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THE DAILY TEXAN Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
LONGHORN SHAKEUP
A GREAT SERIES OF TUBES
Mack Brown adds seven staff members to cope with disappointing 2010 season
Internet comprehension, literacy favors students as early as the second grade
TODAY Calendar K-12
The K-12 Educational Outreach Consortium will hold a brown bag luncheon for all campus entities that do outreach and programming for K-12 students. from noon-1 p.m. in the LBJ Library, Classroom A.
Seeing science
The Texas Advanced Computer Center presents a forum on how visualization data is changing the face of science at the AT&T Conference Center at 5:45 p.m.
Visual Arts Center unveils facility utilizing assembly line creativity
LIFE&ARTS PAGE 12
NEWS PAGE 10
SPORTS PAGE 8 @thedailytexan
>> Breaking news, blogs and more: dailytexanonline.com
FACTORY OF IDEAS Tuesday, February 1, 2011
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Constitutionality of health care reform challenged By Melissa Ayala Daily Texan Staff
A Florida district judge ruled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unconstitutional Monday because of its mandate requiring all Americans to purchase health insurance or face a penalty.
State attorney generals from 26 states, including Texas, filed a lawsuit shortly after President Barack Obama signed the law in March, which would require Americans to purchase health insurance by 2014. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said if the law is upheld, it would open the door for the U.S. Congress to make other mandates.
“It looks like a brilliant decision,” Abbott said at a press conference Monday. Abbott said this is one step in the judicial process, and the federal government is expected to appeal the ruling. He anticipates the case to eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court. “For the first time in American history, Congress created a requirement on all Americans
to go out and purchase a product,” Abbott said. “The judge saw through exactly what Congress was doing, struck down their actions, ending Obamacare across the country.” Roger Vinson, a U.S. district judge from Pensacola, Fla., wrote in his ruling the health care
LAWSUIT continues on PAGE 2
Defamatory flier causes discontent in activist group
SEVENTH HEAVEN TEXAS
A&M
Pub Run
By Ahsika Sanders Daily Texan Staff
The Paramount Theatre hosts a screening of “Run, Fat Boy, Run,” plus free beer and an optional 1 mile run down Congress Avenue. Tickets are $10. The event starts at 7:30 p.m.
A controversial flier depicting President William Powers Jr., and College of Liberal Arts Dean Randy Diehl as members of the Ku Klux Klan created a rift within student activist group The Students Speak. Several members of the organization created the flier last week without consent of the group in response to proposed cuts to the specialized ethnic and identity studies centers. There will be no administrative representation Tuesday at The Students Speak open forum to discuss the cuts because of insufficient notice and the flier passed out at last week’s question-and-answer session, the liberal arts deans said. Caitlin Eaves, a group member and religious studies senior, said the flier made her feel uncomfortable because it was inaccurate and did not represent the majority opinion. “For one, institutional racism and KKK terrorizing aren’t synonymous struggles, but the biggest problem was that there wasn’t consensus about the flier,” she said.
Tiny Furniture
South By Southwest offers a screening of “Tiny Furniture” at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz. Tickets are $5 for students. The screening begins at 7 p.m.
Today in history In 1861
Texas seceded from the United States during the American Civil War.
FLIER continues on PAGE 10
Campus watch ‘Hello, occifer’
2100 block San Jacinto Blvd. A UT student was observed attempting to navigate through his navigational beacons, the sidewalk and curb. After missing his marks several times and ending up staggering in the street, the student was stopped. The officer detected a very strong odor of alcohol on the student’s breath and noted other signs of intoxication. The student informed the officer he had lost his ID card and was attempting to find it, he then changed his story and said he lost his debit card. His story changed a third time when he told the officer he had lost his phone. The student was taken into custody for Public Intoxication and was transported to Central Booking.
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Quote to note “We’re not going to continue to talk about 2005, when we won the national championship. We’re not going to talk about 2008, when we were third or 2009, when we were second. So we’re sure not going to talk about 2010. We are moving forward like it’s our first day.” — Mack Brown Texas head coach SPORTS PAGE 8
Texas guard J’Covan Brown drives to the basket for a layup during the Longhorns’ dismantling of Texas A&M in College Station. It was the first time since 2004 that Texas beat the Aggies on the road. Andrew Torrey Daily Texan Staff
Inside: Longhorns breeze past Aggies for seventh-straight win on page 7
Courtesy of The Student Speak
LBJ library director plans renovation to attract students By Marty McAndrews Daily Texan Staff
As one of his first major acts as director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, Mark Updegrove proposed renovations to the museum’s permanent exhibit to attract a wider and younger crowd. The renovation will update the museum’s permanent exhibit about former President Lyndon Baines Johnson to make it more interactive and relevant to students. The exhibit will incorporate computerized technology that was not available when it was originally installed. “We want people to leave the renovated library thinking that it’s state of the art,” Updegrove said. “We want them to believe that the experience they have here is on par with any experience at any library or any museum.” Updegrove, who became director after a career in media and as a presidential historian, took the position in October 2009. Anne Wheeler, LBJ Library and
Museum spokeswoman, said the renovations are firmly in the planning stages, without blueprints or a solidified budget to demonstrate what the renovations will look like and cost. However, Updegrove said the plan will cost approximately several million dollars and hopes the renovations will be completed by the Lady Bird Johnson Bicentennial in December 2012. “The exhibit hasn’t seen a marked change in over 20 years,” Updegrove said. “We want to make the president accessible to younger folks. What we want to do is to take a 21st century view of this president: looking at the accomplishments of LBJ through the lens of the present.” The National Archives, a federal organization responsible for historical preservation, built the LBJ Library on the UT campus in 1971. Although the library is on UT property, the National Archives
LIBRARY continues on PAGE 2
Thomas Allison | Daily Texan Staff
Government sophomore Robby Munez and members of campus GLBT organizations protested Chick-fil-A on Monday for its support of conservative political groups that will sponsor anti-gay marriage conferences.
Students protest Chick-fil-A sponsorship By Jody Serrano Daily Texan Staff
About a dozen protesters held signs in front of the Tower on Monday morning to demonstrate against fastfood chain Chick-fil-A’s sponsorship of a pro-“traditional family” organization, as well as its presence on campus.
Lauren Cozart, a women’s and gender studies senior, organized the event after reading about Chick-filA’s sponsorship of talks by the Pennsylvania Family Group, a conservative Christian organization that advocates traditional marriage. “I used to eat at Chick-fil-A, [and] other than being a Christian organi-
zation, I didn’t know anything about them,” said Cozart, who is openly gay. “It made me really mad because I like to be conscious of where my money goes.” Cozart said that Chick-fil-A’s status as a Christian corporation definitely played a role in their sponsorship.
PROTEST continues on PAGE 2