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SPORTS PAGE 6
LIFE&ARTS PAGE 10
These boots are made for walking, that’s just what they’ll do
Unranked Longhorns topple No. 13 Illinois LIFE&ARTS PAGE 10
Jay-Z’s life ‘Decoded’ in his autobiography
THE DAILY TEXAN Friday, November 19, 2010
WEEKEND
Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
TOMORROW’S WEATHER
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Resolution urges UT to clarify layoff policy By Collin Eaton Daily Texan Staff Staff Council passed a resolution on Thursday calling for Human Resource Services to provide comprehensive, easy-to-access information about the layoff process in response to repeated complaints of anxiety and confusion. As UT slashes budgets and departments continue to lay off employees, staff feel helpless against
the sea change, council representatives said. The resolution requests that UT’s Human Resource Services provide an online look at the steps departments have to follow to lay off an employee, an outline of benefits they can receive and information about how losing one’s job can influence an employee’s retirement plan. Erika Frahm, chairwoman of the job security ad hoc committee,
said when staff members feel there is information not being made available to them or that they cannot find, confusion can lead to stress and anxiety. Both the layoff process and the job evaluation process can create stress for workers, she said. “We felt that if people understood what information is there, then that would let them be more proactive and they wouldn’t feel
powerless,” Frahm said. Human Resource Services is on board with the resolution and will get started right away, said Julien Carter, associate vice president for the department. “We very much appreciate their advice and viewpoint of things they want to see highlighted on our website, so we’ll make it a priority to implement their suggestions,” Carter said.
‘Pink is my signature color’
Robert Harling’s play about wisecracking southern women in Shreveport, La., makes it back to the stage. A production of “Steel Magnolias” opens at the City Theatre at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $15.
Jhalak
The Indian Cultural Association hosts its signature fall event, “Jhalak: A Glimpse of India.” Starts at 6:30 p.m. at Hogg Auditorium.
SATURDAY Our Iran
The fourth annual Giving Thanks by Giving Back offers Austinites more than 30 community service projects around the city. Learn about the events at serviceaustin.org.
SUNDAY ‘L.G. FUAD’
Motion City Soundtrack performs at Stubb’s. Show starts at 6 p.m. and tickets cost $22.
‘Clumsy Sky’
San Antonio-based Girl in a Coma and the Dresden Dolls perform at La Zona Rosa. Show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $20.
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The job security ad hoc committee aims to pass two more initiatives — one to create a guidebook for employees who get laid off and another to write a set of recommendations for UT President William Powers Jr. in regard to staff management. The committee is working faster than most, trying to get resolutions passed by early spring.
LAYOFFS continues on page 2
Organization seeks to help immigrants earn fair pay
FRIDAY
Service
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To read about Longhorn football, see Double Coverage
The Iranian Students’ Academic and Cultural Associations gives insight into cultural, historical and social aspects of Iran through music and dance. Tickets cost $7 for students and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Texas Union Theatre.
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Photos by Shannon Kintner | Daily Texan Staff
Above, Taylor Winberry rereads the final Harry Potter book while waiting in line for the midnight premiere with boyfriend W. Ryan and Hedwig doll. Below, Political communication freshman Leslie Tisdale draws a Dark Mark, the tattoo of Voldemort’s followers, on her forearm.
HARRY POTTER
spellbinds fans Devotees to fantasy series wait expectantly at midnight showing for penultimate movie, revel in experience of continued journey
T
By Amy Thorton
he lines forming throughout Austin on Thursday afternoon had nothing to do with football games or music festivals. The people standing in line waved wands, shouted words like “expelliarmus” and displayed lightning-bolt scars on their foreheads. Austin joined cities around the world in catching Harry Potter fever, with midnight showings of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” bringing people to sold-out theaters around the city. “It’s a very exciting atmosphere at a midnight showing,” said English senior Madison Gardner as she stood in line at Regal Gateway 16 theater. “During the show, people will clap and cheer, and there is definitely a community feel in the theater that you don’t get during other showings.”
Based on the seventh book in the fictional series written by J.K. Rowling, “Deathly Hallows” was sectioned into two movies to fit all of the material from the 784-page book into the films. With one more film left in the series, fans turned out in force to take part in the Harry Potter experience, standing in line as early as 2 p.m. outside theaters. “Harry Potter is just magical,” Gardner said. “J.K. Rowling has created something that takes things that should be really cliche — like broomsticks, wizard hats and potions — and made them seem new and interesting. The expansive world she created has sucked us all in since the beginning.”
FILM continues on page 2
INSIDE: Read a review of “Deathly Hallows” on page 10
By Yvonne Marquez Daily Texan Staff Editor’s Note: Portions of interviews in this story were translated from Spanish. Felix Jimenez, an immigrant from Vera Cruz, Mexico, worked for an Austin roofing company for one year without receiving any pay. He and his wife, Brenda, sought the help of the Workers Defense Project to negotiate with the company to get earnings. Within a year, Jimenez obtained his wages, and he and his wife began working to help other families. “There are many times that we need to pay rent and pay bills, but there is no money to pay with,” Jimenez said. “It affects us because we can’t sleep without thinking, ‘How are we going to pay so we can live?’” The Workers Defense Project, a local organization that advocates for workers for fair employment, and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church hosted a dinner Thursday to support immigrant families during the holiday season. Wage theft — not being paid the legal minimum wage or being paid less than promised — has increased over the last decade, said Cristina Tzintzun, the director of the Workers Defense Project. She said the cases the organization gets are mostly from construction workers but also come from the restaurant and landscaping industries. Tzintzun said the organization helps recover wages by negotiating with the employers and taking legal and community action to resolve a case. “Our long-term goal is not to get their wages back but give them the tools to advocate for themselves,” Tzintzun said. “We give them training that will increase their earning potential at work, that will give them better jobs. We also work on the weak laws that exist to ensure workers have more tools to better defend themselves.”
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Aerospace department Quote to note launches ‘nanosatellites’ “They used to have to open the windows. It was so cool though because they had these rollout bleachers that would go right up to the court. It was just a wonderful place to watch volleyball.” — Loel Graber 28-year UT volleyball fan SPORTS PAGE 6
By Shivam Purohit Daily Texan Staff The U.S. Air Force will launch two satellites from Alaska this evening constructed by the UT Satellite Design Lab after seven years of development. University graduate and undergraduate students designed the pair of “nanosatellites,” known as FASTRAC, to present more cost-effective hardware solutions to aeronautical agencies such as NASA. The satellites together cost $250,000 in hardware, paid for as part of an Air Force competition. While the Air Force will launch the satellites as one unit on Friday, they will split into two after a few weeks in space. Students will then collect data to study the relationship between the instruments in space by observing how the satel-
lites communicate with one another as they orbit around the earth. The launch of FASTRAC 1 and FASTRAC 2 will occur along with six satellites from other universities and agencies including NASA Ames and the Air Force Academy. Student project manager Sebastian Munoz, an aerospace engineering graduate student, said he has enjoyed watching the project grow from a concept to a functional unit as a FASTRAC member for five years. “It is an incredible experience getting to build something from the ground up and actually launching it in space,” he said. “It has been an extraordinary ride, giving us the opportunity to learn a lot of theories by experimentation.”
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Shannon Kintner | Daily Texan Staff
Sebastian Munoz, Peter Schulte and Philip Barcelon, along with other aerospace engineering students, designed and built two satellites, called FASTRAC, which are set to launch tonight.