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Monday, September 9, 2013
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WEST CAMPUS
ODD MANNY OUT
Weekend brings forth new balloon attack claim
Robinson to replace defensive coordinator following BYU loss
By Alberto Long
By Chris Hummer
@albertolong
@chris_hummer
One day after Texas surrendered a school-record 550 rushing yards in a 4021 loss to Brigham Young University, Texas relieved Manny Diaz of his defensive coordinator duties. UT confirmed the news on Sunday. “Our performance on defense last night was unacceptable, and we need to change that,” head coach Mack Brown said. Diaz, who will be reassigned to a role in the schools’ athletic department, will be replaced by former Texas defensive coordinator Greg Robinson. Robinson is a veteran coach of 36 years and called the defensive plays for the Longhorns’ 2004 Rose Bowl-winning team. “Greg will be here tonight and get with the staff and players to start preparing for Ole Miss,” Brown said. “He will be running our defense immediately. He knows this place, did a terrific job in leading our defense before and I’m excited to have him back on the field. We’re back at it and working hard to beat Ole Miss this weekend.” Diaz, in his third season at Texas, led the Longhorns to the worst defensive season in school history in 2012, allowing a school record
bit.ly/dtvid
Greg [Robinson] will be here tonight and get with the staff and players to start preparing for Ole Miss. He will be running our defense immediately. —Mack Brown, head coach
5,244 yards. The team vowed change in 2013, but the Cougars compiled yards at will on Saturday evening, breaking numerous BYU records and setting dubious Longhorn marks. The 39-year-old former defensive coordinator guided the Big 12’s top-ranked defense in 2011 but has failed to find that level of success since. When players were asked about Diaz’s job after the game Saturday, his players did voice their support. “We all believe in Coach Diaz,” junior cornerback Quandre Diggs said. “He put us in the right spots to make plays. We don’t make plays, can’t blame everything on him.” Robinson last served as a defensive coordinator at Michigan from 2009
DIAZ page 5
CAMPUS
Elisabeth Dillon / Daily Texan file photo
Manny Diaz was replaced as Texas’ defensive coordinator Sunday after Taysom Hill and BYU ran for 550 yards on his defense, the most rushing yards ever allowed by Texas.
Eduardo Belalcazar, an international relations and global studies junior, is the latest victim to speak out against balloon attacks in West Campus. On Saturday around midnight, Belalcazar, who is Hispanic, was walking in front the 26 West apartment complex when a liquid-filled balloon was thrown from the building and burst a foot away from his group of friends. “It didn’t click at first,” Belalcazar said. “I was in shock. There were two guys in front of us who thought the balloon was thrown at them. They started throwing rocks at the balcony in retaliation. That’s when it clicked.” Belalcazar immediately reported the incident to UTPD and went to the department’s headquarters to deliver a sworn statement. Belalcazar said University police officers collected balloon fragments from the scene. “Maybe the intent wasn’t inherently racist,” Belalcazar said, noting that he cannot say whether bleach was used in the attack. “But that’s the way these [attacks] are going to be taken.” Belalcazar added that the group of friends he was walking with that night was comprised of minority students. “They didn’t want me to call the police,” Belalcazar
BLEACH page 2
CAMPUS
SMOC’s non-UT student enrollment low By Jacob Kerr @jacobrkerr
Shelby Tauber / Daily Texan Staff
Assistant psychology professor David Yeager is the lead researcher on a study that finds students, particularly African-American, improve their grades upon receiving assurance from teachers.
Students’ grades better with teacher support By Reanna Zuniga @reannasioux
A new psychology research study led by a UT professor finds students may perform better in school if teachers convey both their own high standards and personal confidence in the students’ ability to succeed. In particular, AfricanAmerican students significantly improved their grades upon receiving assurance from teachers that they can meet their high standards. In the first of three studies,
22 African-American and 22 white seventh grade students were instructed to write an essay about a personal hero. In the feedback the students received on those essays, half included teacher reassurance — sentiments such as “I believe you have the ability to do better” — while the other half only emphasized high standards. Among the two groups of students, those who had received assurance alongside emphasis of high standards were significantly more likely
SUCCESS page 2
After the first full week of classes, the world’s first synchronous massive online course (SMOC) program still has fewer than 40 nonUT students enrolled in one of its two classes. Though SMOCs rely on classroom technology integration and are meant for large audiences, they are different than massive open online courses (MOOCs), as SMOCs are live-streamed and involve more individual participation. The program, launched this semester by the College of Liberal Arts, features an “Introduction to Psychology” course first developed and taught by psychology professors Samuel Gosling and James Pennebaker. The program also features an “American Goverment” class taught by government professors Eric McDaniel and Daron Shaw. While only 30 to 40 non-UT students are signed up for the class, there are more than 800 UT students enrolled. Each class session is filmed in a studio designed especially for the program in Mezes Hall, and 24 of the 800 UT students are invited to
Sam Ortega / Daily Texan Staff
Psychology professors Samuel Gosling and James Pennebaker are the developers of SMOC, a live streaming program that allows students to actively participate in online courses.
attend each class in person and to participate as an audience. Gosling said the SMOC combines in-class learning with online education — using technologies such as online chat rooms, secure testing systems and high-speed live streaming. “The idea is to try and use technology to both retain what is good about in-class teaching, but at the same time, use technology to
scale it up,” Gosling said. Gosling and Pennebaker developed the SMOC in which students watch the course live by streaming it on their computers. During class, students are assessed and participate in group discussions through the course website. Pennebaker said he thinks the small turnout this semester is because the University does not know how to properly advertise this class.
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Side by side comparison of SMOCs and MOOCs. PAGE 2
Bryan Davis: Diversity must be practiced. PAGE 4
Texas defense struggles to stop ground attack, BYU. PAGE 5
Artists use dead animals to unite science and art. PAGE 8
Five things you need to know about new defensive coordinator Greg Robinson.
New student organization unites entrepreneures. PAGE 3
Horns Up: the firing of Manny Diaz. PAGE 4
Soccer defeats Samford and Illinois State at home. PAGE 6
“Total War: Rome II” falls short on user interface. PAGE 8
Check out photos from the Longhorns’ in Provo, Utah. dailytexanonline.com
The SMOC emerged out of a series of changes Gosling and Pennebaker made to the “Introduction to Psychology” course they have co-taught over the past eight years. Gosling said they use data they collect from each semester to improve their class. “We didn’t sit down and say, ‘Let’s build a SMOC,’” Gosling said. “Each year,
SMOCS page 2 REASON TO PARTY
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