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MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2019
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Construction of a new welcome center for UT will begin this spring in the PCL. PA G E 2
Forum contributor Andrew Herrera points out the flaws in UT’s politics. PA G E 4
Put your art where your mouth is: Quadriplegic artist finds solace in painting. PA G E 5
Longhorns extend losing streak against Georgia as team readies for Kansas. PA G E 6
CITY
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STATE
Labor union hosts food drive, protests government shutdown
Thousands march at Capitol
By Tehya Rassman @tehyarassman
The sounds of blaring bull horns and protesters chanting in unison cut through the air Friday morning as Ed Sills, communications director of the Texas American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and about 100 other people gathered outside U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s office to protest the government shutdown. Around 12:30 p.m., Sills received a message saying the government had reopened after President Donald Trump agreed to sign a bill which would temporarily reopen the government. “First of all, the federal workers do not yet have their paychecks,” Sills said, recalling the event. “Second of all, it’s a three week deal, so there’s more to be done before we can really celebrate. But is it a victory? Certainly.” In addition to protesting the shutdown, Texas AFLCIO, a labor union dedicated to helping workers in Texas, hosted a food drive last week in conjunction with the Central Texas Food Bank to provide food for federal workers and to refill the food bank’s depleted stock. The food drive continued through Monday morning, despite the shutdown ending, because federal employees still have not received their paychecks after the 35-day shutdown, Sills said. “There have been many federal workers who work paycheck to paycheck, who have needed the extra assistance to get by,” Sills said. Paul Gaither, director of marketing and communications for Central Texas Food Bank, said that in a normal week without a
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jacob fraga | the daily texan staff Attendees of the Rally for Lives march to the Texas Capitol on Saturday afternoon. The rally was held to promote anti-abortion measures during the week of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Annual Rally for Life meets during anniversary of Roe v. Wade court case. By Lauren Grobe @LaurenGrobe
housands of anti-abortion supporters from around the state carried signs reading “Defund Planned
Parenthood” and chanted “We are pro-life” on the steps of the Texas Capitol on Saturday for the annual Texas Rally for Life. The Rally for Life is held to promote anti-abortion measures during the week of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life, said the march raises awareness for alternatives to abortion such as adoption. “I think women need to know that there are alternatives to abortion, that they are the best alternatives for themselves and for their baby,” Pojman said. Speakers at the event also
drew attention to bills filed for the Texas legislative session that began on Jan. 8. Pojman said it was important to show representatives that voters support anti-abortion measures. In the 2017 session, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 8, which restricted second-trimester abortions and required the burial or cremation of fetal tissue. The law was struck down in September 2018 by U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra. Pojman said the rally’s importance also extends to the young adults and children who were in attendance. “We have to keep people educated,” Pojman said. “I think we’re going to see that the
average age of this rally is very young, a huge number of people who are under 18.” Radio-television-film freshman Ariana Silva attended the rally with a group of students from the UT chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas. “It was really awesome to see that there were other students coming from the University,” Silva said. “But conservatives at UT are definitely in the minority.” Counterprotesters dressed as characters from Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” stood in front of the gates leading to the Capitol. Texas Handmaid’s organizer Stephanie Martin said she sees parallels between present-day
America and the dystopian version depicted in the novel and television series. “We have people in power who are trying to challenge Roe and passing legislation to make four weeks the cutoff for legal abortion,” Martin said. “They are trying to control our fertility.” Anthropology freshman Layla Spurlock, who participated in the rally, said the counterprotesters were respectful of the march, despite disagreeing with them. “I’m not going to force someone to change their opinions, just like they’re not going to force me to change my opinion,” Spurlock said. “We all have the right to protest.”
CITY
CAMPUS
Winter Tree Fest showcases forts designed by architects, UT students
UTPD incentivizes students to report crime By Hayden Baggett @HaydenBaggett
amanda saunders | the daily texan staff Attendees of the Winter Tree Fest at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center participated in activities such as tree climbing and fort building Saturday. The center, free for UT students, will feature the interactive exhibit “Fortlandia” through Feb. 25.
By Brenna Hinshaw @brenna_speaks
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center hosted its annual Winter Tree Fest on Saturday in the Wildflower Center’s arboretum.
This year’s tree festival was centered around the Wildflower Center’s “Fortlandia” exhibition, a temporary exhibit showcasing 10 different forts built by local architects, designers and students from UT’s School of Architecture. “Most of us spend time
as kids building forts,” said Tanya Zastrow, director of programs at the center. “Fortlandia helps people connect to that part of their childhood.” One fort called “The Rainbow Room” included colorful plastic glass in its design, along with an
old piano to play. Another fort named “Blanket Fort” consisted of three tents and was created using vinyl tarps. “All of the forts have different designs,” Zastrow said. “It’s fun to
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UT Police Department officers not only protect and serve the campus community — they also help feed it. UTPD rewarded undeclared sophomore Whitney Jameson with a cheese pizza Sunday evening after she reported a theft that resulted in the recovery of seven stolen bikes on campus. Jameson, a security coordinator at Kinsolving Residence Hall, said she observed a man cutting bike locks last Monday at 5:45 a.m. outside of Duren Residence Hall and called police in time for them to make a connected arrest. “I felt like such a good citizen,” Jameson said. “Working nights is pretty basic, so stopping something bad from actually happening felt pretty good.” UTPD officer Dustin Farahnak responded to the incident and helped recover the bikes. For over a decade, UTPD’s Hungry for Justice program has awarded about four pizzas a year to people who report crimes on campus that result in an arrest, Farahnak said. “It’s fun for the officers because we get to meet the party who saved the day and buy them lunch, and it gets the word out a little bit,” Farahnak said. “We would like to see a lot more
reports than that. I’d be happy to do this every single day.” Farahnak said officers are still trying to return six of the bikes to their owners and suggested ways to protect bikes on campus. “Double-lock your bike, know your serial number, register it at Parking and Transportation — those things are going to make you a lot less susceptible to being a victim of bike theft,” Farahnak said. “We also engrave driver’s license numbers onto bikes for free at the station because every cop in Texas will be able to identify it after that.” Farahnak said in addition to these safeguards, UTPD relies on the whole community to report and prevent crimes like these from taking place. “There’s a commonality between bike theft and other kinds of crimes,” Farahnak said. “In this case, the criminal had crystal meth and warrants, so calling it in really helped the community.” To encourage more students to report crime, the department is both rebranding and expanding the program, UTPD spokesperson Noelle Newton said. It is now called Safer by the Slice. “We have been rewarding students, faculty and staff with a free pizza for a while now under our Hungry for Justice
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