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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Jester West residents complain of lack of hot water in showers above the 6th floor. PA G E 2
UT should make it easier for students to have interdisciplinary studies. PA G E 4
21 Savage ICE detainment draws public eye to state department. PA G E 8
Texas continues perfect start on road, gets another run-rule win against Cal. PA G E 6
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CAMPUS
WEST CAMPUS
UT leads energy production
West Campus lighting to improve, says city memo
The UT power plant serves as an efficient energy example to which other power plants and universities should strive.
By Emily Hernandez @emilylhernandez
By Mason Carroll @MasonCCarroll
Residents of West Campus will see several lighting improvements throughout the area as soon as this summer, according to a memo released last month by the Austin Transportation Department. The Austin City Council passed a resolution in May 2017 directing Austin city manager Spencer Cronk to complete a lighting study of West Campus and to make recommendations for lighting strategies to improve pedestrian safety. The memo outlines the short-term, midterm and long-term plans for lighting upgrades. Kathie Tovo, District 9 council member, whose district includes West Campus, said lighting was an area Student Government representatives and others consistently said needs improvement. Tovo, whose district includes west campus said a thorough study was necessary to pinpoint all issues. “We make sure that redevelopment is also integrating the best lighting design possible for safety … so that we’re continually working toward improving people’s perceived, but also their real sense of safety in Austin and West Campus,” Tovo said. “We know lighting discourages crime and criminal activity. Having good lighting is really important to ensuring safe spaces for people.” The study found 21 percent of existing lighting fixtures needed maintenance, did not work or were obstructed by trees. Shortterm recommendations include repairing nonfunctioning lights and trimming trees that block lighting. This is expected to be completed by this summer, according to the study. However, the city expects it WEST CAMPUS
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very time a student turns on a light or plugs in their laptop, they spark the University power plant, which provides energy to the nearly 20 million square feet of UT property. The plant has a budget of $60 million a year and produces three forms of energy: electricity, steam and chilled water. Juan Ontiveros, associate vice president for Utilities and Energy Management, said the plant uses the same amount of energy today that it used in 1976, even though UT has added 9 million square feet since then. “We’re the most efficient in the country,” Ontiveros said. “We’re the largest in the country. We’re the most efficient university. We’re the golden standard. No one matches us.” Ontiveros said the buildings using the most energy are research buildings because they use fume hoods to get rid of toxic air from research projects. According to the Utilities Energy Portal, Welch Hall is the highest energy user of the research buildings and costs the University $3.1 million a year. “Safety is a big issue with the research buildings,” Ontiveros said. “We want to make sure the researcher or the students doing the research are not going to be contaminated by whatever they are doing.” Jester Dormitory uses $2.1 million worth of energy annually, the most of any student housing building. Jester also leads energy use in academic buildings, costing just under $1 million. Other buildings with high energy consumption are the Norman Hackerman Building and the Blanton Museum. While these numbers may seem like a lot, Ontiveros said the power plant is 30 percent cheaper than using Austin Energy. If energy prices go up, so does tuition,
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bixie mathieu
| the daily texan staff
UNIVERSITY
CITY
Cumberland family calls for transparency from those involved in hazing reform
Music fellowship honors Draylen Mason By Cynthia Miranda @cynthiamirandax
anthony mireles | the daily texan staff The Cumberland family is asking student organizations for transparency in their “Delcare Your Hand” movement to curb hazing on campus. The movement’s intention is to start a conversation with students and University officials to avoid severe injuries and deaths attributed to hazing.
By Lisa Nhan @lmhan24
In anticipation of their Friday meeting with UT administration, the family of Nicky Cumberland released a letter requesting that those involved in hazing reform be transparent about their personal history with hazing.
This call for transparency, coined the “Declare Your Hand” movement by the Cumberland family, is in addition to other hazing reforms outlined in a letter to the University last Monday. “Being fully transparent will be uncomfortable and painful initially, but it pales in comparison to the lifelong agony of too many grieving
parents around the country today,” Shawn Cumberland, Nicky’s father, said in the letter. Nicky Cumberland died last semester from injuries sustained in a car crash on the way back from the annual Texas Cowboys initiation retreat. The Cumberland family then requested hazing investigations with the University
and University Police, which are still ongoing. In the letter, Cumberland said journalists and UT administrators have a responsibility to ask about personal hazing history before involving anyone in reform efforts or accepting statements on the issue.
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Nearly one year after the death of Draylen Mason, the Austin Soundwaves music program announced its first class of Draylen Mason Fellows. Mason was 17 when he was killed by a package explosion last year. He had been accepted to UT’s Butler School of Music and was part of Austin Soundwaves, a music program created by The Hispanic Alliance in 2011. The program works with Title I public schools, which are schools with a significant number of children from low-income families, to provide students with access to music instruction for free, said Austin Soundwaves director Patrick Slevin. Now, they also have the Draylen Mason Fellows program. “We wanted to present a program that would be in Draylen’s spirit and try to in a small way make our community a better place,” Slevin said. Slevin said through the fellowship program, students will receive a $1,000 stipend to use to attend music camps, cultural events, conferences and travel. The first class of all-women fellows are Cristal Martinez from the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Sarah Chu from McNeil High School, Angie Ferguson from Austin High School and Barbara Reyes from East Austin College Prep.
“They’re very diverse and an interesting group of young musicians,” Slevin said. “We have three violinists and one french horn player.” During the fall, the committee reviewed applications, which included a musical audition. Among the selection committee were members of Austin
We wanted to present a program that would be in Draylen’s spirit and try to in a small way make our community a better place.”
PAT R I C K S L E V I N
AUSTIN SOUNDWAVES DIRECTOR
Soundwaves, The Hispanic Alliance, Austin radio station KMFA 89.5 and Mother Falcon Music Lab — all organizations involved in Mason’s music education, Slevin said. Slevin said the fellowship will
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