toward religion they may be — have a story or memories about church. The black church is a special place for the Black community. The Black community is one of few where religion is embedded in the culture as within the Jewish and Muslim communities. Politically, most Black people lean left or identify as a Democrat. This can be seen through data gathered by the Pew Research Center on how registered voters identify from 1992 to 2016. In 1992, 67 percent of registered Black voters identified as Democrat. This increased to 70 percent in 2016. In those same years, Black Republican identification decreased to 3 from 5 percent. With party affiliation, there are also socioeconomic trends of how people identify. Out of 782 surveyed Black people — 57 who wished not to respond to this question — 268 of them made less than 30 thousand dollars per year, according to the Pew Research Center. Of those voters, 4, 21 and 72 percent, respectively, identified as Republican, independent and Democrat. Not only do most registered Black voters make less money, but they also widely vote Democrat. Some Democratic or liberal platforms include the support of women and girls, the LGBTQ+ community, and anti-corruption according to the 2016 Democratic Platform. These exact platforms do not align with the Black church and by extension, Black people. In the same Pew Research study, 571 of 782 registered Black voters identified as being Protestant, which encompasses the Baptist sect of Christianity. Of those Protestants, 73 percent identify as a Democrat. In Black church sermons, there tends to be a view of being LGBTQ+ as one of the greatest sins or an “abomination” even though
the Bible views every sin as equal. Women in the church hold positions similar to modern gender roles such as secretarial work, Sunday school teachers, assisting the pastors and hardly ever being in a pastor role themselves. With some of the Democrat core ideologies being the antithesis of the Black church, you would think that the church would align with Republicans. The reason for that is twofold: economics and representation. Money holds are greater influence over how people identify because poor people cannot relate to rich people and vice versa; especially if that person was born into their respective circumstances. Therefore, a rich person — that may not have influence — cannot adequately advocate on behalf of the poor. With the money poorer people do have, they are willing to invest it — however blindly — into an entity that has history of providing, race relatability and representation. With the church being one of the only places Black people are widely in major positions of power, the congregation will invest in something that they can physically see themselves, will either get a return on the investment and make them feel good by helping something that is bigger than themselves. No matter where that power comes from — even if it’s in a church — it can corrupt the person. Anti-corruption being a main point for Democrats, happens in the black church. There are several instance of pastor stealing money from the church, even by way of the elderly congregation. This normally happens by using their spiritual prowess to their advantage. The elderly being more religious, are more willing to both give wholeheartedly to the church, which makes them easy targets to be swindled for their money. Even if they give more money than they can afford on their own accord, the church allows it to happen. People will spill some of their deepest issues and situations to the pastors and preachers in their church
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 13
Faith
Black churches continue to be a cornerstone of Black culture with their historic and spiritual contributions to the community that they serve every day. | Dana C. Jones/The Cougar
so they can find spiritual guidance. The church has several pastors with different specialties, one dealing in money. Since the trust is already rooted, the church is aware of people’s financial situations both through tithing and members explicitly explaining their problems. Tithes are a tax, 10 percent of your yearly income, that you pay to the church as a member. Since they are aware of the income, morally, they should not let their members give more than they can in tithes and then pressure them to give more for offering. My friend's grandmother had a similar situation where she gave so much to the church, despite her debts and pleas to stop from her family, because of her unwavering faith. There are also instances where the pastor can steal money directly from the church's funds instead of through one member. A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, church’s chief financial officer — Robert Mosely — was accused of stealing more than $125,000 from the church. Of that, $27,000 was meant to fund a summer feeding program for needy children. In Cleveland, a pastor was accused of stealing $150,000 from a disabled member of the
congregation. Even though those individuals were caught, it taints not only the reputation of that church but the faith and symbolic nature of the church as whole. Some might wonder how thousands of dollars can go missing without anyone noticing. Pastors and administrative members of the church — especially the Black church — have their blackness and spirituality on their side. Those are some of the strongest identifiers through which people can easily foster trust. And a Black church can house anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand people with the same identity. This makes people overlook issues, shortcomings and plain flaws in a person. Also, who would suspect a seemingly God fearing person to deliberately prey on the weak and continuously break one of the commandments in the house of God? These isolated incidents are a product of an individual and not the church as a whole. But, if the reputation of the Black church is going to stay strong as it has for this long, these growing trends must be acknowledged and stopped. editor@thedailycougar.com
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14 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
FAITH
ISLAM
Understanding Malcolm and Muhammed's America
Fiona Legesse/The Cougar ANUSHEH SIDDIQUE WEB EDITOR @NISHUSIDDIQUE American Muslims are constantly having to decouple their faith from the connotations made about them, especially by the news media immediately following a terror strike. It’s ironic that they have to defend themselves when they’ve been in this country longer than their persecutors. The legacy of the American Muslim is disconnected at a convenience from their heritage, especially when it comes to the artistic and intellectual contributions of the Islamic world. The historical scope of Muslim influence in America is limited and often even censored to serve the larger political agenda of xenophobia. Whether it be George W. Bush’s War on Terror or the stereotypical and lazy scapegoating, Muslims only make a splash when it’s in a context framed by someone else.
The origins of American
Islam The true history of Muslims in American can date back as far as the 12th century, when it is said Portuguese Muslims explored the New World and wrote the book that would guide Christopher Columbus. The first confirmed migration was in the rows of slaves brought to the Americas, 10-15 percent of which were Muslim. The origins of the youngest monotheistic faith are heavily interwoven into the history of the nation that rejects them now. Muslims haven’t just carved their space in history but also in art, music, medicine and countless other industries. The obvious examples stand out immediately: Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, voices so loud and celebrated that history isn’t allowed to remember around them. Muhammad Ali’s refusal to fight in the Vietnamese War, the statement that cost him his championship and the best years of his career, stood out so prominently in our history that it could not be filtered out.
Malcolm X’s pivotal position in restoring black dignity and nationalism made him the “black shining Prince” of his people and a polarizing threat to the white supremacist culture around him. Other examples of Muslim excellence are not even lucky enough to be remembered. The patriots who erected this nation like Yusuf Ben Ali, who served under George Washington against British Colonialists, are forgotten. The brilliant minds who literally constructed this nation like Fazlur Rahman Khan, the “Einstein of structural engineering,” are forgotten. My issue isn’t that these names aren’t featured in American history textbooks, which are too busy whitewashing more captivating events. My issue is not that the contributions of these individuals lie at the controversial intersection of Islam and minorities which makes them even easier to neglect. My issue is that within my own community, I did not know a single one of these names growing up. Muslims raised
Muhammed Ali was adamant about showcasing his religion and his activism both in and outside of the ring. | Wikimedia Commons
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 15
Faith in America are drowned in allegations against their faith. They can barely gasp for enough air to defend themselves, let alone immerse themselves in the richness of their culture. Not only do we willingly isolate ourselves from the intersections of our American and Muslim heritage, we skew these narratives.
Malcolm and Muhammed's America Malcolm and Muhammad are the two icons that made the Nation of Islam and Sunni Islam slightly more palatable to the culture around them. The Nation of Islam is a daunting term in today’s world, bearing a vague association with the Black Panthers and black nationalism. This neglected sect of Islam was started in 1930 by Wallace D. Fard and preached that Islam was the true faith of Africa, emphasizing freedom and black nationalism. It was taken over in 1934 by Elijah Muhammad and found by Malcolm X in 1952. The prominent generational misconception that exists today is that Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X existed separately. We
like to imagine that our heroes became heroes on their own, that some people are just preordained for greatness. The bond that existed between Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali began not because of their shared faith but because of the charisma and magnitude Ali, at the time Cassius Clay, saw within Malcolm. It spurred a friendship that would eventually bring Clay into the folds of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm’s increasing outrage at American intervention in Vietnam inspired Ali to make his stance against fighting in the war. Malcolm X not only shocked white America, but his growing influence and beliefs of Islamic unity, black pride and panAfrican sentiment placed a deep seed of discomfort in the hearts and minds of Americans. It wasn’t only white America that was appalled by Malcolm’s controversial stance, but also the people of his own faith. While we’ve recently made more of an active effort to reclaim and celebrate the revolutionary, Sunni Islam has long been on the fence about accepting Malcolm X. It could have been his radical and
often violent beliefs that kept the community detached for so long, but I think the real issue falls back on man’s oldest vice: bigotry. We see two young black Muslim activists, and it strikes controversy into the hearts of the American people because this is not what we’ve been conditioned to think Islam should look like. This issue is internal and external, and it is perpetuated by many believers as well as non-believers. It is ironic that our scripture says the diversity of our tongues and colors is among one of Allah’s wonders, yet we treat it as a scale of inferiority and superiority. When Malcolm cast off his last name in favor of an X, it was a testament to God’s statement of equality. When Cassius denounced his birth name as a “slave name” and took on the name of his people, it was a testament to God’s statement of equality. When we draw internal divisions of hostility in our Ummah (community) based off the color of our skin, it is a testament to our ability to sow the seeds of unrest and inequality. web@thedailycougar.com
Malcolm X less than a year before his assassination | Wikimedia Commons
16 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Faith LGBTQ+
Q&A: Growing up being gender non-conforming in the Catholic Church cristobella durrette
life & arts editor @crist0bella
Editor's note: Kris and Beck decided to withhold their last names to protect their identities. Born into the faith, Kris and Beck were both raised in the Catholic church. They attended Catholic school from kindergarten through 12 grade. Part of this time was spent in an all-girls school. It was during these formative years that both discovered that they are transgender. Kris identifies as a man, while Beck identifies as non-binary. The Cougar: When did you figure out that you were trans when did you realize this? Kris hopes to make the world a better place for future generations of transgender individuals. | Cristobella Durrette/The Cougar
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Kris: I had a partner and they identify as non-binary. They knew that a lot earlier than I did. Me, being the supportive girlfriend I was trying to be, I went on Tumblr and followed a bunch of trans positivity and non-binary positivity blogs. I started looking at the different posts and I thought, wait a minute, that sounds like me. I slowly toyed with the idea: maybe I’m not a girl.
Beck: I was on Tumblr when the rise of non-binary and third genders was becoming part of the LGBT Tumblr landscape. I didn’t understand it at first, but as I kept reading and looking at other peoples’ profiles and stories, I started realizing it was very similar for my own life. This is something that I can explore, something I can learn about. I continued to learn more about it and I thought, this explains a lot about my childhood. TC: What was it like attending an all-girls Catholic school before you realized your gender identity?
Kris: It was very hard. This is one specific incident I think about a whole lot. In my government class, we were having a roundtable discussion about the Bathroom Bill. I was the only one in my class who was like, everyone should be able to use the bathroom willy nilly because it doesn’t matter, you’re just going in to use the bathroom, and regardless of if you let different genders into the bathrooms, you’re not going to get an increase in pedophilia. I tried to explain, without outing myself, why it matters. I got all the other kids in the class to be like, no, they’re pedophiles, and unless they have an actual sex change surgery, then they are not (the gender they identify as). After that class was my lunch period and I went to the chapel and I cried for almost the entire lunch period.
Beck: It helped that I went to an all girls school. It allowed me to be me and gain the confidence for me to be gay during those four years. I wouldn’t be the same without that school. TC: How would you describe the attitude of members of the Catholic faith toward trans individuals? Kris: I’ve had people who are like, I still love you in a way that they don’t really approve of what I’m doing. It’s very condescending. That’s what the majority of it is. I also very often get people that say, you’re an abomination, what you’re doing is sinning, and you’re going to hell. People have said this to my face. There’s also fantastic, very Catholic people that I was afraid to come out to because of fear of their judgement, but they supported me wholeheartedly.
Beck: In Catholicism, you are taught that there are two genders that are complementary. There are no third genders or otherwise options because
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Continues on next page
“I was on Tumblr when the rise of nonbinary and third genders was becoming part of the LGBT Tumblr landscape. I didn’t understand it at first, but as I kept reading and looking at other peoples’ profiles and stories, I started realizing it was very similar for my own life.” Beck, Non-binary
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 17
Faith
The Texas Legislature was unable to pass a bill policing transgender Texans’ use of bathrooms. Kris had this discusion in his classroom denouncing the bill in front of his peers. | Dana C. Jones/The Cougar
q+a
Continued from previous page there’s no need for something that’s already complementary. Personally, I’ve been accepted by a small group of people I hang out with that identify as Catholic. (With negative reactions), for the longest time, I just tuned it out, but it got harder when it came from people I trusted.
TC: How supportive is your family of your gender identity after they've raised you in this religion? Kris: I didn’t want to hide this from them. I had been doing so much hiding in high school and I was done hiding. Luckily, they didn’t scream at me that
culture is steeped in Catholic religion, so it’s very hard to separate the two. My parents never gave me the religious gay talk. They just knew that God loves you. That’s literally it. You can do bad stuff and He’ll forgive you.
TC: Are you a part of a church community and are you out to that community? Kris: I was a part of a Newman center near campus. The more I was there, the more I was scared because I didn’t know how people were going to react. I didn’t want my transness to get out to the community before I was ready for it to. I left that community before I came out. But I want to be able to be a part of that community. I plan on rejoining them in the fall.
“It’s something that i haven’t ever attributed it to God letting that happen. He’s given me all these opportunities to become a stronger person, to do what I can to make the world better for the next generation. .” Kris, Transgender night (I came out). That came a little bit later. They did cry into the phone and then hang up. My family won’t call me Kris, they will not use he/ him pronouns, they aggressively call me their daughter. Any chance they have to gender me, even if they didn’t have to use a pronoun or call me their daughter, they will insert it into the conversation to make it known that I’m not a man. Beck: I tried telling my mom about a year ago. My mom, she doesn’t really accept me as non-binary, but I don’t attribute that to religion. That’s more because of cultural upbringing. Filipino
Beck: I am only an active church member when I’m in Houston, at my home parish. At college, I don’t have or make the time.
TC: How active of a church member were you before you came out as trans as opposed to now? Kris: It has greatly impacted my church attendance. I have been going to other religious ceremonies to keep myself in touch with God. I go to a church called the Unitarian
Universalists. It’s literally, whatever you believe, that’s fine. The creed of the Church is that we’re not going to judge anybody and that’s it. They’re an incredible group of people, very accepting, versus my old church being very much not so. It’s a space I’m very comfortable being religious in. Beck: As I got older, it (altar serving) was pretty much the only thing that kept me going to church. At that point, I wasn’t jaded by my faith up until senior year of high school. I’m not gonna lie, that last year in high school made me question whether or not I wanted to be Catholic. After going off to college, the lack of going to church killed what little religious life I had.
TC: How do you contend having a relationship with God when it can seem like he lets all these terrible things happen to you?
TC: What role does religion
Kris: It’s something that i haven’t
play in your identity?
It’s not correct. I was still in such a fragile place, feeling like I still had to rely on others, that I was like, they’ve gotta be right. That is something that I have learned. It took me a while to get there, to be like, I am allowed to be here, I am allowed to be in this religion, I am allowed to participate.
Beck: I have had those experiences. It’s horrible because I don’t want them to be. As much as I hated those religion classes, I listened in them.
ever attributed it to God letting that happen. He’s given me all these opportunities to become a stronger person, to do what I can to make the world better for the next generation. I want to make a positive impact to future trans kids and in general. That’s what I think God has given me. It’s not that he’s given me all these trials and tribulations, he’s given me an opportunity to help other people grow.
Beck: You know what sucks? I’m trying to rebuild (my relationship with God) again, but I know I’ve had those religiously bonded moments, those deep revelations. Then, when I get to Mass, I can’t concentrate. arts@thedailycougar.com
Kris: Religion has started to become how I cope with my identity. I’ve begun praying a lot more than I used to. It’s been a slow process. I’ve been so hurt by people in God’s name that it’s been really hard getting comfortable enough to pray. It’s gotten to the point to where I’m comfortable enough in my relationship with God and my relationship with other people who also believe in God that I can start to be like, hey, I’m not doing so well. I need your help, God. Beck: It really doesn’t at this point. I’m so far removed from my own religion that it doesn’t even affect my identity at this point. It hurts because, especially during those times when I’d listen to Catholic radio or watch Catholic TV, it was like a painful stab to the chest. I just had these thoughts like, oh, my God, I’m going to Hell. TC: Do you ever feel that your religion and your gender identity and in conflict? Kris: Yes. For quite a while, I was told you cannot be trans and Catholic.
Beck attended a Pride event to connect with other LGBT youth. | Courtesy of Beck
18 | Wednesday, August 15, 2018
FAITH
IN FOCUS
FAMILY
When does religious devotion go too far? JASMINE DAVIS
MANAGING EDITOR @JPAIGEDAVIS
The first time I begged for my life, I was 12. One month into the seventh grade, I sat helpless on the edge of a hospital bed as a surgeon told my parents there was a strong possibility I would need a blood transfusion. My father told her to let me die instead. From the moment on the way to the operating room that the doctors told my parents they couldn’t come any farther, I begged my surgeon not to let me die for a religion that wasn’t mine. On the operation table, I refused critical minutes of anesthesia until she promised. When I made my first post-operation visit to my dad’s house, he lectured for hours on my lack of integrity and morals. I’m not going to go name names when it comes to his views, so let’s just say his community is known for knocking on doors, occasionally denying modern medicine, and
most importantly, exiling family and friends who don’t agree. Unfortunately for me, I have only ever fallen in the latter group. My dad’s devotion to his religious views and subsequent community have been his highest priority since before I was born. Among his peers, my dad is praised for this fact. In my eyes, it was that love for his faith that prevented him from attending a single athletic event throughout my childhood. When I brought home good grades, he disapproved on the basis that I could have instead reserved that time and effort for the faith we didn’t share. His faith has been more important than anything I’ve ever done. My parents have been divorced since before I started elementary school. The arrangement was that I would visit him and his new family every other weekend. For those four days each month, friends, schoolwork and any entertainment that didn’t align with his views were
off-limits, and I was subject to the worship activities of his choosing. It only took a few years of missed birthday parties and family holidays before I started asking my mom to stay home on those weekends, but she didn’t want to disrespect his right to parent me. By middle school, I was begging with more and more success. There was a weekend during my freshman year of high school that I asked to stay home. We had just moved, and I had nearly a week’s worth of schoolwork to catch up on by Monday. Getting permission to stay home was an uphill battle on a good day, but there was a special event at my dad’s church that weekend. After about an hour of back and forth, I told my dad it just wasn’t possible for me to go that weekend if I couldn’t get the necessary work done. He sent my mom three emails informing her that I was evil — yes, Biblical evil. We didn’t speak for two years.
When my stepsister told him I did well on the SAT, he broke the silence to tell me I made him sick. A moderate level of devotion keeps faith alive, and I’m not here to say religion is in any way bad. Religion follows the same rule as just about everything else: It’s good in moderation. In excess, even a religion that lists family, love and tolerance as some of it’s most important tenants can change people for the worse. When I think of my father, I think about the details my mother and grandmother have told me about the person he was before. I’m confident I’ll never be lucky enough to experience having that person as a parent — which is a shame because my dad supposedly used to be pretty damn cool — and I made peace with that a long time ago. But if the job of a good parent is to love and want the best for their children, isn’t he trying in the only way he knows how? If he thinks the best he can do for me is ensure I do right
by the god he believes in, should I excuse the negative impact it’s had on our lives and relationship? As a teenager and young adult, I used those questions to cushion blow after blow of rejection and disappointment, and I would tell myself that even if he doesn’t like or believe in me, at least his continuous effort to right my religious “wrongs” proved his love. Adulthood, and my changing relationship with both parents, has taught me that it’s OK to cease my efforts to make him proud, to connect with him. The knowledge that I’ll never earn his love is as brutal as it is certain. Today, I ask whether I would have brought pride to the father I feel I missed out on, the father I never knew. Love, the kind religion teaches and that we should all strive to feel for those around us, asks only that we become better people, not different ones. editor@thedailycougar.com
The A.D. Bruce Religion Center has been under construction this summer for long-anticipated repairs to the roof. | Jasmine Davis/The Cougar
The Religion Center's prayers have been answered Repairs began over the summer to the A.D. Bruce Religion Center's roof, nearly three years after the Student Fees Advisory Committee first denied the department's request for funds. According to 2016 coverage by The Cougar, the roof hadn't been replaced in the 52 years since the building's construction. In November 2016, SFAC approved a request for $500,000 to make the repairs. Construction is expected to continue into the fall semester.
Send us your photos, tag @thedailycougar
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 19
Faith literature
Religious themes found in modern literature cristobella durrette
life& arts editor @crist0bella
Regardless of what you think about the truth of the text, it’s hard to deny the Bible is an interesting story. Featuring love and hatred, war and peace, a man-eating whale and a woman turned to salt, the Bible has the adventure of an action movie with a touch of romance. It’s not a surprise that these stories have proved to be some of the most enduring throughout human history no matter what religion you were raised in. Biblical stories and themes endure in the modern literature. Here are five novels that feature prominent religious themes. If you haven’t read these books, please prepare for spoilers.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey Set in a mental asylum in the 1960s, the novel is written from the perspective of Chief Bromden, a patient on the ward who pretends to be a deaf-mute. Chief Bromden details the story of Randle Patrick McMurphy, a Christlike figure despite his tendencies for gambling, womanizing and drinking. This unlikely messiah brings salvation to the other patients. With his boisterous human spirit, McMurphy rescues his fellow patients from the machinations of the rigid behavior instilled by the head nurse and society outside the ward. The head nurse, Nurse Ratched, is portrayed as the devil in a starched white uniform. An allegory for Christ’s death, McMurphy eventually sacrifices himself to Nurse Ratched to save the patients from the evils society perpetrates against them.
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman Putting an alternative spin on the Book of Revelation, the novel tells the story of an unlikely pair working together to stop the approaching Apocalypse. The angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, the representatives of Heaven and Hell on Earth, join forces to prevent the Antichrist from bringing about the end of the world. However, this task is more difficult than the two initially anticipated. The Antichrist has been misplaced. Utilizing humor to convey messages about the nature of creation, the novel focuses less on the event of the biblical Apoca-
lypse and more on its catalysts and consequences.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Despite identifying as a secular humanist, Vonnegut incorporated numerous Christian themes into the novel. The story follows Billy Pilgrim, a young man drafted to serve in WWII. Billy’s last name — Pilgrim — is a reference to trips taken for religious purposes called a pilgrimage, reflecting the journey Billy goes on through time in the novel. In spite of this name and the fact that he grew up with a crucifix on his wall, Billy was not religious as a child. He goes on to serve as a chaplain’s assistant in the war, during which he is captured as a POW and witnesses the bombing of Dresden. After returning from the war, Billy becomes "unstuck in time," experiencing powerful disassociative episodes of PTSD. Living on a moment to moment basis that causes him to travel through the timeline of his life, Billy travels with no warning and in no particular order. This allows Billy to prophesize his own death and further life, associating him with Christ’s prophecy of his death.
Rowling
Despite receiving backlash from Christians for promoting witchcraft and the occult, the acclaimed series was partially inspired by Christianity. Rowling confirmed the presence of a religious influence in the series after Deathly Hallows was published, saying she didn’t want to give readers a chance to guess what was coming next in the series. The novel begins with two epigraphs, one of which is drawn from the Quaker Christian tradition. Bible quotes also appear on the tombstones of Harry’s parents and of Professor Dumbledore. In addition to these overt religious references, Christian themes of death and resurrection are woven into the final chapter of Harry’s story. Like Christ, Harry sacrifices himself and then resurrects from the dead to rescue mankind from evil. arts@thedailycougar.com
Religion is a prominent theme in modern literature. | Cristobella Durrette /The Cougar
Preacher series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon A priest, a gun-toting criminal and an Irish vampire walk into a bar. It sounds like the intro to a poorly written joke, but it’s something that could plausibly happen within the pages of Ennis and Dillon’s acclaimed graphic novel series. The story follows Jesse Custer, a small-town preacher imbued with otherworldly powers that allow him to command anyone or anything with a simple utterance. Throughout the novels, religion is shown in dark, ultra-violent terms. Chaos reigns, God is nowhere to be found and Jesse Custer is hunting him down to make him pay for his shortcomings. Ennis utilizes characters like Custer to point out the flaws in religion. Despite a desire to point out its flaws, Preacher does not reject religion outright. The idea of wanting to believe in something, just not necessarily what is presented, is embodied in Genesis, the angel/demon coupling contained in Jesse Custer.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K.
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