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NEWS PAGE 5
SPORTS PAGE 7
Lending hands for petition
Lady Horns stay undefeated
L&A PAGE 12
Chocolaty recipe is all gravy
THE DAILY TEXAN Monday, February 15, 2010
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY
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Valentine’s marathon gets hearts racing
Calendar: City offices closed; classes still on Happy Presidents Day! Most city offices will be closed.
TUESDAY In News: The early bird catches the worm Early voting for the gubernatorial primaries begins today. Visit the Travis County Clerk’s office to find your polling place: www.co.travis.tx.us/ county_clerk/election
In Life&Arts: Looks like we’ve got a situation! TV Tuesday takes a look at Jersey Shore in Miami.
In Sports: Knocking it out of the ballpark Softball vs. Centenary College, McCombs Field, 6:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY In News: Want to save the Cactus Cafe? First meeting of Student Friends of the Cactus Cafe at 6:30 p.m. in the Texas Union Quadrangle Room.
In Life&Arts: We work hard, we play hard The Daily Texan reviews this week’s video game releases.
Photos by Bruno Morlan | Daily Texan Staff
Above, Keith Pierce catches his breath at the finish line after winning the Austin Marathon, while Gov. Rick Perry congratulates him. Pierce finished with a time of 3:20:35.00. Below, Runners of the half marathon run up a hill on 15th Street. The half marathon course split from the full course at Enfield Road and Exposition Boulevard.
Nearly 13,500 runners raise money, awareness for their causes at annual city race By Audrey White Daily Texan Staff
In Sports: Nothing but net for the Longhorns
As dawn approached Sunday morning on Congress Avenue, Braveheart waited to use a portable toilet, a Valentine’s Day fairy stretched her wings and Batman planned to save the day. They were anticipating the 7 a.m. start time of the 2010 Austin Marathon and Half Marathon, along with 13,500 other runners. Thousands of supporters and volunteers milled around them, preparing for a morning rich with displays of athletic ability and endurance. The runners were there for many reasons — to raise funds for a cause, to memorialize a friend or family member or just out of love for the feeling of shoes on asphalt. Vendors and information teams set up
Women’s basketball vs. Kansas State, Frank Erwin Center, 7p.m. Men’s basketball at Missouri, ESPN2, 8 p.m.
THURSDAY In Life&Arts: Taking it to the streets of Austin The Daily Texan talks to local street artist “Failure.”
FRIDAY In News: That certain part of the female body The Women Resource Agency presents their production of “The Vagina Monologues,” 7 p.m. in the Rec Sports Center, Room 2.104.
In Life&Arts: Ring in the Year of the Tiger A look at Chinatown’s Chinese New Year celebration
FRIDAY ROOT, ROOT, ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM Baseball season opener vs. New Mexico, Disch-Falk Field, 3 p.m.
University monuments spur praise, controversy By Destinee Hodge Daily Texan Staff Every day is Presidents Day for three U.S. presidents who have made their permanent home on the 40 Acres. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum and statues of George Washington and Woodrow Wilson have fueled both controversy and admiration throughout the years. “The LBJ Library is one of 12 — soon to be 13 — presidential libraries that have been created for every president since Herbert Hoover under the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955,” library director Mark Updegrove said. “While President Johnson was still in office, UT sought out having the LBJ Library on its campus as an academic and cultural resource.” The library, dedicated in 1971, houses 45 million pages of historical documents from the public career of Johnson, as well as personal items and White House memorabilia. “Neither President nor Mrs. Johnson wanted the library to be a
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booths along the street. Battalion 553, stationed at Fort Hood, volunteered with the “love crew” to hold on to runners’ extra jackets and clothes until after the race. They were among 2,000 volunteers who helped make the behind-the-scenes logistics of the race function smoothly, marathon spokeswoman McKinzey Crossland said. “I have a battle buddy running in the full marathon, and I wanted to come out and support,” Battalion 553 Specialist Steven Hackett said. “It’s just like the military. Everybody has a role, and we all make it work.” On the sidewalk next to a tent, Washington, D.C., resident Mark Thornberg prepared to run the half marathon dressed in a
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Students rally to rescue Cactus Cafe Group works to preserve University’s iconic venue with community’s help By Shabab Siddiqui Daily Texan Staff While Cactus Cafe critics have repeatedly pointed out a lack of student presence in the live-music venue, one newly formed student group is hoping to change that perception. The Student Friends of the Cactus Cafe became an official UT student organization Friday and will have its first meeting Wednesday in the Union’s Quadrangle Room at 6:30 p.m. “We wanted to make sure that there was an organized group on campus for all students who are interested in keeping the Cactus Cafe going,” said Hayley Gillespie, an integrative biology graduate student and co-founder of the group. Facing a recurring 2-percent, University-wide budget cut, the Texas Union Board voted Jan. 29 to repurpose the 31-year-old Cactus Cafe and to phase out the informal classes program by August. The board, which is composed of six students and three faculty members, as well as two non-voting administrators, made the decision in a closed-door executive committee meeting on a day no faculty board members were present.
The three other cost-cutting proposals the board considered included decreasing the number of hours the Union stays open, cutting 30 percent of the Student Events Committee budget or cutting permanent Union staff members. The board serves only as an advisory council, and the ultimate decision will be made by President William Powers Jr. Zachary Bidner, a government senior and member of the group, said its short-term goal is to convince the board members to keep the cafe running at its current location. Bidner said the board will meet Feb. 26, which will give stuBobby Longoria | Daily Texan Staff dents a chance to air their sugGovernment senior Zach Bidner is a member of Student Friends of the gestions and opinions. Cactus Cafe, which became an official UT organization Friday. Bidner said part of the group’s long-term goal is to gear the cafe Graduate panel decries President, the Student Governmore toward students without ment executive board, state Rep. losing its status as a cultural icon. lack of input in closing Elliott Naishtat and the UT SysHe said one preliminary idea inof Regents. of cafe; forms resolution tem“ItBoard cludes holding competitions for is important for the Universtudent performers and allowBy Aziza Musa sity to understand that students ing the winner to open for largDaily Texan Staff do use the Cactus Cafe and are er acts. Bidner also said promoA panel of graduate students passionate about saving it,” said tion of the cafe has been a probannounced its rejection of deci- Sam Scarpino, ecology graduate lem in the past, and that it could sions made by UT concerning the student and one of the authors serve as a resource for entrepreCactus Cafe because of a lack of of the resolution. “Our resolution neurial business students. direct input from graduate stu- seeks to do that by highlighting The Cactus Cafe has been dents. the importance of the cafe to the viewed by many as an alumni The panel’s participants, mem- graduate student population.” and community hub as opposed bers of the Graduate Student AsJohn Woods, one of the resoluto a student hub. Gillespie said sembly, formalized the resolution tion’s authors and graduate stuthe cafe mirrors other UT atentitled “In Support of the Cactus dent representative for SG, said tractions, including the Harry Cafe” on Feb. 11 and sent a copy that the Texas Union Board does of the legislation to different ofGRAD continues on page 2 fices, including the Office of the GROUP continues on page 2