2019-02-07 by The Daily Texan

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018

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119,

issue

NEWS

OPINION

LIFE&ARTS

SPORTS

UT ranks at the top by the Princeton Review for the ninth consecutive year. PA G E 2

UT should switch to a openminded, test-flexible admissions process. PA G E 4

Insurance lawyer promotes law firm through late-night rock performances. PA G E 8

Texas’ backcourt puts together an impressive showing in crucial Big 12 matchup . PA G E 6

STATE

UT, A&M students push to reestablish rivalry game

Bill would force undocumented students to pay out-ofstate tuition

By Hannah Ortega @_hannahortega_

By Chase Karacostas @chasekaracostas

A bill filed by state Rep. Kyle Biedermann could take away undocumented students’ ability to pay in-state tuition at Texas colleges and universities. If it passes, the cost of tuition for undocumented students at UT could quadruple, jumping from just over $10,000 to almost $40,000. House Bill 413 would repeal an earlier state law, the first of its kind in the nation that passed 176–5 across both chambers in 2001. Under the current law, United States citizens can establish residency and pay in-state tuition after living in Texas for one year. People without documentation could do the same, provided they signed an affidavit stating they would apply for legal status as soon as they were eligible. In recent years though, the law has been the subject of attacks from Republicans in the House and Senate, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the upper chamber. The new bill specifically goes after residency requirements, which control whether someone can pay in-state tuition, for undocumented students. Students without legal status would not be eligible to apply for Texas residency for tuition purposes, and institutions would have the right to revoke residency status to those who previously received it. “I am proud to fight for the taxpayer,” Biedermann, R-Fredericksburg, said in a statement after filing the bill in November. “Magnet policies that benefit illegal immigrants hurt citizens and those who immigrated here legally. We must remove these magnets and protect our border.” A similar bill was filed during the 2017 legislative session, though it never got a committee hearing. Another received a hearing in 2015 but did not get enough votes to be sent to the full Senate. Public health junior Pili Gyasi, the president of Latino advocacy group Jolt Texas at UT, said the bill would make higher education in Texas unattainable for many undocumented students who can barely afford in-state tuition costs. “To a Dreamer and a (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient, this is more than a simple bill,” Gyasi said. “To them this is their livelihood to be able gain an education, to stay in school, to get access to UNDOCUMENTED

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By Lisa Nhan @Lmnhan24

he national chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Texas Rho have reached a settlement agreement, resulting in a “complete disaffiliation” of the two parties and bringing an end to lawsuits filed by both groups. Former UT SAE members formed Texas Rho after UT SAE was suspended by their national chapter and the University for a number of hazing offenses, as previously reported by The Daily Texan. The settlement agreement, obtained by The Daily Texan, requires an official resignation from SAE by any currently active Texas Rho member. This includes every undergraduate member of Texas Rho who was a member of SAE and all SAE alumni serving on Texas Rho’s current board of directors and house board. Texas Rho is also required to discontinue any use of SAE trademarks, pay SAE an undisclosed amount for trademark violation, take down the letters from the front of the chapter house and return all SAE regalia. However, the house, located at the corner of 24th and Pearl streets, remains under Texas Rho ownership.

Texas Rho is pleased with the terms of the settlement, Texas Rho president Trey Scardino said in a statement. “From this point forward, we are Texas Rho, an independent fraternity organization with all of its storied history intact,” finance junior Scardino said in the statement. “While we are not a registered student organization at the University of Texas, our members are active on campus and in the Austin community. We look forward to welcoming another outstanding new member class this fall.” Following the suspension from nationals, the University launched its own investigation, then suspended the chapter and revoked its registered student organization status in March 2018. The independent fraternity hopes to become a registered student organization again, according to a letter to Texas Rho alumni and active parents on their website. “These board members are very hopeful that, once having re-established itself as such an exemplary fraternity, the University will be persuaded to readmit the Texas Rho Fraternity as a registered student organization at UT,” the letter said.

TEXAS RHO

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In recent weeks, students at UT and Texas A&M University have forged an alliance in the name of football rivalry. Student Body President Colton Becker, the Longhorn Athletics Agency within Student Government and others are working with A&M student leaders to bring back the UT and A&M rivalry game, which was played every year from 1915 to 2011. The administration of Micky Wolf, former Student Body Vice President, and Alejandrina Guzman, former Student Body President, started the movement to revive the game, and the campaign has been rekindled. “We wanted to kind of keep it up because there was an article in the (Austin American-Statesman) where both presidents, A&M and UT, expressed a desire for the game to be played again, so we took that as a hint, and we … are trying to run with that and create a new, reinvigorated campaign for it,” said Jake Greenberg, Longhorn Athletics Agency director. In 2017, 96.7 percent of nearly 8,000 participating UT students voted in favor of re-establishing the rivalry game. A&M will present a similar vote to their student body this spring. “One of the great aspects of this campaign is that we’re working hand-in-hand with the student leaders on the A&M campus, so it’s been really refreshing and nice to get their take on it,” finance sophomore Greenberg said. In his State of the State address on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott voiced his support for a proposed bill that would revive the rivalry game. Becker said that the UT students pushing for the rivalry are now preparing to speak with A&M students about penning a joint letter to Gov. Abbott. “It was really validating and exciting for us to hear that the Governor supports it because he really has a lot of push and can really lend this movement a lot of momentum,” Becker said. Despite the campaign’s ongoing efforts, nutrition senior Becker said Student Government’s main legislative attention remains on other campus-wide issues. “In regards to the Legislature, we’re focused on advocating for UT’s specific needs, so like with the new chair of the higher education committee, which just happened a couple weeks ago, and emphasis being placed on school and

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CAMPUS

UT dietitians create healthy, allergen-free menus for student dining By Nicole Stuessy @nicolestuessy

The food allergen symbols on dining hall menus may seem small, but UT dietitians put great effort into creating them for every menu item to help students with dietary needs. Registered dietitians Lindsay Wilson and Sotear Kuy work with students who have food allergies to create personalized menus. Students who register through Services for Students with Disabilities can have their meals prepared daily in a separate kitchen at Cypress Bend Cafe or Littlefield Patio Cafe,” Wilson said. “The students will pre-order their meals, and the staff members prepare their meals to avoid any cross-contact,” Wilson said. “If a student chooses to self-manage their diet on campus, I can

meet with them and give tips on how to avoid those food items they may be allergic to.” Although the dietitians do not create daily menus at dining halls, they work with chefs at the locations to integrate healthier items and host events to educate students on how to make healthier choices, Wilson said. “We want to be able to have a focus with educating the student community,” Wilson said. “If you have healthy choices available and nobody takes them, then what good are those healthy choices?” Once a month, the dietitians will host student focus groups to get feedback on different menu items, including a vegetarian-specific group, Kuy said. “It’s pretty much a platform for all of our students to voice their opinion on food items that are vegetarian and vegan,” Kuy

chloe bertrand | the daily texan staff Dietitian Lindsay Wilson works closely with students with unique dietary needs to avoid food items they may be allergic to. Her focus along with the Services for Students with Disabilities is to educate the student body of the healthier options available on campus for those who need it.

said. “We also take feedback on what the students want to see in our dining halls.” Business honors freshman Varsha Vasu said she has been vegetarian her whole life and appreciates the variety of options in the dining halls around campus. “It was initially a concern, living in a dorm and not having too many dining options,” Vasu said. “I like to eat at Kinsolving because there is always tofu, hummus and falafel.” Kuy said she is working on new Asian-inspired menu items for the “Fresh and Simple Taste” line in J2, which will be added to the menu next fall. “It can be challenging at times, but I definitely like the challenge,” Kuy said. “The bigger picture is, there are these students who once may have been able to enjoy those types of foods, and they can now see them in a different way.”

CLAIRE ALLBRIGHT NEWS EDITOR @THEDAILYTEXAN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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UNIVERSITY

UT makes ‘Best Value Colleges’ list 9th year in a row running By Tehya Rassman @tehyarassman

UT has been included in the Princeton Review’s “Best Value Colleges” for the ninth consecutive year since the book’s debut in 2010. Only 7 percent of all four-year colleges in the United States made it into the 2019 list consisting of 384 schools. According to the 2019 edition of “Best Value Colleges,” UT’s return on investment rating is 90 out of 99. The return on investment rating refers to the profit or loss a student obtains from attending UT and considers academic rating, financial aid rating and the cost of college. Joey Williams, director of communications, said one of UT’s strengths is financial aid, which is rated 79 out of 99. In 2018, the University created a financial aid plan called the Texas Advanced Commitment, which guarantees financial aid to students with lower to middle class economic status. “We need to do a better job, and I think that’s why they created the Texas Advanced Commitment,” Williams said. “We’re guaranteeing that all students that come from families of less than $30,000 … (will get their) full cost of tuition paid for.” Despite being on every edition of “Best Value Colleges,” UT does not make any

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decisions based off of these ratings, Williams said. “Because we’re making a lot of good decisions, the rankings kind of help reflect the fact that we’ve been doing a good job,” Williams said. “The University is ranked really highly in a lot of the big rankings that come out …. It’s great that the rankings acknowledge the academic strength of the University, but it’s not something the Uni-

versity sets out to do.” David Soto, director of content development for the Princeton Review, said the initial reason for the book was to let students know the strengths of different colleges, such as affordability and academics, so they can have more information to help them navigate the college application process. “We tout the robust student

body (and) the campus life,” said Soto, who co-wrote the 2019 edition of “Best Value Colleges.” “Students love Austin … (and UT has) top rate professors. Kudos to UT for making it into the book and providing that excellent value for students.” The data for the “Best Value College’s” rankings come from the University, PayScale.com and student surveys.

| the daily texan staff

These surveys ask about financial aid, food on campus and general quality of life at UT. Exercise science senior Domenica Sutherland said she would rate quality of life at UT a 7 out of 10. “UT has done a really good job of creating a culture that makes you feel included,” Sutherland said. “When you’re a Longhorn, you have a sense of pride that’s associated with that.”

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property financing and taxing and stuff like that, we’re focusing the majority of our advocacy efforts at the Capitol on those issues,” Becker said. “But … it certainly helps if the Legislature’s talking about (the game).” Greenberg said scheduling poses a challenge in reinstating the game. This is because both schools have non-conference games scheduled through 2029. “UT plays non-conference games in the beginning of the year, and then they play in the Big 12 conference,” Greenberg said. “Those non-conference games, since A&M is not in our conference, that’s when we’d have to play them, and those games are scheduled very far out in advance.” Becker said he hopes the campaign will get a game scheduled by the end of the year, and Wolf said student voices play an important role in the movement. “I think that the fact that it’s united and student-led hopefully will show students the power of their voices, and I think that no initiative is too large for students to take on,” Wolf said.

tamir kalifa | the daily texan file UT and Texas A&M students are joining forces to rekindle the football rivalry game between the two universities.

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texas rho continues from page

The University, however, has no plans to recognize Texas Rho as a registered student organization, said Sara Kennedy, director of strategic and executive communications. “As a condition of the disciplinary sanctions against the closed Texas Rho Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the registered student organization status of the group was cancelled, and no version of the chapter membership will be recognized as a new registered student organization by the University,” Kennedy said in a statement. Last year, the University’s hazing investigation found that UT SAE members were required to drink alcohol and “ingest ‘fear factor like’ substances/concoctions.” It also revealed “the hatch,” a small underground hole on the house property, where members were confined. John Hechinger studied SAE and fraternity culture in-depth for his book, “True Gentlemen: The Broken Pledge of America’s Fraternities.” Hechinger said fraternity chapters going independent is “the worst case scenario” for national chapters and universities. “The national organization has no power over the chapter, the university has no power, you have a small group of local alumni who have already indicated that they don’t think much about university discipline,” Hechinger said. “The message sent to the men is basically that they can operate any way they want.” The University must be very clear in Texas Rho’s lack of regulation in comparison to other recognized fraternities, Hechinger said. “Now you have a situation where a freshman who comes to the University of Texas may not make the distinction and join an unregulated fraternity,” Hechinger said. “They won’t know that there are even fewer safeguards when they join. It makes students less safe.” However, former Texas Rho president Robert Perlick said the fraternity has implemented reforms to stop hazing, such as a new Behavioral and Financial Responsibility Agreement and a ban on serving hard liquor. “Though the Texas Rho Fraternity will not qualify as a registered student organization at the University of Texas following its Separation from SAE, the House and Chapter Corporation boards are determined to do whatever is necessary to mold the Texas Rho Fraternity into a model that other fraternities at UT will seek to emulate,” the Texas Rho letter said.

nikita sveshnikov | the daily texan file House Bill 413, filed by State Rep. Kyle Biedermann, seeks to repeal a current law allowing individuals to establish residency in Texas and pay in-state tuition.

undocumented continues from page

more jobs down the road because in this country, the likelihood of having a job that can provide for you is decreasing if you don’t have a college degree.” Former Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who signed the original law, told Politifact in 2015 that it made sense in 2001. No longer

governor, he said it was up to the Legislature to decide “whether this is right for Texas or not.” Law professor Denise Gilman, the director of UT’s immigration clinic, said she is unsure if the state would be able to bar recipients of DACA, which protects them from deportation but does not necessarily give clear-cut legal status, from receiving in-state tuition. UT does not gather data regarding immigration status

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of attendees. Separately, Gilman said she thinks the bill might not be able to pass legal muster in the federal courts and that it is likely to bring several lawsuits if it is signed into law. “I’m not sure they can just define away residency for an individual who has lived here maybe almost their whole life just based on their immigration status,” Gilman said.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

UNIVERSITY

Dell Med program shapes future health leaders By Tien Nguyen @tienjpg

The Health Leadership Apprentice program at Dell Medical School aims to connect students with faculty and resources at the medical school to work on projects that will transform health care. The program is open to undergraduate and graduate students at UT and Huston-Tillotson University and is currently seeking applicants for their summer 2019 session. The program was created to give students interested in health care an opportunity to work with the people at Dell Med, program director Steve Steffensen said. “Traditionally, the way people get access to rotations with a physician or into a research lab is through friend or family connections,” Steffensen said. “We want to level that playing field to allow a more diverse population to come in and help inform us on what needs to be done from a health innovation perspective.” The program has a variety of components including a lecture series, faculty research opportunities and student-led projects. One unique aspect of the program is the ‘house project,’ which is a team-based project aiming to improve health in the local community, Steffensen said. When students enter the program, they are assigned to one of six houses, in which they will work with five or six members of their class. Steffensen said there is a large effort to diversify the backgrounds of the people within each house. “You might have a computer

science student, a nursing student and a music student in one house,” Steffensen said. “The idea is to leverage the collective talents in each house toward the accomplishment or realization of some need in the community.” Chemistry junior Kavya Rajesh worked with her house on a project that focused on mental health first-aid training. “We wanted to implement mental health first-aid training programs for public school teachers,” Rajesh said. “We have first-aid kits for physical wounds, but there are actually big programs for mental health first aid that train people to intervene in everyday mental health scenarios.” Rajesh said the most valuable aspect of her experience in the program was learning about the visions of her fellow classmates. “At the end of the day, this program is a bunch of unpaid undergraduate volunteers working under a physician and really interesting things have come out of it,” Rajesh said. “The passion people have for what they believe in is really inspiring.” Students in the program can also apply for opportunities to work with faculty on projects. During her time in the program, neuroscience junior Deepanjili Donthula participated in a marketing internship at the Texas Health CoLab, a Dell Med initiative to support innovation in health care. She said this opportunity gave her a chance to explore an area she had no experience in. “Up until then, I’d never done anything related to the business side of health care,” Donthula said. Alongside the efforts of the faculty at Dell Med, Steffensen said

copyright dell medical, and reproduced with permission Students in the Dell Medical School’s Health Leadership Apprentice program work on health care projects.

the true success of the program falls into the hands of the students who participate in the program and the student coordinators who help manage it. “One thing that has been really

characteristic about the program is evolving it to meet the needs and recommendations of the students,” Steffensen said. “Their input has helped shaped the program into what it is today.”

STATE

Preliminary Lege budget bills do not fund Patterson labs renovations By Katie Balevic @KatelynBalevic

The UT Board of Regents requested $100 million from the Texas Legislature last September to renovate the J.T. Patterson Laboratories Building. The funding request, called a Tuition Revenue Bond, did not make it onto the House and Senate’s respective budget bills, meaning they are not planning on funding it — at least, not yet. “There’s no (Tuition Revenue Bond) money (for Patterson labs) that has been put into the introduced bills,” University spokesman J.B. Bird said. “It’s really up to the Legislature to decide to fund (TRBs). Some years they decide to, and some years they do not.” The Patterson labs, built in 1967, need modern laboratory spaces and updated machinery to keep up with the College of Natural Sciences’

research mission, according to the bond request. Historically, the Legislature approves the Tuition Revenue Bond requests every other session, but it is not unusual for that funding to be excluded from the House and Senate budget bills, said Julie Eklund from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “Generally, funding for debt service for new TRB requests is not included in the introduced appropriations bill,” Eklund said in an email. “If the Legislature does not authorize a TRB an institution has requested, then the institution must find other sources of funds if it wants to move forward with the project.” Bird said the Legislature could still decide to fund requests later in the session. The $100 million request comprised only two-thirds of the total cost of the renovations, and the University was going to rely on donations and University funds for the final

$50 million, Bird said. Laurie Lentz, communications manager for UT Financial and Administrative Services, said depending on the priority of the project, the University could utilize private or public University funds, other institutional funds or debt to pay for the renovations. “We do not have funds set aside for these renovations, and we are seeking help to do them through the TRBs,” Bird said. “The Patterson lab renovations are a high priority for both the Provost and the President, for the University as a whole and for our teaching and research missions.” Some legislators are already looking for other ways to fund the project. Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, filed Senate Bill 505 to fund Tuition Revenue Bonds from several universities across Texas, including the request for the Patterson labs. “This includes a lot of projects, and some quite frankly are more timely or more

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important to do right now, and that would be a much smaller bill,” Seliger said. “But sometimes it helps if more people have a stake in a piece of legislation.”

Seliger said he is not certain if SB 505 will pass because of the high demand for legislative funds, but Texas colleges need funding regardless. “We try to do as much

| the daily texan staff

good around the state as possible,” Seliger said. “In a growing state with a growing body of people in higher education, we need to address the future.”

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LIZA ANDERSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @TEXANOPINION

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

COLUMN

Students deserve an admissions system better than the Top 10 Percent Rule By Bella McWhorter Associate Editor

charlie hyman

| the daily texan staff

UT Office of Admissions needs to adopt a test-flexible policy By Emily Caldwell Associate Editor

If you don’t want to submit your ACT or SAT scores with your college application, that’s not a problem — at NYU. The private university in New York City, which boasts one of the most flexible testing policies in the country, allows applicants to send in a variety of different materials to fulfill the standardized testing score requirement. Prospective students can send in everything from an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma to multiple AP exam scores. UT isn’t so flexible. If you’re applying as a freshman, you have the option to submit either your ACT or SAT scores. That’s it. The University, specifically the Office of Admissions, should consider transitioning to a test-flexible policy that gives students more options. This is an opportunity for UT to set the standard for public universities in the state of Texas and join the growing list of schools nationwide who are treating their applicants as more than just a test score. Miguel Wasielewski, the executive director of admissions, notes the almost unrivaled access high school students across the country have to the big standardized tests, which have become a staple of the American college application experience. “The SAT and ACT tests are widely accessible to all students, regardless

of their high school or geographic location,” Wasielewski said via email. “Both the ACT and SAT also provide test fee waivers so that the test or its costs are not a barrier to students.” SAT and ACT exams are indeed available to high school students nationwide and provide accommodations to low-income students. But whether or not a student performs well on these standardized tests is directly related to their socioeconomic level. Companies such as The Princeton Review stake their livelihoods on students investing in preparatory materials — their SAT private tutoring classes start at $150 per hour, and on their website they encourage students to invest in $1,400 packages that guarantee a 31+ score on the ACT. Preparatory materials are expensive, but they work. This means that a disproportionately large amount of the students who do well on standardized tests have the money to pay for the prep. Standardized test scores reflect more than just intelligence. If a prospective student can’t afford SAT or ACT prep materials, is that taken into account when UT reviews their application? According to Wasielewski, “the test scores are considered as a one of the many components of information in the holistic review.” Accepting other forms of test scores in addition to SAT and ACT scores, like those from the relatively inexpensive AP tests or an IB diploma, would benefit both applicants and the University. Most public high schools offer AP or IB-affiliated

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

classes, but few offer standardized test score preparation. Standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT are not indicative of a prospective student’s overall intelligence or potential success, just of how well they can, or have been taught to, take tests. According to a study conducted across 33 test-flexible public and private universities in 2014, there are no distinguishable differences in cumulative GPAs or graduation rates between those who submit their standardized test scores and those who don’t. And from what it looks like, colleges have begun to acknowledge this — according to FairTest, a national organization promoting test-optional and test-flexible university admissions policies across the United States, there are “more than 1,000 accredited colleges and universities that do not use ACT/SAT scores to admit substantial numbers of students into bachelor-degree programs.” And the list is growing. NYU is a huge school, and consistently receives more admission applications than UT — yet its admissions office has adopted an impressively flexible policy when it comes to which test scores applicants are allowed to submit. If UT reviews all of its applicants as holistically as it says it does, you can’t help but wonder why such a stringent test policy is implemented in the first place. Caldwell is a Latin American studies and journalism sophomore from College Station.

GALLERY

yulissa chavez yulissa chavez

| the daily texan staff | the daily texan staff

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The Top 10 Percent Rule allows high school seniors in the top 10 percent of their class to receive automatic admission to any Texas public university. Although the rule has helped students from rural and small communities come to UT, it is not the best UT can do. If the state eliminated the Top 10 Percent Rule and allowed UT to institute its own admissions process, UT could better serve Texas communities. Many of the students accepted through automatic admission come from rural towns and small high schools, and believe without the rule they would not have been accepted. Small towns and schools tend to suffer from a lack of resources necessary to meet the criteria of UT admissions. Anna Haynes, an international relations junior from La Grange, was the only one from her graduating class to go to UT not by automatic admission. According to Haynes, because it is a small school, they did not have access to the resources that help other students get into UT, such as AP classes and ACT and SAT preparation. Students from her high school generally get in automatically or not at all. “There is just a general bias that people from rural areas are less smart and that comes from being from a less educated population,” Haynes said. “A lot of that is not true. In my experience, the (students) from my high school who have come here have done well compared to students who came from ‘competitive’ schools. They are

Students coming from schools with fewer resources deserve a more holistic admissions process.” just like the next student if they get the opportunity.” While the rule has benefited some students, it suffers from key flaws. Small towns are hurt by this admission process because of their size. Erika Wey-Acuna, an advertising sophomore who went to high school in McAllen, graduated with a class of 89 students at Idea Quest College Preparatory. Only five students were given automatic admission. According to Wey-Acuna, coming from a small school means a smaller chance of getting into UT under the Top 10 Percent rule, despite the fact that it helped her get in. Furthermore, in front of the Supreme Court, UT argued in Fischer v. University of Texas that the Top 10 Percent Rule does not factor in a student’s background, skills or unique perspectives. When these skills fail to be analyzed in the admission process, students from smaller schools are not being equally evaluated as their peers. Students coming from schools with fewer resources deserve a more holistic admissions process. People support the rule under the pretense that it increases racial diversity. But at UT, the student population still falls short of diversity and fails to reflect Texas’ demographics. Not only has the rule failed to bring students of all races to UT, but it has now been passed down to solve a separate issue that requires its own solution. Students from small and rural schools deserve a system that is built for them. This means considering they come from different backgrounds by putting personal essays and grades at the forefront of the admission decision, instead of standardized tests and AP classes. If the state truly cares about diversity and representation in its public universities, UT should be allowed to ditch an outdated and ineffective rule and create an admission process that better serves students from a variety of backgrounds. McWhorter is a journalism junior from San Francisco, CA.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

Q&A

UT alumna, director Catherine Hardwicke talks ‘Miss Bala,’ lack of female representation in media

The Daily Texan had a chance to speak with UT alumna Catherine Hardwicke to discuss her latest film “Miss Bala.”

a degree in architecture, so what drew you to film and directing afterwards? Catherine Hardwicke: Well, in some ways there’s a parallel because with architecture, you start with a flat While Hollywood has recently been piece of dirt, and then you have to vicalling for female representation in sualize what it could be and create it. the industry, director Catherine HardSame thing with film. You start with wicke has rooted for change for years. a bare idea or script and think ‘How Since 2003, Hardwicke has written do I bring this to life?’ I thought film and directed major female-led films would be more creative, but I forgot such as “Thirteen” and the 2008 pop about sequels. (laughs) culture juggernaut “Twilight.” Her DT: You grew up in McAllen which is latest action film, “Miss Bala,” conby the Mexican border, similar to Glotinues her insistence of female representation by focusing on Gloria (Gina ria in “Miss Bala,” so did this project evoke any memories? Rodriguez) who unexpectedly finds CH: That’s a main reason why I herself swept away by a cartel group, wanted to do the movie because I the Estrellas. loved growing up in McAllen. It’s The Daily Texan sat down with a very interesting place where you Hardwicke to will talk about Texas Student Media keep“Miss you Bala,” connected have the two cultures. I went to art what drew her to directing, and the with daily links to the news, sports and culture school in Mexico, so what I always tenth anniversary of “Twilight.” stories shaping UT community. wanted to show some of this richness Daily Texan: the You graduated UT with

By Savannah J Salazar @savannahjai

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of Mexico. It was important to show Tijuana’s cutting edge architecture and the beauty of the landscape since you don’t normally see that when you think of the border. DT: With the ten year anniversary of “Twilight” last year, how has seeing the lasting impact of this movie been for you? CH: I think it was in September when I went to the “Twilight” convention in Forks, (Washington), and it was awesome. People are still so into it. It’s really been so touching because all these lives have changed, and connections have been made. One time, this girl from Peru came up to me and told me that when she saw that a woman directed it, she was amazed because she didn’t even know that was possible. She later went to film school and made a short film, which ten years later played at the Academy.

DT: What do you think about the up-

coming Academy Awards not having any nominated female directors? CH: Oh, I know. It’s like ‘Here we go again.’ DT: In recent years, Hollywood has made a big push for more female driven films, but when it comes to big things like the Academy Awards, this happens. CH: There are so many ways that you need to nourish that. They need to give women the chance to get these big projects and money for award campaigns. Like Sony is supporting ‘Miss Bala’ starring a Latina, directed by a woman and the editor (Terilyn A. Shropshire) is an African-American woman, and it’s an action movie which is unique. They usually tell me I need a male action editor, but I said nope, I wanted a woman editor. Let’s lead the charge!

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Roach powers Longhorns over Bears Texas’ backcourt pushed the Longhorns to a much-needed Big 12 win. By Steve Helwick @s_helwick

here’s no place like home. The Frank Erwin Center has treated the Longhorns kindly — no matter the opponent. The favorable trend prolonged Wednesday night as Texas (13–10, 5–5 Big 12) trampled Baylor (15–7, 6–3 Big 12), 84-72. Texas’ commanding victory over a top Big 12 program extended its home winning streak to three games, a stretch which includes a pair of ranked wins over Oklahoma and Kansas. “Right now, it’s crunch time in the league,” point guard Matt Coleman III said. “We know how important road wins are. We know how important home wins are, so we just want to take grasp of all of those and just compete with everybody.” In an effort to build on its dominating six-game win streak, Baylor never secured a lead in the second half and often lagged behind by double-digits. The Longhorns fortified a 45-30 halftime lead behind an efficient, 14-of-23 shooting first half, which included 19 attempts at the free throw line. Texas concluded the night converting 55 percent of field goals, spearheaded by an 8-of-20 showing beyond the arc. “Defensively, we didn’t have any answers,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. “They were really good as far as (shooting guard Kerwin) Roach (II) and Coleman getting into the paint, getting fouled and creating scoring opportunities for themselves. When those two are 11-for-15, they’re really good.” A concerted effort from the backcourt ushered in Texas’ convincing victory. Roach anchored Texas with a team-high

eddie gaspar | the daily texan staff Kerwin Roach II looks to attack against the Baylor Bears in a Texas win at the Frank Erwin Center on Feb 6, 2019. Texas moves to 5-5 in Big 12 play and sixth in the standings. Roach has led the Longhorns in scoring with 14.5 points this season.

21 points, and he hit each of his first six field goals in his scoring barrage. Coleman also chimed in with an all-around performance of 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, picking apart Baylor’s 1-3-1 zone defense with his dribbling and ball movement. Defensively, Roach and point guard Courtney Ramey effectively shut down Baylor point guard Makai Mason — who dropped 40 points in his previous outing — to 1-of-7 shooting and three turnovers. “The games we’ve won, our guards have outplayed the other team’s guards. The games we lost, not as much,” Smart

said. “The key is having a serious approach. I use (Grizzlies point guard) Jevon Carter, (Hornets point guard) Devonte Graham, (Kings point guard) Frank Mason with Matt, with Snoop (Roach). Every detail on the court that goes into winning was like life or death for those guys. That’s what I’m trying to help Matt and Snoop get to.” To gain second-half momentum, shooting guard Jase Febres sunk in a trio of timely threes. Texas had a 51-34 stranglehold on the game, but an 11-2 run swung Baylor back into the contest. Then, consecutive three-pointers

by Febres erased the eight-point margin and permitted Texas to enter cruise control for the final 14 minutes. Baylor would never crawl within nine points again thanks to Febres’ surge. “Even when he misses his first few or he’s struggling in the first half, if you leave him in there over the course of the second half and you’re able to execute and play the right way on offense, he’s gonna get open looks. And he’s probably gonna make some of them,” Smart said. With another encouraging victory in the Frank Erwin Center, Texas’ next step is sustaining success. The Longhorns

haven’t glued together consecutive victories since the first week of 2019, and they haven’t won a road matchup since Jan. 2, but Smart is already strategizing how the team can amend its errors from previous road letdowns before traveling to West Virginia. “To us, it’s about the next game,” Smart said. “The two things I would take out of (the last road) game that we’ve talked about as a team: We have to start the game better so we don’t have a 13-point deficit, and when we fight like crazy to build a lead, it’s all about finishing.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

FOOTBALL

Coleman starting to fufill potential

Herman gives updates on signees, program direction By Keshav Prathivadi @kpthefirst

For the past four to five years, the highlight of each season of Texas football has been its recruiting hauls. After Texas bagged the nation’s third-ranked 2019 recruiting class according to 247Sports, it’ll be carrying even more momentum heading to the offseason after a program-changing win in the Sugar Bowl over No. 5 Georgia. Here are some highlights from Herman’s National Signing Day press conference Wednesday:

Significant signees

eddie gaspar | the daily texan staff Guard Matt Coleman III drives towards the bucket in Texas’ 84-72 win against Baylor at the Frank Erwin Center on Feb. 6, 2019.

By Robert Larkin @ r_larkintexas

Shaka Smart will be the first to admit he’s tough on Matt Coleman III. When the sophomore guard stepped on the Texas campus, Smart warned Coleman he was going to push him harder than other coaches would. All of it, Smart said, in an effort to help Coleman become the program changing player that the head coach expected he could become. While Texas’ starting point guard has struggled at times this season to take the next big step in his sophomore campaign, he showed significant flashes of the player Smart believes he can develop into on Wednesday night. During the Longhorns’ 84-72 victory over Baylor, Coleman played with a controlled aggression and helped engineer one of the team’s best offensive efforts in Big 12 play. He collected 18 points, six

rebounds and five assists, only turning the ball over twice in the win. In the 38 minutes Coleman was on the floor, Texas outscored the Bears by a 17-point margin. “I just had a little bounce in my step,” Coleman said. “(There was a) seriousness, aggressiveness about me just wanting to win. We got eight games left, and it’s wide open for the taking, so I just want to take advantage.” The Norfolk, Virginia, native played with explosiveness and vision that he’s lacked against other teams the Longhorns have faced this season. He consistently pushed the ball down the floor, found his open teammate in the halfcourt and was able to knife through Baylor’s zone defense with his quickness off the dribble. His display on Wednesday comes just one game after an improved effort against Iowa State, despite Texas coming up short against the Cyclones. For

Coleman to make performances like his last two a regular occurrence, Smart wants him to balance his joy for the game with an obsession with the details. “Before he even came here, I told him you’re at your best when you’re having fun,” Smart said. “The other edge of that sword is the serious approach to every little thing. It’s his job to not let that take away from having fun and attacking.” Finding that balance will be key for the Longhorns as they progress through the last half of the Big 12 schedule. When Texas’ guards are playing at their best, the team is capable of outclassing any team in the conference. And with the Longhorns teetering on the edge of earning a tournament bid, they need each conference win they can get. “The team goes, the guards go,” guard Kerwin Roach II said. “Last year, when our backs were against the wall, you know

the team leaned up on (me and Matt). We just need to do it more consistently. We do that, we can really make a run.” The season has presented ups and downs to Coleman. He’s experienced the highs of beating blue blood programs North Carolina and Kansas, and he’s suffered through humiliating losses against Radford and Georgia. Coleman has looked tired and frustrated at times in those losses, disgruntled by what has been an inconsistent season for the Longhorns. But on Wednesday night, Coleman looked like he let that frustration slip away. With over seven minutes left in the game, Coleman dished a beautiful no-look pass from behind the arc to a wide-open Jericho Sims who promptly rattled the rim on a thunderous dunk. Coleman skipped to the other end of the floor and let out a smile. He once again found the joy for the game he loves.

Early Wednesday, offensive lineman Javonne Shepherd committed to Texas to cap off a class of 24 newcomers in this year’s cycle. Additionally, Longhorns inked several big-name recruits including athlete Jordan Whittington, wide receiver Jake Smith and defensive back Kenyatta Watson II. “(Recruiting) is truly built on relationships,” Herman said. “When you build those relationships with the young men … you see very little issues … when they commit to the University of Texas, it is a decision that they are not 99 percent sure, but for the most part, 100 percent sure.” Texas also got another late addition in Bru McCoy, who transferred from USC in late January. The six-foot, two-inch athlete will add yet another weapon to Texas’ offense, but his eligibility for this upcoming season is uncertain. “I applaud Bru and his courageousness to say, ‘Hey, this is not where my heart is,’” Herman said. “He showed me a lot of fortitude in

just that one thing that he did.”

Offseason injury updates

Towards the end of the 2018 season, quarterback Sam Ehlinger had been playing with an injured shoulder and took injections to be able to play through it. While limited in the weight room, he should be good to go when spring practice starts. The same can be said about wide receiver Collin Johnson, who underwent knee surgery after the season ended. Defensive end Marqez Bimage was also nursing a shoulder injury, but was cleared for both the running portion of winter workouts as well as contact practice in the spring. With spring practices set to commence on March 11, Herman should have a full crop of healthy or near-healthy players as the spring practice sessions lead up to the spring game on April 13.

Moving the program forward

As is the question with any offseason, the ever-looming question for any head coach is what the next step will be for the program. But for Herman, there wasn’t a lot of thinking required to come up with an answer. “We’ve got to win our conference,” Herman said. “Our goal each and every year is to be in position to win our conference in the months of November and December … Now we’ve got to take that last step to winning it on the field.” With work set to begin on Texas’ long anticipated south end zone facility in May and 10 early enrollees from the 2019 class already on campus, the program is moving forward at full speed. But it’s up to Herman to prove that on the field when the season starts.

anthony mireles | the daily texan staff Head coach Tom Herman spoke to the media about the highly-touted recruiting class as well as the returning members of the team.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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TIANA WOODARD & JORDYN ZITMAN LIFE&ARTS EDITORS @THEDAILYTEXAN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

MUSIC

Attorney rocks music scene

anthony mireles | the daily texan staff David Komie, lawyer and lead singer of the Dharma Kings, performs in front of bar regulars at Hanovers Draught Haus in Pflugerville this past Saturday. Known as “the lawyer that rocks” Komie is an injury attorney that has been practicing law for 30 years and playing music for 40.

Lawyer David Komie finds his niche as lead singer of rock band Dharma Kings. By Landry Allred @l2ndry

y day, David Komie is co-founder and attorney for Komie & Morrow, LLP. By night, he’s the lead singer for his rock band Dharma Kings. For more than 40 years, Komie has played music since he saw the 1978 Van Halen concert at Hollywood Sportatorium. Ten years later, he began practicing law. With dreadlocks and a beard, Komie not only continues rocking onstage, but he and his business

partner, Chris Morrow, run a local law firm together. Before practicing law, Komie said he originally wanted to be a professional tennis player. However, when that door closed, the opportunity to become an attorney opened up. “I was just ready to do some more school, get a higher education and do something with my life,” Komie said. As Komie began pursuing law, he realized he was competing with many rich lawyers. “With marketing, you have to stand out in an honest way and ask yourself what’s unique about you as an individual,” Komie said. “Austin’s always embraced (my band) pretty well, so I decided to stay outside the envelope.” When Komie began producing commercials, he first advertised himself as the lawyer who sneaks up on people, referring to his unconventional lawyer appearance. In 2011, Komie phoned Morrow, proposing the idea to be business partners. Next, Komie shot commercials while rocking onstage and even put up billboards advertising himself as “the attorney that rocks.”

STUDENT

UT student earns citizenship through investing in business, creating jobs Editor’s note: Some of the names in this article have been changed in order to protect the sources’ paths to citizenship and their family’s safety.

then there’s other people who are attracted to the way David looks and go to him,” Morrow said. Morrow said what makes their business partnership unique is that they not only share work together but also a friendship. “I consider David one of my best friends, and it makes so much easier to work together,” Morrow said. “We look completely different, but we think the same.” Despite these positives, Komie said challenges still arise as people underestimate him sometimes, but he isn’t phased. “Being underestimated is a gift,” Komie said. “(Luckily), I’ve been around long enough where I don’t get underestimated too much anymore.” Although he falls outside the box, Komie said he doesn’t let people offend him because he’s just being himself. “I’ve emphasized what’s unique about me as a way to stand out from the crowd in a very competitive field,” Komie said. “(And) I like myself. I’m not embarrassed of who I am.”

FILM REVIEW | ‘THE PRODIGY’

Horror film ‘The Prodigy’ will have you running from daycare By Noah Levine @ZProductionz

By Trinady Joslin @trinady05

Growing up in Vietnam, economics senior Jonah described himself as a “bad kid.” His dad provided a solution: a better education and environment. He sent his son to America, specifically a private Christian boarding school in Tyler, Texas. Surrounded by countryside and with little to do, Jonah said he felt motivated to study harder. However, the change in culture and presence of racism he hadn’t experienced before was a lot to overcome. “I (thought), ‘This isn’t a country for me, no one listened to me,’” Jonah said. “There are few people who are like (me and) I was not accepted by everyone.” Seeing the deterioration of the Vietnamese government led him to the path to permanent United States citizenship after being on a student visa for six years. “The only choice for me is to stay here so I can be able to give what my dad’s given me to my kids,” Jonah said. Jonah and his brother, Logan, who moved to Tyler several years later, embarked on the road to citizenship last November. With the help of their father, they chose the Immigrant Investor Program, one of six routes to citizenship. The program, officially called Employment-Based Immigration: Fifth Preference, was created through a law passed in 1990 and has since helped thousands. It reached its 10,000 person quota for the first time in 2017. Attorney and UT law alumnus Mehron Azarmehr, who graduated in 1992, has handled around 400 investment cases. “Investment is unique in that you’re self-sponsoring yourself through commitment of capital,” Azarmehr said. After finding a project to invest in, Azarmehr said a regional center pools together each applicant’s $500,000 investment and puts it toward a business. “The developer benefits because now they have capital coming in,” Azarmehr said. “U.S. workers benefit because there’s more jobs, and the student benefits because now he can pursue his career freely after school without all these strings wrapped around his ankles.” The investment is required to create 10 new

Dave Junker, UT advertising and public relations lecturer, said this marketing strategy may either portray Komie as trustworthy or untrustworthy. For some, Komie’s approach might delegitimize his business because he doesn’t resemble an official in the law world, yet it could help his business for that same reason. “Komie differentiates himself from that stereotype,” Junker said. “For some people, this might be exactly what makes him trustworthy because (they think) the official world isn’t to be trusted.” Morrow said although Komie doesn’t resemble that clean-cut lawyer stereotype, Komie is a great legal strategist. “He’s been practicing a lot longer than I have,” Morrow said. “He can think of things that I didn’t think of and vice versa.” With Komie’s rockstar look and Morrow’s clean-cut appearance, the two appear on opposing spectrums. However, Morrow said they complement each other. “Certain people come to me, but

ella williams | the daily texan staff jobs, Azarmehr said. It provides no guarantee of full repayment when they recoup their investment. At the end of each year, Jonah’s family will receive the acquired interest. While the minimum requirement is two years, the process normally takes five, said Azarmehr. “(Creating ten jobs isn’t) a worry because we invested in a business near the river,” Jonah said. “They’re building food chains, so I think it will create a bunch of jobs.” Similar to other investments, Azarmehr said bad actors can pose real risk to applicants, but researching attorneys and carefully picking projects can help eliminate some of these risks. Other barriers include not receiving approval because of bad background checks or green card violations, something Logan isn’t worried about. “I feel like we have a good enough proof we’re not here to screw around,” Logan said. “We’re here to study and help others.” After first obtaining a temporary and then a permanent green card, applicants are able to apply for citizenship only after completing each step over the course of five years. Although the process is long and laborious, Jonah sees the investment as a win-win situation. “(If) your family is able to finance your kid to be in a better place like America then you would,” Jonah said. “If you help this country to grow up, they say, ‘Okay, we can count you as a U.S. citizen.’”

If you think the terrible twos are bad, beware the homicidal eights. “The Prodigy” is a new horror film from ‘The Pact’ director Nicholas McCarthy that brings every parent’s worst nightmare to life. Suburban parents Sarah (Taylor Schilling) and John (Peter Mooney) deal with the struggles and horrors of raising their overly-intelligent son Miles (Jackson Robert Scott). After several increasingly disturbing events occur, the couple begins to suspect that intelligence isn’t the only thing residing within their little prodigy. Nicholas McCarthy navigates this nightmare with a basic, yet successful script by Jeff Buhler that delivers nicely on its scares and general story. The two main adult performances within the film are pretty straightforward. The relationship between Schilling’s Sarah and Mooney’s John doesn’t exactly bring anything new to the table in terms of diversity or uniqueness. Mooney’s character doesn’t get as much flexibility as Schilling’s, but as he starts to give up hope, his portrayal of an ailing father is more evident. Scott is the film’s true standout. Most well-known for his recent role in “It” as Georgie, Scott gives “The Omen’s” Damien Thorn a run for his money with his intense performance as Miles. He delivers terrifying lines with extreme menace in his inflection and actually appears as an intimidating force throughout the film, despite being surrounded by adults. Audiences do get a good idea of what is wrong with

copyright mgm, and reproduced with permission Miles (Jackson Robert Scott) and Sarah (Taylor Schilling) in “The Prodigy.”

Miles early on in the film through a sequence with some impressive, yet telling editing. While the lead characters scramble around trying to figure out exactly what is going on, the audience is already aware. It’s an extended period of catch up for the characters that’s a bit off-putting. Luckily, the film is able to pull off another twist at the end to make the character’s realization worth the wait. This film knows exactly what it wants to be: a horror film. Although it does use an abundance of unnecessary jump scares, the film is definitely aware that there are other ways to frighten an audience. Shocking imagery and sinister situations are just enough to get spines tingling. The framing and movement of the camera leads the eye to each morbid revelation. An overall sense of dread is present throughout its runtime, and the audience is left waiting for things to progressively get darker and darker. Another unique aspect of the film is its visual style. Scenes set on Halloween create beautiful contrast with

“The Prodigy” R AT I N G : SCORE

bright orange colors and the pale white suburban aesthetic. Miles sports an interesting wardrobe throughout the film, offering insight into his character. He wipes off half of his Halloween makeup to represent his evil duality and wears a onesie similar to a prison jumpsuit. Miles also has heterochromia, making one eye hazel and the other a bright blue. These elements give Miles a unique and memorable look. The terrifying child character has been done to death over the course of film history. “The Prodigy” takes a interesting approach to the cause and effects of Miles’s evil ambitions and has fun with the concept. “The Prodigy” takes everything you’d expect from an evil child movie and molds it into its own unique and morbid tale of parenting gone wrong. “The Prodigy” hits theaters Friday, Feb. 8.