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INSIDE 4 OPINiON
Study drugs have consequences. The YCT watch list has its own bias.
5 NEWS
City Council votes to finance Urban Rail.
5 NEWS
Austin economy ranks first in nation.
6 SPORTS
Haley Eckerman holds responsibility as leader on court, off court as mother.
Friday, October 12, 2012
dailytexanonline.com
David Ash much improved since he faced OU last year.
Posters featuring Bevo encourage students to read.
SPORTS PAGE 6
NEWS PAGE 5
UNIVERSITY
University Lands’ revenue decreases By Alexa Ura University Lands, operated through the UT System’s Office of Business Affairs, sold a combined $72 million in oil and gas leases during its 2012 semiannual sales. The leases come on the heels of University Lands’ most lucrative sales in history in 2011, when lease sales totaled $560 million. Jim Benson, executive director of University Lands, said total sales were less this
CAMPUS
year because less acreage was available to lease. “Of our total land mass of 2.1 million acres, 1.6 million are in production in the Permian Basin, and of that 1.4 million are under leased or currently in production,” he said. The September 2012 sale offered 49,007 acres, just a little more than an eighth of the September 2011 sale when University Lands offered 372,163 acres for lease to oil and gas companies.
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university lands’ oil and gas land lease profits $44,365,695,53
Sept. 26, 2012
$27,816,999.61
March 22, 2012
$310,124,021.30
Sept. 21, 2011
$249,833,843.98
March 30, 2010
$207,248,947.05
Sept. 22, 2010
$40,421,855.70
April 21, 2010 Oct. 28, 2009
$13,957,805.47
Source: University Lands summary reports
Urban Jungle
10 LIFE & ARTS
Ben Affleck’s new movie, “Argo,” reviewed.
By Andrew Messamore & Alexa Ura
understanding what is actually going on.” Stinson presented examples in which urbanization affected ecosystems, including peppered moths adapting exterior colors to match the color of tree bark chemically altered by factory emissions. He stressed the difference between acclimation and adaptation, acclimation
As the Supreme Court examines the University’s race-conscious admissions process in Fisher v. Texas, the future remains uncertain for students who don’t qualify for automatic admission. If the court sides with plaintiff Abigail Fisher and removes the use of race in admissions at UT, future in-state applicants will have no chance of being admitted unless they graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class. This will take effect for the incoming class in 2015 unless the state intervenes. During arguments Wednesday, the Supreme Court pressured UT to justify its use of race in holistic review for admissions. State law requires public universities to provide as many in-state spots as possible to students who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class. Passed in 2009, Senate Bill 175 capped the number of in-state freshman admitted under the Top 10 Percent Rule at 75 percent of the
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FISHER continues on page 2
Study in London
Attend an info session today from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. about the “Roots of Social and Economic Justice: an International Perspective” Maymester abroad in London, England. The event is free and located in SSW 2.116.
Fantastic Fest
Thomas Allison | Daily Texan Staff A squirrel pauses while drinking from a sprinkler head outside the SAC. The free Science Under the Stars lecture at Brackenridge Field Laboratory Thursday evening focused on urban ecosystems and their effects on human and animal interactions.
Student lecturer studies effects of urbanization on local wildlife By Tiffany Hinman
Tavola Italiana
Participate in informal conversations in Italian at the weekly Italian Club meeting, Tavola Italiana, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Cactus Cafe. The event is free and open to everyone.
Rain did not stop the Austin community from learning about the relationship between animals and humans in urban societies at October’s Science Under the Stars lecture.
Today in history
ELECTION 2012
In 1492
On Oct. 12, a sailor on board Columbus’ ship, the Pinta, sighted land, and thus a new era of European exploration and expansion was born. The 90 crew members of Columbus’ three-ship fleet ventured onto the Bahamian island that he named San Salvador (now Watling Island, and then called Guanahani by the natives), ending a voyage begun nearly 10 weeks earlier in Palos, Spain. Many countries, including Spain and Mexico, observe Oct.12 as Columbus Day.
Prospects of future admittees uncertain Fisher v. texas
TODAY
A Town Called Panic is a stop motion-animated Belgian film about a Cowboy and his best friend, the Indian, setting out on an adventure. This film is playing at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz as part of their Fantastic Fest special. The sceening starts at 5 p.m. and general admissions is $10.
NATIONAL
Patrick Stinson, an ecology, evolution and behavior graduate student, spoke at the free lecture series at Brackenridge Field Laboratory Thursday evening to discuss how human and animal interaction is affected by urban ecosystems. Stinson’s graduate research
investigates the effects traffic noise has on the environment of cricket frogs, attempting to determine if males can acclimate to the noise or need to adapt their calls. “There is no Austin without the interaction we have with other organisms,” Stinson said. “People are raised thinking, ‘I’m not interested in biology.’ With this attitude, you are cutting yourself off from
Top 10 acts to watch VP candidates get aggressive at weekend festival By David Loewenberg
Voters got their first and only chance to see the two vice presidential candidates go head to head during Thursday night’s debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Rep. Paul Ryan. The two candidates sought to shed light on the differences between the two presidential tickets during the 90-minute vice presidential debate that focused on both domestic and foreign policy. With the exception of a brief comment by Biden on the tuition tax credit, higher education was not discussed during the debate. The two candidates answered questions on topics ranging from the economy and women’s health to Iraq and Afghanistan from ABC News Correspondent Martha
the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is arguably the best in a few years. A caravan of additional world-class musical acts round out the weekend-long party. Here are the top 10 acts you don’t want to miss.
Friday
Joe Biden
Paul Ryan
Vice President
GOP VP nominee
Raddatz. On the economy, Biden criticized Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s recently disclosed comment, in which he described 47 percent of Americans as “dependent upon government.” “These people are my mom and dad, the people I grew up with, my neighbors,” Biden said. “They pay more effective tax than Governor Romney pays in his federal income tax. They are elderly people who,
in fact, are living off of Social Security. They are veterans and people fighting in Afghanistan right now who are, quote, ‘not paying any tax.’” Ryan responded with his own policy plans. “We want everybody to succeed,” Ryan said. “We want to get people out of poverty, in the middle class, onto a life of self-sufficiency. We believe in opportunity
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By Ricky Stein Hard to believe, but Austin City Limits Music Festival turns 11 this weekend. Over the years, we’ve seen some ups and downs — the dust bowl, the mud bowl, the propane tank fire, Ben Kweller’s mysterious bloody nose — but the good times have easily outweighed the bad. This year’s ACL lineup, featuring The Black Keys, Jack White, Neil Young and
Delta Spirit, AMD stage, 2:15 p.m. — One of the top buzz bands over the last few years, San Diego quintet Delta Spirit expanded their sound on their self-titled third album. Catch some of their kind-of-country, kind-of-beachy, kind-ofBrooklyn-y sound. Alabama Shakes, Barton Springs Stage, 5:30 p.m. — Grab a turkey leg and maybe a tallboy (if you’re willing to wait) and head over to the Barton Springs stage to catch one of the busiest and most talked about bands of 2012.
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