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INSIDE
Thursday, September 27, 2012
facebook.com/dailytexan Bridging the gender gap: how unbiased is science?
Football seniors look to make impact in final season at Texas. SPORTS PAGE 6
LIFE & ARTS PAGE 8
STATE
State rep. in online fight with alumnus By Mary Ellen Knewtson A state representative told a UT alumnus last week to go to Afghanistan if the United States was not sensitive enough for him, and said Wednesday she stands behind her statement. State Rep. Debbie Riddle, RTomball, made the remark after UT alumnus Abdul Pasha, now in his second year at South Texas College of Law, responded to Rep. Riddle’s Facebook status be-
moaning the military’s sensitivity training. Pasha posted a link to an examiner.com article about the training and instructions to “go educate yourself.” Riddle told Pasha to act like an American and stand up for the military. “If you can’t do that then go where people are sensative [sic] enough for you — I guess that would be Afghanistan,” Riddle wrote on the thread. The conversation, originally
RIDDLE continues on page 2
‘‘
Get a grip fellow - if you want to be an American act like one and be proud of our country and stand up for our military. If you can’t do that then go where people are sensative [sic] enough for you - I guess that would be Afghanistan - where they still live like they are in the Stone Age... — Debbie Riddle, State representative
OPINION
By David Maly
5
for a reasonable approach to skateboarding helped change the policy. “Skateboarding has always represented a sustainable form of transportation that, if coupled with safety measures, could be beneficial to the University as a whole,” Juarez said. Juarez said it was difficult to get the policy change off the ground because it had to be approved
Three UT Greek organizations have issued apologies after controversy over their ethnic-themed parties spread during the last few days. UT’s Zeta Tau Alpha and Delta Delta Delta sororities and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity apologized for any offense they may have caused the UT community in three separate statements. All three organizations say they had no negative intentions with their theme parties. Although ethnic-themed parties are nothing new in the UT community, tensions were heightened after a “fiesta-themed” party, hosted by the UT chapters of Zeta Tau Alpha and Delta Delta Delta, made headlines Friday in Burnt Orange Report and Monday in The Daily Texan. The party was filled with guests wearing attire associated with Hispanic stereotypes, including ponchos, sombreros and fake mustaches. Two guests wore shirts that read “illegal” and “border patrol.” Word then began to spread via Facebook that the UT chapter of Alpha Tau Omega was planning an
SKATE continues on page 2
GREEK continues on page 2
NEWS
Texas Venture Labs looks to help local startups take to market, lead and succeed.
6 SPORTS
LIFE & ARTS
Local restaurant brings environmental and social awareness to Southern cooking.
TODAY SOTU
President William C. Powers Jr. will deliver his seventh State of the University address. The event will begin at 3:45 p.m. at the Iden B. Payne Theatre and will be broadcast online and on the Longhorn Network, as well as campus cable channels 11 and 13.
Flu shots
University Health Services will hold a flu shot clinic from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at SSB G1.310. Shots will be availble from no cost to $10.
Suicide workshop
Interactive workshop designed to cultivate education about suicide and risks of suicide among faculty and staff. The event will take place at 12 p.m. at NOA 4.106A.
Today in history In 1939
On Sept. 27, 1939, Poland surrendered to invading Nazi armies after just 26 days of resistance, marking the beginning of WWII.
R - Tomball
Sororities, fraternities send out apologies
How UT’s holistic review track record conflicts with its Fisher argument.
10
State representative
UNIVERSITY
CAMPUS
4
David Ash takes on Oklahoma State with a bit more experience on his side.
Debbie Riddle
John Smith | Daily Texan Staff / Associated Press Members of Texas Downhill skate freely near Twenty-fourth street and Speedway Wednesday evening under UT’s lifted ban this fall allowing skateboards, scooters and roller skates on campus. People using these means of transportation are to operate safely and follow proper traffic rules such as stopping at stop signs. See video online: bit.ly/dt_skate
Time to free skate University allows skating on campus By Kenny Chilton Skaters have taken to the streets with newfound liberties on campus this fall. Parking and Transportation Services revised its policy to allow skateboards, scooters and in-line skates on campus everywhere bicycles are allowed. Under the new policy, skating may
only be used as a mode of transportation and not for tricks or stunts. Nikolas Lazaris, president of student skateboarding organization Texas Downhill, said the support from Parking and Transportation Services legitimizes skating as transportation and Texas Downhill as a student organization. Texas Downhill first registered with the University almost a year before skateboarding was first allowed
SYSTEM
Student regent power may expand with vote
on campus. “I have already noticed more riders on campus and Texas Downhill has tripled its size since last semester,” Lazaris said. “There are a lot of riders on campus after the policy change.” Members said the group grew from fewer than 10 regulars last year to more than 30 this semester. Alternative transportation manager Blanca Juarez said passionate students who advocated heavily
CAMPUS
The bells in the UT Tower were installed in 1936 and 1986. Starting Nov. 1, they will be out of commission as they undergo a renovation project.
By Alexa Ura University governing boards commonly include student representatives, but most student regents, including the UT System’s student regent, are forced to advocate for students without a vote. State senators discussed the possibility of a voting student regent during last week’s Texas Tribune Festival, an annual series of panels and speakers. Current UT System student regent Ashley Purgason said the UT System Board of Regents takes her representation of the student perspective into consideration without the weight of a vote. UT regents, the governing body of the UT System, are appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry for six-year terms.
Ashley Purgason UT System student regent
Perry also appoints the UT System student regent based on recommendations from System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa. The state Legislature authorized student regents in 2005. Since then, UT System student regents have served one-year terms in a non-voting capacity.
REGENTS continues on page 2
Photo courtesy of UT Tower
Repairs to silence Tower bells By David Maly The chime of UT’s carillon bells will soon be absent from campus as a three-month construction project draws closer. For the past four months, the bells have been in partial operation for a separate construction project.
From Nov. 1 until Jan. 31, the carillon bells housed in the UT Tower will be out of commission for a $71,000 project to repair years of wear and tear, Bill Throop, director of project management and construction services, said. Throop said the bells have been in partial operation for the last four months because
a $331,000 walkway was being built around them. He said the bells will resume normal operation Thursday and continue until the November project begins. Throop said he feels it is important for the University to preserve the bells, as they
BELLS continues on page 5
News FRAMES | FEATURED PHOTO
2
THE DAILY TEXAN Volume 113, Issue 32
CONTACT US Editor: Susannah Jacob (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com Managing Editor: Aleksander Chan (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com News Office: (512) 232-2207 news@dailytexanonline.com
Pu Ying Huang | Daily Texan Staff A man stands at Alamo Park Wednesday afternoon.
Multimedia Office: (512) 471-7835 dailytexanmultimedia@gmail.com
REGENTS continues from page 1
Sports Office: (512) 232-2210 sports@dailytexanonline.com
“I can say without a doubt, my colleagues on the Board of Regents appreciate my voice and carefully consider my perspective and contributions,” Purgason said. “The student regent’s presence as a liaison for students is valued and respected as much as any other member of the board.” Purgason, a UT Medical Branch at Galveston graduate student, said the student regent position is still in its infancy, but she is confident the board maintains students as the central focus of the decisions it makes. UT System spokesperson Jenny LaCoste-Caputo said the regents do not have the authority to designate a student regent as a voting member and a change would have to come through legislative action. During a Texas Tribune Festival panel focused on higher and public education previewing the 83rd Legislative session, state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said there is support for a voting UT System student regent but not enough traction in the state Legislature to pass it. “The issue of student regents voting is more complex,”
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RIDDLE
continues from page 1
Low
reported by The Horn, began when Riddle posted a status about her disappointment that soldiers would receive sensitivity training before going to
72 “So 68”...”Crack it.”
THE DAILY TEXAN
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Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Susannah Jacob Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drew Finke, Kayla Oliver, Pete Stroud Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aleksander Chan Associate Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trey Scott Digital Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hayley Fick News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matt Stottlemyre Associate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Samantha Katsounas, Jody Serrano Senior Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bobby Blanchard, Mary Ellen Knewsten, David Maly, Alexa Ura Enterprise Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audrey White Enterprise Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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Jorge Corona, Sarah-Grace Sweeney Senior Life&Arts Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alex Williams Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christian Corona Senior Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lauren Giudice, Chris Hummer, Sara Beth Purdy, Rachel Thompson, Wes Maulsby Comics Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ao Meng Associate Comics Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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Zaffirini said. She said qualifications for a student regent would need to be considered because they would lack the years of experience appointed voting regents have. Most of the regents have a background in education, including appointments to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas Public Policy Foundation and positions on advisory boards at other universities. Others have experience in business. Student regents at Arizona State University and in the University of California System serve in the position for two years and are able to vote during their second year. The University of California System student regent is selected by the regents after being interviewed by the system’s student association rather than being appointed by the state governor. Jonathan Stein, UC System student regent, said this allows for a representative whom students can count on to confront other regents while still working cooperatively to represent students in a unified way. “The vote has enormous power,” Stein said. “The stu-
UT System student regents Randal M. Camarillo Benjamin L. Dower Brian J. Haley Kyle J. Kalkwarf Karim A. Meijer John Davis Rutkauskas Ashely Purgason
TOMORROW’S WEATHER
90
UNIVERSITY
Latino Media Studies now recognized on transcripts By Alexa Ura
Main Telephone: (512) 471-4591
High
Thursday, September 27, 2012
—Additional reporting by Bobby Blanchard.
(all appointed by Gov. Rick Perry) UT Health Science Center - Dallas UT Dallas UT Austin UT Health Science Center - San Antonio UT Southwestern Medical Center - Dallas UT Austin UT Medical Branch - Galveston
Afghanistan. Riddle defended this position and said the training was unnecessary and insulting to American soldiers who possess the common sense necessary to conduct themselves appropriately. Pasha, 23, said he moved with his family from Pakistan to the United States in 1999 and considers himself an American. He said he thought Riddle was kidding when he first read the comments directed toward him. Pasha, a Muslim, said he was particularly offended when Riddle wrote: “Ok, Abdul, I guess it is ok that the Muslims kill and torture people when they get their feelings hurt.” “If they don’t want to be politically correct that’s fine, but don’t spew hate,” Pasha said. ”Don’t spew fear or violence against Muslims. Political representation means you are representing your entire district, and she is the leader of that district.” Riddle said she has plenty of friends who are Muslims and who also think sensitivity training for the military is unnecessary, and said she was not interested in being politicollege ski & board week breckenridge
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dent regent serves as an activist who moves between working with the regents and the student community while serving both.” The student regent at the University of Washington also has voting rights except with personnel matters including hiring, discipline and tenure. Other universities or university systems with voting student regents include Washington State University and the University of Alaska. During the Texas Tribune Festival panel, Texas state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, said adding a student vote to the Board of Regents could force the board into a deadlock when voting on issues. “I know a lot of private institutions have student regents with a vote, but it’s a little different,” Branch said. “Many times private institutions have a much larger board of regents, but over the years we’ve narrowed our boards down to nine.” A student vote would bring the number of voting members on the Board of Regents to 10.
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cally correct at the expense of speaking her mind. “If you want to inject a huge amount of political correctness in this, I’m not the gal you want to talk to,” Riddle said. “I think being real and honest is what people expect when they elect someone. The public, especially my constituents, appreciate the honesty and they appreciate the candor.” Stephen Ollar, president of the UT Student Veteran Association (not to be confused with the Student Veterans Association), who has served in Afghanistan and in Iraq, said sensitivity training is needed as evidenced by instances of gross insensitivity by soldiers abroad, such as marines caught urinating on a dead body. He said even small breaches destroy the rapport with Afghan officials that is crucial to the military’s success. “Winning over the populace when you’re fighting an insurgency is the most important thing you can do to win a war,” Ollar said. “If you aggravate those people you basically deprive yourself of that type of intelligence. And that’s what we keep doing, unfortunately, because we have these young men out fighting these wars who don’t have a lot of personal experience in life who do things to shoot the military in the foot.” Ollar said everyone comes into the military from different backgrounds, and behavior that one soldier might find acceptable, another would find flawed. He said it’s crucial that everyone be on the same page.
The University will now recognize the Latino Media Studies Program, a certificate program in the College of Communication, on transcripts. Students must complete 18 credit hours to receive the transcript-recognized certificate. The program previously required 12 hours for completion, but was not recognized on transcripts. Joseph Straubhaar, faculty chair of the program and RTF professor, said recognizing the program will help students when they enter the job market. “The Latino Media Studies program has been a terrific resource for both Latino students and those wanting to understand the growing Latino and Latin American media industries,” Straubhaar said in a statement. “If College of Communication students are looking for a way to stand out among all the others when they send
out their resumes and transcripts, this is a really good place to start.” Journalism senior Maria Rivera is in the program and said its classes are designed to explore the contributions of Latinos in mass communication and help students understand the impact Latinos have had and continue to have on journalism. “I’m set to graduate in May and the extra mark on my diploma will surely demonstrate to potential employers the diversity of my education,” she said. “For the University to recognize the program officially means they too recognize the importance of studying Latinos in the media fields and are dedicated to preparing the next generation of Latinos, like myself, to succeed in those fields.” The program began in 1995. Students pursuing the certificate learn about Latino and Latin American issues in media and communication.
SKATE continues from page 1 by the Parking and Traffic Policies Committee, a group of students and faculty members that meet to establish regulations on campus. “There was concern about safety issues, especially based on the large number of pedestrians on campus,” Juarez said. “Ultimately, it was decided that skateboarders could be trusted to act responsibly and could operate much like bicycles on campus.” She said PTS has not received any negative responses since the policy change. “We believe that if skateboarders operate on campus in a safe and responsible manner, then the lack of issues will confirm that this was a positive choice for the University,” Juarez said. Joshua Harmon, biology senior and Texas Downhill member, said although the ban has been lifted, everyone should learn proper safety techniques before riding around campus. “It does not matter how good you are, you will hurt yourself or someone
else at one point,” Harmon said. “Respect the University’s decision and don’t plow through stop signs or pedestrians on the way to class.” Marisa Garcia, biology sophomore and vice president of Texas Downhill, said she is glad she no longer has to look over her shoulder while skating to class. “Just being able to skate freely and not have to worry about warnings, fines or getting your name on record if they caught you skating one too many times is a weight off all our shoulders,” Garcia said. She said PTS lifting the ban also lifted tension between campus police and student skaters. UTPD did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. “Before, cops were just trying to do their job by stopping us, but skaters did not understand the reasoning as to why boarding on campus was so wrong,” Garcia said. “It was a constant battle and now that it’s legal, they can see we truly just want a safe place to skate.”
GREEK continues from page 1 “Alpha Tau Omega Present Fiestau” party for Saturday. According to the original Facebook event for the party, “Fiestau” was going to feature ”a border to cross” event, a major concern for the party’s critics. In a Tuesday phone interview with The Daily Texan, Nick Davis, petroleum engineering sophomore and co-organizer of the event’s Facebook page, said the event was still in the planning stages, but the fraternity had a good idea of how it was going to look. Davis said the party would have a “Mexican side” and a “Texas side” and guests would have to cross a man-made river to get from one side to the other. This plan further fueled existing concerns of bias. Veronica Rivera, political communication studies sophomore, said after hearing about planned “Fiestau” event, she had seen enough.
Rivera started a petition Tuesday urging members of the UT community to “encourage the organizations to end the negative and hurtful portrayal of communities of color on campus.” The petition received 521 signatures by Wednesday evening, she said. Rivera said she sees the apologies as a small step in a much larger battle against bias at the University, and she will be delivering the petition to campus administrators along with a plan for increased cultural sensitivity training for all campus organizations. In a Tuesday phone interview with The Daily Texan, Ryan Miller, lead team member for the Campus Climate Response Team, an organization that investigates incidents of bias at UT, said his office has received 15 reports of racially biased theme parties at UT so far this semester.
More online: To read the official apologies from Zeta Tau Alpha, Delta Delta Delta and Alpha Tau Omega, see this story online at: bit.ly/dt_apology
Thursday, September 27, 2012
NEWS BRIEFLY Obama considers Libya attack terrorism ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — The White House said Wednesday that President Barack Obama considers the deadly assault on the U.S. consulate in Libya a terrorist attack. White House spokesman Jay Carney said it is “certainly the case that it is our view as an administration, and the president’s view, that it was a terrorist attack.” Four Americans were killed in the attack, including Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya. Carney’s comments came after Republican Mitt Romney accused Obama of failing to acknowledge what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other officials have said — that the attacks in Benghazi were acts of terrorism against the U.S.
Egyptian newspaper runs its own cartoons
CAIRO — Amid outrage sparked by perceived insults to Islam, one Egyptian newspaper has decided to fight cartoons with cartoons. Al Watan daily says it is responding to the crude caricatures published last week by satirical Parisian weekly Charlie Hebdo in kind: a series of sketches critiquing relations between the Arab world and the West. The paper says they are a “civilized” alternative to the violent protests across the Muslim world sparked by a low-budget anti-Islam film produced in the United States. One drawing, captioned “Western glasses for the Islamic world,” features a pair of eyeglasses framing the burning World Trade Center towers. Another shows a flashlight wrapped in an American flag pointed at a picture of an angry turbaned man with a knife, ignoring a peaceful Muslim. Both seem intended to suggest that the only image seen by Western audiences of the Muslim world was that of terrorism.
Group says Da Vinci painted earlier work
GENEVA — A Zurichbased foundation says it will prove to the world Thursday that Leonardo Da Vinci painted an earlier version of the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa Foundation, which has been working with the anonymous owners of the “Isleworth Mona Lisa,” says that after 35 years of research, experts believe it predates the famed 16th-century masterpiece by about a decade. The Isleworth painting — likewise a portrait of a young woman with an enigmatic smile — is slightly larger, was painted on canvas and has brighter colors than the famed Louvre Museum masterpiece painted on wood. The group is presenting its findings to reporters Thursday in Geneva.
11 killed in Mexican shootout near church
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities say troops have clashed with an armed group near a church in southern Mexico, leaving 11 people dead, including a soldier and one woman. The Guerrero state prosecutor’s office says troops confronted the group in the town of Tepecoacuilco de Trujano, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) south of Mexico City. It says state police found 10 bodies in and around a chapel, in addition to the soldier who died in Wednesday’s shootout. The agency says two civilians were wounded, and says they apparently had been kidnapped by the group. —Associated Press
World & Nation 3
Riley Brands, Wire Editor
Student kills self at Okla. junior high By Jeannie Nuss & Tim Talley Associated Press
STILLWATER, Okla. — A gunshot rang out at an Oklahoma junior high school before classes began Wednesday, terrifying teenagers who feared a gunman was on the loose. Soon, though, students learned no one else was in danger. One of their eighthgrade classmates had taken his own life, shooting himself in the head with a handgun in the hall, authorities said. “Throughout the entire thing, we all thought someone shot someone else,” said student Paiton Gardner, 14. “We didn’t know it was a suicide. We were freaking out.” Some students bolted outside Stillwater Junior High. Staffers quickly locked down the building and evacuated the rest of the school’s 700 eighth- and ninth-graders, along with students from an adjacent elementary school, police Capt. Randy Dickerson said. Dickerson said the 13-year-old didn’t leave a note, and authorities said they don’t know why he killed himself. Superintendent Ann Caine, who oversees the district about 70 miles west of Tulsa, said there weren’t any reports that the teen had been bullied. Police wouldn’t say where the weapon came from or how the eighth-grader got it into the school. Caine said there aren’t any metal detectors but expects there will be discussions about the policy. Gardner said she realized something was wrong early
Jonathan Sutton | Associated Press Lorenzo and Silvia Cook hug after they meet at Cimarron Plaza in Stillwater, Okla. on Wednesday. A 13-year-old student shot and killed himself in the hallway of Stillwater Junior High School on Wednesday. Students were evacuated from the school.
Wednesday when students began to run past her. “People looked terrified,” said Gardner, a ninth-grader. “The football coach was like, ‘Get out, get out! Someone’s been shot.’” She and other students sprinted down the hallway, passing blood on the wall and floor as she ran to a nearby playground. Another ninth-grader, Jake Green, said he heard the single shot ring out after he and dozens of other students gathered to pray before school. “We heard this loud
boom and everyone just got quiet,” Green said. “No one said a word.” A teacher told the students to get out of the building, Green said. “Everyone was really scared. We didn’t know if the kid shot himself or if there was a shooter outside the school who shot in,” Green said. “Everyone didn’t know what was going on, so they were screaming and running as fast as they could to get to the playground.” Some students wore superhero costumes Wednesday as
part of an effort to raise cancer awareness, but Dickerson said the student who shot himself didn’t appear to be dressed up. “If he was wearing a costume, it wasn’t evident to me,” Dickerson said. Green said students who were already in their classrooms were locked in the building for about an hour. Parents were told to pick up their children at a nearby shopping center. “It was really scary,” Green said. “Everyone’s kind of traumatized and doesn’t know how to act or respond.”
Some people planned to gather to pray Wednesday night at the nearby Highland Park United Methodist Church. The Rev. Derek Belase said he doesn’t know the teen’s family. “We do know that they’re hurting,” Belase said. Kenny Monday told The Associated Press that his son, Kennedy, heard the gunshot but did not witness the shooting. “It’s so sad that the kid lost his life, but we’re just glad he didn’t shoot anyone else,” Monday said.
Nigerian women pilgrims detained en route to Mecca By Bashir Adigun Associated Press
ABUJA, Nigeria — The detention of hundreds of female Nigerian pilgrims heading to Mecca at Saudi Arabia’s busiest airport over a rule requiring them to travel with a husband or male relative is threatening to bring a diplomatic dispute between the two nations. Saudi authorities are holding 908 Nigerian women in poor conditions “with some needing urgent medical attention” at King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah and threatened to deport them, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria said in a report submitted to Nigerian lawmakers Wednesday. The report said female pilgrims who had landed in a smaller airport in Medina had been unaffected. However, Fuwaiba Muhammad, a pilgrim, told an Associated Press reporter at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in the northern Nigerian city of Kano that she had been deported Wednesday from the Saudi Arabian city of Medina, along with dozens of others. This is the first time pilgrims have faced the possibility of mass deportation over the male escort issue, the commission has said. According to the report, an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Nigeria exempts female pilgrims from requiring a male relative to escort them for the mandatory Hajj pilgrimage, which costs about $4,000 per person. Until now, state pilgrimage officials had been allowed to stand in the place of
a male relative or husband. Muhammad, for instance, said that she had been traveling with a Hajj official who is not her relative. But Saudi authorities have proven much stricter this year. They even stopped women who did travel with their husbands. “Islam allows wives to bear the names of their parents and not necessarily that of their husbands,” the report argued. All able-bodied Muslims who can afford it are expected to perform Hajj at least once in their lives, leading people to go to great lengths to make the trip. Some pilgrims sell their cows and jewelry and others save for months or years to pay their own way to Mecca. Mana had said Monday that the escort situation had been resolved through diplomatic channels, but the commission’s report Wednesday said Saudi authorities have “remained adamant.” The report said top Nigerian officials had held meetings with Saudi officials in Nigeria and in Saudi Arabia in a bid to reach a compromise. Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry sent a letter of undertaking guaranteeing the return of the female pilgrims after Hajj, it added, but Saudi authorities still did not release them. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan put together a high-profile delegation late Wednesday to travel to Saudi Arabia “as soon as an appointment is finalized with the appropriate authority,” a government statement said. Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
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Opinion 4
Thursday, September 27, 2012
VIEWPOINT Everyone knows the Top 10 Percent law gives Texas public high school students in that tier automatic admission to UT. But how does the remaining portion of the class — 25 percent as mandated by law — get admitted? What do university admissions officers look for in what’s known as the holistic review process? The answer is not what you’d expect. In recent years, underrepresented minority students have made up a larger percentage of the automatic admits than those admitted under holistic review. According to data provided by the Office of Admissions, from 2007 through 2011, UT admitted lower percentages of African American and Latino students through holistic review than through automatic admission. For example, in 2010 and 2011, 6 percent of automatic admissions were granted to black students, while only 5 percent of holistic review admissions were granted to black students. The same trend stands for 2008 and 2009, but it is even more dramatic for Latinos. In 2010, 28 percent of automatically admitted students were Latino, while only 12 percent of holistic review admits were Latinos. In 2011, 29 percent of automatic admits were Latino and 14 percent of holistic review admissions went to Latino students. Abigail Fisher, a white woman who was denied admission in 2008, sued the University, alleging that it discriminated against her on the basis of race. Her case is scheduled to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 10. According to Fisher and her supporters, white applicants are disadvantaged by holistic review. But the numbers show that white applicants benefited con-
Editor-in-Chief Susannah Jacob
Holistic review is not about race
‘
UT did not use its holistic review process to admit higher percentages of underrepresented minorities ... Instead, the university granted drastically higher percentages of holistic review admissions to white students.
siderably from holistic review. In 2011, 41 percent of automatic and 58 percent of holistic review admissions went to white students. The same trend was seen each year from 2007 to 2010. In other words, UT did not use its holistic review process to admit higher percentages of underrepresented minorities than earned automatic admission. Instead, the university granted drastically higher percentages of holistic review admissions to white students. The Supreme Court established in its 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, the most recent affirmative action case about higher education to reach the high court, that race may be considered as a factor in admissions as long as schools do not use a quota system. In a recent interview with The Daily Texan, UT President William Powers, Jr. responded to Fisher’s supporters’ allegations that UT violates the Grutter precedent by using a de facto quota system to match the racial composition of its student body with that of the state of Texas. “That’s incorrect,” Powers said. “It is true that African Americans and Latinos are underrepresented. When we say underrepresented, we mean there’s not sufficient diversity in the classrooms and on the campus.” The recently released numbers seem to prove Powers’ underlying point. For the past five incoming classes, UT has not used its holistic review process to let in higher percentages
Editor’s note: The best voices, the people’s voices. That is the why of the Firing Line. The true measure of any newspaper is its critics, and we want hard-hitting ones. Nothing is taboo except falsehood and libel. The editor will never change a letter’s meaning, but she reserves the right to shorten it so that others may also be heard. Letters should be under 150 words if possible. Don’t be afraid to tell us what you think, and send your letters to firingline@dailytexanonline.com
Greek bashing needs to stop
These Greek life bashing articles need to stop. They’re beyond offensive and completely untrue. For a section of the student body that can hardly be considered a majority, your staff certainly spends a lot of time showcasing us. Have you ever thought about showcasing all the good we do? The hundreds of thousands of dollars we raise annually for charities and non-profit organizations like Ronald McDonald House, Make-A-Wish and Breast Cancer Awareness? Or how about all the Greek members in Student Government? Speaking of tolerance, stop mocking what sorority girls, or just girls in general, choose to wear to class. Nike shorts and large T-shirts are comfortable. We earned our letters and are proud to wear them and represent our affiliations. They’re not meant to make us seem elitist or snobby. We genuinely feel comfortable and wish to spend more of our energy on class and extracurricular activities than getting ready in the morning. As far as “exchanging my shorts for my personality,” I’m pretty sure I still have the same morals and goals as I do when I wear jeans, or sweats, or a dress. My Nike shorts do not define me. I used to wear Nike shorts and large T-shirts in high school. It’s comfortable. Get over it. — Sarah Ryburn, rhetoric and writing sophomore
Why do you care what I wear?
Sorority girls may wear workout clothes, but so do a huge proportion of the women on campus who aren’t in sororities. To declare that none of them want to “waste time or effort” creating their own identity is absurd. I didn’t realize clothing was the most accurate indicator of personality and individuality. Stereotyping people based on their choice of clothing seems both petty and a cut below the quality of journalism the Texan should be publishing. How should members of sororities dress, if their current style is so “conformist”? Maybe they can start dressing like Elle Woods, at which
of minority students; it has done just the opposite by admitting vastly higher percentages of white students and considerably lower percentages of minority students than were granted automatic admission. Fisher’s lawyer, Burt Rein, agrees that UT’s holistic admissions don’t achieve diversity. He also notes that Fisher’s brief makes the point that not all holistic admissions are about race. He told the Texan in an interview, “It’s very difficult to say if you look at the statistics how much of a contribution to their goal of diversity UT achieves through this use of race. We looked at it [racial composition data] prior to the use of race, and subsequently, and there’s a very small difference in the percentage of minorities admitted … The number of people who could actually attribute their entry to the use of race was very small. Is this policy just a way to label everyone by race? There’s an irony in the case. Texas law has been changed to cap Top 10 Percent admissions at 75 percent [of an incoming class], but if the case is not successful for UT the cap is removed. The effect is letting the top ten percent expand, therefore increasing the number of minorities admitted.” Kedra Ishop, vice provost and director of admissions for UT- Austin, affirms the necessity of holistic review for a wide range of reasons, including diversity. In an email, Ishop wrote, “The Top Ten Percent rule has helped with diversity, that
Racial composition of admissions over the past five years. Students in the top ten percent of their Texas public high school class were admitted automatically, while the remaining admissions were determined by holistic review.
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Natasha Smith | Daily Texan Staff
is not a matter for debate. However it is also important that the university assemble its class along a broad range of individual characteristics, not just class rank. Employers don’t hire based on GPA; neither should a university accept 100 percent of its students on a single criteria [sic]. The holistic review process for those not automatically admissible is a complement to the Top Ten Percent plan, enabling the university to assemble a class that is broadly diverse and academically excellent.” About the recent trends shown in holistic review admissions data, Ishop writes: “The statistics to which you refer highlight the fact that the use of race as a part of
Petty and below the cut
As a member of a sorority I have to ask, why is The Daily Texan so concerned with what I wear to class? Why is it a pressing issue on the UT campus what a group of young women wear? Loose-fitting running shorts and oversized T-shirts are not sensational, sexy, body-revealing or politically charged with meaning. Were you going for an “eye for an eye” thing, playing off Mr. Maly’s front page article about the Fiesta party? Did you think, “two sororities [allegedly] made fun of a culture’s dress so we’re going to make fun of the way they dress”? If there was some subtle, underlying editorial point you were trying to make with that cartoon and column, please enlighten me. I will be sure to pass your explanation along to my incensed sisters and friends in other sororities. — Helen Hansen, Plan II and public relations sophomore
Is engineering the answer?
I enjoyed your article on how men lag behind women when it comes to graduation rates. I think it serves as motivation to guys all around campus, including myself. I also think you’re probably right that women naturally adapt to new situations while men are tunnelvisioned and have a hard time changing with the situation. One thing I would’ve liked to know was the ratio of men to women in difficult majors such as engineering or MPA/BHP business programs. I myself am an engineer and while I came into college with over 20 credit hours, I am going to have a difficult time graduating in four years. The sheer amount of courses in rigorous majors could bring down those fouryear graduation percentages and if there is an overwhelming male/ to female ratio I think that certainly accounts for the offset. — Nick Burrin, electrical engineering sophomore
E-mail your Firing Lines to firingline@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.
2010
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point the Texan can publish an article on the vanity of conformist sorority girls, who waste their time dressing up for class instead of wearing something comfortable like everyone else. — Lillie Noe, Plan II and textiles and apparel sophomore
LEGALESE
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The firing line
Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the Editorial Board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.
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racial composition
holistic review may benefit any student — black, Hispanic, white or Asian. This is not a quota system.” Confusing, yes, but by our reckoning the numbers challenge the arguments made by both UT and Fisher. Both of them hinge on the constitutionality of favoring minority students in the holistic review process. UT argues that the use of race ranks as one of many factors, considered by its admissions officials when holistically reviewing applicants with the interest of increasing campus diversity. Fisher argues that UT’s admissions policy constitutes racial discrimination against white applicants. But if UT officials really are trying to give minority
students a leg up through holistic review, they’re not doing a very effective job. UT’s murky explanation of how it admits students conflicts with the straightforward proposition that the Top Ten Percent rule has made to high school students all over the state: Get good grades and you can go to UT-Austin. This is not a private school, and while other public schools maintain more selective holistic review, the Top Ten Percent rule is fair. Fisher challenges that UT’s holistic review results in a racist policy. But, based on the numbers, we conclude that UT doesn’t just want to admit more racially diverse students; it wants control over who to admit.
Free and insensitive I just have a few statements I want to bring up about today’s paper. I read The Daily Texan every day on the bus on my way to campus. I am very appreciative of The Daily Texan because I can see the news outside of campus as well as what is going on here for free and all in one paper! But today I was a little offended. One of the first articles I read was about the fiesta-themed party criticized because people wore “ponchos, sombreros and fake mustaches.” The article discussed how this is disrespectful to the Latin and Hispanic cultures. I kept reading to discover that two guests of the party were wearing T-shirts that said “Illegal” or “Immigrant.” That is extremely disrespectful and tasteless so it made sense why people were offended and why the article was published. I kept reading the paper and skimming the other articles for what I should read next. I came along to page four to see a giant comic making fun of what sorority girls wear around campus. This is offensive to me because I am a sorority girl. I personally feel that everyone has the freedom of speech and the freedom of choice, including to choose what one should wear. A person has the freedom to express themselves and should be able to do it without criticism. I just find it ridiculous that The Daily Texan features an article of people being offended because their culture was targeted and then goes and targets another culture for the same reason. It’s hypocritical and disrespectful. — Casie Clay, psychology sophomore
Old arguments, new twists
I am very disappointed with the article on East Riverside that you ran. As a member of the working group for the EROC Corridor Plan, I feel that you do a disservice to our efforts to bring a new vision to the corridor. You trot out the same old arguments from the same old people with new twists. I do not really know where to begin with how you folks have missed the boat on this one. — Larry Sunderland
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News
Thursday, September 27, 2012
CAMPUS
UT entrepreneurship program helps kick-start new companies By Joan Vinson
Groups designed to help young companies get their feet off the ground are on the rise in Austin, and UT is in the mix. The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine ranked a UT graduate entrepreneurship program fifth in the nation after reviewing more than 2,000 schools. The rankings were determined by the amount of entrepreneurship work done inside and outside of the classroom, the quality of its mentorship programs and the numbers of students, faculty and alumni working together in entrepreneurship efforts. UT did not rank in the top 25 for undergraduate entrepreneurship programs. Texas Venture Labs, a graduate entrepreneurship program at UT, has two missions: to help UT and Central Texas startups raise money and take their ideas to market and to help UT graduate students become entrepreneurs and business leaders. Rob Adams, director of Texas Venture Labs, said they have a team of graduate students work with outside companies. “One part of our goal with Venture Labs is to help graduate students see first hand how a company grows,” Adams said. “The other part is an investment competition and a course called New Venture Creation where students learn how to put together their own thing.” Incubators — organizations that help businesses evolve their ideas — are creating a foundation for new companies by identifying fixable problems or completely changing business plans if needed. The
Austin Technology Incubator is a program operated by UT’s IC² Institute, an interdisciplinary research unit, that has a goal to promote economic development in Central Texas with entrepreneurial businesses and to teach UT students practical entrepreneurship. Isaac Barchas, director of Austin Technology Incubator, said ATI is the University incubator that helps early-stage technology companies, including student companies, grow by surrounding them with talent they could not afford to hire otherwise. Resources available to students through the incubator include business professionals from the surrounding community and other students and faculty. “There are a lot of people in Austin who have been successful in technology and a lot of those people want to stay connected to the early-stage community,” Barchas said. “ATI at the University of Texas is a great way for them to do that.”
The Longhorn Startup Camp was established last March as a place for students to share ideas for the creation of new startups. It was designed to promote collaboration between startups and student entrepreneurs. Rhetoric and writing junior Nick Spiller helped start UThinkTank, a company that makes it easier for student entrepreneurs to turn an idea into a company by offering guidance and resources. Spiller’s startup was one of the first granted access to the camp. “We used the networking potential at Longhorn Startup Camp to start UT Entrepreneurship Week with many of the entrepreneurial student organizations on campus,” Spiller said. UT Entrepreneurship Week is a weeklong event in March created to encourage entrepreneurship and bring student entrepreneurs together with professionals in the community and UT entrepreneurship faculty.
Universities with the top 5 graduate entrepreneurship programs 1. Babson College 2. University of Michigan 3. Brigham Young University 4. Rice University 5. The University of Texas at Austin
Universities with the top 5 undergraduate entrepreneurship programs 1. Babson College 2. Baylor University 3. University of Houston 4. University of Southern California 5. Washington University in St. Louis UT did not rank in the top 25
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CAMPUS
Yaguang Zhu | Daily Texan Staff Luis Rodriguez, guest speaker from the Worker’s Defense Project, listens to remarks during Teach-In: Labor, Migration and the Struggle for Dignity in the Workplace.
Sweatshop coalition eyes radical changes By David Loewenberg Months after the University announced plans to join the Worker Rights Consortium, the Make UT Sweatshop-Free Coalition shows no signs of slowing down in its fight for fair working conditions for producers of UT apparel. The student group held a “teach-in” Wednesday evening where they discussed how students can impact labor conditions in the Austin community and around the world. The group also announced plans to launch a campaign focused on the University Co-Op. Sydney Dwoskin, in-
ternational relations and global studies junior and member of the coalition, said UT’s plan to join the Worker Rights Consortium is an essential first step in the struggle to secure labor rights for those making UT apparel. She said now that UT plans to join, the focus needs to shift to the specific factories UT gets apparel from. She cited a particular factory in the Dominican Republic, called Alta Gracia, as a model for apparel factories in the developing world, and said the group plans to ask the Co-op to buy some of its UT apparel from the factory. “We can’t just stop at the Worker Rights Consortium because that doesn’t guarantee that people are getting paid a living wage, getting health benefits and having enough money to feed their kids,” Dwoskin said. “We want to take it a step further. We want to get Alta Gracia in our DIV: 7 SIZE: 6.61X11 bookstore. We want to buy clothes from our bookDATE: 9-27-12 store and know that they are being made by people that are getting paid like that and getting treated like that.” MKTS: The teach-in included TSP a Skype conference with Alta Gracia workers in the Dominican Republic. In June, the coalition scored a victory when UT President William Powers Jr. announced that UT would sign on to the Worker Rights Consortium, a human rights monitoring group that will oversee the production of UT ap-
08-00187 THURSDAY
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parel abroad. The coalition had spent years advocating the cause. In April, 18 Make UT Sweatshop-Free Coalition members were arrested for trespassing after holding a sit-in in Powers’ office. Geography and the environment lecturer Richard Heyman, who participated in the teach-in, said a unified force at home and abroad is necessary to advance substantive change in the rights of workers. “This event tonight is a great example of the necessary solidarity among workers in the global south, transnational immigrants and native workers in the global north,” Heyman said. Heyman also said workers’ rights here in the United States remain an important issue. “We don’t often use the phrase ‘sweatshops’ to describe construction workers and house cleaners, but in effect those sectors suffer the same poor pay, degrading treatment and dangerous conditions of factory workers in the global south,” Heyman said. Holding up a UT Tshirt, geography junior Jessica Alvarenga said students need to see beyond the UT logo. “What do you see when you see this shirt?” Alvarenga asked. “Do you see the worker? Do you see the sweat? Do you see the harassment that a worker faces everyday just to produce this shirt?”
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have become an integral piece of UT’s culture. “It’s just part of the fabric of the campus,” he said. Joshua Cook, spokesperson for the office of the vice president for Student Affairs, said the bells have a long history at UT. “The original 17 bells were installed in 1936,” he said. “In 1986, a bequest from the estate of Hedwig Thusnelda CONTENT CHECKED Kniker added another DESIGNER 39BYbells. ” Throop said normally DESIGN APPROVED the bells go off every quarter hour. They chime the FINAL APPROVAL correlating number of times for each hour on the COPY EDITOR hour and once on the quarter, half and three-quarter hour. Also, tunes are played ROP DIRECTOR on the bells several times throughout the day by proPRODUCTION keyboardists DIRECTOR fessional inside the tower, Throop said. He said the University ADSEND TIME decided to build the walkway around the bells afIN DOCUSHARE complaints terPLACED receiving from workers that the area should be more in line with current construction safety standards. “Expectations have changed with regard to what workers are expect-
ing from the standpoint of safety on a project,” Throop said. “So in this case, our workers who were going up there regularly said, ‘We can get up there and we can maintain these, but if we had a catwalk, it would be better.’” Throop said while working on the walkway, and in recent years, the wear and tear on the bells became increasingly apparent, and repairs were deemed necessary. “More and more often, [UT staff members] were having problems with individual keys and individual bells,” he said. UT alumnus Nathan Crenshaw said he hopes the construction goes well and the bells last for a long time, as he is well aware of their importance to the campus community. “It’s a part of what makes you feel like you are going to UT,” he said. “It’s like they go off and you look at the tower, and you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I go to one of the largest schools in the country.’ Then it makes you feel like you are doing something with purpose by going to school.”
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Sports
TEE OFF
GOLF TOURNAMENT CHALLENGE
www.utrecsports.org
6
Christian Corona, Sports Editor
FOOTBALL
Seniors to play in final Big 12 opener By Lauren Giudice Saying that the seniors have seen it all is an understatement. They went from the BCS Championship game to not attending a bowl game at all in less than a year. While going 8-5 last season was a step up from their sophomore campaign, that isn’t the legacy they want. They want to get this team back to where it was when they arrived here — back to being a national contender. They’ll play in their last Big 12 opener this weekend against Oklahoma State. “When I came in, it was a program going up and I would like to leave it the way I came in,” said senior running back D.J. Monroe. “The seniors take a lot of pride in that, and we take it upon ourselves to lead the team and not be selfish.” Monroe has scored a touchdown in each of the Longhorns’ three games and is running more physically than ever. Being the smallest running back, he took it upon himself to get stronger. He and the other running backs would work out at noon every day this summer to get stronger. He, the rest of the backs and the team had a chip on their shoulder. ”We wanted to let everyone know that we weren’t intimidated by an 8-5 season,”
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Elisabeth Dillon | Daily Texan Staff Safety Kenny Vaccaro is among the seniors who will graduate this year. Vaccaro has been a valuable asset to the Longhorns defense since his freshman year.
Monroe said. “We are going to come back stronger.” Head coach Mack Brown has witnessed the seniors’ need to get the team back where it was in 2009. “There’s this group of guys that said, ‘We got to get this place back on track, and we’re tired of being okay, so
let’s do whatever we need to do to win,’” Brown said. Senior tight end D.J. Grant has been a part of the movement to take the Longhorns back to a higher caliber. He said coaches didn’t tell them to step into this role. The seniors took it upon themselves. The past three seasons
Texas has started off 3-0, but these seasons all had very different endings — an appearance in the BCS Championship, a 5-7 season, a Holiday Bowl berth. Finishing the season strong is vital. “We’ve seen a lot of things,” Grant said. “We’ve seen how the school is when it’s great
and we want to be back there. Everybody knows that so we’re fighting to get it back there.” After returning to a bowl game last season, the team is hungrier than ever. Facing off against Oklahoma State will be the Longhorns’ first tough test.
OPENERcontinues on page 7
STAT GUY
Odds look good after bye week By Hank South
Daily Texan Columnist
Andrew Torrey | Daily Texan Staff Sophomore quarterback David Ash will face Oklahoma State with a 35-point win over Ole Miss under his belt.
More seasoned Ash faces OSU rematch It was a long day for David Ash the first time he faced Oklahoma State. Making his first career start, Ash threw the ball 40 times — as many attempts as he had in his first five games combined. He completed 22 passes for just 139 yards and was picked off twice in the 38-26 loss to the Cowboys in Austin last October. Ash gets another shot at them in Stillwater, Okla., this Saturday. “I remember trying to do too much [against Oklahoma State] last year,” Ash said. “I was trying to squeeze balls in little tiny windows that weren’t really windows.” Two games later, Ash only attempted seven passes, completing four in a 52-20 victory over Texas Tech. The Longhorns rushed for more than 400 yards for the second straight game, but their passing game was almost literally nonexistent. It got so bad that someone joked to wide receiver Mike Davis that Texas had turned into a triple option-style Georgia Tech team. “I didn’t know what to say,” Davis said. “It was terrible. But we’re all on the same page now. We’ve always been good running, now we’re clicking in our passing game. Our offense is so good now... [Ash] was kind of shocked sometimes. It just wasn’t clicking for him but he’s overcome that.” Ash has come a long way
SIDELINE Cardinals
FOOTBALL
By Christian Corona Sports Editor
STARTS HERE
since last October. Fast forward 11 months and you’ll find a sophomore signalcaller who has thrown seven touchdown passes without getting picked off, a quarterback who has gone from being a liability to one of the offense’s biggest assets. He threw for 326 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-point win over Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., two weekends ago. The last time Texas had that good a game from its quarterback, the NCAA’s all-time winningest quarterback was under center. “I’ve seen glimpses of it the whole time I’ve been here,” junior guard Mason Walters said. “The guy — and you know his number — Colt, he was the last guy to be able to do that. David’s completely different. I hope to see it more.” Despite boasting the nation’s most productive offense and playing at home this weekend, Oklahoma State is a three-point underdog against Texas. Ash’s performance against the Rebels is a big reason why. “It’s been a while and it was definitely a great game for all of us,” junior guard Trey Hopkins said. “David did a great job of leading the team. He made very good decisions throughout the game and [made] communication with the offensive line. That’s one of the biggest things that we haven’t had too often since I’ve been here.” The Big 12 is full of some of the most high-flying offenses in the country. Unlike last year, Ash has proved he can keep up.
History has shown that when Texas is coming off a bye week, it wins. In head coach Mack Brown’s tenure on the 40 Acres, the Longhorns have gone 18-4 (.818) following their bye weeks. Texas A&M proved to be the Longhorns’ Achilles’ heel after weeks off, defeating Texas in 1999 (2016), 2006 (12-7) and 2007 (38-30). Arkansas beat Texas at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in 2003, 3828, after a bye week as well. Last season Texas had two bye weeks, winning after each of them. The Longhorns had two weeks to prepare for a 3714 win over Iowa State and a
43-0 trouncing of Kansas, two of the Longhorns’ best overall team performances. Brown hasn’t just had success after regular season bye weeks. Since 1998, Texas is 27-8 (.771) when the team has had one or more weeks to prepare. The Longhorns are 9-4 (.692) in the postseason under Brown, who went 8-2-1 after a bye week at North Carolina. In last season’s victory over the Cyclones in Ames, Iowa, quarterbacks David Ash and Case McCoy combined to throw for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Jaxon Shipley caught 6 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown as the Longhorns cruised to a win over an Iowa State team that later defeated Oklahoma State at home, a loss that kept
the Cowboys out of the national championship. Against the Jayhawks at DKR last season, the Longhorns rushed for 441 yards and 5 touchdowns. Running backs Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron combined for 255 of those yards and four touchdowns. The defense held Kansas to 46 total yards in one of the most dominant performances Texas has put on in the past few seasons. Before the Longhorns’ last national title game appearance three seasons ago, they faced Colorado coming off a bye week in early October. Texas came away with a 3714 victory, but struggled for a good part of the game against the Buffaloes, trailing 14-10 at
BYE continues on page 7
FANTASY FOOTBALL | For more NFL content: bit.ly/dt_nfl
Benson a shrewd fantasy choice By David Leffler As we approach October and cap off the first month of NFL action, there is little certainty in the fantasy football world. Here are a few pointers that should help fantasy owners piece the puzzle together and make sense of it all:
2) Vincent Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jackson has been anything but consistent this season, sandwiching a monster game against the Giants in Week 2 between two lackluster performances in Weeks 1 and 3.
TOP TWEET Bryant Jackson @BJack_16
“@FlashGoodwin and @MikeDavis_1 was struggling on this test!! Wyatt gone fire yall up!!.”
SPORTS BRIEFLY Charles wins AFC player of the week
After an explosive record-setting performance against the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs running back and former Longhorn Jamaal Charles was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Charles is now the second player in history to gain more than 225 yards rushing and 50 yards receiving in the same game, joining legendary Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown. Against the Saints on Sunday, Charles rushed for 233 yards on 33 carries and caught six passes for an additional 55 yards. He also managed to bolt down the field for a 91-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, marking the longest touchdown run in franchise history. — Rachel Thompson
NFL, refs reach an agreement
Start:
1) Cedric Benson, RB, Green Bay Packers Benson must be salivating as he looks forward to Sunday, when the New Orleans Saints come Lambeau Field. The Saints haven’t been able to stop anybody this season, allowing Jamaal Charles to rack up 288 total yards of offense last week. Benson has established himself as the primary ball carrier in the Packers’ backfield. Aaron Rodgers will be airing it out against the Saints, but Benson should get valuable touches near the goal line.
Reds
Mike Roemer | Associated Press Green Bay running back Cedric Benson has accumulated 144 yards this season.
However, with the Bucs facing the Washington Redskins and their dreadful secondary, Jackson should be able put up big numbers. 3) Brandon Lloyd, WR, New England Patriots Given Tom Brady’s ability to spread the ball around, relying on New England receivers is a gamble. However, Lloyd and Brady’s chemistry seems to increase every week, which was most evident in Lloyd’s ninecatch, 108-yard performance against the Ravens last week. Lloyd will remain a consistent
threat as long as he keeps getting looks from Brady.
Sit:
1) Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins Tannehill couldn’t get anything going against the Jets in Week 3, completing less than half of his passes for 196 yards and an interception. Things will not be easier for him against a stout, opportunistic Cardinals defense. He may also be without running back Reggie Bush, who left the last
Fantasycontinues on page 7
NEW YORK -- The NFL and the referees’ union reached a tentative contract agreement at midnight Thursday, ending an impasse that began in June when the league locked out the officials and used replacements instead. “Our officials will be back on the field starting tomorrow night” for the Cleveland-Baltimore game, Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We appreciate the commitment of the NFLRA in working through the issues to reach this important agreement.” With Goodell at the table, the sides concluded two days of talks with the announcement of a tentative 8-year deal, which must be ratified by 51 percent of the union’s 121 members. They plan to vote Friday. -Associated Press
sports
Year
Opponent
Score
2005
Missouri
W, 51-20
2006
Texas A&M
W, 40-29
2006
Texas A&M
L, 12-7
2007
Texas A&M
L, 38-30
2008
Rice
W, 52-10
2008
Texas A&M
W, 49-9
2009
Colorado
W, 38-14
2010
Nebraska
W, 20-13
2011
Iowa State
W, 37-14
2011
Kansas
W, 43-0
The Cowboys have defeated these seniors twice during their careers at Texas, both times at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The hostile environment in Stillwater, Okla., won’t faze the Longhorn veterans, but it
FANTASY continues from page 6 game with a knee injury. 2) Anquan Boldin, WR, Baltimore Ravens Boldin stumbled out of the gate this season, posting singledigit fantasy point totals twice
this year. With Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco relying heavily on his tight ends and running back Ray Rice, Boldin’s presence has been vastly reduced. He could break out as Flacco’s red zone threat, but Boldin is not a reliable fantasy player.
whether “good Jay” or “bad Jay” will show up on game day. Cutler showed his bad side the past two games, tossing five interceptions and one touchdown. Bears fans and fantasy owners hope Cutler can bounce back Monday night against an improved Dallas Cowboys defense, but that may be asking too much.
3) Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears The question is always
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him,’” Grant said. “You’re going to mess up, but if you mess up, you have to show them that if you mess up, you have to get up and keep going and make a positive play.” Texas finished the first part of its season, the non-conference slate, with an impressive win over Ole Miss. Now the true test begins, and with the guidance of the seasoned seniors, it will look to make a statement.
os S
halftime. The Longhorns eventually pulled away behind quarterback Colt McCoy’s 265 yards passing and receiver Jordan Shipley’s 147 yards receiving. The defense held Colorado to just 127 total yards. Four years earlier, during Texas’ first national title run of the century, the Longhorns visited Missouri, defeating the Tigers, 51-20, after the team’s week off. Quarterback Vince Young passed for 236 yards and two scores and rushed for 108 yards and another touchdown. The Longhorns outgained the Tigers 585-330. It’s no doubt the Longhorns perform well with a week of rest, however this Oklahoma State team might be the best
OPENER
will tell a lot about the progress the team has made. The team stresses the importance of the “Texas Standard.” These seniors briefly saw that high during their freshman season. Now the bar is set even higher and they have accepted the challenge. “You have to gain the trust of your teammates and work hard so they can look at you and be like, ‘I want to be like
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back and look at every missed tackle, every big play, and say, ‘Why?’’ Mack Brown said at his weekly press conference. Factor in the rabid atmosphere Saturday night in Stillwater, and the Longhorns are looking at their toughest test yet.
ngre
BYE
post-bye week team Texas has faced in recent memory. The Cowboys — who are also coming off a bye week — average 687 yards of offense per game. The extra time off allowed Texas to go back and fix some fundamental issues. “We’ve been able to go
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Life & Arts
8 BOOK REVIEW | SWAMPLANDIA
Novel well-received by students, critics By Faith Ann Ruszkowski As far as theme parks go, not many specialize in the art of alligator wrestling. However, Swamplandia!, the theme park featured in Karen Russell’s fiction novel by the same name, defies the traditional theme park model. The novel, which follows the stories of the alligator-wrangling Bigtree family, is awash in oddities and the unexpected. UT students will have a chance to hear Russell read from and answer questions about her critically acclaimed book at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 in the Joynes Reading Room. The novel concentrates on the collapse of Swamplandia! after Hilola Bigtree — mother, alligator wrestler and main headliner for the amusement park — dies of cancer and her husband and kids try to reassemble the family business. As the audience for Swamplandia! performances dwindles to a halt, Hilola’s children, Ava, Ossie and Kiwi, each struggle to deal with the collapse of their fantastical existence in Swamplandia! and diverge on odd, sometimes otherworldly paths to reality. Plan II freshman Colleen O’Neill was drawn to the story for its originality. “Initially I decided to read it because it was on the Voltaire’s Coffee reading list for Plan II,” O’Neill said. “However, I read it because I thought it would be a fun but stimulating read that had a surreal and mystical twist to it.” Magical elements permeate Swamplandia!. “I love that description of the swamp-gothic atmosphere,” Russell said via email. “I grew up in South Florida, where there was always a tension between the imaginary and the real, between these concrete fictions, the theme parks and the irreducibly mysterious animals and plants (and humans!) that they contained.” While the setting and concepts in Swamplandia! are eccentric and mysterious, the relatable nature of
the struggles Ava and her family face makes the plot widely appealing. “I think what makes Swamplandia! appealing to college students is the same thing that makes the book so generally popular — it’s an adventure,” Matt Valentine, program coordinator for the Joynes Reading Room and Plan II Honors, said. Russell also notes that the protagonist Ava’s struggles are “quite universal for young children on the slippery threshold of adulthood — she is trying to separate fantasy from reality, to orient herself towards the truth, to understand what is happening to her family, her body, her life.” The eclectic charm and wide appeal of Swamplandia! have not gone unnoticed by the literary community. The novel, Russell’s first, was one of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalists for fiction and its success has garnered Russell considerable praise. Not only has she achieved recognition as one of The New Yorker’s “20 Under 40” fiction authors, but her writing in Swamplandia! has also been awarded with the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award and was a finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. At 7 p.m. Thursday, students who want to put aside “[tackling] those thick textbooks,”, as Russell puts it, and pick up some critically acclaimed pleasure reading can venture over to the Joynes Reading Room. The question and answer session is open to all, alligator wrestlers and non-alligator wrestlers alike.
Book: Swamplandia! Author: Karen Russel Date: Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. Location: Joynes Reading Room
SCIENCE
Sexism common in workplace SCIENCE SCENE By Robert Starr
bit.ly/dt_sciscene
Sexism Even in Science Science is an overwhelmingly male field, and despite active efforts, the gender gap refuses to narrow. Many have proposed possible explanations for this, but very little research has tackled the question head-on: Is there sexism in the scientific community? A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America answers that question with a definitive yes. The authors sent surveys to science faculty members at several leading universities asking them to evaluate how successful a given applicant would be as a lab manager. The catch? The student was the same in all the surveys sent out except for the name, which was given as John half the time and Jennifer the other half. The results? The faculty members, whether male or female, gave higher rankings to the application if John’s name was at the top. The authors of the study note that this is likely unconscious discrimination, but that doesn’t prevent it from having a strong effect on women trying to break into the field. Ig Nobel Prizes While not as prestigious as the Nobel Prize, an Ig Nobel Prize is still worthy of honor. The awards, which recognize research that “makes people laugh and think,” were announced this past week, putting some very odd science in the spotlight. Among the highlights were an Acoustics Prize for the SpeechJammer, a gun that fires people’s voices back at them with a slight delay, disorienting them and causing them to shut up, an Anatomy Prize for a study that discovered that chimpanzees could rec-
ognize each other by photographs of their posteriors and a Literature Prize for the US Government General Accountability Office, which issued a “report about reports abwout reports that recommends the preparation of a report about the report about reports about reports.” Your Beliefs are Fragile Believe you have tough convictions? They may not be as strong as you think. Researchers in Sweden gave participants a questionnaire regarding morality and, through the use of what they refer to as a “magic trick,” changed the questions after the participants responded to make it look as though they answered the exact opposite of what they supposedly believed. When asked about these altered responses, the participants sometimes reverted to their original stance, but in a significant number of cases defended the new position, completely flip-flopping on where they stood initially. The researchers say that these results suggest we should reconsider our faith in
BABEL continues from page 10
our choices seal our fate.” Where acoustic-based contemporaries such as Fleet Foxes and the Decemberists take a sensitive, bucolic approach to English-inspired folk-rock, Mumford & Sons seem to come straight from the gutter. This could have been a good thing if the band didn’t try so hard to produce the same exact formula with every song. The album’s final track, “Not with Haste,” tries its
‘
Raquel Breternitz Daily Texan Staff
“The authors of the study note that this is likely unconscious discrimination, but that doesn’t prevent it from having a strong effect on women trying to break into the field.”
questionnaire-based research as well as the confidence we have in our core moral beliefs.
of about 4.5 degrees by the end of the 21st century, but they also have good reason to think that they’re correct.
Climate Change Models Work Researchers at the University of Arizona put several climate change models to the test by applying them to old data to determine if they made accurate predictions. The results showed that these models succeeded, but only over continental scales in time frames of 30 years or more; anything more localized or sooner than that resulted in inaccurate predictions. Still, this is both reassuring — in the sense that our scientists are developing good predictive systems — and frightening — in that our current models are anything but optimistic regarding our future climate. Not only do scientists expect a temperature increase
Pacifiers May Hurt Empathy Babies love their pacifiers, but tentative research out of the University of WisconsinMadison suggests that these binkies may be doing more harm than good in the long run. Surveys of 6- and 7-yearold boys as well as of collegeaged men showed that those who used their pacifiers more as a baby had less developed feelings of empathy as they grew up. The researchers believe this is because the pacifier prevents babies from going through the typical motions of mimicking other people’s facial expressions. Whatever the explanation, however, this phenomenon exclusively affects males — in other words, Maggie Simpson should still grow up to be A-OK.
TRACE continues from page 10
Mark Humphrey | Associated Press This Sept. 5 photo shows the band Mumford and Sons with Emmylou Harris, pioneers of the folk-rock revival movement, on an episode of “CMT Crossroads” on Thursday, Sept. 27.
pleasant song with a lilting intro and tender lyrics, but the effect is muted when all of the songs on the album are so emotionally charged. Unfortunately for Mumford & Sons, things get worse before they get any better, reaching a lyrical nadir at “Broken Crown”: “So crawl on my belly till the sun goes down / I’ll never wear your broken crown / I can take the road and I can fuck it all away / But in this twilight
Thursday, September 27. 2012
best to lighten the mood as the album comes to a close but gets lost in the album’s overarching malaise. An expanded edition of the album contains three bonus tracks, including a cover of Paul Simon’s “The Boxer,” which features a guest appearance by the master singer-songwriter himself. Each of the bonus selections is better than anything on the actual album, showing that the band is capable of delivering quality music.
Even so, the additional material cannot justify the $17.99 list price of the CD. Nevertheless, Babel will probably sell a zillion albums thanks to the Clear Channel powers that be, while admirable new releases by bands such as The Soft Pack and Grizzly Bear languish on record store shelves. So it goes. Hopefully for subsequent albums Mumford & Sons will try to expand their musical vocabulary.
its origin to its plating. But Hightower not only provides relatable Southern dishes tailored to Austin; he focuses on the future of cuisine. “There’s an element of responsibility to it as well. I think in the near future it’s going to be almost mandatory,” Hightower explained. “Fuel prices are going to be so prohibitive that we won’t be able to afford vegetables to be trucked across the country anymore. [Using local food] is an investment in the future.” Known for being a green and environmentally conscious city, Austin appears to be burgeoning with patrons seeking sustainable foods. The struggle for TRACE and similar eateries is providing affordable food that does not compromise their values. “That’s the battle. But at the same time it has brought us people who are excited to come in and try unrefined local or organic or good comfort local food,” O’Leary said. “And that’s the pay off. It’s the tricky part in what we do, but it’s also worth it. It comes out when people taste the food.” Austin Restaurant Week (running Sept. 30 through Oct. 3) gives restaurants like TRACE the opportunity to display the affordability and accessibility of unique and local food. With special meals, events, samples and social hours, Austin’s restaurants are spicing up the culinary scene for a good cause. With a “buy a meal, give a meal” model, proceeds from the two-weeklong food fest benefit Meals
on Wheels and More. “In terms of our philosophy on brunch, it’s pretty simple. We strive to provide great dishes at an affordable price point while also allowing guests to take full advantage of the scene,” said J. Sean Bradshaw, director of beverage and food. “Brunch on the TRACE terrace is as beautiful as it is relaxing, and the live jazz and complimentary brunch cocktail really seals the deal.” At only $17 for brunch, Austin Restaurant Week gives students the opportunity to eat at a swanky eatery that they normally could not afford. Living on a college budget, $15 pancakes will break the bank. But for the next two weeks, students can treat themselves to cheesy shrimp and grits and divine lemon lime tarts with dulce de leche at a reasonable price. Featuring both divine delicacies, TRACE’s Restaurant Week brunch provides patrons with a selection of savory options they can feel good about eating.
Restaurant: TRACE Location: W Hotel 200 Lavaca Street Event: Austin Restaurant Week When: Sept.30 - Oct. 3 Website: traceaustin.com
Comics
Thursday, September 27, 2012
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ONLINE
mobile website coming Sept. 27 dailytexanonline.com
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Life & Arts 10
Kelsey McKinney, Life & Arts Editor
MUSIC
Ben Baxter Band solidifies sound By Shane Miller It’s rare when a band’s music can be enjoyed by listeners of every genre, but the Ben Baxter Band’s wide diversity of influences makes it just that. Drawing heavy influence from blues, R&B and reggae, their sound is most easily compared to Jack Johnson or G. Love and Special Sauce, but they cannot easily be categorized. The Ben Baxter Band is a group of hardworking guys. They do most of their marketing, graphic design and booking, but know how to have fun at the same time. Having won the Austin College Battle of the Bands in 2010, in addition to playing with major artists like Afroman during South By Southwest 2009 and frequenting staple Austin venues such as Antone’s and Blind Pig Pub, the Ben Baxter Band has played for thousands of people but still isn’t satisfied. The group’s latest release, Illume, recorded by Tim “TANK” Casterline at Wonderland Studios in Austin, will be available Sept. 29. Started in 2008, the band at first consisted solely of singer/ rhythm guitarist/namesake Ben Baxter Jinkins and lead guitarist/keyboardist Britton Byfield. They originally played sorority and fraternity parties and UT charity events. “Our first show was at Pike House,” Jinkins said. “It was terrible, haha.” The two then decided it was time to add other musicians for a fuller sound. After trying out multiple bassists, they resolved to recruit Joe Strelsky. The three had been friends for a long time, as they all grew up together in Taylor. Strelsky has been playing bass for 12 years. His experience and dedication is very noticeable, and his fingers effortlessly glide across his Ibanez to provide a solid, funky foundation for the guitarists to build off of.
Becca Gamache | Daily Texan Staff The Ben Baxter Band, comprised of lead singer Ben Baxter Jinkins (front) and band members Britton Byfield, Dominic Ferrario, and Joe Strelsky practices at The Music Lab on Oltorf Street on Sunday night. The band will release its newly recorded album, “Illume” on Sept. 29th.
When their original drummer quit, they contacted Californian Dominic Ferrario in May 2010. “I drove all the way down here for an audition, cramped in my car filled with drums,” said Ferrario, now a UT senior. “I got so lucky. The band was the exact style of music that I love to play.” Ferrario’s drumming saturates the music with rhythmic technique. His syncopation and expert fills give the oftensimple chord progressions new life. The band members’ compatibility is reflected on their CD. The first track on Illume, “For You,” displays the band’s dexterity in the rock genre with a heavy melody that
draws comparison to fellow Austin band Spoon. The listener will immediately be able to identify Jinkins’ distinct voice. In a matter of seconds he showcases his vocal diversity, quickly switching from a gentle falsetto to a robust, rough cut. His mastery of syllabic phrasing noticeably puts him a notch above other singers. The second track, “Put Your Head Down,” is the best on the album. Beginning with a soft acoustic guitar, Jinkins’ masterful delivery of “I bet you wish you had everyone fooled/I bet you wish you were somebody new” will certainly get stuck in the listener’s head and coax unconscious foot-tapping. “Wiser” starts with a gospel
organ melody that leads into a reggae guitar chord progression in a cheerful major key. The song is the lyrical peak of the album, with happygo-lucky Jinkins singing, “We spent all day laughing and driving back and forth to your place where we’d always end up.” He describes the kind of intimate relationship that most people would want to have, making it easy to relate to. “The way I see it is that we’re the paper and Ben is the pen,” said Byfield, “He writes all the lyrics.” The allegorical style of Baxter’s lyrics is a strong point of the album, and when sung by a voice like Jinkins’, causes the album to move seamlessly
DINING
New Mumford & Sons album comes up short By Ricky Stein
Marisa Vasquez Daily Texan Staff
TRACE brings a unique taste to Austin
Southern comfort food is not usually associated with sleek hotels or sustainable farming, but TRACE brings an environmental and social awareness to its soulful menu. Committed to the use of sustainable and locally grown ingredients, this upscale Austin restaurant provides diners with socially responsible cuisine highlighted in this fall’s Austin Restaurant Week. “I think people want to see locally farmed and environmentally friendly food. It’s one of our cornerstones: to source locally. It’s one of our mantras that we use in the restaurant,” Ben Hightower, chef de cuisine at TRACE
The Ben Baxter Band is definitely on the right track. Compared to their previous recordings, their latest attempts show the band evolving musically. They have discovered their individual niche, a simple style that defines them and sets them apart from any other local band. Their live show is also particularly enthralling. A set list normally contains a few famous cover songs, and the band’s movement while performing will surely prove infectious to an audience member. The Illume CD release party will take place Saturday, Sept. 29th at Frank, located at Fourth and Colorado streets.
ALBUM REVIEW | BABEL
Gulf shrimp and grits is one of the brunch menu items at TRACE restaurant located next to the W Hotel downtown. TRACE will serve brunch for $17 during Austin Restaurant Week, which will run from Sept. 30 to Oct. 8.
By Ricky Stein
from track to track. The band goes in a different direction musically and lyrically in “I Am.” The song starts with a computerized drumbeat overlaid with an R&B keyboard melody. Because the song is so catchy, it was a prime choice for their music video (which was filmed in a UT Communications building). Even when the stringed instruments cut out, leaving only drums, Jinkins’ rhythmic vocals do more than most other full bands. “We had an epiphany,” Byfield said. “We realized that music doesn’t have to be super intricate to be engaging. Sometimes the simpler something is, the better.”
explained. “I think there are a lot of people that are looking for it.” Creating a cuisine that is representative of the tastes of Austin challenges TRACE to constantly experiment with new flavors, ingredients and combinations. Because the TRACE cooking ideology centers on the land and climate of Austin, when the seasons change, so do the dishes. From summer melons to fall pumpkins, the menu changes up to twenty times a year. “That’s where it all starts from — the seasons changing. It keeps you inspired in terms of being able to change so often,” Janina O’Leary, executive pastry chef at TRACE, said. “We will literally change
the menu one week and then that item is no longer available. But that’s also the fun part, being able to be a part of something where we can change so often and play with the menu.” The nature of TRACE keeps the staff constantly growing through their creations, yet they still remain true to their roots and experiences. Both Hightower and O’Leary have worked throughout the nation and world, crafting unique dishes that draw on a variety of culinary styles and techniques, but Hightower stresses simplicity and flavors in his cuisine. “I’m from New Orleans originally, so I try and insert a lot of those flavors into my
cooking. I also think that there are not a lot of restaurants in Austin that are just doing good food,” Hightower said. “I think there’s a lot of people that try to make it flashy — which there is absolutely nothing wrong with — but I just focus on making sure every plate that goes out is prepared properly and seasoned properly and cooked properly, which, in kind of an unassuming way, makes TRACE unique.” Focusing on the farm-totable restaurant experience, Hightower and O’Leary use rich flavors to play up the hand-selected ingredients. In a completely organic process, chefs follow the food from
TRACE continues on page 8
The last three years have been very kind to the West London folk scene, specifically to its flagship ensemble Mumford & Sons. The Celticinspired quintet scored a major label record deal within two years of its formation. The group released the surprise debut hit Sigh No More in late 2009. The album sold millions of copies on both sides of the Atlantic, spawning four singles and making the group a major concert draw. With all of its success, one would think the band could afford to lighten up and expand its sound a little. Instead, the band retreads the exact same weary course with its follow-up album Babel. Employing the same producer, Markus Dravs (Coldplay, Arcade Fire), the album is a carbon copy of Sigh No More. Its 12 insistent, lamenting tracks are identical in tone and presentation to the group’s older album. Once again the band decides to take on the big subjects, with epic, allknowing statements and biblical imagery scattered throughout the album. The band’s ambition is commendable, but before
Mumford & Sons: Babel Released: 9/24/2012
Genre: indie-folk; folk-rock Length: 52:17
long, its ostensible goodwill slips into the realm of self-aggrandizement. Songs like the opening title track and lead single “I Will Wait” ooze with melodrama, and occasional borderline-idiotic lyrics such as “Your strength just makes me feel less strong” are launched out over chugging acoustic instrumentation in Marcus Mumford’s anguished rasp. Such histrionics make Babel an exhausting experience, causing the listener to wish the band would just spend a nice day at the park. Some songs attempt to break out of the wannabeanthemic mold. “Ghosts That We Knew” is a
BABEL continues on page 8