The Daily Texan 2022-04-08 by The Daily Texan

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VOLUME 122, ISSUE 61 FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

‘A really beautiful thing’:

UT community celebrates autism acceptance month

barbra daly

/ the daily texan staff

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UT community discusses and celebrates Autism Acceptance Month

News

page

UT administration must better connect campus resources to Riverside area.

Life&Arts

page

Micah Braswell finishes sophomore year strong with the help of tennis mentors.

Opinion

Assoc. Newsletters Editor Jessica Garcia Copy Desk Chiefs Mantra Dave, Angelina Braese

Life&Arts Editor Zoe Tzanis

Sports Editor Hannah Williford

Sports

page

Contents:

UT Landmarks brings back annual bike tour for the first time after pandemic.

(512) 471-4591

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Sanika Nayak (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Phoebe Hayes (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@thedailytexan.com

NEWS OFFICE

STATE

UT law community wins religious liberties SCOTUS case

The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. E-mail managingeditor@thedailytexan.com.

BUSINESS & ADVERTISING (512) 471-8590 advertise@texasstudentmedia.com Director Gerald Johnson Business/ Operations Manager Frank Serpas III Advertising Manager Emily Cohen Manager for Product and Revenue Strategy Marlies Arevalo Are Media Account Executive Chance Weick Design Tillie Policastro Digital operations Jason Lihuang

By Judith Matehuala @judith_mate

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8-1 that the state of Texas likely violated capital inmate John Ramirez’s religious liberty rights when it denied his request for his minister to pray and lay his hands on him during Ramirez’s execution. Ramirez’s execution was originally scheduled for Sept. 2021 for the robbery and murder of a store clerk in 2004. His execution has since been postponed. Texas Law alumnus Seth Kretzer collaborated with the UT Law community to defend Ramirez and obtain the March 25 SCOTUS decision. “You’re standing in front of these godlike figures you’ve been hearing about your entire life, standing 10 feet in front of you,” Kretzer said. “That’s a little humbling for the

(512) 232-2207 news@thedailytexan.com

legal arguments when you represent someone on death row.” The law school’s Supreme Court Clinic and Law and Religion Clinic both served as co-counsels, working on different arguments for the case, according to both Lisa Eskow, co-director for the Supreme Court Clinic, and Steven Collis, faculty director for the Law and Religion Clinic. “Being able to turn to our Law and Religion Clinic and have them … use their contacts and resources … to turn around an incredible brief is an amazing resource that was available to us and to the students,” Eskow said. Collis said that because the case was expedited, normally monthslong work had to be finished in weeks. Ward Farnsworth, dean of the School of Law, said in an email that multiple faculty members and alums of the law school were involved in

the SCOTUS case. “Our clinics, the faculty and their students are top-notch,” Farnsworth said. “The stakes are high and real, and the clients who use our clinics are always in good hands.” Ramirez’s new execution date has not been set, and following the SCOTUS decision, the prison system put out a statement saying they are not revising their written protocol on whether inmates have religious liberties on their execution date, Kretzer said. However, the case ruled that Ramirez has the right to a pastor by his bedside during his execution. “That’s a problem, because that protocol doesn’t say a word about what a pastor can do or can’t do,” Krezter said. “The Attorney General’s office needs to come up with what position they want to take, and you know what, we’ll litigate against it.”

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Copyright 2022 Texas Student Media. All articles, photographs and graphics, both in photog print and online editions, are the property of Texas Student Media and may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without written permission. The Daily Texan, a student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin, is published by Texas Student Media, 2500 Whitis Ave., Austin, Texas 78712. Our work is made possible by support from our advertising partners and donors. To provide individual support, please visit The Daily Texan page at supportstudentvoices.org. To highlight your business, please email advertise@texasstudentmedia.com. The Daily Texan does not publish during academic breaks, most Federal Holidays and exam periods. News contributions will be accepted by telephone (471-4591,) or at the editorial office (HSM 2.120.) Entire contents copyright 2022Texas Student Media.

HANNAH WILLIFORD

Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

FEATURE

SPORTS

Micah Braswell rises to top OF Texas tennis The former No. 1 recruit is building on prolific freshman season. By Evan Vieth @EvanVieth

ven before becoming one of the best college tennis players in the country, sophomore Micah Braswell found himself surrounded by tennis champs who helped him through early struggles. At the age of 12, Braswell suffered what would be the first of two stress fractures to his vertebrae. “That was when I was really feeling myself start to improve,” Braswell said. “It was really tough for me and my dad. It took us a while to figure out.” Braswell’s tennis career started when he was five. With coaching from his father Ty, a former player and assistant coach for the Florida State Seminoles, Braswell quickly discovered a love for the game. Alongside his father, Braswell found a second mentor in his young tennis career: former top-five player Jimmy Arias. When Arias wasn’t working as a commentator for the Tennis Channel, the former pro helped Braswell throughout his childhood. “Just knowing that he was on top of the game helps me really trust whatever he has to say,” said Braswell. “He’s been a great mentor for me my whole tennis career.” With the help of his father and Arias,

Braswell rose to the top of the ITF junior rankings. He reached the number one recruit spot in the country, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network. Riding his success as a junior player, Braswell committed to his father’s alma mater, Florida State. “I’d grown up going to camps at Florida State, and I love that school,” Braswell said. After a successful senior year, however, Braswell began to take advice from Brandon Wagner, Texas tennis’s assistant head coach. “He started recruiting me a little bit,” Braswell said. “Being able to meet Bruce (Berque) and realize (his coaching skills) was the biggest attraction.” “I’ve known Micah for several years before starting at Texas,” Wagner said. “I saw the vision of him being an excellent college player and nurtured that along the way.” With the guidance of Wagner, the leadership of head coach Berque and the ability to play with other standout players, Braswell was hooked. Entering the team his freshman year, he wasted no time establishing his place, becoming a staple of the Longhorn lineup his first year. Braswell won the first nine matches of his career and finished out fall play winning 12 of 13. “Coming in, I feel like there wasn’t a lot of pressure on me,” said Braswell, “I was able to have a really good first semester

even during COVID.” Braswell rode his early success into one of the most prolific freshman seasons in Texas tennis history. He finished as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year as well as Second-Team All-Big 12, all while helping the Longhorns make the Tennis Final Four. Braswell attributed his success to his work ethic and the help from both Wagner and Berque. “They’ve really focused a lot on the mental part of my game,” Braswell said. “They’re pushing me in practice every day to play like I’m going to play in the matches.” Wagner has witnessed the improvement in Braswell’s game over the past two years as well. “His mental toughness, his resiliency, his attitude has improved drastically,” Wagner said. “He’s also (gotten) stronger, but overall, his mental game has improved a lot.” Because of injuries to previous first-inthe-order singles player Eliot Spizzirri, Braswell was thrust into the top spot as

just a sophomore. He dropped his first match against unranked UTSA but persevered through the struggles. “There was some doubt that crept in after the match,” said Braswell. “Instead of letting myself go that negative way, I just kept working really hard.” Braswell did work hard, and the results came through. In the number one spot, Braswell has enjoyed multiple highranked wins. “He’s playing some of the best players in the country, and he’s winning,” Berque said. “He’s done a lot better job in the last couple of months of establishing a base with his game and reducing the errors he makes.” Alongside an extremely strong season in singles, Braswell has played on all three positions with Chih Chi Huang, with two undefeated games in the two-spot. Braswell looks to ride his success into a strong end of the season, and the player, hoping to crack the top 20, will be a key to the success of the Longhorns in their tough Big 12 schedule.

micah braswell

/ the daily texan file

On Sunday, February 13, Micah Braswell makes a run for the ball at the UCF vs UT men’s tennis match.

SPORTS

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

BASEBALL

Stehly stays on red-hot hitting streak ahead of TCU series By Jordan Mitchell @TheJordanKenzie

Redshirt senior Tristan Stevens remembers the last time TCU played Texas at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Back in 2018, the Horned Frogs made the trip down to Austin for the final weekend of regular season play against the Longhorns. Texas clinched the Big 12 Championship title for the first time since 2011 with its sweep of TCU. “(It) was the weekend Kody Clemens made a name for himself. He hit that go-ahead home run to right-center,” Stevens said. “It’s gonna be exciting (with the) sold-out crowds again.”

In 2018, Clemens hit .351 on the season, with 24 home runs, 72 RBI and a fielding percentage of .983 at second base, earning him Big 12 Player of the Year and First-Team All-American honors. Head coach David Pierce compares redshirt senior Murphy Stehly to Clemens. This season, Stehly ranks fourth nationwide in batting average with a .456, second in total bases with 99 and leads the nation with 57 hits. Like Clemens, Stehly worked hard before emerging as one of the premier hitters of the program. Recruited as a utility man that could play any infield position, the current right fielder has primarily served as the “10th man” on the team during his

time at Texas. “In Kody’s first two years, he (was batting) a .240 to .245 average,” Pierce said. “(He had) two years of just working and getting better, and then it clicked for him and he turned into (the Big 12) Player of the Year.” However, Stehly earned his spot in the lineup with his defensive versatility and juiced bat. More than halfway through the season, Stehly is on the midseason watch list for USA Baseball’s annual Golden Spikes Award, alongside redshirt sophomore Pete Hansen and redshirt junior Ivan Melendez. The Golden Spikes Award honors the top collegiate baseball player in the country every year. “He’s the hardest worker I’ve

ever seen,” Stevens said. “For him to be putting up the numbers he (is), it just goes to show the work he’s putting in behind the scenes.” For Pierce, he will need Stehly’s help to get the offense going against No. 23 TCU. Despite their “hit or miss” pitching rotation, the Horned Frogs are a scrappy team that finds ways to win games. With ace pitcher Riley Cornelio and reliever Luke Savage’s command of the zone, TCU should play a competitive weekend of baseball. “Riley Cornelio always gives (TCU) a chance to win,” said Charles Baggarly, a TCU 360 baseball reporter. “(And in Savage’s) first two outings, he gave up three combined total runs,

but since then, he has not given up a single run.” TCU is also a squad that will throw Texas’ pitchers into jams. The Horned Frogs are second in the Big 12 and fourth nationally with 190 walks, while boasting an on-base percentage of .396. “I think the biggest thing for us against their offense is to pound the strike zone. I like Pete (Hansen) and Tristan (Stevens) in those roles,” Pierce said. With Saturday and Sunday’s games already sold out, Stevens is excited to play a good team in front of a big crowd back at home. “I feel like we haven’t played at the Disch much,” Stevens said. “We are definitely looking forward to this weekend.”

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/ the daily texan file

Texas redshirt senior Murphy Stehly hustles down the line after hitting a fly ball against Rice at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Feb 19. Stehly batted .294 with two doubles, one triple and seven RBIs for Texas in 2021.

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S A N I K A N AYA K

Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION FRIDAY, ARPIL 8, 2022

EDITORIAL

OPINION

Riverside students deserve better

The Daily Texan Editorial Board urges UT to listen to Riverside students’ demands and extend greater resources to commuter-students. By The Daily Texan Editorial Board

iving in Riverside is a rollercoaster.” With inconsistent bus schedules, limited transportation and insufficient access to University resources, it’s no wonder that government senior and Riverside resident Mariah Sanchez feels this way. This semester alone, students living in the area faced bus delays and CapMetro service disruptions. During Winter Storm Uri, off-campus students were largely on their own in locating food, adequate shelter and clean water. Unreliable transportation, combined with a general lack of UT outreach, has made living in Riverside a taxing experience. Students in the Riverside community have been neglected for years. It’s unacceptable that students there are continually forced to fend for themselves, and it’s well past time for the administration to support these students. The University must commit itself to better connecting with the Riverside community by adding resources to the area, improving the current transportation system and implementing policies that benefit commuter students. LEGALESE | Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the Editorial Board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.

carly phoon

“Living in Riverside, I’ve had to make a lot of choices, because I don’t have a lot of time,” Sanchez said. “A lot of our time is spent commuting … it’s a very inconvenient hassle because it’s 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back.” For Sanchez, her day-to-day choices like SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | Email your Firing Lines to editor@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.

where, or whether, to eat are heavily influenced by her commute. She said that she often finds herself either staying up late prepping food for the next day or forgoing food altogether while on campus to save money. Unlike students who live on or near campus, students who commute from RECYCLE | Please recycle this copy of The Daily Texan. Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it.

/ the daily texan staff

Riverside don’t enjoy the luxury of stopping by their apartments between classes. It’s unfair to assume that all students live close to campus, especially as Austin housing prices climb higher and higher. Affordable housing is an imminent crisis at UT, and students are often forced to move EDITORIAL TWITTER | Follow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter (@TexanOpinion) and receive updates on our latest editorials and columns.

farther from campus to mitigate costs. Riverside is an example of a prominent student community that deserves better connectivity with campus. The current disconnect between campus resources and Riverside unfairly punishes students for seeking lower-cost housing.

It’s a very inconvenient hassle because it’s 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back.” MARIAH SANCHEZ government senior

“If I could have lived closer to the campus for a cheaper price, I would have done that instead of where I’m at now,” radio-television-and-film sophomore Gael Landeros said. “ … I’m farther away and, well, based on my experiences, (living in Riverside) is not as good as I want it to be.” Sanchez, along with other Riverside student residents, formed the Rise Riverside coalition to bring the student community together and advocate for more resources from the University and the city. The organization has released a list of demands that include changes to attendance policies, education about commuting, renting and renters’ rights for commuter students, a commuter students center and an expansion of shuttle services. At the very least, UT administration must meet with these student organizers and make a plan to confront the challenges they continue to deal with. “The thing that they can do to acknowledge us is (to take) action, and actually … make the commitment to follow through with some of our demands, and (be) open to talking to us and hearing our input,” Sanchez said. “A lot of the time with UT’s decisions, they don’t make them with us in mind.”

Eliska Padilla, issues and communication manager, acknowledged the issues in Riverside and said that the University was taking measures in response, such as asking faculty via newsletter not to penalize students who are late to class due to transportation disruptions. She also pointed to initiatives to fund affordable housing research, as well as new real estate deals by UT to provide more housing options. Though the administration is attempting to provide some support to commuter students, students need much more than soft solutions that encourage professors to be lenient. Instead, the University should mandate more flexible attendance policies so professors cannot penalize students for commuting issues. Additionally, funding affordable housing research provides a possible long-term solution, but what is UT doing to address the current Riverside crisis? Riverside students deserve much more than promises for the future; they need resources now, while they’re actively affected by the disconnect between their housing and campus.

At the very least, the University can control the campus environment and use their influence (and large endowment) to create a better experience for Riverside students. Though media manager Veronica Trevino confirmed that there are no current plans to add a student services building in Riverside, it’s imperative that administration prioritizes an initiative like this. The Student Services Building on campus provides vital resources to students, such as mental health services, medical care and academic and career support. For students on or near campus, these resources are easily accessible. For students in Riverside, using these resources requires careful planning and a serious time commitment. “A lot of people were saying that they felt disconnected. And that they had very (few) ties to campus just because they’re so isolated out there,” Sanchez said.

If I could have lived closer to the campus for a cheaper price, I would have done that”

MARIAH SANCHEZ

GAEL LANDEROS

radio-television-and-film sophomore

The University should work closely with CapMetro to ensure reliability of the bus system and mitigate potential issues by changing University-wide attendance policies. UT may not be able to control CapMetro directly, but they can amend their contract with the bus system to potentially increase the amount of available shuttles.

A lot of the time with UT’s decisions, they don’t make them with us in mind.” government senior

It’s UT’s responsibility to care for its students — students who pay thousands of dollars to this institution, whether they live near campus or not. It’s ridiculous that Riverside students were forced to form a coalition to advocate for better support from the University. It should never be students’ jobs to convince their university to care about them. Students who reside in Riverside have a right to equitable campus access, and it’s time for UT to recognize the issue and take action. The editorial board is composed of associate editors Mia Abbe, Faith DuFresne, Sruti Ramachandran, Julia Zaksek and editor-in-chief Sanika Nayak.

ZOE TZANIS

Life&Arts Editor | @TEXANARTS

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

STUDENT LIFE

LIFE&ARTS

UT community discusses celebration of autism acceptance month Autism Acceptance Month spurs conversations from students and administrators on visibility and access. By Kaiya Little @kaiyalittle

ith contagious excitement, studio art sophomore Jules Valle said her broad interests, which range from music to the online game Wizard101, motivated her to pursue art in college. Valle said she wishes these interests — that she considers vital aspects of her identity as an autistic person — could be celebrated rather than belittled or dismissed. She said embracing this facet of autism reflects the values of Autism Acceptance Month. “(Acceptance is) not being judgmental — it’s okay to not fully understand autism, but the first thing you can do is listen to that person,” Valle said. “A lot of autistic people have special interests … and (some people) think they don’t fit in, but you have to understand that this is what they like.” The first day of April marked the start of Autism Acceptance Month, a nationwide effort established by the Autism Society in 1970 which encourages communities to engage with, see and appreciate autistic people. Valle said the time also offers a chance to intentionally start important conversations around creating positive spaces, dispel harmful misconceptions and stereotypes

barbra daly

and bring light to the nuances of having autism. “Some friend told me that people are over-diagnosed (with autism), and they’re just socially awkward. I’m really social, and I still struggle,” Valle said. “(Neurotypical people) cannot see (autism). They think of the person as weird, but they don’t understand it.” In April 2021, nutrition freshman Pauline Okafor said she took to social media to spread the word about Autism Acceptance Month, which ultimately led her to information regarding unanswered questions about herself. Okafor said she now feels relieved and comfortable in her identity and hopes to reassure others who are concerned about their place in the convoluted and often underrepresented diagnostic process. “With a disability without a diagnosis, you can’t get accommodations, (but) that doesn’t make your autism any less valid,” Okafor said. “There’s imposter syndrome that comes with being self-diagnosed. You do all this research (and) come across one thing that you don’t identify with, and you feel like you’re taking away from a title.” Okafor said that the process of getting

diagnosed with autism can be especially difficult for women and people of color. “A lot of research that has been done about autism has been with straight white men, but neurodiversity presents itself differently … in women and across races,” Okafor said. “Not only (is it) more difficult to get a diagnosis if you’re not a cisgender, white man, (but) a lot of young girls’ autistic traits are passed off through misogyny, like, ‘Oh, they’re just being a girl.’” Ashley Richardson, autism spectrum education and outreach administrator, works with the Longhorn Transition, Inclusion, Empower, Success initiative — a program which aims to foster support services for neurodivergent students. Richardson said TIES will facilitate events such as panels and mixers throughout April to celebrate neurodiverse groups. “We’re big on helping students create a community,” Richardson said. “Safe spaces are so important — (they) allow individuals to feel comfortable in being themselves.” As an involved member with TIES and next year’s inaugural Neurodiversity Leadership

/ the daily texan staff

Council, undeclared freshman Nox Patel said making use of on-campus accommodations required them to determine their unique support needs with minimal frame of reference. They said they hope to advocate for increased accessibility and transparency within the council in the future. “We want to create more awareness and better conditions to be able to learn and receive opportunities similar to our peers,” Patel said. “Being someone who’s autistic, knowing how to ask for help or how to frame my needs can be difficult no matter who I’m talking to.” However, Patel said taking steps toward acceptance demands a shift in the narrative around autism and the way that society conceptualizes neurotypicality. “My biggest concern is the way that people think about autism,” Patel said. “It’s technically a disability, but it’s not inherently disabling. What people think about it tends to be what disables us more than just our brains being different. I’d really like to see … (people) understand (autism as) another form of diversity, even if it’s behavioral. (It’s) a really beautiful thing.”

LIFE&ARTS

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

FEATURE

Butler School alum embarks on musical journey, immersing in South Asian culture , sound

By Shama Gupta @shama7gupta

The scintillating light blared brightly on the Sahara Lounge stage. The sound of the saxophone ascended behind reverberations of a classical Pakistani singer who Lee Redfield invited up from the audience. The rest of the band quieted down, and the crowd erupted. The singer started singing using sargam, a scale used in classical Indian music, and Redfield played along. “I just go, ‘ba-da-da, bada-da’ because I knew the sargam,” said Redfield, a saxophonist and 2015 Butler School of Music alumnus. “The crowd went nuts. This was the strangest thing they’d ever heard. All of a sudden, this white guy playing in an African band just got it. That was a lot of fun.” Redfield said his ability to accompany a South Asian classical singer didn’t come naturally. After graduating from Washington State in 2007, Redfield traveled to India, where he immersed himself in the classical South Indian form of music, Carnatic. He continued his journey at the UT Butler School of Music in 2012. During and after his time as a UT student, Redfield traveled to more countries, such as Thailand, Peru and Pakistan, where he performed and taught

at some of the most prestigious music academies. Redfield first discovered Carnatic music through an introductory lesson at Washington State and inquired about studying under Kadri Gopalnath, the pioneer of Carnatic music on the saxophone. After going to great lengths to get in touch with Gopalnath, Redfield said he found himself living with Gopalnath and his wife in Chennai, India a few months later. “He was a challenging man in a lot of ways, but his music was genius,” Redfield said. “(I would have to) slow down his music and listen to it at half speed. … I sat with him knowing he created something new.” After a year immersed in classical South Indian culture and music, Redfield came back to America with his musical ear completely shifted. He said Western music felt completely foreign. “It took me a couple of weeks to even be able to hear harmony,” Redfield said. “It just didn’t make sense anymore. … I couldn’t find a way to infuse what I learned from Kadri into what I was doing.” After about two years of reflection, Redfield began infusing aspects of the Carnatic music he learned into his own musical identity, eventually trailblazing an unconventional but remarkable next step in his

music journey. “Before the pandemic started, I started looking at a lot of electronic music,” Redfield said. “It’s taken me a year or two to figure it out, but I’m basically looking at being a one-man band.” Redfield said he hopes to be ready to perform studio projects live by the end of the month. Currently, he said he also manages the live sound system for the Skylark Lounge. Environmental science freshman Hanna Hoogendam met Redfield in the Skylark patio and said he was friendly and open to talking about his music. “He showed us his YouTube channel and told us his story. He was making music in a way that was out of the box,” Hoogendam said. “It was really interesting to see and hear about. He is a really creative guy.” Psychology freshman Zarmin Shah, who met Redfield at Skylark with Hoogendam, said that she appreciated his knowledge and experience when talking about her home country, Pakistan. “I liked hearing him talk about what he thought about random stuff about Pakistan, like the weather,” Shah said. “(He’s) traveled to my country, my home, which is really cool because I don’t (usually) get to connect with people about that.”

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UT Landmarks brings back annual bike tours By Daniela Roscero @DanielaRoscero2

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T Landmarks has relaunched the bike tours program after two years of suspension due to the pandemic. “We take our role as a free, public art collection very seriously, and the monthly tours are a way to make the collection more accessible for those who prefer a guided experience,” Landmarks education coordinator Catherine Whited said in an email. Landmarks, the University’s public art program, features around 50 works of art, according to their website. The bike tours are longer than the one-hour walking tours offered montly, but visitors typically stop at more landmarks, including those closer to the edges of campus, Whited said. Every tour varies in the landmarks they exhibit, but some tours include the “Clock Knot,” “Monochrome for Austin” and “Figure on a Trunk” pieces. “On a traditional walking tour, guides are really restricted to choose works that are physically close to one another, and generally they can only cover four to five pieces in an hour,” Whited said. For the tour, visitors can rent a bike for $10 from the Orange Bike Project, located in the 27th Street Garage. “We reserve our nicest bikes (for visitors) to ride so they can enjoy and not necessarily have to … pedal too hard to keep up. Ideally, it’s a smooth ride (to better) enjoy the landmarks,” said McTzviel Oyerinde, coordinator at the Orange Bike Project. UT alumna Susie Herbstritt said that participating in the bike tour made her feel like things were getting back to normal again. “After the pandemic, it was just great to see this happening again,” Herbstritt said. “We just love getting out, getting some movement, seeing the campus from a different point of view.”

daniela roscero

/ the daily texan staff

Bikers stop and view “Amaryllis” by Tony Smith. The statue is located at the Fine Art Complex on Trinity Street and is currently on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

According to Whited, bike tours will be brought back as an annual event the first Sunday of every April. The Landmarks app is also available to anyone who wants to take a self-guided tour, she said. Herbstritt said her favorite part of the tour is hearing the tour guides contextualizing the different landmarks. “They always bring some other detail or some other bit of information that helps you experience it in a new way,” Herbstritt said. Trey Morton, Herbstritt’s husband, said his favorite part of the tour was seeing Nancy Rubins’ “Monochrome for Austin” sculpture. “We got married in Las Vegas, and we saw the Nancy Rubins sculpture there, so it was like a little throwback to that,” Morton said.

NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022

WEST CAMPUS

Students saw machete in West Campus hours after APD said they responded to incident By Hope Unger @imhopeunger

Residents of a West Campus apartment building on 28th Street and Rio Grande Street encountered a disturbing scene on the morning of Friday, March 25: a machete next to a purse with spilled toiletries. The rusty machete was abandoned in the corridor between the parking garage and the entrance to a courtyard, an area that has a constant flow of people, said resident Marissa Galicia. APD detective Marcos Johnson said police located the machete and it was “taken care of” at 7:11 a.m. Friday, but multiple students reported seeing the machete in its place later that day. APD incident reports indicate that the scene was not addressed until 10:15 p.m. on Friday. Galicia, an international relations and global studies and Latin American studies junior, said she first saw the scene at 10 a.m. and immediately called her friend, who advised her to call 911. After contacting APD, an operator told her someone would be there soon, Galicia said. An engineering senior who asked to remain anonymous said she saw the scene around 11 a.m. and texted the UTPD tipline. She said UTPD responded to her quickly, saying it was out of their jurisdiction and referring her to the non-emergency number 311. The 311 operator asked the senior if the weapon was accessible to children

and if someone could possibly get hurt. She said yes, which led the operator to immediately transfer her to 911. When Galicia left for work around 1:45 p.m., she said the machete and purse were still there. Galicia said the scene was still intact when she checked later that day at 6 p.m., 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Galicia said a group of people were surrounding the scene and calling the police at 8 p.m. She said one of them told her they had called multiple times over twelve hours. “They told him that there were more serious emergencies at hand,” Galicia said. “Ours wasn’t a priority at the time because … there wasn’t an actual crime scene.” On Saturday and Sunday, the Daily Texan called and emailed UTPD and APD, but received no response, even from the after-hours number, until the next business day — Monday. The Daily Texan was in contact with detective Marcos Johnson from APD, who originally said there were no records of any 911 call from the area of 28th and Rio on March 25. Johnson told The Daily Texan an hour later that officers responded to an abandoned property call for a machete at 7:11 a.m. on March 25, contrary to what residents reported. He provided the case number 22-0840339 — one that does not exist within the APD incident reports database. After The Daily Texan brought up the inaccuracy, Johnson located another call from 8 p.m. on March 25 regarding a ma-

chete. He then sent the case number 220841380 — another case number that did not bring up a case in the APD database. “However, there is a note in the call that (the machete) was taken care (of) by another officer earlier that morning,” Johnson said in an email. The Daily Texan then found case number 2022-841574 in the database, which matches the location and times residents say they called 911. When asked about this case number, Johnson said it was the same as the prior case numbers he provided earlier. However, the time on the working case number, 10:15 p.m. on March 25, did not match up with the times copyright marissa galicia, and reproduced with permission Johnson provided. Galicia said apartsaid. “That if something were to actually ment complexes should provide security in case there is a situation and APD does happen, if there was something actively happening, that (APD) might take a long not respond. time to respond.” “It’s just kind of worrisome,” Galicia

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