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Students aim to raise voter registration After low public turnout, campus groups cooperate for Riverside ‘Blockwalk’ By Viviana Aldous Daily Texan Staff About 35 students delivered more than 5,000 voter registration cards to six apartment complexes near Riverside on Sunday afternoon. Results from the Nov. 3 constitutional amendment election show that only 52 voters, or about 1 percent, of the nearly 5,000 registered voters in the area’s precinct cast their ballots. University Democrats, College Republicans at Texas and the Latino Leadership Council sponsored the Riverside Voter Registration Blockwalk. “While we may be different in terms of aspect and policy on social issues, both of our parties and the Latino Leadership Council believe that we all have this right,” said College Republicans President Mikael Garcia. “Whether or not we end up getting what we want, we want to make sure all voices are heard in our democracy.” Volunteers placed registra-
tion cards on apartment doors of the Town Lake, University Village, University Commons, Longhorn Landing, University Estates and The Ballpark complexes, which together house about 6,000 residents. “For a lot of us, when we think of Riverside, it hits home,” said Cindy Quintanilla, the UT Latino Leadership Council’s co-director of operations. “Students, a lot of times, don’t know or don’t have an interest, but whatever side or whatever political ideology you have, voting gives you a voice.” Rene Zamora, a mechanical engineering senior and University Commons resident, said he is not registered to vote but that what the volunteers did will encourage him to register. “I’ve been so busy with school, and I haven’t done anything but school,” Zamora said. “But accessibility [to registration information] is definitely really important, so now with [the voter registration card], I’ll register.” In the past, University Democrats has focused on registering students living on campus
VOTING continues on page 2
Caleb Bryant Miller | Daily Texan Staff
Government junior Thaddeus Woody and communication studies senior Melessa Rodriguez distribute voter registration packets at University Village apartments Sunday.
Joey Castillo | Daily Texan file photo
Astronomers did a pilot run last week for a three-year survey of more than one million galaxies with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. The project will probe the mysteries of dark energy.
Desert sky may yield answers By Hudson Lockett Daily Texan Staff Far above the desert landscape of West Texas, the Milky Way dominated the night sky. Six astronomers huddled around a cluster of glowing monitors, wrapping up a six-day test run for a $34 million experiment that will keep the McDonald Observatory’s largest telescope busy for three years, probing the mysteries of dark energy. “There’s a lot riding on this,” said principal investigator Gary Hill early Sunday morning. The final version of the Hobby-EberON THE WEB: ly Telescope Dark Check out video Energy Experiment will measure the effor this story @dailytexanon- fect of dark energy on the universe by line.com surveying 100 million galaxies, making the largest-ever map of the universe in the process. Other projects have searched for dark energy in the more recent past, but UT researchers using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope are the only ones examining the more distant past for data on the phenomenon that is pushing the uni-
Hudson Lockett | Daily Texan Staff
The telescopes of the McDonald Observatory are perched high in the hills of West Texas to avoid the light pollution of urban areas. verse apart at an accelerating rate. “It easily is one of the biggest mysteries of all time in science,” said UT astronomy professor Karl Gebhardt, one of the principal investigators working on the project. Dark energy is a catchall term for the force speeding up the expansion of the
Church gives thanks with all faiths hosted the celebration in 1996. By Rachel Platis “Sometimes it’s scary to be in a Daily Texan Staff A Thanksgiving service at the Baptist church, isn’t it?” he said. First Baptist Church of Austin on “But many of our churches are hallSunday evening brought togeth- marks of religious liberty. We are er hundreds of worshippers of all thankful for the freedom to worship cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds our creator, regardless of the creed.” The theme of this year’s celand religions. Attendees of the 25th annual In- ebration was “courage,” for the terfaith Thanksgiving Celebration courage that it takes to enter relapacked every pew of the church tionships with one another, stand wearing traditional garments and with those who are different and head coverings of every shape and simply raise our voices together in thanks and color. The service praise, said Tom generally draws Spencer, the chief 800 to 1,000 atofficer tendees, said DerThanksgiving has no executive of AAIM. ek Hansen, the religious affiliation, Though the spokesman for theme was not Austin Area Inand gratitude is c h o s e n i n re terreligious Minsomething that we sponse to recent istries, or AAIM, can all agree on.” events, courage is which puts on the a value that is esevent. — Derek Hansen pecially impor“Thanksgiving has no religious AAIM spokesman tant in light of the Fort Hood trageaffiliation, and dy, Spencer said. gratitude is some“The fog that thing that we can all agree on,” Hansen said. “Things lifted from this Sunday morndivide us, but a grateful heart is ing didn’t lift the resentment, anger and fear placed upon many central to every faith tradition.” A Call to Worship opened the hearts in Central Texas,” Spencer service and silenced the chatter of said. “The incident at Fort Hood the church with an Islamic chant reminds us how important our by Ali Akbar Merrikh. Merrikh’s work at AAIM is. Building relavoice was joined by the sound of a tionships with one another can be Jewish shofar, Christian bells and our salvation.” Rachel Taylor | Daily Texan Staff Religions represented in the African drums. Rev. Roger Paynter of First ceremony included Judaism, Saman and Shafia Akhlaque get a plate of food at the potluck dinBaptist had been pastor for only ner at the First Baptist Church of Austin on Sunday. The dinner folCHURCH continues on page 2 a week when the church last lowed the Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration.
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universe against scientists’ expectations that its growth would be slowing now, Gebhardt said. “It may not be dark; it may not be energy,” Gebhardt said. “All it is, is just that our universe is expanding much
EXPERIMENT continues on page 2
Engineering field still lacks female students By Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Daily Texan Staff Statistics released by the National Science Foundation show a gradual increase in engineering degrees awarded from 1998 to 2008, but women still remain underrepresented. About 22 percent of UT engineering undergraduates are women, the same amount of women who go on to graduate, said Tricia Berry, the director of the UT Women in Engineering Program. Many of the students pursue graduate school afterward, she added. The national average proportion of women awarded a bachelor’s degree in engineering hovers around 20 percent, the same since 2000, according to the National Science Foundation. Although the UT average of women is higher than the national average, the University also has not seen any significant increases in women enrolling in the engineering program, Berry said. “You have to get them while they’re in high school — middle school, even — to take those math and science courses and stick with it all the way through,” Berry said. Undeclared engineering freshman Tara Boggaram said teachers encouraged her to take
up engineering when she was in high school. “Once I applied, I was presented with all these scholarships and organizations I could join,” Boggaram said. “But it wasn’t until I applied did I find out about all these opportunities.” Boggaram said although she knows a fair share of female engineering students, the class ratios can sometimes be severe. In her programming class, four out of 36 students are female, she said. To recruit prospective students while they are still in high school, the Women in Engineering Program holds summer camps, targets people through Facebook and invites students to participate in engineering programs on campus, Berry said. The program also educates students on how a graduate school education is necessary for more work opportunities. To go into academia or research, a student would need an advanced degree, Berry said, which also helps students who want to become certified specialists in their field of study. “The mindset about the engineering field is changing,” Berry said. “Engineers have to think globally, be multidisciplinary and collaborate with other people to find a solution. Women can excel at those things.”
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Monday, November 23, 2009
‘The Eyes of Texas are upon you’
The Daily Texan Volume 110, Number 119 25 cents
CONTACT US Main Telephone: (512) 471-4591 Editor: Jillian Sheridan (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com Managing Editor: Stephen Keller (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com
encouraged to take part, regardless of political view From page 1
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Texas head coach Mack Brown participates in the 2008 Texas A&M Hex Rally. The annual tradition started in 1941, when UT won its first game in nine years against the Aggies after taking the advice of a local fortune teller.
The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@dailytexanonline.com.
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Longhorn fans, players unite to hex A&M football team in 68th annual tradition While most students at UT are confident in the football team’s ability to close out the regular season with a win, it certainly doesn’t hurt to put a curse on their final Big 12 opponent just to be safe. The Texas Exes Student Chapter is sponsoring
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the annual Texas A&M Hex Rally on the Main Mall. The event will take place at 8 p.m. The rally will feature appearances from Longhorn football coaches and players. There will also be performances by the Longhorn Band, Texas Cheer and Pom, Redefined Dance Co. and other campus groups. In keeping with a tradition proposed by local fortune teller Madame Augusta Hipple in 1941,
red candles will be lit to put a “hex” on the Aggies. Hipple told UT students that if they burned the candles, they would prevail in that weekend’s football game. Her prophecy was correct, as the Longhorns won 23-0 against the Aggies for their first victory in College Station in nine years. The Longhorns will play the Aggies in College Station on Thanksgiving Day at 7 p.m. — Jim Pagels
CHURCH: Attendees celebrate
Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Baha’i and Buddhism, among others. Dancers wearing purple robes from Unity Church of the Hills led the procession of clergy from various religious groups down the aisle and into the first pews of the church. The Children’s Choir of Congregation Beth Israel taught the congregation the words and movements to “Gesher Tzr M’od,” or “The Whole World is a Very Narrow Bridge.” The children spoke to the group and said that the most important thing was to never be afraid. A group of children from Sikh temple Singh Sabha Gurdwara of Austin sang and played instruments to “Soora so pehichaanee-
The Daily Texan Permanent Staff
This newspaper was written, edited and designed with pride by The Daily Texan and Texas Student Media.
Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jillian Sheridan Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stephen Keller Associate Managing Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David R. Henry, Ana McKenzie Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jeremy Burchard, Dan Treadway, David Muto, Lauren Winchester News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sean Beherec Associate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pierre Bertrand, Austen Sofhauser, Blair Watler Senior Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viviana Aldous, Bobby Longoria, Rachel Platis, Lena Price Enterprise Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Kreighbaum Enterprise Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hudson Lockett Copy Desk Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Robert Green Associate Copy Desk Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cristina Herrera, Nausheen Jivani, Matt Jones Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Thu Vo Assistant Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Shatha Hussein Senior Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taylor Fausak, Lynda Gonzales, Olivia Hinton Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May-Ying Lam Associate Photo Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bryant Haertlein, Peter Franklin, Caleb Miller Senior Photographers . . . . Lauren Gerson, Mary Kang,Tamir Kalifa, Peyton McGee, Sara Young Life&Arts Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leigh Patterson Associate Life&Arts Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brad Barry, Francisco Marin Jr. Senior Features Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Audrey Gale Campbell, Lisa HoLung, Ben Wermund Senior Entertainment Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Doty, Mary Lingwall, Robert Rich Senior DT Weekend Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amber Genuske Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Austin Talbert Senior Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Will Anderson, Wes DeVoe, Blake Hurtik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Hurwitz, Laken Litman, Michael Sherfield, Chris Tavarez Comics Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carolyn Calabrese Web Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annika Erdman Associate Web Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erik Reyna Multimedia Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Juan Elizondo Associate Multimedia Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kara McKenzie, Rachel Schroeder Editorial Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Richard Finnell
ai.” Other representatives from religious faiths led songs and chants throughout the service. After the service, attendees were welcomed to join in the Thanksgiving celebration, in which hundreds of potluck dishes were offered while people of different faiths made personal connections and learned more about one another’s traditions and faiths. Hansen said that the event captures a lot of what Austin and its diverse community encompasses. “If you’re at UT, you’re aware of the great international crowd and diverse people,” Hansen said. “Austin itself also attracts people from all over the world.” He said that on the most basic level, most attendees walk away with the feeling that they’ve witnessed something unfamiliar while witnessing something on a common ground. “It’s walking away with a feeling of goodness and positive energy,” he said. “It’s the realization that you’ve learned and grasped something and maybe found a different perspective.” Carolyn Cockrell made the trip from East Austin to the celebration despite suffering from a painful nerve injury. It was her first time to attend the service, and she said she had no idea what to expect or what to wear. “This was totally different from any other Thanksgiving service, but it was so beautiful,” Cockrell said. “The voices that rose together were so heavenly. Maybe when we all learn from and understand one another, we can get along just a little bit better.”
DJ Gibb spins records at PRINT+ addiction “Shut Up and Print” T-shirt party at industry Screenprint on Friday night.
Shelley Neuman Daily Texan Staff
ExpERimEnT: Research will study older
galaxies to solve dark energy mystery From page 1 faster than we think, and we can’t explain it.” In 1998, two research groups, including researchers in Chile and the United States, confirmed the phenomenon. Since then, scientists have been on a race to find the source of the expansion. The UT experiment was conceived about six years ago during a hallway conversation between Gebhardt and Hill. The idea was to use the Hobby-Eberly telescope to gather information on one million galaxies over the course of three years
Issue Staff
Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jim Pagels, Priscilla Pelli, Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Shelley Neuman, Kari Rosenfeld, Rachel Taylor Sports Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shabab Siddiqui Life&Arts Writer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kaherine Kloc, Layne Lynch Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabriella Fontes, Ashely Morgan, Carolyn Webb Sports/Life&Arts Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Molly Nesbitt Wire Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Micaela Neumann Page Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amanda Hicks, Stacey Long Columnists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roberto Cervantes, Emily Grubert Editorial Cartoonist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Murphy Comics Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gabe Alvarez, Alex Diamond, Emery Ferguson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sammy Martinez, Nam Nguyen, Connor Shea, Rachel Weiss, Ryohei Yatsu Web Technician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Timmy Huynh Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Bowman, Amelia Giller, Miles Luna, Katie Smith, Monica Tseng
Advertising
Director of Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jalah Goette Retail Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brad Corbett Account Executive/Broadcast Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carter Goss Campus/National Sales Consultant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joan Bowerman Assistant to Advertising Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C.J. Salgado Student Advertising Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathryn Abbas Student Advertising Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Ford Acct. Execs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lauren Aldana, Anupama Kulkarni, Ashley Walker, Natasha Moonka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taylor Blair, Tommy Daniels, Jordan Gentry, Meagan Gribbin, 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. News contributions will be accepted by telephone (471-4591) or at the editorial office (Texas Student Media Building 2.122). For local and national display advertising, call 471-1865. For classified display and national classified display advertising, call 471-1865. For classified word advertising, call 471-5244. Entire contents copyright 2009 Texas Student Media.
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or in West Campus, said Anna Crockett, a co-chairwoman of the organization’s voter registration committee. “We want to make sure we hit all the students,” Crockett said. “It’s important that everyone’s registered, because students’ voices are usually not heard.” Of the nearly 1 million Travis County residents, 581,585 are registered to vote. The apartment complexes’ precinct has 4,669 registered voters. “I think there’s so much apathy because it’s not well-publicized how to register and how to vote,” said government freshman Caren Garcia. “We just want to facilitate that process.” Members of all three organizations emphasized the importance of the effort’s nonpartisanship. “Obviously on Riverside, the politics lean a little more Democratic than Republican, but as a club and as American citizens, we believe that everybody should be eligible to vote,” Garcia said. “We just don’t want people to be apathetic, and that runs across all party lines.”
‘go dj, that’s my dj’
diversity through song, food From page 1
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by using an array of 150-200 spectrographs — depending on how much funding the project receives — which lets astronomers analyze the light gathered. The galaxies are 9-11 billion light-years away, meaning the observations will be from a time in the universe when galaxies were forming.
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You build one very simple thing, and you turn it into an assembly line.”
— Karl Gebhardt UT astronomy professor
All other experiments on dark energy will look at the more recent past, when scientists believe that dark energy began exerting a significant influence on the universe. So, the UT project is going against the scientific mainstream. “We took a lot of flak for that early on,” Gebhardt said. Now, Hill said, many are looking at the experiment as a cornerstone for interpreting their own data from the recent past. “You can’t tell anything about evolution from those observations,” Hill said. The survey is set to be finished by 2013, before any other dark energy experiments. “We really are kicking ass right now in terms of where we think we are compared to our competition,” Gebhardt said. Spectrographs are typically used one at a time and on one object at a time. Texas A&M University will mass produce the
instruments to be used on the final experiment, an approach which has never been used before with spectrographs. “This is the Henry Ford way of doing astronomy,” Gebhardt said. “You build one very simple thing, and you turn it into an assembly line.” Hill said the six-day run, using one of the eventual 150-odd spectrographs on the main telescope, was a sort of pilot run for the final experiment. Hill and Gebhardt will face pressure to get results, as the project will monopolize the telescope for the next three years. Typically, astronomers from around the world send in proposals for observations they need from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope for things like the density of supermassive black holes or the location of planets orbiting distant suns. While the experiment will take up a three-year window, it will also leave the facility with an improved telescope. “This is going to be one of the most powerful telescopes in the world after we’re done with it,” Gebhardt said. Guillermo Blanc, a UT astronomy graduate student working on the project, said the experiment would also gather data that wouldn’t necessarily go toward unraveling the mysteries of dark energy but would be immensely helpful to other scientists. There is potential for looking at nearprimordial stars and dissecting nearby galaxies to better understand their inner workings. “There’s a lot of discovery space in [this experiment],” Blanc said. “There’s a lot of room for studying objects that people aren’t really working for.”
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Monday, November 23, 2009
T he Daily Texan
Lethal injection creator approves one drug in Ohio
Ben Curtis | Associated Press
Egyptian soccer fans burn an Algerian flag in the street following overnight violence between fans and riot-police, as fans tried to approach the Algerian embassy in Cairo, Egypt on Friday. The Egyptian president’s elder son called for a tough stand amid an escalating diplomatic row following the loss to Algeria in a World Cup qualification playoff.
Egypt’s soccer fans turn violent By Jason Keyser The Associated Press CAIRO — Angry soccer fans rampaged through a posh diplomatic neighborhood in Cairo over the weekend, smashing shop windows and shouting obscenities in a frenzy fed by venomous headlines that portrayed Algerians as barbaric terrorists with a history of violence. Egyptians were infuriated by media reports alleging their fans were brutalized by their Algerian rivals after Algeria won a playoff match Wednesday in Khartoum, Sudan, to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Egypt’s government — often bemoaned by its people as repressive and indifferent to their suffering under searing poverty — appears to have seized on the furor to demonstrate some uni-
ty with its citizens. Instead of the usual crackdown on demonstrations, authorities allowed crowds to surge into the streets near the Algerian Embassy and vent their anger in riots overnight between Thursday and Friday. While the two teams play each other periodically, the stakes for this match were much higher with entrance to the World Cup on the line. The troubles began when crowds in Cairo hurled stones at the Algerian team’s bus before a first match here on Nov. 14, injuring three players. Egypt won 2-0, forcing the playoff. And in the following days, mobs in Algeria ransacked the offices of Egyptian companies. After the second match in Khartoum, Egyptian newspapers unleashed stirring headlines about Egyptian fans be-
ing attacked by machete-wielding crowds — allegations never confirmed. Sudanese police said there were only a handful of light injuries. “Barbaric attacks on Egyptian fans in Khartoum,” read one headline in the Egyptian daily AlMasry Al-Youm. “Algerians chase Egyptian fans with knives and machetes,” said another. “Algeria: a legacy of blood, hatred and a history of violence” read another headline in an apparent reference to the civil war between Islamic extremists and Algerian government forces that killed up to 200,000 people in the 1990s. One Egyptian TV program invited viewers to express an opinion about whether Algeria might even be in league with Israel. Some Egyptians even
claimed Algerians are not real Arabs or Muslims. One of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s sons, a businessman who rarely speaks in public, took the unusual step of phoning in to a television talk show and delivering a 40-minute rant. Alaa Mubarak, who attended the match in Khartoum, called on Egypt to respond to the Algerians’ “terror, hostility.” “It is impossible that we as Egyptians take this. We have to stand up and say, ‘Enough,’” he said. “When you insult my dignity ... I will beat you on the head.” The Egyptian-Algerian soccer rivalry — and the violence that goes with it — dates back decades. And commentators had predicted trouble days before the first of their two matches.
By Andrew Welsh-Huggins The Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio — The man considered the father of lethal injection in the United States said it doesn’t matter whether three fatal drugs are used or one — as his home state of Ohio has proposed — as long as the drug works efficiently. Dr. Jay Chapman, who developed the lethal three-drug cocktail in the 1970s when he was the Oklahoma state medical examiner, said Ohio’s decision to become the first state in the nation to use only one drug achieves that goal. He said there was no particular reason he didn’t propose a single drug, other than a concern that it might take a little longer to work. His three-drug method became widespread after states copied Oklahoma. Now Chapman, semiretired in California at age 70, said he believes the system he helped create shows condemned inmates too much mercy. “Their death is made much too easy by this sort of protocol for the crimes that they committed,” he told The Associated Press last week. But he said the hope was injection would avoid the pain-and-suffering arguments and allow executions to take place. Under Ohio’s new system, executioners would use a single large dose of thiopental sodium, an anesthetic, to put inmates to death, similar to the way veterinarians euthanize animals.
The one-drug system has never been used on condemned inmates in the United States. State officials proposed the change after state executioners tried unsuccessfully Sept. 15 to find a usable vein for condemned killer Romell Broom. Broom, who raped and killed a 14-year-old girl in 1984 in Cleveland, is challenging the state’s right to try a second time. The new protocol would provide a backup method using two drugs injected into a muscle if no usable vein can be found, as happened with Broom. The current system uses one drug that puts inmates to sleep, a second that paralyzes them and a third that stops their heart. Death penalty opponents have long argued that the three drugs could cause offenders severe pain if the first drug didn’t adequately knock out an inmate. Capital punishment entered Chapman’s life early. A childhood friend, Chester Gregg, was executed for killing his wife in July 1952. Chapman, who grew up in the southwest Ohio town of Blanchester, and his mother stayed up with Gregg’s mother the night of the execution. He said the event had no bearing on his later work. “It’s a totally separate thing,” Chapman said. “It’s just an experience I had along the way.” Ohio hopes to have its new system in place in time for a possible execution Dec. 8.
Mumbai still vulnerable one year after terror attack A Jewish man stands behind a candle during a multi-faith candlelight vigil to commemorate last year’s terror attacks at Nariman House in Mumbai, India on Tuesday.
Rafiq Maqbool Associated Press
By Erika Kinetz The Associated Press MUMBAI, India — The walls that the rockets blew out have not been repaired, and the plaster is a dense scattershot of bullet holes. Dozens of holes, blasted by grenades, pockmark the linoleum floors. One year after the terror attack that left 166 people dead, the Chabad House — a oncepopular site with Jewish travelers where six foreigners were killed — remains scarred, still and quiet. In part, that silence is a symptom of how much remains unchanged since 10 militants with assault rifles fanned out across Mumbai last Nov. 26, attacking hotels, a train station and other targets, paralyzing India’s financial capital and shocking the country.
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While Mumbai’s large hotels and important business centers have paid richly to improve their own security, many worry that the city as a whole remains vulnerable to another assault from Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistanbased group blamed for the attack, or other assailants. While India is trying the lone surviving gunman, Ajmal Kasab, Lashkar-e-Taiba’s leaders remain free in Pakistan. “Nothing has changed to alter the vulnerabilities of Mumbai,” said Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi. “The only institutions that can protect against terrorism are state institutions. They are failing to do so. As a result private institutions are being forced to spend large amounts of money on largely ineffective security.”
Ben Margot | Associated Press
In this May 8, 2007 file photo, Dr. Jay Chapman, the man considered the father of lethal injection in the United States, holds a human skull from Nepal that has been hand decorated with silver at his home in Napa, Calif.
OPINION
4 Monday, November 23, 2009
T HE DAILY TEXAN
Prioritize, reorganize
GALLERY HORNS UP, HORNS DOWN Horns down: Unjustifiable bonuses In February, Robert Rowling, then-chairman of the University of Texas Investment Management Co., abruptly resigned after facing intense criticism for awarding $3 million in bonuses amid a 27 percent budget shortfall. He was replaced by the current UTIMCO chairman Erle Nye, but the change of leadership was in name only. On Friday, the UTIMCO board approved $3.4 million in bonuses for investment managers, despite a loss of $4.4 billion in endowment funds. Nye justified the bonuses by saying that UTIMCO managed the money well, considering the economic circumstances. UTIMCO CEO Bruce Zimmerman — who is set to receive a bonus of more than half a million dollars — added that if the money had been invested in benchmark indexes, the endowment would have dropped an additional $229 million, according to the Austin American-Statesman. It’s true that compared to the endowments of other universities, UT’s losses aren’t terrible, but that in itself does not justify the extravagant bonuses. Losing billions cannot justify taking millions. Awarding millions of dollars in performance bonuses while the market is tanking sends a clear message that the regents are strikingly out of touch and overpaid.
By Emily Grubert Daily Texan Columnist
Bipartisanship can hinder progress
Horns up: Voting against politics University of Nebraska system regents effectively endorsed stem-cell research by voting to observe the Obama administration’s repeal of limits to the research set by George W. Bush’s administration eight years ago. The regents voted 4-4 on a proposal that would make the university follow the old administration’s restrictions. Because it failed to garner more than 50 percent of the vote, the proposal failed, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The rejection of the proposal comes despite heavy lobbying by religious groups, which argue that embryonic stem cells represent human life. But scientists and researchers have long lauded research conducted using these and other types of stem cells as the path to curing dozens of deadly diseases such as cancer and diabetes. The University of Nebraska’s Board of Regents took a big step toward keeping unnecessary social politics out of higher education. And considering that the University of Nebraska Medical Center conducts around $30 million of research on embryonic stem cells per year, the vote to reject the proposal enhanced the center ’s ability to move forward with its work. Nebraska regents managed to look beyond the pressures of regional politics. Decisions like these, however narrow in passing, point towards advancements in embracing higher education as an American institution that should be devoid of the compulsions that all-too-often hinder true progress.
Horns down: A mediocre commencement speaker Last week, the University announced that the May commencement speaker will be actress Marcia Gay Harden. Harden was the first UT alum to be awarded an Oscar (for best supporting actress in “Pollock”) and recently received a Tony for best actress in “God of Carnage.” Harden is a renowned artist who has succeeded to the fullest in her area of expertise, but she is not the most inspiring role model for UT graduates. It is disappointing, particularly since another UT alum in the movie business, Robert Rodriguez, delivered a less-than-inspiring commencement address last year, that UT chose an unrelatable speaker from a small major and even smaller business. While UT should be proud of Harden’s accomplishments, UT students might have benefited more from words of wisdom delivered by a more prominent alum actively involved in the business of improving the world outside of entertainment. Last year, Arizona State was one of four universities where President Barack Obama delivered the address. First lady Michelle Obama was the speaker at the University of California, Merced. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton spoke at New York University. Former president Bill Clinton spoke at Florida A&M. Then-president George Bush spoke at Texas A&M’s fall commencement, and Oprah Winfrey gave Duke’s commencement address. While UT’s inclination to pick speakers with ties to the University is understandable, the value of the wisdom that person can pass on should be the most important factor considered. As one of the largest and more prestigious institutions in the nation, UT should aim to attract more prominent figures, like Supreme Court justices, global leaders and presidents.
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By Roberto Cervantes Daily Texan Columnist
If there were ever doubts about the negative effects of established factions in American politics, the current state of the country’s two major political parties should be front-and-center. In the year since the 2008 election, health care reform has evolved (or devolved) from idealistic campaign platitudes to fingernail-biting negotiations of archaic Senate procedures. While such a painfully cathartic process is common once we detach ourselves from the exaggerations of campaigns, we have, so far, witnessed a damning indictment of the Republican and Democratic parties in their current forms. Many Republicans, after being booted out of Washington last November, have retreated to their conservative think tanks and consulting firms in hopes of mounting a GOP comeback in 2010 and 2012. Those who were lucky enough to survive the Democratic sweep have since decided to play the time-honored role of the loyal opposition with the least amount of tact and realism — not to mention long-term success — of any political party in recent memory. When a party loses its grasp on the levers of power in Washington, it’s a clear sign that the elusive independent voters have left them, making them turn inward. The immediate reaction, then, is to go back to the people they know will always be there — their base of contributors and canvassers, block-walkers and telephone call-makers. For the GOP, nationally at least, this means forgetting about the hemorrhaging of independent and moderate voters in their ranks and attempting to remind those who make up Sarah Palin’s “real America” that the Republican Party belongs to them. This creates a terribly narrow, rigid and self-destructive party. As much as Democrats throw the “Party of No” label at Republicans, GOP leadership in Congress has often confused opposition with obstruction. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the Senate, said last week that every Republican would vote against cloture on the Senate health care bill Democrats unveiled last Thursday because it could not be amended in any way that would produce a positive result. In other words, anything and everything is failure. The political axiom that elections have consequences holds true. But for Democrats, the 2008 election has had less-than-positive consequences so far. As the theory goes, since Democrats
carried Congress and the White House last November, the national agenda is in their hands. The issues they deem most important are what dominate the news cycles and our conversations. The president chose health care, and Congressional Democrats, at least according to custom, are supposed to be right behind his efforts, doing the behind-the-scenes work that goes into making law. This is not the case. As Americans, we like to tell ourselves that we value inclusive and bipartisan approaches to solving the nation’s problems. However, one party must win a majority. Grabbing that threshold isn’t easy for a party that has to reconcile its base’s demands with those of independents. What ends up happening is that the party tells its base that the only way they can win a majority — and thus make the change the base wants to see — is to recruit others who may not share much in common with the base. Often, the base complies, knowing that little is possible without a majority. But when the party grabs a majority on Election Day, it begins to realize that it has been so changed to accommodate for a majority that it may not at all resemble what it started out as. When the House passed its own version of health care reform earlier this month, it was with five votes to spare. That margin does not necessarily smack of a mandate-worthy majority to most Americans. Had an outside observer seen what was happening on the House floor the Saturday night the vote was taken, they could easily assume Americans had failed to give any party a terribly strong majority in the last election cycle. The cause of such a narrow margin was an amendment offered by a conservative Michigan Democrat concerning abortion and federal funds. Now, as everyone focuses on the Senate’s attempt at passage, the lingering doubt is that when it comes time for both chambers to settle on a single bill, the conservative Democrats who supported inclusion of the abortion language and thus pushed the entire bill over the top will bolt from negotiations if their amendment is stripped. In the pursuit of a majority, what was once the people’s mandate for change can easily become an ambiguous wish list. The merits of running a government on the principles of bipartisanship are obvious and numerous. The argument with the most merit will rise to the top if an open and public debate is allowed among informed citizens. But our national obsession with bipartisanship and fractured government is not always a formula for success — or progress at all, for that matter. Cervantes is a government and journalism junior.
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The heartbreaking, even brutal truth of the matter is that we’re all working within a world of limited resources. As Thanksgiving comes calling, it’s particularly clear to me how many of the assumptions we make as Americans are truly spectacular. At the same time, it’s vitally important to question whether those assumptions, which are founded on choices, enable American equity and well-being. Notably, there are some things that we spend a lot of money on as a country that maybe don’t deserve the status of unquestionable assumption — the first being that we have the right to live wherever we want; the second, that we can demand extremely high-quality standards for water and power. While I worked in West Virginia over the summer, I was struck by the uncomfortable reality that government services to isolated areas are extremely expensive. A major problem that we frequently saw was contamination of water by untreated sewage. West Virginia hosts a lot of feeder streams that provide big rivers with their flow, so upstream contamination issues can affect huge numbers of people using the water downstream. Despite this problem, the isolated nature of many communities — even individual houses — makes sewage treatment incredibly expensive, sometimes exceeding the value of the residence. So, open pipes are not uncommon. Open pipes are pretty much what they sound like — metal pipes that discharge untreated sewage directly into a stream. Again, it’s an uncomfortable question, but does an individual have the right to live in an isolated area if he or she is unable to pay for services necessary to protect society? Even in highly urban areas, the question of where we have the right to live is a powerful one. New Orleans provides a long-resonating example of a city whose long-term habitability is questionable, and permit requests for subdivisions in California have been denied on the basis of unavailable water supplies. Is it fair to shut people out? Perhaps not, but if they refuse unpalatable solutions to major problems, like very high water prices, water capture or wastewater recycling, do we have any other choice? Is it fair for federal taxpayers to subsidize those who choose to live in marginal regions, yet refuse to accept potential fixes? With respect to water and power quality, too, we have chosen a set of inviolable rules that may not actually reflect citizen preferences and definitely lead to funding distortions. Millions of dollars are spent each year on trying to get the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate every potentially toxic or hazardous chemical that could enter groundwater systems. On its face, keeping potentially dangerous contaminants out of water supplies seems to be a good goal. In its enaction, the EPA is forced to spend huge amounts of effort and money on controlling a very small number of contaminants with a relatively tiny net impact on society. It cannot possibly keep up with its workload, and the chemicals the agency controls tend to be the most visible, not the most dangerous. The availability of electricity is something we take for granted in a way much of the world cannot. Many countries live in a world where access to electricity means one might be able to get enough to power a few appliances for a few hours each day. In the United States, the grid operates with the goal of providing three to four 9’s of power: 99.9 percent to 99.99 percent reliability. While telecommunications or computer network-based industries may require even up to five 9’s — 99.999 percent reliability, or five minutes of unplanned outages each year — it is unclear whether consumers would demand such high reliability at certain cost levels. In order to save the cost of turning on a power plant for an hour or two to supply peak demand, many customers would probably be willing to accept a few minutes of power outage. Perhaps not, but the point is that we never ask, and therefore we’ve made it an unassailable conclusion that customers demand power reliability, regardless of cost. Given the limited resources we have to devote to a large number of major problems, it’s important to ensure that costly efforts that we prioritize actually do represent the best interest of Americans. Is allowing people the freedom to choose their residences and expect government services more important than ensuring that concentrated populations have access to good schools? Is demanding careful review of a few chemicals with long names more important than keeping mine waste out of the water supply? Is promising industrial-grade power reliability more important than enabling easy integration of renewables into the power system? But resource distribution is an incredibly difficult task. Despite the problems we have in the United States, be thankful we have a reasonably functional system to question. Grubert is an energy and earth resources graduate student.
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Monday, November 23, 2009
Human rights rally urges Senate to protect children Groups seek commitment to equal child liberties, ratification of rights bill By Bobby Longoria Daily Texan Staff Advocacy groups, parents and children gathered at the Texas Capitol on Saturday and yelled “Change we need now!” in an effort to persuade Senate members and President Barack Obama to ratify a United Nations resolution on child rights. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was proposed Nov. 20, 1989. Since then, 193 member countries have ratified the convention, according to the U.N. Treaty Collection Web site. Somalia announced Friday that it intends to become a party to the convention, leaving the United States as the sole U.N. member who has not ratified the convention. “The children are the most innocent and most helpless in this equation,” said Jay Johnson-Castro, founder of Border Ambassadors. “We should be protecting them as much as we would protect adults.” Border Ambassadors advocates for the coexistence of Mexican and American cultures and a cohesive interchange between the two nations. It also supports for minority rights and fights against the establishment of a border wall. Johnson-Castro said his group first fought for ratification of the convention in 2006 while advocating against the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor,
which held undocumented immigrant children in cells while they waited for their court proceedings. Border Ambassadors has organized demonstrations with more than 300 organizations across the nation since then, Castro said, to build public support for the U.N. convention. “We will no longer tolerate if the children of the United States do not have rights — human rights,” said Rosa Rosales, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. “The basic needs of any society is having free human beings.” According to the convention, every child “should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.” In order to guarantee such an environment, there must be “international cooperation for improving the living conditions of children in every county, in particular in developing countries.” A May bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is currently in committee, introduced several human rights issues, including Senate ratification of the Kari Rosenfeld | Daily Texan Staff convention. Advocacy groups stressed Saturday that Senate Rosa Rosales, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, and Jay Johnson-Castro, founder of the Border Ambassadors, march ratification is only dependent through downtown to rally attention to a U.N. resolution on child rights that the U.S. has not ratified. The resolution was proposed in 1989 and has on 67 votes and ultimately the been ratified by every other country in the U.N. president’s approval. The convention seeks to save Carlos De León, the spokesman Bruno. He said ratification will re- for the children — give them a The groups delivered a petition Friday to the Austin offices children from torture, abduction and Web master for the Mexican- quire a continued unified effort by bigger voice,” De León said. “We of Texas Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchi- and sexual exploitation, among American advocacy group Brown the public and advocacy groups, have a moral obligation to uphold son and John Cornyn, and Rep. many other dangers. It address- Berets, went to the rally with pushing the Senate to address the the rights of the children in order to secure a positive future for Lloyd Doggett. None were able to es liberty as a human requirement four other members of his family, convention. not bound by any age. including his younger brother “It’s going to secure more rights everyone.” comment by press time.
Nonprofit sets goal to improve environment, create jobs in Austin area Partnership with UT will mainly focus on reducing city’s coal dependence By Priscilla Pelli Daily Texan Staff The University has partnered with a clean energy incubator program to encourage developing businesses in Austin to become “green.” Austin Technology Incubator is a nonprofit organization that provides developing companies with resources to support their transitions from early-stage ventures to successful technology businesses. Mitch Jacobson, co-director of
the program’s Clean Energy Incubator, said the goal of the company is to create jobs and help companies grow in the Central Texas economy. “Our main charter is to bring in companies that have emerging and disruptive technologies to different vertical areas to help them grow their companies,” Jacobson said. The technology incubator is also working with the University to create a recruiting service that will provide students with opportunities to intern at the incubator’s facility and gain experience conducting research, creating financial models and work-
ing in the business world. “UT has bright kids who will have the ability to have hands-on responsibility with businesses,” Jacobson said. “This will certainly help the University and also fill the nation’s labor force.” Austin Energy is also working with the program to lessen the area’s dependence on coal. The energy company tests the technologies created by the businesses in the incubator program. If the products are successful in completing the task they were created for, Austin Energy uses them to advance their research in using cleaner energy alternatives. Austin Energy spokesman
Carlos Cordova said the company hopes the ongoing research will create greener energy alternatives for the future. “Austin Energy does partnerships with companies that are interested in projects or research that attempt to find new ways to create clean energy,” Cordova said. “Austin Technology Incubator helps us by finding research and entrepreneurs so we can test what these companies and researchers develop.” City Councilman Chris Riley was one of the supporters for the Clean Energy Incubator program. He said he was interested
in the program’s integration of different developing companies to move toward the use of clean energy. “One thing that is interesting about the incubator program is the cross-pollination between companies and how they all overlap each other,” Riley said. “The council is working on testing how quickly we as a city can wean ourselves off of coal. The goal is to develop technology that allows us to move towards a distributed generation of cleaner energy sources, and that is what [the technology incubator] is helping everyone to achieve.” Michael Webber, co-director of
‘Sexy’ music seduces students By Viviana Aldous Daily Texan Staff Sensuous harmonies from a violin and a piano resonated in Jester West’s Gallery of Texas Cultures on Friday night. About 20 students attended the third concert of the “What makes music so sexy?” series to hear three graduate student musicians play music they consider sexy. “In its time, people definitely thought [this music] was sexy,” said Abigail Mace, a piano music performance graduate student. “I think if you know the music language of this era more, it will move you emotionally. I know it does for me.” Inyoung Chung, a violin music performance graduate student, played Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Sonata No. 4 in C minor” with Mace. “Bach has composed something that is tremendously intri-
cate, like a beautiful tapestry,” Mace said before performing. Chung also performed George Frideric Handel’s “Sonata No. 6 in E major” with Namheui Kim, a piano music performance graduate student. The performers demonstrated musical techniques, including polyphony, a combination of more than one melody played simultaneously, and trills, rapid alternations between two notes. Mace said those effects and blue notes, unexpected notes played at a slightly lower pitch, were qualities that made the music performed sexy. “The event tries to get more classical music into the residence halls so students can learn about music they’re not typically exposed to,” said Catherine Sanders, area manager of the Division of Housing and Food Services, which co-sponsors the series with
the Clean Energy Incubator, said that developing technologies and companies can move the world to become more environmentally friendly in addition to creating jobs. “There’s no question our energy is going through a transition in the world. We don’t know when or what companies will have leading technologies, and we want Austin to be leaders,” Webber said. “There’s a lot that can happen—where good companies can develop technologies that can move our world to use an alternative, cleaner and more environmentally friendly source of energy.”
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the Butler School of Music. The last concert of the fall series will be Dec. 3 in Andrews Residence Hall. Student musicians have also performed in Almetris Duren and San Jacinto residence halls. The sponsors are planning a series for the spring, but they have not yet chosen times and locations, Sanders said. “[The series] is a good chance to introduce classical music to students more easily,” Kim said. “It’s in a convenient location and a comfortable environment.” Music professor Robert Freeman said the event brings together two musical cultures on campus. “Unfortunately, the Butler School of Music is a corner of the campus,” Freeman said. “But this [series] draws people in and allows the [music] students to build a bridge to students who are not musicians.”
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Inyoung Chung, a violin performance doctoral student, and Namheui Kim, a piano performance graduate student, take a bow after their performance. Chung and Kim performed as a part of the concert series “What makes music so sexy?” on Friday evening.
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UNIVERSITY BRIEFLY
Monday, November 23, 2009
Through the looking glass Alana Shea, a performance artist of The Jezebells, searches for a way to step down from the Giant Mushroom Forest after a group profile photoshoot at Butler Park, located at the intersection of Lamar Boulevard and Riverside Drive. The dance group Jezebelles is going to be performing for an electronic music event called Mega Buzz on Saturday.
University receives $56 million in grants from stimulus package The University has received 123 stimulus grants totaling $56 million as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. University researchers received approximately $30 million from the total $56 million awarded, which will contribute to areas of research highlighting attempts to create alternative sources of energy to create a cleaner and greener environment. Tim Green, a spokesman for the vice-president for research at the University, said the funding will also help research develop into businesses that will help the economy. “The research that comes out of the University labs is eventually commercialized into a business, and people are hired,” Green said. “Right now, researchers are working on developing solar energy. This alone could be commercialized into a company which would create jobs for the nation and help out the economy.” The University received the grant money as part of President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, which allotted a certain amount of money to research conducted by universities across the nation. University researchers submitted proposals to be selected to receive grant money. The stimulus bill funds were awarded by the National Science Foundation in addition to the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. — Priscilla Pelli
Mary Kang Daily Texan Staff
Language monitor declares ‘global warming’ a hot topic in global culture Environmental issues top list of prominent words, reflect growing concern By Jim Pagels Daily Texan Staff As global warming has become a major issue across the globe, it has also become one of the most frequently used terms in the English language. Last Thursday, the Global Language Monitor announced their list of the top words of the decade from 2000-2009. The list is topped by “global warming,” which is followed by “9/11,”
“Obama,” “bailout” and “evacuee/refugee.” The company also generated a “phrases of the decade” list, topped by another environmental issue, “climate change.” Since 2003, the Austin-based company has used computer trackers to document the use of thousands of English words across the World Wide Web and rank them based on mathematical formulas. “We look for trends in culture and words that have an influence on culture,” said Paul Payack, president of the monitor. “We compare how words
are used year-to-year and which ones are persisting, not only in the United States, but around the world.” This caused some words to be ranked lower on the list, such as “Y2K,” which was mostly used at the beginning of the decade, and “9/11,” which is largely an American term. Payack said he was not surprised that “global warming” topped the list. “Every time we do any analysis, things about climate change come out near the top,” he said. “There’s a whole new attitude on the planet where
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people are involved with the environment.” Engineers for a Sustainable World, an environmental group at the University, was happy to see additional awareness for environmental issues. “It’s good to see that more and more people are taking notice of these environmental issues,” said Philip Lee, a sophomore electrical engineering major and a member of the group. Other groups around the world have recently released their own “words of the year.” Merriam-Webster announced Thursday that their word of 2009
is “admonish,” which means “to express warning or disapproval.” This word was used frequently after Rep. Joe Wilson, RSouth Carolina, was admonished for shouting “You lie!” at President Barack Obama during a speech to Congress. Many of Merriam-Webster ’s past words of the year, including 2008’s “bailout” and 2004’s “blog,” also appeared on the monitor’s list. The New Oxford American Dictionary announced last Tuesday that their 2009 word of the year is “unfriend,” in reference to the growing use of Facebook
and other social networking sites. Other words considered by the New Oxford ranged from “death panel” to “tramp stamp.” The monitor will release its own “Words of the Year” list today. Payack said that the growth of the use of English around the world has given the monitor ’s list an added importance. “English is propagating in China for international business. Over 250 million students in Asia are learning English,” he said. “It’s becoming essential to know English in today’s world.”
12 LIFE
Life&Arts Editor: Leigh Patterson E-mail: lifeandarts@dailytexanonline.com Phone: (512) 232-2209 www.dailytexanonline.com
LIFE&ARTS
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Monday, November 23, 2009
T HE DAILY TEXAN
Blood on Tape musician reveals love of psychedelia MUSIC MONDAY By Brad Barry Blood on Tape is much less violent than its name implies. Though — true to its name — some of the duo’s work has been released on cassette, the band’s sound is more soothing than gory. A collaboration between Kevin O’Sullivan of Austin and David Gonzalez of Denton, Blood on Tape creates organic, slowly-unfolding drone music. The duo just released more of their drifting, majestic tones on a tape put out by Brooklyn label Anathema Sound. For this week’s Music Monday, O’Sullivan told The Daily Texan about the origin of his band’s name, playing live and how he spends his time on the Internet.
Kari Rosenfeld | Daily Texan Staff
Above: Electrical engineering freshman Victor Vo and the other members of the team Epic Fail discuss their robot, which will compete in the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s robotics competition. Below: The robot for team “Epic Fail” is programmed for the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s (RAS) competition. The robotics competition will test the robot’s skills through various challenges.
Domo arigato Mr. Robotathon UT robotics team uses scrap parts to create functioning machines By Katherine Kloc Daily Texan Staff UT will host a battle between 10 competitors today. The fate of each contestant rests on this one event. Oh, and the competitors are robots. After seven weeks of preparation, UT’s Robotics Club’s second annual Robotathon competition will be held. “We started the Robotathon last year as an internal competition to teach all of our incoming members everything they need to know about building robots,” Robotics Club President David Yanoshak said. “It’s been great because our new members automatically get trained and then can hit the ground running with our club projects.” Ten groups of four new members and one older member, who serves as a mentor, have spent the last seven weeks constructing a fully autonomous robot from scratch. Through
the process, the members learn how to solder, construct circuit boards as well as program and build robots. After this introductory project, the club’s members will begin working on robots for regional and national competitions. “Our next competition will probably be the IEEE Region V competition in the spring,” Yanoshak said. “[Around 40 universities from] the Southwest compete. Even though it’s in March, it’s best to get started now. The competition is for tabletop-sized robots that must be fully autonomous, which is fairly complicated.” The last competition the club competed in was the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition in Michigan this summer. For the competition, the robots had to autonomously navigate between two white lines drawn in the grass. Although the club’s robot only traveled 25 of the 1000-foot course, qualifying for the national competition was a huge accomplishment for the club. “There were about 50 to 60 teams there, and only 30 teams qualified,” Yanoshak said. “We
were the 29th team to qualify. That was a big step for us because most of the competing teams have huge budgets because they’re funded by their universities. We just pull stuff off of junk piles and build our robot.” The club plans on participating in the IGVC competition again this summer. The competition requires much more preparation than others because the robots must be much bigger and more complex. “[Building] a big robot that’s fully autonomous for IGVC is a year-round proj-
ect,” Yanoshak said. “We’ll start designing it now and testing it. No robot is perfect. We’ll always find things [to add] during the design process, so we’re constantly modifying it. It’s a continuous process. Even at the competition, we’re still modifying little things to get it to work.” Some modifications the team must make are unforeseeable. For the 2009 IGVC competition, the conditions in Michigan required the robot to be modified.
Austin’s famed orchestra conductor discusses inspiration, music choices By Audrey Campbell Daily Texan Staff Light bounced off dozens of brass and wooden instruments as members of the Austin Symphony Orchestra rehearsed Cary Ratcliff’s “Ode to Common Things” onstage at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts last week. Maestro Peter Bay guided the musicians through various stanzas with fluid movements, his back to a vast and empty auditorium. “The reason I’m a conductor now is because I saw one on television when I was nine years old,” Bay explained. “It was Leonard Bernstein, and I was so taken by what he was doing and how excited he seemed to be about the music and standing in front of the orchestra, that I thought, ‘That’s really what I want to do.’” Since childhood, Bay worked his way up through the music ranks, singing in a boys’ choir, joining his high school band and receiving a degree in music education from the University of Maryland. “I got a degree in music ed. because I thought I would never make a career conducting an orchestra,” Bay said. “It’s too hard; it’s too competitive. At least if I got my degree, I could teach band at a high school.” Tamir Kalifa | Daily Texan Staff Nevertheless, Bay went on Peter Bay conducts the Austin Symphony during an orchestra rehearsal at to receive a master ’s degree the Long Center. Bay is in his 11th season as musical director and conductor and previously held similar positions in symphonies around the world. BAND continues on page 8
the music. It’s minimal and just beautiful. All things being equal, I’d love to sit around in his studio, pick his brain a bit and record some improvisations.
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What was the best show you’ve ever played? KO: A couple years ago, we were on the bill for [Austin experimental music festival] Yeast by Sweet Beast. We played alongside an array of local acts and some really great video projections provided by the Church of the Friendly Ghost crew. It was the first time we ever tried to do Blood on Tape live and were debuting with a 25-minute piece called “Language & Movement.” We weren’t sure we’d be able to pull it off successfully, but I think it went over pretty well. We had a real feeling of accomplishment after that one.
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What album have you listened to the most in the last week? Kevin O’Sullivan: I’ve been listening a lot to the Grateful Dead’s eponymous 1967 debut. I really love their early stuff — back when it was more blues-based psychedelia and before the production got too slick.
What was the worst show you’ve ever played? KO: My collaborator, David, and I now live in different cities, and so this band has become more of a recording project than something where we get to play out often. Owing to that fact, we haven’t really had the chance to play an awful show, yet. I’m hoping to do a short tour sometime soon though, which I’m sure will rectify that.
If you could collaborate with any musician What is your favorite in the world, who would song to play live? it be? KO: We have another KO: One of my friends recentlonger piece entitled “The ly turned me on to William Ba- Land is Great,” which was born sinski and his The Disintegration out of a particularly experimental Loops pieces, which use tape deMUSIC continues on page 8 cay as a conceptual element in Kevin O’Sullivan, a musician and recording artist, moved from South Bend, Ind., to complete his master’s degree in information science at UT. He works locally in drone band Blood On Tape.
TECH continues on page 8
Sara Young Daily Texan Staff
‘New Moon’ fails to dazzle anyone except Twi-hards
Courtesy of Summit Entertainment
The second installment in the box-office record smashing “Twilight” series, “New Moon,” hit theatres this weekend. By Layne Lynch Daily Texan Staff No doubt, rabid fans foamed at the mouth as they flocked to theaters to see “New Moon,” the second film in the “Twilight” series, which was released Friday at midnight. After a year of tireless waiting and ridiculous hype, all the bloodthirsty and werewolf-loving fans finally saw the film that was promised to be spec-
tacular, strides better than the first film in the series. Studio estimates on Sunday speculated that the vampire romance made $140.7 million in its first three days and $258.8 million worldwide. This was more than twice the $69.6 million the first film in the franchise made the same weekend last year. According to reports from The Associated Press, “New
Moon” ranked third on the alltime highest grossing opening film weekends behind last year ’s Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight” and 2007’s “Spider-Man 3.” Yet with all of the extensive buildup for the newest “Twilight” film, “New Moon” falls short of what it was promised to be. Specifically, the movie has trouble translating the
MOON continues on page 8
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Life&Arts
Monday, November 23, 2009
band: Austin symphony to incorporate Conspirare choir From page 7 ducting from The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and was admitted to the Aspen Music Festival and School, which boasts a very selective conducting class, admitting only five students each summer. “I always liked music, so why not make a career of it?” he said. Bay took notes about the ways other conductors would fix aspects of the music and work with the musicians. He also emphasized the importance of the emotion attached to a piece. “The emotion that is in Mozart’s music might be different than the emotion that might be in Tchaikovsky’s music,” Bay explained. In January 1998, Bay was appointed music director and conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Throughout his time with the symphony, Bay has experienced more than one strange event. “When we played at The [Nancy Lee and Perry R.] Bass Concert Hall, I had heard a rumor that some bats lived somewhere up in the rafters,” he recalled. “In the middle of a concert, I saw a bat flying around at the back of the stage and then, all of a sudden, it flew out above the orchestra, landed in someone’s lap and I heard this huge shriek. It really caught this woman by surprise.” The conductor said he has also withstood fire alarms, power outages and the occasional loss
of his baton after inadvertently hitting it on his music stand and watching it fly off into the audience. Despite those incidents, Bay’s enthusiasm for his work has never diminished. In preparation for a concert, he studies endless sheets of music, learning the composer’s intent and discovering how the piece should sound. “Long before I see the orchestra, before the first rehearsal, I have to spend sometimes days, sometimes weeks, oftentimes months, learning the music,” he said. Orchestra members meet with Bay five times before a performance, rehearsing about two and a half hours each night. The orchestra hosts eight concerts each year and all of the music is chosen by Bay. “If you like the music that you hear, I’ll take the credit. If you don’t like it, I’ll take the blame,” he said. Bay will be conducting the orchestra alongside the Conspirare Symphonic Choir Nov. 2021 as they perform pieces from Ratcliff ’s “Ode To Common Things” and Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Afterward, they will begin rehearsing for the Dec. 8 holiday production of Handel’s “Messiah.” Though he said it would be impossible for him to pick a favorite composer or piece of music, Bay
Tamir Kalifa | Daily Texan Staff
Peter Bay and the Austin Symphony Orchestra rehearse Cary Ratcliff’s “Ode to Common Things” onstage at the Long Center. Bay’s musical career evolved beginning at age 9 out of a reverence for conductor Leonard Bernstein. remained steadfast in regard to “He was an extraordinary mu- passionate about music, who ery orchestra around the world. his main inspiration: Leonard sician,” Bay said. “I don’t know could speak well about it, who He wrote poetry, he wrote books. Bernstein. of another person who was so could write it. He conducted ev- He was really a true genius.”
moon: Popular book has difficulty adjusting to screen tech: Robotics team makes the most of meager budget From page 7
book onto the screen. Whenever a film adapts a book into a screenplay, there is always considerable difficulty. And most anyone who watched the first film, “Twilight,” will agree that the film suffered from the curse of leaving out crucial elements of the book. “New Moon” falls victim to the curse as well and cuts out more than necessary. Crucial components like character development and scene transitions are ridiculously left out of the “New Moon” mix. In fact, it seemingly throws characters into scenes without any development or explanation. The film is quite confusing for viewers who haven’t read the book.
Also, the choppy scene transitions will have people squirming to figure out what is going on in the moment, asking, “How did we get from point A to point B?” On that note, the relationship between Bella and her new werewolf love interest, Jacob, is also skimmed through rapidly and seems unrealistic. Audiences may wonder where the relationship ever had time to really flourish. The acting is, at moments, almost painful and uncomfortable to watch. When characters throw out lines of eternal love and hopeless devotion, they need to sound somewhat convincing. Instead, the actors in “New Moon” often rely unconvincingly on body language, hoping that it comes off as por-
traying agony and sorrow. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Surprisingly, the film is much more lighthearted than expected. The book is primarily about heartbreak, loss and longing, but there are large snippets of the film that find a comical note. Anyone who was fearful they would have to hear only screaming and crying for two hours will find themselves pleasantly surprised with the amount of humor that is implemented into “New Moon.” While the chemistry between protagonists Bella and Jacob is difficult to see in the film, the electricity between Bella and Edward is more apparent than ever and for good reason: It is largely what has made the film series so successful. Whether
music: Artist enjoys being a homebody From page 7 phase in our development. I incorporate the use of several screwdrivers in playing my guitar. David does some really great stuff with treated vocal loops, and the whole thing swells into this lush soundscape. We have a lot of fun doing it, and people often come up to see just how the hell we are making these sounds.
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When you were forming the band, were there any alternate band names you didn’t pick? KO: There weren’t. The name came from a running joke we had going while attending a metal show, and it just sort of stuck. We didn’t really put too much thought into it.
ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFLY
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Where is your favorite place to eat in Austin? KO: Austin is blessed with some pretty amazing restaurants. I eat a hell of a lot of pizza and breakfast tacos, but every once in a while treat myself to something healthy. I really love the meals at Casa de Luz.
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What is a perfect day for you? KO: These days. I try to wake up early, make some strong coffee and do something productive during the day, often recording in the afternoons. In the evenings I see friends, read or watch a What is your favorite movie with my girlfriend. I’m a Web site? bit of a homebody, but it works KO: I probably spend for me.
Do you have a day job? KO: I just finished my master’s, so I’m “in between” day jobs. Formerly, I’ve worked in record stores and guitar shops.
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too much time looking for gear on Craigslist and eBay or else clicking around on Wikipedia. However, the site that I enjoy browsing the most is probably the Dusty Groove Web site. Whenever I am in need of some fresh music that’s where I go.
announcement that next season, the 25th, will be the last for “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” “Chicago’s going to find out that she’s a real engine to hoChicago residents fret over tel rooms, flowers, limo drivers, name it,” said Joel NickHarpo Studios’ neighborhood you son, who owns Wishbone restauStep outside Oprah Winfrey’s rant just down the street. “Even Harpo Studios and into the west when she’s not doing the show, side neighborhood that’s been we see people all the time taking home to her television talk show cabs out here, taking pictures in for two decades, and it’s easy to front of the place.” get a sense of what she’s meant Media analysts will discuss to Chicago. the millions of viewers world“I used to live across the street wide who have eagerly watched from Harpo, and when I moved Winfrey’s show, tuned in to oththere, it was me and cross-dress- ers she told them to watch and ing crack addicts and Harpo. read books she told them to And now it’s strollers and little read. The story in Chicago will white dogs all over,” said Paul be what she’s meant to Chicago. O’Connor, whose job has been to It’s a story that starts in the sell the city to businesses lookneighborhood that people visiting to relocate and those woned just to see her show — then dering why they should stay. they’d go off to explore the rest Along with the upscale conof the city. It’s from the neighdominiums and pricey restauborhood that Winfrey bragged rants that replaced the rundown about Chicago, reminding all apartments, abandoned warethose who knew she could take houses and vacant storefronts, her show just about anywhere it’s a sentiment that helps exthat she wanted to be right here. plain just how nervous people “Isn’t this the most fabuin Chicago are about Winfrey’s lous city in the world?” Winfrey
yelled to more than 20,000 fans who crowded Chicago’s Magnificent Mile in September for the taping of this season’s premiere. Without Winfrey, some wonder. “What’s this town going to come to?” asked Ann Coddington, 41, of Richmond, Ind., who was at Harpo Studios to see the show Friday morning. “You think of Chicago, you think of Oprah.” Winfrey hasn’t said she’s leaving Chicago, but there are indications it’s possible. She is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, which is set to debut in January 2011. OWN hired “Oprah” co-executive producer Lisa Erspamer this month as its chief creative officer. She is expected to move from Chicago to Los Angeles in January. Nobody suggests Harpo Studios’ neighborhood will revert to the pre-Winfrey years, when it was all but impossible to catch a cab and there was no place to order a latte, much less a nice meal. But the studio stands as a reminder of what has been and what could be lost.
— The Associated Press
one is on team Jacob or team Edward, viewers can’t deny the fact that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have excellent on-screen chemistry. With all of this said, Chris Weitz, the director of the film, did the job he was assigned: He made a film that will gross millions of dollars, have both prepubescent girls and their mothers screaming the moment the leading men walk on the scene and capitalized on a saga that will no doubt challenge “Harry Potter” for being one of the highest grossing film series of all time. Hardcore fans will most likely love the film, but let’s hope the third film, “Eclipse,” out next summer, delivers what “New Moon” lacks.
From page 7 “We tested the robot down here in Texas, but up in Michigan, it’s different,” Yanoshak said. “The magnetic fields in Michigan are different, so we had to modify the robot’s compasses. We had to test everything in Michigan right before we did our run.” The club will use the robot they used for the 2009 IGVC competition again for next year ’s competition, but they plan on redesigning the mechanical base. Because the club is not funded by UT, they must deconstruct robots and use the parts over again to save money.
“It’s hard to quantify how many robots we have,” Yanoshak said. “As soon as we’re done with one robot, it gets cannibalized for another project since we’re pretty low-budget.” Despite the low budget, which Yanoshak said comes mostly from the University Coop and general student organization funding, the Robotics Club manages to attract more students every year. “This year, we had around 10 new members, which seems to be a lot stronger than years past,” Yanoshak said. The new members will face their first challenge today, but there will be many more to come.
9 CLASS
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Focus
Monday, November 23, 2009
Photos by Shelley Neuman | Daily Texan Staff
Above, Chris and Laurie Blumentritt show their children, Alex and Erin, the hen house at Boggy Creek Farm on Saturday afternoon. “It’s like a little oasis in the city,” Laurie said. “Our kids get to see where their eggs for breakfast and the lettuce in their salads come from.” Right, Larry Butler, owner and proprietor of Boggy Creek Farm, stands in front of the patch of arugula and mustard seed plants that makes up just a small portion of the Five-acre urban farm located in east Austin.
Big City Farm Life Resolution encourages day, month day, 2008 Austin residents to start their own organic farms
The resolution, advised by the Sustainable Food Policy Board, asks City Manager Marc Ott to present a plan that will streamline the process of applying for an urban farm or community garden by late February. Part of streamlining the process includes identifying empty lots that could serve as land for cultivation and broadening the definition of an urban farm or community garden so more applicants can qualify. “The city has land, and now we want to know where we can create, on city-owned property, applicable places for gardens and growing food,” said Andy Moore, council aide for Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez. “We want it to be easy enough for somebody to go on the city’s Web site and know what land’s available and how they can bring a community garden to their neighborhood.” Moore said the Sustainable Food Policy Board is made up
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of 13 members who advise City Council on how to ensure better LASSIFIEDS food security and reduce greenhouse gases through increasing the local food supply. Moore said the greatest hurdle for people who want to start a community garden or farm is the cost of land in Austin, especially for agriculture. The city, however, will offer agricultural subsidies and lower the price of city-owned relationships. Not only do they land for that purpose, he said. create more jobs, but the revenue Moore said growing food lo- that farms make keeps money circally uses less energy to transport culating in the city, Moore said. food to grocers compared with Along with jobs, farms and garshipping food in from out of state. dens can provide work for at-risk Growing locally also produces youths who can learn the varibetter quality food, he said. ous steps in maintaining a farm “A banana that ripens in a box or garden while developing a produring transportation doesn’t ductive trade, he said. have as much nutritional food Market days bring people tovalue as the banana that ripens on gether, and as people get to know the plant,” Moore said. each other, they become better In addition to their effect on neighbors, Moore said. Growers the environment, urban farms can also provide food to support and gardens also impact the local restaurants, he added. city’s economy and community Although vegetables at Boggy
Campus
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By Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Daily Texan Staff RTISE NTmorning, a On a A chilly DVESaturday DE !residents steady stream STofUAustin N R U O luredYby the N promise ZATIOof fresh orI A RG ganic Ovegetables trickled into east Austin’s Boggy Creek Farm, where tables of butternut squash and bell peppers greeted them. A dirt path led visitors behind the market stand, where they found a three-acre plot of winter crops including beets, arugula, carrots and leeks. Farms in the middle of major cities are not a common sight, but a recent City Council decision could make it easier for Austin residents to start their own farm like Boggy Creek. City Council adopted a resolution last week to promote urban farms and community gardens.
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Weekly Rates: $100 – Large $50 – Medium $25 – Small Creek Farm seem expensive com- forces people to eat seasonal foods that are at their peak nutritional tomers have to keep in mind that value and have the best taste. the farm needs to be able to treat Markets that only sell what is in their workers well, said owner season also have less waste, Kate Larry Butler. McClung said. “We give our workers a living “Grocery stores have huge diswage, not 35 cents a bushel after plays of all this food because they they work 10 hours every day,” know that’s what consumers Butler said. want to see,” she said. “It’s a visuRestaurant manager Kate Mc- al sales strategy to create the feelClung and her husband Deegan ing of abundance, but most of that McClung, head chef at Jeffrey’s food rots on the shelf, and then Restaurant and Bar, shop weekly they have to throw it out.” at Boggy Creek Farm for restauThe city expects to have a full rant ingredients. Deegan McClung plan to support community garsaid shopping at local grocers dens and urban farms by March.
Contact Joan at 512-232-2229 or email joanw@mail.utexas.edu pared to vegetables at H-E-B, cus-
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SportS
Monday, November 23, 2009
football: Horns capture South division title in rout From page 12 points in the final 1:21 of the half, with a 1-yard Cody Johnson run and a Hunter Lawrence field goal with seven seconds left. Kansas tried to make it a game with two second-half touchdowns, including a 98-yard kick off return by Dezmon Briscoe. But the Longhorns responded to both Jayhawks’ scores with touchdowns of their own. Following Kansas’ first touchdown, a 2-yard run from Jake Sharp, McCoy found the end zone in one play, a 68-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Williams deep down the left sideline. Williams joined Shipley with 100 yards receiving, while Kirkendoll gained 86 yards and scored twice. “That was big for us, they couldn’t just key on Jordan,” McCoy said of the receiving corps’ production. “James played great. Malcolm played great. When those guys are playing at a high level, we’re hard to stop.” And they weren’t stopped
Bruno Morlan | Daily Texan Staff
James Kirkendoll celebrates in the end zone after catching a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win. much. Texas punted twice, while McCoy had a fumble on a sack, and the second string failed on a fourth down attempt. The Longhorns scored every other time they touched the ball. Shipley was consistently great. With 10 catches for 108 yards, he broke the Texas school record for
receiving yardage in a season. He’s now up to 1,204 with three games still to play. “I’m trying to talk the NCAA into another year, but I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Shipley said. Shipley already enjoyed one senior day last year, but got to do it again after receiving a medical red-
iowa: Barnes trying to improve the defense From page 12 Barnes’ goal for the season is to be the best defensive squad in the country, according to players and coaches. With the talent on this roster, they have the potential to achieve that goal. “We really did improve what we wanted to get done on the defensive end,” Barnes said. “Certainly, not to the level that we need to get to, but we did make an improvement.” Texas will get its next chance to work on its defense tonight against Iowa. The Longhorns travel to Kansas City, Mo., to take on the Hawkeyes in a semifinal game of the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. Iowa is 1-2 overall after suffering losses to UT-San Antonio and Duquesne. The team won its first game Friday night against Bowling Green. The Hawkeyes have struggled on offense and are shooting just 38 percent from the field. “We’re very capable of shoot-
ing it well, but we haven’t showed that in a game, so I guess that’s just my opinion at this point,” said Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter. Iowa showed some offensive confidence in the second half versus Bowling Green and converted 11 of 21 shots to break the 50 percent mark for the first time in a half this season. But Lickliter knows Texas is a different kind of beast. “Let’s face it, as good as San Antonio is and as good as Duquesne is, they’re not rated in the top five in the nation,” he said. “Texas is incredible.” With Iowa off to its worst start in 37 years, Lickliter is just hoping his team can learn something from the trip to Kansas City. “Competition will help you grow if you can maintain your composure and focus,” he said. Lickliter ’s respect for Texas is mutual, with Barnes saying that the atmosphere in Kansas City this week will get his players ready for other high-visibility
games this year. “I have a lot of respect for Todd. He knows what it takes to win and compete at the highest level,” Barnes said. “It’s so early in the year and we’re all still trying to figure out our teams, what we have to do, but I do know [Todd] understands what to do to win games.” It will be the first road trip for Texas’ six freshmen, who so far have only experienced the welcoming confines of the Frank Erwin Center. “Hearing the away crowd, I’m gonna have to get used to that stuff,” said freshman guard Avery Bradley. “I want to get experience just being on the road, being away.” The winner faces either Pittsburgh or Wichita State on Wednesday night. If Texas advances, it will play at 9 p.m. in the tournament’s championship, to be televised nationally on ESPN2. If Texas loses to Iowa, it will play in the consolation game, slated to begin at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday.
GO HORNS!
shirt from the NCAA. The second time around was just as special. The defense played its part, too. Kansas moved the ball through the air more than any opponent Texas has faced since Texas Tech this year, finishing with 256 passing yards. Briscoe became the first wide receiver to go more than 100 yards against the Longhorns after Oklahoma’s running back DeMarco Murray gained 100 on the ground. But after being gashed by big plays, the Texas defense responded with big plays of its own, sacking Kansas six times and intercepting Todd Reesing once. Earl Thomas got his seventh interception of the year, tying a school record, in the fourth quarter, but Aaron Williams limped off the field with an apparent right knee injury on the same play. “The seniors put so much into it,” said Thomas, who led the team with nine tackles. “I was just trying to play my heart out for them.”
SPORTS BRIEFLY
Newman and Campo have altercation in Cowboys’ game
No. 2 Texas sweeps Baylor to earn share of Big 12 South
ARLINGTON — Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman and secondary coach Dave Campo had a brief physical confrontation on the sideline Sunday, though Campo and head coach Wade Phillips both downplayed the incident after Dallas’ 7-6 victory over the Washington Redskins. Newman was coming off the field after a series in the first quarter when Campo tried to stop him. Newman pushed away from the coach and they exchanged words. “I was trying to stop him from keeping going and he thought I grabbed him. He just kind of bowed up,” Campo said. “We were a little upset. It was between family. No harm, no foul.” When asked what happened, Newman refused to explain or even comment, other than saying, “I have no idea.” When other reporters approached, he repeatedly said, “Nothing here fellas.” Phillips, who is also the team’s defensive coordinator, described it as a “heated moment in the game, and we don’t count any of that.” — The Associated Press
Baylor’s gym turned out to be more of a threat to the Horns than the Bears. No, the student section wasn’t extra rowdy; it was literally the gym itself. The court at the Ferrell Center & Whetsel Practice Facility was deemed unsafe to play on, which caused a 30-minute delay as the match was moved to the McLane Student Life Center on the Baylor campus. The odd start to the match ended up being more of a bad omen for No. 24 Baylor (21-9, 10-9 Big 12) than the second-ranked Longhorns Texas’ senior outside hitters Destinee Hooker and Ashley Engle paved the way for the 3-0 sweep with a combined 24 kills. Texas (22-1, 17-1) doubled Baylor’s .170, hitting a .340 mark, and outblocked the Bears 10-4. The victory over Baylor clinched at least a share of the Big 12 Championship for the third consecutive season and puts the Horns one win away from an outright title. — Chris Tavarez
basketball: Nash scores 20 as Horns
rebound from mid-week UConn loss From page 12 speed things up a little,” Goestenkors said. “Once we got out of that and we started pressuring, it changed the momentum of the game, and we got some easy buckets.” Things seemed to come a little too easy against North Texas as almost everything went Texas’ way on both ends of the court — similar to the way that UConn controlled the Longhorns only three days before. “They bounced back from their game earlier in the week and did exactly what they were supposed to do,” said North Texas head coach Shanice Stephens. “They needed to fight and find their footing once again.” One player who is certainly sure of her footing right now is Ashley Gayle, Texas’ sophomore forward who has excelled in both wins this season. Gayle scored 12 points against North Texas, but her biggest impact may have come on the defensive end, in which she blocked seven shots and added 10 rebounds. “Putting in the extra work has really given me the confidence to go out and play harder especially on the defensive end,” Gayle said. The Longhorns play later this week in the Paradise Jam Tournament.
Curt Youngblood | Daily Texan Staff
Texas’ Yvonne Anderson mishandles a pass during Friday’s contest. Anderson finished with four points and three assists.
mccoy: Emotional win for
quarterback, teammates From page 12
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ing touchdowns to James Kirkendoll (41 yards), Jordan ShipHeisman” over and over again ley (38 yards) and Malcolm Wilwhen Texas coach Mack Brown liams (68 yards). pulled the quarterback with 5:52 “They were putting several left in the fourth quarter, just guys in the box to stop the run, four yards short of his third ca- and we were able to really take reer 400-yard game. advantage of our play-action “I don’t think we could have stuff tonight,” McCoy said. scripted it any better,” Brown True to his modest style, said. “With all the pressure on McCoy deflected the praise him, he’s showing everybody for onto his teammates. he’s in here for a big finish.” “God has blessed me treA n d b r e a k i n g D a v i d mendously,” McCoy said. “I Greene’s career wins record have worked so hard to get to wasn’t his only this point, but accomplishI know what ment. With his kind of teamperformance, mates I have McCoy broke had [and] what It’s been a great ride, kind of coaches more records: * McCoy end- and we still have a lot of I have had.” ed the game He shared his things to accomplish.” final with 23 touchmoment downs on the o n t h e field — Jordan Shipley season, makwith fellow sereceiver niors Chris Hall, ing him the first player in Big 12 Charlie Tanner history to throw and Adam Ulafor at least 20 toski and jogged touchdowns in four seasons. off to a standing ovation after * He ended the game with giving each a hug. 3,024 passing yards, and he now “We went into the locker owns three of the six 3,000-yard room, and he stood up and kind seasons in school history. of talked to us and said, ‘Guys, I * McCoy became the fifth couldn’t have done this without player in NCAA history to have you,’” Tanner said. 14,000 yards of total offense. And they know it doesn’t end * He moved into seventh there. McCoy and the Longplace on the all-time FBS pass- horns still have three games left ing yards list with 12,746. and, potentially, two championHe did that by using the big ships to win. play. The Longhorns fooled the “It’s a combination of Jayhawks into thinking they things. You’re happy, you’re were going to run the ball of- relieved and you’re sad,” ten after piling up 224 rushing Shipley said of his post-game yards last week against Baylor. emotions. “It’s been a great That opened up the passing ride, and we still have a lot of game. McCoy had long pass- things to accomplish.”
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mangino: Firing
justified, but not for abuses From page 12
had any doubts as to whether or not he’d be coaching next week against Missouri, Mangino said “None whatsoever. You asked the wrong person that question.” His firing would probably be justified, given the team has had a disappointing season — losing six games in a row. But one thing that isn’t justified is the public embarrassment he’s gotten this past week, clearly geared toward making his ouster easier and cheaper. Nobody brought up Mangino’s anger-management issues when the team went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl. Now that they are losing, all his dirty laundry is being aired out. Former players are bringing up things he’s said in the past that will surely hurt his recruiting. Ex-Jayhawk wide receiver Raymond Brown, a senior last season, told ESPN that Mangino would often “say personal, hurtful, embarrassing things in front of people.” Aren’t football players supposed to be tough? If someone can take a hit from Sergio Kindle at full speed, they can deal with whatever someone tells them. Now, it’s going to be hard for Mangino to find a decent coaching job with all that’s come out. It’s hard to imagine someone having a worse week than Mangino — but someone has. Mangino said that this week one of his players, D.J. Marshall, underwent chemotherapy in Tulsa. The freshman defensive end was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on Nov. 5. “That’s what I call a bad week,” Mangino said. “Compared to that, I’ve had a great week.”
7 SPTS
SPORTS
12
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sports Editor: Austin Talbert E-mail: sports@dailytexanonline.com Phone: (512) 232-2210 www.dailytexanonline.com
T HE DAILY TEXAN
TEXAS 51
KANSAS 20
McCoy gets his 43rd as Texas wins big Team books ticket to Big 12 Championship with one-sided victory
By Blake Hurtik Daily Texan Staff Colt McCoy enjoyed his final moment in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium by taking the traditional jog around the field with his fellow seniors, high-fiving the lucky few of the record 101,357 in attendance whose arms could reach the Texas quarterback’s hand. But for a player who earned his NCAA-record-
SIDELINE 1. Florida (11-0) 2. Alabama (11-0)
3. Texas (11-0) 4. TCU (11-0) 5. Cincinnati (10-0) 6. Boise State (11-0) 7. Georgia Tech (10-1) 8. Oregon (9-2) 9. Pittsburgh (9-1) 10. Ohio State (10-2) 11. Iowa (10-2) 12. Oklahoma State (9-2) 13. Penn State (10-2) 14. Virginia Tech (8-3) 15. LSU (8-3) 16. Oregon State (8-3) 17. Miami (FL) (8-3) 18. Clemson (8-3) 19. Brigham Young (9-2) 20. USC (7-3) 21. Utah (9-2) 22. California (8-3) 23. Houston (9-2) 24. North Carolina (8-3) 25. Mississippi (8-3)
NFL Dallas 7 Washington 6
Photos by Erik Reyna | Daily Texan Staff
Above, safety Earl Thomas slips past a Kansas player after making an interception in the fourth quarter of Texas’ win on Saturday. Thomas had the only interception for the Longhorn secondary, which allowed the most passing yards in game since playing Texas Tech on Sept. 19. Below, Colt McCoy, who now holds the record for most wins by a starting quarterback in NCAA history, runs with the ball. waited by the entrance to the player tunnel and congratulated every senior who walked by, beaming with pride. “It was a real special night,” Brown said. “That’s what senior night is supposed to be.” breaking 43rd victory and helped Texas clinch the Big 12 South with a 51-20 walloping of Kansas, it was only fitting that he go the extra mile on his senior night victory lap around the stadium. As he passed the student section, he stopped to fire Smokey the Cannon and followed that up by giving Big Bertha three thundering whacks with her gigantic mallet. The only thing he didn’t do was hop on Bevo and take the steer for a ride. “[The Texas Cowboys] have always wanted me to pull the cannon, but I was afraid I’d
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
NO. 10 TEXAS 95, NORTH TEXAS 52
Six score in double digits vs. Mean Green By Dan Hurwitz Daily Texan Staff After getting blown out against top-ranked Connecticut last week, the Longhorns let out their frustration on North Texas in a 96-52 win on Friday in the Frank Erwin Center. The scoring barrage included six Longhorns scoring in double figures. Junior Kathleen Nash led the charge with her secondconsecutive 20-point game. “It definitely helps when you have a game like this,” Nash said; she made four 3-pointers. “A few people start making shots and then everybody does, which really picks up the momentum.” As a team, Texas shot 56 per-
GE
BCS STANDINGS
By Michael Sherfield Daily Texan Staff Texas secured a spot in the Big 12 title game, and quarterback Colt McCoy secured a spot in history Saturday night. The Longhorns (11-0, 7-0 Big 12) are headed to their first title game since 2005, while McCoy won his 43rd game as a starter, breaking the NCAA record for a quarterback previously held by David Greene of Georgia. McCoy made his last home game count, throwing for 396 yards and four touchdowns, exiting to chants of “Colt” and “Colt for Heisman” after a 5120 win over Kansas. “I heard [the chants], it was pretty loud,” McCoy said. “It feels like another win. I love wins.” The whole team took part in emotional celebrations after the game. The seniors took a lap of honor around Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium after taking their bows in between time-outs late in the fourth quarter. And the hogs of the offensive and defensive lines broke out in a spontaneous dog pile on the Longhorn emblem at midfield, with tackle Lamarr Houston on the bottom. “It was suffocating,” Houston joked. “All those big guys were on me. To go out to a standing ovation walking off the field felt pretty good.” Head coach Mack Brown
A season of success for Texas’ QB capped off by NCAA wins record
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cent from the field, but their defense is what created many of the easy baskets. “I thought we were due for a good shooting night,” said Texas coach Gail Goestenkors. “In the last two games, we haven’t shot the ball well, and I think we have good shooters on this team.” The Longhorns forced 26 Mean Green turnovers, which they turned into 39 points in the rout. Goestenkors had her team begin defensively in a 2-3 zone but quickly changed up the pace with a full court press which got the Longhorns going. “I realized that we like to
BASKETBALL continues on page 11
Curt Youngblood | Daily Texan Staff
Brittainey Raven, who finished with 14 points, drives against North Texas in the Longhorns’ win Friday.
The Longhorns were never really in danger of seeing senior night ruined. Texas led 7-0 after one quarter and 27-6 at the break. McCoy mastered two quick scoring drives early on, finding
James Kirkendoll on a stop-andgo for a 41-yard touchdown to open the scoring. He then rolled right after a play fake in the second quarter and connected with fellow senior Jordan Shipley on a deep
crossing route. Shipley did the rest, running down the sideline for a 38-yard score and a 14-3 lead. The Longhorns added 10
FOOTBALL continues on page 11
Detroit 38 Cleveland 37 Green Bay 30 San Francisco 24 Kansas City 27 Pittsburgh 24 (OT) NY Giants 34 Atlanta 31 (OT) New Orleans 38 Tampa Bay 7 Indianapolis 17 Baltimore 15
get a 15-yarder [penalty],” said McCoy, who is a member of the service organization. “I guess tonight was the perfect time to do it.” It served as a perfect ending to an almost perfect performance in his home finale. McCoy torched the Jayhawks for 396 yards and four touchdowns while completing 32of-41 passes. It could be the performance that vaults him back into serious Heisman Trophy consideration. The fans certainly thought so as they chanted “Colt for
New England 31 NY Jets 14 Oakland 20 Cincinnati 17 San Diego 32 Denver 3 Philadelphia 24 Chicago 20
FOOTBALL COLUMN
Loss hurts MENS BASKETBALL Mangino, No. 3 TEXAS vs. IOWA but so do Focusing on D, team looks to Iowa allegations
MCCOY continues on page 11
By Will Anderson Daily Texan Staff Sometimes, Texas coach Rick Barnes can be a tough guy to please. In third-ranked Texas’ season opener, the Longhorns (2-0) scored 89 points and shot more than 56 percent from the field, but Barnes wasn’t satisfied with his team’s defense — UC-Irvine scored first and led early on. And even though Texas won by 47, Barnes still wasn’t happy. The coaching staff shifted the focus to defense in practices last week. The result was a different showing in the second game of the season against Western Carolina on Wednesday. Texas smothered the opposition, pressing up and down the court for most of the game and creating 15 turnovers. Feeling the pressure, Western Carolina scored just 17 points in the second half. Texas’ offensive production actually dipped as a result of that shift. The Longhorns turned the ball over 21 times against Western Carolina and shot less accurately than in their first game. “We spent a day after the Irvine game just working on defense,” Barnes said. “It was a conscious effort of our team doing that. Offensively, we didn’t talk a lot about it before the game, and it showed up.” But Barnes won’t have too much to criticize if opponents continue to shoot less than 30 percent from the floor. The defense is a rallying cry for Texas this season; players have
Kansas coach doesn’t deserve the flak for his relationship with players By David R. Henry Daily Texan Columnist
Sara Young | Daily Texan file photo
Texas big men Damion James, left, and Dexter Pittman go up for a rebound in Texas’ win last Wednesday. mentioned it since the preseason concentrated on,” Barnes said, as the most crucial element to the “and we did a good job with it.” team’s success. IOWA continues on page 11 “The defense is what we
After a loss that dropped his team to 5-6, Kansas coach Mark Mangino walked into his press conference smiling, and wearing a red, white and blue jacket that almost made him look normal-sized. Clearly on the hot seat after Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins launched an investigation into allegations that Mangino grabbed senior linebacker Arist Wright and pointed his finger in his chest, the coach sounded like he didn’t have a worry in the world. He addressed each reporter that asked a question with a smile, and glowed over how much he loves the team and how proud he is of them. He didn’t seem like a guy with an anger issue at all. It was clearly an act, though. After the press conference, I asked the Kansas reporters if he is always like that and they laughed hysterically and said, “No.” Who knows what Mangino is really thinking right now? But one thing that’s clear is that his days are numbered. When asked if he
MANGINO continues on page 11