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Baseball team builds confidence
The Daily Texan Friday, March 5, 2010
Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
Coalitions protest budget cuts
Danielle Villasana | Daily Texan Staff
Macha officer Naomi Caballero speaks about feminism and being proud of her Mexican-American culture during the budget cut and tuition increase protest Thursday.
Campus rally part of nationwide movement against tuition hikes By Rachel Burkhart Daily Texan Staff Chanting student protestors were bringing their demands to President William Powers Jr.’s office on the fourth floor of the UT Tower on Thursday when they ran into a locked stairwell doorway. The march through the Tower was part of a Stop the Cuts Coalition rally against University-wide budget reallocations and the rising cost of student tuition. The rally took place in conjunction with other student protests against tuition hikes in California, New York City and Detroit. For two hours, close to 200
students, staff and faculty congregated in the West Mall and led chants and cheered for speakers like Rep. Elliott Naishtat and assistant English professor Snehal Shingavi. At least 10 UT Police Department officers were present at the rally. Officer Tim McGill said they were making sure “that everyone stays safe.” Journalism junior Kelsey Lawrence, who is not a member of any of the groups, said she came to the rally after receiving a group invitation on Facebook. “I think it’s cool,” she said. “It’s our generation getting active about something.”
Several student groups formed the coalition in early February to address controversies over the Cactus Cafe, tuition hikes and budget cuts. Some of the rally participants included the Anthropology Graduate Students Association, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan, University Workers, ¡ella pelea!, the Texas State Employees Union and the Socialist Worker. In January, Gov. Rick Perry asked all state agencies, including the UT System, to prepare for a possible 5-percent reduction in state funding. In a separate request, Powers asked all colleges and entities at the Uni-
in the dormitories, a violation of Division of Housing and Food Service policy; and using a mail merge spreadsheet to send a message to 10,000 students via e-mail using addresses obtained from the UT directory, violating the Information Technology Services policy against spamming. The campaign’s appeal questions the fairness of the ESB’s punishment, an 84-hour moratorium on campaigning from noon on Friday to 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. Although the e-mails violated ITS rules, Azemi and Stein said the board should not have punished the campaign because ITS has not ruled they were against policy. Stein and Azemi said they
made a “good-faith effort” to follow all University rules in regard to the fliers because they asked Bobby Jenkins, president of the University Residence Hall Association, for permission two to three weeks ago. Jenkins denied giving permission to hang or distribute fliers in dorm hallways until after Axemi actually requested it Tuesday afternoon, hours after the first complaint was filed with the ESB about the fliers. Even if Jenkins had given permission, the association does not have jurisdiction to supersede DHFS rules. “It has never been our intention to violate University policy,” Stein
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Friends recall Rodriguez at funeral mass
By Bobby Longoria Daily Texan Staff Mourners gathered for a funeral mass at the St. Louis Catholic Church in Austin on Thursday to commemorate Maximiliano Rodriguez, the 21-year-old government junior who, according to police reports, fell from a fifth-floor balcony at the Jefferson 26 student housing complex and died Sunday morning. “He was positive and outgoing and always smiling, ever since he was in diapers until now,” Max Rodriguez, Maximiliano’s father, said at the funeral. “He ultimately wanted to make some type of change, to make some type of impact. He was kind and generous, open and smiling.” Maximiliano Rodriguez, known as Max to his friends, was a government junior bound to change the world, his father said. Rodriguez fell at approximately 3:00 a.m. Sunday at the West
versity to look for ways to cut a recurring 2 percent of their budgets. The University INSIDE: submitted More on the a plan to nationwide student UT Sys protests tem Board on page 3 of Regents in February outlining a plan to save money. The plan reported that the University would save money from the fall 2009 reorganization of the Information Technology Services and from drawing more funding
Executive alliance appealing SG ruling on code violation By Audrey White Daily Texan Staff Minator Azemi filed an appeal with the University’s Appellate Court on Thursday afternoon regarding the Election Supervisory Board ruling that determined the executive alliance of Azemi and Justin Stein violated the election code on two separate counts. The ruling came hours after an announcement Wednesday night that there would be a runoff election between the AzemiStein campaign and the alliance of Scott Parks and Muneezeh Kabir on Tuesday and Wednesday. The board ruled the Azemi campaign violated University policy in two ways: by distributing campaign fliers door-to-door
TOMORROw’s weaTHeR
Campus apartment, said Austin Police Department Corporal Scott Perry. The death is being considered accidental, but the investigation is still ongoing. A toxicology report could take up to eight weeks to be released, Perry said. Rodriguez Maximiliano was a member Rodriguez of the Longhorn Hellraisers, a UT-sponsored pep squad, and he always encouraged his friends during UT sporting events, said Hellraisers President Shane Pearson, a computer science senior. Pearson said Rodriguez was spending time with other Hellraiser members
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Bobby Longoria | Daily Texan Staff
Lance Demonteiro lifts his horns with other Longhorn Hellraisers at a memorial for Maximiliano Rodriguez on Thursday night.
Quake taxes Chilean students, staff By Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Daily Texan Staff Chilean students and faculty members at UT are pulling together their resources to send aid to the southern part of the country after Saturday’s earthquake, which claimed 800 lives as of Thursday. But many still feel helpless as they can only sit and watch the aftermath unfold from more than 4,500 miles away. Alvaro Quezada-Hofflinger, a public policy graduate student who has family in Chile, began receiving text messages Saturday morning from concerned colleagues in Austin. He initially brushed off the news because he was used to hearing about earthquakes in Chile. “I thought it was whatever, just another one,” Quezada-Hofflinger said. “I was thinking it was no big deal because Chile has a lot of
earthquakes, and they are usually contained within a small portion of the country.” He began to worry when he tried calling his brother in Chile and was unable to reach him. When he heard of the devastating effects of the earthquake in Concepción and cities where he had family, Quezada-Hofflinger realized the severity of the situation. The National Earthquake Information Center lists the quake as the fifth-largest in the world since 1900. It was not until a few phone calls with friends in Chile on Sunday that he learned his brother and two cousins were safe — although their homes were without electricity and running water. Quezada-Hofflinger and others in the local Chilean community are hosting Chile en el Corazón, or With Chile in Our Hearts, a benefit Saturday evening meant
to raise money for victims. The earthquake was a magnitude 8 on the Richter scale in Santiago and a magnitude 8.8 in Concepción — the most powerful since Chile’s world-record-setting 9.5 magnitude in 1960. Since the Richter scale is
HELP continues on page 2 WHAT: Chile en el Corazón, a benefit event for the victims of the earthquake in Chile WHERE: Esquina Tango, 209 Pedernales Street WHEN: Saturday, March 6 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. MoRE INfo: There will be Chilean food, music and other activities. Please bring your own drinks. Suggested donation of $10. Donations also accepted through www.austinhelpschile.org
Board of Regents designates first-ever chairwoman By Rachel Burkhart Daily Texan Staff The UT System Board of Regents elected Colleen McHugh of Corpus Christi as its first chairwoman at a meeting INSIDE: Wednesday. A profile of the She was a student regent lawyer before serving on page 6 as vice president, compliance, risk management and privacy officer for CHRISTUS Spohn Health System. The board also elected Paul Foster of El Paso and Janiece Longoria
of Houston as vice chairs. The chair position became available when James Huffines of Austin, who has served twice as chairman and once as vice chairman, announced his decision to resign late in 2009. UT System spokesman Matt Flores said Huffines did not offer an explanation for his resignation. Huffines will continue to serve as a member of the board until his term expires on Feb. 1, 2015. McHugh said in a statement that she was “deeply honored” by the regents’ decision. “I will work hard to be worthy of the trust they have placed in me,” she said. “I know the
board is committed to following through on the initiatives [started] during the last several years and reaffirming its shared commitment to transparency and excellence. Our work remains unchanged — ensuring that the University of Texas System serves our students, the people of Texas and the nation well.” Gov. Rick Perry appointed McHugh to a six-year term on the board on Oct. 11, 2005. Since then, she has served as vice chairwoman of the Board of Regents, chair of the health affairs committee and member of the academic affairs committee. In a statement issued after her
election, Perry said that McHugh “has again made history.” “As the first woman on the Texas Public Safety Commission and the first woman to chair the Texas State Bar Board of Directors, Colleen has been a true trailblazer for dedicated and talented women throughout Texas,” he said. “In every facet of her public and private career, she has established a record of success and leadership, and I have every confidence that will continue in her position as chair.” Bobby Longoria | Daily Texan Staff Since the board’s inception in 1881, Texas governors have ap- Newly appointed chairwoman Colleen McHugh speaks at a UT Board pointed 216 different regents, but of Regents meeting Wednesday. She is the first chairwoman to be only 18 have been women. elected by the Board of Regents.
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The Daily Texan Volume 110, Number XX 25 cents
Friday, March 5, 2010
fall: Friends described Max
as energetic, compassionate
CONTACT US Main Telephone: (512) 471-4591 Editor: Jillian Sheridan (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com
SAN ANTONIO PARKING GARAGE, 2420 San Antonio Graffiti: Words written in yellow spray paint were discovered inside the southeast stairwell. Estimated damage: $150.00. Discovered on: 3-3-10, at 4:30 p.m.
STUDENT SERVICES BUILDING, 100 West Dean Keeton Harassment: A UT student reported receiving a number of harassing and annoying text messages and e-mails from a former acquaintance. The victim informed the suspect to cease all communication, but the suspect continued. During the investigation, the offi-
News Office: (512) 232-2207 news@dailytexanonline.com Web Office: (512) 471-8616 online@dailytexanonline.com
Bobby Longoria | Daily Texan Staff
Sandra and Max Rodriguez, Max’s mother and father, receive condolences from mourners at his funeral services Thursday afternoon.
Photo Office: (512) 471-8618 photo@dailytexanonline.com
From page 1
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. If we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@dailytexanonline.com.
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Saturday night. H e l l r a i s e r m e mb e r Ale x Blum, a sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts, said that he and Rodriguez went to a mutual friend’s 21st birthday party in the Jefferson 26 complex on Saturday night. Blum said he stepped out of the party briefly and that when he returned, he could not find Rodriguez. A biology sophomore who attended the party and did not want to be identified saw Rodriguez periodically that night. She said he walked out to the balcony during the party, lifted himself on the balcony rail, lost his balance and fell over. The sophomore, who is EMT trained, ran down the stairs to aid Rodriguez after the fall. She said she saw severe head injuries and that he was not moving. She said no other part of his body seemed injured and his fall was accidental. Rodriguez was involved in several other groups outside of the Hellraisers, including Circle K International, the Campus Environmental Center and the Sustainable Campus Commission. He had a passion for green policies and helped campaign for the Green Fund referendum, which passed in the Student Government elections Wednesday. Even though Rodriguez was a
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relatively new member of Circle K International, he had made a large impact in a short period of time, said Lance Demonteiro, advertising senior, Hellraisers member and chapter president of Circle K. Demonteiro said Rodriguez’s death has opened his eyes and made him feel a greater appreciation for life.
‘‘
Now that he’s not here, we are going to miss out on something great that he would have done in the future.” — Shane Pearson Hellraisers President
“Tomorrow is not guaranteed, so we are just going to enjoy each other’s company and live our lives the way Max would want us to live,” Demonteiro said. “I think we should try to begin that new fun and great life and take care of the earth and each other for Max, because that is definitely the way he lived his life.” In 2008, Hellraiser member Corey Bishop fell from the roof of a four-story condominium
complex in Hyde Park. Pearson said the deaths are a coincidence and not the result of a Hellraiser function. He also said that all Hellraisers must participate in risk management information sessions. Because Rodriguez was not at an official Hellraisers event, the group can not be penalized, said Mary Beth Mercatoris, an assistant dean of students who works in student activities and leadership development. Mercatoris helps student organizations, including the Hellraisers organize events and provides leadership development. “Now that he’s not here, we are going to miss out on something great that he would have done in the future,” Pearson said. The funeral service for Max ended solemnly as the hymnal bells receded. Hellraiser members held a candlelight vigil for Rodriguez on Thursday night at the Hellraiser brick located outside of the Texas Exes alumni center. As his honorary red candle faded, the Hellraisers lifted up their horns and sang the “Eyes of Texas” in memorial of Rodriguez. The members bowed their heads and cried as wax from the candle they passed around fell onto each of their hands. Rodriguez is survived by his father, Max; his mother, Sandra; his five-year-old brother, Diego; his ten-year-old brother, Andres; and several aunts, uncles and grandparents.
The Daily Texan Permanent Staff
This newspaper was written, edited and designed with pride by The Daily Texan and Texas Student Media.
Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jillian Sheridan Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ana McKenzie Associate Managing Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erin Mulvaney, Sean Beherec, Erik Reyna Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeremy Burchard, Dan Treadway, David Muto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lauren Winchester, Roberto Cervantes News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blair Watler Associate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pierre Bertrand, Lena Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claire Cardona, Viviana Aldous Senior Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gerald Rich, Audrey White, Alex Geiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Shabab Siddiqui, Bobby Longoria, Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Copy Desk Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nausheen Jivani Associate Copy Desk Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cristina Herrera, Vicky Ho, Matt Jones Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Olivia Hinton Senior Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shatha Hussein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Veronica Rosalez, Mustafa Saifuddin Special Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thu Vo Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sara Young Associate Photo Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bryant Haertlein, Peter Franklin Senior Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Kang,Tamir Kalifa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peyton McGee, Daniela Trujillo, Bruno Morlan Life&Arts Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ben Wermund Associate Life&Arts Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amber Genuske Senior Entertainment Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rob Rich, Frankie Marin, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Ross Harden, Lane Lynch, Kate Ergenbright Features Entertainment Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gerald Rich, Audrey Campbell, Mary Lingwall Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blake Hurtik Associate Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Sherfield Senior Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Hurwitz, Laken Litman, Austin Ries, Chris Tavarez Comics Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carolynn Calabrese Multimedia Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Juan Elizondo Associate Multimedia Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rachael Schroeder, Blas Garcia Senior Videographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carlos Medina Editorial Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doug Warren
Issue Staff
Need to have your wisdom teeth removed? Don’t do it yourself. We have a better option. Right now, PPD is looking for men and women for a post-surgical pain relief research study of an investigational medication. The surgery is performed by a board-certified oral surgeon, and managed through Austin Oral Surgery Associates by James R. Fricke, Jr. DDS, MSD. Financial compensation is provided upon study completion and the surgery is performed at no cost. For information, call
Marker-artist caught in the act
2100 BLOCK GUADALUPE Assist Outside Agency/Graffiti: A non-UT subject was observed writing words on a window of a local-area business as quickly as he could. The subject was discovered to be in possession of several colored markers. The subject was taken into custody for graffiti and was released to the Austin Police Department. Occurred on: 3-04-10, at 2:42 a.m. Compiled by UTPD Officer Darrell Halstead
does not prioritize education
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your copy of
cers informed the suspect that his actions were in violation of the law. The subject informed the officers he was simply looking for closure. Occurred: 12-09 and was ongoing.
marcH: Professor says state
Sports Office: (512) 232-2210 sports@dailytexanonline.com
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Spray-paint artist strikes
Overzealous need for closure
Managing Editor: Ana McKenzie (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com
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campus watch
462-0492
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Director of Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jalah Goette Retail Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brad Corbett Account Executive/Broadcast Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carter Goss Campus/National Sales Consultant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joan Bowerman Assistant to Advertising Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C.J. Salgado Student Advertising Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathryn Abbas Student Advertising Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Ford, Meagan Gribbin Student Account Executives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anupama Kulkarni, Ashley Walker, An Ly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cameron McClure, Daniel Ruszkiewkz, Lauren Aldana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laci Long, Tommy Daniels Classified Clerks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Teresa Lai Special Editions, Editorial Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elena Watts Web Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Danny Grover Special Editions, Student Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kira Taniguchi Graphic Designer Interns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amanda Thomas, Lisa Hartwig Senior Graphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Felimon Hernandez 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 2009 Texas Student Media.
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From page 1 through trademark licensing. The plan also called for the downsizing of eight vice president departments and mentions the possibility of cutting $2 million from the budgets of colleges. The regents voted Wednesday to increase student tuition by almost 5.4 percent in 2010-11 and 4 percent in 2011-2012. “The state of Texas is unwilling to prioritize higher education and is forcing students, parents and working families to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets to pay for it. It is a
shame,” Shingavi said as members of the audience cheered and applauded. When the protestors found their path to the fourth floor blocked, they decided to tape their signs to the entrance of the budget office. Afrose Ahmed, Asian studies graduate student and member of ¡ella pelea!, said the group would send a letter to the president’s office listing their demands. Anthropology senior Arnulfo Manriquez said this rally was only “the first step.” “Next time, we’re going to get to the top of the Tower,” he said.
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provide outlets after quake From page 1 logarithmic, the quake was almost 1000 times more powerful when it hit Concepción than it was when it hit Santiago — even though there was only a 0.8 difference in magnitude — partially explaining the difference in the level of devastation between the two cities. Lauren Boneta, a geography and Latin American studies junior, started studying in Santiago less than a week before the earthquake occurred. While American news agencies have been emphasizing post-earthquake destruction and lawlessness in Concepción, the majority of Santiago has returned to a normal state, Boneta said in e-mail correspondences with The Daily Texan. The buses are running and most businesses are open, she added. With the collapse of traditional communication outlets, people with Internet access used social networking Web sites such as Twitter and Facebook to upload photos, gather news on affected areas and seek help in locating loved ones, said Rosental Alves, a journalism professor and former news correspondent in Latin America. Web sites like Google Person Finder allowed people to either locate loved ones or post information they knew about other people’s loved ones. Alves said this was due in part to more Internet availability in Chile than
TSM EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING Friday March 5, 2010 1:00 P.M.
William Randolph Hearst Bldg. HSM Room 3.302 2500 Whitis Avenue Austin, Texas
Visitors Welcome We encourage any community member who has any kind of temporary or permanent disability to contact Texas Student Media beforehand so that appropriate accommodations can be made. Anyone is welcome to attend.
in other Latin American countries. Both services saw a high volume of traffic following the earthquake strikes. “The 2004 tsunami in Asia was the wake-up call for the importance of user-generated content during natural disasters,” Alves said. Strict building codes and economic improvement in the last decade are two helpful factors that will help the country recover, he added. Haiti fared worse due to poor infrastructure, fewer resources and lack of preparation compared to earthquake-prone Chile, he said. Paloma Diaz, the program coordinator of the University’s Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, said although her family members in Santiago were safe, she was concerned about the chaos and panic that escalated in the worst-hit areas. She described the past week of watching events unfold in Chile as emotionally exhausting. Military involvement in areas where looting and street violence were present evoked images of Chile’s repressive past for some people, Diaz said. “It was weird to see the military on the streets for the first time since the military dictatorship,” Diaz said, referring to the junta that took over Chile from 1973 to 1990. “It was hard to watch because it brought back a lot of dark memories, but this is a different situation from the past. It scared me, but I understand an elected president made the call to ensure the safety of the people.” Spanish professor Luis Carcamo-Huechante, who has family in Concepción and the port city of Talcahuano, said the earthquake revealed the vast inequality between the upper and lower classes. People might be under the misconception that vandalism and violence in the streets comes from people in the lower class, but in many cases, looters are families resorting to theft out of desperation to survive, he said. The poor tend to suffer more during catastrophes because they lack resources and are not out of basic services, such as water. In rural areas without an Internet culture, people are further isolated from communication and help, he said. “The president and government are doing the best they can on behalf of the people of Chile,” Carcamo-Huechante said. “Out of this terrible event, a lesson we get is the need for much more solidarity within the different Chileans. Hopefully, political authorities will establish more aggressive policy to close the socioeconomic gap.”
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Students protest education cuts across the nation By Terence Chea The Associated Press BERKELEY, Calif. — Rowdy protesters blocked major gates at two California universities and smashed the windows of a car Thursday amid campus protests across the nation against deep cuts in education funding. Protesters at the University of California, Santa Cruz surrounded the car while its driver was inside. The uninjured driver appeared to have been singled out at random, Santa Cruz police Capt. Steve Clark said. Marches, strikes, teach-ins and walkouts were planned nationwide in what was being called the March 4th National Day of Action for Public Education. Organizers said hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and parents were expected to participate in the demonstrations. Some university officials said they supported the pro-
tests as long as they remained peaceful. “My heart and my support are with everybody and anybody who wants to stand up for public education,� University of California President Mark Yudof said in a statement. “Public education drives a society’s ability to progress and to prosper.� At the University of California, Berkeley, a small group of protesters formed a human chain blocking a main gate leading to the campus. Later in the day, hundreds more gathered for a peaceful rally against major cuts to higher education funding. “We’re one of the largest economies in the world, and we can’t fund the basics,� said Mike Scullin, 29, a graduate student in education who plans to become a high school teacher. “We’re throwing away a generation of students by defunding education.�
Gregory Bull | Associated Press
A lesbian couple kisses in front of a government building in Mexico City on Thursday. Same-sex couples registered for marriage licenses Thursday, which will give gay marriages the same status as heterosexual unions. Official marriages will be performed in the coming weeks.
City sets gay-marriage precedent Crowds of gays, lesbians in Mexico City initiate legal path to matrimony
Randall Benton | Associated Press
A demonstrator at UC Davis pleads with police blocking access to Interstate 80 on Thursday. Similar protests occured nationwide for the March 4th National Day of Action for Public Education.
By Mark Stevenson The Associated Press MEXICO CITY — Throngs of Mexico City gay and lesbian couples registered for marriage licenses Thursday, the day Latin America’s first gay-marriage law took effect. The first gay weddings will take place within a week to 10 days, after the paperwork is processed. Mexico City’s legislature approved the first law explicitly
giving gay marriages the same status as heterosexual ones in December. The change will allow same-sex couples to adopt children, apply for bank loans together, inherit wealth and be included in the insurance policies of their spouse, rights they were denied under civil unions allowed in the city. “This is great, it is a feeling of relief, of celebration, everything,� said Daniel Ramos, 20, a medical student planning to marry his boyfriend, Temistocles Villanueva, on March 12. “For Latin America, this is not only a precedent, but an example
to follow,� he added. For now, the law applies only to residents of Mexico City, though a marriage performed in one Mexican state must be recognized in the rest of the country. While activists are trying to get the law extended to the rest of Mexico’s 31 states, conservatives say they will seek to pass a constitutional reform so that other states won’t have to recognize marriages that do not conform to their laws. For the time being, it appears easy to circumvent the residency requirement, because the city accepts a phone or utility bill as proof of address — often even if
the bill is in someone else’s name. The Mexico City law is being challenged by the federal government in Mexico’s Supreme Court on constitutional grounds, but remains in effect while the appeal is heard. The Roman Catholic Church has hotly criticized the new law. David Razu, the Mexico City legislator who proposed the law, said he is confident the Supreme Court will uphold the law. “There is always a wave of reaction to these kinds of measures, but we are prepared to face it,� said Razu, a member of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party.
ATTENTION FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATORS
DEADLINE | APRIL 3, 2010 2009 APRIL 1,
The Granof Outstanding Graduate Student Award was established in 2008 to recognize a graduate student of exceptional distinction. The award is $10,000.
Criteria for selection include > Scholastic achievement at the highest level Creative contributions beyond degree requirements
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As with all of the Graduate School awards, the Michael H. Granof Outstanding Graduate Student award is very generously underwritten by the University Co-op.
OPINION
4 Friday, March 5, 2010
Editor in Chief: Jillian Sheridan Phone: (512) 232-2212 E-mail: editor@dailytexanonline.com Associate Editors: Jeremy Burchard David Muto Dan Treadway
T HE DAILY T EXAN
OVERVIEWS
GALLERY
THE FIRING LINE
Keeping up with the Board of Regents
Belt-tightening at UT
Wednesday was a busy day for the UT System Board of Regents. Notably, the board announced Colleen McHugh as the new chairman of the regents after former Chairman James Huffines stepped down from the post in December, explaining that he was burned out. McHugh is the first woman to lead the regents. McHugh was appointed to the board in 2005 by Gov. Rick Perry and previously served on the Public Safety Commission and the Governor’s Task Force on Homeland Security under Perry’s reappointment. But the board also heard from UT President William Powers Jr.. In a critical, but not surprising, move, Powers pitched the Tuition Policy Advisory Commission’s suggested tuition increase to the board of regents, and they accepted. Including an already-approved $65 fee for the new Student Activities Center, the tuition increase amounts to 5.4 percent for 2010-11 and 3.89 percent for 2011-12. Powers formally received the recommendation from the committee in January, though it was ill-received by some students who claimed they were not adequately informed and their interests were not properly represented. Powers, assured by the committee’s recommendation, noted the tuition increases are low relative to a few other universities around the nation. However, various rallies, such as the one held Thursday by the Stop the Cuts Coalition, aim to show the administration that students are concerned about the tuition increases. If recent financial struggles and Huffines’ reason for stepping down are any indication, McHugh has been immediately cast into a tumultuous situation.
During this economically hard time when people are losing jobs and many cannot afford even the basics, the UT Austin administration has found a way to make life even harder. I am a graduate student who has been attending Texas for four years, and this semester was the first time I owe almost $800 in tuition taxes due by the end of this month. That is one-third of my monthly income. Ouch! Maybe The Daily Texan should start listing free food events going on, because this month will be especially tight thanks to the UT administration.
— Josh Peterson Graduate Student
Continue to vote Republican In recent editorials, the editorial board encouraged students to vote in the Republican primary. I would like to thank the board for its endorsement of Republican candidates by implication. I would like to encourage it to continue its voting trend by voting Republican in November as well. This year, there will be more candidates on the Republican ballot than in many years in the past, offering students an alternative to the Democratic Party that has lacked the foresight to engage in something as simple as city planning. So remember, don’t be a flipflopper, vote Republican.
Big gift for Baylor On Wednesday, Baylor University received the secondlargest monetary gift to a Texas university in history. The gift, made by an anonymous Baylor graduate, was a staggering $200 million. Naturally, the gift came as a pleasant surprise to the university, which has suffered along with the rest of higher education as a result of the economy. According to Baylor President David E. Garland, “The foresight and originality of one of our own graduates will now provide future Baylor students and faculty the opportunity to conduct innovative research and bring that knowledge into the classroom.” We’re hopeful this is the case. While we don’t find jealousy becoming, we do find it unfortunate that this donor chose to make such a large donation to a school that just a few years ago turned its back on innovation when it decided to pull the plug on the construction of an Evolutionary Informatics Laboratory because it contradicted the school’s religious values. We’re hopeful that Baylor will use this monetary gift to progress academically so Texas can claim another top quality tier-one university, something it is so direly in need of.
An unappealing appeal After the Election Supervisory Board ruled early Thursday morning that Minator Azemi and Justin Stein had violated Student Government election code by sending mass e-mails and posting flyers in dorms, Azemi and Stein appealed the ruling later in the day. The candidates, who the board punished with an order to halt campaigning for 84 hours starting Friday, are arguing that they did not intend to break any rules, and that if they did, the University — which bars distributing flyers to dorm residents and spamming students via the UT directory — itself has not punished them. The board, they say, should thus not have handed down a punishment citing University regulations. Although Azemi does not outright deny breaking the rules, he denies responsibility, because he did not intend to break the rules — a weak defense when none of his competitors found the rules too complicated to follow. We’re unsure why Azemi, who, while defending himself to the board in the initial hearing Wednesday night lied multiple times, isn’t more thankful that the board only issued a campaigning moratorium when it could have — and should have — disqualified him. With less than week until the runoff, the same lack of personal accountability that we saw in Azemi and Stein before the election has never been more on public display.
— Justin G. May
Controversy helps the Cactus Cafe By Justin Sedgwick Daily Texan Columnist Remember that whole late-night television fiasco where Conan O’Brien refused to give up his newly appointed slot after his and Leno’s ratings started to slip? Well because of it, O’Brien’s “The Tonight Show” brought in unsurpassed ratings due to the constant media attention the whole situation was receiving. Simply put, in lieu of his show getting axed, O’Brien was more popular than ever before. The Cactus Cafe has found itself in a similar situation: While its future is shrouded in doubt, the cafe has experienced newfound interest and revitalization. It sounds perplexing, but its potential closing is the best thing that could have happened to the Cactus. Prior to University budget cuts announcing the shutdown of the cafe, most students held no concept of the venue or its significance. The late night Wendy’s was the main attraction in venturing through those grandiose burgundy doors, not “that little restaurant or whatever” next to the Starbucks. Now flooded with constant media attention, the Cactus Cafe is a daily conversational piece. “How could they close such a historic venue? Couldn’t they just take a little chunk out of Mack’s grandiose salary to keep it open?” Oh, ye Cactus faithful, not even half of such conversations would have taken place without the potential closing.
The students who head the Pro-Cactus committee, entitled Student Friends of the Cactus Cafe, range from devout country music lovers to self-professed historians of the University of Texas and everything in between. Last Friday, they held a rally on the West Mall in which they unveiled a student-run initiative to keep the Cactus open. It is a complete revampimg effort, shifting the Cactus from a venue for just professional artists to an area where students too can compete for plug time based on talent. The group’s plan also allows for student management and internship opportunities while making sure the cafe remains profitable in the long term. Now, the members of the committee probably haven’t seen every single show the Cactus has offered and may have gone long periods of time without actually venturing into the cafe, let alone the Union. But this little venue holds deep enough significance to them that they put in lengthy hours to form an opposition committee, while gaining strong support from Texas legislators and musical historians to keep it open. The University has received too much negative press to let the Cactus Cafe die and will likely be forced to keep the cafe open under one proposition or another. But with all the positive attention the Cactus is receiving, is this the best time for the issue to end? I’m a huge music fan, but I had no idea of the significance of this small venue before
Students should focus their political energy closer to home By Anna Russo Daily Texan Columnist It’s funny how we can all become so apathetic so quickly. Just two years ago, this campus was buzzing with political fever. Barack Obama’s name was heard in classes from engineering to nursing. His message of change was rampant and his army of supporters was mobilized. Yet today, we have our own candidates of change running for student body president and vice president, but few among us seem to care. So many of us have lost the political fervor that defined us only two years ago. Many of us have lost our momentum at a time that matters the most. The Student Government presidential runoff next week will affect our lives at this time more than any other election we will participate in. This election may not determine what kind of health care you receive or your job stability, but it will affect the everyday things you participate in and care about at UT. It will affect your access to transportation to and from campus. It will affect the environmental sustainability of campus. It will affect the University’s
recruiting and retention of renowned professors. It will affect your representation in the Texas Legislature. It will affect the cost of your tuition and textbooks. While these issues recur in every election, the types of candidates do not. For the first time in a long time, two candidates have a real chance at ending the reign of the chosen. These candidates are Scott Parks and Muneezeh Kabir. Running on a platform of change and diversity, Parks and Kabir represent a real challenge to the establishment. Garnering almost 42 percent of the vote in the first round of voting, Parks and Kabir are standing strong in the face of a tainted opposition as the runoff approaches. It is questionable, at best, whether the Azemi/Stein campaign received 46 percent of the votes through legitimate campaign tactics or through its illegal solicitation of more than 13,000 votes through the UT directory and campus dorms. This election provides a bit of deja vu: SG insiders are feeling threatened and have resorted to breaking election code like some did last year, including Cesar Martinez Espinosa, the former chairman of the Election Supervisory Board who illegally campaigned for current SG President Liam O’Rourke. And they should feel threatened. Even with an apathetic student body,
the Parks/Kabir campaign has come out swinging with a coalition of support that is unmatched in representing the diversity of the UT student body, with endorsements from such organizations as University Democrats and Sigma Lambda Beta, a Latino fraternity. These organizations recognize that Parks and Kabir will give students a chance to be heard no matter what part of campus they come from; they understand that Parks and Kabir will give students a chance to stand up against the administration when necessary. They understand that Parks and Kabir are students’ best chance at putting a fresh face on one of the longest-running old boy’s clubs on campus. Now is the time for campus to mobilize once again. To get out and vote like we did in 2008. To let the insiders know that we’re not going to take the lies and corruption anymore. Let them know that we are sick of their narrow representation. This is the year that the student body reclaims Student Government by electing Parks and Kabir. Disclaimer: Any endorsements I make in the 2010 Student Government elections are personal and do not constitute an endorsement on behalf of Student Government, which does not endorse in any elections. Russo is a government and women’s and gender studies senior.
the whole issue gained steam. Now every time I walk into the Union on a late night Wendy’s binge, I stare at the posters highlighting the greats who have trudged through the cafe’s halls. It’s really the psychological aspect that makes me appreciate the Cactus so much, the fact that I should enjoy it now because it might be gone later. Strange as it may sound, the ideal situation for Student Friends of the Cactus Cafe is to not have their proposition ignored. This will lead to more media frenzy, growing “How could they still close it after all of that?” type conversations and, if they’re lucky, nothing short of Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen performing a benefit concert right in front of the Cactus Cafe doors. But if the committee gets its way and the Cactus stays open under its terms, this gained interest will quickly fade. In the late-night television debacle, Conan eventually took a mutli-million dollar settlement, Leno got his old slot and everything went back to normal, in that people stopped paying attention. With all its legendary history that resonates not only to Texas dwellers but music lovers across the nation, the Cactus needs to remain open. But to keep interest in this quaint little venue alive, it should face threats of closure a little while longer. Sedgwick is a Daily Texan columnist.
GALLERY
SUBMIT A COLUMN The Texan welcomes guest columns. Guest columns must be between 200 and 700 words. Please send your column to editor@dailytexanonline.com. The Texan reserves the right to edit all columns for clarity and liability.
SUBMIT A FIRING LINE E-mail your Firing Lines to firingline@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity and liability.
LEGALESE Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the writer or editor. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.
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Feds launch explosion probe, survivor files lawsuit By Tim Korte The Associated Press A survivor of a deadly explosion and fire at a southeastern New Mexico oil refinery has filed a lawsuit, claiming the cause of the blast was a welding accident that the plant operator failed to follow safety procedures. Juan Carlos Hermosillo, also known as Elias Aleman, remained hospitalized Thursday with injuries from Tuesday’s explosion at Navajo Refinery in Artesia, N.M. The 24-year-old Hobbs man sustained multiple fractures to both arms, a broken hip and back, and facial cuts. He said the accident happened at a large tank partially filled with tar. He’s seeking unspecified damages to be determined in a jury trial. Navajo Refinery and its parent company, Dallas-based Holly Corp., didn’t immediately return telephone messages seeking comment. Another defendant, Houston-based Total Safety Inc., declined to respond to the allegations in the lawsuit. The 24-hour refinery, located at the intersection of two busy highways in Artesia, turns oil into diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, asphalt and other products. The plant has the capacity to process about 95,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. According to the lawsuit, Navajo Refining failed to follow reasonable safety procedures and was negligent in authorizing work that
led to the accident. The lawsuit also says Total Safety’s representatives failed to inspect the site before the explosion. Aleman’s attorney, Noe Valles, said the worker had secured authorization permits earlier in the day to perform welding work on a 40-foot tank that is used to produce asphalt. “As he returned to welding after lunch, Mr. Aleman ignited his welder and the tank exploded,” Valles said. Inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating. Artesia police said the blast killed two men, with one body recovered at the site Tuesday. A second man was missing and presumed dead, but police Sgt. Lindell Smith couldn’t say if that body had been recovered because police were no longer investigating. “It has to do with industrial-type stuff, and we investigate crimes,” Smith explained. The dead men were identified as Natividad Andajo of Odessa, Texas, and Victor Villa of Midland, Texas. Aleman’s complaint was filed in state District Court in Santa Fe. Valles said details of the explosion were provided by Aleman, who is married with a 2-year-old daughter. The couple is expecting another child. Asked why Aleman uses two names, Valles said, “Because they have some legal implications.” He declined to elaborate.
Smoke and flames billow from a storage tank that caught fire at the Navajo Refinery in Artesia, N.M on Tuesday. Federal and state investigators were probing blackened debris Wednesday at a southeastern New Mexico oil refinery where a storage tank explosion killed two Texas men and critically injured two others.
Tyler Green Associated Press
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court: Solicitation
of votes prohibited by forum decision
an counParks said. “What’s important is From page 1 w a high that we channel this frustration wing the said. “We were under the assump- into productivity and do all we tion that we had obtained the ap- can to make sure we get elected. i in Asiaproval we needed for the e-mails. It’s important that we have honor the im-With the e-mails, this is about in- est people in office.” ated con-terpreting policy, and the board There is no tangible way of isasters,”did not follow procedures to de- proving that the Azemi-Stein termine whether we committed a campaign received more votes and eco-University offense or not.” than they would have withn the last ESB vice-chair Shara Tiku out the e-mail, Azemi said, alul factorssaid she was not sure of the ex- though gaining more votes try recov-act timeline of Appellate Court was their intention in sending ed worsehearings. Tiku said she was the e-mail. ure, fewerinterested to see how things “I don’t think you can say with reparationwould unfold given the una- certainty that it has greatly altered ake-pronenimity of the board’s decision the scope of the election,” he said. on what she called a ruling on “I disregard e-mails all the time.” ogram co-very clear policy violations. The campaign will make every sity’s Tere- “Of course Minator and Justin effort to abide by the board’s pune of Latinhave the right ishment pendalthoughto appeal the ing the outn Santia-decision — come of an apconcernedthat is part of peal and inOf course Minator nic that es-the process,” struct all camand Justin have the areas. Ti k u s a i d . paign workright to appeal the st week of“But the rules ers and agents d in Chilebroken were to cease camdecision — that is ing. Mili-b l a c k a n d paigning, Azepart of the process.” eas wherewhite.” mi said. ence were Parks and According — Shara Tiki of Chile’sK a b i r s a i d to the board’s ESB vice chair me people,the penalty ruling, Azewas not harsh mi and Stein the mili-enough, becannot pare first timec a u s e t h e ticipate in acatorship,”Azemi-Stein campaign reached tivities that might have the afo the jun-out to more than 10,000 people fect of soliciting votes, includfrom 1973illegally, which the Parks-Ka- ing wearing campaign T-shirts, watch be-bir campaign said it will have a tabling and distributing fliers. ot of darkdifficult time compensating for. The campaign must also disdifferentOnly 9,247 people voted in the able its Web site and remove . It scaredSG presidential and vice-presi- language requesting votes an electeddential election. The Parks-Ka- from all Facebook and other soto ensurebir campaign received 42 per- cial media. ” cent of the vote and the AzemiAlthough there is a disadvanLuis Car-Stein campaign received 46 per- tage due to the lost campaignhas fam-cent. ing days, Stein said they bed the port “The name recognition that lieve the message of their past the earth-you get when you send out an success in SG and their aggrest inequal-e-mail to such a huge number sive campaigning before and and low-can’t be erased in the five days after the moratorium will be be underbetween these election days,” enough to ensure their success. vandalism ets comes r class, but “[Monti] allowed me to go back re families to graduate school and encouraged me to go for more education,” f despera-
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ffer more ause theyVice Provost Monti announces not out of retirement after 43-year career water. In n Internet After working at the Universiher isolat-ty for 43 years, Executive Vice Proand help,vost Stephen Monti announced
Thursday that he will retire on Aug. 31. d governDuring his career, Monti assistbest theyed the provost in overseeing all acpeople ofademic programs on campus. He uechantesaid throughout his career, he has ble event,seen UT become a more competineed fortive research institution. within the Cheryl Kaufman, Monti’s asopefully,sistant of 11 years, said he was will estab-always independent and did not policy torequire much administrative c gap.” assistance.
Kaufman said. “I was able to work time part-time for him. I can’t even imagine UT without Monti, although I’m sure the University will be in capable hands.” Monti, who turns 70 in November, said he will miss the University because it was such a huge part of his life. “I told myself that if I was 70 years old and still working, I would retire then,” he said. Originally an assistant professor in the department of chemistry, Monti has held various administrative roles since 1974. Monti said when his replacement is announced, he will work closely with that person to ensure a smooth transition. — Hannah Jones
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Friday, March 5, 2010
Med student explains life on UT’s Board of Regents By Shabab Siddiqui Daily Texan Staff Like any other fourth-year medical student, Karim Meijer grinds away up to 12 hours a day for four weeks in rotations ranging from internal medicine to surgery. In the fall, he enthusiastically watches his former Longhorn football team battle it out on the gridiron. In his free time, he visits 15 different UT campuses, pitches ideas on where to dole out endowment funds and helps set the tuition that more than 202,000 students in the UT System will have to pay. Such is the life of the student regent on the Board of Regents. “It just comes down to time management,” Meijer said. “You end up having to make some sacrifices.” Meijer, a medical student at UTSouthwestern, graduated from UT-Austin in 2006 with degrees in business honors and finance. He also started on special teams for the Longhorns’ 2005 nationalchampionship football team. Meijer said he has visited and spoken to student leaders at almost every campus in the system and has made his accessibility clear. After decades of student struggle across the state, the State Legislature created the student regent position in 2005. Like all the other regents, the student regent is appointed by the governor, though he or she only serves for one year as opposed to the regular regent’s six-year term. The student regent is given all the access and privileges of the other regents — except for the right to vote. Meijer said he feels the restriction does not hinder his ability to contribute, as he still offers a perspective different from that of the other regents. “I’ve been [in school] much
more recently than the rest of them,” Meijer said. “I’m more in touch with the atmosphere, and I see things slightly differently.” Meijer said his role on the board is the same as all the other regents, which is to provide the best form of education to the students in the system. Meijer said because he is appointed by the governor as opposed to being elected by students, his role is not to be a student representative. “I feel I’m more a regent who is a student, kind of like a regent who is also a banker,” Meijer said. At a time of economic belttightening and tuition increases at universities, many students and faculty have said they feel detached from recent budgetary decisions. Meijer said he received no phone calls or e-mails from students who opposed the recently passed system-wide tuition increases, which he said could be because he feels many students are not aware of the student regent position. Students interested in the stu-
dent regent position must apply at the university level in the fall semester. Applications are gathered and filtered by the UT System, which then must send a minimum of two recommendations to the governor’s office. John Davis Rutkauskas, a business honors and finance sophomore, applied for the position earlier in the year. Rutkauskas, who serves on UT’s president’s Student Advisory Council, said if he gets the appointment he hopes to create incentives for college students to become K-12 teachers. Rutkauskas said he has spoken to Meijer a few times and has started familiarizing himself with the process. “[Meijer said] the challenge is figuring out before you get into the process what the role of the student regent is,” Rutkauskas said. “That way, the transition process of changing the student regent every year [doesn’t create] a gap.” The governor’s office has until June 1 to announce its appointment.
Chris Kosho | Daily Texan Staff
Regents Karim Meijer, left, and Robert Stillwell talk during a meeting on Wednesday. Meijer is serving as the student regent and said he contributes by visiting different UT campuses.
Maxx Scholten | Daily Texan Staff
Cecilia Menjivar, professor of sociology at Arizona State University, participates in the third-annual Lozano Long Conference on Thursday morning in the Santa Rita Room in the Texas Union.
Latin American crime subject of conference By Aziza Musa Daily Texan Staff To raise awareness about the continuous violence in Latin America that continues to threaten the stability of local governments and cultures, three UT organizations are hosting an interdisciplinary conference that began Thursday and ends today. The Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice and the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies sponsored the third-annual Lozano Long conference called “Republics of Fear: Understanding Endemic Violence in Latin America Today.” The two-day conference will cover topics such as gender violence, organized crime, state violence and political mobilization against violence. “Violence has new ways of ap-
pearing,” said Gabriela Polit, a UT Spanish and Portuguese professor and an organizer of the event. “The conference [tries to teach participants] the processes in which violent acts are normalized and part of daily life.” Thursday’s first panel discussion on sexual and gender violence concentrated on the idea of normalization of aggressive actions such as abuse, sex and incest. “I was deeply shocked that intrafamilial sex activity was much more common than I expected,” panelist Gloria Gonzalez-Lopez said. Gonzalez-Lopez’s discussion was based on her feminist reflections on sexual violence within family life after several interviews with women and professionals in four Mexican cities. She said Mexican societies and families, which are generally welcoming of peo-
ple, often place children at risk of abuse by including someone they are unfamiliar with into their family. From her experiences in Mexico, Gonzalez-Lopez heard many women who had been raped or sexually harassed refer to themselves not as survivors or victims, but rather as “supervivientes” — human beings that have special capacities to deal with violent acts. Paloma Diaz, senior program coordinator of the Institute of Latin American Studies, said the conference is supposed to highlight the fact that violence and abuse is much more common in Latin America than the media portrays. “Violence is an issue that involves most Latin American countries,” Diaz said. “Only through a multidisciplinary approach can we really understand it.”
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UT researchers discover ancient dinosaur species By Radhika Sakalkale Daily Texan Staff Paleontologists across the country, including some from UT, announced the identification of a set of fossil records belonging to a class of animal species that walked the earth 10 million years before the oldest known dinosaurs Thursday. UT postdoctoral researcher Sterling Nesbitt and his colleagues have discovered a new species of a dinosaur-like animal called Asilisaurus kongwe in Africa. The scientists believe the squatty, four-legged animal is part of another group of dinosaur-like species called Sileasaurs, which Nesbitt and his colleagues also discovered. Up until the Sileasaurs bones were uncovered in 2003, researchers had no prior record of the species’ existence. Since its discovery, however, researchers have found the bones in nine other locations. “This goes to show there are entire groups in the fossil record that we haven’t found yet,” Nesbitt said. Future research will look more toward the origin of birds, dinosaurs and crocodiles, which form a group of interrelated species called archosaurs, Nesbitt said. Because Asilisaurus is an early type of archosaur, this research will help clarify the relationship between archosaurs and some of the earliest dinosaurs. “[This discovery] will help us understand how animals are evolving, which is based on features of the bone,” Nesbitt said. The fact that the researchers almost have the entire skeleton of the Asilisaurus is helpful because most dinosaurs are represented by only a handful of bones, Nesbitt said. Bones up
to 240 million years old are being studied in Nesbitt’s lab and will be compared to as many close relatives as possible. “We’ll work together to put together a more complete and extensive description of this animal, describing all the kind of gory details about the anatomy of the animal and how that’s important for relationships,” said Randall Irmis, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Utah Museum of Natural History. The evolutionary relationship between all organisms is represented by a tree of life, where branching-off points represent divergence from a common ancestor, Irmis said. “We do a comparison of each bone and put them into phylogenetic matrices so we can make trees, which are representative of the relationships [between the species],” Nesbitt said. A phylogenetic analysis is a way to investigate the hypothesis of how the tree is structured by looking at specific features of animals. Computer programs analyze DNA and fossils and sort out the information to give answers that best fit the data. “This first announcement of the discovery names the animal and talks about its importance. We’ll go back and do the very fine detail of describing each bone,” Nesbitt said. Among the many differences between the two species, one defining variation has to do with a hole in dinosaurs’ hip bones. The Asilisaurus does not have this hole, which can help researchers identify its place in the evolutionary tree. The work was published in Thursday’s issue of the scientific journal Nature.
Peyton McGee | Daily Texan file photo
Anthropology senior Alex Larimore was dressed as an ancient Celt from the Iron Age for Explore UT in 2009. The event, which will be held Saturday, is an open-house that brings children, high school and college students and parents to participate in programs on campus.
Open house keeps kids in mind By Radhika Sakalkale Daily Texan Staff UT will host about 20,000 students from across the state in the largest open-house event of the year on Saturday. For the past decade, Explore UT has brought children, students and parents of all ages together to participate in more than 400 programs on campus. The programs are organized by the different colleges on campus in order to encourage students to pursue a higher education. The event features programs ranging from a children’s international festival hosted by the College of Liberal Arts to a College of Pharmacy display of faux Hogwarts’ potions made famous in the “Harry Potter” books, to a chemis-
try circus hosted by the College of help for the effort. Natural Sciences. The event is also “[University Residence Hall Asmeant to pair current and prospec- sociation] Senators and Exec memtive UT students together. bers will be volunteering in the “It is something to celebrate that dining hall to help little kids carry our students can trays and guiding really tell young them through the people what the main dining faexperience [at said resI think our students cilities,” UT] has been like idence hall assodo a great deal to both ciation President for them,” said Susan Clagett, aswelcome and inform.” Bobby Jenkins. sociate vice presStudent Govident for the Of— Susan Clagett ernment members fice of RelationAssociate vice president will welcome parship Manageticipants as they ment and Uniarrive on campus, versity Events. “It SG spokeswommakes the place more accessible.” an Danielle Brown said. A team Along with the different col- of welcoming students will volunleges, student organizations teer from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and dihave come together to pitch in recting participants around cam-
‘‘
pus and teaching them the “Texas Fight” song. “While they may not realize it, [UT students] are role models for all the children and teachers that come from all across Texas to see what a college student is like,” Clagett said. “I think our students do a great deal to both welcome and inform.” More than 255 schools, 122 from Texas, will be participating in this year’s event. “Every year, we take a picture of all the participants who want to come and form a particular shape,” Clagett said. “Last year, we were in the shape of Texas. This year, we are going to be in the shape of a heart.” Find more information about this event at utexas.edu/events/exploreut.
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T he Daily T exan
SIDELINE baseball
nCaa men’s top 25
Longhorns set to play at Minute Maid
Penn. State 65 No. 12 Michigan State 67 Providence 71 No. 18 Pittsburgh 73
nba Memphis 105 Chicago 96 LA Lakers 111 Miami 114 OT
nHl Toronto 2 Boston 3 SO Ottawa 1 Carolina 4 OT Pittsburgh 5 NY Rangers 4 OT Tampa Bay 4 Washington 5 NY Islanders 3 Atlanta 6 St. Louis 6 Dallas 1
sPORts bRIeFly No victories for Horns in USA Swimming Austin Grand Prix In the USA Swimming Austin Grand Prix finals Thursday evening, Olympian and Austinite Aaron Peirsol placed fourth in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.57. Senior Andrew Wang also failed to impress, taking sixth in 55.41. Michael Klueh stepped it up in the 400 freestyle, finishing second with a time of 3:53.15 seconds. Redshirt freshman Branden Whitehurst led for much of the way in the 200 individual medley until the final stretch dropped him to fourth with a time of 2:06.55. Olympian and former Longhorn swimmer Garrett Weber-Gale shot off the blocks with power, finishing second in an exciting race with a time of 22.24. The Austin Grand Prix continues today with the preliminaries beginning at 8:30 a.m. and the finals starting at 5:30 p.m. — Manesh Upadhyaya
Chris kosho | Daily Texan Staff
Sophomore pitcher Austin Dicharry delivers a pitch Sunday against Stanford. Dicharry is one of three Longhorns from Klein Collins High School in Spring, Texas.
First road trip of the season a Houston homecoming for Dicharry, Stafford, Marsh By Austin Ries Daily Texan Staff Longhorn pitcher Austin Dicharry knows a thing or two about long baseball games. Dicharry was the winning pitcher in the Longhorns’ record-setting 25-inning 3-2 NCAA Austin Regional win against Boston College in May, where he threw 5.2 scoreless innings on one hit and four strikeouts. But Dicharry can recall another long
baseball game from a few years earlier at Minute Maid Park in Houston — where the third-ranked Longhorns will play in this weekend’s annual Houston College Classic. Back in 2005, Dicharry watched with his family as the Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-6 with a heroic walk-off home run from Chris Burke in the bottom of the 18th inning, ending the fivehour 50-minute affair. Of course, compared to the seven-hour
three-minute marathon the Horns played, it doesn’t seem so bad. “That is one of my favorite memories at an Astros game, but it didn’t really compare to playing in that long of a ball game,” Dicharry said. “Playing was a lot better.” It will be a homecoming for Dicharry, along with pitcher Sam Stafford and catcher Patrick Marsh, who are all from
FRIday: Texas vs. Rice satURday: Texas vs. Houston sUnday: Texas vs. Missouri WHeRe: Minute Made Park WHen: 7 p.m./3:30 p.m./11 a.m. On aIR: 1300 the Zone
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men’s basketball
Texas at No. 21 Baylor
DELIVERY
Win brings hope for new beginning By Will Anderson Daily Texan Staff To Damion James, Monday’s win over Oklahoma represented more than just a crucial victory against a bitter conference rival. It was also a new beginning, a new month and, he hopes, another chance for the rebounding Longhorns, who have won three out of their last four games despite recent struggles. “That’s in the past. We are moving forward,” James said. “The losing is in the past.” On Monday, Texas (23-7, 9-6 Big 12) became the fifth team in NCAA
history to drop out of the Associated Press poll after reaching its pinnacle, which the Longhorns accomplished in week nine after starting 15-0. The last program to achieve that feat was Alabama in the 2002-03 season. But Texas lost seven of 13 games since reaching No. 1 and fell out of the national spotlight after a crushing 74-58 loss at Texas A&M on Feb. 27. The Longhorns face No. 21 Baylor in their final regular-season game this Saturday in Waco. The Bears (23-6, 10-5) have won three
games straight, including a sixpoint victory over the Aggies last week. They are third in the Big 12 and building a solid tournament resume with marquee wins over Xavier, Arizona State and South Carolina. Baylor’s most recent victory was a 20-point blowout of Texas Tech on Tuesday. The Bears are on a 7-1 winning streak stretching back almost a month. “I know our team is definitely excited about how many wins we have, but we’re more excited about what’s ahead,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “We want to fin-
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daniela trujillo | Daily Texan Staff
Freshman Kim Bruins throws a pitch in Texas’ 8-0 win Thursday night.
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By Kate Guerra Daily Texan Staff Kim Bruins recorded her first loss last weekend at the Cathedral City Classic in her native state of California and needed something to spark her old confidence. Returning to Austin, she pitched her first no-hitter in an 8-0 routing of Texas Southern. It’s safe to say her confidence is now in full force. “It’s very exciting. I came off a very hard weekend in California,” Bruins said. “[Head coach Connie] Clark and I worked a lot in the bullpen trying to get my confidence back up and making my pitches more deceptive, and I think that really worked for me tonight.”
Also highlighting the night was the performance of senior designated player Tallie Thrasher, who only had 14 at bats coming into the game. Despite that, Thrasher is tied at five for the most home runs this season and added three RBI in the Longhorns’ victory. “It’s something that I’m used to doing, just coming in and hitting,” Thrasher said. “But being just a pinch hitter for the first 14 at bats was a little different. I try to go in with a clear head and embrace my role as best I can.” Texas drew first blood in the second inning when freshman right-fielder Taylor Hoagland hit
BRUINS continues on page 9
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pitching keys for Texas From page 8 Spring, Texas, and graduates of Klein Collins High School. “It’s pretty awesome having teammates from high school on the team, cause we are all really good buddies,” Stafford said. “I know a bunch of my friends and family are coming out — and even my high school coach.” “It should be fun, and I’m sure we will have some fans come out to watch us play,” Dicharry said. “Going home should be a good atmosphere for us.” Both Dicharry and Stafford are longtime Astros fans and grew up going to games with their families. In high school, they even got a chance to play at Minute Maid Park during the championship game of the TASO tournament. “The field is so plush and incredible to play on,” Dicharry said. Texas (6-2) plays Rice in the first game Friday night, hoping to continue its success on the mound against the struggling Owls. Sophomore Taylor Jungmann, who is projected to start his third-straight Friday game for Texas, has been dominant this season with a 2-0 record, 0.64 ERA and 18 strikeouts. The Horns then play Houston
on Saturday afternoon with Brandon Workman on the mound and wrap up with Missouri on Sunday for a preview of at least one Big-12 opponent. Dicharry could get the start against the Tigers. “I’m ready to go if they call me and contribute to the team,” Dicharry said. “Playing a Big 12 team should be a good opportunity to see what everyone’s got out there and test what we have against them.” After dropping two in a row to New Mexico, the Horns have won five straight games thanks to solid pitching, timely hitting and, at Tuesday’s game, balks. The Horns squeaked out a 3-2 win after a rough outing at the plate, something head coach Augie Garrido says they will have to adjust to. “It doesn’t worry me,” Garrido said. “It’s just another challenge and another game.” Even with a poor offensive night, Texas got their first onerun win of the season and are going into this weekend with confidence and competitiveness. “We are going into Houston with a win, so we have confidence,” outfielder Connor Rowe said. “But we still have to win.”
Past: Improved free throws,
seniors could help Texas win From page 8 seed to get a first-round bye at the Big 12 tournament. The teams have identical records against the Big 12 South, the first tiebreaker, but Baylor would technically have the advantage with its better record against the division’s No. 2 squad, Texas A&M. When Texas hosted Baylor on Jan. 30, the Bears pulled out a three-point overtime victory. It was a close contest that Texas came back to nearly win,
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but free throws — a season-long problem for the Longhorns — held them back, as they missed 12 of 31 foul shots. Since then, however, Texas has improved its free throws and has shot 71 percent from the line in the past four games. Texas hopes to carry those improvements, plus the recent reemergence of center Dexter Pittman, into Saturday’s game, which represents the team’s final opportunity to impress the NCAA selection committee before the Big 12 tournament.
women’s bAsketbAll
No. 18 Texas at No. 14 Baylor
Horns face a Griner-less Baylor
By Dan Hurwitz Daily Texan Staff A punch to the face will likely benefit the Longhorns. Baylor’s freshman phenomenon Brittney Griner, who was ejected from Wednesday’s game against Texas Tech after punching an opposing player, will miss Sunday’s matchup against Texas as part of her punishment. “There’s no place for that in sports,” said Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey. “I will deal with Brittney Griner, and it won’t be discussed in the media.” But Mulkey’s public silence isn’t going to stop the media from talking about it. Analysts are discussing how severe Griner’s punishment will be for the cheap shot she threw at Texas Tech’s Jordan Barncastle. NCAA regulations require her to miss the next game, but additional punishment from the Big 12 and the University are expected. In Griner, the Lady Bears lose their leading scorer, rebounder and the Big 12’s leader in blocks but still bring a strong team into Sunday’s game, which will help determine the fourth and final spot for a first-round bye in next week’s Big 12 Tournament. Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State are all tied with a 9-6 record in Big 12 play, and while a first-round bye is beneficial, the Longhorns know it’s not necessary for them to make a run. “I think it is very important for us to try our hardest and get that
sundAy: No. 18 Texas (19-9) at No. 14 Baylor (21-7) wHeRe: Ferrell Center wHen: 2:30 p.m. on AIR: FSN/XM Ch. 231 bye,” said forward Earnesia Williams. “If we don’t, we just have to go in there and win it the hard way.” The Longhorns know all about winning the hard way in the Big 12. They have used defense, holding 16 of their opponents to 10 points below their season average. They have also won with offense. The Longhorns are 19-0 when shooting over 40 percent from the field and 1-9 when shooting under 40 percent. But the Longhorns offense comes without a superstar scorer and would not be affected as much as other teams if they were to remove a “star player” from a game. Down to only nine players after Lauren Flores’ season-ending knee injury, any player on the Longhorns is capable of stepping up and having a big game. The Longhorns’ depth is even good enough for four bench players to outscore five of an opposing team’s starters, which happened against Missouri on Wednesday. “All year long, it has been that way in that we have such great depth, not big numbers, but I
Rod Aydelotte | Associated Press
Baylor freshman Brittney Griner, right, battles for a rebound against Texas Tech’s Jordan Barncastle on Feb. 17 in Waco. think great depth in that it is quality depth,” said coach Gail Goestenkors. “On any given night, you just don’t know who is going to have a great game for us.” Baylor, on the other hand, may not have that luxury. Griner has been the leading scorer in the majority of the Bears’ games this season, including their last game against the Longhorns on January 31. In the Baylor loss, Griner was the lone highlight for Baylor, scoring 21 points and bringing down
seven rebounds. The 6-foot-8 center, who was formerly known for YouTube videos of her dunking, is now being searched online for her infamous punch. And her team will suffer from it as the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments approach. A Longhorn offense that attacked the post consistently in Wednesday’s win over Missouri, scoring 36 points in the paint, will likely continue to do so with Griner missing from Baylor’s lineup.
bruins: Another difficult road test for ‘positive’ Longhorns First Tennessee Tournament. “I think we try to schedule the an RBI triple to score sophomore most difficult non-conference third baseman Nadia Taylor, who schedule we can because that does had reached on a walk. Thrasher help us down the stretch,” Clark followed up with an RBI ground- said. “We’re a little heavy on the out to bring Hoagland home. road. I don’t think we particularly Looking forward to the week- like to have road trips three weekend, Texas is on the road again, this ends in a row.” time to Knoxville to compete in the Texas doesn’t seem to be having
From page 8
much trouble staying motivated. “At this point, our goal is just to get better every game,” Taylor said. “And as a collective group, we have one common goal to get better each game, each practice. If you’re around positive people, positive things will come of that.” Positivity is something that the Longhorns are in no short supply
of. What began as an under-ranked team making a statement in the first couple weeks of the polls has turned into something much bigger than a “win or lose” attitude. Texas wants it all. “We set segment goals,” said freshman pitcher Blaire Luna. “We try to learn from each game and stay pitch-to-pitch.”
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men’s and women’s tennis
rowing
Big weekend for both Texas teams Longhorns could earn top spot in ITA team rankings with sweep By Rishi Daulat Daily Texan Staff If the No. 4 Longhorns can get through this weekend unscathed, they might just find themselves at the top spot in next week’s ITA team rankings. Unlike the past two weeks, where Texas’ only real test came against No. 31 Rice, the Horns now have two grueling matches in a span of three days. First, they head to Durham, N.C., Friday to take on No. 33 Duke. Sunday, they’ll take on top-ranked Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. After starting off the season ranked No. 19, Duke has strugdanielle Villasana | Daily Texan Staff 1 gled against top teams. The Blue Longhorn rowers get ready to race at Lady Bird Lake. After sweeping the top three places in the Fighting Devils are anchored by the ITA Nutria, Texas will compete this weekend in their first sprint race of the spring season. No. 3 doubles team Henrique Cunha and Reid Carleton. Cunday, month day, 2008 LASSIFIEDS ha is also the No. 14 singles play-
Texas returns to Lady Bird Campus Lake for its first sprint race C
RTISE ADVE TUDENT S ! YOUR NIZATION Emily Brlansky ORByGA
CORKBOARD
Daily Texan Staff Texas will hit the waters of Lady Bird Lake Saturday morning for The Heart of Texas regatta, its first sprint race of the spring. The Longhorns swept the top three places in their last regatta, but the 1,000-meter race this weekend will offer new challenges, including competition from other Division I schools and club teams. Often lasting only a few minutes, the sprint-style races in the Heart of Texas regatta test the dexterity of each rower on the boat and challenge the ability of the team to work together. A combination of fast reflex-
uns ad irne for onl
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Winning streak on the line for Texas women against tough SMU
es and team reliability is necessary to be successful in these regattas. “I want them to take responsibility for their performance on Saturday morning in the heat and Saturday afternoon in the finals, just as I would like to see them take responsibility for all their actions that lead to fast performances,� Texas coach Carie Graves said. With their impressive record in recent years and their performance in the last regatta on Feb. 20, the Longhorns definitely deserve credit for their efforts. Graves believes that Texas is more than capable of another winning season. Out on the water, team members must rely
By Alexandra Carreno Daily Texan Staff Both Texas and SMU enter Saturday’s match with winning streaks to uphold, but late in the afternoon, one of those streaks will be over. Texas hopes to be the team that emerges victorious, boosting their winning streak and confidence. The Longhorns (3-3) enter the match with a couple of weeks of great play under their belt, winning their last two matches. A decisive 7-0 victory over Fresno State last Saturday was exactly what the Horns needed to proceed with confidence against a very strong SMU team.
on one another to be successful because unlike most other sports, the coach cannot coach from the sidelines. It is simply too far away. “When they race on the water by themselves, there is no coach calling the shots,� Graves said. “They are on their own, and the result is [earned] solely by them. I expect them to step up.� Texas might be on their own, but as a varsity team, they prepare to come together with deliberate team dependability. Graves leaves the race plan up to each boat during these regattas, which require all the team members to take responsibility for their actions and results.
er, Carleton is No. 70 and Dylan Arnould, who mostly plays at the third singles spot for Duke, checks in at No. 63. Duke has played only seven matches on the season and is 5-2 with three straight wins. No. 1 Virginia is absolutely loaded. With seven ranked singles players, some Cavaliers on the ITA singles list don’t even start — yet are still ranked. The Cavaliers have the top two singles players in the country in No. 1 Sanam Singh and No. 2 Michael Shabaz. Their third singles player, Jarmere Jenkins, is No. 27, sophomore Drew Courtney is No. 45, Houston Barrick is No. 64 and Lee Singer — who at one point in the season was in the top 30 — is now No. 102. Two sophomores from the Netherlands, Steven Eelkman Rooda and Philippe Oudshoorn, are both ranked No. 112 yet have rarely started this season. The Virginia lineup also features two ranked doubles teams, No. 11 Singh and Barrick and No. 21 Courtney and Shabaz. The
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be a great challenge.� Weekly Rates: The Mustangs are led by two sophomores, Marta Lesniak and $100 – Large Aleksandra Malyarchikova, who $50 – Medium have each won all of their 11 individual matches this season. Le$25 – Small sniak stands at No. 59 in the Inter-
“We’ve started to turn the corners, especially with the last weekend,� Texas head coach Patty Fendick-McCain said. “It was unfortunate that we got rained out for our second match against Arizona State, but we played one really good match against Fresno State last Saturday.� Senior Sarah Lancaster has been tearing through her opponents in singles play of recent matches. Against Fresno State, she recorded a noteworthy shutout in her singles match, 6-0, 6-0. Meanwhile, the 22nd-ranked Mustangs are having quite the season as well, winning 12 of 13 matches. Their only loss came in late January to Florida International. “[SMU] played a lot of matches,� Fendick-McCain said. “We haven’t played as many matches, obviously, and for us, it’s going to
Contact Joan at 512-232-2229 or email joanw@mail.utexas.edu
CLASSIFIEDS THE DAILY TEXAN
Cavaliers are 14-1 this season, with their only hiccup coming early in the season at No. 8 Kentucky. Since that loss, the Cavaliers have won 11 straight matches, the ITA National Indoor Championships and, incredibly, have only conceded a total of three points during their winning streak. The Texas squad is 12-1 on the season and is led by fouryear stalwart No. 7 Dimitar Kutrovsky. He is the top singles player for the Horns, and the Bulgarian also teams up with fellow senior Josh Zavala to form the No. 4 doubles duo. Junior Ed Corrie, who plays at the second singles spot, has only lost once all season and is ranked ITA No. 10, while he and Colorado native Kellen Damico have hit their stride in doubles and are now ranked No. 22. Also ranked are No. 78 Zavala, who is 9-2 this year at singles, and Damico, who comes in at No. 95.
collegiate Tennis Association’s singles rankings. At No. 22 in the ITA’s doubles standings, Lesniak and playing partner Pavi Francis have quite a strong doubles game. “SMU is obviously a good team. They’ve come a long way in the past couple of years under a newer, younger coach,� Fendick-McCain said. However, Texas has a trio of strong doubles squads, as well. “Our doubles teams are good,� she said. “If they put it together, and we play well, we are capable of beating anyone.�
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LIFE&ARTS
Friday, March 5, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Burton’s ‘Alice’ falls down rabbit hole, disappoints
By Kate Ergenbright Daily Texan Staff Tim Burton’s three-dimensional remake of Lewis Carroll’s beloved “Alice in Wonderland” has had industry insiders and fans alike counting down the days to the premiere of what sounds like a match made in cinematic heaven. Carroll’s original Wonderland is richly imaginative, a virtual playground for someone with Burton’s visual style and skills as an animator and director. It should be noted that Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” isn’t really Alice in Wonderland at all; it’s a pseudo-sequel that takes place 13 years after the original story, so anyone looking for childhood nostalgia will be severely disappointed. In Burton’s “Alice,” written by Disney veteran Linda Woolverton (“Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King”), a 19-year-old Alice runs from her obnoxious suitor while in the midst of an unwelcome marriage proposal, trips and suddenly finds herself spiraling down a dark, dirt hole. The Wonderland Alice stumbles upon, or Underland as it is called throughout the movie, is a dystopian version of Carroll’s original, whimsical land. The villainous Red Queen, played by Helena Bonham Carter, rules over Underland with an iron fist, instilling fear in all the inhabitants of the land. The story may be new, but many of Carroll’s beloved characters still reside in Underland, like the Blue Caterpillar, played by Alan Rickman, and the Mad Hatter, played by Johnny Depp. Many years of the Red Queen’s harsh rule have left the majority of the characters depressed and in Depp’s case, slightly manic and tortured, almost unrecogniz-
able from their original versions. Burton’s Underland is visually intriguing, but the story is lacking and surprisingly conventional. It’s a world completely devoid of the whimsical, joyous elements so prevalent throughout Carroll’s stories. Any trace of whimsy disappears almost immediately after Alice’s return to Wonderland, when the audience is given a full plot synopsis. The 3-D element is a distraction and does nothing to enhance the film. The best parts of the movie are the very beginning and very end — when Alice is out of Underland and immersed in Victorian English society. Interestingly, the film ends with a strong feminist message as Alice assumes a typical male position at a trading company. Furthermore, Burton’s starstudded cast gives splotchy performances. Helena Bonham Carter is great as the Red Queen, but Anne Hathaway’s White Queen falls short. Her stark white hair does not match her thick black eyebrows and deep purple lips. Beyond the costuming faux pas, throughout the movie Hathaway holds her arms up in some sort of pose — hoping to denote aristocracy — that just makes her performance appear amateurish and overacted. The only character that truly appears to be a descendent of Carroll’s stories is the Cheshire Cat, played by Stephen Fry. Fry is able to give the character the same mischievous twinkle that made him a favorite in the original stories. The movie is a disappointment to fans of the classic “Alice in Wonderland” looking to revisit their childhood, but it’s worth a screening if you’re a Burton fan.
Tamir Kalifa | Daily Texan Staff
Harrision Smith clutches a mounted deer head as Trevor Smith, left, Jono Foley, center and Derek Beck jump on a trampoline behind him. Such a sight is typical of the creators of Neko Neko Films, a local comedy troupe that produces humorous short films “for the hell of it.”
ARTS: Nekonians compete with viral videos From page 14
Though YouTube had proved to be the wrong place for Neko Neko’s films, all hope was not lost as a newer, more professional video-sharing platform
thought-out films would not dominate the content. Instead, the site has been flooded with shot-on-the-spot, choppy and often poorly planned movies. “Finding a good video on YouTube is like finding a needle in a Making movies is shit-stack,” Trevor said. really not that hard The craze over videos of silly once you get used to animals and prank phone calls proved somewhat disheartening it.” for the struggling entertainers. — Harrison Smith “It’s obnoxious to a filmmaker when you see things like a Member of the kitty cat who covers its eyes Nekonians getting more [views] than a film you pour your effort into,” Derek said. “One is just something random and relatively unimportant, while the other is popped up — Vimeo. “When we started using Via part of you — an expression meo, we noticed a lot of big difof who you are.”
‘‘
Grade: B -
ferences right off the bat,” Harrison said. “Unlike the cute and adorable videos you can find on YouTube, Vimeo was a place where filmmakers put up stuff that showed emotion — stuff that showed their heart and soul.” Though they found a niche within the confines of Vimeo, the Nekonians said they still hope to attract more people to both their YouTube and Vimeo audiences.
Bringing more to the table Regardless of the bad taste YouTube has left in their mouths, the team unanimously agrees the Internet is crucial for young artists. “The Internet is such an incredibly invaluable tool that ... all aspiring artists should grasp,” Derek said. “Filmmak-
ers, especially, must not squander the gift of the Web world.” To allow others to share their passion for the arts, Neko Neko established a second Web site in addition to its film Web site. At www.nekocreative.com, friends of the group are able to post their personal, creative works ranging from poetry to paintings to daily rants. The Nekonians plan to open a third Web site, dedicated to music, in the coming months. When asked if diversifying the company’s base by adding two relatively different art sites would deter them from continuing to make movies, Harrison was quick to respond. “Hell, no,” he said. “Our goal is to make movies, so we can make money, so we can make more movies.”
ROAD: Lockhart barbecue fingerlickin’ good From page 14 age barbecue place. First, there are no plates or forks. The food, which is ordered by the pound, comes wrapped in butcher paper, and you eat with your hands. Second, there is no sauce. To even ask would insult the flavor of their meat. The pit room is devoted to the smoke pits — the classic cooking method of Texas barbecue. It holds eight 16-foot brick pits, each with a burning pile of wood at the end and a vent that leads the smoke around the meat to cook it slowly. I walked into this rather intimidating room and asked for a half pound of brisket. I proceeded into the dining room, bought myself some German potatoes and an iced tea (total: $7.95) and sat down to the meal I had been anticipating for weeks. When I took my first bite, I immediately knew it was the best brisket I had ever tasted. I could pull it apart easily by hand, and it nearly melted in my mouth. It was perfectly moist. The bark — the black outside of the brisket — was outstanding. I had achieved barbecue nirvana. I topped it off with a scoop of vanilla Blue Bell ice cream and considered it a perfect barbecue experience. Next up was Smitty’s Market for some ribs, which VanGeest told me shouldn’t be passed up. “They are tender but not falling apart, tangy, sweet and smokey, with the fat melting in your mouth rather than being chewy and unappetizing,” he explained. “On a good day, Smitty’s ribs are unbeatable.” Smitty’s is located in downtown Lockhart, Kreuz’s orginal location. A disagreement within the family that ran Kreuz in the 1990s caused the owner to break off and move Kreuz to its new location. The original location reopened under the name Smitty’s, maintaining the original Kreuz’s style and feel. Here, I could really feel the history of the restaurant. The pit room is smaller, and the walls and ceiling are covered with years of soot. The fire to the main pit is right by the entrance, and I could feel its heat as I ordered my food. The building has the full smalltown vibe, and it didn’t seem like as big of a tourist destination. This place is all about the locals, and
Lockhart
183 Kreuz 619 N. Colorado St. Lockhart, TX 78644
Lockhart City Park
Smitty’s 208 S. Commerce St. Lockhart, TX 78644
142 Thu Vo | Daily Texan Staff
the community is vibrant. Just like the Kreuz brisket, the Smitty’s ribs were a revelation. They were delicious, and I found myself again in barbecue heaven. The brisket was also excellent, but I think VanGeest was right when he told me “the magic in barbecue is being able to recreate the experience again and again. Kreuz always delivers the best brisket and good ribs, and Smitty’s always delivers the best ribs and good brisket.” Each had their own specialty, and both were outstanding. Although barbecue was my main focus, the rest of Lockhart is definitely worth checking out. The town has a historic feel, and
the people were all friendly. I went to Lockhart not only to fill my stomach but also to explore my Texan identity. When I graduate in May, I’ll most likely move out of state for the first time in my life. In the mean time, I’m feeling sentimental and nostalgic for my Texan upbringing. My Lockhart journey was a great experience, and I came away with a great appreciation for barbecue as an art form rather than just another meal. With a full stomach and enhanced Texas pride, I felt like a drive to Lockhart was a quintessentially Texan experience and a damn good place to grab lunch.
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14 LIFE
LIFE&ARTS
14
Friday, March 5, 2010
Life&Arts Editor: Ben Wermund E-mail: lifeandarts@dailytexanonline.com Phone: (512) 232-2209 www.dailytexanonline.com
T HE DAILY T EXAN
Why don’t we do it on the road? Filmmakers foster
LOCKHART
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a weekly series exploring day-and-weekend trip destinations across Texas By John Meller Daily Texan Staff n Austin, we wear our barbecue culture on our sleeves. The Salt Lick, just southwest of Austin in Driftwood, is considered a must-see for visiting non-Texans. One of our most popular music venues, Stubb’s, is a barbecue joint. And, as blasphemous as it would feel to take a bite of Bevo, beef is essentially UT’s mascot. It doesn’t take a genius to realize Texans take their barbecue seriously. American barbecue might have been invented in the Carolinas, but that doesn’t concern us. A true Texan knows there’s only one way to do it — and we’ve perfected it. I’m a native Texan, and I’ve eaten barbecue my entire life. Admittedly, I’ve taken it for granted. When you can get it everywhere, it’s easy to forget you can’t get this heavenly food just anywhere outside Texas. I decided it was time for the real deal. Austin barbecue is good, but I wanted to go someplace where I can feel my Texan heritage in the brisket. I wanted an authentic Texan barbecue experience. I set my sights on Lockhart, a small town about 30 miles south of Austin. For a population of 12,000, Lockhart has plenty of beef to go around. It has four major barbecue restaurants, two of which — Kreuz Market and Smitty’s — are regarded among the top five in Texas. It was my goal to visit both of these restaurants.
I
Katherine Medlin | Daily Texan Staff
Edward Fernandez and Roy Perez work the smoke pit of Kreuz Market in Lockhart. Kreuz is consistently ranked as one of the top five best barbecue restaurants in Texas and is known for its brisket. I left Austin for Lockhart on a Saturday with a few friends, including Josh VanGeest — a recently graduated UT student and barbecue connoisseur. VanGeest explained that the best time to eat Lockhart barbecue is usually between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. “The meat is usually at its hottest and juiciest, with the perfect amount of smoke, and most importantly, hasn’t sold out yet,” VanGeest told me. So we jumped in the car around 11 and set off on our adventure. We got to Kreuz Market, located on U.S. Highway 183 on the edge of town, at around 11:45. The building is gigantic. Kreuz was founded in 1900 in
a small building, but they expanded to a much larger location in 1999. They certainly utilize the space — the line was out the door when we got there and didn’t slow down over the next hour. The place was packed, and many of the patrons wore burnt orange. It’s a very popular tourist spot for Austin residents on Saturdays, when Kreuz does 45 percent of its business. The restaurant is filled with relics of early 20th century Texas, including farm equipment, stuffed animals, faded photographs and cowboy memorabilia. It’s essentially a small-town Texas history mu-
N PRI RIZES S FROM F
texasstudentmedia.com/iphoneapp/ dentmedia.com/iphoneapp/
seum. In the dining room, a 6-foot snake skin hangs on the wall with a sign explaining it was “killed by Jiggs Walker just south of town ... it had two baby kittens inside.” Upon entering, there’s an option to go through a door into the dining room or follow the path into the pit room to order meat. A sign on the door reads “Vegetarians enter here, normal folks down the hall.” Considering myself “normal folk,” I moved down the hall to buy myself some meat. There are a few things that raise Kreuz above the aver-
ROAD continues on page 13
creative passion through Internet
By John Ross Harden Daily Texan Staff As demand for online video sharing rapidly increases and movies — which once dominated the silver-screen — transition to the computer screen, the characteristics of filmmaking are slowly changing. For the first time since my interest in movies was initially sparked, I have never thought the definition of filmmaking to be so multi-faceted — that is, until I met the creative minds behind Neko Neko Productions, an Austin-based production group specializing in the creation of short films intended for the Internet. The Nekonians, as they refer to their collective crew, currently consist of four UT and ACC students — Harrison Smith, Derek Beck, Trevor Smith and Jono Foley — all of who became close friends at Houston’s Bellaire High School because of their love for making movies. “We all just had a passion for what we were doing,” Harrison explained. “It was not only what we thought about during the day, but all we did during the night.”
Getting into the act of things “Neko Neko,” an Indonesian slang term for a novel idea that only makes things worse, describes the group’s early film efforts perfectly — a good idea but a seemingly difficult hobby to pursue. The Nekonians lacked any formal training in film, but that didn’t slow their passion or drive. With an emphasis on learning through experience and a desire to produce their comedic parodies, the company began creating
five- to 10-minute short films specifically designed to help learn the ropes of filmmaking. “Making movies is really not that hard once you get used to it,” Harrison said. “Really, all you have to do is grab a camera, mess around with it for a while, and pretty soon you figure out how to work it.” Even though the films were short, they all required days of planning, writing and rehearsing. The group began producing three short films a month. Their intense interest in film began outweighing their lives as students. “It’s hard to focus in algebra when all you want to do is make movies,” Jono said, jokingly. “After all, we’re filmmakers that go to school, not students that just happen to make films.” Despite shortcomings in their non-production lives, the group’s film prowess had developed drastically. Once hardly able to operate a camera, the Nekonians now had created a collection of over 40 short films, opened a Web site to host their films and were becoming eager to show them to a large audience.
The Internet effect For as long as reels have rolled, the premier stage for the display of a filmmaker’s work was the cinema. This changed forever in 2005 with the creation of YouTube. YouTube offered the same exposure opportunity for filmmakers that online music sharing offered for musicians. Shortly after the site’s creation, it became clear that scripted,
ARTS continues on page 13