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Softball has record breaking 23 runs in win over Cal State Fullerton in season opener

LIFE&ARTS PAGE 12

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TODAY

Calendar

Central America Keynote

The Teresa Lozano Long nstitute is sponsoring “Central Americans and he Latino/a Landscape: New Configurations of Latina/o America” on Feb. 22-25. Eva Longoria will close the conference as keynote speaker on Feb. 25. Remaining free student ickets will go online today at noon. For more information, visit longoriakeynote.eventbrite. com

Mr. McCombs

Different organizations withn McCombs School of Business have come together to host the Mr. McCombs Pageant to benefit the Capital Area Food Bank. The event will be tonight at 6 p.m. in the SAC auditorium and admitance is either 3 canned goods or $3.

Quidditch

Come out and watch Texas Quidditch host its first interhouse competition this Saturday by the LBJ fountain at 11 a.m.

Today in history

In 2006

The Fox television series Arrested Developement aired ts last episode. The series asted three seasons.

WATCH TStv ON CHANNEL 15

9 p.m. ‘Down to Film’

Check out the a short film by Amanda Yam and an interview with Mannie Ray, creator of the film “Enemy of the Mind.”

9:30 p.m. ‘TNN’

John Jonathan has his own political ads, and we chat with some sorority sisters on our season finale!

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Board of Regents alters tenure review By Liz Farmer Daily Texan Staff

The UT System Board of Regents voted to alter the post-tenure review process for faculty members, despite strong opposition from some faculty. The Regents approved the provisions at their Thursday meeting, and the UT System administration pressured faculty who disagreed to accept the changes. The change applies to the post-tenure review process at all 15 UT institutions. Tenured faculty will now be categorized into four groups: “exceeds expectations”, “meets expectations,”

“does not meet expectations” and “unsatisfactory.” If a faculty member receives two unsatisfactory annual reviews they could face possible termination. The new process includes reinforcement regarding the importance of remediation to improve the teaching approaches of professors “when it is clear that a faculty member would benefit from such support.” It states that faculty members who fail remediation could face termination. UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa said the changes were prompted by his concern that the post-tenure review process lacked

clarity. He said the provisions will allow faculty members to get more assistance throughout their tenure. “We need to provide support and guidance,” Cigarroa said. “It’s our responsibility.” Alan Friedman, Faculty Council chair and English professor, said the new provision to the rule is a radical change and an assault on tenure. “This administration has fired people with tenure on occasion, but carefully and with proper safeguards,” Friedman said. Friedman serves on the UT

TENURE continues on PAGE 2

Valentine’s Day loses emotional appeal due to consumer ideals

Friday, February 10, 2012

Jester renovations on the way after Regents approved funds By Liz Farmer Daily Texan Staff

Renovations are set to begin on Jester West Residence Hall in 2013 after the UT System Board of Regents approved the $36 million project at the Regents meeting on Thursday. The plan is to renovate two or three floors each summer and finish the 14th floor in 2018, said Bill Throop, director of UT project management and construction services. He said this project will

be similar to the project that upgraded floors, walls and furnishings in Jester East. The current built-in furniture will also be replaced with moveable furniture. The funds for both projects come from the Division of Housing and Food Services. Throop said they could not hire a design firm and an outside contractor until the Regents approved the request. Jester East and Jester West were built in 1969 and together house

JESTER continues on PAGE 2

Research group calls for tobacco ban By Jody Serrano Daily Texan Staff

Fumes from the University’s tobacco policy have ignited conversation over the future of the substance on UT grounds. Because of a new provision from one of the University’s top research funders, UT will need to enact a tobacco-free policy or risk losing millions of research dollars. The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas, a voter-mandated organization that awards millions of research dollars each year to entities pursuing cancer research, released a statement on Feb. 2 stating it will now require all current and future grantees to create tobacco-free workplaces as a condition for accepting the Institute’s funds. UT currently receives approximately $31 million for cancer research from the Institute and is applying for $88 million this year. The Institute has given UT until March 1 to make appropriate policy changes. In a campus-wide email on Wednesday, University officials said they will be meeting with various organizations on campus — including Student Government, Faculty Council and Staff Council — over the next two weeks to discuss policy options. University spokeswoman Adrienne Howarth-Moore said losing this money would be detrimental to the University’s research endeavors. Howarth-Moore said if the University adopts a tobacco-free policy by March 1, it will seek to support current tobacco users by providing education and resources. “Education, communication and

Shea Carley| Daily Texan Staff

A student smokes outside of the Communications plaza Thursday evening. The university could lose millions of research dollars from one of its top research funders if it does not adopt a tobacco-free policy by March 1.

helping people understand the reason behind the change is going to be a challenge,” Howarth-Moore said. “We don’t just have a focus on research, but cancer research. We want to be able to eradicate cancer.”

Students discuss evolution dispute, celebrate Darwin By Paxton Thomes Daily Texan Staff

While advocates from both the scientific and religious communities are debating whether or not the State Board of Education should decide if Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution will be taught in Texas public schools, some University students celebrated the theorist’s birthday. The University’s chapter of the Texas Freedom Network hosted a celebration Thursday in honor of Darwin’s birthday. The group brings students together with the goal of mobilizing them as advocates of issues surrounding science education, said Mackenzie Massey,

If adopted, the smoking ban will also restrict smoking and tobacco during times of sporting events and tailgates, Howarth-Moore said. Exceptions will only occur in special circumstances, such as when tobacco is

used for research or as a prop in a fine arts production. Current UT policy on tobacco only addresses smoking tobacco, which is not allowed in any University-owned or leased building or vehicle, but is al-

lowed on campus as long as it is 20 feet away from a building entrance. UT-Arlington, UT-Brownsville and the UT Health Science Center in San

TOBACCO continues on PAGE 2 Blanca Murillo picks up a piece of cake made by the students of Texas Freedom Network to celebrate Charles Darwin’s birthday Thursday night.

government senior and president of the chapter. Its main objective is to help students compete in a global market with countries that teach evolution in their curriculum, Massey said. Massey said the goal of Thursday’s celebration was to educate students about the irresponsible efforts of the public school system to simplify their teachings about evolution and to highlight the debate over evolution. “We want to ensure that students get a 21st century science education that Rebeca Rodriuez prepares them for college and the jobs Daily Texan Staff of the future,” Massey said. She said next year the State Board that evolution may not be taught if “We want for the decision to be made graduate student Patrick Stinson said of Education will adopt new science the board decides to only include by experts and educators,” Massey said. textbooks for public schools and intelligent design. Ecology, evolution and behavior DARWIN continues on PAGE 2

NEWS

Friday, February 10, 2012

JESTER continues from PAGE 1

PAINT A HEALTHIER WORLD

Volume 112, Number 114

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 Life & Arts Office: (512) 232-2209 dailytexan@gmail.com Retail Advertising: (512) 471-1865 joanw@mail.utexas.edu Classified Advertising: (512) 471-5244 classifieds@dailytexanonline.com Due to a reporting error, Wednesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spending limits affect SG campaignsâ&#x20AC;? failed to mention mechanical engineering senior Thor Lund and psychology senior William Brown are also running for president and vice president. In addition, the deadline for sign up to run for SG is Monday Feb. 13 at 12 p.m. Because of a reporting error, Wednesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s article â&#x20AC;&#x153;Graduate student examines classic Texas twang accentâ&#x20AC;? described certain speaking patterns as a characteristic of the general population when in fact the research only applies to Hispanic females in East Austin.

The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512 ) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@dailytexanonline.com.

COPYRIGHT Copyright 2012 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.

TOMORROWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WEATHER High

Low

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a preventative measure.

Andreina Velazquez | Daily Texan Staff

Romeo Aguilar retouches the exterior of Veggie Heaven while guests dine inside Thursday evening.

TOBACCO continues from PAGE 1 Antonio are currently tobacco-free. Austin Community College, Huston-Tillotson University and Texas State University all banned tobacco use on campus last year. In March 2011, UT President William Powers, Jr. said he opposed a campus-wide ban on smoking during an address to Staff Council. Powers said such a ban would overstep the limits a University should impose on its community. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing is saying we are going to limit the freedom of the person who wants to smoke for the benefit of the people who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be in a smoke-filled office or room,â&#x20AC;? Powers said in the address, according to a March 2011 Daily

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Permanent Staff

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viviana Aldous Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Daley, Samantha Katsounas Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audrey White Associate Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aleksander Chan News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jillian Bliss Associate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Victoria Pagan, Colton Pence, Nick Hadjigeorge Senior Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kayla Jonsson, Sarah White, Liz Farmer, Jody Serrano Enterprise Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matt Stottlemyre, Huma Munir, Megan Strickland Copy Desk Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elyana Barrera Associate Copy Desk Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alexandra Feuerman, Arleen Lopez, Klarissa Fitzpatrick Wire Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Austin Myers Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Benavides Senior Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nicole Collins, Bobby Blanchard, Betsy Cooper, Natasha Smith Special Projects Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Simonetta Nieto Multimedia Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Edwards Multimedia Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jackie Kuenstler, Lawrence Peart, Fanny Trang Senior Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Thomas Allison, Elizabeth Dillon, Shannon Kintner, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rebeca Rodriguez, Zachary Strain Senior Videographers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Demi Adejuyigbe, David Castaneda, Jorge Corona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ashley Dillard, Andrea Macias-Jimenez Life&Arts Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katie Stroh Associate Life&Arts Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christopher Nguyen Senior Life&Arts Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jessica Lee, Anju Mehta, Eli Watson, Alex Williams Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sameer Bhuchar Associate Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Christian Corona Senior Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nick Cremona, Austin Laymance, Lauren Giudice, Chris Hummer Comics Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ao Meng Associate Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Victoria Grace Elliot Web Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Sanchez Senior Web Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Snyder, Stefanie Schultz Associate Web Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hayley Fick Editorial Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Doug Warren

Issue Staff

Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paxton Thomes Multimedia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sa Wang, Shea Carley, Rebecca Haweth Sports writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stefan Scrafield, Matt Warden, Blake McAdow Life&Arts writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diego Vega Columnists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zoya Walainy Page Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edna Alaniz, Raquel Breternitz Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jane Hervey, Holly Wu Comics Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Allie Eisser, Anna Grainer, Betsy Cooper, Holly Hansel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nick Gregg, Josie Pham, Danielle Thomas, Carlos Pagan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Colin Mullen, John Massinghill Web Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Schaffer, Bicente Gutierrez, Kayla Moses

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(512) 471-1865 advertise@texasstudentmedia.com Director of Advertising & Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jalah Goette Business Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lori Hamilton Business Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amy Ramirez Advertising Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CJ Salgado Broadcast & Events Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carter Goss Campus & National Sales Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joan Bowerman Student Advertising Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Ford Student Assistant Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Veronica Serrato Student Acct. Execs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ted Sniderman, Adrian Lloyd, Morgan Haenchen, Ted Moreland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paola Reyes, Fredis Benitez, Tyrell Elegonye, Zach Congdon Student Office Assistant/Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rene Gonzalez Student Marketing Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Allison McMordie Student Buys of Texas Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lindsey Hollingsworth Student Buys of Texas Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Suzi Zhaw, Esteban Rivera Senior Graphic Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Felimon Hernandez Junior Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aaron Rodriguez Special Editions Adviser & Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adrienne Lee Student Special Editions Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christine Imperatore

The Daily Texan (USPS 146-440), a student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin, is published by Texas Student Media, 2500 Whitis Ave., Austin, TX 78705. The Daily Texan is published daily, Monday through Friday, during the regular academic year and is published twice weekly during the summer semester. The Daily Texan does not publish during academic breaks and most Federal Holidays. and exam periods. Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, TX 78710. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Daily Texan, P.O. Box D, Austin, TX 78713. News contributions will be accepted by telephone (471-4591), or at the editorial office (Texas Student Media Building 2.122). For local and national display advertising, call 471-1865. classified display advertising, call 471-1865. For classified word advertising, call 471-5244. Entire contents copyright 2012 Texas Student Media.

Texan article. Student Government passed a resolution in 2011 declaring UT to become generally smoke-free campus over a period of seven years. The resolution called for the creation of a taskforce to decide policy implementation and an expansion of the University Health Services student smoking cessation program â&#x20AC;&#x153;Quittersâ&#x20AC;? to extend to faculty and staff. SG and the Student Organization Safety Board recently co-sponsored â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tobacco Talks,â&#x20AC;? a series of conversations with professionals and students on campus to discuss the negative effects of tobacco. Philip Huang, medical director for the Austin-Travis County health and human services department, spoke at Tobacco Talks on Thursday and said many entities around Austin have implemented tobacco-free policies, including City of Austin librar-

TENURE continues from PAGE 1 System Faculty Advisory Council and created an alternate version of the provisions with less extreme changes, which committee members approved in an electronic vote. However, the chancellorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office told the committee that they had to retract the alternative version and instead approve the original document, Friedman said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were told that not doing that would embarrass the chancellor and would undermine tenure greatly in the eyes of the public,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So SKI SPRING BREAK 2012! breckenridge

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ies, Capital Metro and Austin Parks and Recreation centers. Huang said 70 percent of people surveyed by Travis County said they wanted to quit smoking and 60 percent of all litter in 32 Austin parks comes from tobacco, equaling to approximately 23,000 cigarette butts. Huang said a tobacco-free policy is a step in the right direction for UT and that in four years incoming students will know no other policy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of it is changing social norms,â&#x20AC;? Huang said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of people put up with other peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; smoke but they hate it. People have more of a right to breathe clean air than smokers have the right to smoke.â&#x20AC;? Alfred McAlister, public health adjunct associate professor, said the Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision will encourage administrators to consider a new tobacco policy. McAlister advised the UT Texas Public Health student or-

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

the group did indeed do what they were told. Despite my protest, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what happened.â&#x20AC;? Regent Alex Cranberg said he spoke with faculty who appreciate the provisions and thanked them for embracing the initiative. Radio-television-film professor Janet Staiger said the change is very unnecessa ry and is an insulting move by the Regents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Becoming so rigid in formalizing annual and post-tenure reviews is suggesting that the faculty is incompetent in their current review process,â&#x20AC;? Staiger said. Staiger, who previously served as the Faculty Council chair, said faculty are not against being helped to improve their teaching, but the changes could cause friction in de-

From the Director of RENT Comes an Extraordinary New Musical

Dr. J. Roger P. Angel Director, Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory Regents Professor of Astronomy and Optical Sciences University of Arizona

Photo Kirk R. Tuck

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1â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2 ďż˝ďż˝ February 11, 2012 ACES Building AVAYA Auditorium Music by Tom Kitt | Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey | Directed by Dave Steakley

Starring an Electrifying Cast of Spectacular Actors ...

r. Roger Angel has developed concepts and technology for some of the most powerful astronomical telescopes, including the Large Binocular Telescope and the planned Giant Magellan Telescope. Today he is working on a novel telescope that harvests solar energy by focusing sunlight onto small but powerful photovoltaic cells. These â&#x20AC;&#x153;energy telescopesâ&#x20AC;? are designed for massproduction in huge volume for solar farms, at a cost low enough to make unsubsidized solar electricity highly competitive.

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Darwinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theory of natural selection offers a plausible explanation for the appearance of design in evolution. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Before Darwin, most philosophers did not have a compelling explanation for the appearance of design except for actual design by an omnipotent force such as the Christian God,â&#x20AC;? Stinson said. Biology freshman Cassandra Rodriguez, who was raised Catholic, said her religious perspective has influenced her to stand against Darwinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theory, and said she does not agree with evolution. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen any evolutionary theories to convince me to believe in it,â&#x20AC;? Rodriguez said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Opportunities to learn more about evolution are not readily available.â&#x20AC;? Rodriguez said she thinks if the theory is taught in schools, it should not be taught to grades younger than high school. Darwinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theories are regarded as very perceptive, thorough and well thought out and are an excellent starting point for any person who needs to understand evolution, said ecology, evolution and behavior graduate student April Wright. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As an evolutionary biologist I am often in awe of his writing and how his ideas have stood the test of time,â&#x20AC;? Wright said.

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partments as faculty members worry about how their performance will be categorized. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want people publishing inadequate work in order to meet the expectations,â&#x20AC;? Staiger said. Staiger said the UT System Board of Regents and administration do not understand that tenured faculty are passionate about connecting to students and conducting significant research. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They think faculty arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t working, arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t doing their job,â&#x20AC;? Staiger said. The UT System Board of Regents and administration are approaching these issues as if the University was a corporation that should meet annual reviews, but that is not the environment necessary for successful academic research to be done, Staiger said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The more these kinds of unnecessary and thoughtless policies are put into place,â&#x20AC;? she said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the more unfriendly the University will seem.â&#x20AC;?

DARWIN continues from PAGE 1

Twentieth Annual Great Lecture in Astronomy

02/10/12

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vent some students from starting to smoke. Thomas Haviland, public health senior and president of the UT Texas Public Health Organization, said there is a definite possibility UT will implement a tobacco-free policy on campus. Haviland said he has seen people violating the current policy all over campus and smoking within 20 feet of buildings, some of which contain ashtrays five feet away from their entrance. Haviland said even though the Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision plays a huge part in the administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions, the issue has been building up and needed to be addressed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They had to do something,â&#x20AC;? Haviland said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On top of student desire, health benefits and financial savings, a lot of people on campus really do want it.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Janet Staiger, RTF professor

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ganization in conducting a recent survey to gauge student opinion of smoking on campus. Of the 1,551 respondents, 77 percent indicated they want a stronger tobacco policy at UT. Among the people who identified as smokers and took the survey, approximately 33 percent said they wanted stricter limits on tobacco use. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I imagine the survey results will convince President Powers that there is a lot more support for a new tobacco policy than he might have supposed,â&#x20AC;? McAlister said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a bit embarrassing for this University to be one of the last schools thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not tobacco free.â&#x20AC;? McAlister said some of the benefits of a tobacco-free campus would include less exposure to secondhand smoke and less tobacco litter. He said a ban would also help encourage smokers to quit and pre-

They think faculty arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t working, arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t doing their job.

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about 3,000 students, according to the University website. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m under the impression that this is going to be the first major upgrade,â&#x20AC;? Throop said. Mike DeBow, associate director of UT project management division, said the tight schedule required to complete renovations each summer makes it imperative to choose a contractor who can meet those deadlines. DeBow said Jester East renovations will be completed in the summer and includes additions that will be part of the renovations in Jester West, such as windows put in dark hallways. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The idea is to create the best looking living space for our students so they can be close to classes and close to studying,â&#x20AC;? DeBow said. Government sophomore Hope Osborn lives in Jester West and said she

believes the dorm is fine the way it is. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our rooms arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fabulous, but they have everything you need,â&#x20AC;? Osborn said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I never thought to myself â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I wish we had new floors.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Osb or n s aid t he one aspect she would like to change is the bathrooms. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The showers are terrible,â&#x20AC;? Osborn said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are so short.â&#x20AC;? Human development and family sciences senior Tommy Macalik currently lives in the renovated area of Jester East and previously lived in Jester West for two years. He said the free-standing bed in his current room is nice because he has long legs that used to hang off the end of the pull-out bed in Jester West. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I definitely did not like the beds,â&#x20AC;? Macalik said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re so difficult to pull out.â&#x20AC;? Macalik said the moveable furniture in the renovated sections is a plus because he can set up his room as he chooses. Macalik said overall, everything in his current room in Jester East is better than the furnishings in his old room in Jester West.

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r. Angel is Regents Professor of Astronomy and Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona, where he directs the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society and a former MacArthur Fellow. He was a co-recipient of the 2010 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics for his contributions to the development of giant telescopes, and he founded REhnu Corporation, a solar energy startup company.

Over the past 25 years, Dr. Angel has been in the forefront of a technological renaissance in telescopes and telescope optics. Under his direction, the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab located on the University of Arizona campus has made the optics for several telescopes, including the two largest mirrors ever (8.4 meters in diameter) for the Large Binocular Telescope on Mt. Graham, Arizona. The Lab is now making two equally large mirrors for the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. Dr. Angel developed concepts for imaging Earthlike planets around other stars, and for searching for evidence of primitive life on such planets, and technology for ultra-lightweight telescope mirrors for space. He has served on numerous national committees including the Board of Enquiry into the Hubble Space Telescope optics. Recently he has worked on issues related to global climate change, including the practicality of cooling the Earth with a space sunshade at the Earth-Sun Lagrangian point (L1). Currently he is working on telescopes to focus sunlight onto photovoltaic cells, with the goal of bringing down the cost of solar electricity to be competitive with fossil fuel, without subsidy.

World&NatioN

Friday, February 10, 2012 | The Daily Texan | Austin Myers, Wire Editor | dailytexanonline.com

NEWS BRIEFLY Large settlement with banks will provide $25b to foreclosed WASHINGTON — A landmark $25 billion settlement with the nation’s top mortgage lenders was hailed by government officials Thursday as long-overdue relief for victims of foreclosure abuses. But consumer advocates countered that far too few people will benefit. The deal will reduce loans for only a fraction of those Americans who owe more than their homes are worth. It will also send checks to others who were improperly foreclosed upon. But the amounts are modest. It’s unclear how much the deal will help struggling homeowners keep their homes or benefit those who have already lost theirs. About 11 million households are underwater, meaning they owe more than their homes are worth. The settlement would help 1 million. “The total number of dollars is still small compared to the value of the mortgages that are underwater,” said Richard Green, director of the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate.

Price of beef could rise 10% as Texas faces small cattle herd LUBBOCK — The smallest cattle herd since the 1950s likely will mean higher beef prices at the supermarket for the next two years. Experts said beef prices could climb as much as 10 percent a year in 2012 and 2013, and the increase could be even greater if demand from other countries increases. Those higher prices would follow steady increases that have seen the average retail cost of a pound of hamburger rise 23 percent, from $2.38 in December 2010 to $2.92 last December, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Last month the USDA reported the U.S. herd had declined to 90.8 million cattle, 2 percent less than the previous year and the lowest inventory since 1952. “We’re producing less beef so prices are going to go up,” Texas AgriLife Extension Service livestock economist David Anderson said. Ranchers have sold more of their cattle in recent years to meet increased costs for feed, fuel and other expenses. The soaring feed costs come amid heightened demand for corn to produce ethanol and to meet a growing export market. There are 1.4 million fewer cattle in Texas this year compared with the previous year, accounting for about 74 percent of the drop in numbers nationally. The animals were moved to another state or slaughtered.

Famous judge in Spain convicted of overstepping his authority MADRID — The superstar Spanish judge who won global fame for aggressively taking on international human rights cases was convicted Thursday of overstepping his jurisdiction in a domestic corruption probe and barred from the bench for 11 years, marking a spectacular fall from grace for one of the nation’s most prominent citizens. Baltasar Garzon was unanimously convicted by a seven-judge panel of the Supreme Court. Because he is 56, the punishment could end his Spanish judicial career. Hours after the verdict, hundreds of Garzon supporters braved freezing weather in Madrid’s central Sol plaza shouting “Shame! Shame!” in protest. It was just one of three cases pending against Garzon, who is still awaiting a verdict in trial on the same charge — knowingly overstepping the bounds of his jurisdiction — for launching a probe in 2008 of rightwing atrocities committed during and after the Spanish civil war of 19361939 even though the crimes were covered by a 1977 amnesty. In Thursday’s verdict, the court ruled that Garzon acted arbitrarily in ordering jailhouse wiretaps of detainees talking to their lawyers, the court said, adding that his actions “these days are only found in totalitarian regimes.” Ironically, Garzon is best known for indicting a totalitarian ruler, former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, in 1998, and trying to put him on trial in Madrid for crimes against humanity. He also indicted Osama bin Laden in 2003 over the Sept. 11 attacks. —Compiled from Associated Press Reports

Suffering deepens in bombarded Syrian city of Homs By Elizabeth A. Kennedy The Associated Press

BEIRUT — Between blasts of rockets and mortar fire, Syrians used loudspeakers to call for blood donations and medical supplies Thursday in the stricken city of Homs, where a weeklong government offensive has created a deepening humanitarian crisis. Government forces are trying to crush pockets of violent resistance in Homs, the epicenter of an 11-monthold uprising that has brought the country ever closer to civil war. The intense shelling in restive neighborhoods such as Baba Amr has made it difficult to get medicine and care to the wounded, and some areas have been without electricity for days, activists say. “Snipers are on all the roofs in Baba Amr, shooting at people,” Abu Muhammad Ibrahim, an activist in Homs, told The Associated Press by phone. “Anything that moves, even a bird, is targeted. Life is completely cut off. It’s a city of ghosts,” he added. As he spoke, explosions could be heard in the background. “The bombardment has not eased, day or night,” he said, asking to be identified by his nickname for fear of reprisals. “Do you hear the sound of the rockets? Children have been wounded, elderly with extreme injuries.” Hundreds of people are believed to have been killed since early Saturday in the heaviest attack the city has endured since the uprising began in March, activists said. “This brutal assault on residential neighborhoods shows the Syrian authorities’ contempt for the lives of their citizens in Homs,” said Anna Neistat, associate emergencies director at Human Rights Watch. “Those responsible for such horrific attacks will have to answer for them.”

Damian Dovarganes | Associated Press

A Syrian rebel peers through a window in Idlib, Syria on Thursday. Syrian forces fired mortars and rockets that killed scores of people Thursday in the rebellious city of Homs, activists said, the latest strike in a weeklong assault as President Bashar Assad’s regime tries to crush increasingly militarized pockets of dissent.

Human Rights Watch also said eyewitness accounts, as well as video reviewed by the group’s arms experts, suggest Syrian government forces are using long-range, indirect fire weapons such as mortars. Such weapons “are inherently indiscriminate when fired into densely populated areas,” the New Yorkbased group said. The wounded have overwhelmed makeshift hospitals and clinics, and there were growing concerns that the locked-down city could soon run out

of supplies. “There is medicine in the pharmacies, but getting it to the field clinics is very difficult. They can’t get the medicine to the wounded,” Mohammed Saleh, a Syria-based activist, told the AP by telephone. Baba Amr, he said, has been without electricity since Saturday. The assault on Homs began after reports that army defectors and other armed opponents of President Bashar Assad were setting up their own checkpoints and taking control

of some areas. The reports could not be confirmed. But the city is the capital of Syria’s largest province, stretching from the Lebanese border to the Iraqi frontier. If rebel forces keep gaining ground there, some believe they could ultimately carve out a zone akin to Benghazi in eastern Libya. Saleh said most of the government attacks have been “bombardment from a distance,” with regime forces keeping armored vehicles out of the neighborhoods.

Fighters from the rebel Free Syrian Army have been firing back with rocket-propelled grenades and rockets, according to activists’ accounts. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees were trying to compile numbers and names of those killed Thursday. The LCC, an activist group, said up to 100 people were killed in Homs, but the toll was impossible to independently verify. The Observatory reported 63 deaths in Homs.

Gigantic seizure of meth concerns drug officials By Arturo Perez The Associated Press

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — The historic seizure of 15 tons of pure methamphetamine in western Mexico, equal to half of all meth seizures worldwide in 2009, feeds growing speculation that the country could become a world platform for meth production, not just a supplier to the United States. The sheer size of the bust announced late Wednesday in Jalisco state suggests involvement of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, a major international trafficker of cocaine and marijuana that has moved into meth production and manufacturing on an industrial scale. Army officials didn’t say what drug gangs could have been behind the dozens of blue barrels filled with powdered meth. Army Gen. Gilberto Hernandez Andreu said the meth was ready for packaging. There was no information on where the drugs were headed. Jalisco has long been considered the hub of the Sinaloa cartel’s meth production and trafficking. Meanwhile, meth use is growing in the United States, already the world’s biggest market for illicit drugs. The haul could have supplied 13 million doses worth over $4 billion. The Sinaloa cartel, headed by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is equipped to produce and distribute drugs “for the global village,” said Antonio Mazzitelli, the re-

gional representative of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. “Such large-scale production could suggest an expansion ... into Latin American and Asian markets,” Mazzitelli said. But he also noted, “it may be a product that hasn’t been able to be sold, and like any business, when the market is depressed, stockpiles build up.” But that may not ultimately mean less meth in the U.S. Law enforcement officials in California’s Central Valley, a hub of the U.S. methamphetamine distribution network, say a cutoff in the Mexican supply could mean domestic super labs will increase production. The supply of methamphetamine in the United States has been growing, mainly due to its manufacture in Mexico, according to U.S. drug intelligence sources. Between 2007 and 2009, seizures of methamphetamine by U.S. authorities along the Mexican border increased by 87 percent, according to the 2011 U.N. World Drug Report, the most recent statistics the U.N. has available. Few drugs do as much widespread damage — both to users and the general public — as meth, which is highly addictive. Chronic use can lead to psychosis, which includes hearing voices and experiencing hallucinations. Users are known to lose massive amounts of weight, suffer scabs on their bodies and even lose teeth to “meth mouth”.

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OPINION

Friday, February 10, 2012 | THE DAILY TEXAN | Viviana Aldous, Editor-in-Chief | (512) 232-2212 | editor@dailytexanonline.com

QUOTES TO NOTE From the presidential race to increases in Austin Energy rates, the following quotes are among the best from the last few days.

“If it’s halftime in America, I’m fearful of what the final score’s going to be if we let this president start the second half as a quarterback.” — Texas Gov. Rick Perry at the Conservative Political Action Committee meeting Thursday, referencing a line in Clint Eastwood’s Super Bowl commercial, according to KUT News.

“Many Austinites are struggling financially right now, and we need a rate proposal that reflects that reality.” — Austin City Council Member Kathie Tovo, according to KVUE. Tovo and council member Laura Morrison introduced a new proposal for a 3.5-percent increase to Austin Energy’s electric rate. Austin Energy’s previous plan has been criticized for falling disproportionately on low-usage residents.

“If we were to experience an identical summer to last summer ... we would still have a very tight summer ... We would have to have conservation.” — U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett testifying to the Texas House State Affairs Committee about the danger of electricity shortages this summer, according to CBS.

“I hope the administration will back down from this rule that violates conscience. If it does not, I can guarantee you that we will do everything within our power to repeal it.” — Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in a press conference Tuesday vowing

Challenging legacy bias in admissions

to fight a new federal mandate that would require religious employers to provide birth control in their health care plans.

“We believe that when Texas is over, we’ll be very, very competitive in delegate count.” — Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on his high hopes for vic-

tory in the Texas Republican primary in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press.

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By Zoya Waliany Daily Texan Columnist

As Fisher v. Texas — the affirmative action case involving a Caucasian female denied admission to UT — makes its way to the Supreme Court and gains prominence in the media, other similar university admission policies are being criticized. A different demographic, Asian-Americans, are challenging the status quo of legacy admissions policies at institutions including Harvard University and Princeton University. In 2008, an Indian-American student, among the top students in his California high school class, claimed Harvard and Princeton rejected his application because of his race. This student’s case is part of the growing debate about whether elite universities’ admissions processes discriminate against Asian-Americans. Tied with Fisher v. Texas, some view these complaints as a contest of affirmative action practices at universities that favor blacks and Hispanics. However, this student’s challenge should instead address the unfair admissions policies of legacy preference at elite universities. Advocacy groups defending this student’s case argue that Asian-Americans, the fastest growing and most affluent demographic in the United States according

to Bloomberg, face higher obstacles to university admission despite having the highest average SAT scores, according to a 2009 study. Their race is not considered in affirmative action practices, and they often lack legacy status at elite schools, as many of them are first-generation Americans. Affirmative action practices are in place to create equal footing for students whose socioeconomic backgrounds limit their access to essential resources — such as SAT tutoring or adequate college counseling — and thereby hinder their chances of being admitted to universities. Though Asian-Americans do not fall into this category, they still may not have high representation at elite universities because of legacy preferences — that is, applicants who are children or siblings of university alumni and consequently have an advantage in the admissions process. While some critics argue that legacy status plays a small role in admitting applicants and is on the decline, others contend that the practice is still rampant and emphasizes the income inequality and status obsession of our country. The reason that this practice is in use is because private institutions, such as Harvard, use the prospect of legacy admissions to generate donations from alumni. For Asian-Americans, who are often first-generation Americans, this practice is

unfair because these students do not have the same privileges and position in society as those with alumni parents. When a student with higher test scores and an all-around better application is rejected in favor of a student whose father attended the college and recently offered a generous donation, it breeds an environment of elitism and nepotism that will hinder our country’s growth. Donations from alumni should come from a desire to expand and enhance the school, not to exercise power over the school. Many of the rejected, yet deserving, students could have flourished at these schools and might have become part of the nation’s next generation of leaders, further increasing the participation rate of Asian-Americans in fields in which they are still underrepresented, such as politics. Any first-generation American without such status or any American whose parents went to a different university than he or she wishes to attend are in a similar position. Rather than simply accepting a large percentage of legacy applicants — as Princeton did in 2009, when it accepted 41.7 percent of legacy applicants, compared with 9.2 percent of the overall applicant pool — universities should commit to admitting students based on merit. Waliany is a Plan II and government senior.

LEGALESE Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the Editorial Board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.

SUBMIT A FIRING LINE Email your Firing Lines to firingline@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.

SUBMIT A GUEST COLUMN The editorial board welcomes guest column submissions. Columns must be between 600 and 800 words. Send columns to editor@dailytexanonline. com. The Daily Texan reserves the right to edit all columns for clarity, brevity and liability.

EDITORIAL TWITTER Follow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter (@DTeditorial) and receive updates on our latest editorials and columns.

RECYCLE Please recycle this copy of The Daily Texan. Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it.

NEWS 5

Friday, February 10, 2012

Leisure takes precedence in spare time, study show If people had a window of opportunity for more time off work, they would spend it on leisure activities rather than efficient actions such as studying or cleaning, according to a new economics study. Economics professor Daniel Hamermesh co-authored a study examining how people spent their free time after a permanent cut in work hours by reviewing data from national time-use diaries from 1976-2006 in Japan and 1999-2009 in Korea. The study was completed last year and was conducted with UT alumnus Jungmin Lee and associate economic professors from Korea and Japan. Hamermesh said the study used thousands of daily time diaries from before and after the governments of Japan and Korea passed laws making it more costly for employers to use overtime work. The study examined how those keeping diaries spent the time they had free. Hame r me sh s ai d t he re sults showed that people spent their free time engaging in relaxing activities. “In neither country was the extra time used to clean the house, take care of the kids, cook or shop,” Hamermesh said. “It was used for leisure and/or personal maintenance, such as grooming.” Hamermesh said he has done much research on time use and finds the study to be a topic that has intrigued people for many years. “It is very difficult to answer because so many things are happening at once, but this data provides the opportunity to get a clean answer,”

“

Hamermesh said. Although the study did not include Americans, Hamermesh said he firmly believes that Americans generally work too much and Europeans do much less work but seem happier. Advertising senior Amanda Cummings, president of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, said she spends every day studying and is const ant ly doing something for her organization or taking care of her priorities. However, she said she does separate some time to collect herself after she learned that relaxation is also a key aspect of living life, as the study has shown. “I would always be busy and would emotionally break down,” Cummings said. “Now, I find it’s important to make free time for yourself.” Psychology sophomore Ian Bell, an officer of the Longhorn Powerlifting team, said he spends his free time working out in order to stay fit and keep busy. However, Bell said his daily routine includes about an hour of relaxation in order to keep his life balanced, which relates to the study’s conclusion that people do prefer more relaxing activities. “Without my f ree time, I wouldn’t be able to work out as much as I would want to,” he said. “If you use your free time efficiently, then you can accomplish more things throughout the day and keep things from piling up.” An in-depth view of Hamermesh’s study will be published this spring in the American Economic Review Journal.

“

By Sylvia Butanda Daily Texan Staff

If you use your free time efficiently, then you can accomplish more things throughout the day — Ian Bell, Psychology sophomore

Rebeca Rodriguez | Daily Texan Staff

Theatre and dance freshmen Andrea Fernandez and English freshmen Natalia Fonseca look at a mock apartment at the Quarters in hopes of finding a three bedroom place for the upcoming fall semester.

Workshop educates students on leasing By Alexa Ura Daily Texan Staff

With preleasing pressures becoming more prominent in the spring semester, students transitioning from dorm life to off-campus living must consider new responsibilities before signing a lease. Legal and financial advisers worked to familiarize students with the contracts and obligations involved when moving to off-campus housing Thursday night as part of a Bevonomics workshop sponsored by the Office of Student Financial Services. A lease is a financial obligation and students should consider the fine print of their contract before signing anything because it is difficult to get out of the agreement, said Sylvia Holmes, an attorney for the University’s Legal Services

for Students. Students need to choose their roommates carefully because they will become financially tethered to them, Holmes said. Individual leases limit financial liability and are usually offered by bigger complexes, whereas traditional leases require more trust and include all roommates on the same contract. “Students should check move-out terms and conditions because landlords will sometimes try to nickel and dime tenants with carpet cleanups and other requirements,” Holmes said. “To me, that seems like a scam and I would advise students to walk away.” Jarrod Byer, property manager of the Villas on Guadalupe, said living off-campus comes with new responsibilities for students who haven’t lived on their own before, including paying rent and utility bills on time.

“It’s important for students to know the associated fees included in a contract before signing a lease,” he said. “Students should do their research and not just sign a lease because they like an apartment.” Byer said students should also be sure their roommate is someone they trust living with because cohabitation problems are very frequent between tenants. Some apartment complexes advertise amenities such as gyms, study rooms and tanning beds to attract prospective tenants, but are not contractually obliged to provide them if they were promoted in marketing materials, Holmes said. Apartment complex amenities are considered a “luxury” in the legal sense and are not usually included in the lease, she said. Financial aid counselor Reanna Addison said students should con-

sider safety and additional costs of living when moving to an off-campus apartment. “Utilities and Internet are factored into your dorm bill at a flat rate now, but rent is a monthly expense and extra costs are not included in a rent amount,” Addison said. “The financial aid office determines student aid based on the average cost of living in Austin, and that’s about $500 a month.” Undeclared sophomore Brianna Moehnke said she attended the Thursday night workshop because she wanted to learn more about living off-campus after her mother suggested she should leave dorm life behind. “I’m trying to get more information and figure out what’s cheaper but still close to campus,” she said. “Looking for an apartment for the first time is overwhelming.”

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Definition of free speech, press discussed by panel

In this Feb. 8 photo, Lore Heck coaxes a horse to her as she checks the condition of a new shipment of horses and mules at M.H. Ranches in Fabens, Texas.

By Alexa Ura Daily Texan Staff

Mark Lambie Associated Press

Horses find salvation at El Paso ranch By Alex Hinojosa The Associated Press

FABENS, Texas (AP) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; After being abandoned or suffering a life of abuse and hardship, horses that arrive at the M.H. Ranch donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look as if they have much life left in them. But with time and more than 25,000 acres to roam and graze, these horses are given a second chance to become bucking horses for the rodeo or even riding horses. Those horses that are not deemed fit for either are taken for slaughter in Mexico, where several of them were originally destined before they arrived in El Paso. Horses deemed totally unfit are sent to Mexico or Canada because horse slaughter ended in the United States in 2007. On Wednesday, the M.H. Ranch received 17 additional horses that were unwanted and abandoned â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a growing problem due to todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy, said Hank Webb, an equine expert from New Mexico. About 70 horses are now in the care of M.H. Ranch owners Lorie and Tom Heck.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;People canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford to take care of them anymore,â&#x20AC;? Webb said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a result, there are many of them that are being abandoned. Some people who go riding have come back and find several horses hitched up to their trailer with a note saying, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Please take care of them.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153; Lorie Heck said the M.H. Ranch is a for-profit enterprise whose main interest is the recovery of horses. Horses that are rejected by Mexican veterinarians who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow them to go to slaughter due to illness, open wounds, pregnancy, malnourishment and injuries are sent to the M.H. Ranch. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of these horses come from Wisconsin in a trailer,â&#x20AC;? Lorie Heck said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And they come in without food or water. And when they get to the border, they sit there for 10 hours with no water or food until they get rejected (for slaughter), and they come here to recover.â&#x20AC;? When a horse first arrives on the property, it is assessed and placed on a recovery plan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The whole aim of this is to take them off this ranch and try to reha-

bilitate them and do something different,â&#x20AC;? Tom Heck said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have connections with a dude ranch out in New Mexico and rodeo contacts as well.â&#x20AC;? The average weight of a healthy horse is estimated between 1,000 pounds and 1,300 pounds, depending on the breed. Horses that come into the M.H. Ranch are typically 400 pounds underweight, have abscesses from the saddle or have other open wounds. The recovery process can be slow. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These horses came in from Willcox, Arizona and lost 140 pounds during that trip,â&#x20AC;? Webb said, referring to a group of three horses grazing on a bale of alfalfa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But those 140 pounds will take several months to gain back.â&#x20AC;? Each new horse is photographed from the front, rear and both sides. Any open wounds are cleaned and treated. Then every horse is wormed and receives a vitamin B-12 shot and equine antibiotics. Horses are then released into a 20-acre holding pasture where they have free access to grass, alfalfa hay and water. They also

receive a free choice of mineral salts and molasses. After two weeks, each horse is re-evaluated. Horses that die on the ranch are sent to the dead pile, at a far corner of the ranch, where other livestock that have died go, Tom Heck said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Horses, cattle, sheep and goats are all considered livestock,â&#x20AC;? Tom Heck said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are not pets. So they are treated differently. Generally ranchers move them to an area that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t smell up the ranch headquarters, and their bodies are taken care of by the coyotes and nature. It all goes back to the earth.â&#x20AC;? Because of the slow recovery process, a first glance at some of the newcomers raised concerns among nearby residents who reported horses being malnourished in January. This spurred an animal abuse investigation against the ranch. Further evaluation by the El Paso County Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, the DoĂąa Ana County Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, Webb and El Paso veterinarian Jose Ramos showed that the horses had sufficient food and water and closed the case.

The distinction between the established press and new media continues to create differences of opinion on the protection sanctioned by the First Amendment regarding organizations like WikiLeaks. A panel of experts said the transparency produced by the publication of classified state information and its implications on the stability of society through governmental secrecy is dangerous at the Thursday night Free Speech Dialogues, an event hosted once a semester by the BB&T Chair for the Study of Objectivism. Linda Greenhouse, a lecturer at Yale Law School and former New York Times reporter, said the values of transparency and privacy are in a never-ending conflict. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scary when we look at WikiLeaks and realize that one individual can disestablish American society,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We honor the concept of whistle-blowers until they blow the whistle and then prosecute them as leakers.â&#x20AC;? Greenhouse said the First Amendment should trump secrecy, but society is still conflicted when it comes to government promoted secrecy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Unless we view the First Amendment as something we all share and the press as a public surrogate instead of a separate entity, the press will be in a serious struggle when it comes to the truth,â&#x20AC;? she said. Wake Forest Law School professor Michael Curtis said he believes the freedom of press and speech overlap because they have the same general purpose. But the institutional press, news corporations and established organizations have certain privileges that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t belong to anyone else. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is undemocratic and a dangerous approach,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is not a violation of freedom of expression because the government isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t doing anything legal-

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ly, but the functionality of the free speech system must be concerned with what private, organized mobs do.â&#x20AC;? Curtis said the American people would think it was appropriate if The New York Times â&#x20AC;&#x153;passively obtainedâ&#x20AC;? information and published it the way WikiLeaks did. If the press is given information that is truthful and it is published, the media will not be prosecuted. However, the problem lies with who is considered â&#x20AC;&#x153;the pressâ&#x20AC;?, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Private action is not considered a violation of constitutional rights,â&#x20AC;? Curtis said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If organizations like WikiLeaks are not considered press, then what do we do?â&#x20AC;? Jack Shafer, a Reuters columnist and former deputy editor of Slate, said the game of revealing secrets can become politically advantageous for an administration and it is not uncommon for the biggest whistle-blowers to be political aides, secretaries and military officials. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The more I read and write about government secrecy, the more I realize that it is not designed to keep secrets from enemies but from the public,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The tribes of Yemen and Somalia know about the military drones attacking their homes, but us as citizens are out of the loop.â&#x20AC;? Shafer said the reason for so much secrecy among governmental information is the result of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;desire to expand powerâ&#x20AC;? through the distribution of such secrets. Because of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desire to prohibit investigation of secrecy, journalists are thought to discourage this power, like WikiLeaks inventor Julian Assange is accused of doing, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I still believe in protecting acts of journalism,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The only real check we have on moments of hysteria, like that of post-9/11, is the press and that idea rejects the maxim that we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be freed because we must be saved first.â&#x20AC;?

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SPORTS

Friday, February 10, 2012 | THE DAILY TEXAN | Sameer Bhuchar, Sports Editor | (512) 232-2210 | sports@dailytexanonline.com

TEXAS

CAL STATE FULLERTON

SIDELINE NBA ROCKETS

Longhorns start season with dominating win

SUNS

Junior Blaire Luna (1-0) threw a shutout for the Horns and only allowed two hits. While the Horns performed well on offense, she led the defensive effort.

LAKERS

CELTICS

NCAAB TENNESSEE ST.

MURRAY STATE

TWEET OF THE DAY Miles Onyegbule

Lawrence Peart Daily Texan Staff

Luna leads team on mound with 28th career shutout, strikes out twelve hitters By Garrett Callahan Daily Texan Staff

The start of the new season brought new records for the Longhorns Thursday night. Texas shut out the Titans from California State Fullerton winning by a school record 23 runs. The five-inning game broke UT’s sin-

gle-game record, shattering the former of 17-0 from 1999. The Longhorns came out strong and consistent every inning, starting out with three in the first, nine in the second and eight in the third, giving them a 20-0 lead after only three innings. Junior Blaire Luna earned her first victory of the season in the

complete-game shutout, giving up only two hits and one walk. Luna, who recorded her 28th career game shutout last night, recorded twelve strikeouts with eight coming in just the first ten batters. The two-time second team All-American didn’t have a hit on her until the fourth inning and the only other one coming in the fifth.

Sophomore Mandy Ogle, who had a three-run homer in the second to build Texas’ lead to 12, was very impressed with her team’s play, especially Luna’s. “Blaire was definitely on; the whole team was,” Ogle said. “We wanted to get this season rolling because we were excited about this year. Everyone was pumped.

We were all cheering [today] and we couldn’t focus in study hall.” The 513 people in attendance at McCombs Field saw the Longhorns start the season how they wanted. Coming into the game it was unknown how they would recover from last season and how

The season has barely begun and the Longhorns are already rewriting the Texas record books with a 23-0 win against the California State Fullerton Titans Thursday night. The Texas offense overshadowed a top notch Texas defense with a lights out performance in the first game of the Texas tournament. Up 12-0 at the end of the second inning, the 18th ranked Longhorns broke their first record of

the night — a 12-year-old single game record for number of runs scored by a Texas team in a season opener. The record had previously been held by the 1998 Longhorn team who flew past St. Edward’s University 10-0 to open. The second broken record, for most runs in a single game, came in the bottom of the third when sophomore Brejae Washington’s two RBI single plated sophomore Mandy Ogle and freshman Gabby Smith for the 18th and 19th runs of the night. The 1999 squad had held the record pre-

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WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD

Texas’ ranking has slipped, aims to stop negative trend By Kristen Otto Daily Texan Staff

File photo by Shannon Kintner Daily Texan Staff

Whitehead looks to lead young team In recent years, the Longhorns have been known for having a strong team of ranked players and senior leadership. This season, the Longhorns won’t be able to boast that luxury, as they have only one ranked player on a team with six underclassmen and no seniors. Instead, they will rely on a junior

Lawrence Peart | Daily Texan Staff

Sophomore Mandy Ogle had her second career home run and set a OGLE continues on PAGE 8 career high with four RBIs during Texas’ convincing victory.

Junior Daniel Whitehead is ranked 112th in the preseason singles rankings. He is the only member of the squad ranked in singles.

By Lauren Jette Daily Texan Staff

Armstrong investigation closed

viously with 17 runs against the University of Texas at San Antonio before Thursday. Finally after four innings, the Titans pulled their starting pitcher — a junior who gave up 15 hits and 20 runs. “You have to adapt to every pitcher and we were helping each other out,” Ogle said. “We would come in and tell everyone what we were seeing, everyone was working with each other and we were just on.” Although the Texas offense

MEN’S TENNIS

to lead them through a tough schedule against several top 20 teams. Daniel Whitehead is the only ranked player on the young Texas team, at No. 112. But more important than his ranking is his ability to lead the team through the long season ahead. “To be a leader on the team, you have to do a lot of things,” said head coach Michael Center. “You have to be a guy that does it your-

self first and foremost, works hard, shows up on time. [Whitehead] does a very good job of that.” Elected a team captain by his teammates, along with redshirt junior Alex Hilliard and junior Chris Camillone, Whitehead is also able to rally the team around him during a match with his oncourt show of emotion.

TENNIS continues on PAGE 8

“It’s been a long week. Ready for the weekend. #3oclock. #onyourmark”

LUNA continues on PAGE 8

Records broken in landslide victory By Sara Beth Purdy Daily Texan Staff

@MilesOnyay81

Going into the fourth week of the season, Texas was originally scheduled to split up this weekend to attend both the University of Arkansas’ Tyson Invitational and the Flotrack Husky Classic in Seattle, will instead be staying together in the south, focusing on Fayetteville, AR. Although the team was faced with the decision to choose between the two events, the Longhorns are well aware that they are approaching another eminent “fork-in-the-road.” Despite consistent top 10 individual finishes, the team’s national ranking has also shown a consistent negative trend. Dropping from No. 2 to No. 4 after the first preseason ranking, the now No. 6 Texas knows that its performance at the Tyson Invitational, where they will compete against No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Arkansas, and No. 5 UCF, could very well be the turning point in its season. The whole team will show up in

full force this weekend, competing in 11 track and field events. On Friday, Shanay Briscoe, Victoria Lucas, Beverly Owoyele and Alicia Peterson plan to jump-start the team’s momentum in the high jump. In the first race of the weekend, Julie Amthor and Marielle Hall — both having placed first in the event at meets earlier this season — will represent the Longhorns in the mile run. With six runners on the race’s roster, Friday’s 400-meter dash holds the most potential for the team to dominate the top 10. On Saturday, Sara Sutherland will kick off day two of the Invitational with the 3000-meter run. Among the events of the weekend, races in which Texas could prove itself as a major threat include the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. In the 4x400-meter relay, the final women’s event of the weekend, two Texas teams will rally to close out the meet with consecutive first and second places.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — As far as Lance Armstrong is concerned, it’s all over. The stress, the waiting, the whispers about whether he doped during his stellar cycling career, all of it ended when — after nearly two years — federal prosecutors closed an investigation of him last week without bringing any charges. “I’m happy. I’m glad it’s behind me,” Armstrong told The Associated Press on Thursday in his first interview since prosecutors announced they were dropping the case. The seven-time Tour de France winner said he remained confident he would not be indicted, but admitted the weight of the long investigation took a toll on him personally. “It’s not a pleasant experience ... It was difficult at times,” he said. “But I was confident that we would always end up in this place.” Although Armstrong was convinced that he would not be indicted, the cyclist said he was ready to fight a costly legal battle if he was. “You had to consider all possibilities,” he said.

- Associated Press

Cruz signs to two-year contract

On Thursday, American League MVP Nelson Cruz signed a twoyear, $16 million contract with the Texas Rangers. “Nelson is a cornerstone of our team for what really marks the whole turnaround of the franchise. He has been part of the winning core, he’s a huge part of that,” said assistant general manager Thad Levine. “He’s been a big-time performer in the postseason. He’s part of the personality of this team, he plays the game with a ton of energy, a very dynamic player, true five-tool athlete.” In last year’s AL Championship series, Cruz hit six home runs and had 13 RBIs. He also hit the first game-ending grand slam in postseason history. Last season he hit .263 with 29 home runs.

— Lauren Giudice

sports

Friday, February 10, 2012

TENNIS continues from PAGE 7

men’s BAsketBALL

Texas hopes to continue momentum By Austin Laymance Daily Texan Staff

The Longhorns are starting to peak at the right time. The same holds true for Kansas State, though. Texas hosts the Wildcats Saturday afternoon at the Frank Erwin Center and look to extend its winning streak to three games. UT (15-9, 5-6 Big 12) has not won more than two games in a row since stringing together seven victories from Nov. 26 to Dec. 17. Freshman guard Sheldon McClellan has given Texas a reliable scoring option in addition to J’Covan Brown over the past two games. McClellan scored 13 points in the first half of Monday’s win at Texas A&M and finished with 15. And against Texas Tech last Saturday, McClellan scored 17. But McClellan will have to remain aggressive on the offensive end for the Longhorns to continue their success. In the three games prior to his recent scoring uptick, McClellan had nine total points. UT was 1-2 in those games. “We can’t celebrate too much, we have to stay focused,” he said. Texas lost its edge in the second half against the Aggies, a trend that’s starting to irritate head coach Rick Barnes. The Longhorns built a nine-point lead, 55-46, only to allow A&M back in the game with an 11-5 run that made it 60-57. UT also had trouble closing the game against Texas Tech, when they surrendered a 10-0 run

elisabeth Dillon | Daily texan staff

Sheldon McClellan has begun to make an impact offensively for the Longhorns. He scored 17 points against Texas Tech.

after holding a 25-point advantage. Still, the Longhorns were finally able to make winning plays down the stretch on Monday. “I didn’t like the way we carried ourselves when we got the lead, we got too casual,” Barnes said. “But when we got down, our guys stayed together. I didn’t think at any point in time there was doubt.” K-State is also on a two-game win streak. The Wildcats are fifth in the Big 12 with a 6-5 conference record and beat Texas, 84-80, on Jan. 18. They’ve won five of their last seven games, and head coach Frank Martin’s squad typically plays its best ball in February. “It’s just the way we work,” Martin

said. “If you go back and look, that’s usually what happens. Our teams play their best basketball at the end of the year. If you go back and follow teams that I’ve been a head coach at, we play our best ball at the end of the year. That’s been consistent.” Texas lost a heartbreaker to the Wildcats when Myck Kabongo and Brown fumbled an exchange at midcourt with the game on the line in the final seconds. But Kabongo is coming off his best game of the season (six points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals). “He ran the team like a point guard should,” said assistant coach Chris Ogden. “And he always defends the other team’s best guy.”

“Daniel’s a very emotional guy on the court,” Center said. “He is a fiery guy. He competes hard and I think he’s a guy that’s kind of a magnet for our team. They’ll see him get excited and it gets them excited.” That wasn’t always the case though, as Whitehead admits it took some time to adjust to playing on the collegiate level. “When you come in [before college] you’re always playing with people around your own age, maybe one or two years off,” Whitehead said. “But when you come in as a freshman, you’ve got maybe a 25-year-old guy who just played two years pro, so it’s just more mature of a game — quicker, more powerful and all that, so it takes a little bit of an adjustment.” An adjustment Whitehead quickly made as he finished his freshman season with an 11-8 singles record and a 23-7 doubles record. Whitehead improved in his sophomore season with a 27-9 record in singles, a 22-5 record in doubles and a dual-match singles record of 16-5. “He was basically just trying to run balls down and put them in play using speed and quickness,” Center said of Whitehead’s game before he arrived at UT. “Now, he’s a much stronger player. He plays much more aggressively, he gets to the net a lot more, his volleys have improved, so he’s really become a much more complete player since he’s been here.”

Center points to Whitehead’s play against Texas Tech in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Kick-Off Weekend hosted by Texas as an example of Whitehead’s improvements. Not only did Whitehead knock off a top 20 ranked opponent in straight sets in his singles match, he and doubles partner David Holiner saved a match point and won the tiebreaker to win the match and claim the doubles point for Texas. According to Whitehead, he doesn’t think his ranking is the reason he is considered the team leader. “I feel like I would be one of the leaders because there are a lot of young guys that haven’t played in a lot of matches,” Whitehead said. “So as one of the guys that has played more matches, I would help them in that way, but not because of the ranking.” While one might consider being a ranked player something to brag about, Whitehead’s focus is on the team, not his individual stats.

“

“I’m not too worried about individual rankings; that will work itself out if we’re playing well as a team,” Whitehead said. “[The ranking is] not my big focus.” The Longhorns will put their No. 14 team ranking to the test against rival Texas A&M this weekend as part of the Texas Cup. The non-conference dual against the No. 11 ranked Aggies is set to start at 6 p.m. at the Downtown Club at the Met. This is the fifth year Houston has hosted the Cup. Last year, No. 5 Texas defeated the No. 10 Aggies 4-3 to claim the cup. Both the Aggies (4-1) and Longhorns (5-1) share a common defeat as both teams lost to No. 2 Virginia last weekend. Texas could face the Aggies again next weekend, as both teams are in the same half of the draw for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, hosted by Virginia. Texas will finish their weekend off with a match at Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Sunday.

Daniel’s a very emotional guy on the court. He is a fiery guy. He competes hard and I think he’s a guy that’s kind of a magnet for our team. — Michael Center, Men’s tennis head coach

LUNA continues from PAGE 7

OGLE continues from PAGE 7

they would start their new season. “I really didn’t know what to expect,” said head coach Connie Clark. “I felt confident that we were going to play well and I believe in our team. We have tremendous talent, but we have talked about how it is in the mental pieces.” It was a team effort by Texas with multiple players on the team stepping up. Senior Lexy Bennett recorded a home run in the third, the 24th of her career. Junior Tay-

started out strong with three runs in the bottom of the first, it was the nine runs scored in the bottom of the second that really set the tone for the night. Junior power hitter Taylor Hoagland and Ogle headlined the power offense, each producing a multiple score home run. After a nine run second inning, senior team captain Lexy Bennett brought the home run count to three with her own multiple run bomb. By the end of the third inning,

lor Hoagland tallied her 27th career home run, fifth in UT history, and got her 42nd stolen base. Finally, sophomore Brejae Washington hit three for four, scoring three runs and hitting four RBIs. Hopefully this was the start of a strong season for the Longhorns.

Check out photos of last night’s recordsetting game against Cal State Fullerton.

They take on UTSA in their second game of the Texas Classic tonight, where they look to stay consistent and carry the momentum from Thursday’s game.

bit.ly/dt_softball_CalState

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each Longhorn in the starting line up, with the exception of the junior Blaire Luna, their All-American pitcher, had scored. In addition, all starters finished the night with at least one base hit, with the exception of junior first baseman Kim Bruins, who was walked and hit by pitch twice. “It was pretty nice,” Ogle said. “We were just having fun, having our own little Texas party in the dugout.”

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WEEKEND preview File photo by Andrea Macias Jimenez | Daily Texan Staff

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File photo by Elisabeth Dillon | Daily Texan Staff

WOMEN’S GOLF

Horns look to end slump National tournament Team aims to start spring against Oklahoma State poses difficult test with victory in Florida By Stefan Scrafield Daily Texan Staff

It’s been more than two weeks since the Longhorns won a game, and with only seven regular season contests left on the schedule, wins are at a premium. Texas’ last victory came on Jan. 25 against the Big 12’s last place Missouri Tigers. Since then the Longhorns have dropped four straight and are falling further and further from the NCAA tournament picture. They will get another chance to prove they’re still worthy when they take on Oklahoma State, who also find themselves on the tournament bubble, Saturday at the Frank Erwin Center. The Cowgirls got the best of the Longhorns, who were a top 25 team at the time, when the two teams met in Stillwater in early January. Oklahoma State, who at the time had the best field goal percentage defense in the nation, held Texas to a season worst 23 percent from the field en route to a 70-51 blowout victory. Chassidy Fussell missed all 11 of her field goal attempts as OSU held the Longhorns’ high-scoring guard trio of Fussell, Ashleigh Fontenette and Yvonne Anderson to just 18 points. On the offensive end, the Cowgirls spread the scoring around, with four players scoring in double digits. Oklahoma State’s diverse scoring attack wasn’t just limited to its starters. Junior forwards Toni Young and Lindsey Keller had 14 and 13 points, respectively, coming off the bench.

“We don’t have enough guards, so if our guards aren’t hitting we don’t have a lot of options,” said Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors after the first meeting between these two squads. “We only have four on the team, so they need to come to play everyday for us to be successful.” Depth will likely be an issue once again for the Longhorns on Saturday night. With Chelsea Bass out of the lineup for three of Texas’ last four games, Texas’ starting backcourt has been forced to log big minutes. Fussell, Fontenette and Anderson have played no less than 32 minutes in each game throughout the Longhorns current fourgame slide. “We’ve had a short bench the last couple of games,” said Goestenkors after Wednesday’s loss at Kansas. “So I think we do get a little bit fatigued and we showed that.” If Texas is going to be successful against Oklahoma State, they’re going to have to be particularly selective with their shots and convert when they have the opportunity. The Cowgirls don’t give up easy baskets and if the Longhorns can’t find a way to create open shots and convert on those opportunities, it’s going to be a long night. Texas is shooting just 40 percent from the field over the course of its four-game skid. No matter the score, we can expect a hardfought battle from start to finish between two teams desperate for an important conference win at the Erwin Center Saturday.

surpass the 30-wins mark for another year. A new addition to the team this season, freshman Noel Scott, is currently ranked No. 119 and looks to keep improving on her early success as a Longhorn. She joined teammate Cierra GaytanLeach to win the doubles final in the Longhorn Invitational and clinched her biggest win to date against the No. 43 player in the nation at Alabama. Sophomore Elizabeth B eg le y is anot her notable performer for the team, winning the singles title and advancing to the doubles semifinals at the Cougar Fall Draw tournament. The National Team Indoor Championships will be a four day event starting today and running through Monday.

By Matt Warden Daily Texan Staff

On the heels of two consecutive wins in the International Tennis Association Kick-Off Weekend, the Longhorns are heading to Charlottesville, Va. for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Currently ranked No. 15 in the country, the team has had a great spring semester thus far, upsetting No. 4 North Carolina, while posting victories against No. 23 Alabama and No. 17 Vanderbilt. Junior All-American Aeriel Ellis has led the women all season long, as she has competed in eight consecutive national championship events. Ellis is currently ranked as the No. 47 player in the ITA and is poised to

By Blake McAdow Daily Texan Staff

After an extended off-season , Texas looks to get back into tournament form when they travel to Sorrento, Florida for the UCF Challenge this weekend. In the final tournament of the fall, the Longhorns, ranked 10th nationally by GolfWeek, cruised to a 12-stroke victory in the annual B etsy Rawls Invitational, led by senior Nicole Vandermade and junior Madison Pressel. The Texas pair finished first and second individually, giving Vandermade her first career collegiate victory. “It feels amazing,” Vandermade said. “I’ve been working really hard. I knew my game was there. We are getting more and more confident with each tournament.” Heading into the spring, the defending Big 12 Champs are looking to keep the momentum going and improve on last year, when they fell just short of qualifying for the NCAA Championships. With four starters returning from 2010-11, an older squad should keep the Longhorns on the right track. “It’s always a good thing to have more experience,” said head coach Martha Richards. “They’re just that more comfortable because they’ve been there and they know what to expect.” In the 2011 UCF Challenge, the Longhorns finished fifth behind eventual NCAA finalist Coastal Carolina. However, following a

three month absence from competitive play, Richards likes what she sees out of her team. “We’ve come b ack just as ready as I’ve seen them to play going into the spring and I think that has to do with just having a more experienced team,” Richards said. “We’ve practiced hard. I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen at practice.” The Sorrento weather forecast looks clear, but should heat up into more ideal conditions for the final round Tuesday. Playing in Austin year-round, the Longhorns have learned how to play in fickle weather and should be prepared for the sporadic and chilly conditions Sunday. “You have to remind them of the weather conditions so they don’t get frustrated and they just focus on the task at hand,” Richards said. “I think the biggest challenge is getting back into your tournament toughness and your focus in competitive rounds, and that’s what we’ve tried to work on.” After missing the NCAA Championships in 2011 for the first time since Richards’ arrival in 2007, Texas is primed to get back to the May championships, but before that, they must have a strong showing in 2012’s first contest.

ON THE WEB: For more weekend previews, check online bit.ly/dt_sports

File photo by Trent Lesikar | Daily Texan Staff

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Life&Arts 11

friday, february 10, 2012

Redundant sequel lacks logic, should be left to feeble minded Movie RevieW

Odds are it’s not easy to find tons of college-aged fans — or fans over five years old — of 2008’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” Even so, producers have risen to the nonexistent demand for a sequel and made “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” a film with an almost identical plot, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson taking the action hero reins from original star, Brendan Fraser. Much like the first film, “Journey 2” finds Sean (Josh Hutcherson) dragging an unwitting father figure (Johnson, his mother’s boyfriend, Hank) into an adventure to find his grandfather (Michael Caine). Their journey leads them to a titular mysterious island, where Sean and Hank quickly find themselves trapped, along with tour guide Gabato (Luis Guzman) and his daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens). On the surface, “Journey 2” is a forgettable, lazy follow-up to a film that no one liked much in the first place, and it’s easy to label it as such. After all, its teenaged hero is a stock rebel without a cause (with boatloads

HELLION continues from PAGE 12 the attention of the media and the audience, Williams and Candler came up with a distinct viral marketing campaign to set “Hellion” apart. Aside from the usual film festival paraphernalia (postcards, stickers, posters, t-shirts, pins) the filmmakers released a series of videos chronicling the experience of making the film and going to Sundance called “The Hellion Sundance Chronicles.” Private press screenings were also held for the film prior to the festival to get as much coverage as possible — and it seems to have worked. Earlier in January, Candler wrote about “Hellion” and Sundance for The Huffington Post as part

Brad Peyton

Genre: Adventure Runtime: 94

of daddy issues to boot), and his only character trait is an encyclopedic knowledge of Jules Verne novels. Even worse is Guzman’s role as a woefully misguided tour guide who exists solely to provide bizarre, markedly unfunny comic relief. It’s too bad “Journey 2” isn’t just lazy; it’s aggressively stupid. If there’s one thing a movie needs, it’s a sense of internal logic. A film needs to be able to build a world that viewers can invest in. Otherwise, it fails on a basic level and makes it incredibly easy to recognize all the flaws and inconsistencies, of which

of an ongoing blog called The Sundance Diaries. “That Huffington Post blog we did was huge for us,” Candler said. “It got a lot of national eyes on our trailer and our film early on.” Making short films is a completely different skill set than feature length filmmaking. Williams, who was the film program director for the Austin Film Festival, understood what was expected of a short film in order to be chosen for a top-tier festival like Sundance. Festivals are on the lookout for shorts that can tell a compelling story in an ingenious and brief manner but, most importantly, have enduring characters that audiences care about. Williams, also a UT alumnus, attributes the film’s success to Candler’s ability as a storyteller. “She has the rare abili-

FILM continues from PAGE 12 quite measure up. Reynolds stars as rookie CIA agent Matt Weston, the guardian of a safe house in Cape Town who receives an unexpected visitor — notorious rogue agent Tobin Frost (Washington). After a vigorous waterboarding session at the hands of torturer Robert Patrick, the safe house is compromised and Weston and Frost are on the run. The plot for “Safe House” isn’t especially dense, and that gives director Daniel Espinosa plenty of excuses to layer on the style. This is Espinosa’s U.S. debut, and he instills the Cape Town setting with a grimy, dangerous atmosphere. The action scenes are nicely staged throughout, especially a chase through the slums and an extended, brutal handto-hand battle between Weston and a colleague.

u eB Th

Journey 2

“Journey 2” has many. While miniature elephants and giant lizards add to the undeniably impressive spectacle of the film, the size of the characters in relation to the world around them is in constant flux. Characters can go from walking through a normal-sized jungle to evading gargantuan birds through trees hundreds of times their height in the blink of an eye, and that’s just one of many nonsensical elements the film tries to explain away with shoddily written pseudo-science. As a pure, goofy spectacle, “Journey 2” almost works. The stupid-

ty to take a simple story and expand the world and the characters in it,” Williams said. “And, in the case of ‘Hellion,’ she does it all in six minutes.” The filmmakers are currently working on developing “Hellion” into a feature film. “Right now our plan with ‘Hellion’ is to play as many festivals as possible,” Candler said. “But because we’re developing a feature film based on the short, it’s a tool to further that development. That’s our ultimate goal: make the feature.” Candler is also teaching her signature advanced narrative production course at the RTF department this semester and although she ‘skipped’ a week of class to go to Sundance, it is safe to assume that none of her students were complaining — after all, some of them might have even worked on the film.

Unfortunately, Espinosa’s talent for style doesn’t extend to the narrative. “Safe House” is predictable to a fault, and the supposedly secret identity of its villain is made clear from the very beginning thanks to obvious foreshadowing. While the film’s narrative is mostly built around Reynolds and Washington kicking ass all over South Africa, its denouement tries to say something profound about government corruption and doing the right thing, but ends up sputtering out some nonsense about honor and accountability that’s been covered many times before in much better films. Thankfully, Washington and Reynolds are ver y well cast. Washington is at a point in his career where he’s likeable and watchable in almost every film he’s in, and “Safe House” is no different. Though Reynolds is ostensibly the star, Washington is the center of the film, and it’s interesting to see the way that years of violence have hardened his

LOVE continues from PAGE 12 when Pope Gelasius I declared Feb. 14 Valentine’s Day as an effort to Christianize the festival and possibly to honor the Roman priest, St. Valentine, who married young lovers behind Emperor Claudius II’s back during the third century. Legends aside, it is clear that there is little to no historic meaning left in the modern-day version of Valentine’s Day, which instead emphasizes candy and card consumerism. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend an average of $126 each, totaling over $17 billion for the population, on the holiday and on something that’s supposed to be priceless: love. On New Year’s Eve, there’s an inevitable pressure to have the coolest plans, the trendiest outfit and the steamiest New Year’s kiss because we’ve con-

Tobin Frost to the point where he makes killing seem almost casual, cutting down enemies with a menacing familiarity. Reynolds has done good work in other films (2010’s “Buried,” for instance) and he’s serviceable here but never really shines outside of his more quiet scenes with Washington. It doesn’t help that his character arc is in service of a narrative with the subtlety of a neon billboard, yet Reynolds still manages to emerge from “Safe House” unscathed. “Safe House” is by no means a terrible film. It’s got intensity and style to spare and a good sense of forward momentum, not to mention a strong pairing in its two leads and some memorable action sequences. While that alone (along with the slim cinematic pickings of this week’s new releases) is enough to earn “Safe House” a recommendation, audiences sensitive to clunky exposition, over-predictability and what proves to be a weak, silly ending may want to steer clear.

of T

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Cinema

(Left-right) Luis Guzmán as Gabato, Vanessa Hudgens as Kailani, Josh Hutcherson as Sean, Dwayne Johnson as Hank, and Michael Caine as Alexander in New Line Cinema’s family adventure “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. ity of its script keeps it watchable, was the best part of last year’s “Fast over to the “Journey” franchise, if only to see where it’s going to Five” and he’s game for whatever and as a narrative, it’s a poorly go next, and the film’s special ef- the script throws at him here. Even constructed, laughably terrible fects are undeniably strong. Caine if he never quite creates a character, failure. As a silly, 90-minute dilooks like he’s laughing all the way Johnson makes the audience be- version, there are certainly better to the bank in this film. He earns lieve he’s certainly having a good films out right now (“Haywire,” every dollar of his check with a time traipsing around this island, for example), but adolescents big, silly performance. Meanwhile, and in a better movie, his enthusi- who haven’t graduated past the Dwayne Johnson continues to im- asm might be infectious. PG rating yet should enjoy “Jourpress as an action hero. Johnson “Journey 2” won’t win any fans ney 2” enough for all of us.

vinced ourselves that the way we spend New Year’s Eve is the way we’ll spend the rest of the year. This mind-set has seeped through January and into February, as we think of Valentine’s Day as the day that sets the tone for the rest of a relationship, whether it’s five dates or five years in. From Hallmark to Victoria’s Secret, there’s not a retailer in this country that won’t try to take advantage of the pressure people feel to shower their sweetheart with superficial love. The shallow stereotype of Valentine’s Day was baked into our early childhood just like the heart-shaped brownies the PTA moms brought to class. Consider for a moment your elementary school days when Valentine’s Day was not known as a day of love, but instead as one of the rare days that candy wouldn’t be confiscated. It was always the homemade valentines in the basket that got overlooked — that is unless, of course, they came with homemade candy, or

better yet, fun-size Snickers bars. I can’t recall a single time from my elementary school days of looking at a valentine from a classmate and thinking, “Wow, this message is really thoughtful.” It’s no surprise that as adults, we’ve continued the tradition of translating love into desserts and dispensable gifts. As it turns out, nobody cares if you wear your heart on your sleeve unless it’s made of cashmere. It’s easy to assume that the average Valentine’s Day hater must also hate love, but it is the so-called haters that support and believe in love the most; not a princess-cut love set in a platinum band, but a euphoric feeling that no material item could ever replicate. Not everyone who hates Valentine’s Day is a bitter-becausethey’re-alone castaway, but perhaps just a person who is more concerned with the message inside the bottle, rather than with what the bottle looks like and whether they can get one of their own at Pottery Barn.

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LIFE&ARTS

Friday, February 10, 2012 | THE DAILY TEXAN | Katie Stroh, Life&Arts Editor | (512) 232-2209 | dailytexan@gmail.com

UT alumni create Sundance worthy film By Diego Vega Daily Texan Staff

Acceptance into the Sundance film festival is both mystical and a grim reality check. At least, that’s how radio-television-fim lecturer Kat Candler feels about her short film’s appearance in the showcase. The Utah-based behemoth of a film festival is a defining moment in any filmmaker’s career, and Candler understands this all too well. After all, she just returned from Park City where her short film “Hellion” made the Sundance Film Festival Official Selection. The story of three young brothers dealing with the consequences of their actions, “Hellion” was one of the 64 short films selected to screen from a record 7,675 submissions. “Getting into Sundance is the prestigious stamp of approval that you’re hoping to get for most of your career,” Candler said. “It has been huge for us. It’s already opened a lot of doors that were otherwise closed.” Even though the festival has become a somewhat polarizing event because of the staggering number of happy-go-lucky socialites and marketing savvy start-ups that descend every year upon Park City, the Sundance Film Festival is still the defining arena for American independent cinema. Sundance is notorious for defining yearly critical taste by setting the pace for the year in filmmaking. Films like “The Kids are All Right”, “Winter’s Bone” and “Lit-

tle Miss Sunshine” were all Sundance premieres before going on to critical acclaim and Academy Award nominations. As “Hellion” cinematographer and RTF lecturer Drew Xanthopoulos said, “Sundance offers fantastic exposure to new or lesser-known talent to both the larger commercial industry and within the smaller, independent one. The short film serves primarily as a sampling of everyone’s work and typically leads to connections and support for the artists’ more ambitious projects.” Candler, who wrote and directed “Hellion,” said the short was inspired by a childhood story. “My mom told me about her three younger brothers when they were little and set my grandfather’s jeep on fire,” Candler said, “and what happened when my grandfather got home and found the destruction in the front yard.” Even though the script was written several years ago, she was reluctant to go forward with it because “it involved three little boys going through a range of extreme emotions.” The film was shot over three days in July 2011 in Georgetown and relied heavily on UT alumni and current students for crew positions, many of whom have taken classes with Candler. “I knew I could trust them to do great work,” Candler said. “When I’m looking for crew and cast, first thing that’s important to me is that they’re good human beings...then talent. I

Marisa Vasquez | Daily Texan Staff

Kat Candler, a Radio-Television-Film lecturer, wrote and directed a short film titled “Hellion” that was selected for the Sundance Film Festival. Candler’s six-minute movie was inspired by a true story about her three uncles when they were kids.

don’t want to work with assholes.” Kelly Williams, “Hellion’s” producer, agrees. “Living in Austin, it is hard to get

Consumerism plagues Valentine’s Day

LOVE INTERRUPTED

too far away from the RTF depart- ing out of the department, not just ture of the festival, where hundreds ment. It can be a great resource for directors, but sound recordists, pro- of filmmakers have to fight for both Austin filmmakers,” Williams said. duction designers, editors, etcetera.” “There is a great deal of talent comBecause of the overwhelming naHELLION continues on PAGE 11

POP INDEX

BY ALEKSANDER CHAN

By Anjli Mehta

Every year, as February brings a flood of jewelry commercials and preset dinner menus for two, I can’t help but look over at the box of chocolate covered strawberries I embarrassingly bought for myself and think, “perhaps this is my only comfort this time of year.” I can already envision the photos of Russell Stover chocolate boxes and mass-produced neon pink teddy bears with heart-shaped noses that will surely hijack my Facebook newsfeed; the abundant aroma of Baby’s Breath wafting through the air that will be reason enough to stay in with the company of a horror film; and the conversation hearts that proudly declare messages I hope never come out of my mouth. Thank God (or rather St. Valentine) the day is

HORNS UP President Obama’s Spotify playlist. It’s surprisingly comprehensive. And he likes Arcade Fire! Illustration by John Smith | Daily Texan Staff

only 24 hours long. Perhaps it is the holiday’s allegedly horrific historic beginnings or that it brings out the worst of our consumerist culture, but Valentine’s Day has never found its fit into my life. While the exact origins of Valentine’s Day have yet to be confirmed, legends suggest that the holiday may have had bloody beginnings. According to History.com, Valen-

tine’s Day could be traced back to the ancient Pagan mid-February festival, Lupercalia, when Romans took to sacrificing their livestock and then proceeded to publicly whip women with the leftover hides, believing it would increase a woman’s fertility. It wasn’t until the fifth century

“Safe House” stars Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, who are both at odd places in their careers. Washington is in the middle of a Liam Neeson-style career reinvention, lending the charm and gravitas that have worked so well in dramatic films to intensify stylized action films like “Man on Fire” and “The Book of Eli.” Meanwhile, the obviously talented Reynolds seems to be making a disastrous string of career choices, appearing in two absolute disasters last sum-

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Artist Sophie Blackall’s visualizations of Craigslist’s Missed Connections. They make those fleeting moments seem poignant.

The Italian Club at Fricano’s. Get its sourdough bread toasted and you have the best lunch in West Campus.

Wrapping your head around the idea of an Amazon retail store.

New Shins songs. Revamped and reunited, they’re gearing up for their first album in five years.

LOVE continues on PAGE 11

Film provides good leads, predictable plot By Alex Williams Daily Texan Staff

Lizzy Caplan on “New Girl.” The antithesis of Zooey Deschanel’s girly pixie twee.

MOVIE REVIEW

“Smash.” We would like this musical drama more if it weren’t trying so hard.

SAFE HOUSE

Daniel Espinosa Genre: Action Runtime: 115 minutes

The crushing realization that “The Artist” will probably win Best Picture. Yeah, yeah, it’s reclaiming film’s past — but it’s also really boring.

Utexas Memes creator won’t tell us his/her name. We’d write an article about him/her if he/she was less secretive

NPR takedown of Liz NPR’s Lemon. In the immortal wor of Jack Donaghy, words d “Shut it down. ”

Bloviating about Blo bi M.I.A. flipping the bird at the Super Bowl. We’d We rather just talk about her new album.

Late winter er is a movie eland. No release wasteland. one wants to see “Journey Journey 2: The Mysterious ious Island.”

mer, “ The Change-Up” and a smart move for both, even if “The Green Lantern.” Team- the film around them doesn’t ing the two actors up for “Safe House” ultimately proves to be FILM continues on PAGE 11

HORNS DOWN