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The Daily Texan Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
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INSIDE
SXSWedu pannel discusses technology’s effect on education. PAGE 6
SPORTS Women’s basketball claims a win 58-45 over West Virginia and honors its seniors. PAGE 7
LIFE&ARTS
Baseball nabs a victory over UTPA. SPORTS PAGE 7
NEWS PAGE 5
UNIVERSITY
General faculty to vote on fall break proposal By Christine Ayala The prospect of students catching up on homework and getting a few extra hours of sleep during a fall break hasn’t been supported by everyone on campus, as a number of faculty members have voiced opposition to the proposal.
Nearly 40 faculty members have submitted petitions in opposition to the two-day break since the Faculty Council approved it in January. Only 25 petitions were needed to call a special meeting of the general faculty to make the decision on fall break. The proposal will require a majority vote of faculty members at the special meeting to pass.
Kornel Rady, government and communication studies sophomore and Student Government representative, helped write SG’s original fall break proposal. She said certain professors have made it clear they think the fall break is not worth losing lab or class time, but that the break could help overwhelmed students. “Fall break can theoreti-
cally increase retention rates, aid mental health and help freshmen transition into the University,” Rady said. “[It] would be welcomed by many, and hopefully we can continue to win and fight this battle to get it through our administrators.” The proposed break would give students a Monday and Tuesday off toward the end of
UNIVERSITY
By Christine Ayala
The future of water in Texas is arguably the biggest crisis this state has ever faced. Proposed solutions are hopelessly inadequate in size and scope. PAGE 4
Open stage night held at Cactus Cafe The Cactus Cafe’s open stage takes place once a month. Sign up at 7 p.m. to take your turn performing on this legendary stage. Muslims Without Borders Texas Muslims Without Borders Texas holds its second general body meeting of the spring semester, featuring introductions, icebreakers and a general introduction to the club at both the local and national level. The meeting will be held from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. in Parlin Hall (PAR) 306.
What is today’s reason to party?
SEE COMICS PAGE 11
BREAK continues on page 2
Task force to clarify sports relationship boundaries
VIEWPOINT
Research poster design class offered Poster design classes are open to all undergraduates who are interested in creating a poster about their research. Learn about research poster content, design guidelines and timelines, and presentation tips. This class will be held from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in the Flawn Academic Center (FAC) 328. RSVP by email to uresearch@austin. utexas.edu or call (512) 471-5949.
October, while starting the semester two days earlier. Biology professor Hans Hofmann said if fall break includes Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, it would cost his course a week of lab instruction. Hofmann said if the break were an extended weekend similar to Labor Day
SYSTEM
Ask Riley: In-house know-it-all answers questions on passions and roommates. PAGE 10
TODAY
dailytexanonline.com
UT supercomputer powers 583 science projects.
NEWS Interdisciplinary panel explores immigration issues at an event co-hosted by the College Republicans and University Democrats. PAGE 5
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Illustration by Albert Lee | Daily Texan Staff
Students lack sleep
Sleep deprivation in UT students causes decrease in academic abilities By Jeremy Thomas Sleep deprivation, a common problem on UT’s campus, can cause more problems during a test than being legally intoxicated. In the 2012 National College Health Assessment, which was released earlier this semester, 46 percent of UT students indicated that sleepiness interfered significantly with their
daytime activities. Laura Ebady, Counseling and Mental Health Center psychologist and outreach coordinator, said obtaining less than the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep can cause an inability to focus in the classroom setting. “A study by psychologist David Dinges suggest that when students go without sleep their performance on tests was actually worse than students who were legally intoxicated,” Ebady said.
“One thing he found was that students consistently overrate their ability to concentrate and to perform academically when they don’t get enough sleep. So a lot of students are in fact impaired but don’t recognize it.” Alongside reduced cognitive functions, Ebady said sleep deprivation can cause other mental-health issues including anxiety and depression. “Those are some of the most common concerns that bring students in [to the center],” Ebady said. “Of course when people are sleep deprived, they’re probably not
CAMPUS
Jonathan Garza Daily Texan Staff
Students stand against slavery On Tuesday, UT students proved that the expression “standing up for what you believe in” need not always be taken figuratively. That morning, the students began a 27-hour Stand for Freedom in Gregory Plaza to raise awareness and funds for the 27 million current victims of human trafficking. Emma DeCaro, public relations sophomore and
SLEEP continues on page 2
NCAA continues on page 2
83RDLEGISLATURE Computer science sophomore Ingrid Ang stands outside Gregory Plaza on Tuesday afternoon to show her support in freeing the 27 million people enslaved worldwide.
By Amanda O’Donnell
going to be at their best so that could lead to added conflict internally and externally.” Theatre studies senior Megan Thompson said she does not see sleep as a priority because she feels she loses productivity if she sleeps too much. “I’m here in college not to sleep but to do well in all of my classes so I try to sleep as much as I can,” Thompson said. “I know it’s good for you, but if it comes between school work and my organizations that I’m in, they come first. School, job, extracurricular
While two relationships between UT coaches and students have come to light this semester, a recent report alleges that coach-athlete relationships are so ingrained in sport cultures that many people “don’t think anything of it” and the relationships have become a “serious problem.” The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s policy guide, Staying in Bounds, encourages colleges to make boundaries for athletics staff members that work closely with and in authority positions over student athletes. The report cites a study that found 20 percent of female student-athletes reported behaviors from a coach that took the relationship in a “non-instructional and potentially intimate direction,” but only 8 percent of the student athletes reacted negatively to them. Patricia Ohlendorf, vice president for administration and legal affairs, said UT’s current policy only advises against and discourages but does not prohibit relationships between authority figures and their subordinates. “In the presumably unlikely event that a consensual relationship [has] begun, it not
Stand for Freedom event co-chair, said many people are surprised to hear slavery still exists as close to home as Austin. “Lincoln abolished [slavery] 150 years ago, but it has manifested itself in less noticeable, yet still ugly, ways,” DeCaro said. “It hurts my heart to know there are people of all ages, ethnicities and genders, even in our own backyard, being exploited.” Human trafficking generates $32 billion in profits
every year according to the International Justice Mission’s website, the organization that sponsors UT’s Stand for Freedom campaign. Students on campus are attempting to raise $2,700 in donations in the 27-hour period ending Wednesday afternoon. The money will go toward the rescue of slavery victims in 16 countries, including Thailand, Rwanda and Uganda.
STAND continues on page 6
Legislature may enact stricter DWI testing laws By Hannah Jane DeCiutiis Law enforcement officials may have an easier time obtaining warrants to draw blood samples from suspected drunken drivers across counties because of a bill filed in the Texas House of Representatives. Currently, a person who gets pulled over for drunken driving and refuses to take a Breathalyzer test can be arrested and taken to jail. Law enforcement officials are then required to obtain a search warrant signed by a judge to draw a blood sample from the driver. Search warrants signed by district judges can be carried out statewide, but warrants signed by municipal judges are only enforceable in the county where the judge sits. A bill filed by Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, would extend the jurisdiction of municipal judges to contiguous, or adjacent, counties in the case of
Jim Pitts Rep. R-Waxahachie
search warrants for blood samples in DWI cases. At a hearing of the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Tuesday, committee members heard public testimony regarding the bill. Patrick Wilson, district attorney for Ellis County, said the bill would be useful when law enforcement officials in smaller counties are looking for judges at night and on weekends. “Any magistrate who is a licensed attorney may sign the
DWI continues on page 2