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THE DAILY TEXAN Weekend
2009 DECEMBER 3,
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DT WEEKEND
DOUBLE COVERAGE
Longhorns are ready to get defensive
Mother Falcon gears up for 12/12 Thursday, December 3, 2009
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SG referendum garners 94 percent of vote By Viviana Aldous Daily Texan Staff The Student Government constitution will reflect changes to the election policy, approved by the SG Assembly in September, after more than 1,500 students voted in a University-wide referendum Tuesday and Wednesday. The changes, which passed with nearly 94 percent approval, will affect SG elections and any other entity that chooses to use the election code, and will include a new selection process for the Election Supervisory Board, the entity which oversees elections. University-wide Representative Carly Castetter said that after last spring’s general election, SG realized changes to the super-
visory board member-selection process were necessary. Controversy arose during last spring’s elections when both the board’s co-chairman, César Martinez Espinosa, and then-SG President Keshav Rajagopalan, campaigned for executive alliance Liam O’Rourke and Shara Ma. As the board’s co-chairman, Espinosa could not campaign for any candidates, based on last year’s election code. Rajagopalan violated the code as well, when he used his title in e-mails rallying support for O’Rourke. “We wanted to have [the changes completed] before the next election to be more fair and transparent,” Castetter said. “We wanted to fix the problems from
last year’s election.” Castetter and University-wide Representative Alex Ferraro proposed the changes and co-authored the revisions. Under revisions made in September to the election code, members of the supervisory board and candidates themselves cannot endorse or campaign for any other candidate. But leaders of organizations can, for example, send an e-mail to members of their organizations showing support for a candidate, as long as they include a disclaimer stating that their views do not reflect the views of their organization. With the presence of this disclaimer, those leaders can now include their position in any cor-
respondence. After this week’s referendum, the constitution specifies that SG, as an entity, may not endorse candidates in any election, even those not under the jurisdiction of SG’s election code. Ferraro said he and Castetter wanted to clarify that SG as an organization cannot endorse candidates, but members of SG can. “There was a lot of confusion last [spring] with whether the SG president making a personal endorsement constituted an individual endorsement or an endorsement on behalf of SG,” Ferraro said. “We wanted to clear that up.” The changes also remove jurisdiction over election matters
from the judicial commission, which settles internal disputes regarding the SG constitution. A judicial selection committee is in charge of selecting all members of the judicial commission. If the supervisory board were to determine that a candidate violated the election code, the candidate can appeal the decision to the appellate court, which consists of a faculty member and two students from UT’s School of Law. “We wanted to remove as much oversight as possible from SG,” Ferraro said. “That’s the same argument for changing how the [supervisory board] is selected. Basically, we wanted to create some distance and have it
be more autonomous.” The last two special elections were last fall and in 1997. Last fall, 1,225 students voted to amend the constitution to decrease the size of the Assembly, and this week, 1,548 students cast their votes. The general elections have a larger turnout — more than 10,000 students voted during the spring 2009 campuswide general election. Carisa Nietsche, a Plan II and government sophomore, said she read the constitution and the proposed amendments before voting. “Seeing the issues of last year’s election as well as their causes, I thought [these changes] would help alleviate some of those issues,” Nietsche said.
Minors will not be cited by TABC in cases of emergency By Alex Geiser Daily Texan Staff Underage drinkers should no longer worry about the legal consequences of dialing 911 for a friend suffering from alcohol poisoning. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission enacted a new policy Tuesday stating that their officers will not cite minors for illegal possession or consumption of alcohol-
Jordy Wagoner | Daily Texan Staff
At the memorial service for Leslie Jarmon, lifelong schoolmate Jude Holman, sister Jo Ann Jarmon, mother Joyce Hope Jarmon and other guests listened to fond stories about Leslie shared by friends, family and co-workers.
Crowds mourn scholar’s death By Alex Geiser Daily Texan Staff Leslie Hope Jarmon, a former faculty development specialist and pioneer of virtual environments at UT, died Nov. 24 in her Austin home at the age of 57 after a
First-year international relations and Chinese major William Yates and ACC graduate Josh Kunze talk in West Mall before riding to the farmers market in the Triangle Austin Apartments Wednesday evening.
Peyton McGee Daily Texan Staff
15-year-long fight against cancer. 93, and her five siblings — Jo Ann, 50; SpenJarmon was born Oct. 16, 1952, to Joyce cer, 52; Fred, 55; Paul, 59; Jake, 64 — shared Hope and the late Jake Jarmon and was me- stories and hugs throughout the night. morialized by a large crowd of friends and Her mother opened the memorial with colleagues at a service Wednesday night at Mercury Hall in South Austin. Her mother, DEATH continues on page 2
Farmers market, bikers support climate summit By Melissa Pan Daily Texan Staff Snowflake lights hung above a booth for the Orange Blossom Farm, where oranges were being sold for $5 a bag. The Texas French Bread table overflowed with loaves, muffins and cookies baked just earlier that morning. The Beatles’ “Love Me Do” blared from outdoor speakers. In the 50-degree weather Wednesday evening, UT students biked from the West Mall to the Austin Farmers Market, located at the Triangle Austin Apartments, to show support for the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen next week.
Sociology junior Sarah Magnelia and William Yates, a government and Asian studies sophomore, participated in the bike ride. Both are officers of Oxfam-UT, an international-relief organization concerned with fighting hunger, poverty and social injustice. “The [Austin] Farmers Market is a good ending point because it’s good to make a difference as an individual,” Magnelia said. Although only three bikers showed up, Yates did not feel discouraged. “It’s the little things,” Yates said. “This is where things start — at the
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OXFAM continues on page 2
ic beverages if they seek help because of a medical emergency. The amnesty policy also extends to victims of sexual assaults or other violent crimes. But minors not in an emergency situation who are found in possession or consumption of alcohol, should still expect a citation. The commission officially re-
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70 percent of college-age pregnancies unplanned By Audrey White Daily Texan Staff Some characterize unplanned pregnancy as a high school problem, but information recently compiled by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy indicates that it is a growing concern for college-aged women, too. Bill Albert, the campaign’s chief program officer, said there is little concrete data available on the number of unplanned pregnancies among college women because most studies focus on high school students. Statistics and anecdotal evidence, however, indicate that it is a growing problem, especially among women at community col-
leges. According to the report, seven out of 10 pregnancies among women in their 20s are unplanned. “There is precious little research on the rates of unplanned pregnancies for young people in community colleges and colleges,” Albert said. “The little data that is available is sort of patchwork. When this country thinks about unplanned pregnancy, they tend to think about teenagers, when in fact the highest rate of that is among women in their 20s.” Guli Fager, a University Health Services healthy-sexuality education coordinator, said a lack of resources available to pregnant and
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Sara Young | Daily Texan Staff
Nursing junior Lizzie Olguin works at the Student Services Building Tuesday morning packaging “safer sex kits” for distribution to students.