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serving the university of texas at austin community since
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2019
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119,
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NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
State legislators announce survivor-endorsed sexual assault legislation. PA G E 2
Students deserve a more centralized system for appealed grades. PA G E 4
UT student’s research draws parallels between Tamil ritual and Bevo. PA G E 8
Late comeback not enough as Longhorns fall to top-ranked Baylor. PA G E 6
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CITY
UT student dies after vehicle, scooter collision
STATE
By Emily Hernandez @emilyhernandez1
joshua guenther | the daily texan staff Raymund Paredes, the higher education commissioner of Texas, relaxes outside his office. Paredes is resigning after 15 years in the position.
Commissioner Paredes resigns Paredes makes room for new leader, reflects on 15-year tenure fighting for higher education in Texas. By Chase Karacostas @chasekaracostas
Higher education commissioner Raymund Paredes said he never lost sight of the students he was working to support in his 15 years on the job, even when it meant testifying to lawmakers at the Capitol until 1 a.m. Paredes is resigning — not retiring, which he made clear — from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in August to allow someone new to take over. His 15-year tenure has seen eight different Texas Legislatures, two governors and three House Speakers. Before coming to Texas, Paredes spent 30 years at UCLA, with 10 as vice chancellor for academic development. State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said the length of Paredes’ tenure is a testament to his “fierce commitment” to education in the state.
“Count him among those of us who believe that issues ranging from accessibility, accountability, affordability and availability must be addressed in relation to standards of excellence, which cannot — must not — be sacrificed,” Zaffirini said in an emailed statement. “His priority always was to prepare our students for a better future.” One of Paredes’ biggest challenges was getting the state to invest in higher education, which began to see a decline in support from the Legislature in the 1980s. He said funding never truly declined, but instead failed to keep pace with increasing enrollment, which has grown 17 percent since Paredes started in 2004, according to data from the coordinating board. “I don’t think a lot of members of the Legislature understand the cost of delivering higher education has increased enormously,” Paredes said.
Paredes said he is unsure of what he plans to do next, but will remain active in the field of higher education policy. Before he leaves, however, Paredes will advocate to the 86th Legislature for a boost in base funding as well as outcomes-based funding, which rewards post-secondary institutions as they improve their graduation rates. But he doubts it will fully meet the needs of institutions around the state. Paredes says he also wants lawmakers to expand funding for the TEXAS Grant program for students with financial need. “I don’t think we’re at the point yet where the level of state funding has eroded the quality,” Paredes said. “But we need to take the attitude that we’re going to ask for more money, and we’re going to get better results. We’re not going to get more money for business as usual.”
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UT student Mark Sands died Saturday afternoon after the Lime scooter he was riding collided with an Uber vehicle early Friday morning, according to the Austin Police Department. University spokesperson J.B. Bird confirmed Sands was a UT student. According to tweets from Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, Sands was transported to Dell Seton Hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries around 1:00 a.m. Friday. He was still in critical condition following emergency brain surgery, according to a GoFundMe page created by mechanical engineering junior Kyle Meche. Sands was pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, according to an APD news release. The crash, which was Austin’s fifth traffic fatality of the year, occurred on the North Interstate 35 frontage road, according to the APD news release. Police said an Uber driver operating a 2006 silver Volkswagen Jetta was correctly traveling southbound in the right lane of N. IH-35 southbound on the service road. The Jetta changed lanes to enter the ramp of southbound IH-35 when it “encountered” a Lime scooter traveling the wrong way, northbound, in the southbound left lane of the IH-35 service road. The Uber driver remained on the scene and is cooperating as the investigation continues, according to the news release. APD said Monday the toxicology results in the case were still pending. APD Lt. Blake Johnson told The Daily Texan he believed
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photo from gofundme
CAMPUS
Students call for additional bike lanes following cyclist death By Nicole Stuessy @nicolestuessy
Samaa Al Adawi said she does not feel safe riding her bike on campus along San Jacinto Boulevard. Even though the street has sharrows, defined by the Austin Department of Transporation as shared lane markings used on roads too narrow for separate bike lanes, petroleum engineering senior Adawi said this isn’t enough to make it safe because cyclists often ride with the normal flow of traffic. After a collision with a CapMetro bus resulted in the death of a 39-year-old cyclist on San Jacinto Boulevard on Jan. 28, students in the Campus Bike Alliance are calling for the University to create separate bike lanes on the street. “There are buses coming at you from every direction and there are cars everywhere,” Adawi said. “The University says that San Jac is a bike-friendly route, but it’s not — especially at the intersections of 21st
and 23rd.” To address concerns about the road, members of the UT biking community are meeting with Student Government representatives in the coming weeks, said James Lentz, president of the Campus Bike Alliance. “The University needs to take student safety and student mobility seriously,” civil engineering senior Lentz said. “This was something that could have been easily prevented with a few minor changes to the street.” Bobby Stone, director of Parking and Transportation Services, said the University would be responsible for adding bike lanes to campus streets, but they may do it in cooperation with the City of Austin. Requests to add bike lanes can be made through the PTS bicycle coordinator, Stone said. “Studies would also need to be conducted that would include recommendations,” Stone said in an email. “These recommendations would be vetted with safety officials and other officials on campus. It is likely if there was a recommendation, it would go
through the Campus Master Plan Committee.” Bike lanes on San Jacinto Boulevard have long been on the University’s radar. In 2013, the Campus Master Plan Advisory Committee created plans to pedestrianize most campus streets, which included the addition of bike lanes on San Jacinto Boulevard. University spokesperson J.B. Bird said the Campus Master Plan is aspirational and includes a vision for improvements that have to be implemented over time. “The (2013) plan did not just call for bike lanes — it called for a light rail and no parking along San Jacinto,” Bird said in an email. “And the bike lane envisioned would be separated from bus traffic by a physical median. Those things are still in the plan. If the University can pursue them, it will do so comprehensively.” Despite this past recognition, the University has not taken steps needed to improve bike safety, Lentz said. “It’s been a known issue for a long time,” Lentz said. “I think with the 2013
plan, they realized that having cars and buses and students and bikes all mixed together, especially in the period of time between classes, is a recipe for a disaster.” While the University de-
bates what to do with bicycles on San Jacinto Boulevard, Adawi said a solution needs to be carried out sooner rather than later. “I ride on San Jacinto,” Adawi said. “My friends ride
on San Jacinto. As soon as I heard about the accident, my first thought was, ‘That could’ve been me.’ The road isn’t safe. It’s something that we have been saying for a while.”
maddie rice | the daily texan staff The UT biking community is expressing concerns about the safety of bicycle traffic on San Jacinto Boulevard near DKR after a collison with a CapMetro bus claimed the life of a 39-year-old cyclist on Jan. 28. UT PTS and the Austin Transportation Department are working to expand bike lanes in the area to improvre the safety of student mobility.