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Monday, September 22, 2014
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STATE
Abbott, Davis debate state issues By Jackie Wang @jcqlnwng
Attorney General Greg Abbott swiveled in his seat, put his elbows down on the table and asked State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, with a half-smile, “Do you regret voting for Barack Obama?” Davis ignored Abbott’s
question at Friday’s gubernatorial debate in Edinburg — the first gubernatorial debate ever held in the Rio Grande Valley — and instead focused on her goals as governor instead of her voting past. “I’m running for governor,” Davis said. “I’m working to make sure every hardworking Texan can go
as far as they dream. Texas is at a turning point. That’s what’s important at this election. I believe we need a governor who will fight for all hardworking Texans because their futures depend on this.” Davis and Abbott debated border issues, funding and abortion. Davis repeatedly referenced Abbott’s “third
world” comment from February about South Texas and said she supported the surge of border patrol officers to the Rio Grande Valley region. “I would start by listening to the local law enforcements and officials who know best,” Davis said. “If the federal government does not secure the border,
Texas must. We must be sensitive to the reputation of this community. Comments from [politicians] calling this ‘third world’ are inappropriate.” The two candidates also debated over health care options. Davis said she supports abortion, while Abbott
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THE TEXAS TRIBUNE Festival
Gov. Perry recalls 14-year career By Jackie Wang @jcqlnwng
Closing The Texas Tribune Festival on Sunday morning, Gov. Rick Perry reviewed his 14-year tenure as the state’s executive at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, discussing health care, education and the Texas economy. In an interview with Evan Smith, Texas Tribune CEO and editor-in-chief, Perry repeatedly refused to answer any questions about his Travis County grand jury indictment. When Smith jokingly threatened to stop asking questions and sit in silence, Perry said he was fine with that. “It’ll be a long hour,” Perry said. “I had a date like that one time.” Public education has been adequately funded by the state legislature, according to Perry. “I don’t judge progress by how many dollars we spend,” Perry said. “I think it’s simplistic to say you’re not spending enough money. I suggest the result is hard to argue when you look at the number of kids going to college today and when they got a job out of school.”
Shelby Tauber | Daily Texan Staff
Gov. Rick Perry speaks at The Texas Tribune Festival at the AT&T Convention Center on Sunday morning. Perry reviewed his 14-year tenure as the state’s executive and discussed multiple issues such as health care, education and the Texas economy.
Perry also said he still supports providing instate tuition for undocumented students, and it should be no issue for the Texas Legislature to aid students in earning a higher education degree.
THE TEXAS TRIBUNE Festival
Lt. gov hopefuls discuss education, immigration By Jackie Wang @jcqlnwng
Both candidates vying to become the state’s next lieutenant governor, state Sens. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, and Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, discussed education, bipartisanship and health care at the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday in separate one-on-one interviews. At the event held on campus at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, Patrick said he supports the voucher system and explained his reasoning for wanting students to leave schools if they feel the need to get a better education elsewhere. “No child should be forced to go to a failing school,” Patrick said. “Almost 10 percent
of our schools we rate in the state as failing. Can you imagine sending your child to a school rated as a failure?” According to Patrick, students should not be locked into a school district and should be able to cross district lines if their home district allocates them to a failing school. “You should have the opportunity to go to a charter school,” Patrick said. “If you can’t find a public or charter school, then you can apply for a scholarship from private businesses to go to a Catholic school, Christian school or private school.” Van de Putte spoke more about education after high school. She said she supports paying for Texan
LIEUTENANT page 2
“I think it’s important for young people to move up, get that certificate or diploma,” Perry said. Perry defended his stance against the Affordable Care Act. “I’ve asked Washington
multiple times for more flexibility to deal with the issue of health care and how we could receive the money from D.C. and restructure these programs so more people could have access,” Perry said. “In 2009,
President Obama said Medicaid was broken, and I agree with him. So why would we want to expand a broken system?” The Veterans Affairs
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HEALTH
Institute for stuttering treatment established By Wes Scarborough @westhemess13
While most treatment for stuttering comes at a high price, the University will now offer free stuttering treatment to people who need it. UT announced in a statement Wednesday that it received a $3 million donation to establish the Michael and Tami Lang Stuttering Institute, a research center devoted to treating children and adults who stutter free of charge. “People get really uncomfortable around people that stutter,” said Courtney Byrd, director of the Lang Stuttering Institute. “They just don’t want to be around it. Nobody knows what to do.” According to Byrd, 97 percent of undergraduate students studying speechlanguage pathology leave their universities with little to no exposure to stuttering. Byrd said most clinicians feel uncomfortable treating the disorder altogether. “People who stutter are not getting proper treatment,” said Elizabeth Cravens, a UT alumna and speech-language pathologist who studied under Byrd. “And because it’s a specialized treatment, [patients] would have to spend a lot of time and money seeking it out.” Treatment is inaccessible because of financial boundaries, such as insurance policies that lack the coverage, according to Byrd. “When insurance doesn’t cover it, there’s so many people we’ve had to say no
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ART
Website gives blank canvas to artists By Kate Dannenmaier @kjdannen
According to Red Throat House, you are dying. The good news is they can help. Red Throat House is a weekly online publication that launched in April and serves as a platform for artists to collaborate and mix mediums. “The nature of this project is to be very social,” cofounder Ben Clancy said. “We’re really just interested in seeing what happens when we put artists together and give them as much freedom as we possibly can.” Clancy, a communications graduate student at Texas State University, wrote the website’s slogan, “You are dying. We can help.” He said it is meant to provoke a feeling of ambiguity, and could be interpreted as both saving artists from death or helping artists along with
Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
Amyn Kassam, philosophy and anthropology junior, is the co-founder of the art curation blog, RedThroatHouse.com. Red Throat House is a digital platform for local artists to collaborate.
the process of dying. That slightly morbid outlook has become a theme on the website. “I thought that symbolized
the way that I conceptualize a lot of artistic practice,” Clancy said. “Something that helps us either feel as if we are alive in certain
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
ONLINE
Powers and Johnston participate in Tribune Festival. PAGE 3
Mike Martinez discusses run for mayor, plans for UT students.
Women’s soccer rebounds from UCLA bruising. PAGE 7
UT student dances and hosts radio show. PAGE 8
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Volleyball team nets tough win over Nebraska. PAGE 7
Students make documentary on Austin musicans. PAGE 8
Listen to a recap of the past week at UT and related news with The Daily Texan Podcast.
Students hold launch party for solar stations. PAGE 5
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moments or as something that helps us contextualize or understand death.”
THROAT page 2 REASON TO PARTY
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