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UT is piloting a program next year to help ease student loan debt
SPORTS
Texas volleyball player Khat Bell back at full strength after tearing ACL last season
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Could highquality violins become more affordable?
Ole Miss QB Bo Wallace once recruited by UT
LIFE & ARTS PAGE 8
SPORTS PAGE 6
UNIVERSITY
Petition requests Powers to drop case By David Maly
6
Thursday, September 13, 2012
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President William Powers Jr. got a surprise delivery Wednesday as representatives of the Make UT SweatshopFree Coalition brought a petition to his office with more than 400 signatures. The petition demands that criminal trespassing charges
brought against 18 members of the coalition during a peaceful sit-in at Powers’ office last spring be immediately dropped. Powers does not have the ability to drop the charges himself and has said the case is now in the hands of the County Attorney. “It got turned over to the [County Attorney], and that is the County Attorney’s business,” Powers said.
However, the coalition members believe Powers could influence the County Attorney and ask for dismissal of the charges on their behalf. Corby Holcomb, assistant trial director for the Travis County Attorney’s Office, said last week that the victim or entity in a criminal trespassing case normally has a say in the charging and sentencing decisions.
“Normally, on a criminal trespass case, say, the property owner where the person was trespassing, they would definitely have input,” he said. Holcomb declined to comment on the specific influence the University would have in this case, as it is currently ongoing.
PETITION continues on page 2
CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY
UT slips one spot in college rankings
LIFE & ARTS
Explore the work of futurist Norman Bel Geddes at the Harry Ransom Center
Today in history
By Miles Hutson
In 1996
Famed rapper Tupac Shakur killed, victim of a Las Vegas drive-by shooting. No arrest was ever made in connection to the murder, despite previous allegations against rap rival Notorious B.I.G.
TODAY Study Abroad Fair This annual fair will showcase UT’s partner universities and study abroad opportunities. If you want to learn more about study-abroad opportunities, swing by the McCombs School of Business plaza from 10 a.m.—2 p.m.
Celebración de Independencias
This annual cultural event celebrates the nine Latin American countries that gained their independence in September. There will be music, entertainment and free food from 6 p.m.—9 p.m. at the Gregory plaza.
Alternative Energy Challenge
Pu Ying Huang | Daily Texan Staff Above: Electrician Steven Giannascoli is one of a handful of people that have access to turning on the UT tower’s lights for celebrations, sporting victories, deaths and tragedies. Out of a total of 244 lights that light the tower up, 68 of those lights occupy the 10th floor and are controlled by a tiny panel on the eighth floor. Below: Construction manager Neil Crump and Steven Giannascoli explain how they plan the display of numbers through lighting the tower’s windows using a specific chart.
Tower lit up with effort By Bobby Blanchard After hours of work and preparation, there is some satisfaction for facilities staff members when the UT Tower lights up burnt orange or when the windows spell out a class’ number. But there is also a sense of relief. “It’s the satisfaction and relief all at once, because there is a lot of work that goes into making
whatever it is that we’re doing,” construction services manager Neil Crump said. The Tower, which turned 75 earlier this year, has six different light configurations listed online which are used for a variety of events, ranging from Gone to Texas to commencement ceremonies. The University spends about $3,000 in light maintenance and la-
TOWER continues on page 2
STATE
CAMPUS
Students compile professor watch list
Info session on an annual competition hosted by the UT Austin Student Engineering Council on creating new and sustainable ideas for power generation to be held at 5 p.m. at RLM 5.104.
By Mary Ellen Knewtson munist or an open neo-con-
‘
Quote to note “The easiest way to save money is to graduate faster... we need to get creative as to how we acknowledge these issues.” — Judith Zaffirini State senator NEWS PAGE 5
William Powers Jr. President of UT-Austin
Anne Katrine Harris | Daily Texan Staff
Toll road reaches 85 mph By Mary Ellen Knewtson Commission recently apIf they are willing to pay, drivers will be able to travel to San Antonio on a stretch of highway with the highest speed limit in the nation starting Nov. 11. The Texas Transportation
proved an 85 mph speed limit for a 41-mile stretch of State Highway 130, a toll road now under construction that will connect Austin and San Antonio. Work to mitigate conges-
TOLL continues on page 2
UT’s Young Conservatives of Texas chapter is compiling a watch list to identify professors who it decides are inappropriately politicizing the classroom. The organization is accepting suggestions from all students and will publish the list for students to consult in advance of Spring 2013 registration, government senior John Horton, Young Conservatives of Texas UT chapter chairman, said. Members of his organization will investigate every name submitted by auditing classes, interviewing students from the professors’ classes and evaluating the syllabi for reading materials selected, he said. “We’ll get a lot of submissions, but most of them will probably not end up on the list,” Horton said. “You can have a devout, open com-
servative professor that tells you they are openly that way. If they allow for dissenting opinion, that’s perfectly fine with us.” UT’s chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas has about 40 active members, Horton said. He said the members will be tabling for watch list submissions beginning Friday. Students can also submit suggestions anonymously on the website, Horton said. The organization began publishing a watch list in 2003, but has not produced one since 2007. Horton said it has been five years since a list has been compiled because of the effort needed to do the list correctly. “It is only legitimate if we do it the right way and actually find the professors that have a legitimate bias and do
LIST continues on page 2
UT fell one spot to No. 46 on U.S. News and World Report’s 2013 national university rankings. University spokesperson Tara Doolittle said the publication gave UT a lower score partially based on decreased faculty resources and increased class sizes compared to last year. UT remained in the No. 13 spot for public universities, despite recent budget cuts by the state Legislature. “We have a long history of making do with what we’ve got and putting priorities in places that have the most impact on student success,” Doolittle said. “We are pleased with the rankings.” Doolittle said UT will continue to make ends meet with whatever resources are available, but budget changes can impact metrics used to rank UT, including class size and financial aid. “If there are areas where we receive more money or areas where we see cutbacks, there are likely to be trickledown effects,” Doolittle said. “But remember this is not in isolation. There are other public universities going through many of the same things we are.” The methods U.S. News and World Report uses to rank schools are often the subject of debate. Doolittle said U.S. News and World Report left out an important measure: efficiency. “We do not have the same resources that Yale has, or a lot of the [resources] privates have,”
RANK continues on page 2 National University Rankings 1. Harvard / Princeton 3. Yale 6. Columbia / MIT 17. Notre Dame
32. New York University 46. University of Texas 65. A&M College Station 77. Baylor 92. Texas Christian