The Daily Texan 03-03-2011 by The Daily Texan

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LIFE&ARTS PAGE 12

SPORTS PAGE XXXX7 PAGE XX

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Thursday, March 3, 2011

SPORTS PAGE 7

TODAY

HORNS BEAT TECH

LIQUOR BUYER’S GUIDE

Students protest state budget cuts

82ND LEGISLATURE

Calendar Vote

Today is the last day to vote in the campuswide Student Government elections. Go to http://www.utexas.edu/ studentgov/ and enter your UT EID and password to vote.

Erika Rich | Daily Texan Staff

President William Powers Jr. testifies Wednesday at a Senate Finance Committee meeting to discuss a bill that would cut millions from UT’s 2012-13 budget.

Kinesiology & Health Education Job Fair

Powers, UT groups lobby government to retain funding

The College of Education Career Services Center will host a Kinesiology and Health Education Job and Internship Fair in Bellmont Hall 528 from 11 a.m. - 2:30p.m.

By Melissa Ayala Daily Texan Staff

Black Light Bash

“For the Love of the Arts” is the final event of the UT Arts Week which will be a black light dance party on the Bass Concert Hall stage from 7 - 10 p.m.

Tiger Darrow

Tiger Darrow will play with guest Jason Poe at the Cactus Cafe at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 and $6 with a UT Student ID.

Liza Minnelli

The Long Center for the Performing Arts will host Liza Minnelli at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $39.

Today in history In 1845

Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. State

Campus Watch Where did I park my DeLorean?

600 Block Colorado A non-UT subject was discovered staggering and using sign poles to maintain his balance and prevent him from falling. During the investigation, the subject informed the officer that he had been to a downtown establishment, but due to the effects of the transporting elixir he believed it was Feb. 1, 2010. The officer detected a very strong odor of alcohol on the subject’s breath and noted other signs of intoxication. The subject was taken into custody for Public Intoxication and was transported to Central Booking.

‘‘

Quote to note “We do a lot of damage control on our site because of ‘Twilight.’ But we just consider it a fun challenge ... There are, like, a thousand books that are way more romantic, way better written and don’t have creepy stalkers.” — Sarah Pitre Creator of Forever Young Adult blog LIFE&ARTS PAGE 10

Liberal Arts Dean Randy Diehl is meeting with different departments and centers before finalizing the cuts in a few weeks, Flores said. He said it will be hard to make cuts that the Legislature is asking the University to make without hurting the students. Flores said the centers are not seeing the worst impact of the budget shortfall. Many departments already lost funding last semester, he said. The Students Speak coalition, which organized the ral-

President William Powers Jr. testified before the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday to explain how the budget cuts will hurt UT while students both inside and outside the committee room made their voices heard. The Senate budget bill would cut UT’s budget by $65 million in the 2012-13 biennium. That would force UT to eliminate 90 faculty and 200 staff positions, among other major cuts, Powers said. “We at the University of Texas understand it is a very tough recession,” Powers said. “We’re all tightening our belts and I’m here to say the University of Texas needs to do its part and we’re ready to do that.” Students from advocacy organization The Students Speak testified against the proposed cuts. Members of legislative lobbying group Invest In Texas also attended to hear Powers’ testimony. Student Government President Scott Parks, a member of Invest In Texas, said he fears tuition will increase if UT loses formula funding. The lobbying group includes members of SG, Senate of College Councils, Graduate Student Assembly and other student leaders.

RALLY continues on PAGE 2

POWERS continues on PAGE 2

Ryan Edwards | Daily Texan Staff

Warren Moore, chemistry and African Diaspora studies senior, leads a rally of students and community members in a chant aimed against proposed budget cuts to the Liberal Arts centers on campus Wednesday, who marched to the Capitol. By Huma Munir Daily Texan Staff

Activist group The Students Speak dedicated their full attention and energy to UT administrators and state legislators in a rally on Wednesday to protest budget cuts. About 100 students participated in the rally, which started at the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. and ended at the Capitol, where President William Powers Jr. testified before the Senate Finance Committee. Throughout downtown, they chanted “They say

cut back, we say, ‘fight back,’” and wore red T-shirts with “No Budget Cuts” on the back. Their posters boasted slogans such as “Budget Cuts have Faces” and “Save Our Staff.” The College of Liberal Arts will lose $3.5 million in funding over the next three years, said Richard Flores, the college’s senior associate dean for academic affairs. The first $1 million cut will impact Liberal Arts centers, including those for Women’s and Gender studies, Asian American Studies and Mexican American Studies, ac-

cording to a recommendation plan released by the Academic Planning and Advisory Committee. The committee includes faculty from nine departments, and its proposals are part of the college’s considerations in cuts. “We are being realistic, and we understand that cuts will have to be made in some fashion, but we are waiting to see what final decisions will be made by the dean of liberal arts,” said Luis Guevara, program coordinator for the Center for Mexican American Studies.

City Council to vote on ordinance Rally at Capitol venerates lives to increase parking meters hours of fallen construction workers By Allie Kolechta Daily Texan Staff

Parking may be even more of a pain for students and Austin residents if the City Council approves an ordinance in today’s meeting that would increase parking meter hours. The Downtown Commission and the Urban Transportation Commission reviewed an ordinance that would amend the city code concerning parking meter hours. The council will vote on it today. If it passes, parking meter hours downtown will run

from 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and all other parking meter hours will last from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Currently all parking meters operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during weekdays. Since Austin is the 15th largest city in the nation, it has significant congestion and parking problems, said Matt Curtis, communications director of the mayor’s office. “We’re working to address all of these problems,” he said. “This is one method the city staff is presenting as a potential parking solution and we look forward to the discus-

sion tomorrow on the dais.” The ordinance will most likely pass through council, said Dustin Lanier, chair of the Urban Transportation Commission. Lanier voted against the ordinance. “I find just as many concerns on the policy level as I do positives,” he said. “To me it just feels like a revenue thing, and I think revenue issues should be dealt with as part of the overall budget, not something separate.” The intent of the ordinance is to prevent long-term

PARKING continues on PAGE 2

Graduate student utilizes flora to create compostable flatware By Yvonne Marquez Daily Texan Staff

A design graduate student hopes people will use a more natural alternative to environmentally harmful plates and containers. Amr it a Ad hi kar y designed a system to make compostable dinnerware out of fallen areca nut palm leaves, which are native to India. She said she wanted to create a solution to the waste from the culture of high consumption. “We do need a disposable option because of our lifestyle; we are always on the go,” Adhikary said. “We need to take food when we

travel or pick up food at fast food restaurants.” She said Styrofoam and plastic containers are environmentally hazardous because they don’t degrade or decompose. The waste from these products occupy massive amounts of space and can potentially harm ground water, she said. “Using leaves [to make plates] ensures that the plate is a totally environmentally-friendly product from the start to the finish,” Adhikary said. Although there are more biodegradable products on the market now, people are not consistently composting them, Adhikary said.

She said biodegradable and compostable items that get thrown in the trash will not benefit the environment because they need air and moisture to decompose. They end up being like any other piece of plastic, she said. Associate design professor Gloria Lee, Adhikary’s adviser, said her design is remarkable because she did not just design dinnerware. “It’s a design project that looks at an entire system, Lee said. “It’s not just a compostable set of dinnerware but continues through its life cycle and beyond.”

PLATES continues on PAGE 2

Erika Rich | Daily Texan Staff

Austin construction worker Pablo Ortiz carries one of 138 coffins symbolizing every Texas worker and laborer that was killed in 2009. Hundreds of workers and citizens marched demanding legislation for better training and compensation from employers. By Molly Moore Daily Texan Staff

Cardboard coffins lined Congress Avenue until all 138 of them filled the front lawn of the Texas Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. The coffins were painted black and represented the 138 Texas construction workers and laborers who lost their lives on the job in 2009. Their memories served as the rallying cry for the roughly 600 people who gathered at the Capitol in support of new legislation on workers’ rights and safety. The Workers Defense Project organized the rally and gathered lawmakers, clergy members and activists with the families of those who had died. “The cause we’re here for today is not just a good one, but a sacred one,” one member of the church said at the beginning of the rally. Political commentator Jim Hightow-

er spoke at the rally to state the activists’ demands. “We’re not just here to honor the memory of the workers,” Hightower said. “We’re here for just a little bit of justice. We’re not asking for the whole thing. If we were, we’d be asking for Wall Street salaries and benefits — now that would be justice.” This justice comes primarily in the form of mandatory workers’ compensation, which would require every employer to provide wage replacement and medical benefits to any employee injured while on the job, said Billy Yates, an intern at the Workers Defense Project. As it stands, Texas is the only state that does not require such compensation, he said. He also cites simple things, such as required breaks, as important preventive measures.

FALLEN

continues on PAGE 2

NEWS

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Daily Texan Volume 111, Number 159

“We’re asking the Legislature not to disproportionately cut higher education again in this round of cuts like they did last time,” Parks said. “We took 41 percent of the last cuts. We don’t think that’s fair for us or for the state.” Invest in Texas members testified last month when Powers originally planned to speak, before he was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism. “We’re really worried about the budget cuts that are proposed,” Parks said. “We know they would have pretty drastic effects on the quality of education at UT, the affordability and diversity. It’s serious, and we want [legislators] to know we’re following the decisions

CONTACT US Main Telephone: (512) 471-4591 Editor: Lauren Winchester (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com Managing Editor: Claire Cardona (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com News Office: (512) 232-2207 news@dailytexanonline.com Multimedia Office: (512) 471-7835 dailytexanmultimedia@gmail.com Sports Office: (512) 232-2210 sports@dailytexanonline.com Life & Arts Office: (512) 232-2209 dailytexan@gmail.com Photo Office: (512) 471-8618 photo@dailytexanonline.com Comics Office: (512) 232-4386 Retail Advertising: (512) 471-1865 joanw@mail.utexas.edu Classified Advertising: (512) 471-5244 classifieds@dailytexanonline.com The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. I f we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@dailytexanonline.com.

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TOMORROW’S WEATHER Low

High

POWERS continues from PAGE 1

Slap d***in’

CORRECTION Because of an editing error, the caption of a tennis photo on a Page Seven sports story of Wednesday’s Daily Texan incorrectly identifies Vasko Mladenov as Kellen Damico and Chris Camillone as David Holiner.

“We’re focusing on these firstyear students coming in,” he said. “We don’t want to have a fall-off in the opportunities available for these students.” Powers said UT will play its part in helping balance the budget, but has a similar need to Texas A&M for additional selective funding. “[We need,] if it is possible, in a very selective way, to get some money for some very selective [Tuition Revenue Bond] projects,” he said. “On our campus it would be engineering, on the A&M campus I know it is veterinary medicine. These are things that would position those two campuses two and five years from now.” Powers said Texas was looked

RALLY continues from PAGE 1

parkers from keeping out shortterm parkers like dinner guests, but also to create a general revenue stream for the city, said Student Government representative John Lawler, an urban studies junior. Lawler fought the attempt by the city to install parking meters in West Campus, and SG passed a resolution against the city’s effort. In Portland, the city got rid of virtually all free public parking and a highway in order to decrease citizens’ reliance on cars, Lawler said. The extended parking meter hours in downtown Austin would have basically the same effect, but Austin’s alternate systems of transportation aren’t nearly up to par, he said. “You’re hitting the students who are going to a show or taking a girl out to a sushi bar,” he said.

ly, started last semester in response to the cuts the advisory committee proposed to the centers. Austin resident Reuben Hayslett participated in the rally because he said he knows the importance of ethnic and gender studies. He said he attended Georgia Southern University for writing and linguistics, but the major no longer exists because of slashed funding. “I think the centers are impor-

“Parking is an issue for everyday business people and the parking meters should apply to them, but if we want to keep downtown a viable economic powerhouse for the city of Austin, we need to make sure that we can give free parking in the evenings.” E x tende d p ark i ng hou rs downtown would cause many students to either find another way to get downtown or simply stop going, said biology sophomore Helena Wayt. Wayt plans to have her car on campus next year and wouldn’t drive it downtown if the ordinance passed, she said. “I would find another means to get there,” she said. “Most students wouldn’t pay the extra money. Students do their best to avoid paying extra whenever possible.”

up to for its higher education two years ago, but that the same may not be true anymore. “I think [because of ] this the budget shortfall across the country and in the state, a lot are questioning the value of higher education,” he said. “It was just the opposite two years ago.” Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said the cuts make him worried about how Texas universities will be able to compete with other campuses around the nation. “I for one am really concerned about some of the proposed cuts in [the Senate budget bill],” he said. “It seems like we’re going backwards, and I feel we had made a lot of progress in higher education last session.”

tant because they offer a chance for more critical thinking,” Hayslett said. Religious studies senior Caitlin Eaves said if it wasn’t for the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, she would not be doing her honors thesis. “I came here and I needed guidance,” Eaves said. “I needed to know what queer women in history have done. I needed to be able

to locate myself in history.” Eaves said the center helped her by providing quality courses and excellent faculty members who proved to be great mentors. The Students Speak is organizing another rally on March 12. Eaves said the group wanted to hold a Saturday rally so parents and other working adults could participate.

FALLEN continues from PAGE 1 “A construction worker dies every two-and-a-half days in Texas,” he said. “If Texas is 112 degrees during the summertime and workers don’t get a single break, you can’t really wonder why there are so many deaths in the construction industry.” This lack of mandatory workers’ compensation, rest breaks in the work day and proper safety education all contribute to Texas’ reputation as “the most dangerous state in the union for construction workers,” a phrase that was repeated throughout the rally, Yates said. S en. Eddie Lucio Jr., DBrownsville, and Rep. ArmanThis newspaper was printed with pride by The Daily Texan and Texas Student Media.

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Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lauren Winchester Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claire Cardona Associate Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bobby Cervantes Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viviana Aldous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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Issue Staff Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Huma Munir, Yvonne Marquez, Victoria Pagan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Allison Harris, Molly Moore Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benjamin Miller, Brenna Cleeland, Danielle Wallace Page Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristin Holcomb, Alexa Hart Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Edwards, Shareen Ayub, Trent Lesikar Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sameer Bhuchar, Alexandra Carreno, Stephanie Yarbrough Life&Arts Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clayton Wickham Columnists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kate Clabby Videographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Raymond Perez Comic Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lin Zagorski, Sammy Martinez, Brianne Klitgaard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Massingill, Katie Carrell, Tyler Suder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aaron West, Betsy Cooper Administrative Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amanda Sardos

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Director of Advertising & Creative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jalah Goette Assistant to Advertising Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CJ Salgado Local Sales Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brad Corbett Broadcast Manager/Local Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carter Goss Campus/National Sales Consultant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joan Bowerman Student Advertising Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathryn Abbas Student Advertising Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryanne Lee Student Acct. Execs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cameron McClure, Daniel Ruszkiewkz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Samantha Chavez, Selen Flores, Patti Zhang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Veronica Serrato, Sarah Hall, Ian Payne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leah Feigel, Rachel Huey Student Office Assistant/Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rene Gonzalez Broadcast Sales Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aubrey Rodriguez Senior Graphic Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Felimon Hernandez Junior Designers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bianca Krause, Alyssa Peters Special Editions Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elena Watts Student Special Editions Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sheri Alzeerah Special Projects Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adrienne Lee

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 except Saturday, Sunday, federal holidays and exam periods, plus the last Saturday in July. Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, TX 78710. 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. For classified display and national classified display advertising, call 471-1865. For classified word advertising, call 471-5244. Entire contents copyright 2011 Texas Student Media.

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3/03/11

seriously how these cuts will affect students, staff [and] professors on the University campus,” Ward said. “There needs to be a drastic change in policy.” Powers told the committee his major concern is how the cuts will affect faculty and students. “It will erode our ability to compete nationally to get faculty and make student success improvements,” he said. “We’ll protect them as best we can. That is my biggest concern.” The proposed budget also recommends reducing the number of TEXAS Grants for incoming freshman. Powers said he is concerned about the effects cuts will have in their future.

PARKING continues from PAGE 1

The Daily Texan

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they’re making.” Other students included representatives from the Anthropology Graduate Students Association, the International Socialist Organization and The Students Speak, who wore red shirts that read “No Budget Cuts” and marched from UT to Capitol grounds. Anthropology graduate student Ricardo Ward said the Legislature should use all of the Rainy Day Fund — an emergency fund that currently holds $9.4 billion that lawmakers can use to balance the budget — to avoid cutting any of the public education budget. “We feel like the state Legislature, primarily followed by the administration at UT, is not thinking

Monday .............Wednesday, 12 p.m. Thursday.................Monday, 12 p.m. Tuesday.................Thursday, 12 p.m. Friday......................Tuesday, 12 p.m. Word Ads 11 a.m. Wednesday................Friday, 12 p.m. Classified (Last Business Day Prior to Publication)

do Walle, D-Houston, hope to change this. They are currently putting forth bills that would make workers’ compensation required for not only those injured on the job, but for the families who lost relatives in work-related incidents. “It’s a simple bill in that it mandates that all businesses provide what every other business in every other state already provides, and that is compensation for workers,” Lucio said. “It is what’s just and it is what’s right.” The event also included live music, prayers and stories of the hardships incurred by those injured on the job. “When we are helping to build this state, we are wanted,” said one man, who is now confined to a wheelchair after falling 30 feet while working at a construction site. “But when we are injured, we are tossed aside.”

Trent Lesikar | Daily Texan Staff

Amrita Adhikary, a master of fine arts student, has been making sustainable plates from leaves for 18 months and traveled to India for the material.

PLATES continues from PAGE 1 Ad hi kar y s aid t he pl ates work best in an institution like a cafeteria. She said when the plates are done being used, they would be disposed in a certain bin and then picked up to be composted. She said an internship in India got her interested in the kind of social entrepreneurship where “people profit as well as the planet.”

APPLICATIONS are being accepted for the following student positions with Texas Student Media

Adhikary has made between 1,500 and 2,000 plates for a test pilot in Austin that will begin after she graduates in May. Director of Sustainability Jim Walker said UT has many innovative ways it is being sustainable in its cafeterias. He said Jester and Kinsolving have gone trayless and use reusable silverware. He said they also

♲

2011-2012 TSTV Station Manager 2011-2012 KVRX Station Manager 2011-2012 Texas Travesty Editor

DEADLINE Noon, Friday, March 11, 2011 Please return completed applications, transcripts and all supporting materials to the Director’s Office. Interested applicants are invited to stop by and visit with the Director to discuss student positions.

R E C YC L E your copy of

The Daily Texan

Interested in Going to Law School? $125 LSAT course (25+ hours) at UT Austin Classes start in April Campusprep.org

Application forms and a a list of qualifications are available in the Office of the Director, William Randolph Hearst Building (HSM), Room 3.304, 2500 Whitis Avenue. The TSM Board of Operating Trustees will interview applicants and appoint the KVRX Station Manager, the TSTV Station Manager, and the Texas Travesty Editor at 1 p.m. on March 25, 2011 in the Union’s Quadrangle Room #3.304

made a reusable shell available to purchase to use instead of plates. “ The main kind of composting we have in UT are in Jester and Kinsolving cafeterias,” Walker said. “All the food scraps are put into a compactor and hauled out in southeastern Travis County, where they are composted.”

Are you still looking for the perfect place? Look no further! We have the location, affordability, and a friendly staff with the best maintenance service in the campus area!

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Thursday, March 3, 2011 | The Daily Texan | Austin Myers, Wire Editor | dailytexanonline.com

Eastern Libyan battle ends in rebel victory By Paul Schemm The Associated Press

B R E G A â&#x20AC;&#x201D; R e b e l forc e s routed troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi in a fierce battle over an oil port Wednesday, scrambling over the dunes of a Mediterranean beach through shelling and an airstrike to corner their attackers. While they thwarted the regimeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first counteroffensive in eastern Libya, opposition leaders still pleaded for outside airstrikes to help them oust the longtime leader. The attack on Brega, a strategic oil facility 460 miles east of Gadhafiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stronghold in Tripoli, illustrated the deep difficulties the Libyan leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s armed forces â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an array of militiamen, mercenaries and military units â&#x20AC;&#x201D; have had in rolling back the uprising that has swept over the entire eastern half of Libya since Feb. 15. In the capital of Tripoli, Gadhafi warned against U.S. or other Western intervention, vowing to turn Libya into â&#x20AC;&#x153;another Vietnam,â&#x20AC;? and saying any foreign troops coming into his country â&#x20AC;&#x153;will be entering hell and they will drown in blood.â&#x20AC;? At le ast 10 ant i-Gad haf i fighters were killed and 18 wounded in the battle for Brega, Libyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second-largest petroleum facility, which the opposition has held since last week. Citizen militias flowed in from a nearby city and from the opposition stronghold of Benghazi hours away to reinforce the defense, finally repelling the regime loyalists. The attack began just after dawn, when several hundred pro-Gadhafi forces in 50 trucks and SUVs mounted with machine guns descended on the

Hussein Malla | Associated Press

port, driving out a small opposition contingent and seizing control of the oil facilities, port and airstrip. But by afternoon, they had lost it all and had retreated to a university campus 5 miles away. There, opposition fighters besieged them, clambering from the beach up a hill to the campus as mortars and heavy machine gun fire blasted around them. They took cover behind grassy dunes, firing back with assault rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers. At one point, a warplane struck in the dunes to try to disperse them, but it caused no casualties and the siege continued. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The dogs have fled,â&#x20AC;? one middle-aged fighter shouted,

waving his Kalashnikov in victory after Gadhafiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forces withdrew from the town before dusk. Car horns honked and people fired assault rifles in the air in celebration. For the past week, pro-Gadhafi forces have been focusing on the west, securing Tripoli and trying to take back nearby rebel-held cities. But the regime has seemed to struggle to bring an overwhelming force to bear against cities largely defended by local residents using weapons looted from storehouses and backed by allied army units. Council spokesman AbdelHaf iz Hoga said the counci l urged airst r i kes on t he â&#x20AC;&#x153;strongholds of the mercenar-

ies .... used against civilians and people.â&#x20AC;? The attack on Brega was the first major action by Gadhafi forces against the long swath of eastern Libya that is in opposition hands, extending from the oil port all the way to the Egyptian border, nearly half the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1,000-mile Mediterranean coast. The bodies of the dead and wounded were covered with sand from shells bursting in the dunes, doctors at Brega hospital said. Angry crowds gathered around them at the hospital, chanting, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The blood of martyrs will not go in vain.â&#x20AC;? Brega is the second-largest hydrocarbon complex in OPEC-member Libya.

Pope exonerates Jews for death of Jesus in book By Nicole Winfield The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Pope Benedict XVI has made a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ, tackling one of the most controversial issues in Christianity in a new book. In â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jesus of Nazareth-Part IIâ&#x20AC;? excerpts released Wednesday, Benedict explains biblically and theolog-

NEWS BRIEFLY Dog eats part of ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foot, puts man in serious condition ROSEBURG â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A diabetic Oregon man with no feeling in his feet woke up to find his dog had eaten part of his right foot, including three toes. The Roseburg News-Review reports that the 61-year-old man, whose name was not disclosed, was in serious condition after calling 911 at about 3 a.m. on Tuesday. The man told emergency responders that he fell asleep on his couch and woke up to find pieces of his foot missing. Roseburg veterinarian Alan Ross says he may have been attracted to the foot if it were infected or gangrenous. Ross says the dog doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need corrective action because it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t â&#x20AC;&#x153;acting out of meanness.â&#x20AC;?

ically why there is no basis in Scripture for the argument that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; death. Interpretations to the contrary have been used for centuries to justify the persecution of Jews. While the Catholic Church has for five decades taught that Jews werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t collectively responsible, Jewish scholars said Wednesday the argument laid out by the pontiff was a land-

mark statement that would help fight anti-Semitism today. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holocaust survivors know only too well how the centuries-long charge of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Christ killerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; against the Jews created a poisonous climate of hate that was the foundation of antiSemitic persecution whose ultimate expression was realized in the Holocaust,â&#x20AC;? said Elan Steinberg of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants.

B=<756B The University Co-op and the Harry Ransom Center present

8]V\ :OV` THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 7 P.M. John Lahr, Senior Drama Critic of The New Yorker, presents â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tennessee Williams and the Out-Crying Heartâ&#x20AC;? in conjunction with the Ransom Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exhibition Becoming Tennessee Williams.

FREE, BUT LIMITED SEATING Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Jessen Auditorium The University of Texas at Austin www.hrc.utexas.edu/events 512-471-8944

Wisconsin legislators attempt to illegalize falsified caller ID MADISON â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Republican legislators in Wisconsin are trying to outlaw the use of phony caller ID services â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but deny it has anything to do with a recent high-profile prank call to Gov. Scott Walker. The bill would ban attempts to â&#x20AC;&#x153;defraud, cause harm, or gain anything of valueâ&#x20AC;? by generating a fake phone number to appear on a recipientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s caller ID. Rep. Mark Honadel says the timing has no connection to the prank call in which Walker was duped into discussing his strategy to cripple public employee unions. Honadel co-sponsored similar legislation last session. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Compiled from Associated Press reports

Secretary of State strains Chinese trade relations By Matthew Pennington The Associated Press

Libyan rebels sit on their tank as they move forward to battle against pro-Moammar Gadhafi fighters in Brega, Libya, on Wednesday. Regime opponents battled forces loyal to Gadhafi who tried Wednesday to retake a key oil installation in a counteroffensive against the rebel-held eastern half of the country.

Honoring former University of Texas Chancellor Harry Huntt Ransom, the Harry Ransom Lectures bring internationally renowned writers, artists, and scholars to Austin for a public event and conversations with the University community. Sponsored by the University Co-op (www.universitycoop.com).

WASHINGTON, D.C. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The U.S. risks falling behind China in the competition for global influence as Beijing woos leaders in the resource-rich Pacific, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday. Her unusually strong comments before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are certain to anger the communist power, especially in light of Chinese President Hu Jintaoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent high-profile visit to Washington, seen as boosting trust and trade between the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two largest economies. As Clinton railed against cuts sought by Republican to the U.S. foreign aid program, she told senators, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are at competition for influence with China. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s put aside the humanitarian, do-good side of what we believe in. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just talk straight realpolitik. We are in competition with China.â&#x20AC;? She noted a â&#x20AC;&#x153;huge energy findâ&#x20AC;? in Papua New Guinea by Exxon Mobil Corp., which has begun drilling for natural gas there. Clinton said China was jockeying for influence in the region and seeing how it could â&#x20AC;&#x153;come in behind us and come in under us.â&#x20AC;? Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top diplomat accused China of supporting a dictatorial government in Fiji, where plans to reopen an office of the U.S. Agency for International Development would be shelved under a resolution passed last month by the Republican-led House. Clinton also said China had brought all the leaders of small Pacific nations to Beijing and â&#x20AC;&#x153;wined them and dined them.â&#x20AC;? She said foreign assistance was important on humanitarian and moral grounds, but also strate-

gically essential for Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global influence. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I mean, if anybody thinks that our retreating on these issues is somehow going to be irrelevant to the maintenance of our leadership in a world where we are competing with China, where we are competing with Iran, that is a mistaken notion,â&#x20AC;? Clinton said. The administration has said it is important to get along with China because of their shared interests in global stability and their deep economic ties. China holds $1.16 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities, helping finance the vast U.S. government deficit. Charles Freeman, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the U.S. was â&#x20AC;&#x153;unquestionablyâ&#x20AC;? involved in a â&#x20AC;&#x153;soft power competition with China. But this isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a hard power, Cold War exercise.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Beijing gets nervous when we talk about competition in any form,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hints of Cold War rivalry make them frantic.â&#x20AC;?

Scott Applewhite | Associated Press

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

OpiniOn

Thursday, March 3, 2011 | The Daily Texan | Lauren Winchester, Editor-in-Chief | (512) 232-2212 | editor@dailytexanonline.com

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OVerVIeW Vote today

Tonight students will learn the winners of the campus-wide Student Government elections, as well as those elected to serve on the Union, Co-op and Texas Student Media boards. While it is easy to dismiss Student Government as an indulgent, unimportant waste of time, voting in these elections, which last until 5 p.m. today, is important because SG has a tangible influence on the budget decisions. Those who are elected by the student body will have the opportunity to influence University policy, and they will be tasked with representing students in budgeting decisions. With budget cuts affecting every aspect of the University, a strong voter turnout is necessary for effective student representation in the budget cutting process. From the student body president sitting on Tuition Policy Advisory Committee to the Invest in Texas legislative lobbying initiative, SG serves as the voice of UT students to administrators and lawmakers alike. With this in mind, students should vote for their peers to ensure adequate and appropriate representation. In addition to budget issues, high voter turnout is necessary for the spirit of the new SG reforms to be realized. Reforms were enacted in an attempt to make SG more open and appealing to the larger student body. Unless the first assembly under the new reforms is elected by a large plurality of students then the effort of making SG more available to the UT student body will be moot. However, if students show up to the polls then the new assembly will have a real opportunity and mandate to execute the larger purpose of the reforms and openly represent the entire student body. Cast your vote at http://utsg.org.

Smoking ban disappoints Student Government voted Tuesday to begin a seven-year process of eliminating smoking on campus. At a time when SG should be devoting virtually all of its efforts to the singular goal of protecting academic and student interests from budget cuts, spending time and resources on a non-pressing issue such as a smoking ban is counterproductive. There is no immediate reason campus must go smoke-free right now, as evidenced by the seven-year plan SG approved, and discussing this issue in the current economic climate is a distraction from more important issues. Furthermore, many of the grievances that supporters claim warrant a smoking ban can be addressed by simply enforcing already existing rules and practicing common courtesy. One goal of banning smoking is to make campus more environmentally friendly, however, there are already mechanisms in place to minimize the environmental impact of smoking. Smokers are already required to discard cigarette butts in designated containers, and they are prohibited from smoking within 20 feet of a building’s entryway or smoking indoors. Enforcing these already existing restrictions is a more reasonable approach than the multiphase, multiyear plan SG adopted on Tuesday. Some aspects of the legislation are encouraging, such as extending University Health Services’ smoking cessation program, but the decision to immediately and prominently address the issue of smoking on campus is a disappointing move.

THe FIrINg lINe Voice for equality While we have made noticeable progress in the fight for equality for the LGBTQ community, this population continues to experience countless forms of oppression and discrimination daily. Our lawmakers are meeting right now and determining the fate of people across Texas on a wide range of topics. Monday is Lobby Day for Equality Texas, and I plan to join them at the Texas Capitol in support of equality. There are six bills pending before legislators this session that cover anti-bullying legislation, insurance and employment discrimination, prejudice toward same-sex adoptive parents and even a study challenging the effectiveness of the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act. Did you know that in Texas, you can still be fired for being gay or even being perceived as gay? Did you also know that when same-sex parents adopt a child, only one parent gets to be acknowledged on the birth certificate, which leads to future complications for that child? I think we all know that bullying in schools has reached epidemic levels, but did you know at least one out of every 16 Texas students was physically assaulted at school during the previous year because someone thought they were “gay?” How many hard working Texans have to lose their job because of who they love? How many children have to take their own life to escape the daily onslaught of bullying they face at school? Now is the time to take action whether you are fighting for your own rights or the rights of others. If you need extra motivation, Google the story of Asher Brown and choose to fight for those who no longer can. Join me on March 7 for Equality Texas Lobby Day. I am making sure my voice for Equality is heard. Are you? http://EQTXLobbyDay.com

A problem worth solving By Kate Clabby Daily Texan Columnist

In the city of Austin, you pay for most of the water you use twice: once when it comes into your house and once when it goes out. Your water bill covers the costs of extracting water from Lake Austin or Town Lake, filtering it and treating until it is clean enough to drink and delivering it to your home. Your wastewater bill covers the costs of cleaning the water you’ve used and getting it up to EPA standards before it is released back into the Colorado River. Since wastewater is much dirtier than lake water, wastewater treatment costs the Austin Water Utility more than drinking water treatment. Consequently, most people find that their wastewater bills are higher than their water bills. The Austin Water Utility measures each household’s water use with a water meter. But it would be expensive to meter water again when it’s on its way out to charge you for wastewater services, they estimate. The majority of water that’s not sent back as wastewater is used for landscaping — watering lawns and gardens. Since most people use very little water for landscaping during the winter, the city assumes that your total water use during the winter is a good estimate of your wastewater use throughout the year. They measure your water use during the three winter billing periods, from midNovember to mid-March, drop the billing period with the highest water use, and average the lowest two. This number is then used as the cap for your wastewater bill for the entire year. [So if you use 2,000 gallons of

water in each of the winter months but 3,000 in July, you’ll be charged for 2,000 gallons of water and 2,000 gallons of wastewater in December, and 3,000 gallons of water but only 2,000 gallons of wastewater in July.] For most households, this system works pretty well. Some people have slightly higher wastewater bills than they should, but it keeps the city from having to install expensive wastewater meters and raise rates for everyone. But for urban farmers, inaccurate wastewater bills can make water prohibitively expensive. Urban Patchwork Neighborhood Farms, a local nonprofit, helps new urban farms start community farms on their neighbors’ unused yard space. In Central Texas, we’re lucky to be able to farm and garden yearround — but even in the winter, fruits and vegetables need water. Since Urban Patchwork’s plots are located on residential properties, the water they use for irrigation during the winter is counted toward the homeowners’ wastewater averages, and raises their wastewater bills for the entire year. There is no way to prove what the water is being used for without installing a separate outdoor water meter, which would cost around $1,000. So, according to Urban Patchwork director Paige Hill, one of their properties currently pays twice the wastewater bill that it should. The other problem urban farmers such as Hill face is that the Austin Water Utility uses a tiered pricing structure for water, so households that use more water pay more for every unit of water they use. So, your neighbor pays more for the water he uses to fill his swimming pool than you pay for

water that you use mostly for drinking and showering. Like most Americans, citizens of Austin waste a lot of water, so I think that this tiered pricing structure is generally a good thing. But using water to grow food is not wasteful. In fact, we should want more urban farms in our city for a lot of reasons: They can provide affordable, healthy food to underserved people, they stimulate local economies and they provide all the benefits associated with urban “green space.” Urban Patchwork makes water conservation a top priority, and is working to expand their sources of water to include alternatives, like rainwater collection systems. But still, Hill says, “we stretch our water usage to the detriment of the community by not watering as much as we should. That means that we produce less food than we could on the same amount of space.” While this may be a reasonable option for rural farmers, in the city, space is at a premium. It makes sense for urban farmers to try to grow as much food as possible on small amounts of land. If we want to encourage urban farming, we should find a way to make it more feasible by offering farmers fair water prices that reflect the way that they actually use water. Maybe we need a more accurate way of measuring wastewater use. Maybe we need exemptions for businesses and nonprofits that grow food for sale. We’ll have to be creative, and we’ll need people with many different skill sets, from law to engineering to economics, to solve this problem. But if you value healthy food and livable communities, it’s a problem worth solving. Clabby is an English senior.

gallery

— Jessica Hutson

Sheesh Really? Not one word about Texas Independence Day in The Daily Texan? Nope. Not even a passing notice in “Today in History.” And not just Texas Independence Day but the 175th anniversary of Texas Independence Day. For those who still care, the original Texas Declaration of Independence will be on rare public display at the Texas State Library at 1201 Brazos until April 21 (another important date in Texas history ... look it up). Sheesh,

— Alan McKendree UT staff

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.

5 UNIV

NEWS 5

Thursday, March 3, 2011

UT Police Department uses GPS in order to catch bicycle thieves By Victoria Pagan Daily Texan Staff

In an effort to catch bicycle thieves, UT Police Department has been planting “bait bikes” with GPS trackers around campus since January. When former officer Larry Robertson came across GPS technology as a way to track personal belongings, the workings of a UT program to plant GPS trackers on bicycles began, said Officer Roberto Gonzalez. “This program has developed over a long period of time,” Gonzalez said. “The whole premise with this program is to do community policing projects as individual officers to address property theft, which is the No. 1 crime on campus.” The program was meant to be kept under wraps for as long as possible but was discovered when the arrest affidavits of individuals caught through the program reached public records, said Captain Julie A. Gillespie. “About five arrests have been made,” Gillespie said. “They have all been different, but the majority of them have been repeat offenders.” Bike thefts on campus also had no specific patterns regarding time or location, she said. “We run three shifts a day, and all three

WAX ON, WAX OFF Window washers clean the windows and the sides of a government office building on the corner of 15th and Guadalupe streets Wednesday morning. The building houses the Texas Attorney General’s office and child support services among other things.

shifts have been involved in the arrests,” Gillespie said. The baited bikes are placed in various high-traffic bike areas around campus and are under constant surveillance, Gonzalez said . “Their services use global positioning along with the wireless cellular data networks and satellite mapping to enable the user to follow and track their assets on the Internet,” Gonzalez said. UTPD collaborated with other organizations — including the Orange Bike Project, a campus initiative that allows students to rent and fix bicycles — to gather information and resources needed to get the project in motion, Gonzalez said. “Roberto Gonzalez asked for any services or resources that we could spare and help them with setting up the program,” said Orange Bike Project coordinator Desiree French. “We had our volunteers pick out a bicycle that would work out for their bike program and also donated lesser quality bike locks, self-locking cables and older version U-locks.” Psychology senior Joey Cheng said he hopes the project can help others from feeling as hopeless as he did when his bike was stolen in West Campus in Fall 2009. “I actually didn’t report my bike stolen,” Cheng said. “I didn’t think the police could do anything really.”

Trent Lesikar Daily Texan Staff

82ND LEGISLATURE

Students take stand on latest immigration bills By Yvonne Marquez Daily Texan Staff

Undocumented UT students joined hundreds of other Texans to testify about proposed immigration bills before the Texas House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday. Adrian Reyna, a member of undocumented students and allies group University Leadership Initiative, said a bill from Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, would potentially hurt undocumented UT students’ ability to pay for higher education. One part of the bill repeals access to instate tuition for undocumented students, but Reyna said this comes from a misconception that he and other undocumented students are a drain on state finances. “We’re nothing but a benefit to the state,” said Reyna, whose family immigrated illegally to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 11. Reyna cited the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which said for fiscal year 2009, undocumented students

Shereen Ayub | Daily Texan Staff

UTPD has placed dummy bikes with GPS tracking devices around campus in order to apprehend bike thieves. Approximately five arrests have already been made.

paid $9.5 million out-of-pocket for tuition. That money came from families and went directly to the economy, he said. Plan II freshman and undocumented student Prithvi Shahi said he wanted to testify against the bill because if it passes, many students like himself wouldn’t be able to go to college because of the cost of out-of-state tuition. Shahi came to the U.S. from Nepal when he was 7. “I’ve really become Americanized — there’s no doubting that,” he said. “All of my ideologies and all my preferences and interests all have been shaped by American culture by friends and teachers. I’m here to testify, so others have the same opportunity to pursue their goals in college.” Equal Justice Center director Bill Beardall said several of these bills would make wage theft worse. “It will encourage unscrupulous employers to hire more undocumented workers in order to exploit them,” he said. One bill from Rep. Burt Solomons, R-

Carrollton, would prohibit cities from creating policies that prevent police from verifying immigration status during stops or arrests. Beardall said Solomon’s bill would lower wages and reduce job opportunities for U.S. citizen workers and puts legitimate employers at a disadvantage. He said undocumented workers will be too afraid to turn unscrupulous employers in to the authorities because of these bills. However, some of the testimony at the public hearing was in support of the 16 immigration bills discussed. Houston resident Sue Salter testified before the committee about her husband, former Houston police officer Rick Salter, who was shot in the face by an illegal immigrant last year. Rick was in a coma for 30 days and cannot speak clearly anymore. She said she wants legislators to remember her family’s tragedy. “What happens to innocent Americans who have to deal with the consequences of illegal immigration for the rest of our lives?” Salter said.

Study examines attitudes of desegregation By Molly Moore Daily Texan Staff

Black students are more likely to support affirmative action and desegregation policies than white students, according to a recently released UT study. The study, conducted in 2008, took the student population of a well-integrated Midwestern high school and split it in half, showing one group an affirmative action plan and the other a desegregation plan for the district. The object of the study was to find which factors correlated to a student’s support for either of the policies. The most indicative factor was a student’s level of awareness, said psychology professor Rebecca Bigler, who led of the study. “How much a student knows about current inequalities and how

the student explains these inequalities is the most important factor in deciding how the student will react to policies involving affirmative action,” Bigler said. Students, black or white, who attributed these inequalities to racism also supported affirmative action policies in three out of four cases, she said. But those who attributed the inequalities to other causes, such as laziness, showed much lower support for such policies. Bigler cites a lack of proper conversation at home as the primary cause. “White people generally adopted a colorblind philosophy [when dealing with race], but the problem is that when they don’t talk about it with their kids and the kid notices it, the kid has to explain it for herself,” she said. “And often their conclusions are not based on reality or fact.” These findings didn’t surprise

associate sociology professor Keith Robinson. “[White parents] see it as a way forward, where race is no longer an issue, which is a good thought, but there has to be a healthy way to get there,” Robinson said. “And the healthiest route is where we’re all walking together.” People think desegregation has been achieved because of Brown vs. Board of Education, however, schools are still as bad as they were in 1965, Robinson said. Robinson said open conversation is the first step to achieving true equality. “We’ve been reluctant to sit down and talk about racial relations as they stand today,” he said. “And it’s not just one conversation we need to have. It needs to be a conversation amongst all U.S. citizens, until we’re no longer afraid to talk about race.”

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

EXPLORE UT Join us on campus for a day of discovery, learning and fun at

The Biggest Open House in Texas

Saturday, March 5, 2011 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Rain or shine

See complete schedule of Explore UT events in tomorrow’s Daily Texan

Vote online at UTEXASVOTE.COM

STUDENT GOVERNMENT Executive Alliance (1 Vote) David McQuary and Hannah Oley Andrew Nash and Melanie Schwartz Spencer Scorcelletti and Aaron West Abel Mulugheta and Sameer Desai Natalie Butler and Ashley Baker University Wide (8 Votes) John Powers Rosa Gutierrez Pedro Villalobos Luke Stone Joe Marshall Diptoroop Mukherjee Samantha Smith Bekah Thayer Yaman Desai Daniel Olvera Laurel Pugliese Wesley Williams Matt Hicks Him Ranjit Charles G. Stephens Melody R. Price Kristin Thompson Chase Covington Business (3 Votes) John David Roberts Sam Leonard Chris Fellows Phillip Graham Charles Branch Taylor Ragsdale Eric Allen Communication (2 Votes) Jannah Deis Casey Kelly Ian Lancaster Ashley Carlisle Education (1 Vote) Charley Aberg Engineering (3 Votes) Kevin Yuan Cyrus Iqbal Allison Ginger Michael Gaskin

Activities are free. No registration required.

www.utexas.edu/events/exploreut

Fine Arts (1 Vote) Bernadette De La Cruz LBJ Public Affairs (1 Vote) Phillip A. Nevels Liberal Arts (4 Votes) Aadi Kaul Avery Walker Janette Martinez Duncan Widmann Horacio Villarreal Crystal Zhao Kolby Lee Laramie Stroud John Alexander Lawler Natural Science (4 Votes) Joseph Lee Roxanne Weiss Desmond Schipper Morgan Stewart Brian Ross Robert Lorenz Nursing (1 Vote) Jaclyn Rosenthal Pharmacy (1 Vote) Steven Schultz Veronica Fassio Social Work (1 Vote) Viridiana Medellin Undergraduate Studies (1 Vote) Jessie Bearden Garrett Riou TEXAS STUDENT MEDIA TSM College of Communication, Place 1 (1 Vote) Julia Newtown Sheridan Smith TSM College of Communication, Place 2 (1 Vote) Tristan Mace Aleksandra Utterback TSM at Large, Place 5 (1 Vote) Nick Zajicek

The Daily Texan Editor (1 Vote) Viviana Aldous UNIVERSITY UNIONS Student Events Center President (1 Vote) Cameron Allison University Unions Board of Directors (2 Votes) Nhi P. Tran Adibfar Itrat Sarah Lee Sanyam Sharma Cody Johnson Givens Miller University Co-Op Board of Directors (2 Votes) Elizabeth Stone, McCombs School of Business John Singleton, College of Natural Sciences Owais Durrani, College of Natural Sciences Michelle Niakan, McCombs School of Business Alex Jones, College of Communication GRADUATE STUDENT ASSEMBLY Graduate Student Assembly President (1 Vote) Manuel Gonzalez Austin Carlson GSA Vice President for Internal Affairs (1 Vote) Alden Harris GSA Vice President for External Affairs (1 Vote) Reid Long Vote online at utexasvote.com 8AM March 2 to 5PM March 3

6 S/L

NEWS

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Public sector, nonprofit jobs see increase in college applicants During difficult economic times, college graduates may be more willing to consider lowerpaying jobs outside the corporate sector, said Communication Career Services Director of Placement Matthew Berndt. In 2009, 16 percent more college graduates across the nation worked for the federal government than in 2008, according to a New York Times analysis of American Community Survey data. That same year, there was an 11-percent increase in graduates working for nonprofit groups, according to the article. Berndt said the recession has made college graduates consider more than just salary when looking for a job.

“It’s gotten job seekers to consider other alternatives and not put blinders on and decide they know what they’re going to do without really knowing first,” he said. Berndt said he expects the number of government jobs available to college students to stagnate or decrease as agencies on every level face budget deficits. He also said he expects the number of graduates employed in nonprofits to decline when the economy recovers. “When the economy takes off again, and these same corporate people can see that now they can make a whole lot more money back in the corporate world, then they switch back,” he said. “They’re willing to take the trade-off of less stable for greater money.” Lana Morris, a career services

coordinator for the LBJ School of Public Affairs, said the percentage of graduates from the LBJ school employed in the public sector dropped from 64 percent in 2007 to about 49 percent in 2008. Morris said the large drop occurred

“

build again,” she said. Morris said public service sector employment decreased to 42 percent in 2009 and rose to 46 percent in 2010. In 2008, the percent of graduates employed in the nonprofit sector was 22 per-

crease the percentage of public affairs graduates employed in the nonprofit sector. “As government services end or cut, the nonprofit sector will step up and help replace some of those services,” she said.

“

By Allison Harris Daily Texan Staff

Many, many thousands of public employees will be retiring in the next five to six years. I think that’s going to dramatically increase the hiring that they have to [do], in spite of budget cuts. — Lana Morris, Career Services Coordinator for the LBJ School of Public Affairs

when government outsourced work to the private sector. “I’m seeing a little bit of a trend in the public sector of going back to direct hiring, so I expect that to

cent. That figure rose to 27 perMorris said the percentage of cent in 2009 and dipped to 22 graduates employed in the pubpercent in 2010. lic sector will increase despite Morris said cuts to govern- budget cuts. ment budgets would likely in“Many, many thousands of

public employees will be retiring in the next five to six years,” she said. “I think that’s going to dramatically increase the hiring that they have to [do], in spite of budget cuts.” Tim McManus, vice president for education and outreach for the non-partisan group Partnership for Public Service, said more college students have been interested in working for the federal government since 2008. He attributed this to both the economy and more students being interested in making a difference. “A lot of schools, whether it’s at the elementary school level, middle school level, high school, even college, have been pushed more to engage in volunteer activities,” he said. “I think that students have actually embraced that with open arms.”

Grad student String Project to be housed in upcoming music space By Victoria Pagan Daily Texan Staff

A project designed to give teaching opportunities to graduate students and music experience to pre-college-aged students inspired the recent approval of a new academy of music on campus. After Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music administrators identified a need for more space for its String Project program, they decided to build the new 60,000-squarefoot academy, said Butler School Program Coordinator Nathan Russell. “The suggested square footage is based on the kinds of programs we were hoping to run,” Russell said. “It’s based on the amount of square footage the String Project currently uses and how we need to expand that to meet our goal.” The String Project lets graduate students teach classes to pre-college students with faculty supervision, Russell said. “The String Project is run by the graduate students to hone their pedagogical skills,” Russell said. “They teach group string classes and ensembles, musicianship classes and private instruction, all under faculty supervision.” The new academy of music will expand the String Project and similar projects offered at the Butler School of Music, as well as offer new programs for post-college adults and young children, said Glen Chandler, director at the Butler School of Music. “Some of these will be opportunities for adults that maybe played an instrument in high school and now have a job to come here and get their hands back on an instrument,” Chandler said. “It also includes some expansion on music for early childhood.” Private funds, donations and fees for the classes will fund the academy, so it will not require any state or tuition funding, Chandler said. “It’s important for people to understand that everything that we do in the String Project is self-funded,” Chandler said. The project is also a great opportunity for graduate students because they receive school funding through the classes that they teach, Chandler said. “This is exciting because of three major things,” Chandler said. “Pedagogical training, financial aid for students involved in it and a cultural opportunity for our community to take advantage of.”

7 SPTS

SPORTS

AQUATIC CLASSES LEARNING

STARTS HERE

www.utrecsports.org

WEISS

Thursday, March 3, 2011 | THE DAILY TEXAN | Will Anderson, Sports Editor | (512) 232-2210 | sports@dailytexanonline.com

SIDELINE

BASEBALL

beyond his

SPURS

CAVALIERS

NCAA BASKETBALL TEXAS A&M

ERICH WEISS

YEARS

NBA

Class: Freshman Hometown: Brenham, Texas Position: Third Base Average: .538

TWEET OF THE DAY

By Trey Scott

aybe Erich Weiss didn’t know that

baseman to bring in another run. In his final at-bat

freshmen aren’t usually this good.

of the game, he drew a walk with the bases loaded to

They aren’t supposed to lead their

team in hits, batting average, walks, RBIs, slugging percentage or on-

Tristan Thompson

@RealTristan13

bring in another run. The lefty would finish his day with three hits,

Play time is over. Either you join us, or become a victim.

three RBIs and a drawn walk. It was a sign of

hit .538 after eight games and think that they can keep

next three games and finish the weekend with an

it up. There’s no way an undrafted freshman could ever

astronomically high batting average of .818 — an

be the best offensive player on an elite team.

opening week for the ages.

ard dw nE

things to come, as he would get six more hits in the Rya

base percentage. It’s silly that somebody so young can

said head coach Augie Garrido. “When you get on

a Tex

base 17 out of 21 times, there’s magic in that.”

le p

n fi

And yet, after such an impressive debut and start

ed patiently for the pitch he wanted, and then shot it

to the season, Weiss is somehow finding a way to re-

back into right field, deep enough for an RBI triple.

main undetected. On a campus littered with marquee

o hot

reer at-bat against Maryland on opening day, he wait-

aily

Weiss’ welcome-to-the-world moment came quicker than he could have ever imagined. In his first ca-

s|D

“I can’t remember ever seeing anything like that,”

Call it youthful ignorance.

KANSAS

BIG 12 STANDINGS 1

Kansas 28-2, 13-2

“I had read in the scouting report that their pitcher freshmen, from Jackson Jeffcoat and Mike Davis to

Texas 24-6, 12-3

[Sander Beck] throws a lot of sliders, so I was waiting Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, Weiss just might

Texas A&M 22-7, 9-6

for that,” Weiss said. “He made a little mistake and

be the most impressive and the most important of all

put it in a place where I could hit it. It was so crazy

of them, accounting for an extremely large chunk of

Kansas State 21-9, 9-6

to get a triple in my first at-bat. My heart was beat-

Texas’ offense. But he’s not the talk of the town. No-

Missouri 22-8, 8-7

ing really fast.”

body’s taking much notice. Not too many people

Baylor 18-11, 7-8

Nebraska 19-10, 7-8

Colorado 18-12, 7-8

Oklahoma State 18-11, 6-9

In his next plate appearance, he hit a single to cen-

WEISS continues on PAGE 8

ter field. He roped a hot shot over a leaping second

FOOTBALL

Texas defense has new look as team molds with coaches By Austin Laymance Daily Texan Staff

With only three practices under his belt as the Longhorns’ new defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz is still adjusting to life at Texas. But it isn’t just Diaz who is starting fresh. So are the players. “We are learning them, and they are learning us,” Diaz said. “The drills may be packaged a little differently, but everything Manny Diaz we’re trying to do is stressing atDefensive tention to detail. coordinator That is what is really important to us right now.” Diaz’s coaching style has been a stark change from the cut-and-dry outlook of former defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. The defense has responded favorably to Diaz. But there are still quite a few adjustments going on in spring practice as the players are exposed more and more to a new philosophy. “He has a lot of crazy ideas, and I think they can work,” said junior Alex Okafor. “Just know that we got some things coming.” Diaz’s decision to move Okafor back to defensive end isn’t exactly crazy. It was Muschamp’s choice to relocate the junior to defensive tackle in 2010 when the Longhorns were

DIAZ continues on PAGE 8

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

TEXAS TECH 59, TEXAS 83

Texas Tech 13-17, 5-10

Longhorns topple Tech on Senior Night

Oklahoma 12-17, 4-11

Iowa State 16-14, 3-12

By Alexandra Carreno Daily Texan Staff

SPORTS BRIEFLY

For the first time in what seemed like ages, the Longhorns were all smiles. They were smiling because of a last home win for the graduating seniors and for snapping a losing streak as Texas beat Texas Tech 83-59. “It feels good, we were all excited to play this game and send our seniors out with a win,” said junior Yvonne Anderson. “We had been practicing well, and it transferred to the game.” In the last leg of their schedule, it was time for Texas to shift into overdrive in pursuit of both a win and an NCAA bid. While the first half wasn’t pretty, the Longhorns looked like a completely different team: revived and invigorated.

HORNS continues on PAGE 8

NFL owners, players’ union meet as contract deadline approaches WASHINGTON — Locked in a multibillion dollar staredown, the NFL and the players’ union were expected to resume mediation Thursday morning, 15 hours before the current collective bargaining agreement expires. The sides have met for nine days before federal mediator George Cohen, with no reports of significant progress. They talked for four hours Wednesday, before the NFL contingent departed to attend a meeting of the 32 teams’ owners at a hotel 25 miles away in Chantilly, Va. Ryan Edwards | Daily Texan Staff

Texas senior guard Kathleen Nash tries to get open against Texas Tech’s Ebony Walker. In Nash’s final game at Frank Erwin Center, she scored eight points in 31 minutes.

Hot-handed Horns victorious as offense shoots season-best By Sameer Bhuchar Daily Texan Staff

Ryan Edwards | Daily Texan Staff

Freshmen Anne Marie Hartung, Chelsea Bass and Shanice McKoy head to the locker room before Texas’ game against Texas Tech.

Whoever said defense wins games didn’t watch last night’s Texas basketball game. The Texas women’s basketball team played perhaps its best offensive game of the conference season last night against Texas Tech, despite a suspect defensive performance for most of the match. “I can’t remember the last

time we shot 54 percent from the floor,” said Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors. She can’t remember because it hasn’t happened at all this season. The Longhorns not only shot a season-high 54.9 percent from the floor, but also a season-best 84 percent from the free-throw line. Texas seemed to channel its early season victories, when it cruised

TEXAS continues on PAGE 8

Red Raiders introduce Hocutt as school’s next athletic director Kirby Hocutt has been introduced as Texas Tech’s new athletic director, promising to work toward elevating the school to national prominence. Hocutt met with reporters and University officials Wednesday in Lubbock. The 39-year-old Hocutt resigned Friday as athletic director at Miami, where he had been for two-and-a-half years, and has been considered one of the rising administrators in college athletics. The native Texan, who played football at Kansas State, said he will begin at Texas Tech full-time by the end of March. He succeeds Gerald Myers, who will step down at the end of May after 15 years as athletic director. Myers will remain to ease the transition. Compiled from Associated Press reports

8 SPTS

8 SPORTS

Thursday, March 3, 2011

WOMEN’S GOLF

Freshman putts par, Texas finishes fifth in Wave invitational The third and final day of the Bruin Wave Invitational in Santa Clara, Calif., ended with freshman Rebecca Lee-Bentham finishing even in the tournament after leading through days one and two with below-par performances. Lee-Bentham finished round one with a one-underpar, finished round two with a two-under-par and stuck even on Wednesday with a third-round performance of over-over-par. She had four birdies on the seventh, ninth, 10th and 15th holes but four bogeys on the first, eighth, 13th and 14th holes. The rest were even par, except for the 16th hole, which was a double bogey. Her performance was good enough for a tie for fourth place in the tournament. Over all three days, Lee-Bentham totaled 12 birdies and only 10 bogeys or double bogeys. This tournament saw Lee-Bentham’s first below-par performance of her collegiate career during day one. She followed it up with another below-par performance on day two. Texas finished Wednesday with a 10-over-par at the Robinson Ranch Valley course, which is a par 72. The Longhorns placed sixth as a team overall in the tournament, with a scorecard of 35-over-

par, just shy of fifth place San Diego State University who ended 34-over-par. Sophomore Madison Pressel finished 12th, not too far behind LeeBentham. She ended the third day with a one-over-par; her final score for the tournament was five-overpar. She finished day one of the tournament with a four-over, the second day she finished even, and third with a one-over, giving her five-over. She finished Wednesday with two birdies on the second and 17th holes and three bogeys on the fourth, eighth and 16th holes. Her tournament total was seven birdies and ten bogeys. Sophomore Haley Stephens finished 33rd and sophomore Katelyn Sepmoree finished 45th, with a 14-over and 16-over, respectively. Rounding out the team, junior Nicole Vandermade finished 81st with a 38-over-par. UCLA walked home with top honors, with a final score of fourunder-par as a team. The top-three individual finishers of this tournament were all UCLA golfers, propelling them to the top of the leaderboard. Arizona finished second with a 16-over-par, and Pepperdine rounded out the top three with a 17-over-par. The Longhorn’s next tournament will begin March 20 at The Battle at Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego.

Bruin Wave International 1. UCLA -1 2. Pepperdine +8 4. San Diego State +21 5. Texas +25 6. Stanford +28 7. BYU +34 8. New Mexico +36 9. Long Beach State +41 10. New Mexico State +43 11. Oklahoma State +44 12. Oregon State +49

Ryan Edwards | Daily Texan file photo

Texas third baseman Erich Weiss looks to hit on Feb. 20 during the Longhorns’ 16-0 win over Maryland. Designated hitter Jonathan Walsh watches.

WEISS continues from PAGE 7 even know who he is, which is fine by him. “I’m okay with flying under the radar, I actually try to,” Weiss said. “I don’t like standing out that much. I’m just like anybody else on the team, I’m no different.” He insists he’s nothing special, but the numbers tell otherwise. His current .538 batting average is the best in the conference and one of the best in the nation. He’s tied for first on the team in runs, stolen bases and doubles, has just two strikeouts and is Texas’ leader in a variety of categories: 14 hits, three triples, eight RBIs, 22 times on base and seven drawn walks. His

fielding percentage at third base — one of the tougher positions — is .995, and he’s already had a share of highlight plays at the hot corner. The fact that Weiss expects to maintain these numbers exemplifies his confidence. “I think I can keep this up,” he said. “I just have to stick with my game and get the job done at the plate.” Calm and relaxed in the batter’s box — notwithstanding his opening-game jitters — Weiss is a cool customer off the field as well, says his roommate and best friend, freshman pitcher Corey Knebel. “Erich never even gets mad,” Knebel said. “He just likes to have

HORNS continues from PAGE 7 “I am thankful for second halves. I thought our second-half effort was really good,” said Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors. “In the first half I told the guards they were going east-west instead of north-south when attacking the basket. In the second half we played really some of our best basketball.” It was probable that the Red Raiders would be entering the match-up with a chip on their shoulder, as Texas had stolen a road game nail-biter from Tech by a count of 75-67 back in January. But the Longhorns weren’t phased. Tech shot 41.7 percent from the

field on Wednesday, as forward Teena Wickett led the Red Raiders with 14 points. “I like to say that Texas gave more at the second half,” said Tech guard Monique Smalls. “They came at us hard and we didn’t give that in return.” Revival came in many forms for the Longhorns on Wednesday evening. Freshman Chassidy Fussell pulled herself out of a two-game shooting slump. The guard quickly made her presence known by scoring Texas’ first four points. She rounded out her efforts with an impressive 23 points, making

DIAZ continues from PAGE 7 thin inside. With Muschamp’s departure and the emergence of Ashton Dorsey in camp, the stars have aligned for Okafor’s return to the edge. “When we went through off-season drills watching the way he moves and the way he works, we felt like he had the athleticism to be outside,” Diaz said. “So instead of being good enough inside, we want to see him be special outside.” Okafor welcomed the news and had been beefing up in the off-season in anticipation of playing tackle. “It feels good to be home,” he said. But position changes aren’t the only things that have the Longhorns excited about their newest coach. So far, Diaz has given the defense the freedom to roam and follow their instincts — something that was lacking in 2010. It’s that liberty to react on the fly that has senior safety Blake Gideon and the rest of the secondary thrilled. “He just wants you to make plays,” Gideon said. “That’s the thing he preaches all the time, to just play fast and hit and make plays, and [he] won’t be nitpicky.” Since his arrival in Austin, Diaz has been champing at the bit to get on the practice field and groom his defense. With only 15 days of spring practice and the first practice in full pads this Friday, he isn’t wasting any time. “On the door, it says ‘Coach’, but we do a lot of other stuff other than coach,” Diaz said. “When you think about it, there are only 15 days in the offseason when you really get to coach. Getting out there with the guys and getting on the grass and being able to instruct them, see them learn and see them get better, it is a big part of why we do what we do.” There’s no doubting Diaz’s enthusiasm for his profession, and his eagerness to get to down to work should have a lasting influence on a Texas team that clearly had a hangover from a National Championship loss heading into spring ball a year ago. Caleb Bryant Miller | Daily Texan file photo It’s too early to tell, but it looks like Brown Texas safety Blake Gideon returns an interception against Texas Tech last season on Sept. 18. may have chosen a fine replacement in Diaz.

fun, he’s always laughing and smiling. He used to be really shy but he’s gotten more comfortable.” His head coach agrees. “Erich has a great mentality, he just tries to keep the game simple,” Garrido said. “He enjoys playing the game, he’s not intimidated and he’s eager to learn. That’s why he is successful.” Weiss is confident in his play, but not at all cocky. He recognizes his feats but would never place them above the team’s goals. He understands that the numbers he has put up sets the bar higher for himself, such as when it’s a disappointment if he only goes two-for-four on the

game with just one RBI. “I can’t guarantee anything in terms of numbers,” Weiss said. “All I can try to do is go out and help the team win. If that calls for a .400 batting average, then so be it.” Garrido stresses the fact that baseball statistics can and will fluctuate, but he’s also quick to acknowledge his young star’s unreal production. “You look at the music industry and you see child prodigies all over the place,” he said. “Well, there’s brilliant baseball players too that just find the game comes easy. And that’s him.” As Erich Weiss is quick to prove, age is just a number.

four of her six three-pointers. Junior Ashley Gayle shined as she posted her sixth doubledouble of the season, tallying 14 points. The last time the post had scored in the double-digits was in late January, against none other than the Red Raiders. “She must really like to play against Tech. She had a great game,” Goestenkors said. “We knew she’s been due for a great game, and I am so happy for her.” Posting one of their best offensive efforts of conference play this season, the Longhorns tallied their largest margin of victory against a Big 12 opponent.

They shot a season-high 54.9 percent from the field and 86.4 percent from the free-throw line. In a game honoring the squad’s three senior members, the desire for a win was evident. Both seniors Kat and Kristen Nash played noteworthy minutes. Senior Sarah Lancaster entered the game with a little more than a minute left, but she entered to thunderous applause. “This was such a critical game for us. We needed to get this win, especially at home. We wanted to send the seniors out with a win at home,” Goestenkors said. “For so many reasons, it was important.”

TEXAS continues from PAGE 7 past easier opponents on the sched“I thought in the second half, we ule. The implications of this type of played really some of our best basketperformance are much more telling ball during that stretch,” Goestenkors of Texas’ grit given that Texas Tech is said. “It was that 13-0 run, where we one of the conference’s better teams. just pushed the ball.” “To be the team we want to be, and Texas’ defense eventually stepped we are when we are at our best, we up as well at about the halfway mark have got to have that attack mindset,” of the second period. Red Raider Goestenkors said. guard Monique Smalls lamented the At the helm of Texas’ offense was fact the her team was not able to refreshman guard Chassidy Fussell. spond to the Longhorns’ sense of urFussell, who spent gency on both the past two days ends of the floor resting her legs in that half. and soaking in The offense ice baths at Goesdidn’t just come tenkor’s request. from Fussell. A She opened myriad of Longthe game streakhorns stepped ing the f loor up in one of this and posted Texseason’s most as’ first two bascrucial games. kets. When it was Yvonne Anderall said and done, son notched 19 the guard was points, while back to her usu— Gail Goestenkors, Head coach Ashleigh Fonal self, posting 23 tenette added points on 7-of-15 12. Even Ashley shooting. It was Gayle, known for the 13th time she her defense, addhas led the Longed 14 points. It horns in scoring this season. was the first time she has scored in the “I guess everybody has good and double digits since playing Texas Tech bad games,” Fussell said. “And I just in Lubbock in January. had two bad games, but I put it in my Senior Kathleen Nash, whose last teammates’ hands to help me bring shot at the Frank Erwin Center was my game up, and they did tonight.” a successful three-pointer in the final Though their passes were crisp minute of the game, said she couldn’t and their tempo swift, on the oth- have scripted that any better. But in er end of the floor the Longhorns a game where offense ruled, it only were simply trading baskets. At half- seemed fitting. time, Texas Tech guard Casey MorNash also said that the Longhorns ris knocked in a three at the buzz- will not dwell on the euphoria of this er to even the score at 31. Texas was much-needed victory. It may have helpless playing interior defense, al- been her last game in Austin, but lowing 20 points in the paint. with the Big 12 and NCAA tournaThe second period was a different ments looming she certainly doesn’t offensive story. want the season to end prematurely.

“

To be the team we want to be, and we are when we are at our best, we have got to have that attack mindset.

“

By Stephanie Yarbrough Daily Texan Staff

9 COMICS

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10 LIFE&ARTS

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Bloggers preach pros of ‘young adult’ novels for all ages By Katie Stroh Daily Texan Staff

To those who believe that books written for teens aren’t “real” literature: bloggers Sarah Pitre and Jenny Bragdon are here to convert you. The Austin-based duo, who run the popular book blog Forever Young Adult, make it their mission to preach the gospel of young adult literature. Contrary to the common perception of the young adult book genre, young adult literature isn’t just for vampire-obsessed teens. Over the past few years, many adults have been discovering the flourishing genre, which, apart from being one of the few bright spots of an ailing publishing industry in terms of sales, is largely written with an astounding level of sophistication and thoughtfulness. The young adult genre encompasses an incredible variety of subgenres. Pitre, 31, said that the only real criterion for a book to be labeled as “young adult” is a focus on a teenage character. This broad definition of young adult literature allows for an incredibly diverse collection of books sold under the young adult label. Bragdon, 37, says that she discovered young adult literature after becoming disenchanted with the hopelessness and cynicism she constantly encountered within mainstream adult literature. “I read a lot of critically-acclaimed books and best-sellers that were supposed to be ‘real literature,’” Bragdon said. “I found that they were largely written about irredeemable people who have nothing but regret and sourness. There was nothing that I really related to, because, although I’m not a young adult anymore, I still look at life with hope. YA is all about growing and changing and learning and I don’t think that stops at adulthood. When I discovered young adult books, it sort of recaptured that feeling.” Pitre created Forever Young Adult in July of 2009 and soon recruited Bragdon to contribute. The blog now has a total of five writers, including Pitre and Bragdon. Pitre created the blog as a way for her to write about her favorite young adult books from an adult perspective. “There are a lot of young adult book blogs out there, but there wasn’t one designed for people that aren’t teenagers,” Pitre said. “I wanted a community where I could share ideas about young adult literature with other adults and not feel ashamed going into the teenage section of the bookstore.” Forever Young Adult also serves as a way to spread the word about young adult books converting those

Ryan Propes | Daily Texan Staff

Sarah Pitre, left, and Jenny Bragdon, right, enjoy a couple of drinks to the tune of young adult novels. Both women are active bloggers for Forever Young Adult, a blog dedicated to enticing adults to read novels usually aimed at teenagers.

who might feel skeptical about reading books written for teens; a practice they call “YAngelism.” Bragdon and Pitre especially enjoy YAngelizing those who are initially derisive and skeptical of young adult novels — a viewpoint they largely attribute to the “Twilight” books. “We do a lot of damage control on our site because of ‘Twilight,’” Pitre said. “But we just consider it a fun challenge. I love pushing books on people to make them realize that there are, like, a thousand books that are way more romantic, way better written and don’t have creepy stalkers.” A hallmark of the Forever Young Adult bloggers is their playful, bantering style and irreverent sense of humor. One of the blog’s most entertaining entries, written by Bragdon, details a “Twilight: New Moon” movie drinking game (“Take One Drink: Whenever Edward and Bella stare silently at each other. Whenever someone says the word ‘monkey.’

Whenever Edward does something creepy or possessive and Bella finds it romantic.”) Forever Young Adult’s writers have even developed their own distinct slang for discussing and reviewing young adult books, rife with pop culture references and inside jokes. The blog includes a lexicon designed to familiarize new readers with the blog’s inventive book rating criteria. Terms include: “Gateway Book: (n) a book that easily lures people into the world of YA;” “Fred Savage: (v) to immediately detest a book based on one factor. Taken from The Princess Bride, in which a young Fred Savage asks: ‘Is this a kissing book?’” “Jorts: (n) jean shorts. Most famously modeled by Taylor Lautner in the film New Moon.” “A lot of it is just how we talk,” Pitre said. “If you’re involved in the young adult genre, you already live in a world that’s a little weirder or stranger than everybody else. So having a sort of language makes us

feel like a community.” Since Forever Young Adult is written with adults in mind, Pitre acknowledges that there is some conflict between the blog’s mature viewpoint and some of their younger readers. However, Pitre is adamant about not watering down the blog’s content to accommodate some of their younger readers; she makes it clear on the blog’s intro page that she created Forever Young Adult for adults like her, “who adore drinking martinis while reading books about high school crushes, teenage angst and that whole ‘coming of age’ thing.” “There’s a little bit of tension, because we talk a lot about drinking and sex and things that adults do,” Pitre said. “We’re always kind of walking the line because I know teenagers read our site, but I’m not going to compromise our target audience.” Pitre cites the close-knit community surrounding Forever Young Adult as one of her favorite parts of

writing the blog. “The community on our site is awesome,” Pitre said. “We have a lot of frequent commenters, and we start to feel like we know each other. It’s a very nerdy sort of internet penpal thing — we love it.” Bragdon has developed a theory as to why young adult literature has connected so deeply with adult readers as well as teens, which she calls the “Purity of Firsts.”

“Young adult books are all about the firsts: our first great success, our first disastrous failure, our first love,” Bragdon said. “Adults can lose sight of that, and life can become bland. It’s important that we not lose sight of that and treat every day like it’s a new day. To me, that is what young adult literature is all about, and I think that if we all kept that in our lives, we’d all be a lot happier.”

FOREVER YOUNG ADULT PICKS • Sarah: “One of my favorites is ‘The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks’ by E. Lockhart. The writing is just topnotch, and it has everything I want from a YA book.” • Jenny: “I recommend Siobhan Vivian’s ‘Not That Kind of Girl.’ It speaks to feminism on so many levels, and really made me reexamine my life up until that point. Everyone should read it. “ • Visit Sarah and Jenny’s blog at foreveryoungadult.com

Course teaches technique, ethics of cell phone photography By Kathy Matheson The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — A new cell phone photography class at a suburban Philadelphia university focuses on both the quality of the images and the ethical responsibilities that come with taking and publishing them. Cell phone cameras — and associated scandals — have become so ubiquitous that it’s important for students to realize “the full gravity of what’s at their fingertips and the power they can have,” Immaculata day, month day, 2008

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University communications professor Sean Flannery said. Flannery teaches the class with Hunter Martin, a professional photographer who works with students on the mechanics of making the images, including composition, lighting and editing. Flannery deals with such issues as voyeurism, ethics, citizen journalism and the difference between public and private spaces. With cell phone photos constantly making headlines — from the stunning picture of a US Airways jet afloat in the Hudson River to the titillating image of a shirtless Rep.

Chris Lee, which led to his resignation — Flannery said his goal is “to sell the students on the notion that the camera phone and its usage in culture is news in the making.” “I think it’s part of our responsibility ... to teach kids how to use this tool,” he said, adding that it’s no different from teaching proper use of a video camera in a broadcast news class. Cell phone photography courses are not new. New York University has offered a cell phone video class each fall since 2009. Immaculata officials believe theirs is differ-

ent in addressing the ethical aspects as well. Stephen Vujevich, a 21-year-old senior, said he hopes the class will teach him how to be a responsible citizen journalist by capturing and disseminating images from newsworthy moments “instead of being the awkward onlooker.” “Society is rapid ... it’s viral,” said Vujevich, of New Kensington, Pa. “When something happens, people want to know about it.” 1 Flannery and Martin plan to exBen Curtis | Associated Press hibit the students’ cell phone photos A man takes pictures with his cell phone on Tahrir Square in Cairo, at a campus art show in April. Egypt.

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ADVERTISING TERMS There are no refunds or credits. In the event of errors made in advertisement, notice must be given by 10 am the fi rst day of publication, as the publishers are responsible for only ONE incorrect insertion. In consideration of The Daily Texan’s acceptance of advertising copy for publication, the agency and the advertiser will indemnify and save harmless, Texas Student Media and its officers, employees and agents against all loss, liability, damage and expense of whatsoever nature arising out of the copying, printing or publishing of its advertisement including without limitation reasonable attorney’s fees resulting from claims of suits for libel, violation of right of privacy, plagiarism and copyright and trademark infringement. All ad copy must be approved by the newspaper which reserves the right to request changes, reject or properly classify an ad. The advertiser, and not the newspaper, is responsible for the truthful content of the ad. Advertising is also subject to credit approval.

11 ENT

LIFE&ARTS 11

Thursday, March 3, 2011

BIKING THE DOGS

Danielle Villasana | Daily Texan Staff

Isidro Cardenas bikes with his dogs Roxy, Anni and Toby in front of Fiesta Wednesday morning.

STAPLE continues from PAGE 12 Nicholas said the name has many implications, but when written in its proper form, all caps with an exclamation mark, it invokes a command to create. Unlike fall’s Austin Comic Con, you won’t see TV stars or mainstream comic book creators. At last year’s STAPLE! expo, even the modestly successful Top Shelf Productions — indie publisher of hits “Box Office Poison” and “Blankets” — stuck out like a sore thumb among artists who had their comic books printed at Kinko’s and stapled at home. “The main thing we are celebrating is the DIY aspect of people being creative and getting their stuff out there,” Nicholas said. “You get to meet the artists and interact with them.” This year’s expo will feature illustrator Jill Thompson, who worked on “The Sandman” and “Wonder Woman,” Alex Robinson (“Box Office Poison”) and James O’Barr (creator of “The Crow”) as guest speakers. But the focus of the show remains in celebrating media by undiscovered artists.

“It’s one of the few affordable shows. Tables can get expensive at larger cons and as a self publishing artist, it’s hard to budget for a table if you have no idea if you’ll make your table fee back,” said Kristin Hogan, creator of the comic series “Dead Squirrel Girl.” This year, she will sell her latest work, “Hell’s Alphabet,” an illustrated coloring book for mature audiences. “STAPLE! is the friendliest show I’ve experienced. Whether you’re an old pro or a newbie, you’re all on the same level at this show,” Hogan said. “There’s no velvet curtain separating the VIP people. The special guests actually come to the after parties and enjoy themselves.” In addition to panels, Q&A sessions, two exhibit halls and free parties will be held from Friday to Sunday. The highlight is Saturday’s live art show at Club de Ville, which will donate proceeds to local radio station KOOP 91.7 FM. Nicholas expects 1,000 in attendance at this year’s expo. With last year’s 850 visitors, it was not only hot

and muggy, but getting to the other side of a room became an arduous task in the smaller exhibit hall. Nicholas said that the table layout has been redesigned for this year’s show, which could favor the audience or lead to requests for more exhibitor space. “You can’t predict how many people are going to show up and what time, but we’ve never had a problem before,” Nicholas said. “No one has ever said, ‘Oh, there are too many people here! We are selling too many comics!’” The next largest venue, the Austin Convention Hall, is too big for this modestly sized gathering, Nicholas said. Despite these growing pains, STAPLE!’s cramped halls have their own charm that complement the DIY aesthetic that attracts its visitors to the expo. “Having fans come up and tell me how much they like my work in person is magical,” Hogan said. “The experience of being able to pick up a book and flip through it, or pick up a squid and give it a hug offers something an online store never could.”

LIQUOR continues from PAGE 12 tant at Spec’s. “[The smaller distilleries] aren’t putting their money into advertising. They’re putting their money into the actual product.” A classic example is Baileys versus Michael’s Irish Cream. A typical handle (1.75-liter bottle) of Baileys costs roughly $40, whereas the same size bottle of Michael’s costs $20. Additionally, Michael’s uses only cream and whisky, whereas the Baileys bottle says they’ve added nondescript spirits. The former is like a rich milkshake but at a cheap price. The same thinking applies to other big brands as well. According to Jamil, Jose Cuervo is one of the biggest importers of caramel from the Hershey Company because of their Jose Cuervo Gold. While they do produce other well-made and properly aged tequilas, their Gold is essentially a colored Jose Cuervo Especial that’s come right out of the still looking like an aged tequila. If that wasn’t enough to raise an eyebrow, the $20 liter bottle only uses 51 percent agave, whereas you can buy a nice bottle of 100-percent agave Alteno Tequila for around $10 — a bottom-shelf price with a top-shelf flavor. “It’s unnecessary to me that there’s even a bottom-shelf tequila in this day and age where you can get good 100-percent agave tequila,” said David Alan, president of the Austin chapter of the United States Bartenders’ Guild and Tipsy Texan liquor blogger. “So why are you selling some mixedup crap?”

Math If you’re still new to the liquor world and don’t know brands yet, your best bet is to crunch some numbers — percentages of ingredients or sizes to price ratios. Kentucky Deluxe Kentucky

Blended Whiskey is perhaps one of the biggest shams in the world of bottom-shelf whiskey. With a 20-percent whiskey and 80-percent neutral grain spirits blend, you might as well grab some cheap vodka, drop some food coloring into it and sell your own rotgut. But when it comes to balancing a budget, you really need to crunch some numbers and figure out how quickly you’re going to be drinking what you buy. Purchasing in bulk can be great savings if you’re planning on saving some liquor for coming home after a rough day. Maker’s Mark Bourbon will cost you roughly two cents a milliliter if you’re going for the usual $40 handle. But if you’re trying to be economical and go for the smaller 375-milliliter $15 bottle liquor stores keep behind the counter, you’re paying 4 cents a milliliter. Sure, milliliters and cents are minuscule, but these all add up when you’re talking about a handle of any type of liquor. On the other hand, how many people want to drop $40 on a

bottle if you’re just going out to a party? If that’s more of your situation, you might want to look behind the counter at all those smaller bottles. If you consider an ounce and a half to be roughly equal to a shot of liquor (a general approximation that varies depending on how many shift shots your bartender may have gulped down), those 375-milliliter bottles contain eight-and-a-half shots. Split that $15 bottle of Maker’s between two friends, and you can get four shots for $1.88 a shot — a better deal than most bars in town. While Maker’s is a great illustration of those savings, you can snag any liquor in a smaller version than a handle. Whereas a handle of New Amsterdam Gin costs around $20, the smaller 375-milliliter version is $7, and you can still get those eight-anda-half shots out of the bottle. If you’re in too much of a rush to even look at the label or do some quick math, just ask an employee. Usually, they’ll steer you in the right direction if you’re looking for a good, cheap drink.

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Thursday, March 3, 2011 | The Daily Texan | Amber Genuske, Life&Arts Editor | (512) 232-2209 | dailytexan@gmail.com

Independent expo offers alternatives to common media

weekend The Pulp Fiction Quote-Along Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning classic makes its return to the Alamo Drafthouse as part of its infamous Quote-Along series. Audience members are encouraged to shout their favorite lines along with the film’s characters, and are given cap guns to shoot along with them as well. Also available for in-film dining are Royales With Cheese and glasses (not paper cups) of beer. Where: Alamo Drafthouse Ritz (320 E. Sixth St.) When: Saturday, March 5 at 6:40 p.m. hoW Much: $10

The Pillowman The University Theatre Guild is presenting “The Pillowman,” a story about a writer being interrogated about his work in a totalitarian state. The script is written by “In Bruges” writer and director Martin McDonagh, whose ear for witty, profane dialogue is matched by none. Where: SAC Black Box Theater (Room 2.304) When: Friday, March 4 & Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m., Sunday, March 6 at 2 p.m. hoW Much: $5 with student ID

Zilker Park Kite Festival Along with the welcome arrival of warm weather and sunny days comes Zilker Park’s Kite Festival. The festivities kick off with a kite-building workshop at 11 a.m., followed by contests such as a 50-yard dash, smallest kite and most unusual kite. If you’re feeling creative, don’t want to do your homework or just want to get out and enjoy the sunny day, this is the perfect place to go fly a kite. Where: Zilker Park When: Sunday, March 5 from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. hoW Much: Free

By Allistair Pinsof Daily Texan Staff

Photo illustration by Shereen Ayub | Daily Texan Staff

A bit of research and number crunching can go a long way in saving money on liquor. Buying a 375-milliliter bottle of liquor versus a 1.75-liter bottle of liquor may be a more economical purchase.

Brands, purchasing in bulk help keep quality low cost THIRSTY THURSdAY

By Gerald Rich

Editor’s Note: This is the last of a three-part series exploring cheap ways to try fine beer, wine and spirits. All prices are based off of Spec’s current pricing and are comparable to other Austin liquor retailers. At some point in the past 100 years of producing liquor, the marriage of price and quality ended in divorce.

It’s just as easy to find a great, cheap handle as it is to find an overpriced, repulsive one. That’s not saying a really nice scotch like a 30-year-old single malt Macallan shouldn’t cost around $1,000. That’s a long time to coddle a cask. However, next time you’re trying to grab a lastminute handle from the bottom shelf, take some time to find the best deal. The key is to avoid bars. Go to a liquor store and know your math and brands beforehand.

Brands Next time you order a top-

Plush dolls, comic books, hand drawn pictures and other independently created and sold media will sit side by side at STAPLE!, an Austin expo that celebrates independent media that will mark its seventh annual showing in Austin this weekend. Behind all the items on sale is a collective of indie creators given the rare opportunity to meet like-minded artists and fans. WhAT: 7th annual STAPLE! Independent media expo Where: The Marchesa Hall & Theatre (across from Highland Mall) When: 11a.m. Saturday, noon Sunday TIcKeTS: $10 for day pass; $15 for two-day pass

Earning enough money to afford lunch is just a perk. This weekend the Austin expo will bring together the obscure, the weird and the overlooked — as long as it’s independently made and published — for its sixth show at The Marchesa, formerly called Monarch Event Center. This year, the show will be expanded to two days, allowing for 11 guest speakers — nearly three times the amount of last year — and more than 85 exhibitors. Started in 2005 by Chris Nicholas, STAPLE! was the result of Nicholas and fellow comic book creators wanting an expo for the South. They called their friends, found a location (the first year it was held at the Elk Lodge) and settled on the name, “staple.”

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shelf margarita, take ON THE WEB: a lo ok at Check out a video the brand on cheap liquor and try @dailytexan to f i g u re online.com out what it costs to make that tequila, or any expensive liquor for that matter. Every time you see a billboard for Jose Cuervo, keep in mind that someone had to pay for it. That person is often you. “You’re paying for the name,” said Craig Jamil, liquor consul-

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Illustration by Gabe Alvarez | Daily Texan Staff