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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Food trucks on campus began serving breakfast food options this month. PA G E 3
UT Computer Science needs to hire more faculty to improve diversity. PA G E 4
UT student displays eccentric music taste in extensive record collection. PA G E 5
Texas hopes to use new team mindset in Big 12 clash against Kansas State. PA G E 6
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CAMPUS
FIGs, TrIGs to begin consent education starting fall 2019 semester
Robotics finds new home
By Hannah Ortega @_hannahortega_
In order to teach incoming students about consent and healthy relationships, classes for First-Year Interest Group and Transfer-Year Interest Group mentors will include consent education starting this semester. The consent education program is a joint effort between the First-Year Experience Office, Student Government and other campus groups such as the Title IX Office, BeVocal and the Counseling and Mental Health Center’s Voices Against Violence. “We want to make sure that we’re sort of staying away from (the) ‘train the trainer’ definition of (consent education) because we also don’t expect that peer mentors can go through a two-hour education program and then be experts to train other people on it,” said Patty Moran Micks, director of the First-Year Experience Office. “But what we hope is that we will be able to work with these offices and our mentors to develop something that we could implement for all students, whether that be new types of promotional materials or new ways of talking about what do you do in these situations.” Student Government leaders approached Micks and Brent Iverson, dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies, over the summer about consent education. Student Body President Colton Becker said the idea stemmed from a model used by Not On My Campus, a sexual assault prevention group in which leaders from campus organizations attend workshops and then teach their peers what they learn. Sexual assault prevention was also one of Becker’s campaign platform points last year.
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joshua guenther | the daily texan staff Mathematics sophomore Ivonne Martinez walks by construction at the Anna Hiss Gymnasium on her way to class in Robert Lee Moore Hall. The gym is the new home of UT’s robotics program.
Construction begins to modernize Anna Hiss Gymnasium By Nicole Stuessy @nicolestuessy
For the past two years, Texas Aerial Robotics has worked out of empty classroom spaces in the aerospace engineering building. Because there is no lab on campus big enough, they test fly their drone on the top floor of a nearby parking garage. “That wasn’t able to be used when there was any weather related issue, like if it was windy or raining, or even too sunny,” said Umer Salman, president of Texas Aerial Robotics. “Because we were only
able to test our drone outdoors, it affected the way our sensors behaved.” Last week, construction began on the Anna Hiss Gymnasium to house UT robotics programs. Currently, different robotics labs are located across engineering and natural sciences buildings, but they don’t have a centralized location, according to computer science professor Peter Stone. “This will give us the space for large projects across departments,” Stone said. “Students from the different departments will have the space to sit together and interact with each other directly rather than just meeting at their different buildings.”
Anna Hiss Gym was built in 1930 as a recreation area, which included gym space and a natatorium, but has been underutilized for years, said Jill Stewart, associate director of Project Management and Construction Services. “It’s an older building, so we are looking to give a more modern, contemporary use for it,” Stewart said. “We are kind of out of room on campus to create more space, so we are taking existing space and are able to renovate it so that it fits the needs of the program.” Beginning stages of construction will
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CAMPUS
STATE
UT senior receives aerospace fellowship
How to effectively testify in front of state Legislature
By Mason Carroll @MasonCCarroll
From the moment Mykaela Dunn sat in the Apollo 17 cockpit at Space Center Houston when she was six years old, she knew she wanted to be an astronaut. As her love for tinkering grew, she turned her sights to aerospace engineering. In January, Dunn, an aerospace engineering senior, was named one of 38 undergraduate women to receive the Brooke Owens Fellowship, which promotes women and diversity in aerospace by matching fellows with leading aviation and space companies. “This just feels like a win,” Dunn said. “Just the fact that I can finally get my foot in the door has really helped me. I’ve never seen this many girls in STEM, and just seeing that many girls in aerospace … there’s just no words to describe it. It’s amazing.” Hundreds of students from around the world applied for the fellowship. Dunn said she almost did not apply for the fellowship because she came from a small town and did not have a strong science foundation or a role model to look up to. “I think it is important to have something there for women because it’s really intimidating walking into a classroom and seeing 100 white men,” Dunn said. “I didn’t see any women of
By Chad Lyle @lylechad
amna ijaz | the daily texan staff Aerospace engineering senior Mykaela Dunn shows off her excitement for her upcoming fellowship as she works on a class project in the Aerospace Engineering Building on Tuesday afternoon.
color in engineering growing up, so I think (the fellowship) is doing a really good job at (fixing) that.” Dunn said one of her biggest supporters has been her academic adviser, Sarah Kitten. Kitten has worked with Dunn since 2015, when Dunn was a prospective student, and said she has continued to watch Dunn grow through the following semesters. “From the first day I met her, she was over the moon — no pun intended — excited about pursuing an aerospace engineering degree here at UT-Austin,” Kitten said in an email. “I think if I were to describe
Mykaela’s journey thus far, it would be one of perseverance and resilience.” Dunn said she also wants to be the mentor she never had. Thus, she has been a peer adviser in the department of aerospace engineering for the past three years. “I would like to provide kids with something to look at and say, ‘If she can do it, I can do it,’” Dunn said. “Having a role model to look up to could really help kids out. Or, at least would really have helped me out.” While Dunn said she might not have had an engineering role model, she looks up to both of her parents because they came from poverty and
have worked hard to provide her with a good life. “This is something that she has dreamt of about her entire life,” Dunn’s father Charles Dunn said. “It’s like a dream that is becoming true, and we are so proud of her.” In June, Dunn will head to Alameda, California, to start her internship at Stealth Space Company. Dunn said she knows it will be hard, but she knows she is capable. “It’s going to be an interesting experience,” Dunn said. “I know I am destined for greatness no matter what I do, so as long as I keep that in mind, I know I can do it.”
Testifying before the state Legislature is one of the few ways — aside from voting — Texans can affect the legislative process. The process of testifying is not well known, and it is not as accessible as walking into a voting booth. But Sherri Greenberg, a former state representative and a professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, said it can significantly impact the way lawmakers think about an issue. “If you think about the number of bills that come before the Legislature, the vast majority of them, they’re not topics on which people have predetermined philosophies, ethics, notions, opinions,” Greenberg said. “For many, many bills, it’s really about hearing from people, finding out the facts, finding out the issues. Many times, the testimony is important.” After a bill is filed, it is referred to the committee where its hearing will take place. All hearings are open to the public, but some only allow invited testimony. The notice for the hearing will specify if public testimony is allowed and the time limit for individual testimonies. Selina Eshraghi, who has testified in front of committees in both the House and Senate, said the process is not as simple as showing up to
the Capitol the day you want to testify. Those interested in testifying are required to sign up in advance. “The sign-up process is a little bit confusing if you don’t really know what you’re doing ahead of time,” said Eshraghi,
For many, many bills, it’s really about hearing from people, finding out the facts, finding out the issues. Many times, the testimony is important.” SHERRI GREENBERG PROFESSOR
a radio-television-film and chemical engineering sophomore. “The sign-up process is different for whether it’s the House doing the hearing or the Senate doing the hearing.” Giving effective testimony requires speakers to follow the rules of the hearing, said Susan Nold, director of UT’s Annette Strauss Institute for
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