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Tuesday, February 11, 2014
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UNIVERSITY
Transfer students find transition difficult By Nicole Cobler @nicolecobler
When undeclared junior Joshua Alvarez transferred from Texas Tech to UT, he had to give up his two majors and had trouble finding housing — problems he feels were exacerbated by the University’s treatment of transfer students. “Transfer students don’t fall into four-year graduation rates, so we’ve been pushed to the side in a sense,” Alvarez said. “It’s really unfair.” Transfer students, who are given a much shorter new
student orientation and have no office to specifically address their needs, are 40 percent more likely to drop out after their first year than incoming first-year students, according to the most recent data available from the Office of Information Management and Analysis. Kristen Jones Harris, assistant director of operations at New Student Services, said there is not currently an office dedicated to helping students transition into the University, but the need is being addressed. “There is not technically a transfer office,” Harris said.
“We are still trying to find specific opportunities to support them throughout their college career versus when they just get here.” Harris said New Student Services organizes a nonmandatory transfer student orientation that allows transfer students to meet with academic advisers and plan their schedules. “We have to make different accommodations for their college, but we do feel like a large number of transfer students attend because of those opportunities,” Harris said.
The transfer student orientation is a day and a half long, and Alvarez said he felt like there was not as much information available to him as there would be to freshman. “Not only was there a lack of support at orientation, but here, with that one day and a half, I basically came, registered and left,” Alvarez said. “It didn’t provide me with the resources I was looking for.” Alvarez is on the Transfer Student Board, designed to address the concerns of this small
TRANSFER page 3
Michelle Toussaint / Daily Texan Staff
Kiefer Shenk, vice president of UT Senate, is heading an iniative to better facilitate students transferring into the University.
SYSTEM
POLICE
Cigarroa: ‘I had accomplished every goal’
Sixth Street disturbance spurs APD initiative
By Madlin Mekelburg & Jordan Rudner @thedailytexan
At a press conference Monday morning, UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa announced he will be stepping down as chancellor because he feels he has completed significant work on the goals he originally set for himself in the role. Cigarroa, who will become the head of pediatric transplant surgery at the UT Health Science Center-San Antonio once his successor is named, said he came to his realization in December. “I realized I had accomplished every goal that I set out to do,” Cigarroa said. “I’m at a point in my professional career where I need to take a look at the next steps. The type of academic I am is really a surgeon, [and I realized] that, if I didn’t go back to surgery, I think that, long-term, I would have regretted it.” Cigarroa maintained his decision had nothing to do with recent tensions between President William Powers Jr. and members of the UT System Board of Regents, and said he is proud of the work he has done to
By Julia Brouillette @juliakbrou
Joint Oversight Committee on Higher Education Governance, Excellence and Transparency. “Although I am confident that he will deny any
On Friday, the Austin Police Department began enforcing Operation Safe Passage, an initiative that positions extra officers on the east end of Sixth Street. APD Lt. Christian Malanka said the operation launch was quickened as a result of a video filmed on Jan. 26 that showed two groups of men engaged in a fight near the parking lots close to I-35. “We’re putting the greatest concentration on areas of high-density parking because those are the areas people are going to travel to after the bars close,” Malanka said. Malanka said the initiative is meant to help officers better deter or respond to incidents that occur as people return to their cars. “When anywhere from 20,000 to 60,000 patrons of bars are pushed into the streets at 2 o’clock in the
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Shelby Tauber / Daily Texan Staff
UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa stepped down from his position at a press conference Monay morning. Cigarroa will become the head of pediatric transplant surgery at the UT Health Science Center-San Antonio once his successor is named.
advance UT-Austin. “As it relates to President Powers, this decision is completely separate from that,” Cigarroa said. “I will continue to do my work as chancellor every day until my last day, as I’ve always done,
based on facts and performance. I support President Powers, and I will continue to evaluate all presidents every day.” State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said she believes Cigarroa’s
resignation stems from some regents’ recent behavior. Zaffirini, who served as chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Committee for six years, still sits on the committee and is also co-vice chair of the
CAMPUS
Journalist discusses the need for foreign aid in rural Africa By Adam Hamze In a presentation at the LBJ School of Public Affairs on Monday, journalist and author Nina Munk said she is in favor of foreign aid for the developing world, but only if it is spent wisely. Munk spoke about her book, “The Idealist: Jeffery Sachs and the Quest to End Poverty,” which is a profile of Jeffrey Sachs, an economist and special adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and author of “The End of Poverty.” Sachs’ work in the rural areas of Africa included launching the Millennium Villages Project, a five-year
initiative to test his theories for combating poverty. Munk said many areas in Africa rely heavily on international aid, which was provided through the project. “Anyone who’s been to rural Africa has seen what I have seen.” Munk said. “These people are alive because of foreign aid.” Munk said it was difficult to collect base data in the rural African villages, which led to skepticism from academics. “Many reports have had to be retracted because of lack of good data,” Munk said. “Almost no one in academia embraced this project and held it up as an example worth following, largely
because of these problems with the data.” Anna Scanlon, an international relations and global studies and government junior and a research assistant with UT Innovations for Peace and Development, said the methodology of the project was flawed. “Munk admitted during the Q-and-A that some of these villages are located in highly remote areas lacking any formal governance mechanism and are highly unlikely to ever develop any sort of industry, sustainable agricultural sector, etc.,” Scanlon said. Scanlon also said it’s
REASON TO PARTY
@adamhamz
Michelle Toussaint / Daily Texan Staff
Journalist and author Nina Munk gives a talk about foreign aid at the LBJ School of Public Affairs on Monday afternoon.
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
ONLINE
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Strong’s ability to build talent will prove success. PAGE 6
Personal documents from WWI come to the HRC. PAGE 8
Get a glimpse into Austin’s competitive Super Smash Brothers Melee scene.
UTPD urges caution after report of suspicious event. PAGE 3
The Greeks already won Student Government. PAGE 4
Texas looks to rebound against Oklahoma State. PAGE 6
Spider House offers weekly poetry slams. PAGE 8
dailytexanonline.com
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