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SPORTS PAGE 8

Catching on quickly

LIFE&ARTS PAGE 13: ‘9’ not a perfect 10

TH HE DAILY TEXAN Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900

Graduate students may keep insurance

By Lena Price Daily Texan Staff Instead of losing health care coverage after leaving UT, teaching and research assistants as well as graduate students on fellowship may be eligible to keep their University health insurance until they find other employment.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act was implemented in 1985 to prevent people who were fired or laid off from a job from experiencing a lapse in health care coverage. People using COBRA could keep their previous employers’ health insurance, although it could be more expensive.

Because of a federal subsidy signed by President Barack Obama in March, the cost of COBRA coverage could drop by up to 65 percent. The subsidy will cover unemployed people for up to nine months.

The subsidy applies to people who lost their jobs between September 2008 and December 2009, including students who lose their position when they graduate.

Texas State Employee Union volunteer Caroline O’Connor has worked with several UT graduate students in danger of losing their health care coverage.

“They are still unemployed or underemployed and either do not have health benefits or purchased extremely poor plans because that was all they could afford,” O’Connor said. “All of these individuals are in the process of contacting human resources to apply for the federal subsidy.”

UT’s human resources department did not return phone calls by press time.

O’Connor, a public affairs graduate and former teaching assistant, was in danger of losing her UT health insurance when she graduated in May. “I looked into purchasing a high-deductible, individual plan, in case I was in an accident, since I could not afford the almost $400 per month regular COBRA cost,” she said. “I am continuing my

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Obama stresses staying in school

Schoolchildren in AISD allowed to watch speech, LISD prohibited broadcast

By Alex Geiser Daily Texan Staff Despite some Austin-area schools choosing not to show President Barack Obama’s speech to school children Tuesday, the UT Elementary School and Austin Independent School District left the decision up to teachers.

The speech stressed the importance of staying in school and focused on Obama’s own childhood.

“This is social studies, this is government, this is civics,” said Ramona Treviño, founding principal and CEO of the University of Texas Elementary Charter School.

“These are all the things we are required to teach our children. It is the idea of seeing a role model, but also of federal leadership.”

The charter school, following in line with AISD, let teachers decide whether or not their classes would watch the broadcast based on their curricula. Treviño said that while parents were given the opportunity to opt their children out for any reason, none chose to.

“In the democratic society in the United States, the president is the commander in chief,” Treviño said. “The president is our elected leader, and it is confusing to children to have this not reinforced.”

Greg Holloway, co-founder of local activist group Austin Tea Party Patriots said the speech had a message with which he could agree.

“I liked how he suggested that the kids work hard to make the country even more free,” Holloway said. “The one thing I thought was a little odd was that he talked a lot about himself. I would have liked to see it a little more based on the kids.”

Shirin Khosropour, mother of two children who both graduated from Mathews Elementary, said

GRAD continues on page 2

UT students stricken with flu-like symptoms

By Viviana Aldous Daily Texan Staff University Health Services cannot confirm whether the H1N1 virus has struck the UT campus yet, but a wave of students has been diagnosed with a flu-like illness in recent weeks.

UHS confirmed 251 cases of flulike illness between Aug. 23 and Sept. 5, including 133 cases last week. Currently, the H1N1 virus makes up all of the influenza cases in both the state and the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Compared to the seasonal flu, the H1N1 strain is affecting a higher number of younger people than those 65 years or older, said Doug McBride, spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.

After seeing several residents with flu-like symptoms the week before classes began, Scottish Rite Dormitory has taken precautions,

TOMORROW’S WEATHER

including placing hand sanitizer throughout the dorm to encourage residents to wash their hands more often.

“We don’t normally do any major tracking of things like that, but we did hear of several cases of girls being sick,” said dorm administrator Mary Mazurek.

“Of course, with all the media and University attention to the flu, we thought we had to take some precautions.”

Mazurek said residents’ symptoms included fever, achiness and a cough and typically lasted 48 to 72 hours.

“We recommend that [sick residents] go to University Health Services and see what they have,” she said. “Then, if they needed to be segregated, we do have a couple of rooms that we have offered to either them or their roommate.”

FLU continues on page 7

Sara Young | Daily Texan Staff

Scottish Rite Dormitory has encouraged frequent handwashing after several residents reported flu-like symptoms in late August.

OBAMA continues on page 2

Daniela Trujillo | Daily Texan Staff

Kindergartners at The University of Texas Elementary School watch President Barack Obama’s studentaddressed speech along with principal Melissa Chavez on Tuesday morning from the school’s cafeteria.

UTIMCO braces for another bad year Investments in diverse funds prove costly, regents still hopeful

By Hudson Lockett Daily Texan Staff Although University assets managed by University of Texas Investment Management Company have increased by 10 percent from January to August of this year, its CEO still expects another down year.

Bruce Zimmerman, UTIMCO CEO, said assets including University endowments were down 13 percent for the

past fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31. As part of the company’s investment strategy going forward, Zimmerman said investments in hedge funds were decreased.

After facing losses of 25 percent over the previous year, Zimmerman said those numbers are encouraging, even with the losses.

“We certainly haven’t gotten back even from where we were a year ago,” he said. “We still have some making up to do, but we’re making progress so we’re glad about that.”

Zimmerman became the tar-

get of several state legislators’ ire in February after they became aware of the $1 million bonus he received at the beginning of the year. At the time, UTIMCO’s two largest endowments had lost 27 percent of their value over the previous year.

Although the bonuses were based on previously strong fund performances, State Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Texas, expressed outrage that any manager of a public company losing money should receive a bonus during the recession.

UT System Regent and then

UTIMCO chairman Robert Rowling resigned in protest after the legislative grilling.

The value of UTIMCO assets fell from $23.2 billion during the midst of the recession in August 2008 to $17.5 billion in February of this year. In its most recent report released in July, the company’s assets were valued at $19.7 billion.

Zimmerman said one result of this year’s annual review of investment strategy was a shifting of fund allocation in hedge funds, which pool investors’

ENDOWMENT continues on page 2

Students voice concerns over affordable housing

By Nihas Wagal Daily Texan Staff A survey released Tuesday indicates graduate students living on the Brackenridge Tract are most concerned about access to affordable housing if proposed redevelopments to the tract take place.

This summer, the Graduate Student Assembly conducted surveys among residents of University Apartments to find out their views on proposed plans to redevelop the tract. The two proposals, called the “Brackenridge Park” and “Brackenridge Village” concept plans, segment the tract into five walkable neighborhoods, each containing an assortment of housing units, restaurants, grocery stores and retail outlets. According to the concept plans, the residents of

known and hopefully taken into account.”

Some of the other issues brought up by the survey include size of unit, green space, and possible disruption during relocation.

“Currently we have no idea about the costs and if it will be subsidized by UT or the Board. It could be a good opportunity for graduate housing residents, but we need to find out what concerns our students are having regarding this,” said assembly president Daniel Spikes.

Jesus Montelongo | Daily Texan Staff More surveys will be disBetsy Stokes watches her two children play with a neighbor while tributed over the next few waiting for her husband to return from campus. weeks targeting all graduate students at the University. the apartments would be relo- ions can often be overlooked,” “These not only affect resicated to a centralized complex. said Paul Gavaza, vice pres- dents here at University hous“For me, students are the ident for external affairs for ing but graduate students on most important stakeholders the assembly. “With this proHOUSING continues on page 2 in this process, and their opin- cess their views can be made

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NEWS

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

6

On technicality, HOUSING: Student concerns a priority SG tables student appointments From page 1

Cap Metro may reallocate routes based on revamped service plan The city’s Urban Transportation Commission addressed a number issues facing the city Tuesday, including an update on Capital Metro’s forward-looking agenda known as ServicePlan2020.

Senior planner James Gamez suggested some route reallocations to service busier routes and cut down on the number of buses sent to lesser-used stops.

Recent conflict over street closures has encouraged the commission to create a special session on Sept.29 to revisit the wording of the ordinance on the topic. Under the current wording, a permit can be

! (across the street from DKR stadium)

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valued health care initiatives From page 1 comprehensive UT benefits under the subsidized COBRA plan for the same cost as purchasing emergency coverage, roughly $150 per month.�

In order to qualify for the subsidy, students need to contact their human resources representative to apply within 60 days of their termination. After December, the subsidy will no longer be available.

Daniel Spikes, president of the Graduate Student Assembly, said health care is one of most important issues the organization’s agenda. This includes making sure health care for recently graduated students is available. “Students on fellowships in particular are a very big con-

cern,� Spikes said. “Teaching and research assistants are able to get employee health insurance but not students here on fellowships.

That’s the type of insurance we’re advocating for everyone.�

Spikes said the organization made progress in the last legislative session, but a bill which would have guaranteed students on fellowship employee level health insurance was killed in the last week due to a last-minute provision. “We’re going to continue campaigning on the behalf of these students even though it’s not a legislative session this year,� Spikes said. “Our main goal right now is to get the issue out in the open and get people talking about it. That way when it does come back to the Legislature, it should go through.�

ENDOWMENT: University may

face large losses in investments From page 1 money with the aim of investing in different markets through speculative practices that can increase risk.

Ehud Ronn, a finance professor in the McCombs School of Business, said hedge fund investments generally tend to be more risky but also have higher returns. “If you think things are going to be better, investing in riskier assets makes sense,�

Ronn said.

UT endowments invested in hedge funds were reduced by 3 percent, or $445 million, in July. Currently, 30 percent of endowments are invested in hedge funds. Zimmerman said the move was made to reduce the risk of the endowment investments.

Investments of other UT assets in hedge funds slightly increased by $352 million, but resulted in a net decrease of $93 million in the risky funds.

Zimmerman said the company’s strategy of long-term investment kept changes marginal. He said an example of this approach is a program started a few years ago to increase the company’s focus in real assets, including natural resources and real estate.

Makhonjwa Mashoba, an accounting graduate student, said the losses weren’t surprising given the recent market and investment environment. “Many large funds, including educational funds, lost value this past year,� Mashoba said. “Even the best can’t make money 100 percent of the time.�

THE DAILY TEXAN Permanent Staff

This newspaper was written, edited and designed with pride

by The Daily Texan and Texas Student Media.

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jillian Sheridan Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stephen Keller Associate Managing Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .David R. Henry, Ana McKenzie Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeremy Burchard, Dan Treadway, David Muto, Lauren Winchester News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sean Beherec Associate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pierre Bertrand, Austen Sofhauser Senior Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viviana Aldous, Bobby Longoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rachel Platis, Lena Price Enterprise Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Kreighbaum Enterprise Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hudson Lockett Copy Desk Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Green Associate Copy Desk Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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OBAMA: For LISD, speech

conflicted with school day From page 1 Obama’s story of struggle and success is inspiring. “Children need to get the same messages from multiple perspectives,� she said. “We are having a president who is respectful enough and concerned enough about their well-being to directly address them.�

Unlike AISD, the Leander Independent School District chose not to air the speech at any of its schools. Dick Ellis, communications director for LISD, said the district did this for logistical purposes, but the speech would be available on the district’s Web site for those who are interested. “The timing of the address at 11 [a.m.] has scheduling problems for a lot of our classes,� he said. “We couldn’t ensure that our technology structure could broadcast it simultaneously, and a number of parents have also asked their kids to be excused from the address.�

Dustin Matocha, chairman of the Young Conservatives of Texas, said the organization is not against the president speaking to students about completing their education, but remains wary of the speech.

“It is only when he starts injecting politics into his speeches to students, especially when parents were not consented first, that we have a problem,� he said.

Although there was concern regarding a possible political agenda seen in the first draft of the speech, the Obama administration received feedback from schools and removed some of the questionable language.

James Martinez, spokesman for the National Parent Teacher Assosication, said in addition to revisions of the speech, changes were also made to an optional supplementary lesson plan.

He said the NPTA supported Obama’s message of succeeding through education, while also supporting a school’s decision not to air the speech or to use the lesson plans. “We also recognize that parents have the right to keep their kids from listening to that message and from listening to the president,� Martinez said. “The only concern we have is that the student isn’t taken out of school for the whole day just because the parent doesn’t want them to listen to the 10 to 15 minute speech.�

THE DAILY TEXAN Volume 110, Number 65 25 cents

CONTACT US Sports Office: (512) 232-2210 sports@dailytexanonline.com

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Why does your shirt say “BM?�

Dude, it’s Baader-Meinhof.

Or bowel movement.

Copyright 2009 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.

Volunteers

Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tara Haelle, Susannah Jacob, Anna Russu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Claire Cardona, Kelsey Crow, Vicky Ho, Jordy Wagoner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alice Ju, Cameron Lindsay, Allistair Pinsof, Daniela Trujillo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ben Freed, Thu Pham, Edgar Vega, Jesus Montelongo

Advertising

Director of Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jalah Goette Retail Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brad Corbett Account Executive/Broadcast Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carter Goss Campus/National Sales Consultant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joan Bowerman Assistant to Advertising Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C.J. Salgado Student Advertising Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathryn Abbas Student Advertising Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Ford Acct. Execs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lauren Aldana, Anupama Kulkarni, Ashley Walker, Natasha Moonka Taylor Blair, Tommy Daniels, Jordan Gentry, Meagan Gribbin, Jen Miller Classified Clerks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Teresa Lai Special Editions, Editorial Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elena Watts Web Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Danny Grover Special Editions, Student Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kira Taniguchi Graphic Designer Interns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amanda Thomas Senior Graphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Felimon Hernandez

The Daily Texan (USPS 146-440), a student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin, is published by Texas Student Media, 2500 Whitis Ave., Austin, TX 78705. The Daily Texan is published daily except Saturday, Sunday, federal holidays and exam periods, plus the last Saturday in July. Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, TX 78710.

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09/09/09

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revoked if 20 percent of the affected residents object to it, or if a single neighborhood association rejects it. Currently, a neighborhood association can be as few as a couple of neighbors who register on the city’s Web site.

Transportation Department director Karla Taylor Villalon also provided an update on the city’s Car2Go program, launching in November. The program is a partnership between the City of Austin and the Daimler Corporation in an effort to reduce the number of sedans in downtown Austin by replacing them with 125 Smart cars.

Over the first 6 to 12 months, the Car2Go program will be evaluated on mileage, emissions and usage to determine if it will have a lasting place in Austin. — Benjamin Williams

GRAD: GSA hopes to advance

Av e

NEWS BRIEFLY

Jesus Montelongo | Daily Texan Staff

This spacious play area is one of the many attractions that the Brackenridge Apartments offer to the families of graduate students.

gle

postpone the appointments until next week. “It’s always important for the representatives to have those things beforehand,� Ma said. “I think it would’ve been fine if they hadn’t had it beforehand — Liam wouldn’t have appointed those people if he didn’t think they could do their jobs — but the Assembly should have as much time as needed to look at [appointees’ applications].�

SG President Liam O’Rourke said 17 people left the room during the debate. “You need to be more respectful,� O’Rourke said to the Assembly afterwards. “You need to wait to be called upon, and there can’t be this frustration and banging on the tables and so on. I don’t think people left because of the debate. I think they left because of the way we went about the debate.�

During the meeting, the Assembly passed resolutions to support the Counseling and Mental Health Center’s Suicide Prevention Week and to support the expansion of the UTakeCharge energy-efficiency program, which calls on the entire campus community to expand energy and water conservation across the UT System.

Representatives also introduced legislation for the creation of a financial aid agency within SG, for the appreciation of the Office of Relationship Management and University Events for its work on Gone to Texas and for congratulating Sharon Mosher, the new dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences. They will vote proposed legislation next week.

Tri an

By Viviana Aldous Daily Texan Staff Despite more than 20 minutes of debate and its listing on the agenda, Student Government did not confirm three appointments at Tuesday’s meeting.

Kinesiology junior Nicolas Munro, music junior Matthew Portillo and undeclared junior Neal Remedios awaited confirmation for appointments to the Transportation Agency, Spirit and Traditions Council and the Students with Disabilities Agency, respectively. After the assembly asked Munro questions for eight minutes, a representative pointed out that the Assembly was not presented with the appointees’ applications beforehand, which could be interpreted as a possible violation of SG’s internal rules of procedure. “All appointment applications shall be available for public inspection,� according to SG’s rules. “The assembly shall be given copies of the appointment application for each student appearing for confirmation.� “[Applications] should be available before the meeting,� said SG vice president Shara Ma. “There was a discrepancy about what that meant. It was a technicality, and those things happen.�

Though SG’s administrative director Katina Rajunov did not include the applications with the agenda due to technical difficulties, applications were available just before the meeting began.

While some representatives wanted to continue with the appointments despite the technicality, many representatives voted to

waiting lists and other students trying to find affordable housing,� Spikes said. “We want to find out the concerns of graduate students, that way we can address them the next time we meet the [UT System] Board of Regents.�

The UT System Board of Regents will meet again in November, and by that time both the Tenant Advisory Board and the assembly hope to have a better idea of the residents’ needs.

Meetings are going to be held at each apartment complex to address residents’ concerns. “If this were to happen, we

want to be able to look at different scenarios that affect our residents, such as the cost of moving and relocation and provide this to our residents,� said Perry Adams, committee adviser on the advisory board.

The outcome of this housing proposal could also affect future students at the University. “Almost all students are trying to find affordable housing and when many come to the University that is a major concern and one thing we always want to have available for them,� Spikes said. “Without this type of housing available to students we could potentially be losing out on future graduates from our University.�

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3

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

T HE DAILY TEXAN

Roadside bombs kill 4 US soldiers in Iraq on Tuesday

By Sinan Slaheddin The Associated Press BAGHDAD — Roadside bombs killed four U.S. soldiers in Iraq on Tuesday, the military said, in the deadliest day for American troops in the country in weeks, as a series of bomb attacks along roads claimed eight Iraqi lives.

The first roadside bomb struck a patrol in southern Baghdad, killing one American soldier, the military said. A short time later, another bomb targeting a patrol in northern Iraq killed three soldiers, the military said.

The U.S. military, which pulled back from populated areas of Iraq before the end of June, has suffered fewer casualties in recent weeks. In August, seven U.S. troops died — the lowest monthly toll since the war began in March 2003.

Tuesday marked the deadliest day for U.S. forces since June 29, when four soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

In all, at least 4,343 U.S. service members have died since the war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The attack on the troops was one of a series of roadside bombings around the country.

An explosion killed the head of an Iraqi anti-terrorism police

Sudanese woman convicted of wearing trousers freed CAIRO — A woman journalist convicted of public indecency for wearing trousers outdoors was freed Tuesday, despite her own de-

sire to serve a month in prison as protest against Sudan’s draconian morality laws.

The judge who convicted Lubna Hussein had imposed a $200 fine as her sentence in an apparent attempt to put an end to a case that had raised criticism of Sudan.

But Hussein refused to pay the fine, which would have meant a

month’s imprisonment. She was freed after the fine was paid without her knowledge by the Journalist Union, which is headed by a member of the ruling party. “I had chosen prison, and not to pay the fine in solidarity with hundreds of other women jailed� under this law. — The Associated Press

Emad Matti | Associated Press

A wounded policeman is rushed to the hospital in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad on Tuesday. unit and four of his bodyguards in a northern town that is home to large Shiite population, said Brig. Sarhat Qader of the police in Kirkuk, a city farther north.

The town, Armili, has about 26,000 residents — most of them Shiites from Iraq’s Turkomen ethnic minority — and has been attacked before. In 2007, a suicide truck bomber struck a market there, killing more than 100 people.

After Tuesday’s bombing, armed relatives of those killed went looking for the assailants, who they believed had come from a nearby Sunni village, setting off a gunbattle. Iraqi army troops intervened and there were no casualties.

Insurgents in northern Iraq, who have maintained a stronghold in the city of Mosul, have frequently targeted ethnic minorities in recent weeks.

NATION BRIEFLY

happening at

NYC man charged in Ponzi scheme with porn link NEW YORK — A small-time money manager who did business out of a shabby storefront in Brooklyn was charged Tuesday with running a $40 million Ponzi scheme that secretly diverted client money to unauthorized ventures, including a mail-order pornography business.

Federal prosecutors and the Securities Exchange Commission said Philip Barry, 52, ran the scam without detection for 31 years until the economic downturn bankrupted him last summer.

Working from a small office in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge, far from the city’s financial center, Barry claimed to be investing in stock options and guaranteed his neighborhood clients solid returns.

But in reality, investigators said, Barry was using much of the money to speculate on real estate.

He bought an office building in Brooklyn and big tracts of undeveloped land upstate.

Authorities said he hid the scheme by feeding his customers financial statements boasting of hefty profits that didn’t exist.

The SEC said he also used client money to cover personal expenses and operate a side business that sold “pornographic materials� through the mail.

Investigators said they learned of the scheme when Barry turned up at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan in August of 2008 and asked to speak to a prosecutor. They said Barry acknowledged that, for years, he had been paying off his guaranteed profits by taking money from some customers to cover withdrawals made by others.

WORLD BRIEFLY

Obama space panel says moon return plan is a no go WASHINGTON — A White House panel of independent space experts says NASA’s return-to-themoon plan just won’t fly.

The problem is money. The expert panel estimates it would cost about $3 billion a year beyond NASA’s current $18 billion annual budget. “Under the budget that was proposed, exploration beyond Earth is not viable,� panel member Edward Crawley, a professor of aeronautics at MIT, told The Associated Press Tuesday.

The report gives options to President Barack Obama, but said NASA’s current plans have to change. Five years ago, then-President George W. Bush proposed returning astronauts to the moon by 2020. To pay for it, he planned on retiring the shuttle next year and shutting down the international space station in 2015.

All those deadlines have to change, the panel said. Space exploration would work better by including other countries and private for-profit firms, the panel concluded.

The panel had previously estimated that the current plan would cost $100 billion in spending to 2020.

Compiled from Associated Press reports

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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

OPINION

Editor in Chief: Jillian Sheridan Phone: (512) 232-2212 E-mail: editor@dailytexanonline.com Associate Editors: Jeremy Burchard David Muto Dan Treadway Lauren Winchester

T HE DAILY TEXAN

GALLERY

VIEWPOINT

Perry puts education up for sale

If there was any doubt left that higher education in Texas is fueled by money and politics, it was likely erased this week.

Regents serving on the boards that run public university systems in Texas have made conspicuously large donations to Gov. Rick Perry’s campaigns in the past. But the upcoming primary battle between Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has already highlighted the cronyism at work in Perry’s regent-appointment process, with regents who publicly support Hutchison suddenly stepping down, some citing political pressure.

There is significant evidence to support the disgruntled regents’ claims of coercion.

Though Perry has repeatedly flaunted his campaign donations as proof of public support, his reelection coffers are disproportionately filled by large donations from wealthy supporters who contribute at least $25,000 per year. In 2006, The Dallas Morning News reported that Perry receives twice as many contributions of $25,000 or more than George W. Bush did in 1994 or 1998 and more than five times as many as Ann Richards did during her 1990 campaign.

And a large number of Perry’s powerful donors have found high-profile positions on university boards.

In 2006, insurance executive Larry Anders and real estate developer J. Frank Miller each donated more than $200,000 to Perry, who appointed both to the Texas Tech Board of Regents. Investor Robert Rowling contributed $200,000 and earned his spot on the University of Texas board, and TXU executive Erle Nye, a Texas A&M regent, donated $150,000.

Perry is once again leaning heavily on super donors to fund his current campaign. He raised significant funds for his gubernatorial campaign this summer, mainly through large donations from prominent businessmen and political appointees.

Mica Mosbacher became Perry’s biggest donor in June with a contribution of $225,000. Perry appointed her to the University of Houston Board of Regents last year.

But some regents have chosen to publicly support Perry’s primary rival, Hutchison, and for many of them, the choice cost them their positions.

Nye annouced his support of Hutchison in February and was replaced on the Texas A&M Board of Regents in March.

Former UT regent Rowling switched his loyalties and donated $100,000 to Hutchison early this year. Soon afterward, Perry instigated a public feud with Rowling for the regent’s role in awarding bonuses to managers at the University of Texas Investment Management Co. Rowling subsequently resigned.

Perry appointed Steven Hicks to replace him. Hicks then donated $50,000 to Perry’s campaign.

John Barnhill, another UT regent and Hutchison supporter, was also replaced this spring. He told the Austin American-Statesman he asked Perry not to reappoint him.

But this weekend Barhnill told the Statesman that Perry called him personally to ask that he throw his support behind AT&T lobbyist John Montford for chancellor of the UT System. Against Perry’s wishes, Barnhill and the rest of the board voted to appoint Francisco Cigarroa as chancellor.

The AT&T Texas Political Action Committee is Austin’s biggest Perry donor, having donated $50,000 to Perry’s campaign this year.

Now, two Texas Tech regents are saying that Perry pressured them to resign after they endorsed Hutchison.

The Associated Press reports that Tech regent Mark Griffin said Friday that, due to political pressure from Perry, he “felt like staying on would put the institution at risk, and I’m not willing to put the university at risk.”

Former Tech regent and Hutchison supporter Windy Sitton told The Associated Press that former Tech Board of Regents chairman Scott Dueser told her the governor’s office wanted her “to cease and desist supporting Kay Bailey immediately or resign from the board.”

She refused, and when her term expired two months later, Perry replaced her on the board.

Accepting campaign contributions in return for political favors should carry serious consequences. When former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was caught on tape boasting that a Senate seat was a valuable commodity and “I’m not just giving it up for [expletive] nothing,” he was impeached.

Perry may not be selling Senate seats, but he is disproportionately placing his campaign contributors in powerful and well-paid positions throughout the state and punishing the regents who dare oppose him. Texas education has already suffered from Perry’s nepotism. Since 2003, when the Legislature gave regents power to set tuition and fees, these wealthy, out-of-touch appointees have raised tuition and fees at Texas’ 35 public universities by 86 percent.

Perry’s political machine is unparalleled in recent Texas history. It has made him the longestserving governor in Texas history. It has also jeopardized education in Texas and will continue to do so until Perry is removed from office or appropriate checks are placed on the governor’s power to sell higher education to the highest bidder.

— Jillian Sheridan for the editorial board

‘Texas English’ is my native language

By Ashley Shew Daily Texan Columnist Some things about Texans bind us together.

For instance, all Texans know that good parking spaces are determined by the amount of shade provided, distance from town to town is measured in minutes and that the plural of “ya’ll” is “all ya’ll.”

But in a place as diverse as Austin, just being from Texas doesn’t mean you will immediately fit in.

Having just moved to Austin, I’ve recently found myself in situations where I am the object of much amusement among my fellow Texans.

This is not the result of the fact that I am a comic genius, but instead because of my unmistakable northeast Texas accent.

It’s true. I can make a one syllable word into two or three syllables. My pronunciation of “pen” is “pi-yun.” And I am even, apparently, more hysterical as I try to defend myself with an exasperated “Ya’aaall, qui-yut makin’ fuhn o’ mee!”

I realize I can’t be the only one experiencing such alienation. UT’s Office of Information Management and Analysis Web site shows that in 2008, 10 percent of UT’s student body was from out of state, 9 percent from foreign countries and the remaining 80 percent from Texas.

While even I would have been among the “majority” of native Texans, I get my fair share of ridicule for my dialect. Given this, I can’t imagine how out-of-state or foreign students must feel.

Texas is such a broad and diverse state that it would be impossible for all Texans to share a common way of speaking.

University of Texas-San Antonio linguistics professor Guy Bailey studied this difference in speaking at length, and his findings are presented in the report “Texas English.”

Bailey explains that my East Texas accent

stem from the collected influence of Texas settlers from Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. The accent of my West Texas grandmother, however, was influenced by settlers from Tennessee and Kentucky. The Central Texas dialect was, in turn, shaped by the numerous Spanish, German and Czech settlers.

Bailey even reports that dialects evolve through generations of Texans, meaning the way I talk will often differ substantially from my mother’s dialect.

Bailey’s report featured an entertaining interview of three generations of Texas women in a rural beauty shop. The granddaughter in the study remarked that her mother ’s use of the phrase “flat as a flitter” made her “real country.”

Of course, I didn’t need a linguist to tell me that my grandmother’s use of such phrases as “if that ain’t just like the damned cat in the well!” is weird and antiquated. Nor do the girls in my hall care much about the science behind why I say “funny things” such as “buggy” instead of “shopping cart.”

What is interesting to me is that, although we can all laugh at the differences in our speech, we all identify ourselves as Texans.

Being Texan doesn’t mean that we all speak or dress alike. Rather, it’s a term that recognizes that we are all a little bit different, from various backgrounds and regions, small towns and big cities.

I’m proud to be from a state that is so big and diverse that I can be laughed at in my own state capital.

And now, I think I’ll head downstairs for a coke.

And by coke, I think you know I mean Dr. Pepper.

Shaw is a psychology junior.

A time for real SG reform

By Nolan Hicks Daily Texan Columnist Winston Churchill once said democracy was the worst form of government, save for every other form of government. That piece of sage wisdom is pertinent to UT’s longest-running punch line: Student Government.

The Daily Texan reported last week that at SG’s first meeting of the new school year, current SG President Liam O’Rourke said, “They saw leadership, they saw our representatives, and they got an idea of what we’re about.”

Did you get that? SG has leadership, and it’s about something.

If you opened a copy of this newspaper printed sometime before March 2009, you too probably thought SG had “leadership” and that it’s “about something.” But then SG managed to prove us all wrong.

Just after the election, The Daily Texan obtained e-mails sent between, among others, members of a secret organization called the Eyes of Texas. The “Eyes” operate in near-total secrecy — no one outside the organization knows where they meet, when they meet, who’s a member, how to become a member or whether they can throw an awesome kegger.

Former SG President Keshav Rajagopalan and former Election Supervisory Board co-chairman César Martinez Espinosa — both members of a secret organization believed to be the Eyes of Texas — sent e-mails encouraging other members to throw their support behind current SG president O’Rourke.

Martinez offered a disturbing rationale for the Eyes of Texas’ intervention in the election.

“Liam’s main opposition has been getting traction thanks to them being able to present themselves as something fresh. ... But fresh they are not, and their lack of knowledge (among many other things) is frankly scary. ... If the alternatives were acceptable in terms of competence, vision and responsibility, I would probably not been sending such an urgent call. … When we were Initiated, we swore in to ‘take an active interest in watching over student affairs at The University, and in promoting spirit and constructive change by working through our members’ representation in all areas of campus life.’”

There are two ways — both disturbing — to interpret Martinez’s e-mail: that a secret group

THE FIRING LINE

has taken an oath to take “active interest in watching over student affairs” — an oath some of its members interpreted as justification for interfering in an election to ensure that someone deemed unqualified or unfit would not win (In Iran, they would call that the Guardian Council).

The other possibility is that the Eyes of Texas is nothing more than machine politics wrapped in the cloak of virtue and service. Rajagopalan’s emails provide evidence of this mentality, repeatedly referring to opposition candidates as “outsiders.” Either way, this Skulls and Bones Lite organization intervened.

Martinez was co-chairman of the Election Supervisory Board, which levied draconian penalties against Philip Tau and Sarah Michelle Stearns after a popular Facebook group’s name was changed to a line in support of their campaign. Tau and Stearns, who formed the lead ticket opposing O’Rourke, denied involvement.

By contrast, complaints to the Election Supervisory Board that Rajagopalan had sent e-mails using his position to campaign for O’Rourke didn’t even warrant a hearing from the committee, though SG election code explicitly prohibits such activities.

SG’s response was not to hold a new election, as demanded by the student body, or levy punishment against those involved, but rather to form a commission to review the election code. Not only was Rajagopalan picked to head the commission, but he appointed every member. In its first move to “reform” the code, the commission proclaimed that The Daily Texan should not be allowed to endorse candidates in SG elections. The move was obviously retribution against the Texan for its extensive coverage of SG’s disconcerting behavior.

Attempting to gag the paper further undermined SG’s already questionable legitimacy and credibility. If O’Rourke, who has been tainted by the election scandal, is serious about restoring faith in SG, he must offer leadership that differentiates himself from his predecessors. He must offer reform that improves transparency and offers greater accessibility to the student body. He must tackle meaningful issues.

Most importantly, he must get an organization most famous for doing absolutely nothing to actually do something.

Hicks is a government junior.

Perhaps Russo missed this lesson.

Spencer Wall English and sociology senior

Learn to appreciate; don’t try to educate As a Southerner born and raised in Texas and, yes, a conservative, I in no way appreciated Anna Russo’s Tuesday column “Only Texans can change Texas.”

The assumption that all people who live in this state believe in the Bible as a “doctrine of war” and her pretentious need for her and her liberal friends (whom she deems the “best and brightest”) to “educate” the rest of us proves her own ignorance. I believe in both God and evolution. I think the death penalty and abortion should both be legal, though I morally disagree with the latter. I have retained a 3.8 GPA through five short semesters while double-majoring, and am a part of the only national honor fraternity on campus, among other things. And yes, I voted for John McCain.

The conservative states, and conservative individuals such as myself, are not uneducated — we simply hold different viewpoints than Russo’s liberal beliefs. One great ideal promoted by The University of Texas is an inherent need to teach its students to both understand and appreciate ideas that diverge from their own.

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. All Texan editorials are written by the Editorial Board, the members of which are at the top right corner of this page.

An inappropriate cartoon I suppose you have to strike a balance between progressive and conservative views in your opinion pages. Glenn McCoy’s political cartoon that ran Tuesday goes far beyond opinion and satire. It exploits an outright and certifiable falsehood, that Obama’s health care proposals will make guinea pigs of our senior citizens (of which I am one). Sympathy for a conservative cause is one thing; sympathy for the rantings of the rabid right is quite another, especially when they are plain misinformation. “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” is inscribed on our University’s buildings and archways. The Daily Texan should display some judgment in assessing the true and the false. Today’s cartoon shows a regrettable lapse.

Jean-Pierre Cauvin UT French professor

RECYCLE!

TRYOUTS

Please place this copy of The Daily Texan in a friendly recycling bin or back in the burnt-orange stand where you found it.

The Texan is conducting tryouts for entry-level positions in all departments. Jobs available include news reporter, photographer, columnist, entertainment or sports writer, features writer, copy editor, designer and cartoonist. Please come to the Texan office on the second floor of Walter Webb Hall, 2500 Guadalupe Street to sign up.

Send questions to editor@dailytexanonline.com.

SUBMIT A FIRING LINE P l e a s e e - m a i l y ou r F i r i n g Lines to firingline@dailytexanonline.com. The Daily Texan reserves the right to edit all letters for brevity, clarity and liability.

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UNIVERSITY

UT Cheerleaders visit local YMCA to promote classes ed some girls through some of

By Justin Castillo the squad’s routines, including Daily Texan Staff UT cheerleaders put on a “Texas Fight� and “The Eyes of show for a crowd of aspiring Texas.� “I remember going to events cheerleaders Tuesday in an effort to increase enrollment at the like this and wanting to become North Austin YMCA and show- a cheerleader,� Farmer said. “Hopefully this made an impact case the group’s new classes.

The cheerleaders visited the on their lives.�

Michael Valdez, director of North Austin YMCA to celebrate the Youth Pro the club’s new gram at the North cheerleading Austin YMCA, and dance classsaid he called on es and to help the UT cheerleadteach some rouI remember going ers to help showtines to audience members. The to events like this and case the club’s efforts to enroll stuUT cheerleaders wanting to become dents in the new performed for a cheerleader.� classes. roughly 30 minValdez said the utes as about 20 — Lauren Farmer performance was girls, from 3 to 6 years old, mimUT cheerleader to bring in members of the local icked their roucommunity to the tines.

YMCA. He said After the performance, the young girls were he hopes the performance addable to meet the cheerleaders ed interest to cheerleading and in person and have autographs the classes offered at the center. “I came from a huge YMCA,� signed.

Cheerleaders Lauren Farm- Valdez said. “So when I came to er, Jordan Brown, Amy Alex- this one, I really wanted to see ander and Alex Locasto guid- it grow.�

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Toting toilets

‘‘

Mary Kang | Daily Texan Staff

Nighttime foreman Dwayne Lamb helps lower a portable toilet for cleaning at the new Experimental Science Building on Tuesday evening.

‘Party on the Plaza’ adds activities All proceeds from event to be channeled for UT Emergency Fund

Jordy Wagoner | Daily Texan Staff

UT cheerleaders Jordan Brown and Amy Alexander perform at the North Park YMCA for local children Tuesday.

By Pushpa Devulapalli Daily Texan Staff Students interested in joining student clubs and taking advantage of volunteer opportunities will have the option to today outside Gregory Gym. Every year, the Division of Recreational Sports hosts and sponsors the “Party on the Plaza� in front of Gregory Gym Plaza to entice students to join student organizations, take a

break from classes to play carnival games and meet new people. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. “Party on the Plaza� hosts about 200 registered student organizations and on-campus groups like Texas Parents and University Health Services, said organizing committee chair Amber Walkowiak.

New to this year‘s party will be “tailgate games,� which include ladder golf, washers and a bean-bag toss. Winners of each competition will receive prizes.

A golf-putting challenge,

Gatti’s Pizza, a photo booth, a basketball scholarship shootout and free Amy’s Ice Creams will also be at the event.

Students can pay $1 per shot to try to qualify for two $2,000 scholarships for the spring semester. Each participant has to successfully attempt a shot from 20 feet in order to enter into the finals.

The winner of the putting challenge will receive a netbook computer. Students can also pay $1 per putt to enter a putting competition.

The first 100 students to buy food, pizza and drinks will re-

ceive a T-shirt, Walkowiak said.

All proceeds generated by the event will go to the UT Emergency Fund, which is maintained to assist students in emergencies or financial difficulties due to loss of income from catastrophic events, according to the fund’s Web site.

Physics freshman Laura Tseng said she will probably drop by the event between classes. “Hopefully, the student organizational fair will provide me with resources and give me an idea of what student groups to join,� said Tseng.

Application Deadline The Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees

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UNIVERSITY

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Lecture challenges film portrayals of science Sacha Kopp, a professor in the UT physics department, explains the physics of antimatter at the Robert Lee Moore Hall on Tuesday afternoon.

Potassium in bananas contains a small amount of antimatter.

By Jordan Haeger Daily Texan Staff Contrary to what the film “Angels and Demons� portrays, there isn’t enough known antimatter in the universe to destroy the Vatican City, and it can’t be carried around in a cylinder the size of a Coca Cola bottle.

Physics professor Sacha Kopp addressed the topic Tuesday night as part of the Science Study Break lecture series. Kopp showed clips from the movie as well as from “The Daily Show� to illustrate the extent to which science is often exaggerated or misused in movies and the media.

Antimatter is a form of matter which exhibits the complete opposite quantum properties of all other particles of mat-

Mary Kang Daily Texan Staff

ter in the natural world. When the two collide, they annihilate each other, forming energy, according to UT’s McDonald Observatory Web site.

While antimatter can be dangerous in large enough quantities, we come in contact with it in small doses regularly, including in PET scans, the potassium found in bananas and imitation salt, Kopp said. We even see it in the sky in cosmic rays such as aurora borealis.

Kopp says movie is incorrect in claiming there is enough antimatter in the universe to destroy the Vatican – 1/4 of a gram – Kopp said. In truth, Kopp said there is very little antimatter left in the universe.

Several other UT professors are doing research to solve this scientific mystery.

Scientific falsehoods in movies and television is “not a matter of opinion� to physics professor William R. Coker. “People never see anything about physics on television or in a movie that’s correct,� said Coker, who hasn’t seen a movie since the 1980s, said.

Kopp said he has a slightly different view. Movies that deal with science are good for the public because they get people excited about science, he said.

Neurobiology junior Stephanie Shea said she thinks that the media’s inaccurate interpretation of science has the potential to be harmful to the public. “It could be [harmful] if they got blown out of proportion, but most people can keep their heads about them when watching movies,� Shea said.

FLU: H1N1 milder than common flu From page 1 Yun Du, a business honors and management information systems senior, said his personal physician diagnosed him with the flu last week. His symptoms lasted three days and included a fever of 104 degrees, a headache, dizziness and body aches.

Du said his experience was “not too bad. It was only really unbearable for a day at most.�

But he did miss two days of class, he said. “Tamiflu helped me recover pretty quickly,� Du said. “I also ate a ton of fruits — watermelons and oranges, mostly, since that’s all I had the appetite for — but I’m not sure how much it contributed to my recovery.�

The recent threat of H1N1 has raised concern across the country.

But the symptoms and recovery time from the strain are not much different than other influenzas, Theresa Spalding, associate director of UHS, told The Daily Texan last week. “H1N1 is not more virulent than other seasonal influenzas,� she said. “The infections we’ve seen are much milder. It’s just a new strain to most of us, and that’s why it’s more prevalent.�

The CDC recommends that those ill with any flu-like symptoms stay home and avoid contact with other people for at least 24 hours after recovering from a fever. “Stay away from others as much as possible to keep from

making others sick,� CDC spokeswoman Candice Burns said.

CDC spokeswoman Candice Burns recommends staying away from others as much as possible to avoid spreading the disease. “Staying at home means that you should not leave your home except to seek medical care. This means avoiding normal activities, including work, school, travel, shopping, social events and public gatherings,� she said.

UHS will begin administering the seasonal flu vaccination Oct. 6. The CDC expects the H1N1 vaccination to be available midOctober.

Those who may be sick should call the nurse advice line at 4756877, where nurses will suggest an appropriate course of action.

Coming Soon:

Take The Daily Texan’s anonymous survey at DailyTexanOnline.com and pick the

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8 SPTS

SPORTS

8

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Sports Editor: Austin Talbert E-mail: sports@dailytexanonline.com Phone: (512) 232-2210 www.dailytexanonline.com

T HE DAILY TEXAN

BIG 12 FOOTBALL

Big 12 underdogs fight for top spot as Oklahoma falls

Sara Young | Daily Texan file photo

Sophomore wide receiver-turned-flex tight end Dan Buckner leaps over teammate James Kirkendoll and racks up one of his five catches for 62 yards against ULM. Buckner adds depth to the tight end position, which was originally a weak spot for Texas.

Buckner settles into new role

By Blake Hurtik Daily Texan Staff Of all the positives to come out of Texas’ season-opening trouncing of Louisiana-Monroe, Dan Buckner received arguably the most praise from coaches and players.

The wide receiver-turnedflex tight end had a career day with five catches for 62 yards, most coming over the middle in tight coverage. While not a traditional tight end by any means at 6-foot-4-inches tall and 215 pounds, he gives the secondranked Longhorns a sure-handed option underneath who presents mismatches for linebackers and safeties.

“He became a really fast flex tight end as compared to a receiver with good speed,” Texas head coach Mack Brown said. “Dan has great hands, he doesn’t have good hands. He very rarely drops a ball.”

Texas’ depth at tight end was plays, then they can’t double- won’t make the trip to Wyoming this weekend after both left Satthe biggest question mark head- team anybody.”

For run-blocking duties, Tex- urday’s game with injuries. ing into the season after Blaine Huey had to be carted off the Irby, D.J. Grant and Ian Har- as used Greg Smith, a convertfield in the third quarter with a left ankle injury. He’ll be replaced by “sixth starter” David Snow, who has made two career starts at center.

Dan has great hands ... He very The injury also forced Texas to move lineman Tray Alrarely drops a ball.” len back to offense full-time for depth purposes after using the — Mack Brown, head coach junior exclusively on defense against ULM. “He’s more of a run-stopper on defense so when you’re playris all suffered serious injuries. ed tackle, on 26 plays Saturday. ing a team that’s going to throw But in Texas’ spread offense, a Sophomore Ahmard Howard, it a whole lot out of the spread traditional tight end might not a converted defensive end, and set [like Wyoming ], we feel that be needed, which suits Buck- true freshman Barrett Matthews we have a bigger need on offense for depth,” Brown said. ner just fine. also saw some snaps.

Roddrick Muckelroy will slide “It’s starting to show that he’s over from weak side linebackfeeling comfortable,” receiver er to take over Norton’s middle Jordan Shipley said. “If we can Huey, Norton out Right guard Michael Huey have several different receivers catching balls and making and linebacker Jared Norton HORNS continues on page 9

2 3

Their beat-down of Charleston High’s JV Team was quite impressive.

BYU

If Oklahoma was the third team before, why

The Bears might be the nation’s best-kept secret. In his second season at the helm, head coach Art Briles has people in Waco believing this could be the year Baylor finally shows signs of becoming a legitimate Big 12 competitor. Over the weekend, the Bears, sporting their new all-white uniforms, traveled to Wake Forest and avenged last season’s loss to the Demon Deacons with a 24-21 victory. Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin completed his first eight passes and finished with 136 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 41 yards on 13 carries.

“We think we have guys that can play,” Briles said. “We think we have guys that can run.

BIG 12 continues on page 9

4

5 6

Texas leads the way among US teams in overseas tourney

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

Jevan Snead and head coach Houston Nutt took down geographic rival Memphis on the road. Memphis isn’t much, but neither is anyone on the

FOOTBALL continues on page 9

John Raoux | Associated Press

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow trades high fives with fans after defeating Charleston Southern 62-3 on Sept. 5.

Ron Jenkins | Associated Press

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford lays on the ground following his injury late in the game against BYU on Saturday.

Horns find success in Japan

not the Cougars as the new third team? They went into a very proOklahoma stadium and conquered the Sooners. Yes, Bradford got hurt, but before he went down the game was tied and BYU had outgained OU.

Call me a Big 12 homer, but the Cowboys did what they needed to do and dropped a rebuilding Georgia team, though I Texas doubt their defense fares as well It was a good day in against Big 12 offenses.

Longhorn land with Texas trouncing Louisiana-Monroe Alabama and Oklahoma falling all at the Nice win for the Tide same time. A crowd of 100,000 over consistent underwasn’t bad either. performers — Virginia Tech.

Florida

Bears gathering momentum

MEN’S GOLF

Top 10 list rearranged after weekend upsets

1

Oklahoma then has a bye week before traveling to Miami to take on the No. 20 Hurricanes on Oct. 3.

Redshirt freshman Landry Jones will attempt to the fill the void during Bradford’s absence.

‘‘

NCAA FOOTBALL

By Austin Talbert Daily Texan Columnist Celebrate — college football is back and the first weekend has already given us bushels of excitement — the biggest story, of course, being Sam Bradford and the Sooners going down, leaving Texas the weekend’s biggest winner.

And if I had a vote in the AP poll, here is how I would have voted the top 10:

By Wes DeVoe Daily Texan Staff The No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners lost more than just the game against the No. 9 BYU on Saturday night at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Quarterback Sam Bradford, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, went down at the end of the first half with an apparent shoulder injury. The timetable for his return is still up in the air, but the diagnosis is a grade-2 or grade-3 sprain. If it is determined to be only a grade-2 injury, then Bradford could return in a couple weeks. If the latter is the case, then the Sooner star could be looking at a season-ending surgery.

“A lot of it depends on how he heals and how he feels as he’s healing here through the week,” Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said. “In the end, it’s going to be a while before we know what the plan will be.”

The Sooners will catch a break if Bradford only misses a couple of weeks. They host Idaho State this weekend before they welcome Tulsa to Norman the following week.

Nancy Rosenthal | Daily Texan file photo

Junior Donald Constable intently watches his shot during a tournament last season.

By Sameer Bhuchar Daily Texan Staff While a trip to the other side of the world would be physically taxing to the average person, the Longhorns proved jet lag was not enough to deter them from performing well on the opening round at The Topy Cup in Japan on Tuesday.

The Topy Cup is a 10team, 60-player event featuring four American college teams and six Jap-

anese college teams. After shooting a collective 2-over 290 in the first round, the No. 23 Longhorns sat in second place.

Leading the charge for Texas is junior Chris Causey who ended day one with an impressive 2-under 70. He got off to a rocky start on the front nine but surged back on the final 11 holes by birdying on the 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th. He shot a remarkable 32 on the back nine. Causey is currently tied for third place among all golfers at the tournament.

Also among the top Texas performers Tues-

day was sophomore Dylan Frittelli. Frittelli, who is currently locked in sixth place, hit birdies on the seventh, 11th, and 14th holes. Senior Charlie Holland fired a 2-over 74, good enough for 14th place.

Other Texas notables include Alex Moon who is tied for 21st place, and Lance Lopez, who is tied for 30th place with a 4-over 76.

Texas is leading the way among the Americans and is only trailing Tohoku Fukushi University. Colorado State is in third place, only a stroke behind Texas.

EUROPEAN SOCCER

US one win away from qualifying for World Cup

By Rishi Daulat Daily Texan Staff It was supposed to be an easy victory for the U.S. Men’s National team.

The U.S. was the leader of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football table while El Salvador was in dead last. The match was played in the States, at the Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, and El Salvador had lost four matches in a row. Everything was in place for a comfortable win for the U.S., yet El Salvador shocked everybody when they took the opening goal.

In the 32nd minute, after a poor clearance by U.S. defender Jonathan Bornstein, Rodolfo Zelaya showed some nifty footwork in the box before putting in a cross to Cristian Castillo.

Castillo headed home just past

American goalkeeper Tim Howard to give the visitors the surprising early lead.

The U.S. was quick to respond however. Nine minutes later, the U.S. won a free kick in the El Salvador half and off the set piece, Clint Dempsey scored on an easy header. El Salvador tried, to no avail, to play an offside trap on the kick as Dempsey stayed on-side and snuck behind the defense for the goal.

In the 45th minute, 19-yearold American phenom Jozy Altidore found a bit of space in the box and headed in a Landon Donovan cross to put the U.S. ahead for good, 2-1. With the win, the U.S. is now in prime position to qualify for the World Cup if they win the next game.

In other qualifiers around the world, Brazil beat Argentina 3-1

SOCCER continues on page 9

United States’s Clint Dempsey, right, takes the ball away from El Salvador’s Ramon Sanchez, left, during the first half of a FIFA World Cup qualifying soccer match in Sandy, Utah on Sept. 5.

George Frey Associated Press

9 SPTS

BIG 12: Tech, OSU are finding

success with offensive weapons From page 8 Robert throws the ball well. We have people that when we put them on the field and give them the space, they make plays for us.�

Baylor now has an opportunity to start the season 4-0 for the first time in years. The Bears will get comfy at home as they host Connecticut, Northwestern State and Kent State in consecutive weeks before heading to Norman to play Oklahoma on Oct. 10.

Tech’s Potts not rattled

9

SPORTS

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

lished some sort of running game.

On Saturday against North Dakota, three of the five touchdowns Tech scored came on the ground.

Although it was against the Fighting Sioux, Potts fired on all cylinders for two touchdowns and 408 yards on 48 attempts. But Leach was quick to shun his team’s — and his quarterback’s — performance, despite winning 38-13. “Average,� he said. “Slightly above average probably.�

In eight of the past nine seasons, Leach’s quarterbacks have led the nation in passing, and he says Potts is better prepared in his first year than any of the previous men under center.

No Graham Harrell. No Michael Crabtree. No last-second touchdowns. No problem. The Red Raiders have moved on with junior quarterback Taylor Potts and Cowboys riding high Head coach Mike Gundy and pass-happy offense head coach Mike Leach runs is still highly vis- company showed they were the ible in Lubbock. Additionally, the real deal Saturday afternoon by Red Raiders seem to have estab- beating No. 21 Georgia in Stillwa-

ter. The Bulldogs took an early 7-0 lead, but that was about all the offense they could muster in the newly renovated Boone Pickens Stadium, which cost $286 million. The No. 5 Cowboys answered by scoring 24 points while only allowing a field goal in the third quarter and won the game 24-10. The Cowboys cleared their first big hurdle and have all the ingredients for further success: a star quarterback in Zac Robinson, an electrifying wide receiver in Dez Bryant, and a sound running back in Kendall Hunter. “It’s huge,� Robinson said of the win. “It’s a great feeling. Starting off 1-0 against such a great team in Georgia, we knew it was a big game coming in and obviously it feels great to get this win.

It kind of jump-starts the season.�

It’s no longer a secret. The Cowboys are legitimate, and are hoping to shock the nation like Texas Tech did last season.

FOOTBALL: Boise State

SOCCER: Brazil

first to qualify, others on verge

should be a top 10 team From page 8 Rebels schedule until they take on South Carolina on Sept. 24.

7

USC

Did you hear that a true freshman quarterback started for USC for the first time ever? The hype has already begun, but USC is just preparing to drop a game to someone in the super-weak PAC 10.

8

California

Jihad Best and the Golden Bears ran rampant over Maryland, leaving head coach Ralph Friedgen looking for a sandwich. The Bears have become suspect No. 1 for taking down USC this season in the PAC 10.

9

Penn State

They didn’t quite destroy Akron, but they won decisively, which is more than their Big 10 counterpart Ohio State can say. The Nittany Lions earned the nod in this week’s poll simply because they weren’t on the verge of getting upset by Navy at home.

10

Boise State

They have a puncher ’s chance to hang around the top 10 this year, with their incredibly weak schedule looming.

Their win over Oregon looks big now, but I doubt it will mean much when the Ducks reveal themselves as a weak team this season.

From page 8 in what was the match of the weekend. Rising star Luis Fabiano scored a brace for Brazil as it became the first team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. In Group 1, Portugal, who sorely needed a win, tied Denmark 1-1 while Sweden took home all three points from Hungary after a last-second goal from hitman Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

France put in a disappointing performance as they drew 1-1 with Romania, while defending World Cup champions, Italy, beat Georgia 2-0.

Looking ahead, South Africa could potentially be without two of the world’s best players as both Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal are dwindling at the bottom of their respective groups.

HORNS: Freshman Vaccaro impresses coaches vis will call his number for a run or pass play. They just hope he has linebacker spot. Sophomore Keenan better hands than Miller. “They say if I keep blocking good Robinson will fill in for Muckelroy. then hopefully in the near future there might be one,� Houston said Roy Miller who? with a smile.

When former Texas defensive tackle Roy Miller left for the Special teams enforcer NFL this spring, Lamarr HousWhile Muckelroy expectedly led ton knew his workload would include more than just solidifying the Longhorns with seven tackles Saturday, a true freshman made an the defensive line.

Houston stepped into what has become a tradition for senior defensive tackles: goal-line fullback. “I was really excited because I used to play offense in high school and hadn’t played it in a while,�

Houston said.

Derek Lokey was the first to be used in the role, followed by Miller.

Houston’s debut went very well, as evidenced by Cody Johnson’s three 1-yard touchdown runs through holes cleared by Houston.

And who knows, maybe Da-

From page 8

impact on the stat sheet.

Kenny Vaccaro, a defensive back from Brownwood, tied Norton for second on the team with six tackles — three of which came on special teams.

Brown recognized his efforts by awarding him the “Hard Hat� weekly team award for hardest hit. “We’re really impressed by him,� Brown said. “He can be an impact on special teams and maybe in playing time as well.�

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www.utexas.edu/parking

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11 CLASS

11

UNIVERSITY

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

‘Intimate setting’ attracts students to career fair was put on by the business association, it was open to all majors. “Company Night is intended to create a forum between students and recruiters,� said Bryan Garcia, vice president of the organization. “The smaller environment allows for more time for the students to speak and make an impression, rather than just being one of 1,000 resumes.�

Students did not have to wait

By Regan Mathias Daily Texan Staff Hundreds of students gathered at the Frank Erwin Center on Tuesday for the Hispanic Business Student Association’s 29th annual Company Night.

Association Treasurer Flor Orozco said the event provides a more intimate setting for students to mingle with potential employers. Although the event day, month day, 2008

RTISE ADVE TUDENT S !

YOUR NIZATION ORGA

in line and had ample time to speak with recruiters, said economics senior Tong Wang. “The recruiters were pretty friendly and easy to talk to,� Wang said. “It is a great way to ask questions. It helps you learn how to apply for jobs and how the whole process works. For a senior, this event is very important.�

Twenty-five companies were present to recruit students for

summer internships and permanent positions, including Ernst & Young, Teach for America and Shell Oil. Several companies had recruited at the event in the past. “We think University of Texas students are outstanding,� said 1 Macy’s recruiter Blake Witters. “We have hired a lot of graduates and have had great results.

We have been very pleased.�

CLASSIFIEDS

Fernando Cornejo, a recruiter for State Farm Insurance, said this was the first time he recruited at a UT fair. “We are really impressed with the professionalism we have seen here,� Cornejo said. “They are not interested in any of the trinkets we brought. They are here for their careers and that is a good thing.�

Several students attended the

Campus

event looking for a job or an internship, but others saw it as a learning opportunity. “This event has made me feel better about finding a job in this economy,� said finance sophomore Zaira Macegoza. “The companies are open to talent and new ideas. Some companies have said that there are good opportunities for internship in this economy.�

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of Chatham, passed away peacefully on August 11th at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, Darby, Pa. Memorial visitation will be held on Sunday, September 13th from 1pm to 3pm followed by a Service at 3 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in her memory be made to the AAUW Madison Branch Mature Women’s Grant, P. O. Box 935, Madison, NJ 07940-0935. For further information or to send a message of condolence, please go to www.bradleyfuneralhomes.com.

Born in Savonburg, Kansas to the late James and Stella Welch, Margaret was raised primarily in Texas. She attended the University of Texas, earning her bachelors degree in 1944. In 1948 she moved to New Jersey. She lived in Summit, Convent Station and Madison, before settling in Chatham in 1975. Margaret taught elementary school for the Madison public school system for nearly 30 years, spending most of her career teaching 1st grade at the Central Avenue School.

She earned her Masters degree in education from Kean College in 1979. She was an active member of the NJEA, The Thursday Morning Club and the AAUW for many years. She enjoyed reading and gardening, but above all, her passion was teaching.

Surviving are her children Susan Naylor, Charles Cranmer and his wife Sabine and Thomas Cranmer and his wife Miwa; her grandchildren Robert, Catherine and Elizabeth Naylor, Lucy, Thomas, June and James Cranmer; her sister-in-law Frances Welch and her niece Geraldine Stackhouse.

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13 ENT

13

LIFE&ARTS

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

CINEMA: Student

MOVIE REVIEW

filmmaker brings short to Hollywood From page 14

Courtesy of Focus Features

“9,” a feature-length film based on an Academy Award-winning short, opens in Austin theaters today. The film begins as its titular character, a burlap doll named 9, wakes in a bombed-out laboratory, complete with a recently deceased scientist, sketches and newspaper clippings.

Animated film too flat for adults Pixar movie fails to grab audience’s emotions, needs more plot depth

By Robert Doty Daily Texan Staff It’s a tough time for animated films. Pixar continues to produce one phenomenal movie after another and sets the bar so high that all other animation feels a little soulless and stale.

Walking into the screening of “9,” it seemed likely that this film would be the one to change all that. This film would harness adult themes in an animated world and birth something spectacular. Sadly, this speculation was wrong. Though director Shane Acker and his creative team have crafted a unique world, “9” lacks the strong characters and enthralling narrative

necessary to make an interesting setting into a compelling story.

The film begins as its titular character, a burlap doll named 9, wakes in a bombed-out laboratory, complete with a recently deceased scientist, sketches, newspaper clippings and a small amulet. Immediately curious, he explores this new world, and in the meantime, the audience sees clues about what happened to ours.

He quickly stumbles onto another, more technically inclined burlap doll, named 2, who restores his voicebox and makes cryptic statements about the importance of the amulet from the laboratory. But before anything else can be explained, the cat beast — a mechanized cat skeleton — finds them and captures 2.

This leads 9 to come into contact with a group of burlap dolls, each named for the number on their

backs. After a series of small adventures, 9 awakens an enormous mechanical creature that wants nothing but to destroy them. As the conflict escalates, we come to understand what brought these numerological beings about and what happened to our world.

But the plot never manages to get its hooks into the viewer.

It feels rote. 9 needs something.

He gets it. He is chased. He gets away. There are some dazzling action sequences, and the character design, especially those of the mechanical monsters, is stunning. But without real sympathy for the characters, it never feels as if there is anything at stake.

This apathy toward the characters stems, on one level, from the story conception. It quickly becomes apparent that each character represents an archetype — the cunning warrior, the wise man, the

brute, etc. It’s a decent idea, but Acker doesn’t understand how to force his characters outside of these stereotypes. He either leaves them as static imitations of life or has them change in unwarranted and often melodramatic ways.

Acker wants to make this a story about what it means to be human, but it appears he has missed the point. The warrior, the wise man and the brute all exist, but they were not born that way. They changed and adapted and responded to the world around them in ways that made them who they are. Acker has created an immense and fascinating world but never lets his characters interact with it. Ironically, it’s calcified human stereotypes that keep them from becoming truly human.

the themes that emanate from the post-apocalyptic world in which “9” is set.

“I think in some ways the film is a bit of a cautionary tale,” said Acker. “I was writing around the time when there was a lot of discussion about Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb.

I had read “Cat’s Cradle,” and I had seen the Oppenheimer Opera, and I think there is something really interesting about that character. He was an amazing scientist. He made an incredible scientific breakthrough, but the thing that he discovered was used for such evil. And it destroyed him for the rest of his life. And that was a theme I wanted to explore. Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we necessarily should.”

But in producing a thematically dark animated film, Lemley and Acker needed some Hollywood clout to secure financing.

“Lemley approached Tim [Burton] with the short to see if he was interested in the project at all,” said Acker. “Tim was taken by it, so I subsequently did a

phone pitch to Tim, and it was at that point that he decided to come on the project. He wanted to be a part of it any way he could. He just really wanted to help get the film made and also to be there as a creative perspective.”

Burton certainly brought financing and creativity to the project, but Bekmambetov brought a very particular expertise to the film. “Timur’s made a name for not just making amazing films but also making them on smaller budgets,” said Acker.

“We went to his studio in Moscow to see if we could use it and use his tricks to help us make an animated feature for a really modest budget. So he was a great partner in that.”

Acker has yet to settle on his next project, but voiced some ideas about the future of animation.

“We are in a unique time in which all the technology [in animation] is coming down to the level of the artist,” he said.

“Now you can make full-length features going the independent route. That’s just really exciting to me.”

“9” opens today.

Courtesy of Focus Features

Shane Acker, director of “9,” spoke with The Daily Texan about the experience of working on his first feature film.

HUMP: Think outside the clit, no-fear

exploration may improve enjoyment From page 14 No matter what you were really licking or why it made your girlfriend experience such a fantastic orgasm, I think the cool part about your story is that you tried something new — even if it was by accident.

Sex is popularly misconstrued as a fairly cut-and-dry experience. If you just rub here and touch there, then you and your partner are guaranteed to have a fantastic experience. Right?

But what Cosmopolitan or Men’s Health magazines’ monthly repetitions of “the 50 hottest sex tricks” won’t tell you is that physical exploration beyond a woman’s basic genitalia can be just as pleasurable as, or even more pleasurable than, direct clitoral stimulation.

I don’t think you have been living your life unclear on the location of the clitoris. In fact, I think you know exactly where the clitoris is.

The clitoris, as we all know and love it, is the smallish ball of erectile tissue containing over 6,000 nerve endings, located “between the anterior ends of the labia minora,” according to the medical anthology “Gray’s Anatomy.”

And while it is important to know where and just how sensitive the clitoris is, in the last 50 years scientists and sex researchers have uncovered equally important information on the area surrounding the clitoris.

As early as the 1970s, the M a s t e r s a n d J o h n s o n re search team, pioneers in the field of human sexual research, had hypothesized that the clitorises are analogous to the penis in structure and function. But if we concentrate only on the external clitoris, this seems impossible. What Masters and Johnson and numerous other researchers before and since have uncovered via experimentation is that the clitoral gland is far more extensive than its smallish external component lets on.

The area above the clitoral hood, also called the prepuce, is most likely the area you were concentrating on when you missed your girlfriend’s external clitoris. But this area is still a part of the clitoris’ internal organ (which spans all the way down along the urethra and up the vaginal canal).

Even though these areas — the prepuce, the urethra, etc.

— are connected to the same clitoris, the sensations roused in each area can be unique to

different women. Also, the sheer fact that the sensation is slightly new and different in comparison to how you regularly pleasure your girlfriend probably intensified the sensations of pleasure.

All in all, a good rule of thumb for fantastic oral sex on a woman is to keep doing what she responds well to, but don’t forget to stumble around every once in a while to see if there is something you missed.

MONDAY

NIGHTS FROM

10-11 P M

KVRX . ORG

WEDNESDAY

9PM

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14 LIFE

LIFE&ARTS

14

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Life&Arts Editor: Leigh Patterson E-mail: lifeandarts@dailytexanonline.com Phone: (512) 232-2209 www.dailytexanonline.com

T HE DAILY TEXAN

Clitoral confusion leads to steamy pleasurable peaks “Hump Day” left off. Bring on the comments, outrage and, most importantly, questions. We’re ready.

HUMP DAY

By Mary Lingwall

Female body is haven for ‘erogenous possibilities,’ exploration worthwhile Editor ’s Note: Since last January, “Hump Day” has sparked dialogue and lots of opinionated comments about sexual education by openly addressing topics from birth control to sex toys. By talking about sexual curiosities, we hope the social taboos that often come attached to them can be lessened. So, as a new semester begins, we’re jumping right back in where

Dear Mary, Last week I went down on my girlfriend from a new position. I couldn’t see very well, so while I was trying to concentrate on her clit I slipped and ended up concentrating on an area right above where the clit is. This area was practically outside of her vagina.

I felt like I was doing a bad job until she went absolutely crazy and had one of her “best orgasms” ever.

So, what’s the deal? Have I been confused this whole time, was that new spot her actual clit?

Sincerely, Clit Challenged Dear Clit Challenged, I think you have learned first hand one of the most valuable lessons about the female body: the multitude of erogenous possibilities.

HUMP continues on page 13

Illustration by Carolynn Calabrese | Daily Texan Staff

Jordy Wagoner | Daily Texan Staff

Emily Grace, a volunteer at the Blanton Museum, examines the new Edgar Allen Poe exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center. Inspired by the anniversary of the poet’s 200th birthday, the exhibit showcases items relating the to life and literary influence of Poe.

Two exhibits hit Ransom Center

UT hosts largest Edgar Allen Poe exhibition in history, astronomy expo

By Molly Wahlberg Daily Texan Staff The rapping and tapping on the Harry Ransom Center doors yesterday came not from English literature’s most famous talking raven but rather from visitors anxious to see the opening of the museum’s two latest exhibitions — the largest one commemorating the bicentennial of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth and the other a celebration of the history of astronomy.

Collaborating with the Universi-

ty of Virginia and the Free Library of Philadelphia, co-curators Molly Schwartzburg and Richard Oram have put together what is likely the largest and most comprehensive Poe exhibition in history.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever done this large of a collaboration with another institution, so we’re pretty excited,” Schwartzburg said. “Because this was in two venues, we started preparing very early.”

The collection has already been shown at the University of Virginia, but because of space restraints, the university had to greatly limit the amount of material on display. The Ransom Center, on the other hand, is now demonstrating its extensive resources.

“Upward of 85 percent of the material is from the Ransom Center collections,” Oram said. “This [exhibit] is much more of a narrative. It’s thematically organized, and I can’t think of another exhibition that I’ve ever heard of that has so much about his influence.”

While the sheer quantity of items can at first seem overwhelming to visitors, the topical layout makes navigation much easier than in your average museum. Visitors can jump between the 12 sections with relative ease.

The most popular area promises to be “The Raven,” where the original manuscript of Poe’s celebrated poem is displayed along with other related items such as a figurine from “The Simpsons” “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween episode, in which the entire poem is adapted nearly verbatim. Other noteworthy sections are “Perspectives on Poe,” which includes a school assignment written by Tennessee Williams on the poet. The exhibit also features commentary from T.S. Eliot and Walt Whitman on Poe’s great significance and “Poe and Science,” which explores the writer’s fascination with ciphers, puzzles and astronomy.

“Poe was an amateur cosmologist,” Oram said. “He wrote a book on how the universe was evolving. He actually pretty much stumbled on the theory of the Big Bang.”

Although Oram, also the curator of the astronomy exhibit, “Other World: Rare Astronomical Works,” assures visitors that the association was “not calculated at all,” the powerful testament to the interconnection between the humanities remains.

At the request of the University’s astronomy department in honor of the International Year

of Astronomy and the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s use of the telescope, the Ransom Center went back into its extensive holdings to find treasures from Dr. Ransom’s personal science collection and formed a truly stunning show that chronicles the evolution of astronomy. Many of the books, photographs and original illustrations in the exhibit are invaluable today, a prime example of which is an extremely rare copy of Copernicus’ 1543 “De Revolutionibus” — the first text to promote heliocentrism.

Also on display is Coronelli’s 17th century Celestial Globe, which visitors to the Ransom Center Web site can give a virtual spin. And, in true Ransom Center fashion, other areas of the humanities influenced by astronomy are on display as well, including Jules Verne’s novel “From the Earth to the Moon” and a 1923 moon illustration guide, “Hutchinson’s Splendour of the Heavens.”

Both exhibits have much to offer museum-goers of all backgrounds, helping visitors to realize the impact of the humanities on their lives.

“From Out That Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Edgar Allan Poe” and “Other Worlds: Rare Astronomical Works” will run from from Sept. 8 to Jan. 3, 2010 at the Harry Ransom Center.

Acclaimed short film adapted to big screen

By Robert Doty Daily Texan Staff Shane Acker spent four years as a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles making an animated short film. What was initially a master’s thesis became the Academy Award-winning short, “9.”

After putting that little statue on his mantle, doors flung themselves open for the young talent, and soon he was expanding his short into a feature film with Tim Burton (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”) and Timur Bekmambetov (“Night Watch,” “Wanted”) producing.

“I intended the short to be a director’s reel piece,” Acker said. “[That’s] probably why I spent 4 1/2 years making it, but I didn’t really imagine turning it into a feature.”

Acker had not even envisioned a full-length film until he spoke with creative producer Jim Lemley.

“We started talking about the backstory and some of the ideas about how the world came to be and where these creatures came from,” Acker said. “That led to me writing a treatment for the feature.”

In these discussions with Lemley, Acker first fleshed out

CINEMA continues on page 13