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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2019
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Texas Capitol recognizes Barabara Jordan for what would be her 83rd birthday. PA G E 3
Consent is a vital part of all relationships. Make sure you understand it. PA G E 4
Music gives people who have experienced homelessness a sense of community. PA G E 8
Coaching serves as the deciding factor in Tuesday’s Big 12 matchup. PA G E 6
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CITY CITY
Memorial bike ride held for victim of accident
Assault survivor fights back
By Hannah Ortega @_hannahortega_
On the sidewalk near Gate 7 of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, directly across from the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center, stands a white bike locked to a pole and adorned with artificial flowers. A laminated paper attached to the bike reads, “In Memory of Anthony John Diaz.” Diaz died Jan. 28 at San Jacinto Boulevard and East 23rd Street when his bike collided with a Capital Metro bus. People on bikes — standard, tall and recumbent — met at Plaza Saltillo at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday before making their way down San Jacinto Boulevard and to the white bike for Social Cycling Austin’s silent ride commemorating Diaz. A brief address was made by a member of Social Cycling Austin at the white bike, in which he acknowledged they have been in contact with Capital Metro. The riders then continued to the Capital Metro building on East 5th Street to speak about the significance of safety that bus drivers should keep in mind. To improve bike safety, Bike Austin member Andrew McKenna said the wide sidewalk along San Jacinto could be redesigned, and he would be in favor of removing street parking in the area. “I ride this street frequently, and the first thought I had was, ‘It could’ve been me,’” McKenna said. “It shouldn’t have happened in the first place, but it did, so I wanted to show solidarity for Anthony.” Social Cycling Austin member Carl Miron said bike safety concerns extend beyond San Jacinto Boulevard. “I feel like it’s not safe on the streets of Austin, even with the bike lane,” Miron said. “It’s not wide enough. I ride South Lamar sometimes and go up … both ways on South Lamar, and sometimes, I have to get out of the way because I see the bus coming, and it’s so close. It stinks that something tragic had to happen for this to now become more of local news and not be ignored like it has for so many years.” Social Cycling Austin member Zach Underwood said the
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nikita sveshnikov | the daily texan staff Marina Conner is one of eight plaintiffs in a federal class action lawsuit against the City of Austin, Travis County and five other indivduals for mishandling her sexual assault case.
UT senior opens up about rape, lawsuit against city, officials. By Emily Hernandez @emilylhernandez
Content warning: This article has a source that goes into intimate detail of a sexual assault she encountered. arina Conner said she was raped by a stranger two weeks before her sophomore year began. After dropping out of college for more than a year, she re-enrolled and will graduate this spring wearing a teal sexual assault survivor
graduation cord. “I never thought I was going to come back to university when I dropped out,” anthropology senior Conner said. “I was so messed up from the trauma, like I couldn’t think. I couldn’t speak. I was just so scared. I (knew) it was a tremendous thing to make it through and graduate after (my) assault.” Conner is one of eight plaintiffs in an ongoing federal class action lawsuit filed in June against the City of Austin, Travis County and five individuals, including Austin Police Chief Brian Manley. The women said the defendants violated their rights and discriminated on the basis of gender while handling their sexual assault cases. Conner said she got a rape kit and reported her assault within 24 hours of the incident to the Austin Police Department, and the police found and questioned her assailant within a week. He admitted
to penetration, but said the act was consensual, according to Conner. Conner was told to wait eight to 10 months for her rape kit to be DNA tested. However, the APD DNA lab was permanently shut down in June 2016. After the Department of Public Safety took over management of the lab in early 2017, Conner finally received her results that August, two years after her rape. “Mine came back with no DNA,” Conner said. “I had showered, and you’re not supposed to shower. I was told the (district attorney) would not be prosecuting my case.” Conner said she felt like her case was being “thrown away.” Determined to know why her case wasn’t being prosecuted, Conner spoke to the assistant DA, who told her about the Crime Scene Investigation effect. Conner said the effect is the
idea that crime shows have influenced jurors to believe DNA is necessary proof in a rape case. Elizabeth Myers, one of Conner’s lawyers, said because the assailant already admitted to sexual contact with Marina, the issue was one of consent, not whether the act occurred, and DNA does not “weigh in” on consent. Conner said her detective denied her case on the grounds of DNA because she decided it would be too hard to argue consent in court, but Conner said she thought there was plenty of evidence the act was not consensual. “(I had) bruises on the back of my arms from being pinned against the wall and a gashed forehead from where he slammed it against the parking garage wall,” Conner said. “While I was being raped, I tried to call my friend
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UNIVERSITY
New international student enrollment drops at UT, nationally By Chase Karacostas @ChaseKaracostas
UT’s international student enrollment saw a greater decrease between the 201617 and 2017-18 school years than the national decline in international student enrollment — a trend experts blame on the Trump administration’s immigration policies and rhetoric. During the same time period, new international student enrollment dropped 6.6 percent nationally, it dropped at UT by 26 percent, from 452 students to 336, according to data from the UT’s Institutional Reporting, Research and Information Systems office and the Institute of International Education. Some of this can be accounted for due to a 4 percent drop in total enrollment between each freshman class. Law professor Denise Gilman, the director of UT’s Immigration Clinic, said the travel ban, increased wait times to receive a visa and more stringent immigration interviews at U.S. consulates in foreign countries could all be causes for the drop. “My guess is the bigger impact is not so much direct barriers to coming, but the message that foreign students and academics will not be fully welcomed here,” Gilman said. From 2012 to 2016, new international enrollment grew, with some fluctuations, by 17 percent nationally and by 16 percent at UT. It began to decline nationally in
2016 but continued to climb at the University during that year until the 26 percent drop. Gilman said these drops could result in serious financial costs to post-secondary institutions, which often rely on tuition from international students. “For those who do come here from abroad, they may also be less likely to stay here long-term,” Gilman said. “So, we’ve really invested in a student without being able to enjoy the benefits of having that student become a professional or researcher within the (United States).” At the same time that new international enrollment has been affected, UT has also lost international faculty and scholars. Between 2016 and 2018, the number of international faculty and scholars dropped by more than 20 percent, from 1,620 to 1,265. Gilman said international faculty, who often have high qualifications, could just as easily go to another country for research. Gilman said the type of visa they use, H-1B, has become harder to get. However, Margaret Luévano, interim director of International Student and Scholar Services in the International Office, said in an email that UT often works with students and scholars who have concerns about their individual immigration circumstances. “We deeply value our international students and scholars,” Luévano said. “They are an integral part of our community and their contributions are part of what make UT-Austin a leading global
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university, so we work hard to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where they feel supported.” As of the 2018-19 school year, however, UT has regained some of its losses, with a 16 percent increase in new international enrollment. Mechanical engineering
freshman Richard Soegiantoro said he only applied to schools in the U.S. and President Donald Trump’s immigration policies did not affect his decision. However, Soegiantoro, who is from Indonesia, said he was worried about safety because of the increased
| the daily texan staff
number of shootings in the country. Nevertheless, since his parents and siblings all went to school here, he decided to attend anyway. “My parents always wanted me to study (in the U.S.), so as a kid, it kind of got set in my mind,” Soegiantoro said.