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THE DAILY TEXAN
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LIFE&ARTS PAGE 12
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Border crossing concerns grow
Calendar Hook the Cure
Texas laws put under the microscope in court rulings
Join Hook the Cure an organization dedicated to promoting diabetes awareness through education on the subject from 7:30-8:30pm in BEN 1.124.
District judge chooses to keep concealed carry license age restriction
Sigma Delta Tau
Javier Vargas, a biology junior who who crosses the border several times a year to visit his relatives. Since 9/11, CBP has take n m any pro of - of - i d e nt it y -
Most UT students will remain ineligible to obtain a concealed handgun license after a district court ruling last week. United States district judge Samuel Cummings threw out a motion to overturn a Texas law that prohibits 18- to 20-year-olds from obtaining a concealed carry license on Thursday. The National Rifle Association filed a case on May 16, 2011, claiming that the state law keeping people under the age of 21 from carrying a concealed handgun violated the U.S. constitution, wrote Cummings last week in his court opinion on the case. “The licensing scheme does not burden the fundamental right to keep and bear arms,” Cummings wrote. “Neither does the licensing scheme target a suspect class.” Although most college students cannot legally carry concealed firearms under the cur-
BORDER continues on PAGE 2
GUNS continues on PAGE 2
Integration of technology enhances student learning
Rescheduled primaries would effect student voter turnout, new maps drawn
By Sarah White Daily Texan Staff
Attend an informational session for the Sigma Delta Tau sorority before the main recruitment begins. The session will be held in BEN 1.122 between 7-8 p.m.
Wicked
Come learn the back story of the Wicked Witch of the West in the performance of Wicked at the Bass Concert Hall. Shows start at 2 p.m. and tickets are anywhere from $38.50-138.50.
Today in history In 1949 The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences held the first annual Emmy awards ceremony at the Hollywood Athletic Club Los Angeles.
Thomas Allison | Daily Texan Staff
Despite ongoing turbulence in Mexico, biology junior Javier Vargas regularly crosses the Texas-Mexico border to visit family members who cannot cross into the U.S. border regions like Reynosa, where Vargas’ family lives, continue to suffer the consequences of drug-related violence.
Editor’s note: This is the first in a three part series about how immigration law impacts higher education and the UT System
By Jody Serrano Daily Texan Staff
Despite concerns over Mexico’s drug war and increased border security, many people with family and friends across the border still
Austin experiences needed rain
choose to make trips between the U.S. and Mexico, said a UT student with family in Mexico. Mexico’s turbulent situation has increased scrutiny by Customs and Border Protection officers for many travelers, said
By Bobby Blanchard Daily Texan Staff
8-9 p.m. Tonight Lonestar Politics A panel of students discuss topics like The Longhorn Network, their favorite TSTV shows and opinions on the recent conflicts in the Middle East.
7-9 a.m. Thursday When Roots Attack! “When Roots Attack!” is your source for classic Jamaican songs.
WATCH TStv ON CHANNEL 15 9:00 p.m. The Current
A panel of students discuss topics like The Longhorn Network, their favorite TSTV shows, and opinions on the recent conflicts in the Middle East.
9:30 p.m. College Crossfire Our panelists talk about the upcoming Superbowl and talk college basketball. Tune in for their spring season
Thomas Allison | Daily Texan Staff
Plan II English sophomore Andrew Wilson walks past a flooded Nueces Street in West Campus Tuesday afternoon during a brief break in the rain. By Jody Serrano Daily Texan Staff
After golf-ball-sized hail and periodic rain spattered Austin all day Tuesday, the city could experience relief from the nasty weather as early as this afternoon. Travis county experienced abnormal amounts of rain and hail from a storm system from the Pacific Tuesday. As of Tuesday evening, the system moved to far west of El Paso and will likely bring a cold front through the area when it passes through Austin today, said geography lecturer and KEYE weatherman Troy Kimmel. He said there is an 80 percent chance of rain today and the UT area
may experience roughly two inches of rain throughout the day with possible hail later in the evening. According to the National Weather Service website, the main threat today will be damaging winds across Highway 281 and Interstate Highway 35 throughout this morning. Kimmel said people reported seeing hail in North Austin Tuesday morning and recommended people put their cars in the garage and take precautionary measures to protect their belongings. The rain is very good for Austin because the city is still in a very severe drought, he said. “It’s not going to break the drought but every bit will help,” Kimmel said.
Using technology to enhance introductory courses has helped students earn better grades, said representatives of the Course Transformation Program. The program, which began in spring 2010, aims to increase success rates in classes by adding more educational technology and added online educational features to the classes students typically take in their first few semesters. Last spring, Biology 311C/311D, Chemistry 301 and 302 and Statistics 302 all started selected piloted sessions of the courses. “I do think one of the great things about what we’re doing is it can help make the big class experience feel smaller,” said Gretchen Ritter, director of CTP. The CTP hosted a panel Tuesday which reported results and feedback from the first year of the program. The attendance rate for Statistics 302 has gone up from previous years to 92 percent after starting the program, said Cathy Stacy, the Statistics and Scientific Computation faculty leader for the program. She said the percentage of Ds and Fs on the final
exam also fell from 33 to 15 percent but the final exam itself was essentially the same from those prior to the class’s redesign. “The area on the final where we saw the greatest improvement was calculation,” Stacy said. “It is essentially what we removed from the lecture periods and left to the students to do on their own.” Ritter said the courses in the program are using online materials to help teach the class. All the courses have moved some materials previously taught in lectures to online assessments and readings, she said. “By taking some of the material that you may traditionally cover in lecture to outside of class, you can do different things inside of class,” Ritter said. “You can make the classroom experience itself a more engaged environment.” Chemistry 301 and 302, for example, places skills students can learn on their own online on Quest and on the class website. The course website has all the material content resources, along with videos of every lecture. David Vanden Bout, the program’s chemistry faculty project
COURSES continues on PAGE 2
Chelsea Jackson | Daily Texan Staff
Students sit and talk before the beginning of a lecture on Tuesday
By Kayla Jonsson Daily Texan Staff
If the Texas primaries are rescheduled because new district maps are not agreed upon in time, students who leave town after the semester’s end may be unable to vote. The primaries are at risk of being rescheduled for a second time this year from April 3 to a later date because on Jan. 20, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a set of interim maps drawn by three San Antonio judges, said Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio. If authorities can’t agree upon new maps by Feb. 1, there will not be enough time for the federal preclearance required by the U.S. Supreme Court to hold the Texas primaries as scheduled, according to a statement from the Texas attorney general’s office. The Supreme Court rejected the new maps because it ruled that the San Antonio judges have not given proper consideration to last year’s district maps, Garcia said. As soon as the maps were rejected and the San Antonio judges scheduled a meeting to discuss redesign on Feb. 3, two days after the deadline, the attorney general’s office filed a motion to reconsider, said Lauren Bean, a spokeswoman for the Texas Attorney General Deputy. The motion urged the San Antonio court to resolve this matter in time to have the Texas primaries as scheduled, she said. Garcia said the San Antonio judges are working hard to draw acceptable maps before the deadline. “We need time to make the map right for the primaries,” Garcia said. “Being right is more important than being rushed.” As the struggle for official
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NEWS
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
COURSES continues from PAGE 1
The Daily Texan Volume 112, Number 102
CONTACT US Main Telephone: (512) 471-4591 Editor: Viviana Aldous (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com Managing Editor: Audrey White (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com News Office: (512) 232-2207 news@dailytexanonline.com Multimedia Office: (512) 471-7835 dailytexanmultimedia@gmail.com Sports Office: (512) 232-2210 sports@dailytexanonline.com Life & Arts Office: (512) 232-2209 dailytexan@gmail.com
Photo courtesy of The Associated Press
In this photo provided by Barrett-Jackson, the white hearse used to transport President John F. Kennedy’s body following his assassination in Dallas is shown at auction Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Buyer pays $176,000 for JFK hearse
Photo Office: (512) 471-8618 photo@dailytexanonline.com Comics Office: (512) 232-4386 dailytexancomics@gmail.com
By Jamie Stengle Daily Texan Staff
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The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. I f we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@dailytexanonline.com.
COPYRIGHT Copyright 2011 Texas Student Media. All articles, photographs and graphics, both in the print and online editions, are the property of Texas Student Media and may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without written permission.
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GUNS continues from PAGE 1 rent law, a person under 21 is still eligible for a license to carry a concealed handgun if the person is a “member or veteran of the United States armed forces,” according to the Texas Government Code. Andre Treiber, spokesman for the University Democrats, said the organization supports Cumming’s decision.
TOMORROW’S WEATHER High
DALLAS — The man who paid $176,000 for the white hearse used to transport President John F. Kennedy’s body following his assassination in Dallas plans to include it in his collection of about 400 cars in Colorado. Stephen Tebo, a collector and real estate developer from Boulder, bought the hearse Saturday that was being offered by Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. of Scottsdale, Ariz. It sold for a bid of $160,000, plus a $16,000 buyer’s premium. The 1964 Cadillac hearse carried Kennedy’s body as well as first lady Jacqueline Kennedy from Parkland Memorial Hospital to Air Force One at Dallas’
I will go down with this ship.
THE DAILY TEXAN
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Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viviana Aldous Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Daley, Shabab Siddiqui, Susannah Jacob, Samantha Katsounas Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audrey White Associate Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aleksander Chan News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jillian Bliss Associate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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Issue Staff
Love Field for the flight back to Washington on Nov. 22, 1963, according to the auction company. “It was a solemn duty that it had taking him from the hospital where he was pronounced dead to Air Force One,” said Craig Jackson, CEO and chairman of the auction company. “I think everybody in the world remembers watching the hearse leave the hospital, heading toward Air Force One. It just sort of sunk into ever ybody that he’s gone.” The hearse had been on display at a funeral home directors’ convention in Dallas in October 1963, the auction company said. After the convention, O’Neal Funeral Home of Dallas bought the hearse. It was that funeral home that was called upon to trans-
port the president’s body. In the late 1960s, the hearse was bought by Arrdeen Vaughan, a Texas man who owns funeral homes and a funeral vehicle business. He kept it in a private collection for more than four decades before selling it to the person who eventually put it up for auction. Tebo said he plans to turn his car collection into a museum, hopefully in five to 10 years. The collection in Longmont, just outside of Boulder, is not currently open to the public, but Tebo does open it up four times a year to different nonprofit groups to help them raise money. Other cars in his collection include a 1965 Rolls Royce custom made for John Lennon, a
taxi used in the TV show “Seinfeld” and a jeep Frank Sinatra used on his ranch. Tebo said he had expected the hearse would sell for anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million, so he wasn’t planning on bidding. But he jumped it when he saw the bids weren’t likely to go that high. As a collector, he said he tries to buy significant vehicles when possible. Te b o s a i d h e w a n t ed the hearse because of its historical significance. “We remember specifically seeing the hearse leaving the hospital and driving very, very slowing to Air Force One and loading the casket on Air Force One. It was just an incredibly dramatic time in our lives,” Tebo said.
“Look back to your graduating class in high school, and think about if your peers were mature enough then to handle the responsibility that comes with a Concealed Handgun License,” Treiber said. “I certainly know that there are people from my year that I don’t think can responsibly handle guns now, let alone then.” Treib er s aid he and ot her members of the organization have been invested in increasing safety regulation for firearm use for over a year.
“We worked closely with Students for Gun-Free Schools to lobby members of the state legislature over the guns on campus issue,” he said. “The judge’s ruling, then, follows exactly what we like — sensible regulation for a rational interest, that interest being public health and safety.” Alice Tripp, spokeswoman for the Texas State Rifle Association, said the case was promoted by the NRA. “It is not a lawsuit brought by us, but we support it,” Tripp said. “Given the other constitutional
rights endowed to 18-year-olds — the right to vote, the right to fight in war — [the government of the state of Texas] is not being consistent.” Tripp also said she thought t h i s l aw s u it w a s n ot e s p e cially related to Texas laws, which prohibit concealed carry on campus. “This case deals with the discrepancy between the age of voting and the age of concealed carry, and that is what is especially disturbing in this case,” she said.
district map approval continues, student political groups are finding it hard to motivate student voters when the details of the election date are uncertain, University Democrats President Huey Fischer said. “As president of an organization whose primary mission is to get students to the polls, this entire ordeal has been a nightmare,” Fischer said. “If the primaries get moved to May or June, which they almost certainly will be, students simply will not vote because they are registered in Travis County but will have returned to their homes for the summer.” University Democrats spokesman Andre Treiber said he is concerned about the possible late election date because he will not have the chance to inform many otherwise uninterested young voters during the summer. “I am frustrated I will not be able to simply stand outside the [Flawn Academic Center] and tell people to quickly run inside and vote,” Treiber said. “I’ll have to look in vain as student turnout plummets.”
zie said she stopped travelling to Mexico five years ago because she was concerned about the shootings and kidnappings happening across the border. McKenzie, an English adjunct professor at UTBrownsville, said UT-Brownsville’s mere minute proximity to the border city of Matamoros, Mexico has caused her fear on many occasions. She said she once smelled gun powder walking through campus. “I have walked on campus and I have been afraid,” McKenzie said. “You never know who’s going to be walking through campus. A lot of our own students say they feel the violence from Mexico is already on our side.” Tania Chavez, a communications graduate student at the UTPan-American, said she used to travel to Mexico relatively often but stopped because of the violence on the border. Chavez said during one of her trips she thought a traffic accident had taken place, but later found someone had thrown a grenade on a public transportation bus. “It is more difficult to cross the border now, and that is why
I have stopped crossing,” Chavez said. “I am always scared something will happen at the bridge.” She said the violence has affected the economy in both cities as well and that her family’s restaurant in Reynosa, Mexico saw a 60 percent decline in sales because people were afraid to cross. Chavez said it is harder to cross now than it was before and there is always a threat. Even the checkpoints are not safe from the violence. Vargas is used to the passage from Edinburgh, Texas to Reynosa, Mexico, but he said he has mixed feelings about travelling to Mexico, especially for people who aren’t used to it. He said he recommends people be careful about the clothes they wear, avoid big crowds, take older cars, never go outside at night and try to hide the fact they’re U.S. citizens. “It all boils down to being at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Vargas said. “But I wouldn’t discourage it because I believe the more people are aware of the situation in Mexico, the more help can be given.”
BORDER continues from PAGE 1 travel-initiatives for people entering or leaving the U.S. along its various ports of entry. CBPLaredo spokesman Richard Pauza said over the years CBP has streamlined the process by which the traveling public is processed on the border with new technology and better training. CBP pro cess es an average of 3,500 privately owned vehicles and more than 6,000 walking pedestrians a day at the various bridges in the border city of
Brownsville alone, Pauza said. In order to avoid delays and interrogation, Pauza said he recommends that travelers obtain one of the standard documents outlined in the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The policy requires all persons to present a preapproved form of identification such as a valid passport, U.S. passport card, Trusted Traveler Programs card or an enhanced driver’s license. UT alumna Maria McKen-
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leader, said last semester the website received about 61,000 hits, with more than 10,000 visitors spending at least 30 minutes on the site throughout the previous semester. “The website was a huge hit, for people not just in our class but obviously it’s leaking over to other sections of 301,” Vanden Bout said. “For all the surveys that we did, this was students’ No. 1 favorite thing about the class.” Ritter said UT was committed to a face-to-face learning experience, so the University will not move to a primarily online-only set of courses. “But we are really headed much more in the direction of a hybrid model where in fact we are trying to make the inside the classroom experience more engaged,” Ritter said. Architectural engineering sophomore Amanda Nogay, who took a Chemistry class last semester that was not one of the program’s piloted sessions, said online resources are a good supplement, but they can not replace in-class lectures. “There is also no substitute for picking a professor’s brain,” Nogay said. “While the Internet has a bounty of resources, only the professor knows exactly what he wants you to get out of the lesson.”
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012 | The Daily Texan | Austin Myers, Wire Editor | dailytexanonline.com
Economy top concern for the State of the Union By Ben Feller The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Declaring the American dream under siege, President Barack Obama delivered a populist challenge Tuesday night to shrink the gap between rich and poor, promising to tax the wealthy more and help jobless Americans get work and hang onto their homes. Seeking re-election and needing results, the president invited Republicans to join him but warned, “I intend to fight.” In an emphatic State of the Union address, Obama said ensuring a fair shot for all Americans is “the defining issue of our time.” He said the economy is finally recovering from a deep and painful recession and he will fight any effort to return to policies that brought it low. “We’ve come too far to turn back now,” he declared. Obama offered steps to help students afford college, a plan for more struggling homeowners to refinance their homes and tax cuts for manufacturers. He threw in politically appealing references to accountability, including warning universities they will lose federal aid if they don’t stop tuition from soaring. Standing in front of a divided Congress, with bleak hope this election year for much of his legislative agenda, Obama spoke with voters in mind. “We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by,” Obama said. “Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.” At the core of Obama’s address was the improving but deeply wounded economy — the matter still driving Americans’ anxiety and the one likely to determine the next presidency. “The state of our union is getting stronger,” Obama said, calibrating his words as millions remain unemployed. Implicit in his declaration that the American dream is “within
Saul Loeb | Associated Press
President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday.
our reach” was the recognition that, after three years of an Obama presidency, the country is not there yet. In a signature swipe at the nation’s growing income gap, Obama called for a new minimum tax rate of at least 30 percent on anyone making over $1 million. Many millionaires — including one of his chief rivals, Republican Mitt Romney — pay a rate less than that because they get most of their income from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate. “Now you can call this class warfare all you want,” Obama said, responding to a frequent criticism from the GOP presidential field. “But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common
sense.” In a flag-waving defense of American power and influence abroad, Obama said the U.S. will safeguard its own security “against those who threaten our citizens, our friends and our interests.” On Iran, he said that while all options are on the table to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon — an implied threat to use military force — “a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible.” With Congress almost universally held in low regard, Obama went after an easy target in calling for reforms to keep legislators from engaging in insider trading. With the foreclosure crisis on ongoing sore spot despite a number of administration housing initiatives
Gates defends genetic tech to feed the world Charity’s hunger solutions provoke environmentalists, calls for “green revolution”
found a ready source of money to finance his ideas: He proposed to devote half of the money no longer being spent on the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan to “do some nationbuilding right here at home,” to help create more jobs and increase competitiveness. The other half, he said, would go to help pay down the national debt. Obama will follow up Tuesday night’s address with a three-day tour of five states key to his re-election bid. On Wednesday he’ll visit Iowa and Arizona to promote ideas to boost American manufacturing; on Thursday in Nevada and Colorado he’ll discuss energy, and in Michigan on Friday he’ll talk about college affordability, education and training.
Strong solar storms cast northern lights By Karl Ritter & Seth Borenstein It was part of the strongest solar The Associated Press storm in years, but the sun is likely
By Donna Blankship The Associated Press
KIRKLAND, Wash. — Bill Gates has a terse response to criticism that the high-tech solutions he advocates for world hunger are too expensive or bad for the environment: Countries can embrace modern seed technology and genetic modification or their citizens will starve. When he was in high school in the 1960s, people worried there wouldn’t be enough food to feed the world, Gates recalled in his fourth annual letter, which was published online Tuesday. But the “green revolution,” which transformed agriculture with high-yield crop varieties, warded off famine. Gates is among those who believe another, similar revolution is needed now. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has spent about $2 billion in the past five years to fight poverty and hunger in Africa and Asia, and much of that money has gone toward improving agricultural productivity. Gates doesn’t apologize for his endorsement of modern agriculture or sidestep criticism of genetic modification. He told The Associated Press that he finds it ironic that most people who oppose genetic engineering in plant breeding live in rich nations that he believes are responsible for global climate change that will lead to more starvation and malnutrition for the poor. Resistance to new technology is “again hurting the people who had nothing to do with climate change happening,” Gates said. Groups resistant to genetic modification and other hallmarks of modern agriculture, such as pesticides and petroleum-based fertilizers, generally object on two grounds — concerns about the environment and the high cost of the seed and chemicals used in modern farming. Bill Freese, a science policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety, said everyone wants to see things
over the past three years, Obama proposed a new program to allow homeowners with privately held mortgages to refinance at lower interest rates. Administration officials offered few details but estimated savings at $3,000 a year for average borrowers. Obama proposed steps to crack down on fraud in the financial sector and mortgage industry, with a Financial Crimes Unit to monitor bankers and financial service professionals, and a separate special unit of federal prosecutors and state attorneys general to expand investigations into abusive lending that led to the housing crisis. At a time of tight federal budgets and heavy national debt, Obama
Elaine Thompson | Associated Press
Bill Gates smiles while being interviewed last Wednesday in Kirkland, Wash.
get better for hungry people, but genetically modified plants are more likely to make their developers rich than feed the poor. The seed is too expensive and has a high failure rate, he said. Better ways to increase yields would be increasing the fertility of soil by adding organic matter or combining plants growing in the same field to combat pests, he said. The biggest problem with those alternatives, Freese said, is the same that Gates cited in high-tech research: A lack of development money. In his 24-page letter, the Microsoft Corp. chairman lamented that more money isn’t spent on agriculture research and noted that of the $3 billion spent each year on work on the seven most important crops, only 10 percent focuses on problems in poor countries.
“Given the central role that food plays in human welfare and national stability, it is shocking — not to mention short-sighted and potentially dangerous — how little money is spent on agricultural research,” he wrote in his letter, calling for wealthier nations to step up. Gates expressed in his letter and in person concern that the U.S. and other rich nations continue to support foreign aid. “If you ask people should we provide AIDS drugs to people who need them, you get an overwhelming yes. When you ask people, do you believe in foreign aid, you get a very skeptical view,” he said. “But the fact is that the biggest single program in foreign aid is providing those AIDS drugs. People need to connect those things.”
STOCKHOLM — A storm from the broiling sun turned the chilly northernmost skies of Earth into an ever-changing and awe-provoking art show of northern lights on Tuesday. Even experienced stargazers were stunned by the intensity of the aurora borealis that swept across the night sky in northern Scandinavia after the biggest solar flare in six years. “It has been absolutely incredible,” British astronomer John Mason cried from the deck of the MS Midnatsol, a cruise ship plying the fjord-fringed coast of northern Norway. “I saw my first aurora 40 years ago, and this is one of the best,” Mason told The Associated Press, his voice nearly drowning in the cheers of awe-struck fellow passengers. U.S. space weather experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday evening that so far they had heard of no problems from the storm that triggered the auroras, which made it as far south as Wales, where the weather often doesn’t cooperate with good viewing.
to get even more active in the next few months and years, said physicist Doug Biesecker at the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. “To me this was a wake up call. The sun is reminding us that solar max is approaching,” Biesecker said. “A lot worse is in store for us. We hope that you guys are paying attention. I would say we passed with flying colors.” Even before particles from the solar storm reached the Earth on Tuesday, a different aurora Monday night was dancing across the sky as far south as Ireland and England, where people rarely get a chance to catch the stunning light show. Tuesday’s colorful display may not have moved that far south, limiting its audience, but those who got to see it got brilliance in the sky that had not been around for years. “It was the biggest northern lights I’ve seen in the fivesix years that I’ve worked here,” said Andreas Hermansson, a tour guide at the Ice Hotel in the Swedish town of Jukkasjarvi, above the Arctic Circle.
3 NEWS BRIEFLY Egyptian rulers under pressure end notorious emergency laws
CAIRO — Egypt’s military ruler on Tuesday decreed a partial lifting of the nation’s hated emergency laws, an apparent attempt to ease criticism of his policies. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi said in a televised address that the draconian laws, in force for more than three decades, would be lifted effective Wednesday but would remain applicable to crimes committed by “thugs.” The military has often labeled organizers of anti-government demonstrations “thugs.” Tantawi’s decision to partially lift the emergency laws, which give police far-reaching powers, would likely not satisfy rights groups that have been campaigning for their total removal. Rights groups say at least 1 2 , 0 0 0 c iv i l i ans h ave b e e n tried before militar y tribunals since the military council took power. Many of them, they say, were charged with acts of “thuggery” when, in fact, they were protesters. The term also has been used to ridicule the military in the independent press, and some of the young protesters in recent demonstrations have been chanting, “we are thugs!” At least 80 protesters have been killed by troops since October.
Gadhafi loyalists seize villages based on earlier tribal loyalties
BENGHAZI, Libya — Moammar Gadhafi loyalists seized control of a Libyan mountain city in the most serious challenge to the central government since the strongman’s fall, underlining the increasing weakness of Libya’s Western-backed rulers as they try to unify the country under their authority. The taking of Bani Walid, one of the last Gadhafi strongholds captured by the new leadership late last year, was the first such organized operation by armed remnants of Gadhafi’s regime. A simultaneous outbreak of shootings in the capital and Libya’s second largest city Benghazi raised authorities’ concerned that other networks of loyalists were active elsewhere. The security woes add to the difficulties of the ruling National Transitional Council, which is struggling to establish its authority and show Libyans progress in stability and good government. Four revolutionar y fighters were killed and 25 others were wounded in the fighting, al-Fatmani said. There were no immediate signs that the uprising was part of some direct attempt to restore the family of Gadhafi, who was swept out of power in August and then killed in the nearby city of Sirte in October. His sons, daughter and wife have been killed, arrested or have fled to neighboring countries. Instead, the fighting seemed to reflect a rejection of NTC control by a city that never deeply accepted its rule, highlighting the still unresolved tensions between those who benefited under Gadhafi’s regime and those now in power.
Secret service stops armed man visiting Bush’s home with gun
DALLAS —The Secret Service detained, questioned and released a man who had a firearm in his vehicle as he pulled up outside the north Dallas home of former President George W. Bush. S ecret S er vice spokesman Ed Donovan says the unidentified man showed up “uninvited” about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, saying he wanted to see Bush. While agents and Dallas police questioned him, the man revealed that he had a gun in his nearby vehicle. Donovan says the man had a permit for the gun and his answers checked out, so he was released and left. Donovan declined to comment on how the man made it past the gate.
Rune Stoltz | Associated Press
The aurora borealis are seen near the city of Tromsoe, northern Norway, late Tuesday after the most powerful solar storm in six years.
— Compiled from Associated Press reports
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OpiniOn
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 | The Daily Texan | Viviana Aldous, Editor-in-Chief | (512) 232-2212 | editor@dailytexanonline.com
overview
Fate of voter ID remains uncertain
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The rising influence of student activism by larisa manescu Daily Texan Guest Columnist
Last Wednesday, in response to the introduction of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) to combat online privacy in late October, major websites such as Google, Wikipedia and Reddit united in an Internet blackout to voice their opposition. Their resistance was supported by much of the younger generation who grew up with the Internet as a constant presence in their lives. That support demonstrated the collective political power of students when their interest is aroused. The threatening presence of SOPA and PIPA attracted the attention of many young people because they recognized how the bills might affect their daily lives. Many people, sensing the danger, participated in protests and spread the message using social networking sites. However, this type of political activism in response to new legislation is not standard. Typically, new legislation is met with little resistance because it is rarely reviewed by such a wide audience. As the SOPA and PIPA protests demonstrated, the younger generation possesses the potential to play a role in legislative debates by creating stable and influential relationships with U.S. senators and
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representatives, and by consistently bringing new bills into the spotlight to be reviewed, questioned and criticized. Congress shouldn’t seem like a distant, unreachable force in a democratic nation. However, an individual must be familiar with current legislation before contacting a member of Congress to either support or
and record this information. Another way to contact legislators is by writing to them. Many people contacted their legislators and held Internet protests, to express their outrage over SOPA and PIPA, and their efforts were certainly noticed. As a New York Times article published the day of the blackout reported, “Phone calls and email messages poured in to Congressional offices against the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect I.P. Act in the Senate. One by one, prominent backers of the bills dropped off.” Senators were responsive to the overwhelming surge of opinions headed their way. Many of them tweeted revised thoughts on the bills: “Thanks for all the calls, emails and tweets. I will be opposing #SOPA and #PIPA,” tweeted Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon. Students were heavily involved in voicing their opinions and sharing methods of resistance to friends and family because of the relevance of the bills to their lives. If this pattern of dedicated political activism continues beyond these anti-piracy bills, the true potential of the younger generation’s involvement in the nation’s government can prevail.
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The Texas attorney general announced Monday that the state of Texas filed suit in federal court for approval of its controversial voter ID law passed last spring. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires Texas to receive preclearance from the Department of Justice before implementing any laws that could affect voter participation. The law, which would require voters to present a governmentissued photo ID at the polls, was supposed to take effect Jan. 1 but has been under review since July. Those who do not have a government-issued ID can obtain an election ID from the Department of Public Safety for free. Nonetheless, if enforced, the voter ID requirement would discourage voter participation, particularly among students. As it is, elections are not very well publicized and often catch students unaware. With the added hurdle of voter identification, students who show up to the polls with little knowledge of voting procedure — such as those voting in Texas for the first time — may not realize they must obtain an ID card deemed acceptable by the state to vote. About 49 percent of registered voters between ages 18 and 24 — the lowest of any age group — voted in the 2008 presidential election, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Moreover, in the 2010 gubernatorial election, only 38 percent of registered voters in Texas showed up to the polls, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office. With already abysmal voter turnout, the state should minimize, not increase, the number of requirements to vote. With the next election only two months away — the primary election is April 3 and early voting begins March 19 — the Justice Department should release its decision soon so the state has time to notify voters of any changes to voting procedure. Further delay will only push voter turnout from dismal to damaging.
...The younger generation possesses the potential to play a role in legislative debates by creating stable and influential relationships with [legislators].
oppose a bill. The easily navigated website http://GovTrack.us can help, as it tracks legislation in Congress, promoting transparency through technology, according to its website. The easiest way to get in touch with your representative is by phone, but doing so requires patience. It may take a few minutes before an automated message gives way to a staff assistant or intern, at which point the caller should present the name of the legislation and the bill number and state whether he or she is in support of or in opposition against it with a brief reason. Staffers collect
Manescu is a journalism and international relations freshman.
You should write for The Daily Texan by You Daily Texan Columnist Have something to say? Say it in print — and to the entire campus. The Daily Texan Editorial Board is currently accepting applications for columnists and cartoonists. We’re looking for talented writers and artists to provide as much diversity of opinion as possible. Anyone and everyone is encouraged to apply. Writing for the Texan is a great way to get your voice heard. Our columnists’ and reporters’ work is often syndicated nationwide, and every issue of the Texan is a historical document archived at the Center for American History. Barack Obama may not be a frequent reader, but a copy of the Texan runs across UT President William Pow-
ers Jr.’s desk each day, and the opinions on this page have great potential to affect University policy. It’s no rare occurrence for Texan staff members to receive feedback from local or state officials, or to be contacted by a reader whose life was changed by an article. In such instances, the power of writing for the Texan becomes real, motivating our staffers to provide the best public service possible. If interested, please come to the Texan office at 25th and Whitis streets to complete an application form and sign up for an interview time. If you have any additional questions, please contact Viviana Aldous at (512) 232-2212 or editor@dailytexanonline.com.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Senate advocates for student involvement in Texas legislature The Senate of College Councils has launched a campaign to increase student outreach to Texas legislatures, said President Carisa Nietsche. Senate is working together in conjunction with Student Government and the Graduate Student Assembly the Higher Ed at Home initiative. It aims to get students in contact with their local state legislators to explain why higher education matters to their constituents even if there is not a university in their district.
Thomas Allison | Daily Texan Staff
A student descends the escalators inside the McCombs School of Business Tuesday afternoon. The MBA program at McCombs maintained its rank as the ninth best in the world according to a survey conducted by graduate school ranking website Poets & Quants.
Business school ranked nine in world for second year By Tracy Frydberg Daily Texan Staff
The McCombs School of Business maintained their ranking of ninth best Master of Business Administration program in the world for the second year, according to Poets & Quants, a site dedicated to giving information on graduate business schools. This year also marks the centennial for the accounting program. It celebrates its No. 1 rank for the seventh year in a row, said Department of Accounting chair Lillian Mills. The study, conducted by Poets & Quants, ranked schools by averaging four different surveys together. Each study evaluated different aspects of the graduate programs. Stephanie Carlton, a graduate MBA student and health policy advisor to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, said she is not surprised by the ranking. Carlton commutes to
Austin to attend lectures every two weeks from Washington, D.C. “I chose to come to UT over Georgetown [University],” she said. “UT has a top [Executive] MBA program and a fantastic national reputation.” Even with the cost of commuting, Carlton pays between $20,00080,0000 less than if she had gone to Georgetown. Out of the top 10 schools listed, UT has the only program that costs under six figures, Carlton said. Eric Hirst, the associate dean for graduate programs in McCombs, said price is not the only factor that attracts students to the program. “We have a very high level of collegiality,” Hirst said. “Most MBA programs are cutthroat. This is not the case for us. We have a culture of collaboration. People learn from each other. Students are paying a lot of money to be here and are not easily impressed.” The ranking is a reflection of the
quality of students who are attracted to the program, said John Burrows, director of the Executive MBA program. Burrows said students in the program have an average of 14 years of business experience upon entering. “The amount of experience both students and faculty have is directly reflected in the culture of the program,” Burrows said. “We attract a high caliber of students. We are very selective. When students and teachers come together, they are always excited to see each other and are a very tight knit group.” Carlton said the professors and classmates she gets to learn from and work with are what make her commute to Texas worth the trip. “The professors are top notch people with experience in the world as well as the ability to teach,” Carlton said. “The people here are very real.” Leah Moss, accounting department spokeswoman, said the handson faculty and students are dedicated
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to learning beyond the books, and as a result the school continues to reach and exceed the goals and standards that are set. “The rankings are high because the students do more than become solid accountants,” Moss said. “With exposure from professors who have been to the real world, the students become ethical and want to protect their clients.”
TOP 10 EXECUTIVE MBA PROGRAMS 1. Wharton 2. Chicago 3. Kellogg 4. Columbia 5. NYU
6. UCLA 7. Michigan 8. Cornell 9. UT - Austin 10. Duke
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The efforts of the campaign have not gone unnoticed by the state legislators, Morton said. “We have had really positive responses,” Morton said. “Especially with the voter ID issue. Representative Dan Branch has been very helpful in getting this changed.” Even though 25 organizations and many students have been involved in the endeavor, the Senate is always looking for more people to participate, Morton said. “A lot of the efforts are going into outreach to different organizations and just not politically oriented ones,” Morton said. “We even tried a postcard campaign to
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By Paxton Thomes Daily Texan Staff
I hope that students take initiative over Spring Break and go talk to their legislators.
— Carisa Nietsche, Senate of College Councils President
Higher Ed at Home is the first initiative of the 2012 Invest in Texas campaign, a non-partisan student-led campaign focused on lobbying the state legislature for issues that students care about. “Higher Ed at Home was designed to make the issues of higher education a local issue,” Nietsche said. “It really shows that constituents care about higher education.” Despite the fact that it is not a legislative year, Senate is still working to prepare for the next legislative session, said Invest in Texas campaign spokesman Michael Morton. “I hope that students take initiative over Spring Break and go talk to their legislators,” Nietsche said.
get more students involved.” Although the campaign fought to reduce budget cuts, the University was still affected, receiving a $92 million cut from the legislature. “There have been cuts in staff and some faculty reduction, but the University has tried to limit academic cuts so as not to affect the students,” said Mary Knight, associate vice president and budget director for the University. “Anytime the students carry the message to their legislature, it is very effective because legislators listen very carefully and take both sides into consideration,” she said. “Last session, students from many organizations went to campus and spoke both for and against the issues.”
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QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Candidates must be registered students at The University of Texas at Austin in the semester the election is held. 2. Candidates must have a minimum grade point average of 2.50 on all work undertaken at The University. 3. Candidates must have: — Completed at least one semester as a permanent staff member of The Daily Texan in news, sports or on the copy desk. — Completed at least one semester as an issue staff member of The DailyTexan in an area other than the one covered above. — Completed J360 (Media Law) before taking office or demonstrate competency in media law as determined by the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees. — Obtained signatures from at least five members of the Texan staff supporting the candidate for editor. It is a goal of Texas Student Media and The Daily Texan to encourage staff to run for editor. It is preferable to have at least two certified candidates.
Any student desiring to run with one of the above qualifications waived, must complete a waiver form and present evidence supporting waiver. Waiver Forms available in HSM 3.304.
GENERAL PROVISIONS: 1. The editor shall be a registered student in accordance with UT institutional rules. The editor may take no more than 12 semester hours as an undergraduate or 9 semester hours as a graduate or law student, but no fewer than 3 semester hours, during each long term. The editor need not enroll for classes during the summer session. 2. The term of office shall be June 1, 2012 through May 31, 2013. 3. Any member of the Board of Operating Trustees of Texas Student Media who becomes an applicant for editor shall resign from the Board at the time he or she applies. 4. Any person who shall have served a regular full term as editor shall be ineligible for a second term.
The TSM Election is held concurrently with the Student Government Election.
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DEADLINE FOR APPLYING
Noon, Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Applications must be picked up and returned to the Office of the Director of Texas Student Media, HSM 3.304, or you may download the application from our web site: http://www.utexas.edu/tsm/media/texan/. The Board will certify applicants at their next meeting at 1 p.m. on Friday, February 3, 2012, in the College of Communication (CMA), LBJ Room #5.160, 2600 Whitis Avenue.
Current student board members : Miles Liscum, Elizabeth Stone, Alex Jones, and Michael Walker
The positions are open to all full time students at UT Austin. You must be able to serve for two years and maintain a full time student status throughout the term.
Filing deadline: Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Pick up your application at the Co-op or online at:
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Since 2000, the Co-op has given over 32 million dollars to UT in the form of gifts, grants and rebates
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NEWS
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Environmental concerns: awaited pipeline denied
A permit denial for a pipeline that would transport oil across the United States drew disapproval from political and labor union supporters of the project. President Barack Obama denied the permit application for the Keystone XL pipeline on Jan. 18. The pipeline made headlines last year after conflict arose between Obama and Congressional Republicans who were in favor of project. The Keystone XL pipeline system, proposed by TransCanada, is a $13 million, 1,661-mile underground oil pipeline that would travel from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast through Texas, according the TransCanada’s website. Laborer councils and unions who demonstrated their support for the pipeline during the U.S. Department of State’s community hearings are disappointed by the decision said Jaclyn Macek Houser, spokeswoman for Laborers’ International Union of North America. “The president sided with environmentalists instead of construction workers that have suffered because of a lack of jobs,” Macek Houser said. “This is politics at its worst.” In a statement released by the White House, Obama said his decision was based on the deadline placed by Congressional Republicans that prevented the State Department from gathering necessary information on the pipeline’s health and environmental impact to approve the project. Reno Hammond, business manager for Southwest Laborers’ District Council, said Obama’s decision was not a surprise after Congress put pressure on the president to make a decision before he wanted to. “I don’t think it’s off the table yet,” Hammond said. “But I think having to stall because of a minority belief in what affects the environment is unfortunate.”
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— Reno Hammond, Business manager
Critics of the pipeline celebrated Obama’s decision but are aware that the pipeline proposal is only postponed, said Andrew Townsend, assistant director of the Campus Environmental Center. TransCanada announced they would re-apply for a permit for the Keystone pipeline in hopes to receive approval to begin construction on their project in late 2014. “Time will tell what form the new proposal will take and whether or not this battle has simply been pushed further down the road,” Townsend said. Last year, the center presented legislation in opposition to the pipeline to Student Government. “Nevertheless, this is a victory for the environmental community and America as a whole,” he said. Jamie Henn, co-founder of environmental activist group 350.org who protested against the pipeline, said Obama did the right thing by denying the permit for a pipeline that was a scam and would have endangered land and water along its route. “Stopping this pipeline was step one,” Henn said. “President Obama now needs to lay out an ambitious plan to create a new clean energy economy, one that can create jobs, save the planet and help break the stranglehold ‘Big Oil’ has over our democracy.”
Chelsea Jackson | Daily Texan Staff
A young woman walks towards the entrance of the School of Architecture on Tuesday afternoon.
Wildfires wreak havoc on Texas tourism By Will Weissert The Associated Press
AUSTIN — Wildfires caused as much as $11 million in damage to Texas state parks and, coupled with the worst single-year drought in state history, continue to drive down the parks’ visitation rates, a top official told state lawmakers Tuesday. Carter Smith, executive director of Texas Parks and Wildlife, reported to members of the Texas House Culture, Recreation and Tourism committee that the parks have seen an 8.4 percent decline in revenue from visitors in the first quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, which began Sept. 1. He said that represents $928,000 in losses, which are especially costly because 55 percent of total park funding comes from visitor-generated revenue. State park officials had announced last month that fewer visitors already had resulted in a $4.6 million funding deficit for fiscal year 2011. Smith said the number of visitors in August alone fell by a quarter. He said some of Texas’ most popular parks with wa-
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applicable law. — Liz Farmer
Police investigate break-in at West Campus apartment Police are currently investigating the break-in of a woman’s West Campus apartment which occurred yesterday at 4:18 a.m. as she was sleeping. Upon waking up the woman screamed causing the intruder to flee the scene without making any attempt to attack the woman, said Austin Police Department spokesman Cpl. Anthony Hipolito. APD arrived at the woman’s apartment at 2104 San Gabriel after she called 911 said Hipolito. “She woke up to see someone at her bedside table, screamed and called 911,” Hipolito said. He also said APD does not know whether or not this attack is related to Esme Barrera’s Jan. 1 murder or the other New Year’s Day assaults, and it is too early in the investigation to be sure of anything. “The investigation is still very preliminary, and the woman was not able to give a description of her attacker,” Hipolito said. The Police request that if a onhas information about the breakin they call CrimeStoppers at 512-472-TIPS. — Sarah White
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a downward trend Smith said was likely to continue as long as the drought persists. Karen Huber, a Travis County Commissioner, presented the committee with a study that showed persistently low water levels at Lake Travis in Austin have resulted in 50 percent few visitors — and an estimated $33 million less in revenue and 580 lost jobs. Officials estimate Lake Travis typically generates at least $112 million in revenue related to recreation, boat sales and visitor spending, including at lakefront restaurants. David Teel, president of the non-profit Texas Travel Industry Association, said preliminary figures showed overall business and leisure tourism statewide increased eight percent in 2011 compared to the previous year, but that the industry has yet to climb back to pre-recession revenue levels like in 2008, when it generated $60.4 billion overall. In 2010, the most recent final figures available, travel to Texas generated $57.5 billion. Teel said while final overall figures for 2011 still were being tallied, the preliminary figures show hotel occupancy tax revenues increased about $2 million across Texas in 2011, and tourism added about 41,000 jobs. But, Teel said, the vacation industry now must cope with the perception from would-be visitors, “that Texas is burnt to a crisp.”
*College of Communications, Place 2 (unexpired term: 03/12-05/14) *College of Communications, Place 3 (06/12-05/14) *At-Large, Place 4 (06/12-05/14) *At-Large, Place 6 (unexpired term: 06/12-05/13).
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ter attractions saw declines of nearly 55 percent in visitation revenue rates. “These oppressive summer temperatures, no water in rivers and lakes, burn bans ... all of those things conspire to keep people inside as opposed to going outside,” Smith said. Texas’ 94 state parks and historic sites, which average 8 million visitors annually, endured between $10 million and $11 million in damages from last year’s fires, Smith told the committee. Overall across Texas, nearly four million acres and 4,000 homes were destroyed, making it the state’s most destructive fire season ever. Davis Mountains, Possum Kingdom and Bastrop state parks were all severely damaged. Texas also sweated through what by most measures was the hottest summer on record in U.S. history in 2011, while suffering from the punishing drought. Though some winter rains have helped ease severe drought conditions, La Nina weather patterns likely mean dry months ahead. Surveys at more than 220 lakes statewide found half of them had closed boat ramps or otherwise limited public access because of low water levels, Smith said. Freshwater fishing license sales last year dropped 30 percent from 2010. Meanwhile, non-Texas resident hunting license sales fell about eight percent and hunting licenses overall slumped almost five percent,
The Young Conservatives of Texas called for the UT System Regents to redo the current tuitionsetting process at the University by ensuring that the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee will hold open meetings. YCT also asked for the UT System Regents to create a rule ending closed meetings of TPAC for future tuition-setting years, in a press release issued Tuesday. TPAC is a nine-member committee that includes a student representative of undergraduates who receives financial aid, three student leaders and five faculty members and administrators. TPAC hosted three student forums and held closed meetings most Tuesdays and Thursdays from Oct. 25 to the end of November. President William Powers Jr. took the recommendation of TPAC to increase tuition by the largest tuition increase the UT System will allow for the next two academic years. The UT System Board of Regents can accept or decline Powers’ recommendation when they set tuition at an undetermined date later this semester. Tony McDonald, YCT senior vice chairman, said the group is against the proposed tuition increases because it promoted excessive spending. He said YCT plans to put pressure on the regents to make the requested changes to the tuition recommendation process. “It’s really sad that they don’t see how important it is that these meetings be open,” McDonald said. McDonald said University officials and student leaders should be held to the same standards as representatives in state government. “Universities have to be accountable to the people,” McDonald said. “You can’t be held accountable when behind closed doors.” UT System spokesman Anthony de Bruyn said the System administration is aware of YCT’s correpondence and is currently reviewing
Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees has openings for 4 student board positions.
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Conservative group demands end to closed tuition meetings
I think having to stall because of a minority belief in what affects the environment is unfortunate.
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By Alex Ura Daily Texan Staff
IT’S GRATE!
NEWS BRIEFLY
1 FEBRUARY 23, 2011
an advertising special edition
• Adopt annual budget • Review monthly income and expenses • Select KVRX station manager, TSTV station manager, Texas Travesty and Cactus yearbook editors, The Daily Texan managing editor • Certify candidates seeking election to TSM board and for The Daily Texan editor • Review major purchase requests •
of The Daily Texan
INSIDE
> SAVE SPACE and DECORATE using these tips pg. 3-4 > SPICE UP your new pantry with four simple ingredients pg. 9 > YOUR GO-TO GUIDE for today’s Housing Fair pg. 10-11
Time commitment? About five hours per month (one meeting, reading before meeting, committee work).
Pick up an application at the Hearst Student Media building (HSM), 25th and Whitis Ave, Room 3.304, or print a application from our website: http://www.utexas.edu/tsm/board/
Deadline is noon on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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7 SPTS
SPORTS
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 | THE DAILY TEXAN | Sameer Bhuchar, Sports Editor | (512) 232-2210 | sports@dailytexanonline.com
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Texas wins in dogfight By Sameer Bhuchar Daily Texan Staff
Freshmen Myck Kabongo and Julien Lewis finished with 13 and 12 points respectively to help the Longhorns pull off a sloppy 55-62 win against a scrappy Iowa State team. “As long as we are making progress in the process I’m good with [the win],” Texas head coach Rick Barnes said of the dogfight of a game. “When we had the lead we got careless and we had four or five possessions without scoring, but overall I think we made some progress tonight.” Barnes, who made his concerns of Kabongo’s sometimes ineffective handling of the offense public after the loss to Kansas, was pleased with his point guard’s effort last night. He felt that Kabongo ran the offense the way it was supposed to in the second half, and Kabongo was pleased with the step forward he took tonight. However, he still thinks he has a ways to go. “I am just trying to work harder every day,” Kabongo said. “I will be in the gym tomorrow morning just continuing to work out. I need to get better and everyone else on our team needs to get better.” Kabongo ended the game with 13 points, two assists, and the game winning stealturned-layup. No one ever said a win had to be pretty, and when you play in the Big 12, you take victories any way you can get them. Texas shot 40-percent from the floor, but it was its defense that held the Cyclones to 31 percent shooting and less than 25 percent from beyond the arc that sealed the deal. Iowa State’s leading scorer, Royce White, notched 15 hard-earned points, but no one else on the squad stepped up. The Longhorns spent the first seven minutes of the game playing catch-up as the Cyclones jumped out to an early lead. But after a Texas timeout, it closed out first half with 20-9 run that was earned though forward Clint Chapman’s big presence inside. “[Texas] strung together shots. Texas had a big momentum basket at the end of the first half
NHL STARS
DUCKS
SPOTLIGHT KEENAN ROBINSON #1 Position: Linebacker Height: 6’ 3” Class: Senior Hometown: Plano, Texas
Lawrence Peart | Daily Texan Staff
Freshman point guard Myck Kabongo attempts a layup in a win on Tuesday night against Iowa State. Kabongo responded well after poor performances in the last few games, with 13 points and a quality night running the offense the way it is supposed to be.
when Clint Chapman got an offensive put-back that put Texas up by six,” Hoiberg said. Refusing to let a poor first half slow down the trigger happy guard, J’Covan Brown finally hit his first shot, a 3-pointer, at the start of the second-half, and then hit another the very next possession. However, Brown couldn’t find his rhythm beyond that, and it was his teammates, for the first time this season, that propped the team up. “My shots were just not going in,” Brown said who ended up with 12 points on 3-16 shooting.
“Some of them were contested, but I can make tough shots. They were just not falling. You can give credit to the defense, but just overall they were not going in.” “[Brown] is obviously one of our better scorers on the team, but we can’t really rely on him in that sense,” Chapman said. “What we talked about before the game was getting shots within our offense and that is what we did well.” Texas extended its lead in the second period. With 15 minutes to go in the second half, the ball hit the deck and the two squads spent
about 10 seconds scrapping for the ball as it bounced freely around hardwood. When a Cyclone finally ended up with the ball on the other end of the scrum, Jaylen Bond chased him 30 feet down the floor and stole it which was a testament to Texas’ hunger after dropping three straight games. “The win is huge,” Chapman said. “Dropping three [games] in a row is something that this program does not like to see. Unless we are putting wins in that column, we are not happy.”
Supporting cast steps up, helps offset Brown’s bad night By Austin Laymance Daily Texan Staff
The Longhorns proved they could beat a quality opponent even when J’Covan Brown can’t find his shot. Texas got enough strong play from its role players and bench to overcome a rough shooting night from its leading scorer to beat Iowa State, 62-55, on Tuesday night to snap a three-game losing skid. Brown shot three of 16 from the field and scored 12 points, but all nine Longhorns scored to help pick up the offensive slack. “Our game plan was to try to slow down Brown and we played off a few guys and a couple of them made us pay for it,” Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg said. Freshman point guard Myck Kabongo led the charge with a team-high 13 points. After one of his worst performances of the season in his last game, Kabon-
OKLAHOMA
go responded nicely. He didn’t run the offense to head coach Rick Barnes’ liking on Saturday, but provided a spark and a scoring punch against the Cyclones. Fellow rookie Julien Lewis added 12 points with seven rebounds. Sheldon McClellan offered five points, including a pair of key jump shots down the stretch as Iowa State began to rally when UT fell out of rhythm offensively. “You want to see that from those other guys when I’m struggling from the field,” Brown said. “Those guys gave an extra lift. That makes everything better for me and helps me relax more.” Brown didn’t have much time to relax in weeks prior. D ur i ng t he te am’s t hre egame skid, Texas relied heavily on Brown to shoulder much of the offensive burden. The junior guard entered the game as the Big 12’s leading scorer at
19.5 points per game and had scored just under 27 per outing over that stretch. Brown hoisted 28 shots at Kansas State and 26 versus Kansas, but showed more faith in his teammates against ISU and did a better job with shot selection. “It’s great for him to draw people and kick out as opposed to forcing shots,” Barnes said. When Brown couldn’t buy a bucket in the loss to Kansas on Saturday, Texas failed to find another option. On Tuesday, though, the entire team answered the call when it became clear Brown didn’t have his best. “Guys stepped up and hit shots when they were open,” said senior forward Clint Chapman, who scored eight. “We talked about getting shots in our offense and we did that well.” Brown is 18 of 70 from the field (26 percent) since scoring 34 points in a loss at Missouri on Jan. 14. If his shooting
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Freshman forward Nneka Enemkpali has played well for Texas filling in for the injured Cokie Reed. She has averaged 7.5 points and 5 rebounds earning her Big 12 Freshman of the Week.
$214 million The amount that Prince Fielder’s contract with the Detroit Tigers is worth over nine years.
The number of $200 million contracts in baseball history after Fileder’s signing. The other players were: Albert Pujols’ this offseason and Alex Rodriguez’s pair of deals with Texas and New York. Lawrence Peart | Daily Texan Staff
Freshman guard Julien Lewis sizes up his defender on the perimeter Tuesday. Lewis had a strong performance with 11 points and seven rebounds.
woes continue, the Longhorns will need efforts like these from the supporting cast to keep UT’s NCAA tournament hopes alive. “We’ve got our leaders back,” Kabongo said confidently. “We have a bunch of great scorers on
By Nick Cremona Daily Texan Staff
Elisabeth Dillon | Daily Texan file photo
BY THE NUMBERS
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our team. We have other guys that can step up, and that’s the beauty of our team.” The Longhorns are inching closer to becoming more than simply Brown and Co. Now, they’re becoming a team.
Horns look to start upswing vs. Tigers
7 P.M. TEXAS VS. MISSOURI AT THE FRANK IRWIN CENTER
Keenan Robinson has been selected to compete in the All Star Football challenge on Feb. 2. This skill competition will be aired on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. Robinson, who was a second team All-Big 12 performer after a 106 tackle season will compete in a number of offensive-vs.-defensive skill competitions along with 11 other college standouts. Past Longhorns to compete in the competition include: Sam Acho (2011), Jordan Shipley (2010) and Hunter Lawrence (2009).
At 0-6 in Big 12 play, the Missouri Tigers are in sole possession of last place in the conference. The Longhorns aren’t too far ahead. Texas is just 2-4 in the conference and finds itself at eighth in the Big 12 standings. The Longhorns must begin to string wins together, as their season has begun to take a southward turn. In its last 10 games, Texas has gone 6-4, losing three home games in that stretch. It’s been noted that each and every Big 12 game has the potential to be close, and while that’s true, Missouri is by far the worst team in the conference. The Tigers have yet to defeat a top-50 RPI team and have lost six of their last 10 games. This will mark the 23rd overall meeting between the teams, with Texas holding a 20-2 advantage over Missouri. The Longhorns are also a perfect 11-0 at home against the Tigers.
“It’s great to say that you’re able to prove it on the floor,” said senior guard Yvonne Anderson. “It’s one of the things that [assistant] coach [Edwina] Brown has been saying: ‘Enough talking. Put it into action.” Lately the Longhorns have enjoyed excellent play from freshman forward Nneka Enemkpali. After filling in for the injured Cokie Reed and in turn seeing her minutes per game increase, Enemkpali has shown marked improvement in many areas. In her last two games (also her first two career starts) against Iowa State and Oklahoma, Enemkpali has averaged 7.5 points, five rebounds and two blocks, as well as almost recording a double-double during the Horns’ loss to the Sooners. She recently earned her first league honor when she was named last week’s Big 12 Co-Freshman of the Week. “She shows great signs and she’s just going to get better and better,” said senior post
ENEMKPALI continues on PAGE 8
37 The age the 5’11, 275 pound Fielder will be when his contract expires.
SPORTS BRIEFLY Dodds and Powers recommend Brown get contract extension Athletic director Deloss Dodds and University President Bill Powers recommend on Tuesday to the University Board of Regents that head coach Mack Brown’s contract be extended. “We want Mack Brown to be The University of Texas football coach for as long as he wants,” Dodds and Powers said in a joint statement. “Consequently, we are recommending that the UT System Board of Regents extend coach Brown’s contract an additional four years, taking it to 2020.” “We’re proud of everything coach Brown does for us and, with this recommendation, are thrilled to have him leading our football program for years to come.” — Chris Hummer
8 SPTS
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
SOCCER
Aztex’s return brings soccer back to Austin By Anthony Mannino Daily Texan Staff
cer,” Markley said. “As I really got to know players locally, I realized there was a lot of talent here. Realizing the number of local players we have that are talented, I wanted to create an opportunity for those players to be able to play their way up to the professional ranks.” The previous Austin club had a history of helping talented young soccer players find their way to the next level, including 21 of the players who played on the under-23 squad from 2008-2009 moving on to professional rosters. Obviously, the new Aztex team will want to emulate what the previous side was able to do as far as generating player talent. Dalglish, plans on using his familiarity of playing soccer at the highest level in England, Scotland and America to help his players turn into professionals. “My experience as a player does not necessarily make me a good coach, but it means you understand what it takes to get to the top,” Dalglish said. “That is something that hopefully we will be trying to pass on to our players: that knowledge of what is required and hopefully some of the players in the future will get to where I got to, and hopefully higher.” In Dalglish, the Aztex have a manager who wants to create a Barcelona-esque possession style
of attack defined by its creativity. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he will be part of the melting pot of Austin and soccer the Aztex want to be considered as a staple of their organization. “One thing we are tying to do very intentionally is make it very accessible to a broad demographic,” Markley said. “We really do not want to have all players form one club or all one style of player. Austin is a melting pot and I want it to be reflected on the field.” The PDL team is heading in the right direction to echo a multiplicity of races. A local supporters group, Eberly’s Army, is part of the variety of soccer fans and they are happy to have soccer back in Austin. “It means a lot. It is something that after the previous Aztex left for Orlando, we did not think we would get a team to support back in Austin this quickly,” said Matthew Gray, ‘the Gaffer’ of Eberly’s Army. “In fact, many of us felt like it would be many years before anybody was willing to invest not only the time but the money to put a team here so soon.” Markley quickly changed that and he will make the dreams of Eberly’s Army and other soccer fans come true a lot sooner than they thought when the Aztex play their first game home game in mid-May.
Soccer will return to Texas’ Capitol this summer after a previous partial owner of the Austin Aztex founded a new Aztex soccer club for Austinites. The original Austin team, circa 2008-2010, left to play in Orlando, leaving a gaping hole for soccer fans in the city. David Markley, who was the previous minority owner, is now the majority owner and is planning to make sure soccer in Austin is here to stay. Like the previous Aztex team, the new squad will compete initially in the Premier Development League (PDL), meaning the club will be comprised primarily of players who are from the local area or play collegiate level soccer. The team will compete at an amateur level and players will not be paid in accordance to NCAA rules, which do not allow student-athletes to hold onto their scholarship and receive payment for playing their sport. With the club starting off as an amateur squad, it is possible for UT students who are interested in playing soccer to make the team. Tryouts will be held in March under the watchful eye of manager Paul Dalglish. If the name Dalglish rings a bell for soccer fans, it is probably because of his father Kenny Dalglish, who manags the famous club, Liverpool FC. Kenny Dalglish ended his legendary playing career with Liverpool in 1990. Fans may also recall Paul from his playing days with the Houston Dynamo, where he helped that club win consecutive MLS Cups in 2006 and 2007. While fans of soccer in Austin might understandably be wary of a new team because of what happened with the first Aztex club, Markley has said this is ‘Austin’s team’ and is focused on creating a team for talented local players. “For starters, I am just a fan and I live in Austin, so my interest in bringing a team to Austin was partPhoto courtesy of the Austin Aztex ly so my friends and I could have Austin Aztex’s manager Paul Dalgish (left) shakes the hand of owner David a place to watch high quality socMarkley (right) after they announced the team was coming to Austin.
INTERNATIONAL SOCCER
Themba Hadebe | Associated press
The 28th edition of African Cup of Nations kicked off this week in its host countries of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The tournament matches the best teams on the African continent, and the winner receives a berth in the FIFA Confederations Cup.
African Cup of Nations kicks off as best teams in Africa compete By Antonio Morales Daily Texan Staff
This week marks the return of an international football competition in a high-tech stadium in Africa. Less than two years after the 2010 World Cup crowned the Spain national team as world champions in South Africa, another high level international tournament is under way in the continent. This time, the festive environment and the stadium’s vuvuzela buzz is a part of the 28th African Nations Cup. 16 African nations qualified for the competition to crown the best international football club in Africa, including the hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Despite defending champion Egypt not qualifying, this edition of the tournament features highly touted football clubs and dozens of internationally known footballers. Many soccer fans might still remember Ghana’s World Cup run and their dramatic exit in a penalty loss against Uruguay in the quarterfinals.
The Ivory Coast football team also had a solid showing in South Africa, and are led by Chelsea superstar Didier Drogba. Ivory Coast holds the “favorites” tag in the eyes of many soccer experts, mainly because of their easy first stage group that features no other club in the top 65 of the FIFA World Rankings. Côte d’Ivoire started the tournament on pace with a 1-0 win against Sudan on a Drogba goal. Drogba understands the importance of every tournament game, knowing his nation has a history of underachieving in this competition. “We did some things well and some things not so well, but the main thing was that we won the match,” said the 33-year-old Ivorian to ESPN. More than a dozen African players from the English premier league will be out of action for their club to play for their country for at least a couple of months. Losing key players to the African Nations Cup tends to spark controversy with the English Premier League. Most notably Manchester City will have to survive on top of their league with-
out two key players. The Toure brothers have helped Manchester City become the leader of arguably the toughest league in the world, but will now focus their efforts on the Ivory Coast squad. “City have a great team, a great spirit and at the moment they are playing good football, but if they got a couple of injuries I think it would be very difficult for them,” said Emmanuel Adebayor, African and Premier League colleague. The African Nations Cup usually occurs every two seasons but will break the pattern next year to better align itself with the Word Cup schedule. The African Nations title holder qualifies for the FIFA Confederations Cup, which is hosted the summer before the World Cup. This is far from the world stage tournament hosted in South Africa in 2010 but it features the same multicultural atmosphere that many sports fans remember from the World Cup. So until an champion is crowned on the 12th of next month soccer fans can enjoy the festivities, and yes of course the humming of vuvuzelas.
ENEMKPALI continues from PAGE 7 going to get better and better,” said senior post Reed. The two Tiger players the Longhorns will have to keep an eye on are both Texas natives. Seniors Christine Flores and BreAnna Brock are both from the San Antonio area and also lead their team in scoring. Flores averages over 18 points and seven rebounds a game,
making her the de facto go-to-girl. Brock isn’t too bad either, averaging over 15 points and eight rebounds herself. The pair is shooting a combined 50-percent from the field and average over 30 minutes played per game. The problem is that no one else really does much in the way of scoring for the Tigers, so teams are able to
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key on Flores and Brock and not worry about anyone else making them pay. If the Longhorns can shut down Flores and Brock, while not allowing anyone else to hurt them, this game should go their way. If not, fans could be in store for a show as the Tigers are hungry for their first conference win.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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10 Life&Arts
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
HUMP continues from PAGE 12 ultimately up to the politicians as to whether they want to pay attention and listen to what the community is saying.” Essentially, if SOPA was passed, many college-aged adults would be caught in sticky situations, to say the least. Students would have to resort to noncopyrighted amateur material, or worse, actually having to pay for pornographic content. And on a college student’s budget, paying money for content seems unlikely, pornographic or not. “I don’t think college students would pay for it unless the price was really cheap,” said Luke Oetting, sociology junior. Although the vote on the anti-piracy bill was halted on Fri-
day, there are still other ways that porn “tubes” could be taken down — after all, conservative groups are always working on ways to censor or eliminate pornography. Just because SOPA was stopped this time around doesn’t mean these websites will be around forever, especially since they are technically using copyrighted content. Once a more “friendly” SOPA 2.0 makes an appearance, it’s likely these websites will get shut down or die out from lack of content. Until then, feel free to kick off your shoes and take advantage of all the free threesome, BDSM and granny porn you can handle — before it’s too late.
FEST continues from PAGE 12 Shannon Kintner | Daily texan staff
Samuel Gosling, psychology professor, started a study in 2002 that concluded certain objects displayed in one’s spaces—bedrooms, offices and social network profiles—accurately reflect specific personality traits.
SNOOP continues from PAGE 11 creativity, adventurousness and a readiness to challenge authority. In his study, the possessions of these sensation seekers represented broad interests and were often odd. People also make many of the same mistakes when judging character, usually based on false stereotypes, Gosling said. Observers who knew they were in a woman’s room often overestimated how sympathetic and considerate the occupant was. Stereotypes sometimes lead to errors, but they also help us categorize our objects and people in essential ways we hardly notice because, as Gosling put it, “they are so obviously right.” “Take this chair,” Gosling said. “You just assume using a stereo-
type of chairs that it is alright to sit on. I don’t say, ‘Well, how oppressive of you to make those judgments about that chair. ’ For most objects, we just don’t need to do that.” After researching physical environments, Gosling began looking at environments in a more general sense, studying people’s impressions of Facebook profiles and music preferences. In a Facebook study, Gosling tried to find out whether people strive to accurately represent themselves in their Facebook profiles or try, instead, to project an enhanced version of themselves. The findings showed no evidence that people successfully misrepresent themselves in their profiles. Of course, it’s possible that they are trying and failing, said Gosling, but it is more likely that most people on Facebook aren’t trying to be something they’re not. Instead, he said,
the control people have over their profiles mirrors the kind of control we all exercise in everyday life, during face-to-face conversations and phone calls. “People sometimes think you’re just creating a false impression because you only check in when you’re at the cool place, not the cheesy place, and you have photos of yourself doing fun, cool, interesting things,” Gosling said. “But that’s no different from what we do in everyday life. It’s part of the social norm.” For Gosling, his research on has always been about more than finding out how well someone can snoop through someone’s stuff. It is about seeing how people relate to their environment, he said. Gosling is currently collaborating with Christopher Travis, a local architect and creator of a website called Truehome.net that helps architects take the client’s
psychology into account when designing their spaces. According to Gosling, Travis uses psychology in a way that is unprecedented in architectural profession. In “Snoop,” Gosling describes how, in his home plans, Travis labels rooms with the feelings he wants the space to evoke for clients. In one plan, for example, a dining room was meant to evoke “friendship” and a bedroom was labeled “privacy, passion and reflection.” Research in psychology lays the groundwork for practical innovations like Travis’, Gosling said. “It helps us understand how people construct the spaces around them in a broader sense,” he said. “It tells us how we use space to regulate how we think and feel, and to put out messages in the world around us that are consistent with our moods and our thoughts and our values and our goals.”
The third component of the festival, “Mi Casa Es Su Teatro,” may be the most structurally radical. On Feb. 11, numerous performances will be held throughout the day in the homes and businesses of the Bouldin Creek neighborhood. The locations were chosen prior to creation of the pieces, which were written in reflection of their respective environments. Curation changes with each festival, and this year, Sam Webber, a “maven” of the Austin theater community as described by HPT’s website, volunteered to head the event. While “Casa” may still be a ways off and the Long Fringe is just starting up, the Short Fringe kicks off the festival and will carry on longest of all. Each evening of the Short Fringe features five pieces. On Jan. 19, a dancer performed on an aerial ring to Mr. Little Jeans-does-Arcade Fire (the cover of the band’s “The Suburbs” that adds a sultry feminine edge). Also performing were two improv groups that pulled surprisingly lucid narratives out of all but thin air, a Shakespearian troupe tackling “Macbeth” in 25 minutes and a one-woman act’s “live recorded” public access call-in show addressing the issue “teenage
daughters ... troubled waters.” With the $3 to $5 donation exchange rate for bottles of Shiner that audiences members can take into the black box with them and the chihuahua that camps out in visitors’ laps before the show, it is easy to figure HPT’s place in Austin. You just can’t have an event in the city without finding a dog indoors, service animals or otherwise. Despite sparse indication from the entrance, Hyde Park Theatre’s calling card, a mural of the Austin evening skyline, can be found spanning the entirety of its alleyway wall. It’s fitting. After all, a matinee in the full force of sunlight may be convenient, but what time is more appropriate for the underground artist to surface than at night? WHAT: fronterafest theatre festival WHERE: Hyde Park theatre, salvage Vanguard theater, and Blue theatre WHEN: short fringe performances—through Feb. 5 WEb: hydeparktheatre.org TICKETS: Prices vary; see website above for individual pricing
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11 CLASS/ENT
Life&Arts 11
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Professor finds rooms JFK library releases last of his secret recordings uncover personalities By Clayton Wickham Daily Texan Staff
We take for granted that the environments people construct for themselves — from bedrooms to Facebook profiles to music preferences — can help us understand who they are. Why else would we poke through someone’s stuff or Facebook-stalk an acquaintance? Ten years ago, UT psychology professor Sam Gosling, author of “Snoop: What Your Stuff Says about You,” set out to see if people really learn from others’ personal spaces as much as they think. “We all form these impressions,” Gosling said. “The studies I did were asking ‘When are those impressions accurate?’” In 2002, Gosling conducted a study where he had a group of observers rate others on five per-
sonality dimensions judging solely from the contents of their physical environments — either their bedroom or work spaces. He then compared these ratings with the occupants’ self-rating and ratings of those who knew the occupant. It turned out that the stuff we own really does say a lot about us. Gosling found that rooms with distinctive objects, a wide variety of objects and original art on the walls are likely to belong to sensation seekers who are open to new experience, while a tidy and organized space suggests an occupant who is dependable, hardworking and task-focused. Though the study, by and large, affirmed what Gosling calls our “snooping” abilities, it also showed that people are better at snooping out certain personality traits than others. In both offices and bedrooms, observers were best at rating occupants on a trait called openness, which denotes
SNOOP continues on Page 10
OSCaRS continues from Page 12 And while it’s truly a shame that “Drive” only picked up a nomination for Sound Editing or that “Martha Marcy May Marlene” lost out for Best Actress and Editing, how great is it that Gary Oldman is finally, finally an Oscar nominee? Or that Woody Allen’s beautiful little riff on nostalgia can sneak into Best Picture and Best Screenplay? And even if it wasn’t to my tastes, how nuts is it that a film
as bafflingly out there as “The Tree of Life” can somehow get nominated for Best Picture? Even though the Oscars miss the mark sometimes (okay, most of the time), the fun of watching is often in what gets left out and what you’re delighted to see make the cut. Besides, at least “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” didn’t get nominated for Best Picture.
Photo courtesy of Jaap Buitendijk
Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley star in Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” which garnered 11 Oscar nominations for this year’s awards, the most of any film.
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This Nov. 20, 1963 photo released by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, shows President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and others descending the Grand Staircase during the Judicial Reception at the White House, in Washington. By Bridget Murphy The Associated Press
BOSTON — Final recordings President John F. Kennedy secretly made in the Oval Office include an eerie conversation about what would become the day of his funeral. In talking to staffers while trying to arrange his schedule, Kennedy remarked that Nov. 25 was shaping up to be a “tough day” after his return from Texas and time at Cape Cod. “It’s a hell of a day, Mr. President,” a staffer agreed. The exchange was among the last 45 hours of private recordings Kennedy made, tapes The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum released Tuesday. They provide a window into the final months of the 35th president’s life. They include discussions of conflict in Vietnam, Soviet relations and the race to space, plans for the 1964 Democratic Convention, and re-election strategy. There also are moments with his children. The tapes are the last of more than 260 hours of recordings of meetings and conversations Kennedy privately made before his
assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. David Coleman, the professor who leads the Presidential Recordings Program at the University of Virginia, on Tuesday called the final recordings significant because while JFK didn’t tape himself regularly, he chose to preserve important moments.
“
The recordings also are valuable because they’re a raw look inside the Kennedy White House, Coleman said. “It’s all unfiltered,” he said. “It hasn’t been massaged by committees or by the White House press machine.” Historians may gravitate most to Kennedy’s recordings about
It’s a hell of a day, Mr. President — A staffer to President John F. Kennedy
The university’s Miller Center of Public Affairs already has published three volumes of Kennedy transcripts and is working on another two volumes from recordings that previously went public, Coleman said. “Kennedy did not tape as systematically as Johnson or Nixon. But what he did tape was often very important discussions,” he said. “What you have is an unusually rich collection of decisions being made in real time.”
CLASSIFIEDS
Vietnam to see where his policy was heading when his presidency ended, Coleman said. Kennedy kept the recordings a secret from his top aides. He made the last one two days before his death. Kennedy library archivist Maura Porter said Monday that JFK may have been saving them for a memoir or possibly started them because he was bothered when the military later gave a different overview of a discussion with him
CLASSIFIEDS THE DAILY TEXAN
about the Bay of Pigs. The latest batch of recordings captured meetings from the last three months of Kennedy’s administration. In a conversation with political advisers about young voters, Kennedy asks, “What is it we have to sell them?” “We hope we have to sell them prosperity, but for the average guy the prosperity is nil,” he says. “He’s not unprosperous, but he’s not very prosperous. ... And the people who really are well off hate our guts.” Kennedy talks about a disconnect between the political machine and voters. “We’ve got so mechanical an operation here in Washington that it doesn’t have much identity where these people are concerned,” he says. On another recording, Kennedy questions conflicting reports military and diplomatic advisers bring back from Vietnam, asking the two men: “You both went to the same country?” He also talks about trying to create films for the 1964 Democratic Convention in color instead of black and white. “The color is so damn good,” he says. “If you do it right.”
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Editor’s note: This is the first in a biweekly series showcasing the many fascinating projects undertaken by UT faculty.
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12 LIFE
Life&Arts
12
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 | The Daily Texan | Katie Stroh, Life&Arts Editor | (512) 232-2209 | dailytexan@gmail.com
Academy shuts out noteworthy pictures, nominates favorites By Alex Williams Daily Texan Columnist
Thomas Allison | Daily Texan Staff
Above: Jason Kruger practices a short monologue from the play “The Grind,� by Harry Truong before the play’s debut Tuesday night at the Hyde Park Theatre. The play is one of many works part of the 19th annual FronteraFest, which showcases non-mainstream theatrical productions. Below: Stacey Volland dons a foam and cardboard whale costume, one of several unconventional costumes featured in the piece.
FronteraFest opens doors By Michael Fraser Daily Texan Staff
Walking past Hyde Park Theatre, you might never guess that the squat, plain brick building is an incubator for fledging theatrical works. Tucked a half-block down 43rd Street from Guadalupe Street, the only clue to its purpose is the no-frills marquee above the entrance, upon which the Spanglish mashup phrase “FronteraFest� is currently posted. For 19 years, the theatre, in association with ScriptWorks (a service organization for playwrights), has produced this “fringe� theatre festival to showcase previously untried and unpublished works. The month-long event, which this year began on Jan. 17 and runs through Feb. 18, features hundreds of performers each year, with first-timers and veterans equally welcome. “Vicky Boone [former artistic director of HPT] was the person who came up with the idea for FronteraFest,� said Ken Webster, current artis-
tic director for Hyde Park Theatre. “It’s an opportunity for established performers in the community and in the country, as well as people who are just getting started, to try out new material. I think that’s the main reason she started it, to make it affordable to produce new work,� “In the foyer of the box office, the evidence of HPT’s extensive production history is plastered all over the walls. A preponderance of the posters feature barely clad performers. Peripheral near-nudity aside, there’s no denying that Webster has played a fundamental role in countless of the theatre’s productions, whether by acting, directing or otherwise. For FronteraFest, however, he takes a decidedly behind-thescenes role. It’s all about facilitating the ventures of other artists. A $40 entry fee is all that’s required for performers to score a slot the festival. This unjuried and affordable approach is intended to open the door for entrants otherwise unable or unlikely to be spon-
From the Director of RENT Comes the Extraordinary New Musical ...
sored, which is ideal considering Hyde Park Theatre’s goal of “making theater accessible and essential across lines of income, class, race, gender and sexual preference.� Hyde Park Theatre isn’t the only establishment involved in FronteraFest. In collaboration with Blue Theatre and Salvage Vanguard Theater, they produce around 100 performances, with 80 25-minute piec-
es featured in the “Short Fringe� series at HPT and 17 full-length shows shared between the other two venues in the “Long Fringe.� While the former tends to feature new and experimental works, the Long Fringe frequently attract pieces that have been more extensively developed over longer periods of time.
FEST continues on pagE 10
In the Tuesday announcement of the Academy Award nominees, some of the year’s best films have been left out in the cold as usual. Overall, this year’s race is shaping up to be a bit blander than years before. Best Picture is the easily the most boring category of the year. The Academy’s revamped nomination system (which requires a film to get 5 percent of first-place votes to be nominated, allowing for a varied number of nominees) cranked out nine nominees, a collection of easily digestible Oscar bait and admired directors doing mediocre work. While the inclusion of “Midnight in Paris,� “The Descendants� and “Hugo� (which leads with 11 nominees) are worth celebrating, equally worthy films like “Drive� were left out in the cold. Some David Fincher-happy predictors were hoping for a nod for his shockingly weak and disinterested adaptation of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,� but the academy’s love for the film waxed and waned in a truly bizarre fashion, with a nomination for Rooney Mara as Best Actress and a score of technical nods, but none for Fincher’s direction or the Reznor/Ross score. Even odder was the unexpectedly strong showing for “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,� whose 9/11 subject matter managed to manipulate its way past extremely mixed reviews and incredibly middling box office returns into a nomination for Best Picture. (Having a main character named Oskar probably didn’t hurt.) The Best Director race is mostly par for the course here. With a roster that includes Alexander Payne, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and Terrence Malick, it’s hard to blame the academy for sticking inside the box with this one, although it would have been nice to see Tomas Alfredson honored here for his masterful direction in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.� Alfredson’s film was honored in the Best Actor race (even though it was robbed in Editing, Art Direction and Costume Design), and the
esteemed Gary Oldman finally joins the ranks of the Oscar nominated for a brilliant, quiet performance. Unfortunately, Best Actor seems to be a three-man race, with Jean Dujardin, Brad Pitt and George Clooney dominating the preliminaries. It’s nice to see DemiĂĄn Bichir pop up for his devastating work in “A Better Life,â€? but the exclusion of Michael Fassbender and Michael Shannon demonstrates a closed-mindedness that extends to every category of this year’s race. Bold films that didn’t appeal to everyone were commonplace this year and were indeed among the year’s most memorable pictures, but these noteworthy pictures were often shut out entirely. While the snubs for “Shameâ€? and “Take Shelterâ€? are certainly grievous, the absence of Tilda Swinton in Best Actress for the decidedly noncommercial “We Need to Talk About Kevinâ€? is the year’s biggest mistake, the best performance of the year left out in the cold to make room for Glenn Close’s cross-dressing and Rooney Mara’s tattooed hacker. Best Supporting Actor, usually one of the most interesting fields of the year, did right by nominating Christopher Plummer for “Beginnersâ€? (the most deserved nomination of the year), and it’s nice to see Nick Nolte’s emotional turn in “Warriorâ€? recognized. Less sensible is Max von Sydow’s nomination for “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Closeâ€? and Jonah Hill’s Oscar ticket on “Moneyball’sâ€? coattails, while other strong performances such as Patton Oswalt (“Young Adultâ€?), Albert Brooks (“Driveâ€?) and even Andy Serkis (“Rise of the Planet of the Apesâ€?) were ignored, along with their films. It’s incredibly easy to complain about Oscar nominations, since they invariably get it a little bit wrong.
OSCaRS continues on pagE 11 WHAT: The 84th Annual Academy Awards WHERE: on ABC WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 26, 6 p.m.
Anti-piracy laws could apply to free online porn Editor’s note: This article is the first installment in a weekly sex and sexuality column.
HUMP
DAY
Meredith McCall. Photo: KirkTuck.com
By Elyana Barrera
Music by Tom Kitt | Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey Directed by Dave Steakley | Music Direction by Allen Robertson
Starring an Electrifying Cast of Spectacular Actors ...
Meredith McCall
Jamie Goodwin
Kelli Schultz
Andrew Cannata
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“Brave, Breathtaking ... much more than a feel-good musical, it’s a feel-everything musical!� –The New York Times
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You get home from a long day of work. You’re tired, tense and you just want to relax and watch some free porn on the Internet. If you’re feeling fancy, maybe you’ll pop open a bottle of wine before you “pop one off.� You get to your favorite website and just as you’re about to slip into something more comfortable, you discover that your beloved free website has been taken down. This is the nightmare that prompted many to contact their representatives on Jan. 18 and do their part in stifling the anti-piracy bill Stop Online Piracy Act and save free online porn, for now. Internet favorites like Wikipedia, Reddit and Google have been noted for their “blackouts,� protesting against anti-piracy bills SOPA and Protect IP Act. However, a topic less discussed in the news is how these types of laws could affect free pornography websites. According to Forbes, the most visited online porn video websites are “tube� websites such as
Illustration by Lin Zagorski | Daily Texan Staff
YouPorn, which offers a sexy 61 categories ranging from the mild “instructional� to the wild “fetish.� Porn tubes work essentially like YouTube: They provide streaming content and rely on user-generated uploads. Often these uploaded videos will contain copyrighted content, which would put the entire website at risk of being shut down and blacklisted if SOPA were to become a law. Like many other websites on Jan. 18, PornHub, Tube8, SpankWire and YouPorn all had black
banners over their logos linking visitors to information on SOPA and how to help stop it. XVideos and XNXX went the extra mile and blacked out their home pages with only an announcement of how anti-piracy laws would create an “American Internet blacklist.� Because of the bad reputation that comes with any type of pornography, one possible concern is that having porn websites involved in the anti-SOPA movement would do more harm than good.
“The fact that the support is coming from porn sites shouldn’t hinder [their efforts], but it definitely might,� said advertising junior Emily Bordages. However, porn site blackouts were just one part a much larger effort. “I don’t think it’s a single effort, it’s not just porn sites,� said Kristen Luedtke, biochemistry senior. “The most [protesting] could do would be, I think, to encourage more protesters. And it’s
HUMp continues on pagE 10