11-12-09 Daily Texan

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

U.S. Army reserves enter job market

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University students honor soldiers

Soldiers returning from service with skills, no degree search for employment

By Alex Geiser Daily Texan Staff After completing five years of service with the U.S. Army, a public affairs specialist re-entered the job market in the middle of a recession — without a college degree.

In addition, the soldier still had three years left on his 8-year contract with the Army and was in the IRR, the Individual Ready Reserve. An IRR can be reactivated at any time during the remainder of the soldier’s contract, which prevents the soldier from securely settling down.

Jason Merrell, who is a member of the Army Reserves in San Antonio, was raised in a military family and joined the Army as a public affairs specialist after struggling with college and financial difficulties.

“It was a logical decision,” Merrell said. “It was one of those rights of passages to the family.”

After serving in South Korea and San Antonio as a communications specialist for five years, he found work at a graphic design company. Having no college degree, however, he continued to struggle financially, he said.

“I had all the experience in the world, but not the civilian education,” Merrell said.

Adding to these pressures, Merrell knew that if the Army needed him back, it would be his duty as an IRR to return and leave his job.

In January 2009, he found his way to Sgt. Michael Tovar, a counselor at the Central Texas Army Reserve Careers Division in Camp Mabry.

The career center, which caters to Army Reserve soldiers, offers career counseling and informs soldiers of options regarding their future while under military contract.

Tovar said many soldiers leaving active duty

reserve continues on page 2

Peyton McGee | Daily Texan Staff

Gunnery Sgt. Michael Kiernan of the U.S. Marine Corps watches ROTC students stand at attention at UT’s ROTC Veterans Day event Wednesday.

Texas ROTC members congregate at Tower to observe Veterans Day

By Perez James Daily Texan Staff Stoic faces at attention lined the main mall Wednesday in honor of the American flag and the veterans who fought to protect it.

The sound of a trumpet filled the air.

Personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC came together to celebrate this event. Members of each branch stood in formation in front of the Main Building. The members were dressed in their full uniforms and colors.

John Lee-Garduno, a mechanical

engineering senior and Air Force ROTC cadet, organized the event.

“We are known for always competing, but today we decided to put aside our differences and honor the importance of today,” LeeGarduno said.

Christopher Olander, battalion commanding officer of the Navy ROTC, said he was touched by how different military branches can join together to hold a joint ceremony.

Olander said he decided to join the military program because he felt it was his obligation to protect

Campus political groups unite for military support

By Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Daily Texan Staff Following the mass shooting in Fort Hood last week that killed 13 people and wounded nearly 30 others, several UT organizations put aside their political leanings to show support for the U.S. military Wednesday.

On Veterans Day, College Republicans teamed up with University Democrats and Young Conservatives of Texas for Operation: Texas Cares, a University-wide event. The operation is a project for students to create and send care packages to Fort Hood, where they will be distributed to U.S. troops overseas.

“After the incident last week, this [project] takes a whole new meaning because it was so close Lauren Pierce fills care packages for U.S. troops Wednesday night for Operation: Texas Cares put on by the University Democrats, Young Conservatives of Texas and College Republicans.

Derek Stout Daily Texan Staff

to home,” said Mikael Garcia, president of College Republicans. “If the troops can’t get support at home, where else can they get support?”

At the Jackson Geological Sciences building, the three organizations stuffed plastic ziplock bags full of commodities including snacks, candy, writing utensils and cigarettes. Each bag-stuffer also had the opportunity to write a letter to the troops to place in the bags.

College Republicans began the project last semester and sent about 200 care packages to Fort Hood over the summer.

The group receives input from veterans on what to put in the bags. Soldiers stationed overseas are usually thrilled to receive not only “a slice of Ameri-

can life,” but also essentials that are hard to come by, including shaving cream and razors, Garcia said.

This year, College Republicans plans to donate shipments of packages every three months and create a similar, Universitywide event for the spring. Members of the three organizations involved said that despite different political ideologies, they want to unite under the common goal of venerating the men and women in the military.

“This is one of the few times we all took off the boxing gloves to be good Americans,” said Dustin Matocha, chairman of Young Conservatives of Texas.

Although College Republicans

Unite continues on page 2

the freedoms enjoyed by everyday Americans.

“It is extremely important for me that we still have all the freedoms we have,” Olander said.

“Knowing that one day I will be a veteran does have an influence on me going into the ROTC.” Many UT students walking by the Tower stopped to join the ceremony and pay their respects.

“My grandpa was in World War II. Growing up, I always went to the parades with him,” said government senior Javier Nava, “This day has held a special place in

my heart.”

Retired Air Force Colonel Charles Loflin was the guest speaker at the event. Loflin emphasized the importance of honoring not only fallen veterans but also those who are still living.

“America’s veterans have answered the highest calling of citizenship,” Loflin said.

Veterans Day is a federal holiday celebrated every Nov. 11.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Web site,

veterans continues on page 9

Regents discuss UT System plans

By Lena Price Daily Texan Staff After a year-long search, the UT System Board of Regents settled on Robert Nelsen as the next president of UT-Pan American.

Nelsen is the associate vice president for academic affairs at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

The UT System Board of Regents appointed him to the position Wednesday on the first day of its two-day meeting.

The board named Nelsen the sole finalist to replace interim president Charles Sorber at a special meeting last month. After undergoing a 21-day vetting process, Nelson accepted the nomination at Wednesday’s meeting.

Before he took his position at A&M-Corpus Christi, Nelsen worked as an associate provost at UT-Dallas and was a faculty member at the University of Chicago.

Sorber will continue to serve as interim president until Nelsen’s appointment becomes official.

Former UT Pan-Am President Blandina Cárdenas stepped down in January. Cárdenas cited health reasons, but in the months leading up to her resignation, she had been accused of plagiarizing pieces of her 1974 doctoral dissertation in education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

In addition to confirming Nelsen, five regent committees reported to the board. A series of policy changes regarding construction projects around the System and UT’s health institutions were proposed. Several schools in the UT System received funding from the board to build new residence halls and parking garages.

The board discussed two na-

Lara Haase | Daily Texan Staff

James Huffins, UT System Board of Regents chairman, confers with Francie Frederick, general counsel to the Board of Regents during a Finance and Planning Committee meeting held Wednesday. The committee discussed budget and investment issues in preparation for today’s board meeting. tional issues that might affect the gree who is not on campus, but future of the UT System. To deal each school needs to evaluate to with the growing number of stu- what degree they want to incordents obtaining degrees online, porate online learning. No action a panel of System presidents — was taken on the discussion, but including UT President William the Academic Affairs CommitPowers — discussed the future tee will continue to look into it in of online education and distance the future. learning at UT schools.

Kenneth Shine, executive vice Because master’s degrees are so chancellor for health affairs, said reliant on self-learning, UT-Dallas the federal health care reform bill President David Daniel said they may make UT-Southwestern and might be more conducive to on- other medical institutions in the line learning. Areas that require a UT System hire more physicians lot of lab space, such as physics or to care for an increased amount engineering, would be harder to of patients. teach completely online.

Over the weekend, the U.S. “I remember 20 years ago, we House of Representatives narwere worried that online learn- rowly passed a comprehensive ing would be the demise of the health care reform bill. But the university,” Daniel said. “Clearly, Senate leaders have yet to finalize that hasn’t happened because you their own version of a health care learn as much outside of the class- reform bill. room as you do inside it.”

Twenty-five percent of Texas Powers said he would be reboarD continues on page 2 luctant to grant someone a de-

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BOArD: UT to vote on issues From page 1 citizens are uninsured. If the House bill passes, that number should drop to between 10 or 12 percent because it would expand Medicaid and charge a penalty to people who do not have insurance, Shine said.

“I think there will be more people with insurance coverage,” Shine said. “And that’s good news for us, because we provide a substantial amount of care for people who don’t have insurance.”

Shine said the increased number of people will be a challenge for the UT System medical institutions, because they don’t have enough physicians to care for everyone.

President Powers also spoke in favor of three actions that would directly impact UT-Austin.

The board gave the University permission to lease five acres

of University-owned land in Port Aransas, to the Port Aransas Independent School District so its students can use athletic facilities, including a track and field. UT will retain rights to use the facilities, but the school district will be responsible for their maintenance.

Although outside organizations are not typically allowed to use UT facilities, the board gave UT permission to grant the Austin Aztex soccer team access to the Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium to hold a soccer tournament.

Powers also proposed implementing a graduate degree program in religious studies. If the action is passed by the full board today, UT will be able to offer Ph.D and M.A. degrees in religious studies. Since its inception in 2000, the undergraduate religious studies program has had a typical enrollment of

around 50 students.

The resources and faculty to start the new program are already in place and the University is not requesting any additional funding from the Board.

Although the majority of the actions passed, one motion to construct a new campus book store and student event center at UT-Dallas was tabled. Several regents objected to the aesthetics of the building, specifically the color of the tile on the building’s entrance. They worried that the tile was not cohesive with the style of the rest of the buildings on campus.

“The design came primarily from student input,” Daniel said.

“But we would rather table the plans for three or four months, and send them back to the designers to make sure they fit in with our campus.”

The full board will hear an additional committee report and will vote on whether or not to pass the actions today. Until the board confirms the proposals, none of them will be implemented.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

reserve: Center assists with job search be on the streets holding a sign, ‘anything helps,’” Tovar said. are unaware of the career cenAt the center, Merrell learned ter as well as many of their op- about opportunities for him to tions, including the Montgom- earn extra money and to avoid ery GI Bill, the Student Loan Repayment Program and the Texas Hazlewood Act — which all ofOur job is to make fer college tuition assistance. sure the guys Another service Tovar procoming back from motes is the statutory military service obligation, which can Afghanistan and Iraq reduce the remainder of a solare not coming to a dier ’s contracted time by half community where upon entering the Reserve.

The service allows soldiers to they will be on the either retrain for a new job withstreets holding a sign, in the reserves or move to a dif‘anything helps.’” ferent geographical center and continue working.

— Sgt. Michael Tovar, who has been activeTovar ly involved in the career division for 10 years, said soldiers Army Reserve career receive a 24-month stabilizacounselor tion guarantee when they enter the Army Reserve. This ensures that they will not be mobilized getting reactivated involunfor the first two years.

“Our job is to make sure the tarily. Four months later, Merguys coming back from Afghan- rell decided the Reserve was istan and Iraq are not coming to right for him and he signed the a community where they will required papers with Tovar.

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Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alex Geiser, Perez James, Melissa Pan, Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lara Haase, Mary Kang, Erik Reyna Life&Arts Writers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kate Ergenbright, Abby Johnston, Layne Lynch, Javier Sanchez Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jordan Godwin, Matt Hohner Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claire Cardona, Gabriella Fontes, Carolyn Webb Sports/Life&Arts Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Veronica Rosalez Columnists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Douglas Luippold Page Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Risa Punzalan, Janie Shaw Comics Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jermaine Alfonso, Gabe Alvarez, Ryan Hailey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amelia Giller, Miles Luna, Nam Nguyen, Katie Smith, Rachel Weiss Wire Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacque Rauschuber Web Technician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alice Ju, Nikki Kim Videographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Debbie Eynon Finley

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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, Darius Meher-Homji 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, Lisa Hartwig 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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Three days later, he received his reactivation letter from the army.

“Chances are if they are activating you from the IRR, it’s for Iraq or Afghanistan,” Merrell said.

With Tovar fighting on his side, Merrell was able to get out of his reactivation summons because he had signed with the Reserve days earlier.

“We drop everything and take care of our soldiers,” Tovar said.

Merrell said instead of taking the easy way out and letting the Army pull him back into service, Tovar fought to keep him in the Reserve.

“Unfortunately, recruiters have a stigma for just getting the job done quick and easy, but people like Sergeant Tovar stand out as people who aren’t like that,” Merrell said.

Sure of his stabilization, Merrell hopes to start working toward a degree in communications next fall at San Antonio College and plans to use the GI Bill to his benefit.

cactus yearbook’s fall portrait studio is this week only! monday-friday, 9-5pm HSM building, room 3.302 25th and whitis ave. graduating seniors wanting cap and gown photos must make an appointment: 471-9190. CALL TODAY! all other students can walk in for their class portrait.

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accepts care packages from students at meetings throughout the year, Veteran’s Day was an excellent opportunity to encourage students of all backgrounds to actively participate in the process, Garcia said.

He said that without the sacrifices the troops have made for the country, Americans would not live in a society with free speech that allows any of the UT student organizations to express their opinions.

“Even if you don’t support the war, you can still support the troops and respect the men and women who have died,” said University Democrats member Elise Miller.

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T he Daily T exan

Abused pit bulls find homes after largest raid in US

George Osodi | Associated Press

In this photo from Friday, June 3, 2005, two unidentified homeless children beg for food and money in a street of Lagos, Nigeria. Nearly 200 million children in poor countries have insufficient nutrition, according to a new report published by UNICEF.

U.N. spotlights poor nutrition

By Ariel David & Maria Cheng The Associated Press ROME — Nearly 200 million children in poor countries have stunted growth because of insufficient nutrition, according to a new report published by UNICEF on Wednesday before a three-day international summit on the problem of world hunger.

The head of a U.N. food agency called on the world to join him in a day of fasting ahead of the summit to highlight the plight of 1 billion hungry people.

Jacques Diouf, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization, said he hoped the fast would encourage action by world leaders who will take part in the meeting at his agency’s headquarters starting Monday.

More than 90 percent of those children live in Africa and Asia,

and more than a third of all deaths in that age group are linked to undernutrition, according to UNICEF. While progress has been made in Asia — rates of stunted growth have dropped from 44 percent in 1990 to 30 percent last year — there has been little success in Africa. There, the rate of stunted growth was about 38 percent in 1990. Last year, the rate was about 34 percent.

South Asia is a particular hotspot for the problem, with just Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan accounting for 83 million hungry children under five.

“Unless attention is paid to addressing the causes of child and maternal undernutrition today, the costs will be considerably higher tomorrow,” said UNICEF

Executive Director Ann M. Veneman in a statement.

Diouf said he would begin a 24-hour fast on Saturday morning. The agency also launched an online petition against world hunger through a Web page featuring a video with Diouf counting from one to six to remind visitors that every six seconds a child dies from hunger.

The U.N. children’s agency called for more strategies like vitamin A supplementation and breast-feeding to be rolled out more widely. That could cut the death rate in kids by up to 15 percent, UNICEF said.

The Rome-based FAO announced earlier this year that hunger now affects a record 1.02 billion globally, or one in six people. With the financial meltdown, high food prices, drought and

war are blamed.

The agency hopes its World Summit on Food Security, with Pope Benedict XVI and some 60 heads of state so far expected to attend, will endorse a new strategy to combat hunger, focusing on increased investment in agricultural development for poor countries.

The long-term increase in the number of hungry is largely tied to reduced aid and private investments earmarked for agriculture since the mid-1980s, according to FAO. Countries like Brazil, Nigeria and Vietnam that have invested in their small farmers and rural poor are bucking the hunger trend.

By Cheryl Wittenauer The Associated Press ST. LOUIS — Dozens of American pit bull terriers netted in the largest dogfighting raid in U.S. history are finding homes, despite some who predicted aggression or trauma would make them unsuitable as pets.

More than 120 of the animals have been placed in foster homes or are headed there this week through the efforts of pit bull rescue groups throughout the U.S. An additional 117, like the scarred but smiling Tulip, await their turn.

“They are not a vicious animal.

They are the victims of abuse,” said Debbie Hill, vice president of operations for the Humane Society of Missouri. “That face and their eyes tell the story. They only want to be in someone’s home,

on a couch, or sleeping at someone’s feet, maybe chew up a rug or two for entertainment. They’re learning for the first time how to be a dog.”

In the days leading up to the July 8 raid, the Humane Society secured a cavernous industrial warehouse in St. Louis that it transformed into an emergency shelter for the hundreds of dogs seized in Missouri and Illinois. About 100 dogs seized in other states were taken by rescue groups elsewhere.

Once at the Missouri shelter, dogs were tested by a national team of certified animal behaviorists, taken on walks and allowed to chew on bowling balls stuffed with peanut butter. Some finicky eaters were treated to homecooked chicken breasts to supplement meals of dog food.

Jeff Roberson | Associated Press

Julia Kelly works at a desk at an emergency shelter on Tuesday, Nov. 10, in St. Louis, under photos of adopted dogs who were seized as part of the largest dogfighting raid in U.S. history.

You deserve a factual look at . . .

Arabian Fables (I) How the Arabs soften up world opinion with fanciful myths.

Josef Goebbels, the infamous propaganda minister of the Nazis, had it right. Just tell people big lies often enough and they will believe them. The Arabs have learned that lesson well. They have swayed world opinion by endlessly repeating myths and lies that have no basis in fact.

What are some of these myths? occupied, destroyed all Jewish institutions and The “Palestinians.” That is the fundamental houses of worship, used Jewish cemetery headstones myth. The reality is that the concept of to build military latrines, and renamed as “West “Palestinians” is one that did not exist until about Bank” what had been Judea and Samaria since time 1948, when the Arab inhabitants of what until then immemorial. was Palestine, wished to differentiate themselves The attempt, quite successful, was to persuade an from the Jews. Until then, the Jews were the uninformed world that these territories were Palestinians. There was the Palestinian Brigade of ancestral parts of the Jordanian Arab Kingdom Jewish volunteers in the British World War II Army (itself a very recent creation of British power (at a time when the Palestinian Arabs were in Berlin diplomacy). Even after the total rout of the Arabs in hatching plans with the 1967 Six-Day War, in Adolf Hitler for world which the Jordanians “The web of lies and myths that the Arab conquest and how to kill were driven out of propaganda machine has created plays an Judea/Samaria and of all the Jews); there was the Palestinian important role in the unrelenting quest to Jerusalem, they and the Symphony Orchestra (all destroy the State of Israel. What a shame world continued to call Jews, of course); there this territory the “West that the world has accepted most of it!” was The Palestine Post, Bank”, a geographical and so much more. concept that cannot be The Arabs, who now call themselves found on any except the most recent maps.

“Palestinians,” do so in order to persuade a The concept of the “West Bank” is a myth. misinformed world that they are a distinct The “Occupied Territories.” After the victorious nationality and that “Palestine” is their ancestral Six-Day War, during which the Israeli army defeated homeland. But, of course, they are no distinct the same cabal of Arabs that had invaded the country nationality at all. They are entirely the same — in in 1948, Israel remained in possession of language, customs, and tribal ties — as the Arabs of Judea/Samaria (now renamed “West Bank”), which Syria, Jordan, and beyond. There is no more the Jordanians had illegally occupied for 19 years; of difference between the “Palestinians” and the other the Gaza strip, which had been occupied by the Arabs of those countries than there is between, say, Egyptians but which (hundreds of miles from Egypt the citizens of Minnesota and of Wisconsin. proper) had never been part of their country; and of What's more, many of the “Palestinians,” or their the Golan Heights, a plateau of about 400 square immediate ancestors, came to the area attracted by miles, which, though originally part of Palestine, the prosperity created by the Jews, in what had been ceded to Syria by British-French previously had been pretty much of a wasteland. agreement.

The nationhood of the “Palestinians” is a myth.

The last sovereign in Judea/Samaria and in Gaza The “West Bank.” Again, this is a concept that did was the British mandatory power — and before it not exist until 1948, when the army of the Kingdom was the Ottoman Empire. All of Palestine, including of Transjordan, together with five other Arab armies, what is now the Kingdom of Jordan, was, by the invaded the Jewish state of Israel, on the very day of Balfour Declaration, destined to be the Jewish its creation.

National Home. How then could the Israelis be In what can almost be described as a Biblical “occupiers” in their own territory? Who would be miracle, the ragtag Jewish forces defeated the the sovereign and who the rightful inhabitants? combined Arab might. But Transjordan stayed in The concept of “occupied territories” in reference possession of the territories of Judea and Samaria to Judea/Samaria (often called the “West Bank”) and and part of the city of Jerusalem. The Jordanians Gaza is another of the many myths created by Arab promptly expelled all Jews from the area that they propaganda.

Unable so far to destroy Israel on the battlefield — though they are feverishly preparing for their next assault — the Arabs are now trying to overcome and destroy Israel by their acknowledged “policy of stages”. That policy is to get as much land as possible carved out of Israel “by peaceful and diplomatic” means, so as to make Israel indefensible and softened up for the final assault. The web of lies and myths that the Arab propaganda machine has created plays an important role in the unrelenting quest to destroy the State of Israel. What a shame that the world has accepted most of it!

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Its purpose is the research and publication of the facts regarding developments in the Middle East and exposing false propaganda that might harm the interests of the United States and its allies in that area of the world. Your tax-deductible contributions are welcome. They enable us to pursue these goals and to publish these messages in national newspapers and magazines. We have virtually no overhead. Almost all of our revenue pays for our educational work, for these clarifying messages, and for related direct mail.

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OPINION

4

Thursday, November 12, 2009

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 T EXAN

GRADUATE STUDENT VOICES

VIEWPOINT

Unlock prison libraries

The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. Texas is one of the greatest contributors to this statistic and is home to some of the nation’s largest correctional facilities. While the state spends a lot of resources providing inmates with food, water and shelter, sometimes it neglects to grant inmates with another basic human need: rights.

A recent lawsuit filed by the Prison Legal News, a Seattle-based nonprofit that reports on criminal justicerelated issues, highlights this.

The PLN, which seeks to inform the largest prison population in the world of its rights, has accused the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of inappropriately censoring books sent to Texas state prisoners. In the lawsuit, the PLN seeks compensation for violations of its constitutional free speech and due process rights under the First and 14th amendments.

One of the books in question, titled “Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System,” written by Silja J.A. Talvi, highlights the inhumane treatment of females in the U.S. prison system. In researching the book, Talvi traveled to numerous women’s prisons and interviewed more than 100 inmates in an attempt to shed more light on a topic that receives little coverage in the media.

According to the lawsuit, a former police chief said of Talvi’s book, “I’ve read few accounts of social injustice that have aroused in me such intense feelings of sadness, shame and rage. As a cop for 34 years, I confess to having given only passing thought to what happened to women after they’re arrested and ultimately sentenced to prison. I have been stripped of my ignorance by ‘Women Behind Bars.’”

The decision to censor this book, as well as another book titled “The Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits from Crime” by Joel Dyer (which was flagged on the basis that it mentions rape), was allegedly improperly upheld by senior prison officials, according to the lawsuit.

A notification written by a department mailroom official sent to a prisoner explaining why she was being denied her copy of “Women Behind Bars” stated that “a specific determination has been made that the publication is detrimental to offenders’ rehabilitation, because it would encourage homosexual or deviant criminal behavior.” The notification was referring to a page in the book in which Talvi profiled an inmate who had been sexually abused as a child.

Paul Wright, editor of the PLN, expressed his disappointment with the department’s actions in a press release: “It is a sad commentary when government officials censor books sent to prisoners — particularly books that deal with prisoners’ rights and conditions in our nation’s prisons.”

The reluctance of the department to allow prisoners to become more educated in any regard, especially when dealing with this subject matter, is troubling. But perhaps it is in the department’s best interest to keep its own transgressions under wraps. According to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology in 2006, employee infractions by the department officials occur at nearly the same rate as inmate infractions. The most common employee infractions, according to the study, were sexual violations, assault and controlled substance violations.

Considering the volume of these violations, it becomes even more apparent that prisoners must become educated on their rights, especially in Texas prisons.

In an interview about her book, Talvi discussed the public mentality that allows these violations to occur mostly unnoticed. “Prisoners are us, members of our society,” she said. “Yet we’ve done something in this country to think of prisoners as being so deviant, so disgusting, as if their sentence is part of a lifelong punishment with a kind of scarlet letter stigma.”

This notion that those incarcerated should be denied their rights to certain reading material merely on the basis that they’re incarcerated is absurd and certainly does nothing to assist in the rehabilitation process. Prisoners should be granted the right to gain an expanded worldview and, at the very least, the opportunity to become further informed on the institutions in which they reside. We applaud PLN for taking a stand on behalf of those incarcerated and putting the large bureaucracy that is the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on notice that the general public is paying attention to its actions and violations.

— Dan Treadway for the editorial board

GALLERY

Fiscal crisis and graduate community

By Anna Marin Daily Texan Guest Columnist

Upon entering graduate school, students become part of a new family. The first-year student is the youngest of the department, receiving guidance from advisers, friendship from fellow students and a semester allowance from the family’s financial resources.

I entered graduate school in the Program of Comparative Literature, a cohort of professors from many departments who adhere to the teaching and thinking of literatures and texts from a comparative perspective. As a program, we are poor in financial resources but rich in communal ties and support. The program is part of a huge extended family, with close relatives in the language and literature departments and further community links across the humanities and social sciences — where students in the program take courses — seek advisers and get paid as assistant instructors and teaching assistants.

Like any type of family, when it comes to money, we also fight.

The current financial crisis has caused shocking reverberations throughout the University, especially among graduate student workers. We depend completely upon our teaching positions for reduced tuition payments and a small stipend. Without these positions, few of us would be able to continue our studies. As teaching assistant and assistant-instructor positions become scarcer due to budget reductions, which cause some departments to be cut by 30 percent or more, palpable fear runs through the graduate student population and questions linger. What will we teach next year? Will our already meager pay be cut even further? And who, next semester or next year, will not have a job at all?

Within a program, as opposed to a department, these fears are amplified. The Program of Comparative Literature has virtually no teaching budget of its own and must rely on the generosity of departments allocating their own money to graduate teaching

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

Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor or the writer. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.

Marin is a graduate student in the Program of Comparative Literature.

By Douglas Luippold Daily Texan Columnist

THE FIRING LINE Blindly siding with aggression Kudos to Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin and his 35 colleagues who voted against House Resolution 867, a resolution that condemns the Goldstone report on Gaza and again blindly takes the side of Israeli aggression.

The UN report that was published by the South African jurist Richard Goldstone, a supporter of Israel, found that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes during the Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last winter.

According to the Goldstone report, Israel deliberately attacked civilian targets and did not take sufficient action to minimize civilian loss of life. For example, the report found that Israel even refused to allow the evacuation of the injured by ambulance.

This report is the last in a series of reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that also found Israel committed massive human rights violations and possible war crimes.

The present attitude that Israel can do nothing wrong is very destructive to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, there will always be hope when the likes of Doggett take the side of justice, even when it’s not politically convenient to do so.

— Hooman Hedayati Government and Middle Eastern studies senior Student representative, Campus Progress at the Center for American Progress

LEGALESE

realization that comparative literature plays a productive role in their departments, as well.

Beyond the financial crisis, this type of community at the University points to a larger issue and one that has become a buzzword of late. Interdisciplinarity — the ability to work in and eventually teach in multiple disciplines, perhaps in multiple departments or programs — can only be achieved if a University-wide community exists that crosses the boundaries of departments, schools and programs. As a graduate student of comparative literature, I feel lucky not only to know that my teaching position is secure, but to have advisers from multiple disciplines, to have taken a range of liberal arts courses but also to be being trained as a scholar capable of fulfilling a role that I hope the 21st century university demands: one within a larger extended community of scholars, students and thinkers.

Realities of realty

GALLERY

In government we do not trust

FIRING LINES

positions for their students and for us. These departments now face the prospect of cutting the positions of their home graduate students and those of out-ofdepartment students who lean on their structures for financial support.

Fortunately, although the immediate family of the Program of Comparative Literature is small, extended community ties are strong. By nurturing close relationships with other departments, we are treated just like family. Indeed, many professors of national literature and social science departments teach as core and affiliated comparative literature faculty, and graduate students of the program constitute a substantial presence in their offered courses.

We have been assured that, as family, we should not be left desolate on the streets of Austin, with no jobs and no prospects of continuing our studies. If our assistant instructor and teaching assistant positions remain, it is thanks to the contributing departments’ generosity and their

Anna Russo’s Nov. 11 column, “Restricting the right to choose,” concerning the Stupak-Pitts amendment, brought two points to mind. First, I applaud our representatives for the amendment. Keeping Roe v. Wade is fine with me. I understand the logic behind it, even though I disagree with it. But federally subsidizing abortions would not be okay. Using tax dollars to pay for an abortion, via federal health coverage or subsidies, is just a bad idea. Representatives are not restricting anyone’s right to choose; they’re restricting the use of tax dollars. In today’s state of politics and government spending, I welcome the show of restraint.

Second, Russo’s piece provides an excellent learning opportunity. This is a prime example of how the private market is far better equipped to serve the needs of consumers. Government is shackled by the demands of its constituents. In this case, people don’t want their tax dollars supporting something they morally oppose. The

private market can provide someone the coverage that the government cannot. If you want your insurance to pay for your abortion, then go private. Russo summed it up best by pointing out that government lies.

Lesson learned: When you put your trust in a government to meet your needs, you will be disappointed.

— Michael H. Pelech Accounting senior

Voting complexities Justin May’s Nov. 11 firing line shows a striking disregard for the complexity of the voting process.

First, the House health reform bill passed by three votes, not five, as the firing line claims.

Second, if the author had actually watched the House vote on the bill, he might have better understood the actual voting process.

Two-hundred eighteen votes are necessary and trickled in over several minutes.

The number jumped to 210 almost immediately. Then it took several minutes for it to creep up to 218, because people facing tough re-election battles did not want to be the ones to vote for legislation that might not pass.

Once the vote hit 217, three more representatives signed on so they could take credit for reform. If the legislation had only had 216 votes, those three likely would not have voted for it. They are not considered “committed” votes.

While Student Government cannot take credit for convincing a representative to vote for the legislation, it can take credit for sending a signal that students care about this issue. That makes it just a little easier for the representative to commit to voting for it, and committing is what makes all the difference.

SG is fully capable of changing the world, but the responsibility ultimately rests on the individual representatives. SG can pass all the resolutions it wants, but those don’t matter unless members take their legislation to the so-called deciders.

In the case of the healthcare reform resolution, A.R. 16, I went to Washington, D.C., myself two weeks ago and delivered copies to our senators’ offices by hand, as well as to Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s office. Other folks from SG called their own representatives.

While SG’s opinion may not get handed out by Nancy Pelosi, it certainly does matter to our elected representatives when their constituents stop by in person or take time to call.

— John Woods

Thanksgiving is a special time of year for Freshmen. It is when the original plan of graduating in three years and going to graduate school becomes as unappealing as the highschool girlfriend with whom you pledged to “make it work.” After break-ups and academic discouragement, there is another mid-November tradition in which UT freshmen annually participate: apartment hunting.

In their first quest for housing, many students patronize apartment-locating services.

While these businesses can be a valuable resource, they exercise some practices and make certain claims that first-time renters should be aware of.

Like any salesperson, apartment locators want to sell their product as quickly as possible, so they claim the product is scarce. This is why a first-time renter will probably hear the phrase “If you don’t lease now, the good places will get taken.” A quick glace at the new West Campus skyline shows the validity of this claim.

To be sure, if students needs a corner apartment on the top floor of a major complex no more than three blocks from campus, they should lease as early as possible. However, for the other 99 percent of students, there is no danger of every two-bedroom apartment in West Campus being leased by Christmas.

In addition to claiming housing is scarce, realtors may also say that apartments with X features in Y location are only available at or above Z rent. Again, aside from those with very specific standards, there is no “goingrate” for apartments.

While this seems intuitive, it is easy to forget. The first time I looked for apartments, a realtor told my roommate and I that we could not get a West Campus apartment for under $1,400 a month. We believed him and came very close to signing a lease. Fortunately, we sought a second opinion, and a different realtor found much cheaper apartments in the same area.

Rent also changes over time. An apartment that leases for $1,500 a month in November could drop to $1,200 by March. Apartments follow the same market principles as any other product, and the price will fluctuate with demand for the product.

Realtors also like to show apartments about two months after current residents moved in.

Last year I moved into my apartment at the end of August, and by mid-October, realtors were bringing potential clients to see it. This practice is intended to make tenants think that if they don’t renew their lease quickly, somebody will snatch their apartment away.

An easy way to address this annoyance is to tell prospective clients how excellent the apartment is. I like to talk about how I never need to sweep because rats always pick up food from the floor. I also say the cold showers always wake me up for 8 a.m. class and the ghosts are a great resource for history papers.

Apartment locators can be a valuable resource. They help find deals, save time and can be generally helpful in navigating territory that is unfamiliar to most young adults.

Just remember that a realtor ’s job is to sell apartments and a client’s is to find a good one.

5 UNIV

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News

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Environmental center hopes to expand campus recycling

Mary Kang | Daily Texan Staff

Michael Dell speaks during an interview with Tom Gilligan, dean of the McCombs School of Business, at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center ballroom Wednesday afternoon.

Dell gives advice to UT students during Q&A Entrepreneur encourages students to make errors, learn from past mistakes

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By Melissa Pan Daily Texan Staff “Don’t be afraid to make a lot of mistakes,” said Michael Dell in the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center ballroom Wednesday afternoon. “Just don’t make the same one over and over again.”

At an interview with Tom Gilligan, the dean of McCombs School of Business, and a Q&A session with participants, Dell spoke to an overflowing audience that included UT students and Dell representatives. Dell’s appearance was presented by the Undergraduate Business Council as part of the VIP Distinguished Speaker Series.

When Gilligan asked Dell what his first job was, he said that he

worked in a Chinese restaurant when he was 12 before getting “recruited away” to a Mexican restaurant at age 13.

“My first real job, when I was 16, was with a local newspaper in Houston,” Dell said. “My job was to sell subscriptions. I observed that people buying the newspaper had two common characteristics. They were moving into a new place to live or they were getting married.”

From the public information Dell gleaned from those two characteristics, he created a direct mail campaign for selling newspapers.

Dell began his PC-making company in Dobie Center in 1984 while enrolled at UT. He dropped out at 19 years old.

Dell Computer Corporation, based in Round Rock, is now a company with revenues of more than $60 billion and employs more than 76,500 em-

ployees internationally.

It sells products such as personal computers, cameras, MP3 players and HDTVs. In 1992, Dell became the youngest CEO ever to reach the Fortune 500. According to Forbes’ list of the 400 richest Americans in 2009, he ranked as the second-richest Texan.

During the Q&A session, Dell discussed his company’s culture.

“While we are a global company, we actually have one culture when it comes to how we do business,” he said. “It really comes down to the actions that occur inside the culture, and the small work groups, and the managers and team leaders that are driving activity.”

Dell said that his company strove to look for employees not born in the United States. He particularly pointed to employees from China and India as examples of recruiting in “emerging countries.”

By Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Daily Texan Staff Students carried backpacks full of old batteries, plastic bottles and tin cans to recycle on the West Mall for an early celebration of America Recycles Day. The holiday takes place nationally Nov. 15.

Student Government’s Campus Environmental Center held the event Wednesday to encourage oncampus recycling. The group set up recycling bins for electronic waste, tin, batteries, old cell phones, glass and plastics three to seven. All plastic is distinguished by a symbol code ranked from a single digit between one and seven that helps recyclers do their jobs efficiently. The easiest plastics to recycle include soda and water bottles and are given a standard number one.

Every student who brought five or more items had the opportunity to swap for a reusable, aluminum water bottle. By noon, the center had swapped out more than 50 water bottles.

The center hopes to teach students how to reduce waste and create a more sustainable world by recycling, said Emily Logan, a member of the center’s Recycling Task Force. The Environmental Protection Agency defines sustainability as the condition of humans and nature existing in productive harmony where humans can meet their present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

“People live mostly on the basis of convenience,” Logan said. “If the [recycling bins] aren’t there, they won’t do it. That’s why we try to put out as many blue bins as possible, to eliminate the inconvenience.”

Students who recycle should also learn the proper way to recycle, Logan said. Some mistakes people make include forgetting to remove bottle caps before recycling the bottle, not rinsing out bottles, attempting to recycle paper goods contaminated by food and not differentiating between the types of plastic, she said.

Although off-campus recycling locations take all kinds of plastics,

Yuki Davidoff and Raul Mireles separate their recycables into different bins for the Campus Enviromental Center table in the West Mall on Wednesday.

The CEC asked people to bring recyclables that are not normally recycled by UT in exchange for a reusable aluminum water bottle for anyone who brought five or more.

Lara Haase Daily Texan Staff

on-campus sites only take plastics one and two, Logan said.

Nicole Walter, an architecture graduate student and regular recycler, said she has seen students dumping recyclable goods in the recycling bins all together, regardless of whether each item belonged in that particular bin.

The environmental center takes care of most plastic and aluminum can recycling, UT Facility Services collects recycled paper and the Division of Housing and Food Services directs recycling in dormitories and dining halls.

Kelly Turner, an intern for the sustainability section of the Division of Housing and Food Services, said the group is working on starting an Eco2-Go program. The program will allow students to buy reusable food containers, which they can bring to UT dining areas. The students would be able to get their containers washed by the University, as well.

Last year, the University recycled two-and-a-half million pounds of paper and cardboard, which saved

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more than 21,000 trees, said Jeff Basile, the manager of recycling and sustainability at UT Facility Services.

Basile said UT Facility Services is also working on bringing a solar compactor called “Big Belly” to campus in the near future. As people throw trash away in a “Big Belly,” the trash fills up until it crosses an infrared beam. Once the trash crosses that line, “Big Belly” compacts the trash. This way, trash services can make less trips to the trash can and trash cans do not overflow as quickly.

Facility services is also working on widening the scope of the recycling program and providing ways for students to recycle other materials such as glass, Basile said.

Basile said students who do not recycle do not always know about recycling opportunities. They can see what the University offers by opening their eyes and looking for recycling bins on campus or by visiting the Campus Education Center Web site for more information, he said.

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State&LocaL

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Parade honors nation’s soldiers at Texas Capitol Faint singing accompanied

By Alex Geiser Staff Sgt. Morris Hickman, a VietDaily Texan Staff Silver dog tags draped over sol- nam veteran and member of the dier’s boots rested in front of an Texas State Guard, as he played a M-16 rifle stuck into a sandbag rendition of “The Star-Spangled and topped with a camouflage hel- Banner” on harmonica. Outfitted met. The combat cross marked a in his military-issued dress clothcasket-sized white box commem- ing and beret, Hickman methodorating fallen soldiers Wednesday ically shook his right hand as he morning at the Texas Capitol for blew into the small instrument, the 56th annual program celebrat- adding vibrato to the harmonica’s familiar tune. ing Veterans Day. “We honor all the people that Wednesday morning’s event, recognizing former and active have served us and honor all the members of the U.S. Armed Forc- young men and women serving es, began with a parade down today,” Hickman said, explainCongress in which a number of ing the importance of the sacrimilitary-affiliated organizations fices that are made. “When we sign that document, we are givand supporters participated.

Fred Morse, a member of the ing it all.”

Annette Malaski, a former Air Sons of Confederate Veterans who carried a Confederate flag in Force civil engineer who served the parade, said fellow members during peacetime, said everyone who has given noticed solemn their time and salutes from obtheir life to servservers as the We honor all the people ing the U.S. deparade passed due to last that have served us and serves appreciation. week’s shooting honor all the young “Whether at Fort Hood. men and women they served in “ We d i d n ’ t peacetime or have a really serving today.” [during war], good turn-out,” Morse said re— Staff Sgt. Morris everyone gave garding memHickman a part of their lives that they bers of his orgaTexas State Guard will never get nization. “It’s a back,” Malasshame because ki said. “It’s unit was a bigfortunate that ger crowd than there has to be a wartime for we’ve seen in the past.”

The Del Valle High School Americans to remember the gifts Band, which opened the ceremo- they have been given. Military ny at the Capitol following the branches have always been there parade, sat on the platform at to help out.”

Nearing the end of the ceremothe top of the steps. Next to the band, sat veterans, politicians and ny, veteran organizations were city officials, including U.S. Rep. called forward one by one to set Lloyd Doggett and state Rep. their wreaths next to the combat cross commemorating those who Dawnna Dukes.

Following the band’s introduc- have served and died in the line tion, Olie Pope Jr., an officer of the of duty. The bell tolled and the Travis County Veterans Service, crowd was still as veterans and welcomed the diverse crowd of their families slowly marched tochildren, veterans and supporters. ward the cross, where they laid The Pledge of Allegiance was their wreaths and gave long sathen led by the second-and third- lutes to the symbolic grave.

Once every wreath was set, a place winners of a Veterans Day grade-school essay contest, which line of soldiers gave a rifle salute was followed by an unusual mu- and a lone Del Valle High School sical performance of the nation- bugler played taps from atop the Capitol steps. al anthem.

‘‘

Photos by Peyton McGee | Daily Texan Staff

Above, James Hart, a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, rests against a tree in front of the Texas Capitol during the Veterans Day memorial service Wednesday. Hart served in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971. Below left, Linda Navarre weeps in the arms of her husband, George, during “Taps” at the 56th annual program commemorating Veterans Day at the Capitol on Wednesday morning. She lost her dad a year ago and said she misses him now more than ever. Below right, Cesar Can, of the Del Valle High School JROTC program, stands guard at a tomb of the unknown display in front of the south steps of the Capitol on Wednesday.

IN PRIZES FROM

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7 SPTS

SPORTS

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

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

T HE DAILY T EXAN

Lineup shuffle leads to victory Horns shake off rust to prevail TEXAS 3

TEXAS TECH 1

Lauren Gerson | Daily Texan Staff

Texas’ Destinee Hooker, Juliann Faucette, Cristina Arenas and Sha’Dare McNeal sing “The Eyes of Texas” after the Longhorns’ win over Texas Tech on Wednesday night. All four players played pivotal roles in Texas’ come-from-behind victory over the Red Raiders.

Texas drops first set, quickly rebounds to win second-straight match

By Jordan Godwin Daily Texan Staff Texas fans stood bewildered as Texas Tech players celebrated wildly. Amid the bizarre scene, head coach Jerritt Elliott sat casually in his chair, probably the most relaxed person in Gregory Gym. Elliott knew the Longhorns would go on to sweep the rest of the match, as they did. But Texas Tech shockingly won the first set, and it was easily the winless Red Raiders’ biggest victory of the season. Despite his calm and misleading demeanor, Elliott was not happy.

“Over half of their points came from our mistakes, so our girls needed a good, stern talking to for motivation,” Elliott said. “We were playing rattled, and we needed a way to get the engine rolling again.”

After scoring the first point of the nightmarish first set,

the second-ranked Longhorns lost the lead and never got it back. The Red Raiders couldn’t believe their eyes.

They cheered giddy squeals of excitement, jumping up and down like the nation-

‘‘

ond-best team in the country was huge for them.

“Things definitely weren’t going our way,” said junior outside hitter Juliann Faucette. “Our poor play was giving them confidence, and they

We were playing rattled, and we needed a way to get the engine rolling again.”

— Jerritt Elliott, head coach

al championship was on the line. And who could blame them? Not only did they enter the match in the cellar of the Big 12 Conference at 0-14, but of the 44 sets they’ve played, they won two. So winning a measly set against the sec-

Baylor players to watch Nick Florence The sophomore quarterback will look to continue where he left off last week after an impressive win over Missouri. Florence broke the school’s single-game passing record with 427 yards, earning him Big 12 offensive player of the week. But, he has not faired well in conference play after taking the reins of the offense when starting quarterback Robert Griffin III and second string quarterback Blake Szymanski went down with injuries. Look for the Baylor offense to air it out, especially against a stout Longhorn rush defense.

Kendall Wright The Longhorns will try to contain Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright, who leads the team in nearly every statistical receiving category. Wright also had his best performance of his collegiate career against the Tigers. Florence found the sophomore playmaker last week 10 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears also like to get him involved in the run game as he is usually given a couple rush attempts per game.

Joe Pawelek The All-Big 12 linebacker leads a Baylor defense that has played very inconsistently this season. Pawelek, who never lets up on the gas pedal out on the field, will play in his 42nd consecutive game this week against Texas. He is second all-time on the Bears’ tackles list, behind the legendary Mike Singletary. Pawelek will have his hands full commanding his unit against one of the most dominant offensive attacks in the country.

— Matt Hohner

L. G. Patterson | Associated Press

Baylor’s Nick Florence throws a pass in last weekend’s win over Missouri. Florence has played well in the absence of Robert Griffin III.

were really giving it to us.”

The adrenaline from the first set victory helped the Red Raiders keep pace with Texas for the first half of the second set, but it quickly wore off, as Texas started to look like a second-ranked team.

By Chris Tavarez Daily Texan Staff When Texas lost at Iowa State last Wednesday, its streaking ways came to an end.

The Horn’s 18-match winning streak and a 27-match regular season win streak came crashing down in an epic 5-set battle between two top10 teams. Fortunately for the Longhorns, they still had plenty of other streaks to keep alive – a 17-match home win streak, 21 sets without a loss at home and most pertinent for Wednesday night’s matchup against Texas Tech, a 17-match win streak against the Red Raiders.

Though, in their first match at home since the Iowa State loss, it appeared that the Horns’ streaking ways would come to an end. Down early in the first set, Texas looked like it couldn’t find its rhythm at all — a problem that may have been caused by head coach Jerritt Elliott’s tinkering of the roster.

“We’ve been trying a new lineup,” Elliott said. “It’s something we’ve known that we wanted to run, but we’ve been trying to get healthy. We know that we need balance, and we know that we need to be successful on both ends.”

Texas was only able to muster two ties and took the lead just once the entire stanza in its first home set loss all season.

“It was composure,” said senior Ashley Engle. “Obviously, things weren’t going our way, we were making some unforced errors. Even when we would start getting a run, we would end it with an error. We could have unraveled and just lost three sets in a row and just been done.”

After the stumble in the first set, Texas looked as if it had finally gotten comfortable, dominating the Red Raiders 25-13.

“Any time you lose a [set], it’s motivation to just come out even stronger,” said junior outside hitter Juliann Faucette. “We all realized that our rhythm wasn’t there. We just had to find a way, and it ended up well in the end.”

The Longhorns looked determined to get back to keeping the rest of its streaks alive after the break when they came out and stomped Tech in the next two sets 25-10 and 25-14.

With the way Texas dominated the Red Raiders to close the set, Faucette has a good feeling about Elliott’s new game plan and rest of the season.

“Definitely,” Faucette said when asked if this lineup could get the Horns to the national championship. “I think there’s a lot of attackers out there with this lineup and it’s hard for other teams, when we’re passing well, to stop our hitters.”

Texas’ outside hitter Amber Roberson spikes the ball in last night’s match against Texas Tech.

Roberson had a career-high 12 kills in the win.

Texas had 3.5 blocks and 17 digs, a drastic improvement from the first set showing. Texas took the set, 25-13, and had a similar story in the third set, winning 25-10.

After Texas won the third set, many of the fans in the student section made their way for the exits. Gregory Gym hadn’t seen a fourth set in nearly a year. But Texas closed out the match, 2514, with help from sophomore outside hitter Amber Roberson’s career-high 12 kills.

With a week until the next match against Kansas State, senior setter Ashley Engle said the team won’t rest lightly.

“The lesson learned tonight is that we have plenty of room for improvement,” Engle said.

“Losing a set to Tech makes us realize that we have a lot of work to do, and we’re definitely not peaking yet.”

Lauren Gerson Daily Texan Staff

FOOTBALL

Kirkendoll gains confidence after slow start

By Blake Hurtik Daily Texan Staff For every Texas wide receiver not named Jordan Shipley, 2009 has been an up-and-down season with more uncertainty than anything. Just because you’re a starter one week means nothing in respect to the next.

Just ask James Kirkendoll. The junior started the first six games before being replaced, along with John Chiles, by Malcolm Williams and Marquise Goodwin.

That was just the formal signal of a frustrating season for Kirkendoll. But as Texas prepares to take on Baylor on Saturday, Kirkendoll is once again listed atop the depth chart. His five-catch, 40-yard and one-touchdown performance against Central Florida prompted Texas coaches to put him back in the starting lineup.

There were a few reasons for Kirkendoll’s decreased role for much of the season.

After breaking out with seven catches, 107 yards and a dazzling touchdown against Wyoming, Kirkendoll’s production took a dramatic dip despite him seeing plenty of snaps.

“I don’t really feel like we have starters,” Kirkendoll said. “The rotation we have, everybody gets the same amount of plays.”

Over Texas’ next six games he had more than three receptions just once, never more than 30 receiving yards in a game and no touchdowns.

His biggest highlight since the Wyoming game had been the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he received against Oklahoma for head butting — Texas coach Mack Brown called it

a “love peck” — Sooner safety Quinton Carter.

“I was caught up in the moment and made a bonehead play,” Kirkendoll said. “[It was] just a little frustration. I’m a real emotional player when it comes to the field.”

Part of his frustration came from trying to adjust to playing in the slot. Kirkendoll had played outside, split wide for much of his playing career.

“Slot is totally different from playing outside,” Kirkendoll said.

It didn’t help any that he was looked to directly to fill in for Brandon Collins at that position, who was declared academically ineligible for the year by the NCAA. Collins had become one of quarterback Colt McCoy’s favorite and most reliable targets in 2008 (35 catches, 430 yards) and specialized in short routes over the middle. Again, not exactly Kirkendoll’s specialty.

“He’s so good at opening up the middle, and by not having him, I kind of had to fill that role,” Kirkendoll said. “It’s totally different, and I’ve never really played it. But I think I’m starting to really adjust to it now but in the beginning it was tough, moving from the outside to the slot.”

Now, coaches have him, along with Shipley, running plays out of all three regular receiving spots, but he still saw most of his action against Central Florida in the slot. He’s listed this week as a starter on the outside with Shipley alongside him in the slot. But with offensive coordinator Greg Davis’ habit of shuffling receivers around, he’ll still likely wind up

Aaron Ontiveroz | Associated Press

Texas’ receiver James Kirkendoll breaks away from a Wyoming defender Sept. 12. Kirkendoll will start this weekend in Waco. inside plenty.

“I think James’ natural position is outside, but he’s done a good job of jumping in there because that’s where we needed him,” Davis said.

His quarterback’s confidence in him has grown, too. While

his comfort level with Kirkendoll hasn’t appeared to be near where it was with Collins, McCoy has consistently looked for him. Against UCF, they hooked up for a 14-yard touchdown on

RECEIVER continues on page 8

8 SPTS

8

SportS

RECEIVER: Wide out will see more time this weekend who undercut the route.

“He’s finding his role,” McCoy a crossing route in the back of said. “We watched a little film the end zone and nearly missed together, and I told him where I out on another long touchdown wanted him to be. I feel confident when Kirkendoll had single cov- throwing to him.” erage on a go down the seam, On a personal level, Kirkendbut the slightly underthrown ball oll’s slump served as a needed was intercepted by the defender, reminder of the level of competi-

From page 7

tion in the Texas receiving corps.

“It really helped me get refocused on what I needed to do.

You can’t take stuff for granted,” Kirkendoll said. “I learned from it, and I think this whole thing made me better. Anything can be taken from you. There’s a next guy in line.”

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NCAA FOOTBALL

No. 4 TCU shakes off Big 12 snub, paves own path for first BCS berth

By Stephen Hawkins The Associated Press FORT WORTH — When the Southwest Conference broke up after the 1995 season, TCU set out on an undesired conference-hopping journey.

Half of the Texas teams from the old SWC — Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and even Baylor, a private Christian school like TCU — were invited into the Big 12, which has grown into one of the nation’s best leagues.

The Horned Frogs, bitter about the snub, bounced from the Western Athletic Conference to Conference USA to the Mountain West over the next decade.

They won or shared titles in all of them.

Those nomadic BCS outsiders have found a home in the MWC and are now in national championship contention, without the benefit of automatic access to the Bowl Championship Series.

“Everybody likes a Cinderella story,” coach Gary Patterson said. “But we’re just trying to get to the ball.”

Or big bowl in this case. One of the long-stated and unfulfilled goals for TCU (9-0, 5-0) is to get into a BCS game and win it.

The Frogs are fourth in the latest Associated Press poll, their highest ranking since 1956.

They’re also in fourth place in the BCS standings, the highest a team from a conference without an automatic bid has reached.

SPORTS BRIEFLY Barnes pins down another top recruit for Texas in 2010 season

Priority registration for UT students is going on now.

Register online or in GRE 2.200. www.utrecsports.org

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Texas head coach Rick Barnes continues to turn heads and be a dominant force in offseason recruiting — and now he’s doing it across foreign borders.

Barnes inked yet another highly touted recruit yesterday in Tristan Thompson, a forward out of Brampton, Ontario, to play for the Long-

Larry Ignelzi | Associated Press

TCU quarterback Andy Dalton dives for the end zone in Saturday’s win over San Diego State. Dalton has a tough test this week against Utah.

Heading into a sold-out home game Saturday night against No. 16 Utah (8-1, 5-0), this is the closest TCU has been to a national championship since winning its only one in 1938.

TCU won its first seven games in 2000 and was ninth in the AP poll before losing at San Jose State in early November for its only regular-season loss in Tomlinson’s senior year.

Still, by getting close, it has helped bolster recruiting. TCU used to get players the Big 12 schools didn’t want, but now is starting to compete for some of the same prep standouts.

Saturday night’s game will be the first sellout at 44,358-seat Amon Carter Stadium, and the biggest home game in 25 years, since 12th-ranked TCU played No. 10 Texas in 1984.

TCU has an 11-game overall winning streak, trailing only Florida (19) and Texas (13), since losing 13-10 last season at Utah, last season’s BCS buster and Mountain West champion. The Utes went on to complete an undefeated season with a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama.

The Frogs have won 12 in a row at home since a 27-20 loss to Utah two years ago.

horns during the 2010-11 season.

“Tristan is a big, athletic forward who can really rebound the basketball and run the floor well,” Barnes said. “He comes from an excellent grass roots AAU program coached

by Ro Russell and has had the opportunity to play for his Canadian National Team as well. We know he’ll also continue to grow and develop this year while at Findlay Prep, both as a person and on the basketball court.”

The 6-foot-9-inch, 240 pound Thompson is ranked as the No. 6

prospect in the nation by Scout.com, No. 11 by ESPNU and No. 17 by Rivals.com. He played for St. Benedict’s Prep Academy in New Jersey, where he averaged 19.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game until February when he transferred to Findlay in Henderson, Nev. to play alongside incoming Texas freshman Avery Bradley.

In five games with the team, Thompson averaged 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds to help the Wolverines finish with a perfect 33-0 record.

— Wes DeVoe

9 CLASS

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University

Thursday, November 12, 2009

veterans: Holiday commemorates heroes past and present From page 1

Cadet Joshua Huey waits to play his trumpet in the South Mall at UT’s ROTC Veterans Day event Wednesday.

Multiple branches of UT’s ROTC stood at attention in tribute to military veterans at the ceremony.

Veterans Day, formally called Armistice Day, falls on the anniversary of the end of hostilities in World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all veterans, not just those from World War I. “It’s underappreciated to a certain extent. I often feel as though many people really don’t understand the concept of the celebration,” said journalism sophomore Ahsika Sanders.

The purpose of Veterans Day is “to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good,” according to the Veteran’s Affairs’ Web site.

“I feel as though veterans are really unappreciated. By having a veteran in my class, it has made me more aware of what they have endured during post-war,” said nutrition junior Jennifer Akaluso.

At the closing of the ceremony, the U.S. flag was lowered from the flagpole and the National Anthem was sung. A representative from each branch helped fold the flag.

“It’s imperative that all Americans know the history of Veterans Day so that we can honor our former service members properly,” Loflin said.

Peyton McGee Daily Texan Staff

Conservation Corps launches area clean-up

NEWS BRIEFLY UT scientist receives millions to fund oceanic research project Peter Thomas, a scientist at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, received $2 million in funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study the effects of low oxygen on fish production. The study will last up to five years.

“People in this world rely on fish, so this situation is an important matter to the population and month 2008 itday, needs to beday, investigated,” Thomas said.

Thomas will work with professors Kenneth Rose and Dubravko Justic from Louisiana State University, Kevin Craig T from ISE Florida State T VERThomas University ADand UDENGrothues T S from Rutgers University.

N R IO !the large OU Iwill ZATstudy TheYscientists N A RGoxygen water called the area ofO low “dead zone” in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The low amount of oxygen in the water could cause declines in environmental and economical information and in the fish population.

“There have been recent models that have predicted [that] this kind of decrease in reproduction can lead to a population decline,” Thomas said.

Thomas found in a previous study that, due to the hypoxic water, the Atlantic croaker suffers from low egg and sperm production during a time of year when they usually increase in numbers.

— Perez James

Students given chance to learn, earn money while beautifying parks

and Recreation Department, Aus- earn money and a great way to tin Energy and Goodwill Indus- advance their education.” tries of Central Texas launched The Corp’s members will the program Wednesday after- be paid from a $250,000 budnoon at Lady Bird Lake Park. get belonging to Goodwill and “The Austin Conservation Austin Energy.

By Perez James Corps gives the city a very inex“This will be a good experience Daily Texan Staff College students now have the pensive way to clean and repair for the members to have chance to 1 opportunity to improve city parks the trails along Lady Bird Lake learn base teamwork skills, workwhile earning money and an ed- and to improve other parks,” said ing with others and the opportuucation through the new Austin Mark White, former Texas gover- nity to have the chance of both nor and board member of ACC’s worlds — education and work,” Conservation Corps.

LASSIFIEDS Austin Community College’s Center for Public Policy and Po- said Chris Jacobi, case manager of Center for Public Policy and Po- litical Studies. “It also gives Goodwill of Central Texas.

Nine members have already litical Studies, the Austin Parks young people a positive way to

signed on for a 12-week commitment. Next spring, the group hopes to have 25 members.

“This program has taught me leadership skills, professionalism and how to better myself as an individual,” said Shilda Calvin, a corps member and ACC student.

This program offers students the chance to learn about work ethic and value, said Linda Young, special assistant to the ACC president. Austin parks need upkeep, and the members are getting the chance to get paid for their work,

Young said.

“These young kids are making a commitment to gain experience at a job and an education,” said Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez.

Corps members will clean and repair trails and parks at Lady Bird Lake during a 12-week period starting next spring.

“This opportunity will be beneficial to students, but it also addresses the issue for the environment and makes more people aware for a better future,” said ACC President Stephen Kinslow.

passed at Wednesday’s dards of larger freedoms, accord- says they cannot consider the soPending resolution wouldatimously Contact Joan 512-232-2229 or ing email joanw@mail.utexas.edu meeting.

It calls for the Univerto the declaration’s preamble. cial or political activities of the cut funds to companies sity of Texas Investment ManMore than 6 percent, or $767 company,” Snyder said. “They’re agement Company to pull Uni- million, of the System’s 2009 profiting off human rights violating human rights versity funds from investments budget is funded by income violations.”

list specific companies in which UTIMCO invests that violate human rights.

“This resolution will allow students and administration and the University to keep UTIMCO accountable,” said Manuel Gonzalez, an education and administration graduate representative. “It’s a starting point to open up dialogue and show that GSA is encouraging UTIMCO [to] take social responsibility.”

The legislation will be forwarded to the members of UTIMCO, the Board of Regents and UT President William Powers.

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could cut investments in controversial practices CLegislation ORKBOARD

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By Viviana Aldous Daily Texan Staff A resolution to encourage “socially responsible” investments could force the UT System to consider a company’s humanrights history before investing in it after the Graduate Student Assembly passed the legislation Wednesday.

The resolution, introduced and fast-tracked for a vote, was unan-

in companies that directly profit from violations of human rights.

Authors of the legislation refer to the United Nations’ definition of human rights, as explained in its 30-article Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Members of the United Nations are expected to uphold the dignity and worth of men and women throughout the world and to promote progress and better stan-

from investments managed by UTIMCO. Ben Snyder, a theater and dance graduate student, is not a representative but suggested in September that the resolution be written. When he first addressed the assembly, he said the company intentionally disregards social or ethical concerns in its investment policy statement.

“They have a policy now that

As recently as 2008, UTIMCO invested in companies that operated in Sudan and possibly helped fund the Darfur genocide. The company’s CEO Bruce Zimmerman said in a letter to the Board of Regents in December 2008 that social and political considerations should not influence investment decisions because the result could have economic costs.

But the legislation does not

CLASSIFIEDS THE DAILY TEXAN

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Life&Arts

Thursday, November 12, 2009

YoGa: Potential students

need no previous training

still isn’t recommended for newcomers to yoga. returning class members.

One to One Yoga has a $5 sugIn addition to Hatha Flow gested donation, and 10 percent a n d f a m i l y y o g a i n s t ru c - of that goes to Kiva.org, a microtion, One to One Yoga offers lending Web site that allows late morning Ashtanga class- benefactors to directly choose es, which, through synchro- who receives their loan. nization of poses and breathThe yoga-by-donation experiing, creates a profuse heat that ence is, overall, a great one, esdetoxifies the body’s organs pecially for those who have had and muscles. little to no yoga training. ShowInstructed by Danielle Sar- ing no sign of fear that they will ris (also an instructor at Esqui- not be paid for the lesson, the na Tango), the Ashtanga class is instructors pay careful attentaught with careful attention to tion to detail, making the classthe structure of the moves. Sar- es parallel with membership ris’ critiques are delicate and yoga studios without breaking helpful, but the Ashtanga class the bank.

From page 12

Courtesy of The United Sates Art Authority

“Lonestar Texas,� a play about small-town Texas life, is one part musical, one part interactive production.

lonestar: Musical score lacks variety

Let’s not forget that this is a musical, and a pretty funny one spunky gal. In this same vein, a at that. The lyrics are often hyspleasant surprise comes from Wil- terical, adding great personal deson (Spencer Driggers), the dopey tails to individual characters. This deputy that seems to serve no real is true especially with the Sheriff, purpose but to annoy Sheriff Rex. who, as we learn through song,

loves to rescue women and then take advantage of them while they are in a vulnerable state.

While the music does a good job of revealing character, it lacks musical complexity. A duet or even more back-up singing would

have added to the experience.

What is most admirable about this production, however, is the fact that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It shows its seams and triumphantly rips them open with sheer abandon.

ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFLY

vocalist category.

Chesney hugged and kissed Swift on the cheek, then whispered a message in her ear before she received the trophy. She called her band on stage and was the center of a group hug as fans cheered wildly, holding signs that said, “We love you, Taylor�; her father cried in the audience. “Every single person in that category let me open up for them this year,� Swift said. “Thank you all so much. I love you.�

Rucker was also a fan favorite, running into the crowd during his performance of “Alright.� The

Hootie and the Blowfish frontman, who has sold 1 million copies of his first country album, “Learn to Live,� became the second AfricanAmerican to win a major individual CMA. He joins Charley Pride, who won entertainer of the year in 1971 and male vocalist in 1971-72. “First of all, to the fans, thank y’all for accepting me,� the jubilant Rucker said. “And I think most importantly, to country radio, you took a chance on a pop singer from Charleston, S.C. Thank you so much for that!� — Chris Talbott

From page 12

Swift makes CMA history, Rucker wins best new artist

Erik Reyna | Daily Texan Staff

Yoga instructor Letti Alvarez demonstrates a postion to attendees of a yoga gathering at Butler Park.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s been Taylor Swift’s year, and Wednesday was her night as she became the youngest person and the first solo female act in a decade to win the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year award.

Swift won all four awards for which she was nominated, making history on a historic night that

included Darius Rucker’s win as new artist. “I’ll never forget this moment because in this moment everything that I have ever wanted has just happened to me,� Swift said through tears as she accepted the association’s highest honor during ceremonies at Sommet Center.

The 19-year-old crossover sensation beat the biggest names in country and snapped Kenny Chesney’s stranglehold on the category: He won three straight and four of the last five. She also ended Carrie Underwood’s three-year dominance in the female

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12 LIFE

Life&Arts

12

Thursday, November 12, 2009

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

T he Daily T exan

PLAY REviEW

Bawdy musical invites audience interaction, jeers

By Javier Sanchez Daily Texan Staff There seems to be a strange fascination with western-themed musicals around town.

Everything is fair game: the boots, the whiskey and the endearing trailer park culture that have come to identify Texas. A few months ago, Rude Mechs performed the offbeat “I’ve Never Been So Happy” to some great response. Taking a more small-town approach, however, is the Vestige Group with its new original musical, “Lonestar, Texas: A Popcorn Throwing Rock Country Musical” at the United States Art Authority.

Lonestar is a small Texas town, but despite its size, the hopes and dreams of its residents are quite varied. Made up primarily of trailer parks and bars, people wander in and out with no apparent purpose in life.

The audience is allowed to hoot and holler at anything they wish and heavy drinking is welcomed; a ticket to the performance gets you a free glass of Lone Star Beer. Theatergoers are also treated to free bags of popcorn, which can be thrown onstage at the actors at any time.

This seemingly inappropriate behavior is relished — the company seems to want you to sink down to its level of trailer park antics.

This musical tells a familiar story of small town discontentment where simple folk dream of bigger things. Local troublemaker Timothy has grown tired of the same old stuff and longs for something more. Similarly, tattooed alterna-girl Darlene has grown weary of her dysfunctional family life.

When Darlene decides to leave home, Tim steals her car in his own efforts to escape. Interestingly enough, he doesn’t know that Darlene is sleeping in the backseat. When he accidentally wrecks the car, he flees the scene with her unconscious body and hides in a hotel room. When news of Darlene’s disappearance spreads, corrupt local sheriff Rex (lyricist Benjamin Wright) steps in to save the damsel in distress.

Right from the start, the production is fun.

The informal nature of the performance creates a different kind of viewing experience where it’s okay for characters to acknowledge the audience. In some ways, the audience can help shape the action onstage, which works in this production’s favor.

There are a lot of fun and interesting performances in “Lonestar.” Chief among them is Jen Brown as loose-cannon waitress Donna. She lends a lot of vitality to what is a smaller role compared to other characters.

Her magnetic, searing eyes are perfect for the

LONESTAR continues on page 11

Derek Stout | Daily Texan Staff

Tatiana Ryckman receives instruction Wednesday night in a yoga class at Esquina Tango Yoga in East Austin.

Yoga classes help stretch body, dollars

By Abby Johnston Daily Texan Staff The meditative discipline of yoga is historically used in Indian countries as a way to facilitate mental and physical wellness, but the tradition has come to the United States with a hefty price tag.

Popularized during the peak of the 1960s counterculture, modern yoga is widely used by Americans frazzled by hectic lifestyles to unwind and fit a bit of physical exercise into busy schedules.

The monthly fees at yoga studios can easily rise to hundreds of dollars, creating a financial stumbling block.

One to One Yoga and Esquina Tango are looking to change that.

These institutions are two of the

many Austin yoga classes that operate by donation. Open to all skill levels, the yoga-by-donation classes are perfect for both those new to the practice and seasoned veterans on a budget.

Esquina Tango is colored more like an East Austin restaurant than a place to recharge and relax.

The bright red building trimmed in yellow and purple is home to the Esquina Tango Cultural Society of Austin, a nonprofit organization designed to facilitate a diverse East Austin community. With an emphasis on Latino culture, the studio offers daily salsa, tango, samba and conversational Spanish classes.

Despite the energetic dance classes Esquina primarily focuses on, the in-

Notable comedian comes to Austin

By Kate Ergenbright Daily Texan Staff “Every once in a while, someone comes along who renews your faith in the art of stand-up comedy,” said Nathan Lane, two-time Tony and Emmy award winner, of 31-year-old comic Mike Birbiglia.

In August, Birbiglia embarked on his third national headlining tour, “Comedy Central Live Starring Mike Birbiglia: I’m in the Future Also.” Friday, he will entertain Austinites at the Paramount Theatre.

Birbiglia has an impressive resume, including numerous contributions to the popular National Public Radio show “This American Life,” three comedy albums, multiple Comedy Central specials, a Drama Desk nomination and an Outer Critics Circle Award for his original off-Broadway one-man show, “Sleepwalk with Me.” Birbiglia, who cites Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor among his influences, realized he wanted to pursue a career in comedy when Mike Birbiglia will bring his unique mix of comedy and storytelling to the Paramount Theatre in Austin on Friday.

Courtesy of Brian Friedman

timate dance studio is the perfect setting for the newest addition to their class repertoire. Four separate yoga classes are offered throughout the week and are open to all skill levels.

But, beginner and restorative yoga classes, designed for those who have had no previous experience, are taught by Lisa Machac on Mondays.

Although Machac has only been a certified yoga instructor since 2008, her years as a dancer and dance teacher give her the patience and eye to gently lead her consistently full classes. Machac’s gentle voice guides participants through Hatha Flow, a matbased sequence that aims to relax the body without much strain.

It is up to the participant to up the intensity of these beginner class-

es. Additional challenges are posed

by Machac for those who feel comfortable, giving returning students a chance to build on the class.

A few mats are provided but disappear quickly, so bringing your own mat or towel is recommended. Suggested donations for the class are $10.

One to One Yoga offers two daily outdoor classes in Butler District Park. Held on the piers overlooking the pond and a lush expanse of green grass, the idyllic park is ideal for stress relief.

Founder and instructor Sonia Weirich has held yoga classes in Bulter Park since its opening in October 2007 and has created a large base of

YOGA continues on page 11

RESTAuRAnT REviEW

Snack Bar

he was 16 years old.

“My brother Joe took me to see Steven Wright, an amazing comedian,” Birbiglia said. “It was one of those, kind of, very lucid mo-

walk with Me” was produced by theatrical heavyweight Lane, who most recently starred in the Broadway revival of “Waiting for Godot.”

“He was generous enough to lend his name to my show,” Birbiglia said of Lane’s involvement with the production. “He ended up introducing me to a lot of people in theater who wouldn’t normally see a show He said if you write like mine.” about yourself, no one In his career, Birbiglia has slowcan steal it from you.” ly made the transition from simply telling jokes in his act to de— Mike Birbiglia veloping a skilled focus on craftcomedian ing comedic stories.

Through his work with The Moth, a nonprofit storytelling organization, NPR’s “This American ments where I was watching him Life”, and his blog, “My Secret Puband thought, ‘Oh, well, that’s what lic Journal,” Birbiglia has honed his storytelling skills.

I gotta do.’”

“I started telling stories here and In his critically acclaimed oneman show, “Sleepwalk with there, and I found that as I told Me,” Birbiglia took audiences more stories, that became what I through his sleepwalking experi- did naturally,” he said.

Birbiglia’s comedic style is canences and touched on his past relationships and family. “Sleep- did and honest, and he has developed a reputation for exposing his personal life experiences through his work.

“I got a piece of advice from my first manager. He said if you write about yourself, no one can steal it from you,” he said.

To prepare for his current tour, Birbiglia spent the summer performing in comedy clubs across the country.

“There were going to be a lot of people, so I wanted to have a lot of material that was ready,” Birbiglia said. “I try to hone a lot of new stuff so when people come to my shows; they know that they’re not going to just hear what they heard on the album.”

I n o rd e r t o p re p a re f o r his performances, Birbiglia takes a less traditional approach to warm-ups and preshow superstitions.

“Sometimes I like to take a nap, if I can,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to convince yourself to take a nap when your about to walk out in front of a thousand people, but if you can, I find that you’re pretty relaxed.”

Eggs benedict with salmon is served at Snack Bar on South Congress.

Snack Bar recently opened its doors to customers in September of this year.

‘‘

Derek Stout Daily Texan Staff

Restaurant mixes flavors, showcases healthy options Snack Bar offers variety of tasty meals to fit any dietary need, appetite

By Layne Lynch Daily Texan Staff Snack Bar on South Congress Avenue serves full meals, not snacks, but the restaurant is surely the place to go to fulfill whatever size appetite.

The restaurant, which opened around ACL Festival weekend, is still in an experimental phase with its hours. Currently open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Snack Bar won’t open for dinner until the day after Thanksgiving.

But, the early hours aren’t something to mind. Their menu seems to fit those in the breakfast, brunch or lunch crowd.

Snack Bar’s design is very chic, yet still vintage. Walking into the restaurant, there is a classic diner bar, reminiscent of something one would see in a small, old town with men drinking black coffee and discussing war sto-

ries. Much of the inside is green, perhaps a symbol of its environmentally conscious standards.

The menu is vast, and reading it is somewhat torturous. Having to choose between items such as salmon with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, shrimp and grits, a BLT or a biscuit smothered in vegan tempeh gravy is indeed very difficult.

I chose to go with the green chile chicken pozole soup ($4) and Andrea’s OMG avocadostuffed veggie bean patty with vinaigrette slaw ($8).

The soup, chunky and full of vegetables and chicken, was very good, but certainly not out of this world. It was very similar to chicken soup with some added spice — nothing extraordinary — but certainly something that works for those who love chicken soup. It was also spicy enough to clear your sinuses with one sip.

The entree Andrea’s OMG veggie bean burger indeed lived up to its name. The patty was thick and full of mouthwater-

ing flavors, with the best part being in its center. Biting into the burger, the loaded avocado middle provided a delicious touch to the dish. Additional toppings available on the burgers include items such as sauteed mushrooms, grilled pineapple, roasted red pepper, jalapeño, bacon and many other items priced at 50 cents each.

The vinaigrette slaw was the perfect crunch to accompany the velvety smoothness of the burger, which was served on a wheat bun with either potato straws, tortilla chips or more vinaigrette slaw.

As stated on their menu, Snack Bar makes every effort to serve dishes that accommodate a variety of dietary needs and adhere to the quality Austinites have come to expect. Many of the items on the menu are prepared vegan, gluten-free and are local and organic.

Snack Bar takes risks in experimenting with so many flavors, textures and varieties of cuisine, but the risk pays off.