The Daily Texan 05-02-12

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THE DAILY TEXAN Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900

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TODAY Calendar Poetry on the Plaza

Poetry on the Plaza will take place from noon-2 p.m. Michael Hall, Terri Hendrix, Lloyd Maines and Monte Warden are some of the singers and songwriters performing. Admission is free.

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

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Iranian students seek understanding Editor’s note: This story is the sixth in hind the televised debates a large coma series exploring race, racism and diver- munity of Iranians at UT face daisity on the UT campus. ly anxiety while supporting their loved

By Andrew Messamore ones back home.

Daily Texan Staff Amir Ahmadian came to the United States from Iran nine years ago when Questions surrounding Iran’s nucle- his parents decided that it would be betar program have fueled worldwide de- ter for him to live with his uncles. His bate over the past few months, but be- parents thought he had a better chance

to find opportunity and an education in America, he said, and as a biology senior planning to go to medical school, it seems like the choice is paying off.

Going home every summer to see his parents and his brother in Isfahan, Iran, Ahmadian said he was very concerned when sanctions resulting from political maneuvering between

different countries made his family’s life more difficult.

Ahmadian said he would do anything to raise awareness about the Iranians and Israelis affected by political tension but added that some Iranians avoid speaking for fear of discrimination and being labeled as terrorists.

Director, producer, screenwriter, musician Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids, Machete) joins Professor Charles Ramírez Berg (radio-television-film) to discuss the future of Latino images in film and media. This will take place from 5-6:30p.m. in BUR 106 and is free and open to the public.

it was inspiring to see UT students organizing the march independently and around issues that directly affect them.

“The march at UT and the rally at the Capitol are vehicles to inspire people to follow up on different struggles and campaigns,”

New information from current College Republicans at Texas leaders has revealed a former president of the organization was not a student when she held her position.

Cassandra Wright, current president emeritus of the organization, said a representative from the Office of the Dean of Students told her former president Lauren Pierce was not a student for most of her tenure, which lasted from April 2011 to December 2011.

When College Republican’s officers confronted Pierce about her status, Wright said Pierce chose to leave the organization. Wright said the organization will meet with the Office of the Dean of Students this week to discuss the situation.

Marcia Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Office of the Dean of Students, said DOS could not comment on Pierce’s case because information about a specific case is confidential. Gibbs also said Pierce requested her records be restricted.

Pierce did not respond to requests for comment.

Pierce is most known for the controversial tweet she posted after the arrest of a Pennsylvania man who fired shots at the White House. Police charged Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez with

MAY DAY continues on PAGE 2

PIERCE continues on PAGE 2

In 1933 The modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster was born.

A sighting of the Loch Ness Monster made local news in Scotland as a couple claimed to have seen a large “monster” plunging in the surface.

Thomas Allison | Daily Texan Staff

LMiddle Eastern Studies senior Yajaira Fraga reads a Frederick Douglass quote from her phone to May Day protesters in front of the Tower Tuesday afternoon, before the group marched to join a larger protest at the Capitol Building. May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, is a global celebration of labor rights and other left-wing movements.

May Day celebrates workers, unions

By Sylvia Butanda Daily Texan Staff

Laborers and activists around the world, including in Austin, acknowledged the first day of May through political demonstrations on Tuesday.

International Workers Day, or May Day, developed from rallies

9 p.m - Movie Junkies

It's our war films episode!

Our movie panelists discuss topics like when is too soon to cover a war, whether historical accuracy is critical, and more!

in Chicago in the early 1900s that called for eight-hour workdays. The event is now a global holiday recognizing workers and labor unions, May Day events in Austin included a rally at the steps of the Capitol and a march through the downtown district as an estimated crowd of 300 people of different organizations and labor unions united to

discuss future goals and current issues and flaws in the American labor and political systems. Prior to the rally, UT students organized a march to the Capitol advocating rights for immigrant families and workers.

Dave Cortez, organizer for Occupy Austin Bank Action team and the May Day Austin Coalition, said

Gala raises money for returning Texas veterans

By Alexa Ura Daily Texan Staff

WATCH TStv ON CHANNEL 15

IRAN continues on PAGE 2

By Jody Serrano Daily Texan Staff

Today in history

As one of KVRX’s most popular and longest-running specialty programs, Blues at Sunrise is proud to be your most complete source for blues music on the FM dial in Austin.

“A lot of Iranians have already dealt with so many hardships and wars in coming to the United States, so they want to keep a low profile when talking about this,” Ahmadian said. “Even if I have an Iranian bumper sticker, my uncles will say, ‘What if someone breaks

Republican organization learns former leader lied

Robert Rodriguez Forum

7-9 a.m., “Blues at Sunrise”

Longhorn and food enthusiast blogs delicious recipes

A year after he led the mission to apprehend Osama bin Laden, Adm. William H. McRaven returned to his alma mater to advocate for legal assistance for returning service women and men.

McR aven was the keynote speaker at the Champions of Justice Gala Benefitting Veterans Tuesday evening. The Texas Access to Justice Commission hosted the gala to raise funds for free civil legal services for low-income Texas veterans.

“There are people in the world who do nothing, but your military is doing something,” McRaven said. “I can’t think of a better cause than the work the

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helping students to add more to the menu than just ramen noodles

commission is doing to also do something in this world.”

McRaven was in command of Operation Neptune’s Spear, the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden last May in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

He currently serves as the ninth

commander of United States Special Operations Command. McRa-

ven graduated from UT in 1977 with a degree in journalism.

More than 1.8 million veterans currently live in Texas. Of these, 450,000 served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The justice commission raised more than $413,000 Rebeca Rodriguez | Daily Texan Staff from the event with all pro- U.S. Navy Adm. William H. McRaven, who led the Osama bin Laden mission a year ago, attends the ceeds going to free legal services Champions of Justice Gala Benefitting Veterans as the keynote speaker at the AT&T Executive Education

McRAVEN continues on PAGE 2

and Conference Center Tuesday evening. The gala was hosted by the Texas Access to Justice Commission to raise funds for free civil legal services for low-income Texas veterans.

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

MAY DAY continues from PAGE 1

The Daily Texan Volume 112, Number 167

Cortez said. “Whether you’re a student, parent, housekeeper, teacher or server, we are all workers and the hope is we can begin to collaborate more and weave together the various struggles being fought throughout the Austin community.”

Latin American studies senior Jonathan Orta, one of the student organizers for the UT march to the Capitol and member of the International Socialist Organization, said students who participated in the May Day march and rally are part of a growing student movement.

“Students are the tie between the future and current conditions,” Orta said. “A real student movement is starting to build and it takes a common theme, like fighting for a reform in the issues we’re concerned about, to connect it all.”

Latin American studies junior Jessica Alvarenga, a participant in the UT march and member of the Make UT Sweatshop-Free Coalition, said the voices of workers and students have been oppressed and silenced for far too long.

CONTACT US Main Telephone: (512) 471-4591 Editor: Viviana Aldous (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com Managing Editor: Audrey White (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com News Office: (512) 232-2207 news@dailytexanonline.com Multimedia Office: (512) 471-7835 dailytexanmultimedia@gmail.com Sports Office: (512) 232-2210 sports@dailytexanonline.com Life & Arts Office: (512) 232-2209 dailytexan@gmail.com

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for veterans.

Harry Reasoner, chair of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, said the commission works to help veterans through the continuous struggle of claiming the benefits they are entitled to, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott were also honored at the gala for their work in helping provide funding for the commission. Texas distributes $1.5 billion in compensation and pension to veterans and surviving family members each year, according to the Texas Veterans Commission’s website.

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

COPYRIGHT Copyright 2012 Texas Student Media. All articles, photographs and graphics, both in the print and online editions, are the property of Texas Student Media and may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without written permission.

TOMORROW’S WEATHER Low

High

70

92

Hissy, fitty, kitty

into your car because of that?’”

Beginning in heated discussions toward the end of last year, leaders in Israel, some European countries and the United Nations began to deliberate on the best way to deal with Iran, which they believe will soon be armed with a nuclear bomb.

However, beyond the fact that Iran is developing a nuclear energy program, little is clear. Authorities and agencies from different countries disagree with the intention, capability and extent of the Iranian nuclear program, and as the debate in the media has continued there have been a variety of differing opinions presented to the public, said Glenn Frankel, director of the School of Journalism, who studies the media patterns surrounding Iran.

“Early on, the American media was This newspaper was printed with pride

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Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viviana Aldous Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Daley, Susannah Jacob, Samantha Katsounas, Shabab Siddiqui Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audrey White Associate Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aleksander Chan News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jillian Bliss Associate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sylvia Butanda, Alexa Ura, Bobby Blanchard Multimedia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Shea Carley, Marie Arregalla, Zen Ren Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Garrett Callahan, Rachel Thompson, Antonio Morales Life&Arts Writers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jessica Lee, Karin Samelson Columnist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Heba Dafashy Page Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Omar Longoria, Pu Ying Huang Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taylor Graham, Kristine Reyna, Louis San Miguel Comics Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Xiu Zhu Shao, Anne Le, Holly Hansel, John Massingill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dae Hyng Jin, Caitlin Zellers, Michael Rodriguez, Nick Gregg Web Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kayla Moses, Mary Schaffer, Omar Longoria

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Head football coach Mack Brown introduced McRaven, who he called an American hero.

Brown said he learned what leadership was when he visited the Middle East in 2009.

“I took more from those men and women than they took from me, but I learned that leadership is taught. It’s not recruited,” he said. “Admiral McRaven is a special man. He’s a special leader, and he leads a special group.”

McRaven said today’s generation of service men and women are sometimes judged because of their appearance and varied ways of life, but their commit-

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“We continue to be segregated among economic lines and workers continue to be part of the economic slavery,” Alvarenga said. “We have a dream where a worker can be in the same room as his boss and be treated as an equal and where he can be treated with the respect he so deserves.” In addition to the marches and rally, Occupy Austin organized discussions and teach-ins at Woolridge Square and Eastwoods Park throughout the day.

Michael Diviesti, a leader of the Texas chapter of GetEQUAL, a national organization that empowers the LGBTQ community, spoke at one of the discussions.

“LGBTQ workers are more often discriminated against in the workplace, and because of that, a large rate of this community are unemployed or Thomas Allison | Daily Texan Staff denied housing,” Diviesti said. “Our main goal is to support the workers’ José Garcia, a graduate student in the College of Education, waves a red flag in front of the Texas State movements because we’re intricate- Capitol during the May Day protest Tuesday afternoon. ly involved in unemployment issues.”

Diviesti said although the nation has “Every single day is a vote and ernment on the streets in the ral- tatives, the culmination of votes a decent system of voting, a person’s you’re counted,” Diviesti said. ly or by walking into your hall of increases for our concerns to voice does not stop at the poll booth. “When you stand up to the gov- congress and talking to represen- be heard.”

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inclined to take the position of the Israel Lobby, for lack of a better word,” Frankel said. “Israeli leaders were pushing a very pro-war line, even though Israelis were divided on the issue, and the coverage smelled somewhat like the run up to the Iraq War.” Public perception has since grown to reflect a wider range of opinions, Frankel said, a key difference from the orchestration that occurred before the Iraq War. “Coming back after the debacle in Iraq and the souring Afghanistan war, I think people are very reluctant to get involved in another conflict,” Frankel said.

Ahmadian said he often avoids talking about the conflict with friends or other Iranians because the possibility of war is so sensitive.

“It’s uncomfortable to talk about

ment to the values of the U.S. remains intact.

“Today’s generation of service men and women may have tattoos, piercings and Facebooks, but you are wrong if you don’t think they will go down as the greatest generation of our time,” McRaven said.

President William Powers Jr., a veteran himself, said the University was honored to have McRaven back on the 40 Acres.

Powers said the work of the commission provides returning veterans, including UT students, with valuable resources in terms of legal aid.

“There’s definitely more to do for our students that are returning veterans, but I think if you asked them they would say that UT is setting the standard for veteran services at universities,” Powers said. “Our soldiers provide a great service and when they are our students, well, I can’t think of a better combination.”

The University also offers student veterans various resources on campus through Student Veteran Services and the Students Veterans Association.

McRaven talked about the impact growing up in Texas had on his life and how that impact was

something he took everywhere the military took him.

During his speech, McRaven told the story of a former colleague and friend that was killed in the line of duty. He, like many other Texas soldiers, upheld the ideal his father taught him, that Texans should stand a little taller and reach a little further, he said.

“When they come back to Texas, they will make you proud, and it’s our responsibility to help them,” he said. “Texas is a way of life and our soldiers are the type of people who pull up their boots and do something about it because of it.”

it,” Ahmadian said. “A month ago, I remember seeing an Israeli official on CNN talking about a preemptive strike, and it scared me to think of what could potentially happen to the millions of Iranians who don’t necessarily agree with what the government is doing.”

International relations freshman Shaya Mehdibeigi, a Dallas native who is the only member of her family born in the United States, said she thought the media coverage of Iran didn’t reflect the Iranians who weren’t Muslim, didn’t agree with the government or actively spoke out against Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Large Iranian communities exist around the United States in places like “Tehrangeles,” a name given to Los Angeles for its sizable Iranian popula-

tion, Mehdibeigi said, and concern for relatives back home continues among the Iranian families concentrated in the suburbs of Dallas and Houston.

“In 2009 there was a lot of protest, and in Dallas a lot of Iranians went to demonstrate peacefully in City Hall,” Mehdibeigi said of the Green Movement, which brought worldwide attention to Iranian democracy protesters through eye-witness videos that quickly went viral. “Iranians just want democracy, and a lot of people think that Iranians have never had that before. But they did and they want it back.”

The media also sometimes causes misconceptions about how Iranians view themselves and the different parts of their nation, Mehdibeigi said.

“When we see any footage of Iran, it’s people burning flags and

saying ‘down with America’ and ‘death to America,’” Mehdibeigi said. “Not everyone in Iran is like that, and if you came to visit it’s really unlikely that you would see any of that. There are a lot of people who don’t hold grudges against other countries, and those people who might be radical are the ones being brainwashed.”

Ahmadian said he thought Iranians and people in the United States could do more to raise a discussion about the people being affected by these larger political issues, hopefully shining a light on the millions not spoken for in the political debate.

“The Iranian community here is so influential, educated and powerful as a result,” Ahmadian said. “I would just think they could do more, but they’re scared.”

dean of students. On that day, students who are no longer enrolled are removed from the authorized representative database for the registered student organization.

In addition, Mercatoris said enrollment for representatives of new student organizations is checked as part of the official approval process of the organization and status is automatically checked again when the organization reregisters every semester. Organizations can update their information on that database at any time.

“It’s the primary responsibility of the student organization to maintain their information current,” she said. “They need to be able to identify both to their members and to the public who is able to speak on their behalf and who are their leaders.”

Mercatoris said only UT students, faculty and staff are allowed to be part of the membership of an organization according to the University’s institutional rules. If DOS learned there may be a violation of those rules, she said they would immediately investigate.

She said there are discussions about checking a student’s enroll-

ment status more often and that she will be looking into it.

Huey Fischer, president of University Democrats, said the fact that Pierce was not a student does not change the gravity of the Obama tweet because the entire community was under the impression that she led College Republicans when she posted it.

Fischer said University Democrats has strict rules restricting membership to current UT students and checks members’ statuses on the University directory during the semester and when they apply for membership. He said he believes this case is odd and does not merit a more stringent screening process for student leaders.

“It’s difficult for clubs to hold their members accountable in terms of their academic status,” Fischer said. “It’s really a matter of trust.”

Fischer said he does not think University Democrats will be changing its rules to check their members’ status more often because he does not want to create a culture where students question one another’s eligibility.

PIERCE continues from PAGE 1 attempting to assassinate President Barack Obama in November 2011, a crime that can result in a lifetime prison sentence.

“Y’all as tempting as it may be, don’t shoot Obama,” Pierce said in her Nov. 16. “We need him to go down in history as the WORST president we’ve EVER had! #2012.”

Wright said Pierce was a student when the organization elected her in April, and the organization does not check representatives status once the semester goes along.

Wright said she was told in February that the organization would not face any punishment because of Pierce’s status. She said she spoke with Melinda Sutton, deputy to the dean of students, about the issue.

“We were disconcerted with the entire thing [when we found out],” Wright said. “And it put into question what was legitimate for last semester. At first, we weren’t sure what was true and what wasn’t and who we had actually been in contact with as an organization.”

Cesar Villarreal, the organization’s former public relations director, said Pierce made him and others believe she was a student.

Villarreal said Pierce would discuss the classes she was in, the professors she had and what was going on in her life academically.

Villarreal said questions first arose after Pierce organized an event in December at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Plaza and used CR to secure the space. The University got involved in the situation during

It’s the primary responsibility of the student organization to maintain their information current — Mary Mercatoris, assistant dean of students

the event because Pierce had not appropriately reserved the space, since she was not a student.

Villarreal said he was surprised and unsettled when he found out Pierce was not a student.

Wright said she wants the incident to serve as an example to other organizations and encourage them to do regular status checkups on all members, not just officers of the ones who may seem like they are dropping out. She said Pierce’s status does not make a difference regarding the tweet she made about Obama last year.

“It goes to show how much pressure she was under as a person,” Wright said.

At the moment, the Office of the Dean of Students checks the enrollment status of authorized student representatives on the 17th class day of each long semester and keeps it on an online database, said Mary Mercatoris, assistant

3 W/N

World&NatioN

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | The Daily Texan | Austin Myers, Wire Editor | dailytexanonline.com

NEWS BRIEFLY Domestic terrorist convicted of trying to blow up a subway NEW YORK — A New York man was convicted Tuesday of plotting an aborted suicide mission against New York City subways in 2009 — a case that featured the first-time testimony from admitted homegrown terrorists about alQaida’s fixation with pulling off another attack on American soil.

A jury found Adis Medunjanin guilty of all counts for his role in a terror plot that federal authorities say was one of the closest calls since Sept. 11, 2001.

Medunjanin could be ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 7.

Medunjanin, who showed no visible reaction to the verdicts, afterward asked Gottlieb to “tell his family to be strong,” the lawyer said. The defendant’s mother and sister testified during the trial of terrifying late-night raids by federal agents before his arrest.

The defense had admitted that the Bosnian-born Medunjanin wanted to fight for the Taliban, but they insisted he never agreed to spread death and destruction in the city where his family put down roots.

Feds to investigate U. Montana for mishanding assault cases

MISSOULA, Mont. — The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the way Missoula police, prosecutors and the University of Montana responded to reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment.

The federal investigation was disclosed Tuesday after the agency received complaints that the allegations were not properly handled.

It will look at all 80 sexual assaults reported by women in Missoula over the past three years.

Eleven sexual assaults involving university students have been reported in the past 18 months, agency officials said Tuesday.

“The allegations that the University of Montana, the local police department and the county attorney’s office failed to adequately address sexual assaults are very disturbing,” U.S. Attorney Eric Holder said in a statement.

The federal agency said it would investigate allegations that police, the university’s Office of Public Safety and the Missoula County attorney’s office engaged in gender discrimination by failing to investigate reports of sexual assault against women.

Despite very serious warnings, Mexico still hit by Spring Break

MEXICO CITY — Mexico is taking a rare opportunity to tweak neighboring Texas, saying the number of U.S. spring breakers visiting Mexico this year rose 7.2 percent despite a travel warning issued by the U.S. state.

Mexico’s Tourism Department notes with some satisfaction that tourists arriving during March included some highly regarded Texans — the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

They agency says they did a calendar shoot on Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

A Tuesday announcement from the department says 77,000 young tourists visited Mexico on spring break trips between March 5 and 30.

In early March, the Texas Department of Public Safety advised students on spring break to avoid Mexico, citing violence.

Overall, the number of U.S. tourists visiting Mexico in March totaled 382,376, young and old. That is a 7.3 percent increase from 2011.

If you want a bear out of a tree you first find a bouncy house

CONWAY, Ark. — When a black bear climbed a tree in a central Arkansas city and refused to come down, authorities turned to unconventional rescue tools: bouncy houses.

Conway Police spokeswoman La Tresha Woodruff says Foster the Bear is named for the residential street where he holed himself up in a tree, straddled a branch and wouldn’t budge.

She says officials shot Foster with tranquilizer darts late Monday, causing him to fall asleep. They inflated two bouncy houses beneath the tree. And then firefighters let loose with water from a fire hose, knocking the bear from his perch.

Woodruff says Foster wasn’t hurt and will be released back into the wild.

—Compiled from Associated Press reports

3

Obama flies to Afghanistan to sign strategic pact

By Ben Feller The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan — President Barack Obama slipped into Afghanistan Tuesday night on the anniversary of the killing of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden and signed an agreement cementing U.S. commitment to the nation after American combat troops leave.

Alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Obama declared, “Together, we’re now committed to replacing war with peace.”

The partnership spells out the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014, covering security, economics and governance. The deal is limited in scope and essentially gives both sides political cover: Afghanistan is guaranteed its sovereignty and promised it won’t be abandoned, while the U.S. gets to end its combat mission in the long and unpopular war but keep a foothold in the country.

The deal does not commit the United States to any specific troop presence or spending. But it does allow the U.S. to potentially keep troops in Afghanistan after the war ends for two specific purposes: continued training of Afghan forces and targeted operations against al-Qaida. The terror group is present in neighboring Pakistan but has only a nominal presence inside Afghanistan.

Karzai said his countrymen “will never forget” the help of U.S. forces over the past decade. He said the

Charles Dharapak | Associated Press

President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrive before signing a strategic partnership agreement in Kabul on Tuesday.

partnership agreement shows the United States and Afghanistan will continue to fight terrorism together.

The United States does promise to seek money from Congress every year to support Afghanistan.

The president’s Tuesday night address was coming exactly one year after special forces, on his order, began the raid that led to the killing of bin Laden in Pakistan.

Since then, ties between the

United States and Afghanistan have been tested anew by the burning of Muslim holy books at a U.S. base and the massacre of 17 civilians, including children, allegedly by an American soldier.

More than 1,800 U.S. forces have been killed and 15,700 more have been wounded in Afghanistan. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined have cost almost $1.3 trillion.

French presidential race has May Day protesters focus economic rage socialist ahead by 12 percent

By Daniel Woolls The Associated Press

By Angela Charlton The Associated Press

PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy is the underdog, and he knows it. Not a single poll has predicted he will win re-election on Sunday, and leading figures in his government are already lining up new jobs.

In televised interviews, Sarkozy’s on the defensive and paints himself as a victim. At campaign rallies, he’s boxer-like, punching the air, torso soaked with sweat within minutes of taking the podium. He relishes the combat, but after he leaves the stage, his face drains of color, his features lined with fatigue.

The dynamic French leader made his mark on the world arena but let down voters at home, and may well be out of a job within days.

Always the fighter, Sarkozy could confound pollsters and pull off a victory. At a sunny Paris rally in front of the Eiffel Tower on Tuesday, he looked more like the triumphant Sarkozy of the 2007 campaign.

But his challenger in Sunday’s runoff vote, Socialist Francois Hollande, is sounding increasingly

confident, and his campaign rallies already feel like victory parties.

Even as the field of challengers has shifted throughout the campaign, Sarkozy has never climbed above second place in the polls.

In a surprising admission for the 57-year-old career politician, Sarkozy has acknowledged that he’s thinking about possible defeat and says he would quit politics if he loses.

“I will fight with all my strength to win your confidence, to protect and lead you and build a strong France, but if that is not your choice I will bow out. That’s the way it is, and I will have had a great life in politics,” Sarkozy said on RMC radio. “I’ll do something else. I don’t know what.”

It’s not over yet. Sarkozy scored 27 percent of the vote in the first round of presidential elections April 22, to Hollande’s 28 percent.Sarkozy may pick up more support from voters who handed far right candidate Marine Le Pen a surprisingly strong third place. But millions of French voters are determined to prevent Sarkozy from winning a second term, and polls predict Hollande could win by as much as a 12-percent margin.

Michel Euler | Associated Press

The dynamic French leader Nicolas Sarkozy made his mark on the world but let down voters at home.

MADRID — On the front lines of the world’s May Day protests this year, along with the traditional chants, banners and marches, a gamut of emotions flowed through the crowds: Anger. Fear.

Elation. Despair.

With Europe’s unemployed denouncing austerity measures, Asia’s laborers demanding higher salaries and U.S. protesters condemning Wall Street, Tuesday’s demonstrations by hundreds of thousands were less a celebration of workers’ rights than a furious venting over spending cuts, tax hikes and soaring unemployment.

The protests came just days ahead of key elections in Greece and France, whose leaders have acutely felt popular anger over policies many feel are strangling any hopes of economic recovery. The rallies reflected deep pessimism in Spain, dealing with a fragile economy is in the cross-hairs of the European debt crisis.

Yet optimism and national pride emerged too. Over 100,000 turned out in Russia for May Day rallies that celebrated Vladimir Putin’s government. And tens of thousands of workers rallied with joy in France, hoping this would be the last week of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative leadership.

In the U.S., protesters lined major financial institutions in the country’s most high-profile Occupy Wall Street rallies since the encampments protesting the gap between the superrich and poor came down in the fall. Crowds blocked intersections in Oakland, Calif., trying to force businesses to shut down for not observing calls for a “general strike.” Police in riot gear faced dozens of Occupy activists marching in front of a Bank of America in New York City, chanting “Bank of America. Bad for America.”

Manu Fernandez | Associated Press

People protest during a May Day rally in Barcelona, Spain on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of workers marked May Day in European cities with a mix of anger and gloom over imposed austerity measures.

Under a gray Madrid sky that reflected the dark national mood, 25-year Adriana Jaime turned out to march. Jaime speaks three languages and has a masters degree as a translator, but works for what she derided as peanuts in a university research project that has been cut from three years to three months due to a lack of funds.

“I am here because there is no future for the young people of this country,” Jaime said as many marchers carried black-and-white placards with the word NO and a

pair of red scissors.

In France, tens of thousands of workers, leftists and union leaders marked May Day with glee, hoping that a presidential runoff vote Sunday will put a Socialist at the helm for the first time since 1988.

Protests took place all over the globe, in places such as Germany Russia; Chile; Argentina, Indonesia, the Phillipines, Taiwan and Cuba. Also known as International Workers’ Day, it is a commemoration of those killed striking during the Haymarket Riots of 1886.

UK lawmakers call Murdoch ‘unfit to run’ media empire

By David Stringer The Associated Press

LONDON — A committee of British lawmakers called Rupert Murdoch unfit to run his global media empire — a finding that reflects just how deeply the phone hacking scandal born of his defunct News of the World has shaken the relationship between the press and politics.

The divisive ruling Tuesday against Murdoch, his son James and three of their executives also exposed the waning influence of the media tycoon, and could jeopardize his

control of a major broadcaster.

Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport committee — a panel that scrutinizes the standards of Britain’s press and sports authorities — began an inquiry amid disclosures about widespread tabloid hacking of voice mail, concerns over bribes paid to police for scoops, and politicians who may have overstepped the bounds by cozying up to key players in the Murdoch empire.

Tarring the credentials of both the 81-year-old media mogul and James Murdoch, a former executive chairman of News Corp.’s U.K. newspaper division, the

committee’s scathing words on the Murdochs could affect their controlling stake in British Sky Broadcasting.

Britain’s broadcasting regulator Ofcom acknowledged it was studying details of the report, which unanimously agreed that three key News International executives had misled Parliament — a verdict that can see offenders hauled before legislators to make a personal apology.

“We conclude, therefore, that Rupert Murdoch is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company,” the report said.

In a message to Ne ws International staff, Murdoch said he

found the findings “difficult to read” and that he deeply regretted what took place.

“We certainly should have acted more quickly and aggressively to uncover wrongdoing,” he wrote. “There is no easy way around this, but I am proud to say that we have been working hard to put things right.”

Among the 11-member committee, four lawmakers from Britain’s Conservative Party — which Murdoch’s flagship The Sun tabloid now supports — refused to endorse the report. It was supported by one Liberal Democrat and five members of the opposition Labour

Party, which Murdoch ditched before Britain’s 2010 national election.

The chairman, a Conservative, did not vote in line with parliamentary convention.

The fallout has jolted Prime Minister David Cameron, who lost his top media adviser over the scandal and is fighting demands to sack a Cabinet minister over the links his office had to some of Murdoch’s key staff.

Murdoch has so far paid out millions to settle lawsuits from 60 celebrities, athletes, politicians and other public figures whose voice mails were hacked. Dozens more lawsuits have been filed.

OPINION

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | THE DAILY TEXAN | Viviana Aldous, Editor-in-Chief | (512) 232-2212 | editor@dailytexanonline.com

VIEWPOINT

Make a move on tuition Tuition may be important enough for the UT System Board of Regents to talk about after all. Today marks the beginning of the board’s two-day meeting, and tuition has finally made the agenda.

Students and UT institutions alike have long awaited the board to address the issue, as many expected the regents to set tuition in March. The delay led to uncertainty regarding the cost of system schools.

Last fall, the regents gave UT two directives: to tie any requests for tuition increases to the effort to improve four-year graduation rates and to limit tuition increase requests to the change in the consumer price index, resulting in a limit of about 2.6 percent. The University could also request an additional 1 percent increase for out-of-state and graduate students.

Each tuition-setting year, the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee presents President William Powers Jr. with a proposal regarding tuition policy at the University.

Powers then formulates his own recommendation to submit to the Board of Regents, and in both 2010 and 2012, Powers forwarded TPAC’s recommendations on to the board.

This year, Powers requested a resident tuition increase of 2.6 percent and a nonresident increase of 3.6 percent each year for the next two academic years — a proposal that maximizes tuition increases for UT given the board’s directives. UT-Austin is the only school in the system that requested a different increase for resident and nonresident students.

Because all universities in the UT System adhered to the board’s directives, the reason for the delay is unwarranted. Hopefully the Board of Regents will set tuition for UT System institutions this week to allow students to know the cost of attendance for the next two academic years and to allow universities to adjust their budgets accordingly.

Taking strides to make the world change

By Channing Holman Daily Texan Guest Columnist

Growing up, I was taught to work harder because I was a black female and things wouldn’t be handed to me. I knew that people wouldn’t want to see me succeed because of the color of my skin. My mom told me at a very young age that I was different because I was black, but I needed to be proud of my culture and my ancestors who fought so that I could have a better life.

My mother is a postal clerk at the United States Postal Service and my father is a lieutenant at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Life was never handed to me on a silver platter, but like my parents, I had to work hard to achieve the simple things in life. So I worked hard athletically and academically for one goal: to attend the University of Texas at Austin. And I did just that.

So I came to UT wide-eyed, in awe that I was where many students wanted to be, and I was so excited to begin a new chapter of my life. I knew UT was a predominantly white institution, especially based on the reactions I received from people in my hometown when I told them UT was my school of choice. I also knew I would be a minority once again, but I refused to let it deter me from getting a UT education.

Reality set in during orientation, when there was only one other black girl in my wing and again when I was automatically labeled as an athlete because I was black. I

have been the only black in a class of 100, and I have been stared at like I was on display in a museum, perhaps because I’m black. I’ve been overlooked during office hours because the white girl’s question was more important, and I’ve been called “the n-word” [racial epithet] while walking on Dean Keeton, which is considered part of campus. I am not an extinct species, but I am one of the blacks that represent 4.5 percent of this university.

While I graduated from my high school with honors and in the top 10 percent, I also had a slew of organizations that I was a part of that made me a well-rounded candidate; it takes more than the top 10 percent to survive at UT. I was not privileged as a legacy nor is my father on the Board of Regents. I did everything the person sitting next to me did to attend this institution, and my hard work ethic is the reason I am still here in my third year of college.

So when Austin hosted a rally to support Trayvon Martin, I was there in my black hoodie marching to City Hall. When The Daily Texan ran the racist cartoon portraying the case, I was angry, upset, disappointed and embarrassed first as a UT student, second as a black person attending this institution and finally as a journalist.

We all learn as a child that we are all different and come from various backgrounds, but publishing a cartoon to make light of a teenager’s death is unacceptable especially when the killer was recently charged nearly two months after the shooting. “Colored” is

not a term that should be used in 2012 because of its racial connotation.

His name is spelled T-R-A-Y-V-O-N, not T-R-E-Y-V-O-N, and George Zimmerman, who was denoted as “the big, bad white man,” is both white and Hispanic. The cartoon was neither satirical nor funny. Bottom line: A 17-year-old was shot because he was racially profiled, or in Zimmerman’s words, “suspicious.” If Martin looked suspicious, then I must look suspicious every time I wear a hoodie when I’m sick, I’m cold or it’s raining.

UT has a racist past and continually tries to portray itself as a diverse campus, but a statement such as the cartoon takes this university back decades. If “what starts here changes the world,” then this institution should take strides in making the world change.

As UT students, our newspaper should reflect the student body, not just a percentage.

In light of the recent events involving The Daily Texan, I hope the publication takes this opportunity to examine its editorial board and staff and also remember its audience: the UT student body composed of Africans, African-Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, Puerto Ricans, Italians, Brazilians and so many more. Just like students here at UT are of all different shades, there are also different shades of talented journalists just waiting for their voices to be heard.

Holman is a journalism junior.

Nominate a Longhorn of the Year The Daily Texan Editorial Board is seeking suggestions for our Longhorn of the Year distinction. The Longhorn of the Year is an individual who had the most positive impact on the UT community throughout the 2011-12 academic year.

You can suggest a candidate by emailing the name of the nominee and a short explanation to firingline@dailytexanonline.com for potential publication or tweeting us @DTeditorial.

We’ll print finalists later in the semester and announce our selection in May.

An open letter to the South Mall Lawn

By Heba Dafashy Daily Texan Columnist

Dear South Mall Lawn, I was asked to reflect on my time here at UT and felt it was fitting to address this letter to you. You have seen thousands of students walk around you and have become a special place for not only me, but for many.

Your lawn was the home of lots of fun adventures including Holi, where I got to throw paint powder and water balloons on my friends, and the gigantic dance parties at “Gone to Texas” and even the days where I just want to twirl around on the lush of your grass.

We only got to really know each other sophomore year because freshman year, I was too insecure to come lay in the middle of campus on your grass. But for some reason, being a second-year college student gave me the confidence to finally meet you. And I’m so glad that I did.

You gave me the inspiration sophomore year to grow into the person I was meant to be. You were the home for not only me but for many students, as we sat on your grass debating major life decisions. You watched me lay for hours contemplating dropping pre-med

and strictly being a liberal arts student. In the arms of your grass, you helped me realize that the calling in my life did not lie in medicine but rather in human rights advocacy. It was this year where I learned that the purpose of life is something much greater than myself; although I did not exactly know what that purpose was, I was willing to dream big and seek it.

The next year was where you watched me struggle through hardships, while teaching me that nothing was impossible. As I sat on your grass, almost in tears from Plan II physics, you became my sanctuary. It was there where I had meaningful life talks with students who have become some of my best friends.

Later that year, you watched me leave campus and move to Washington, D.C., for a semester. Even though I lived in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court, I still missed the sweetness of your lawn and campus — nothing beats the spirit of the Texas Capitol and the UT Tower.

Finally, this year you have watched me learn some of the greatest lessons of all. Senior year started off with mixed sentiments: lots of excitement yet lots of uncertainty toward the future. Whenever I was overwhelmed with where the future may take me after gradua-

tion, you would be the first place I would go.

This year I have learned that everything will work out as it should and that I need to cling to my faith and just be patient.

This year was also most memorable as you watched me sit week after week and write opinion columns for The Daily Texan. I didn’t even know I had that many opinions on things, but on your lawn I found the love of writing.

I even shared you with some of my friends and family throughout the years. A special thank you to my Duren friends who have kept me grounded for four years. To Melissa and Lynda for reminding me to dream big. To my lovely parents for reading every single one of my columns and acting like each column needed to be published in The Washington Post. To my twin brother for always supporting me. And to Chris for being my best friend and No. 1 fan.

Lastly, thank you, South Mall, for all the years, lessons and memories. I will forever miss your lawn and your spirit that made me wholeheartedly know that Texas is truly the greatest University.

Sincerely, Heba Dafashy, a Plan II senior, worked as a columnist in the spring.

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.

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.

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Follow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter (@DTeditorial) and receive updates on our latest content.

SUBMIT A FIRING LINE

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

SUBMIT A GUEST COLUMN

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

5 UNIV

NEWS

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Reformed lobbyist tries to enact change

By Andrew Messamore Daily Texan Staff

Hit-and-run raises safety concerns for cyclists

By Sarah White Daily Texan Staff

A recent hit-and-run accident near the UT campus has led to greater concern about cyclist safety in Austin.

Evan Baird, 22, was traveling home by bike from work south on Guadalupe Street at 38th Street when he was struck by a car. The vehicle sped off after colliding with Baird and he has been in the hospital since with debilitating injuries.

Evan’s mother, Sarah Baird, said he has traumatic brain injury, a shattered clavicle, a broken wrist and a fractured knee. She said the bone surrounding his left eardrum is shattered and he has been bleeding extensively out of his mouth, nose and ears. The doctors are seeing improvement, but Evan has a long way to go before a full recovery, his mother said.

The suspect in this case has still not been apprehended according to Austin Police Department Cpl. Anthony Hipolito.

“Baird was struck by a small black compact car believed to be a Hyundai,” said Hipolito. “The black car was last seen [driving] westbound on West 38th Street.”

Hipolito said the car has a “coexist” sticker on the rear bumper and has front-end damage from the collision with Baird.

UT biology senior Erika Almodovar said she was at the scene when the accident happened.

“I heard a loud crunching noise,” said Almodovar. “I jumped out of the car and ran to where I could see Evan laying on the ground.”

Almodovar said she stayed with Baird until Emergency Medical Services arrived, while her friend Katherine Li, also a UT student, called 9-1-1.

“I wish [the driver would] own up for his mistake,” said Almodovar.

“It’s frustrating because I have a lot of friends who are bikers.”

Almodovar said she is now more fearful for the safety of cyclists.

“Knowing that there are people like this out there certainly makes me reconsider the safety of cycling on campus.”

Sarah Baird said Evan has been visited by local cyclists and concerned Austin residents who he has never met. She said the reaction of the cycling community has been a great comfort to Evan’s family.

“It has been devastating,” Baird said. “We are so grateful that he is alive, but he is experiencing a lot of frustration and agitation due to the fact that the driver has not

Expo showcases Austin theaters

By Alexa Ura Daily Texan Staff

When George W. Bush was president and Tom DeLay the house majority leader, super lobbyist Jack Abramoff was one of the most powerful men in Washington, D.C. Then, in 2006, he was convicted for mail fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials and tax evasion after a scandal involving Indian casino interests found him and 21 other White House officials guilty of corruption.

After four years in prison, the former lobbyist is now writing for Charles Dharapak | The Associated Press anti-corruption publications and Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff speaks in Washington. A former aide to asking for hard lobbying reform Tom DeLay was sentenced Friday to five months in a halfway house in in Washington, to the derision of the final act of a probe of the Jack Abramoff influence peddling scandal. some pundits who claim he has yet to change. Bringing his cam- with significant sway in Washing- tice more people to get involved paign to UT, Jack Abramoff spoke ton in a way that is detrimental to rather than just the special interwith The Daily Texan to talk about people’s lives. ests, who have something to get what he wants from Congress. back. Second is the revolving door DT: And is that problem com- [between K Street and the Hill].

Daily Texan: What kind of ing from Capitol Hill or is com- Three is to create a term limit to stop people from spending their message are you hoping to bring ing from lobbying industry? to the students at UT? Abramoff: Well I think it’s entire life in Washington, either as Jack Abramoff: I’m telling peo- both. It’s endemic whenever you a representative or a lobbyist. Step ple what’s happening with your have institutions or individu- four is to change and affirm the government. The special inter- als who accumulate a lot of pow- rule that Congress cant pass any ests have a special sway in Wash- er, and the exercise of that pow- legislation that doesn’t apply to itington that’s not good for the Re- er is often corrupt. In Washington self, and that would go a long way public, and I’m educating citi- in particular, we see the relation- to curbing insider trading. zens, legislatures and students ship between the special interests, DT: When you have all these about what goes on behind the lobbyists and their legislature goes closed doors of Washington over the line of what is necessarily changes enacted, what kind of change would you expect in the power politics. appropriate all too frequently. lobbying industry?

Abramoff: Well, we are hoping DT: C ou l d you d es crib e DT: What should people ask what’s going on to me? How for in order for that actual change it brings out the average citizen’s voice, in a way that levels the playdo you know that corruption to come about? is happening?

Abramoff: Well, we are look- ing field and no longer drowns out Abramoff: First of all, I used ing at four points that would have a citizen by a lobbyist who goes to participate in it, second of all, a fairly significant impact on the off to raise $100,000. We hope to I met and worked with the orga- system. One is a combination of dampen the voice of the special nizations that are still participat- barring special interests from giv- interests, be they labor unions, ining in it and third of all, you see it ing any money politically, or con- dustries or individuals who are usin the dysfunction that is currently veying any financial interests of ing money to tilt the playing field affecting our federal government. benefit to a public servant. We in their favor. By making the field The government is unable to stop are hoping to create and vouch- even, we are hoping more issues reaching out and touching our er/tax credit that allow people to are discussed in Congress based lives in every possible way, and in give contributions at a much lower on their legal merit rather than many cases we see special interest level, maybe $50. That would en- their monetary value.

been found.”

Baird said APD Chief Art Acevedo has spoken out recently about transportation safety issues in light of Evan’s accident and the fatal MetroRail crash that happened last Monday.

“I am in 100 percent support of making laws stricter against motorists who injure pedestrians and cyclists,” said Sara Baird.

Kate Bedford, coordinator of the Campus Safe Cycling Campaign at UT, said Baird’s accident is a symptom of a larger problem at UT. Bedford said she and other concerned

students have been and will continue to work with Parking and Transportation Services to increase the safety of sidewalks and roads, and to raise motorist awareness of cyclists.

“Austin, and the University of Texas especially, are in a state of flux which is proving to be difficult and dangerous for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians,” Bedford said. “The road and sidewalk system are not well designed for our time — a time in which we are becoming more and more concerned with using less gasoline and are interested in riding bicycles/walking more.”

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Almost a century after it was first built, the Paramount Theatre remains a staple in downtown Austin.

The theater is one of the many movie houses featured in a local exhibit.

“The First Picture Shows: Historic Austin Movie Houses” is the Austin History Center’s newest exhibit. With hundreds of historic photographs, documents and architectural drawings, the exhibit showcases the history of more than 100 Austin theaters.

The exhibit launched March 20 and will be on display until Aug. 19.

“Everyone at the theater is well aware of the history behind it,” said John Stewart, house projectionist at the Paramount Theatre. “Despite changes over the decades, we try to hold on to the original intent of what film was about.”

Stewart was one of the panelists at the exhibit’s opening in April and has worked in film for over 40 years. He said the exhibit shows how the movie-going experience has changed over time while remaining a communal experience.

In the early 1900s, movie houses and storefront theaters began to line the streets of downtown Austin years after the end of the Civil War with the first screening of a motion picture in 1896. The exhibit details the creation of these theaters and displays photographs of what has become of the ones that no longer screen movies.

Jay Podolnick, whose grandfather, Louis Novy, founded the historic Trans Texas Theater Co., said the history of the few surviving film gems in the community must be preserved through efforts like those of the Austin History Center.

Podolnick said film has played an important role in his life and it’s important to continue teaching students about film because it is part of the foundations of modern cinema.

“Theater is to film what the blues is to music. You can’t be a great musician unless you have an understanding of the genre that gave way to others,” he said. “Students need to learn what it looks like, what it feels like and what it’s like to edit it.”

Russell Bush, radio-televisionfilm graduate student, said film is an

important part of studying cinema if students are able to take the discipline that comes with working with film and apply it to shooting in digital formats. But the ability to work with the Austin film community is the biggest strength in UT’s film program, he said.

“Theaters like the Paramount are impactful for the community in general and there’s a change in culture that comes with it,” he said. “Knowing there’s a history of film and picture houses in Austin helps establish the tradition for students.”

Radio-television-film senior Charles Crane is a programmer for Austin Cinematheque, a student organization that screens 35 mm films on campus. Crane said films are becoming harder to see, so the organization works to preserve the cinematic experience by screening films in their original format.

“Living in Austin and experiencing the film community in this city has been unbelievably rewarding,” he said. “It’s hugely inspiring to be part of such a rich film culture in Austin, and I’m glad the Austin Cinematheque has been a part of it.”

Thomas Allison | Daily Texan Staff

Steve Schwolert designed and built much of the Austin History Center’s latest exhibit, “The First Picture Shows: Historic Austin Movie Houses,” which will be on display through Aug. 19.

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Convicted murderer faces potential parole, worries victim’s family

By Patrick George Austin American Statesman

Jesse Sublett received a letter from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in March saying that the man who was convicted of killing his girlfriend and another woman in the 1970s would be released on parole.

His reaction was visceral. “’Stunned’ is not the word,” Sublett said. “It’s like getting run over by a truck. You can’t even move.”

In March, Sublett and relatives of two other murder vict i ms t i e d to c onv i c te d k i l l er Lyle Richard Brummett received three different letters with conflicting information about whether Brummett would be released.

One letter said that he would be paroled, but the last one said the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has flagged Brummett for “special review.”

Brummett has been up for parole before, and Sublett said t h at e a c h t i m e , f a m i l y a n d f r i e n d s of h i s v i c t i m s h av e written letters to the parole board asking that he not be released. This is the first time they’ve received a letter saying Brummett had been approved for release.

Now, Su b l e tt s ay s h e an d others will travel to Huntsville on May 11 to address the board members in person. They said

based on his histor y of multiple rapes and murders, they hop e to ma ke t he c as e t hat Brummett, now 55, should not be released. “ This guy is not s ome one who has just made a few mistakes,” Sublett said.

Rissie Owens, the presiding officer for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, said the board will review new information that is sent to them.

After May 11, she said, they c ou l d g r ant or d e ny p arol e to Brummett.

“All options are open at this time,” Owens said. “We will review all information and make a decision at this time.”

The information sent to the b o ard cou ld include letters, p h on e c a l l s an d s t at e m e nt s from victims’ family members.

It w a s n o t c l e a r w h e t h e r Brummett has an attorney.

On Aug. 16, 1976, Sublett returned to his South Austin home to f ind his girlf riend, 22-year-old Dianne Roberts, lying in their bed naked with a pillowcase wrapped around her neck.

Sublett, a musician and member of the inf luential Austin punk band the Skunks, said investigators initially suspected he was the killer. But he pointed them to Brummett, a laborer and friend of his roommate’s who had recently been charged with and was awaiting trial on two rapes in Kerrville, he said.

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A cat grooms itself while an Austin Pets Alive! volunteer cleans out a litter box in the cat trailer on South Congress Avenue. Austin Pets Alive! is a nonprofit organization that rescues animals from shelters that are at risk of being euthanized and helps them find new homes.

Shea Carley Daily Texan Staff

W h e n B r u m m e t t w a s a rrested and questioned by Austin police, he told them that he had killed two other young women in Kerrville — different crimes from the rapes he had been charged with.

Po l i c e d r o v e t o t h e c i t y northwest of San Antonio and began searching a grassy pasture around midnight.

Eight hours later, they found the remains of Beth Pearson, 15, and C arol Ann L ondon, 18. Both had been missing for nearly a year, and their families had assumed they had run away together.

Brummett told investigators he had an accomplice in those crimes: Alan Ladd Woody, then

20. Investigators said Woody and Brummett picked up the two girls after their car broke down and then raped and killed them.

Based largely on Brummett’s testimony, Woody was convicte d of murder ing Pe ars on in April 1977.

A few days later, Brummett pleaded guilty in Kerr ville to London’s murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Later that month, Brummett pleaded guilty in Austin to Roberts’ murder as well and was given a second life sentence to be served concurrent with the first.

On March 5 of this year, the department sent a letter to the

families of Brummett’s victims saying he had been denied parole.

Then on March 15, another letter was mailed, this time saying Brummett was “tentatively approved ... for release to parole supervision.”

Owens said a board panel interviewed Brummett and voted to release him into treatment but then realized he did not qualify for it.

Finally, on March 23, after calls and letters from the families of the victims, a third letter was sent, saying that because of t he re c e ipt of “a d d it i on al information not previously available to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles,” Brum-

mett is being considered for “special review.”

Verna Lee Carr, an Austinbased victim advocate, said that in her 22-year career working with victims of violent crimes, she has never seen three conflicting documents mailed out as they did in this case.

“I w a s f u r i ou s” af t e r s e e i ng t h e l e tte r s ay i ng Br u m mett would be released, s a i d P e a r s o n’s b r o t h e r , Martin Valance. “ Yo u’v e g o t a s e r i a l r a p ist and a serial killer on your hands, and I don’t think the s t a t e c a r e s ,” s a i d Va l a n c e , w h o n o w l i v e s n e a r Ty l e r.

“I’ve got a family who’s scared to death.”

Publication to report counter-narrative

By Bobby Blanchard Daily Texan Staff

After two semesters and a summer of planning, a new online African-American UT publication will launch in the fall.

Che yenne Matthe ws-Hof fman, editor-in-chief of the publication and a journalism sophomore, said the student organization Black Ink Association is attempting to launch a publication similar to the “The Griot,” which was an African-American print publication at UT in the ’80s and the ’90s.

Choquette Hamilton, associate director of development for the African and African Diaspora Studies Department, said during its time the Griot served as a counter-narrative to the dominant voice of students, which she said was The Daily Texan.

“The Griot came about because students, particular black students at the University, felt that their story wasn’t being told, and if it was being told, it was being told in a viewpoint that was not their own,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said the Griot addressed a few landmark issues during its time. For instance, the Griot tackled the issue of divest-

ment of UT from companies in South Africa, which was utilizing the racial segregation policy of apartheid at the time.

Hamilton said while she was not for certain why the Griot stopped publishing, she imagined it would have to do with funding, as it cost about $225 to create the Griot, which printed once a semester.

“It doesn’t sound like a lot of money, but back in the ’80s, I imagine $225 to create a newspaper was a significant cost for students,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said while The Daily Texan says it strives to act as the voice for all students, the newspaper has a hard time recruiting and retaining people of color from different perspectives.

“The way The Daily Texan obtains their employees is through walk-in type basis, rather than more of a recruitment,” Hamilton said. “Because that is the case, it’s self-selected. By the very nature of that process you’re going to get a one-sided viewpoint on many of these issues. So having these counter-narratives open up the dialogues and present things from different perspectives really helps everyone involved.”

Now, Hoffman said, the Black

Ink Association’s publication, which does not yet have a name, will attempt to cover some of the issues that have not been covered since the Griot’s absence.

“I just think there are a lot of issues involving the black community at UT, and just Austin in general, that don’t really get reported about,” Hoffman said.

News editor Aladeria Allen said students can expect a diversity of news from the publication that is not just from the AfricanAmerican perspective, but all student minorities.

“Students can expect just really a huge range of news, from the more controversial topics to the stuff you don’t see everyday,” Allen said.

Since the Black Ink AssociaZen Ren | Daily Texan Staff tion’s publication will be online Cheyenne Hoffman looks to provide an outlet for black voices on campus. She is the editor-in-chief of the and not in print, Hoffman said Black Ink Association, which is launching an online publication this fall to raise awareness about news they are planning to spread in- affecting minority communities. formation about their publication by talking to organizations on campus.

“When we do start next semester, we’ll have a Twitter [account] and Facebook [page], and we’ll be pushing for it a lot in the organizations,” Hoffman said.

YOUR COPY OF Hoffman said the publication is still looking for reporters and HE AILY EXAN all students are welcome.

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Whittier led the integration of Texas football team

SIDELINE NBA

By Rachel Thompson Daily Texan Staff

CELTICS

Texas fans rejoiced euphorically on Dec. 6, 1969, as the Longhorns defeated Arkansas, 15-14, in the national championship game.

It was a game that would long be celebrated for what the Longhorns had accomplished on the field, but history was also being made among the members of the team itself.

Behind the confetti, excited fans and post-game interviews was a historical change in college athletics that few were conscious of. The 1969 Texas team was the last all-white football team to bring in a national championship title. As his teammates battled the Razorbacks on the field, freshman Julius Whittier watched the televised game from Jester Center dormitory, ineligible to play as a freshman. By his sophomore year, as Texas contended for the national title once again, Whittier was a sophomore offensive lineman. He earned a varsity letter his sophomore, junior and senior year and started the latter two years of his college career and was the first African-American player to letter for Texas.

“I was a jock, plain and simple,” Whittier told The New York Times in an interview. “I didn’t

HAWKS

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MLB RANGERS

BLUE JAYS Jeff Heimsath | Daily Texan file photo

Julius Whittier was the first African-American to play for Texas’ football team. The San Antonio native was a lineman and played for the team WHITTIER continues on PAGE 8 the year after they won the 1969 national championship. That Texas team was the last all-white team to win the national championship.

Coaching staff lacks diversity, could be due to few personnel changes

By Christian Corona Daily Texan Staff

Everyone remembers the player that breaks the color barrier.

But what of the coach? The most famous African-American to defy a color barrier in the world of sports is the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson. For the Texas football program, it’s Julius Whittier, a lineman who became the first black Longhorns football player in 1970.

Neither the Dodgers nor the Longhorn football team have ever had a black head coach. All 14 of the Dodgers’ managers since Robinson made his major-league debut in 1947 were white, along with each of the four head football coaches to lead the Texas football team since the legendary Darrell Royal stepped down in 1976, seven years after the Longhorns earned the dubious distinction of becoming the last all-white football team to win a national championship.

It should be noted that former

Lakers icon Magic Johnson recently became a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and that less than 10 percent of all current MLB players are African-American, an alltime low.

UT women’s track and field coach Beverly Kearney is currently the only African-American head coach on the 40 Acres, a disappointing fact considering that nearly three-quarters of the Longhorns football squad’s two-deep roster is African-American and more than 90 percent of next year’s men’s basketball roster will be AfricanAmerican players.

With no change in head coach of the football, men’s basketball and baseball programs in more than a decade, that could indicate a simple lack of opportunity. But women’s athletic director Chris Plonsky has hired three head coaches in the last five months — Carol Capitani (women’s swimming and diving), Karen Aston (women’s basket-

TWEET OF THE DAY Darrell Wyatt

Bo Davis

Beverly Kearney

Wide Receivers Coach

Defensive Tackles Coach

Women’s Track Head Coach

ball) and Angela Kelly (women’s soccer) — all of them white.

Is that an indictment on the hiring practices of the Texas athletic program?

“I think it’s an indictment,” said Brian Jones, a former all-Southwest Conference linebacker for the Longhorns and current CBS Sports analyst. “Nothing’s going to change until we get more people of color in [administrative] positions. I’m not going to say that they should simply hire black people when they get in that position, but hire

them on their merits.”

Mack Brown has spent the last 14 years guiding the Longhorns head football squad. Former defensive coordinator Will Muschamp was once the head coach in-waiting, but since he bolted for a head coaching gig at Florida, Brown’s successor is uncertain once again.

Texas has plenty of qualified minority assistants, including Muschamp’s replacement at defensive coordinator, 38-year-old Manny Diaz. Wide receivers coach Darrell Wyatt and defensive tackles coach/

ace recruiter Bo Davis, both African-Americans, are also among the top of Brown’s coaching staff.

While Wyatt and Davis probably can’t produce a resume that would command serious consideration from men’s athletic director DeLoss Dodds to lead the massive cash cow that is the Texas football program, there’s at least one other qualified minority candidate — Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray. Gray, a two-time first-team

Weiss, Walsh lead fifth inning rally

Erich Weiss Rebecca Howeth Daily Texan Staff

UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

“That’s kind of been like us all year,” sophomore right fielder Mark Payton, who racked up a game-high three hits, including a pivotal single.

Texas fell behind in the fourth inning when freshman pitcher Ricky Jacquez gave up a leadoff double to deep left-center field. The next batter, Brett Valley, beat out a bunt single down the third base line before Jacquez fielded a bunt by the following hitter, Brad Benes, and spun around to throw for a forced out at third base. But, Weiss was nowhere to be found and Jacquez recovered to throw the runner out at first base. Panthers clean-up man Dominiq Harris delivered a tworun single up the middle with the

WEISS continues on PAGE 8

Payton keeps up consistency, vital in comeback victory

By Lauren Giudice Daily Texan Staff

Mark Payton made it on base at least once during each of Texas’ first 33 games. Although that streak has ended, his consistency and good timing brought the Longhorns back in the game on Tuesday night when they were down 2-1 to Prairie View A&M. The Panthers got the edge in the fourth inning. But their lead wouldn’t last for long.

Payton’s base hit in the fifth inning began a rally that was necessary to give the Longhorns the lead that they never gave up.

His hit sent center fielder Tim Maitland to third base. Maitland

would eventually score off of a hit from Erich Weiss.

Jonathan Walsh’s two RBI single sent Payton and Brooks Marlow home. Weiss singled and drove Payton home making the score 1-0 Texas in the third inning. Payton bunted to get on base.

“Mark Payton is a ballplayer,” said head coach Augie Garrido. “He is day in day out a really hard nosed quality baseball player. That’s what sets him apart from the others. The others can have really good days. Every day is a good day for him because of the attitude that he has and the work ethic that he has.”

Garrido said because of Payton’s

PAYTON continues on PAGE 8

SOFTBALL

TEXAS 7, BAYLOR 3

Longhorns score five unanswered runs in record-breaking win over Baylor

By Garrett Callahan Daily Texan Staff

The Longhorns were able to tame the bear this time around. After losing their first game of the series to conference rival Baylor, the Longhorns took this second game with ease on Tuesday night.

In the 7-3 win, Texas proved how strong of a team it is. While giving

up seven hits and hitting 11 themselves, they were able to out power Baylor late in the game.

After five innings, the Longhorns were down. Baylor took the lead early with a 1-0 stand through the first two innings.

When the Longhorns finally got some production in the third, the Bears responded with two more runs of their own to keep the lead

by one. It wasn’t until the sixth inning when the true Texas team came out.

Two of the Longhorns leaders all season took their role as Lexy Bennett and Taylor Hoagland both hit home runs to knock in four runs.

Hoagland, who was just named co-Big 12 Player of the Week, hit a home run with one runner on base, knocking in two runs to give

the Longhorns the lead. Bennett, just two batters later, followed up with an almost identical home run, tallying another two runs to give the team a three-run lead.

It was a record tying and breaking day for the Longhorns. Hoagland, after hitting her home run in the sixth, tied her personal record for home runs in a season with 15.

Then senior Bennett broke a re-

Miles Onyebule @TheLump17

“Love this school.

My team, coaches and ppl really take care of one another! Sitting back talking to my folks and realizing how blessed I am.”

COACHES continues on PAGE 8

BASEBALL

For the second straight game, the Longhorns came back to beat A&M. The only difference was that Tuesday’s win came against Prairie View A&M and it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as Texas’ ninthinning rally in its 2-1 victory over Texas A&M Sunday afternoon.

But after falling behind in the fourth inning against the Panthers, the No. 24 Longhorns (2616, 11-6) used RBI singles from sophomore third baseman Erich Weiss and junior left fielder Jonathan Walsh in the fifth frame to take down Prairie View A&M (2221, 13-7), 5-2, Tuesday evening at

DEVILS

FLYERS

TEXAS 5, PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 2

By Christian Corona Daily Texan Staff

NHL

cord herself, setting the new UT single season record for RBIs with her 51st last night. She took the accolade from Loryn Johnson, who graduated in 2009.

Finally, Brejae Washington set a new Texas career mark with her 63rd stolen base, passing the previous record of 62 set by Desiree

BAYLOR continues on PAGE 8

SPORTS BRIEFLY Aston hires last member of staff with Washington as assistant

Texas Women’s head basketball coach Karen Aston has hired George Washington as the assistant coach for the team.

He served as an assistant coach at Westbury Christian High School in Houston. The school made fourstraight Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) 4A State Championship appearances while he was coaching there. Wesbury Christian was ranked No. 8 in the country during the 2008-2009 season and No. 9 in 2010-2011.

The Wildcats went 140-16 while he coached there.

“I am thrilled to announce the addition of George Washington to our Texas women’s basketball staff,” Aston said. “We wanted to add a different element, in the sense of someone who has dealt with young people on a daily basis during their high school years. George is a teacher, foremost, which I love most about him. He also is a passionate, energetic coach who shares our vision for Texas.”

Before his time at Westbury Christian, he was the girls’ varsity basketball coach at St. Thomas Episcopal in Houston. He was also the schools athletic director during the 2004-2005 season.

George Washington completes head coach Karen Aston’s staff for the 2012-13 season.

“George has always been involved throughout his career in skills training and that has become a staple of any program bearing his assistance,” Aston added.

— Lauren Giudice

8 SPTS/CLASS

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sports

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

WEISS continues from PAGE 7 bases loaded that put the Longhorns in a 2-1 hole.

“The defense played well. That’s encouraging,” said Texas head coach Augie Garrido about his defense, which didn’t commit an error for the second straight game after committing eight in the previous two. “They made all the plays that they needed to make, except for the confusion twice on Rebecca Howeth | Daily texan staff

Mark Payton went 3-for-5 and scored two runs during Texas’ 5-2 win.

Payton has been consistent all season and is hitting .329.

PAYTON continues from PAGE 7 small size, standing 5-foot-8, he has stepped up and become an even better baseball player.

Payton went 3-for-5 and scored two runs against the Panthers. Although Prairie View A&M lost, they put up a strong fight against the Longhorns, who were still surging from the ninth inning victory over A&M on Sunday.

“Mark is an excellent leadoff guy,” Weiss said. “He’s got that spot down.

Last year, I think he was two hole sometimes, second batter. He’s developed into a leadoff hitter.”

Weiss said Payton is good at dragging on the count and making the pitcher throw to him a lot.

But, Payton doesn’t take all the credit.

“It’s nice when you have Erich and Walsh hitting behind you because you’re going to get pitches to hit,” Payton said. “They don’t want to walk you. It’s nice when those two are hitting.”

Payton knows that his job is to get on base. This season, he certainly has. He is currently batting .329. That is second highest on the team, only trailing Weiss who is hitting .343.

Last year, he was consistent and

made the All-Big 12 freshman team.

This year, he is continuing to step up when the team needs him.

“My game has got to be to get on base no matter how it is,” Payton said. “I try not to worry about the statistics at all. My job is to get on base and make plays on the field and put together quality at bats.

That’s the only thing I’ve been worried about.”

Payton’s hit in the fifth inning jump-started the Longhorns and led them to the win. The players and Garrido emphasize “total offense.”

“It’s not focusing on getting a hit but focusing on getting the leadoff man on base,” Walsh said. “We want him to get over and then let the next guy do his job.”

Walsh said hits seem to be contagious sometimes.

“Anytime you get more than one run in an inning is great, especially for your pitching cause that takes a lot of pressure off of them,” Weiss said.

“Even hitting, too, because you think that you’re more relaxed up there and take a better at bat.”

Payton’s consistency this season and tonight will continue to get the Longhorns on the scoreboard.

With Marlow, Weiss and Walsh behind him in the batting order, Payton will continue to put runs on the board.

BAYLOR continues from PAGE 7

Williams (2005-2009).

This was a much better game for the Texas team after their last game with Baylor ended in a loss. The eight inning game came in a period of the season for the Longhorns in which they had lost four out of their last seven, their first real period of losing this season. Tonight, however, Texas tied up the series with a win. day, month day, 2008

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Texas will continue with Big 12 play this week when they face rivals Oklahoma in a three game series in Norman, Okla. There are only four games left for the Longhorns and they look to finish strong. A strong finish for the team can push the team into convincing postseason play, where they look to make a far run into the NCAA Women’s College World Series.

WHITTIER continues from PAGE 7 care about civil rights or making a mark. I just wanted to play big-time football.”

But in the South, gaining one’s civil rights was no small challenge. Applicant Heman Sweatt sued the University of Texas in 1946 after being rejected from the School of Law because of his race. The law school’s segregation policy was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1950, but it took until 1956 for all UT’s academic programs to be integrated.

The integration of sports teams took place years earlier in the North. William Henry Lewis was the first African-American player in major college football and played at Amherst University from 1889 to 1891, and in 1942, Bill Willis played on the national championship team for Ohio State.

UT’s athletic programs took a bit longer to follow suit. AfricanAmerican students weren’t allowed to participate in varsity sports until 1963, and the Southwest Conference was not hasty in recruiting African-Americans to play.

Head coach Darrell Royal at-

COACHES continues from PAGE 7 All-American and four-time Pro Bowler, was briefly brought in to coach the Longhorns defensive backs before Duane Akina took his job back and Gray left for Nashville. He should be given a hard look, including an interview, when Brown steps down.

“My gut is there’d be more of a chance of it happening in [men’s] basketall,” said Michael Cramer, 1 director of the Texas Program in Sports and Media, who also teaches a course called Sports, Media,

the bunt. Outside of that, it was a flawless game.”

The Longhorns roared back in the fifth frame. Senior center fielder Tim Maitland, filling in for the injured freshman Taylor Stell, was hit by a pitch for the team-leading 13th time with one out before Payton singled and freshman second baseman Brooks Marlow was also beaned. Then, with the bases loaded, Weiss singled softly up the middle to bring home Maitland and tie the contest at 2-2. That set the stage for Walsh’s sharp single to right, also with the bases load-

ed, that gave Texas a 4-2 lead and all the offense it would need.

Since April 13, the Longhorns are batting 8-for-12 (.667) with the bases juiced after hitting just 6-for-34 (.176) in that same situation previously this year. Weiss, who picked up the first of two bases-loaded base hits in that fifth inning, said that Texas has emphasized that situation more often in scrimmages recently.

“Coach Garrido talked to us about not seeing the runners on base and pretending like they’re not there and taking that at-bat

tempted to recruit African-American athletes to play for UT, but many were turned off by the University’s reputation for racist tendencies and slow integration.

In 1967, E.A. Curry tried out for the freshman football team and earned a place on the roster but was sidelined by grades and did not continue to play for UT. In 1968, Leon O’Neal II became the first African-American to receive a football scholarship to the University but did not return after his first year.

Whittier was a standout player at an integrated San Antonio high school, blessed not only with a gift for the game but also an innate confidence and a self-described oratorical knack.

Despite the warnings of his friends and family, Whittier joined the team in 1969 as a freshman.

“I basically came here for my purposes, which was to play football,” Whittier said in an interview with Texassports.com. “In spite of what a lot of people thought might happen when I came up here, I had a ball.”

While Whittier has said he didn’t mind being the only African-American player on the roster, he’s also noted that he wasn’t always treated like every other member of

the football team. He was not invited out to parties by his teammates and struggled to find a roommate his sophomore year.

Teammate Billy Dale, a senior running back who scored the winning touchdown of the 1970 Cotton Bowl, agreed to room with Whittier.

“I lost all my friends,” Dale told The New York Times. “I chose to live with Julius because I believed it would add that much more dimension to me as a person.”

Whittier’s tenure at UT paved the way for other black athletes. Running back Roosevelt Leaks was recruited in 1971, Earl Campbell in 1974.

Whittier’s time at UT also allowed him to cross into the path of Lyndon B. Johnson, who recommended that Whittier continue his studies at the University’s School of Public Affairs.

“I got a chance to go to graduate school,” Whittier told the UT football team during a 2010 visit.

“I met President Johnson and he told me he would enjoy knowing I had at least examined the program at that school.”

Whittier followed Johnson’s advice, enrolled and graduated from the LBJ School in 1976. Today, he works as a trial lawyer in Dallas.

Whittier has repeatedly said that he doesn’t consider himself a pioneer, but head football coach Mack Brown feels a bit differently.

“He’s a hero,” said Brown in an interview with Texassports.com. “He opened doors for many other kids that have come behind him. Thank goodness that it’s a much better world today than it was in 1969.”

Whittier returned to UT in 2010 to speak to the team in a stadium named after his former coach. Brown made sure his players understood the importance of Whittier’s contribution.

“Think about it. This is history,” Brown told his team during Whittier’s visit. “You’re seeing history right here. You’re seeing the reason that a lot of you were allowed to come.”

and the Integration of Society. “It would probably have to be somebody that was perceived to be the equivalent of a Tony Dungy ...

They’re going to be looking for a high-profile candidate. It’s Texas.

It’s a money machine.”

At Texas A&M, conference affiliation isn’t the only thing that’s changing as the Aggies recently hired Kevin Sumlin, an AfricanAmerican coach who led Houston to a school-record 13-1 mark last year, as their first black head football coach. Other qualified candidates were considered, such as Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who was in charge of a unit that led the nation in scoring

defense (8.2 ppg), total defense (183.6 ypg), rushing defense (72.2 rush ypg) and pass defense (111.5 pass ypg). The Crimson Tide held LSU to 92 total yards and five first downs in this year’s national title game, a 21-0 Alabama victory.

But the Aggies went with Sumlin, who is preparing to take his squad into a brutal SEC West that boasts each of the last three national champions. But Sumlin has recruited very well since being hired last December. Sumlin will be the only African-American head football coach in the SEC this year.

“This is historic,” said Jones, a friend of Sumlin’s. “What A&M has done can be looked upon as

crossing a color barrier, because I never thought they would have a black head [football] coach. I never thought Texas would have a black head coach in football. For A&M to be the first in this area, I think it speaks volumes.”

Brown wasn’t fired after Texas went 5-7 two years ago the way Mike Sherman was when Texas A&M posted a 6-6 mark last season. But Brown, 60, won’t coach forever. When the time comes for his incredible tenure to end, let’s hope Dodds self-implements a Rooney Rule of his own so guys like Diaz and Gray get an opportunity to become the Longhorns’ next head football coach.

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like you’re a leadoff hitter,” said Weiss. “During the beginning of the season, we were hitting the ball well but we were hitting it right at them. Now they’re starting to fall in for us. About time.”

Stell, who last played in Friday’s 6-5 loss to Texas A&M in College Station, had surgery Tuesday to repair a knee injury he suffered in last week’s 4-2 victory over Central Arkansas. Garrido said that he’ll be out at least three weeks but hopes to have him back in time for the NCAA Tournament that begins next month.

He’s a hero. He opened doors for many other kids that have come behind him.

— Mack Brown, head football coach

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9 COMICS

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LIFE&ARTS

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | THE DAILY TEXAN | Katie Stroh, Life&Arts Editor | (512) 232-2209 | dailytexan@gmail.com

NO DICE NECESSARY

By Karin Samelson Daily Texan Staff

For a few hours every few months a small group of Austinites live in a world of monsters, gnomes, spell bags, swords and elves. The Austin chapter of Heroic Interactive Theatre participates in live-action role-play, or LARP, and have been involved in events since January.

The first role-playing games were played in the ’70s and have many different styles. In some groups, participants play upon a set of rules and create elaborate characters and costumes. The interaction is very gamelike and was influenced by tabletop games where role-playing was used, like Dungeons and Dragons.

“It’s kind of like improvisational theater,” said Donald McCullough, also known by his character name Thurgar the Warrior.

The main goal of LARP is to have fun while interacting and uncovering secrets along the intended story line. Killing monsters before they kill you is another goal. The next event will take place on June 23, but the group hopes that the events could become monthly sometime in the near future.

“I’ve been playing Dungeons and Dragons since I was 4 and I’m 37 this year,” McCullough said. “I’ve studied various forms of weapon combat for just as long and I thought I would put my skills to good use.”

Costumes play a vital role in the events. Since all participants have their own characters, the costumes are sometimes elaborate and their weapons are intricate and includes spears, swords, glaives and battle-axes with spear tips on the end.

McCullough’s costume consists of chainmail armor that acts as extra hit

It’s not like online play. It’s a fun bunch of people to play with and have real simulated sword combat which isn’t that common — Charles Bowling .

Bufurd the Two-Handed Warrior

points, so he can take some hits before it affects his character’s health.

Some outfits are more complicated than others, but the group had the idea to make painted masks this time, since wiping off face paint while switching characters seemed to be too difficult at the last event.

The weapons have to follow certain protocol, like not being too long and having to have two hands on the weapon at all times if you want to gain points in battle. All of the weapons are made of PVC pipe covered in pipe insulation foam. Everything used is relatively soft and hitting places like the head, hands and groin are off limits.

“It’s not like online play. It’s a fun bunch of people to play with and have real simulated sword combat which isn’t that common,” said Charles Bowling, or Bufurd the TwoHanded Warrior.

LARP isn’t only about killing the

Nathaniel Goldsmith | Daily Texan Staff

Thomas Abruzzese, playing an ogre character, thrusts his greatsword at an enemy during a live action role playing game Sunday. The prop weapons used by players are padded to reduce the risk of injury.

monsters and surviving; it’s about interaction with the other players and puzzle solving. At the last event, there was a locked chest full of in-game money, and monsters would drop papers that turned into a combination that could eventually open the lock.

Each person will play the same character throughout the events unless they are killed too many times; this is when the head of plot and lo-

gistics’ fantasy plan comes into play.

John Garcia, the group’s leader and head of plot, decided that once you’re killed a number of times, your character will die off and you will have to invent a new one.

“Sometimes bad stuff happens to your character or your friend’s character,” Garcia said. “It

Event Details

What: Austin Heroic Interactive Theatre When: This summer Where: Tenative Other: nerocentral.com

LARP continues on PAGE 11

Food blog inspires student to Workaholics trio discuss comedic path to third season undertake culinary adventure

By Anjli Mehta Daily Texan Staff

Allison Boyle started her blog The Best of Thymes when she made the 2011 new year’s resolution to cook a new meal every week.

Marisa Vasquez Daily Texan Staff

By Jessica Lee Daily Texan Staff

Just two years ago, when petroleum engineering senior Allison Boyle thought of what would be on the menu for dinner that night, processed foods such as macaroni and cheese or ramen noodles came to mind.

But as the 2011 new year approached, Boyle decided to make a change. She made a resolution to start cooking a new meal every week and blog about it. Thus, her food blog, The Best of Thymes, was born.

“I always ate good food growing up, and I realized I could be eating that way now,” Boyle said.

“I’m by no means an Iron Chef now, but cooking has become natural to me.”

Starting a blog that was open to public meant that Boyle had to keep up with her resolution, or else her friends and readers would notice she was slacking off. Now, Boyle cooks more than once a week and is constantly on the search for new recipes to try. She accredits food blogs and Pinterest as her main recipe sources.

If you think there isn’t anything charming about three 20-something best friends and roommates with jobs at the same call center, think again. Screenwriters and actors Adam DeVine, Blake Anderson and Anders Holm play funnier versions of themselves in Comedy Central’s bro-tastic sitcom, “Workaholics.” In honor of being renewed for a third season of the show, which had its series premiere last year, the cast checked in with The Daily Texan and discussed everything from their YouTube beginnings to hair products and sex toys.

The Daily Texan: What can we expect to see in season three?

Adam DeVine: Whoa, hitting us with the heavy questions! Probably some really serious things like obesity and finding new drug dealers and using hallucinogenics on business trips. So, definitely stuff that the youth of America can relate to. We’re basically doing a public service.

Photo courtesy of Comedy Central

Blake Anderson, Adam Devine and Anders Holm star in Comedy Central’s “Workaholics.”

from real life stories, or exaggerated real times in our lives, but other things are simple, [such as] what would be the funniDT: What inspires some of the est thing to see on television and what other shows [are] not episodes?

Blake Anderson: Some come hitting on.

DT: How did YouTube play into now. Comedy Central saw us on Youyour success early on?

Tube and gave us a show from there.

DeVine: We started making sketches in 2006 and it really helped DT: How has life changed since us find our comedic voice and figure the show? out what kind of comedy we like to do. It was like practice for what we do WORKAHOLIC continues on PAGE 11

UT Professor speaks about her cell damage, cancer research

By Clayton Wickham Daily Texan Staff Check out Allison Boyle’s Best of Thymes blog thebestofthymes.me

Boyle has found that not only is cooking at home a lot cheaper than eating out, it is also a lot of fun. Though she did not cook much before the blog, she has found that most recipes are not too difficult to conquer.

Though there have been a few recipe disasters along the way (a recent attempt at baking brownies went all wrong when the pan shifted), Boyle chooses only to feature her successful dishes. Some of her favorites include banana nut waffles, chocolate chip zucchini bread, herb garden

BLOG continues on PAGE 11

Molecular genetics and microbiology professor Tanya Paull studies how cells respond to DNA damage and to a cellular imbalance called oxidative stress. Her research on cell damage has implications for cancer treatment as well as the treatment of ataxia-telangiectasia, a rare neurodegenerative disorder that inhibits movement and coordination. She is the winner of a CPRIT Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, or CPRIT, grant and one of 330 Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators in the nation.

Daily Texan: What are you studying in your research now?

Tanya Paull: We primarily work

on DNA damage response, which is a series of events that occur after double-strand breaks happen in chromosomal DNA. The chromosome is made up of a DNA double helix, a double-strand break occurs when the helix is severed into multiple pieces. Cells have ways of recognizing, binding to and signaling those damaged DNA molecules very, very rapidly. So, we study those events that occur during that first recognition process. We look at how breaks are repaired.

We do this using biochemistry, which means that we make these enzymes, purify them and look at what the enzymes are doing. You can control everything in the reaction very carefully, which lets you make conclusions about what exactly those enzymes are doing.

DT: I know you are funded by the Cancer Prevention Institute of Texas. How does your work fit into the field of cancer research?

Paull: We’re funded by cancer research organizations because there’s an obvious relation to cancer, although we’re not doing things like testing drugs. We’re not trying out new cancer therapies. We’re at the basic research level trying to understand why loss of certain genes results in cancer, and what the enzymes encoded by those genes normally do.

DT: I read you do research on an enzyme called ATM, which plays a role in tumor growth.

What is the importance of ATM? Paull: [ATM] is also occasionally found to be lost or mutated in spontaneous tumors in normal people.

Tanya Paull Molecular genetics and microbiology professor

There’s been a lot of sequencing of cancer genomes recently, now that sequencing DNA is getting to be so inexpensive. Cancer is this whole progression of events — basically changes in the genome — that lead

RESEARCH continues on PAGE 11

11 ENT

LIFE&ARTS

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

LBJ historian releases new book

LARP continues from PAGE 10

By Hillel Italie The Associated Press

Nathaniel Goldsmith | Daily Texan Staff

Zach Ryan and Yvonne McCullough consult character sheets during a lull in Sunday’s combat. Live action role playing blends elements of improvisational theater with traditional tabletop role playing games.

gets emotional.”

Each player has a character with a specific weapon, power and points.

There is a general rulebook, but the head of plot and logistics makes up secret plans, a general plot and scenarios that the rest of the characters act out. The only time a person can break character is if they need clarification of a rule.

Garcia will play several different

BLOG continues from PAGE 10

green beans and roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup.

And of course, Boyle shares her creations with friends and family. Boyle’s friend and fellow petroleum engineering senior Cara Blais is more than happy to taste test for Boyle.

“Allison cooks only delicious things.

It is dangerous to be friends with her because of all the treats she feeds me,” Blais said. “I once ate about 10 of her lemon ricotta cookies in one minute.

Just thinking about those things makes me drool.”

Food blogging is not as easy as it sounds. Aside from actually cooking, Boyle has had to learn how to photograph the food. The pointand-shoot camera she used when the blog was initially created was not going to cut it, so Boyle upgraded to a more professional camera. According to Boyle, the camera does most of the work, but finding good light has proven difficult.

After graduation, Boyle is moving to California for work. She hopes that there she will solve her lighting problem.

“I am going to try to create a space for white boards in order to bounce off light and create colors and textures around the food,” Boyle said.

“I also think that the move to California will influence my recipes because I plan on getting involved in farmer’s markets and trying to cook seasonally.”

In California, Boyle will have her husband Sam Boyle by her side to eat anything she whips up in the kitchen. He has seen her grow and evolve since the creation of The Best of Thymes.

“Allison’s blogging has helped motivate her to continue cooking, even when her life gets busy and schoolwork piles up,” Boyle said. “Being able to share her cooking through the blog has allowed her to reach new people and inspire them to start cooking themselves, even those who get intimidated by cooking or feel like they don’t have the time to cook.”

Boyle hopes that more people will be inspired to cook from the blog.

She plans to upgrade certain elements of the The Best of Thymes in order to gain a bigger readership.

Boyle even hopes to one day start creating recipes of her own.

“I started this blog for me,” Boyle said. “I’m a very visual person, and I like being able to see all my recipes. Now I have all these great recipes that I can go back to.”

And as long as Boyle keeps returning to the kitchen, she will keep up with The Best of Thymes.

The blog quickly seeped into her life, and she believes it will be there for awhile.

monsters for the June event.

“I could be the scorpion that fights them and then I could be a skeleton boss,” Garcia said.

Garcia knows all the secrets, since he has written the plot, and other characters don’t know some of the consequences like getting killed too many times. He keeps a lot of the story line to himself so the game will be exciting the en-

11

tire time.

McCullough, or Thurgar, runs the tavern where he charges ingame currency for meals. He has a feast planned: chicken skewers, pita bread, stuffed mushrooms, sausage, sweet tea and much more. Each item is paid for with gold or silver currency that has been acquired in one way or another throughout the game.

Yvonne McCullough, a.k.a. Tor-

lia of the Sun Settler Clan and wife of Donald, is a blue sea elf that doubles as a spell caster. She plans on painting her entire body blue for the event.

“I like the sense of community and combining all my favorite hobbies together: we can hike in the woods, create costumes, live in a fantasy world and make a bunch of really cool friends,” Garcia said.

Nation’s censorship topic of film

WORKAHOLIC continues from PAGE 10 DeVine: For myself, it’s awesome. We’re like kind of famous now, it’s really cool. I have friends that are like, “Don’t you hate that people you don’t even know are just nice to you for no reason?” and I’m like, “No, it’s freaking awesome! It’s so cool that people are just nice all the time!”

Anderson: It’s also cool when you get people you respect like watching the show, too. It’s like you get to meet musicians and work with actors that you never thought you’d work with, too.

DT: Do you guys ever prank on set?

Anderson: I don’t know if we do pranks as much as we dare each other to do stuff. It’s just too early in the morning, I’d be afraid that if I really fucked with someone that early in the morning, I might just get punched in the face.

Anders Holm: Yeah, there’s a lot of dads on the set [whose time we don’t want to waste], and be like, “Hey, check it out, I put peanut butter all over the set,” and they’re like, “Okay, well now we have to clean that up, and now I won’t get to see my daughter tonight.”

DT: Why do you think the show has such a huge following?

DeVine: I think we’re relatable.

When you’re in college and right out of college, these are the kinds of jobs you get like right out of

school, and you’re living with your friends and you pull pranks on each other. Also, it gives you cool ideas like putting poop in a dollar and seeing who picks it up.

Anderson: We just make a TV show that we would want to watch.

Holm: Plus, we’re friends in real life and to me that would be interesting.

DeVine: Plus, we have more dick jokes per capita than any other show.

Holm: Well, yeah. That’s the real answer.

DT: How close are the characters in the show to who you guys are in real life?

DeVine: I think that we’ll just, like, take on character flaws and really exaggerate them for comedic purposes. Except for that I’m actually dumber in real life than on the show.

Holm: Yeah, we scaled that back.

DT: A few weeks ago you guys tweeted about getting some Fleshlights for the season premiere — DeVine: Oh yeah! Are you asking if it is a real thing or if it feels like the real thing? I don’t mean to throw them under the bus because they were so nice to us by giving us free stuff, but it’s not even close.

If you’re going masturbatory device you got to go Tenga Egg. Look it up. Get on it. I think it’s like $6.

Way better.

By Todd Pitman The Associated Press

Workaholics

Blake Anderson, Adam Devine, Anders Holm

Genre: Comedy Where: Comedy Central When: Season starts May 29

Anderson: To be fair though, I heard that if you heat the Fleshlight up before you use it, it’s better. It is weird though.

DT: Okay, last question and it’s for Blake. What hair products do you use?

Anderson: Mostly I use shampoo and maybe later in the week, I’ll throw in conditioner. But we have a hair person on set who I think uses Moroccan oil in it.

DeVine: It’s a magical head of hair.

RESEARCH continues from PAGE 10 to a cell having the ability to grow without normal control. Normally, our cells have redundant layers of growth control, so there are many things that have to be disabled before a cell can get to that point. ATM is one of those things.

It’s found to be gone or mutated in a certain percentage of tumors.

In some cancer types, it’s gone in 50 percent of cases; in others it might be a rare event.

that far from getting there. That’s mainly a cost issue at this point.

The problem is, once you get this information, what does that mean? Maybe, out of those thousand mutations, there are one or two that are absolutely known to cause your type of cancer. But, in most cases, you find these mutations, and you don’t know what those things do. What do you do with the information? Figuring that out it is going to take a DT: Is the kind of research really long time. you do going to help doctors cater their treatments to patients DT: Right now, what’s the depending on which kind of most advanced cancer treatment tumor they have? in terms of personalizing care?

Paull: Personalized cancer Paull: Well, it’s been done very treatment is something we talk a successfully with certain types of lot about. It’s the idea that some- breast cancer. There’s a particular day in the future you’re going to receptor that’s on certain breast go in with a cancer diagnosis and cancers and not others, which someone will be able tell you, “In they can pretty easily test for now. comparison with your normal ge- If you have that receptor, you can nome you have these thousand receive a treatment that is spechanges that have occurred in cifically for that tumor type and your tumor.” I don’t think we’re avoid going through all the hor-

NEW YORK — R ober t C aro receives the most interesting mail.

“I get letters, constantly, saying, ‘I see your book’s coming. I hope you’re going to prove in this book that LBJ did it,’” the award-winning and ongoing biographer of Lyndon Johnson says during a recent interview at his midtown Manhattan office. “Did it,” as in killed President Kennedy.

“When I talk at colleges, you can hardly have a lecture or a speech without one of the first questions being, “Are you going to prove that Johnson did it? Or, are you going to show that Johnson was involved in it?’ And when you say Johnson had nothing to with it, you can feel the audience doesn’t accept it. You lose your audience.”

Believers in Oliver Stone’s “JFK” and other conspiracy theorists who hoped that Caro, the most hardworking of historians, would finally nail Johnson will have to look elsewhere. In “The Passage of Power,” the fourth of five planned volumes on Johnson, Caro devotes more than 100 pages to the events immediately before, during and after Nov. 22, 1963. Nothing in his many years of research made him suspect Johnson.

“I never came across a single hint, in anything I did — in interviews or all the documents — that would lead you to make such a conclusion,” he says.

The Johnson books are an obsession, regardless of who you blame for the death of JFK. Caro has been writing about the late president for nearly 40 years and fans, as anx-

ious in their own way as followers of “Harry Potter,” have waited a decade for the latest volume.

“Passage of Power” begins in 1958, when Johnson is considering a presidential run; continues through his unhappy time as vice president; and ends in early 1964, weeks after he succeeds Kennedy.

Published this week, the new book is around 700 pages and the series totals more than 3,000; Caro has enough unused material in his filing cabinets to fill many more.

Length has not deterred readers or critics. The first three volumes have sold more than 1 million copies.

Caro has won two National Book Critics Circle awards, a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize, for “Master of the Senate.”

But his influence reaches beyond sales and prizes. The author, who has never held or sought political office, has become a kind of wise man in Washington. According to Ron Suskind’s best-selling “Confidence Men,” Democratic senators read Caro’s books as they attempted to pass health care legislation in 2009 and Rep. Barney Frank consulted “Master of the Senate,” which covered Johnson’s dominating run as Senate majority leader, as he urged fellow Democrats to support new financial regulation. President Obama has met at the White House with Caro and has said that “The Power Broker,” Caro’s Pulitzer winner about municipal builder Robert Moses, influenced his own political thinking.

“I think everyone was reading ‘Master of the Senate,’” says former Kennedy aide Jim Flug, and adds that the historian may have persuaded a couple of legislators to change their minds.

We’re not trying out new cancer therapies.

We’re at the basic research level trying to understand why loss of certain genes results in cancer

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — When Burmese filmmaker Htun Zaw Win decided to make a short comedy about the tragically bizarre process of getting movies made in his oppressed homeland, he knew exactly what to base it on: real life.

“Ban That Scene!” makes a daring mockery of Myanmar’s dreaded film censorship board, whose members are cast as comical guardians of a tyrannical state’s idealized image of itself.

Sunk into the faux-leather chairs of a government screening theater, they face off against a sputtering film projector that bathes them in the dim reality of their own fallen nation. The officials are offended at everything that appears on screen — beggars, corruption, power outages, even a street fight — because they all allegedly make the state look “undignified.”

“Ban that scene! Remove it!” the bespectacled censor boss bellows over and over, jabbing an index finger through the twilit darkness with a triumphant, lips-pursed “hrrrrummph.”

Beyond its highly satirical take on modern day filmmaking in Myanmar, what’s most striking about the movie by Htun Zaw Win, who goes by the name Wyne, is that it was made at all.

Its existence, coupled with the fact that Wyne has seen no jail time, offers proof that some artists are growing brave enough to criticize the establishment as the nation’s new reform-minded government begins allowing a level of free expression that was unheard of here during decades of suffocating military rule.

But the film also proves just how much here remains unchanged.

Wyne says he never submitted “Ban That Scene!” to the government’s Film and Video Censor Board for

approval because they would almost certainly have, well, banned the entire thing.

The board’s mandate is limited to screening films made for sale, and Wyne says he chose to forgo all profit to ensure it would be produced uncut. The sacrifice was essential, he said, “to show the public both at home and abroad what barriers filmmakers are facing.”

The 18-minute short was first shown in the former capital Yangon in January during a film festival dubbed “Art of Freedom” that was hosted by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the prominent local comedian Zarganar.

It has been posted on YouTube and Wyne has so far distributed about 10,000 copies on DVD for free. But the movie’s impact has been limited. It cannot be shown in local cinemas, and the vast majority of Myanmar’s 60 million people are out of reach — living in thatched huts without electricity or Internet lines in a rural countryside that’s remained almost untouched for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years.

Still, the work is remarkable for what it contrasts brilliantly throughout: on one hand, the sanitized image of Myanmar that the nation’s xenophobic former regime once wanted to portray to the world; on the other, the tumbledown reality of just how far this place fell under their rule.

Wyne, 39, said he has been surprised at the positive response to the film he has received from a few top officials in the country’s post-junta regime, which is made up largely of military officers who retired to join the civilian government.

The censor board itself could not be reached for comment. Zarganar, the comedian, called the satire “an important work” that shows artists are truly becoming independent again.

Wyne ends the movie with three hopeful words: “We Can Change.”

— Tanya Paull, Professor

rible chemotherapy that just generally kills everything growing in your body. This [treatment] has been extremely successful. The toxicity is much less and there’s a huge success rate. So, that kind of thing is what everyone wants, but it takes a long time to get even one of those successes.

Photo courtesy of The Associated Press

“Ban That Scene!” makes a daring mockery of this country’s dreaded film censorship board, whose members are cast as comical guardians of a tyrannical state’s idealized image of itself.

12 LIFE