2014-12-04

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Thursday, December 4, 2014

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POLICE

UTPD cannot enforce cellphone law

By Natalie Sullivan @natsullivan94

Starting in January, students could receive citations for talking on a cellphone while driving or biking — but only if they are stopped by an officer from the Austin Police Department, not UTPD. City Council passed a new

cellphone ordinance on Aug. 28, which bans the use of portable electronic devices while operating a vehicle or bicycle.

The ordinance goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2015, and it strengthens the current law, which only prohibits texting. Drivers will still be able to use their devices hands-free if they’re stopped on the side of the road or in the

case of an emergency.

The Council also added an exception that allows drivers to use their devices when stopped at a red light or stop sign. According to a statement from APD, violation of the ordinance will be a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, beginning in January 2015.

UTPD spokeswoman Cindy Posey said unlike APD, UTPD does not enforce city codes, so UTPD officers will not be enforcing the new ordinance on campus.

“If we see someone driving erratically or doing something they shouldn’t, we can still issue them a citation,” Posey said.

Health promotion junior Kelly Boudain, who bikes around campus, said she thinks the ordinance is a good idea, but she is glad UTPD will not enforce it on campus.

“I think a lot of people talk on their phones or do other stuff when they’re

Population: 28,847 UT Students Per Capita: 201.73

TRAVIS COUNTY

FORT BEND COUNTY

Population: 1,120,954 UT Students Per Capita: 200.10

Population: 652,365 UT Students Per Capita: 297.21

TOP

5

HOUSTON COUNTY

COUNTIES WHERE STUDENTS ARE FROM

Population: 22,911 UT Students Per Capita: 220.30 Graphic by Alex Dolan | Daily Texan Staff

who don’t want to go far from home,” Laude said. “They’ll look at UT being in Austin, and they’ll realize they have this flagship university, which is literally just around the corner [and] is one of the best universities they can find for 1,000 miles in any direction.”

Kathy Ryan, associate su-

perintendent for Austin Independent School District high schools, said many students from AISD might attend the University as a result of mentorship and school programs, especially Advise Texas.

Advise Texas, run out of the Division of Diversity

and Community Engagement at UT, hires recent University graduates to advise first-generation and low-income high school students about the college application process.

“Personal connections with teachers or staff members just make [students] all the more

@joshwillis35

PROTEST page 2

AUSTIN COUNTY

Population: 471,014 UT Students Per Capita: 274.80

By Josh Willis

COUNTIES page 2

By Alex Wilts

WILLIAMSON COUNTY

Students call for UT to cut ties with VF Corporation

want to go to that university,” Ryan said.

Of counties in Texas that have populations greater than 500,000 people, Fort Bend, Collin and Harris counties all top the list in the number of students who attend UT per

LAW page 2

Student body represents 226 Texas counties University students in fall 2014 hail from 226 out of 254 different Texas counties, primarily from the eastern half of the state, according to data from the Office of Institutional Reporting, Research, and Information Systems.

In both 2013 and 2014, the greatest number of UT students from each county per capita came from Travis, Austin, Houston and Williamson counties — all of which are within a 200mile radius of the University.

This means that for every 201 people that live in Travis County, one person goes to UT. Austin, Houston and Williamson counties’ per capita rates are 202, 221 and 275, respectively.

Per capita rates were calculated by dividing each county’s population by the number of students in the county enrolled at UT. David Laude, senior vice provost for enrollment and graduation management, said location is one of the primary reasons why many UT students are originally from Travis or Williamson counties.

“There are lots of people

CAMPUS

Students from two different organizations gathered at the Main Mall on Wednesday to protest the University’s involvement with a company known for using sweatshop labor.

Demonstrators sang altered Christmas carols to passing students to reflect their frustration with UT and an apparel company named VF Corporation, which produces clothing for brands such as Vans, Wrangler, The North Face and JanSport. The groups sang at their protest, “Jingle bells, VF smells, Powers get a clue.”

Amanda Dal, human development and family sciences and psychology junior, said the goal of the demonstration was to encourage the administration to find a more ethical apparels supplier.

“Several students who are a part of ‘United Students Against Sweatshops,’ as well as the ‘Make UT Sweatshop-Free Coalition,’ are here today calling on the University, particularly President Powers, to drop their relationship with VF Corporation, who is the umbrella corporation of a lot of really well-known brands,” Dal said. “VF has refused to sign on to the Accord on Building and Fire Safety, which upholds the safety of workers in Bangladesh that are producing clothing and garments.”

In addition to the demonstration, the group sent members to deliver a message to President William Powers Jr.’s office. Dal said this would be the third letter sent to Powers this semester, and, though they have received a response

CAMPUS

@alexwilts

bit.ly/dtvid

CAMPUS

UNIVERSITY

University Health Services Book stirs missing brains mystery names new medical director I think it’s a stretch to say that 100 brains were destroyed in 40-60 jars; it doesn’t seem possible. That leads to the question — are there still missing brains?

By Cat Cardenas @crcardenas8

By Adam Hamze @adamhamz

University Health Services appointed David Vander Straten as its new medical director. Vander Straten’s goals include improving the department’s student accessibility and removing the stigma toward seeking help with mental health.

Vander Straten, an Austin resident who previously worked as a general medicine physician at the University before becoming medical director, was appointed to the position Monday. He said he is excited to be a part of the team because he believes the staff is aware of the academic pressures students face and

wants to make medical help available to them at convenient times.

“If you look at the providers, nurses, physician assistants and others, there is a wealth of experience,” Vander Straten said.

“We’ve got a really strong core of providers that I think overall is really in tune with what the students’ needs are.”

UHS director Jamie Shutter said the department was looking for someone who can increase both the productivity and maximize resources in the clinic, while maintaining the quality of care.

“We don’t want to turn this place into a machine,” Shutter said. “The medical

David Vander Straten UHS Medical Director

director is kind of the surgeon general of campus — when we have issues like Ebola, meningitis or hepatitis A, this person is the lead health authority on campus that helps us work through

UHS page 2

A coffee table book turned national sensation.

Though it sounds unrealistic, it is exactly what happened when Austin photographer Adam Voorhes and journalist Alex Hannaford released their book “Malformed: Forgotten Brains of the Texas State Mental Hospital.” Though the book contains photographs of UT’s collection of brains, which date back to the ’50s, it is the brains that were not photographed that are now receiving national attention.

When Voorhes and Hannaford originally started the project, they were informed the collection was incomplete. One-hundred of the original 200 brains were missing, and their whereabouts were completely

—Alex Hannaford Journalist

unknown. Though Voorhes and Hannaford originally reached a dead end in their search for the brains in 2012, the release of their book this past Tuesday led to new information, which revealed 40-60 jars of the missing brains had actually been destroyed in 2002.

Hannaford, however, believes the search isn’t over.

“I’m not so sure,” Hannaford said. “I think it’s a stretch to say that 100 brains were destroyed in 40-60 jars; it doesn’t seem

possible. That leads to the question — are there still missing brains?”

UT spokesman Gary Susswein hasn’t ruled out the possibility that some brains may still be missing.

In an email statement released Wednesday, University officials announced their intentions to appoint an investigative committee to further understand the developing information. The committee will

BRAINS page 6

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UHS

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Volume 115, Issue 79

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High

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Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff

Business senior Kevin Yu dressed as Santa to help the raise funds to mentor refugees at the International High School.

PROTEST

Retail Advertising (512) 475—6719 lhollingsworth@austin. utexas.edu

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I think I speak enough Spanish to communicate with the printer...

to the first two, Powers has yet to meet with students regarding the issue.

According to UT spokesman Gary Susswein, Powers already sent a letter to Douglas Parker, brand director of new business development for VF Licensed Sports Group, on Nov. 14 encouraging the corporation to sign the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety.

“In the wake of several large-scale garment industry disasters that have occurred in Bangladesh these last two years, I can appreciate the issues that [United Students Against Sweatshops] seeks to remedy,” Powers said in the letter.

Franchesca Caraballo, social work and history

LAW

continues from page 1 driving, which is not very safe,” Boudain said. “I think [the ordinance] is a good idea, but [UTPD] would probably get a lot of people if they enforced it on campus.”

Boudain said although the ordinance makes sense for drivers, she’s not sure how much it applies to bicyclists.

junior, said the University’s affiliations must meet the high standard set by the student body as a community.

“I believe that if we want our students and faculty to uphold a certain standard of ethics, that we should demand the same of companies that we do business with,” Caraballo said.

Ethics studies senior Petro On said the protestors want to enlighten students about how some of their favorite brands are produced.

“I think, right now, students need to be more aware about where their apparel is coming from,” On said. “I don’t think a lot of students want to be wearing clothes that are sweatshopmade, but, as of right now, VF, as a company, has done a really good job about hiding all of that information

from students.”

Caraballo cited the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed and wounded thousands of workers in Bangladesh in 2013 as a reason to withdraw support from companies that endanger their workers.

“The sad thing is that it was completely preventable,” Caraballo said.

“There was no oversight, no inspections or anything done to ensure the safety of workers. It was negligence on the side of these corporations.”

“I never use my phone when I’m biking … I don’t really think it will have as much of an effect for bicyclists,” Boudain said.

Hannah Drake, applied learning and development sophomore, who uses her car to drive off campus frequently, said she thinks the new ordinance will help cut down on distracted driving.

“I use my phone almost

every time I drive, for directions or listening to music,” Drake said. “I have been distracted by it, even just by looking down for a few seconds, so, hopefully, people will be safer now.”

UTPD still recommends that students be safe when biking or driving on campus, Posey said.

“We highly encourage people to be safe — while

using or not using devices, in all modes of transportation — biking, walking, driving or skateboarding,” Posey said.

COUNTIES

continues from page 1 This issue of The Daily Texan is valued at $1.25 Permanent Staff

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Business and Advertising

(512) 471-1865 | advertise@texasstudentmedia.com Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gerald Johnson Operations Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frank Serpas III Business Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara Heine Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CJ Salgado Broadcasting and Events Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carter Goss Event Coordinator and Media Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lindsey Hollingsworth Campus & National Sales Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carter Goss, Lindsey Hollingsworth Student Advertising Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rohan Needel Student Assistant Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Danielle Archuleta Student Project Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Danielle Archuleta Student Account Executives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrea Avalos, Keegan Bradley, Danielle Lotz, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Destanie Nieto, Xiaowen Zhang Senior Graphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniel Hublein Student Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Silkowski, Kiera Tate Special Editions/Production Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephen Salisbury

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capita. Collin County is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, while Fort Bend and Harris counties help make up the city of Houston.

“Houston has always been an exceptional feeder for UT,” Laude said. “I think that once students are looking at the options for universities to attend, and they’re looking for a university of high-caliber, UT-Austin, being two-anda-half to three hours away, affords a really great opportunity for them.”

Laude said when students have prominent universities in their hometowns that are farther from the city of Austin, they become less likely to attend UT. He said this is why high school students in El Paso — which has a per capita rate more that 4.5 times that of Travis County — may opt to enroll at UTEl Paso over UT-Austin.

To reach out to more high school students in the El Paso area, associate director of admissions Caroline Enriquez said the University opened the El Paso Admissions Center in 2011.

“We also host events for high school counselors in the fall and prospective students at different points in the admissions process to recruit them to apply and celebrate them when they’re admitted,” Enriquez said in an email.

Although there are fewer students who attend UT from El Paso than Travis County, Laude said under-

NEWS

Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff “United Students Against Sweatshops” and the “Make UT

Sweatshop Free Coalition” sang carols at the Main Mall.

these health crises and inform the public.”

Vander Straten said one of his main goals as medical director is to help people better understand mental health diagnoses and remove their stigma.

“We know that depression and anxiety are incredibly present in our community, especially in our student population, so we need to continue to think strategically how we can best allocate our resources to address a growing number of students with these concerns,” Vander Straten said.

According to UHS, from 2013 to 2014, the department saw a total of 62,637 students and received a 97 percent satisfaction rate from their patients. In 2014, they were ranked in the top 10 of the Princeton Review Ranking for Top College Health Services in the U.S. According to Shutter, all decisions made by UHS aim to help students succeed academically. She said the position of medical director is a critical but tough role and believes Vander Straten is a good fit for the job.

“I am genuinely thrilled that we have David in this job,” Shutter said. “I am so optimistic about his potential … he’s just the ideal person for the role, and I am excited to have the privilege of working with him.”

Clinic volunteer Shyam Popat, Plan II honors senior and member of the Student Health Advisory Community, said he believes it’s crucial for health services to make students feel comfortable and hopes Vander Straten can provide patients with this assurance.

“UHS does a great job of having a lot of services for students, but one thing they could improve on is making the experience more personable,” Popat said. “From my interactions with [Vander Straten], he seems like the kind of person who can invoke those homey feelings into the department.”

graduates from El Paso tend to be more successful at the University than those who don’t travel too far from home to go to school.

“If you look at students here in the city of Austin or from Williamson County, they are less likely to live in a dorm,” Laude said. “One of the ideas about what promotes success is the building of community on campus.”

According to Laude, students who live on campus have more time to integrate into campus life, while those who live at home may not.

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GARRETT CALLAHAN, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansports Thursday, December 4, 2014

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

VOLLEYBALL Junior guard Brady Sanders led the Longhorns with 13 points and five assists, as Texas improved to 6-0 this season with an 86-37 win over New Mexico.

Ethan Oblak Daily Texan Staff

Longhorns dismantle New Mexico 86-37

By Jeremy Thomas @JeremyOBThomas

No. 4 Texas shot 52 percent and forced 28 turnovers, both season highs, which helped the Longhorns dominate the New Mexico Lobos, 86-37.

During the first half, Texas went on a 21-0 run and led by 38 points at halftime. This season, the Longhorns still have not allowed an opponent in the Frank Erwin Center to score more than 20 points in the first half.

Texas head coach Karen Aston said she felt the team had an outstanding performance in the opening half because of every player’s contribution. Despite the Longhorns building on their lead in the second half, Aston said the team could have performed better.

“I thought our effort was good; our energy was great; and our defense was fairly connected,” Aston said. “It got a little bit raggedy in the second half, but I do think

this was a good performance for our team.”

The Longhorns improved to 6-0 on the year, their first time to open a season with six consecutive wins since the 2008-2009 season.

But from the lineup, Aston selected three upperclassmen and two sophomores to start. Aston said coming off the Tennessee game, upcoming finals and a shaky practice Tuesday, she felt the team needed maturity going against New Mexico.

“I wanted us to be serious about this game,” Aston said. “I went with the players I thought understood maybe a little bit better. You get to a point where you definitely, in some games, you have to know who you trust and who’s going to get you off to a good start [and] that’s nothing against anybody.”

Junior guard Empress Davenport said she thought the team would come out slow because of yesterday’s practice.

“But like coach said, she went

You get to a point where you definitely, in some games, you have to know who you trust and who’s going to get you off to a good start [and] that’s nothing against anybody.

—Karen Aston, Texas head coach

with maturity, and we came out of the gates hard, and we just started fast,” Davenport said.

Senior forward Nneka Enemkpali grabbed 10 boards and had 7 points. Junior guard Brady Sanders led the team in scoring with 13 points and five assists. Sanders said she just tries to help the team in any way she can.

“It’s a great experience, but, starting or not starting, I just try to do the little things, bring energy, and those are just the things I try to focus on,” Sanders said.

The team stayed out of foul

trouble with only 14 total team fouls, which is the lowest all season. Aston said the team stuck to the game plan of trying not to foul the Lobos often because of their style of play.

“We’re improving a lot, and something that we’ve been focusing on which is cut out the silly fouls and get our discipline better defensively,” Aston said.

The Longhorns return to the Frank Erwin Center on Monday to play the Southern University Jaguars at 11 a.m. The Jaguars are 1-4 this season.

E! E R F d wor

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By Jacob Martella @ViewFromTheBox

For senior outside hitters Haley Eckerman and Khat Bell, the upcoming NCAA tournament will be a bittersweet moment.

On the one hand, the duo is ready to get going on another run toward a national championship; however, they know that any game from here on out could be their last in a Texas uniform.

“We want it to start, but then we don’t want it to,” Eckerman said. “We just know that we have to go in one game at a time.”

The Longhorns’ road back to the Final Four will go back through Austin and then through Minneapolis. Sunday, Texas was announced as the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament.

Joining the Longhorns in Austin for the first and second rounds, respectively, is Northwestern State, Texas’ opponent Thursday, and then either Arizona State or Texas A&M — the third-straight year the selection committee has tried to put the two rivals against each other in the second round.

If another edition of the instate rivalry occurs, Bell said it would be like playing Oklahoma.

“Texas is our home state, and we want to own our home state as well,” Bell said.

For the second time in the past three years, the Longhorns enter the tournament off of a loss in the regular season finale after losing a difficult five-set match to Florida on Saturday afternoon. In the loss, Texas failed to capitalize off of 16 Florida

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Still, the last time Texas entered the tournament after a loss in 2012, the Longhorns went on to win the national championship. Eckerman said the loss to Florida refocused them and motivated them not to let that losing feeling occur again.

“That’s what happened in 2012; we didn’t want to feel that feeling of sitting in the locker room knowing that we had just lost,” Eckerman said. “So that gave us some motivation to change and move forward.”

Although Texas will face a difficult challenge in the second round — no matter whether the opponent is Texas A&M or Arizona State — the Longhorns’ path to get back to the Final Four in Oklahoma City is considered by many to be the easiest of the top-four overall seeds.

The next highest seeded team in Texas’ region is No. 7 North Carolina, which Texas would possibly face in the “Elite Eight.” The Longhorns have a potential “Sweet 16” matchup with tournament dark horse No. 15 Colorado State.

Even with a “weaker” regional bracket, head coach Jerritt Elliott said their focus is on their first two rounds.

“Both Arizona State and Texas A&M are very, very good,” Elliott said. “They’re both a threat.”

But, looking ahead toward her final games as a Longhorn, for Bell, it would mean everything to go out as a twotime national champion.

“To end my senior season with that win would be great,” Bell said.

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AMIL MALIK, FORUM EDITOR / @TexanEditorial Thursday, December 4 A BIWEEKLY PUBLICATION OF THE DAILY TEXAN EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

4

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

COLUMN

Don’t forget about service

CEC encourages students to care for campus

By Amil Malik Forum Editor @amil_malik94

With the semester wrapping up, it’s a good time to reflect on the year and think about both what we have accomplished and what we have yet to do. And, in honor of the holiday season and all the blessings most of us on campus have, it’s also a good time to focus on helping others and giving back to the community. Thus, this issue of Forum highlights three unique service opportunities on the University of Texas campus — Girl Advocates, Clothes for a Cause and the Campus Environmental Center — and provides information on how students can get involved in each initiative.

Malik is a Plan II, business honors and finance junior from Austin, TX.

COLUMN

Mentorship effects change

By Lauren Canton Guest Columnist

We’ve all been there. The struggle for identity and independence that plagues the period of adolescence. For most, this is the most turbulent time in one’s life — characterized by the transition from childhood innocence to accepting adult responsibility. This freedom can often cause individuals to take a suboptimal path, forming rigid habits and mindsets that set an unfortunate lifelong tone. The adolescent years are vulnerable for many, a period during which support and positive encouragement are critical. GirlAdvocates! was founded last fall upon this realization. Instead of focusing on the negativity that plagues adolescence, GirlAdvocates! focuses on bringing out the best in girls through empowering and developing inner strength and resilience.

GirlAdvocates! works to empower girls globally, locally and individually through the many programs and opportunities offered to our members. On the global level, we raise funds and awareness for our philanthropy, The Girl Effect, which sponsors educational programming for girls in developing countries. We have been able to raise over $800 for the cause thus far through events such as yoga night and our annual “We believe in the power of girls” pledge wall. We will also be hosting a benefit concert next spring as well as introducing the first ever “Week of the Girl” in partnership with “GirlUp.” It will be a weeklong extravaganza of speakers, engagements and fun.

On the local level, GirlAdvocates! partners with local nonprofits in the Austin area that also align with our goals. For instance, we have been able to supply volunteers to GenAustin, GirlStart, Girls on the Run, Dress for Success and many other local organizations aimed at empowering young women and girls. Many of our members have dedicated further involvement in these organizations in the form of internships and regular commitments.

On the individual level, our members also have the opportunity to join our mentorship program with Webb Middle School. This year we have provided over 80 mentors to the school and have been able to establish a significant connection with the administration. Our members get to directly impact the life of the girl they work with by becoming a positive role model. We have been able to bring mentees to campus twice to allow them to learn about the college experience and visualize what it takes to make it here. We also provide activities and themed discussions for the mentors and mentees to deepen and establish lasting relationships.

Overall, GirlAdvocates! has been able to grow so much in its relationship with the University and Austin community over the course of this year. Last spring, GirlAdvocates! even received the “Best New Organization” Swing Out Award, given annually by the Office of the Dean of Students. We are excited to begin our second collegiate chapter at the University of North Texas this coming spring and to further expand our mentoring program and relationships with the community. If you would like to stay updated with or get involved in GirlAdvocates!, please like our Facebook page, https:// www.facebook.com/girladvocates, and visit our website, www.girladvocates.org.

Canton is a neurobiology and nutrition senior from Houston. She is the president of GirlAdvocates!

By Jaclyn Kachelmeyer Guest Columnist

Nestled in a corner on the ground floor of the SSB is the home of the Campus Environmental Center, UT’s first major environmentally-focused student organization. What started in 2002 as a grassroots, student-run effort to supply recycling in departments, offices and classrooms has expanded into a sponsored student organization, unique in its opportunities for individual students to gain work experience while improving sustainability efforts at UT. The mission of the Campus Environmental Center is to empower The University of Texas at Austin community to reduce its negative environmental impacts and to foster a genuine culture of sustainability on campus through collaborative and constructive means. In working towards this mission, CEC not only serves as a voice for students on environmental issues — on and off campus — but also has the ear of supportive UT staff and administration through its situation under Facilities Services, as well as the resources to act.

At the Campus Environmental Center, we run projects that make a difference, embracing that think global, act local mindset. Currently, almost 20 students are employed by CEC to manage its various programs. From a garage-sale event called Trash to Treasure that diverts waste from the landfill to the Microfarm and Concho Community Garden that grow organic, local food for students and the community, from the 350,000 loblolly pines growing at the UT Tree Nursery to reforest Bastrop to the Green Events consulting program that helps organizations reduce their environmental impacts at events, CEC members spend the semester highlighting an issue whose importance and implications are often woefully overlooked on this campus and in our country.

It should be no secret by now that Central Texas (and really much of the western United States) is in a water crisis, resulting in severe droughts and massive aquifer depletion without adequate recharge rates. This is not just an environmental issue, but a social and economic

one as well. The environment impacts everything. Our concerns as students and as citizens directly link back to the health of our surroundings, and what we do as a campus now will directly affect what we hope to do later. Thankfully, UT boasts an impressive irrigation system that has saved millions of gallons of water since its installation in 2011, the year of the Bastrop fire and one of the worst periods of drought — a drought not yet over — in Texas’ history. Such efforts by students and the University to reduce our environmental impacts are laudable and should be a source of Longhorn pride, and yet they receive very little attention and publicity.

The student body and the University both need to continue collaborating to promote environmentally-friendly practices. We need to improve infrastructure and safety for biking and other alternative transportation options, to expand composting, electronics recycling and other waste-reduction facilities, and to support programs that successfully engage students in these efforts, such as the Green Fee. Next time you walk across campus, take note of the composting bins in the Union, the xeriscaping outside the Harry Ransom Center, the Orange Bike Project bike rentals. The direct result of a mere $5 fee taken out of each student’s semester tuition, these projects are proposed, funded and implemented by students for the betterment of the University. These projects have proven their benefits time and again, and CEC or other UT departments have adopted many of them to ensure their continued execution and success over the years. The Green Fee will be up for renewal during student body elections in the spring, and it is critical to improving sustainability at UT that students approve the fee once again.

The problem is that most students do not know about the Green Fee, the irrigation system, the waste-reduction efforts in the stadium, the great strides DHFS has taken in sustainability; nor do they know about the work still yet to be done, their rights to a healthier environment or programs and ordinances within the city of Austin. The Universal Re-

The environment impacts everything. Our concerns as students and as citizens directly link back to the health of our surroundings, and what we do as a campus now will directly affect what we hope to do later. cycling Ordinance, in effect since 2012, is a prime example of this. The ordinance mandates that apartment complexes and office building provide easy access to recycling facilities, yet many students, especially in West Campus, do not have any way to recycle in their apartments, a direct violation of the URO. With most of these violations going unreported due to a lack of awareness among the student body, the massive environmental footprint of West Campus will continue to cast shadows on progress made by the city and by UT so far. (Students can call 3-1-1 to report URO non-compliance issues.)

If there is one thing that CEC has demonstrated, it’s that when students care about their environment and are supported with the tools to put thoughts into action, tangible change occurs. CEC programs, Green Fee projects and research initiatives are daily proof. The power of students to be environmental stewards has yet to be fully harnessed, and we as a student body and a university must do more to increase environmental efficiency and education on and off campus, to encourage student engagement and to take pride in our accomplishments thus far.

Kachelmeyer is a Plan II, geography and international relations senior from Sugar Land. She is the director of the CEC. She served last year as the editor of the Cactus yearbook, which, like the Texan, is a property of Texas Student Media.

COLUMN

Fashion philanthropy empowers customers

By Anisha Srivastava Guest Columnist

The spirit of philanthropy is intrinsic to this generation. When logging on to social media, there is always an overwhelming number of posts asking for support for different philanthropic causes or sharing experiences working on social initiatives or with non-profit organizations. This generation is not content living in isolation from the suffering and hardship of others; the passion is clearly there. However, with limited financial resources, limited time and geographical barriers, it can be difficult knowing how exactly to start to drive change. Personally, I have frequently encountered these limitations; I have felt that any individual attempt to support a cause would be insignificant.

With this framework, I recently launched Clothes for Causes to make philanthropic engagement more accessible. The mission of Clothes for Causes is to empower this generation to act on its passion for philanthropy by weaving philanthropy into fashion. Clothes for Causes features clothing and jewelry collections called “Cause Collections,” each inspired by a different philanthropic cause.

The designs, colors and cuts of the clothes embody the message and spirit of the cause.

Additionally, 25 percent of each product sale in the Cause Collections is donated to a nonprofit organization or social initiative driving change in the respective cause. With this business model, the goal is to offer custom-

ers two simple but powerful tools — funding and advocacy. By donating part of the sales, Clothes for Causes is facilitating the process of financially supporting philanthropies.

Clothes for Causes researches the organizations and creates a channel from the customer to the philanthropy, so by simply purchasing a product, a direct contribution is made.

The second tool, which is often overlooked, is advocacy. Our Cause Collection products capture the essence of the cause, creating an opportunity for customers to advocate for a cause. The Clothes for Causes website features blog posts detailing the conceptual connection between the causes and collections.

Our first Cause Collection is the Fight Against HIV/AIDS Collection, in support of The Right Now Foundation, an organization based in the United Kingdom. The organization funds the construction of orphanages for children born with HIV positive across India and funds a nutrition program for impoverished HIV-positive children in single-parent households. I have worked with The Right Now Foundation for several years and after visiting the homes many times and seeing the impact of donations, I selected The Right Now Foundation as an ideal organization to support. It costs $30 to cover a child’s needs — school supplies, transportation costs, food and medication — for an entire month and $5,000 to support a home of 42 children for one year. When a customer purchases a product from the Fight Against HIV/AIDS Collection, 25 percent of that sale is donated to The Right Now Founda-

tion. Every dollar truly goes a long way.

In many populations, HIV/AIDS is viewed as a taboo topic and HIV-positive individuals are ostracized rather than cared for. This only perpetuates the problem. Educating populations about sexual health and safe sexual practices can limit the spread dramatically.

This awareness is essential not only to limit the spread, but also to eliminate ignorance and ensure that individuals with the virus do not face discrimination. HIV/AIDS has taken 30 million lives since 1981, but it is absolutely in our power to stop the spread. The Fight Against HIV/AIDS Cause Collection is inspired by the importance of education to limit the spread of the virus. The concept is simple: With education and awareness, new life can grow even from the darkest of roots.

I hope the impact of Clothes for Causes is two-fold. For the UT community, I envision Clothes for Causes evolving as a platform for students to creatively apply their talents. As we grow, I hope to incorporate the artwork of more UT student artists in the collections, involve more UT student photographers in product photoshoots and support UT student organizations in their philanthropic endeavors. For the customers, my hope is to provide a meaningful experience and a refreshing, accessible way to approach philanthropy — to wear what you care about and then share what you care about.

Srivastava is a Plan II and business honors sophomore from Allen. She is the founder of Clothes for Causes.

Illustration by Albert Lee | Daily Texan Staff

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LAUREN L’AMIE, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan Thursday, December 4, 2014

6

CAMPUS

Full wheelchair accessibility not yet reality

By Marisa Charpentier @marisacharp21

For architecture freshman Emma Johnston, childhood consisted largely of broken bones and hospital visits.

Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a disease that causes bone weakness, Johnston has broken more than 30 bones in her lifetime and has been using a wheelchair since the age of 3.

Johnston’s move from Minneapolis to Austin has come with its own string of adjustments.

“It’s been more difficult than I thought it would be,” Johnston said. “Minneapolis is very large, and you could take your car pretty much anywhere. It’s also significantly flatter. If I needed help, I was always with my family or friends.”

According to the Services for Students with Disabilities website, while a majority of buildings and areas are accessible to people with disabilities, the campus is old and not every building or area accommodates. Emily Shryock, assistant director of Services for Students with Disabilities, works with students with mobility disabilities and committees to improve campus for them.

“I think there’s always room for improvement,” Shryock said. “There is a master plan to work on the disability challenges, but that

takes time and money, so it’s really a matter of prioritizing where to start and working from there.”

The toughest part of college for Johnston began before she even got accepted with having to write her special circumstances essay.

Johnston had to be honest with herself about how she feels about her disability. She decided to write about how her wheelchair has affected her personality.

“I had to learn how to be articulate,” Johnston said.

“Most people I know in wheelchairs are extremely outgoing.

Demonstrating that you are fully there mentally is a huge thing.”

Audrea Diaz, a 2010 UT alumna and freelance writer in Austin, said she knows exactly what that feels like.

Born with cerebral palsy, Diaz has little strength in her hips and has weak muscles.

She loses her balance easily and uses a walker to move from place to place.

In October, French senior Andrew Ridout spent a week maneuvering around campus in a wheelchair and submitted a column to The Daily Texan describing his experiences. Diaz submitted a Firing Line to the Texan in response.

“I understand that he was trying to do a good thing, but it was like a slap in the face,” Diaz said. “I’m not going to let you speak for my experiences

CITY

Mariana Muñoz | Daily Texan Staff

Architecture freshman Emma Johnston works on a 3-D model for her architecture class. Johnston was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a disease that causes bone weakness.

because they’re sacred to me.”

Before getting her walker during the middle of her college career, she walked around with a rolling backpack to keep her balance in check, but she often fell and harmed herself.

Many of her memories of her time at UT are painful. She remembers the rough cobblestone, the scratches on her knees and makeshift bandages made of Bounty napkins and

Scotch tape.

“This University was like a monster to me when I first started,” Diaz said.

Both Johnston and Diaz said they have found that cracks and potholes on the sidewalk can be frustrating. Diaz, who often passes through campus when transferring buses, said she has not noticed much change since she graduated in 2010.

“I can walk to the same areas and notice that that pothole is still there or that crack is still there,” Diaz said.

For Diaz and Johnston, creating a perfect world for disabled people goes back to the idea of perception. They don’t want to be seen as victims, or even victors — just normal people.

“There’s this part of society that believes people who

struggle with disabilities are somehow stronger or more enlightened individuals,” Johnston said. “I get where that springs from, but it sort of has turned into a thing that undermines my own humanity and normalcy. I don’t see my wheelchair as an imposition all of the time. It’s so much a part of me that I don’t recognize that I’m different 24/7.”

THROWBACK

Decades later, novelty gifts still groovy

By Briana Zamora

Water conservation key during drought Multimedia

To view the full infographic, check out our story online at www.dailytexanonline.com.

By Paepin Goff @Paepin

For anyone in Austin who encounters restaurant servers who don’t bring out complimentary glasses of iced water, it’s not because they’re oblivious — it’s probably in the spirit of conservation.

The Austin Water Conservation Code establishes a water management plan affecting residents and commercial businesses within city limits. Article II of the code states, “Restaurants, bars, and other commercial food or beverage establishments may not provide drinking water to customers unless a specific request is made by the customer for drinking water.”

The code is strict, but it still provides limited exemptions for specific circumstances.

If the health or safety of the public is at risk, certain water rules may be broken. As a result, restaurants can provide, without request, a cold glass of water to a customer in obvious need of hydration.

Athletic fields, where irrigation is “necessary to protect the health and safety” of people present at practices and games, are also exempt

from the code. Although this may be good news for UT Athletics, it seems an unlikely place to allocate precious water in a time of drought.

When Austin is implementing restrictions on drinking water, where should the irrigation of a football field fall on the city’s priority list? According to the code, it ranks somewhere above golf course fairways, which qualify for two of the five conservation exemptions that football fields enjoy.

An encouraging result of Austin’s water initiative is the gradual decline in demand for water over the past 15 years, which Austin Water attributes to strong citizen response to conservation efforts.

Another way to save water is to reduce electricity.

Since the major processes for generating electricity demand large amounts of fresh water, reducing the use of one resource means conserving both.

Through an increased demand for both energy and a limited water supply, Austin is experiencing the effects of a changing climate. While climate change remains a global concern, even small tasks can have a meaningful impact on effects that hit particularly close to home.

@whateverwillbri

The holiday season has returned and, with it, the culture of gift giving. Soon, millions of Americans will be trudging through malls and outlets, partaking in the annual gift shopping tradition. Some holiday gifts are personal and heartwarming, but we are all familiar with the novelty present: gag gifts, which elicit giggles rather than sentimentality. Far from a new fad, this novelty gift has been popular since the ’70s.

With the gift-glorifying season upon us, The Daily Texan takes a look back at an entertaining gift guide written by Hartley Hampton and published in The Daily Texan 43 years ago. In a brief article enthusiastically discussing antiques and ceramics, Hampton champions the trivial and absurd.

Hampton’s guide offers a lighthearted alternative to the sincere and extravagant presents gifted in holiday seasons past.

Both educational and entertaining, Hampton said a novelty gift should be “as

BRAINS

continues from page 1 the developing information. The committee will investigate the possibility that some brains were sent to other institutions and whether the brain of infamous UT Tower shooter Charles Whitman was included in the collection.

“I think the committee is going to be looking broadly at how the specimens have been handled since arriving here,” Susswein said. “We’re very proud of the collection, but the episode over the last couple

practical as a partridge in a pear tree” and suggests purchasing “a genuine life-sized ceramic replica of one of Hannibal’s war elephants,” which, Hampton adds, “is available in many Austin department stores.”

Hampton’s fixation with ceramic animal figurines does not end there.

“Or what about a ceramic armadillo?” Hampton suggests. “Armadillos are big this year in Austin, and this would be the perfect gift for the student government president on your list. Besides, armadillos are peaceful, ecologically minded animals and cheaper to maintain than a Longhorn.”

If ceramic animal figurines do not appeal to you, Hampton said the indistinguishable antiques were a big thing that year.

“For about 130 [dollars], you can get one that is guaranteed impossible to identify as anything,” Hampton said.

Already anticipating his influence over the shopping habits of his peers, Hampton advises that anyone who does receive a “white ceramic replica of Hannibal’s war elephant” should gift back a pillow.

“Pillows with happy faces on them have also been big this year, but, now, pillows with unhappy faces are hitting the market,” Hampton said. “Which shows what kind of year 1972 might be.”

Combining patriotism with his obsession for ceramic animal figurines, Hampton offers his “most American gift idea”: an “Economic Game Plan Piggie Bank.”

“It is ceramic, of course, and features a picture of Richard Nixon bordered by completed gold trim,” Hampton said. “Sources say

you put in a dime, it changes into a penny.”

Though the “two-liter sheepskin wine bags” and “Heinz pickles that you can pedal around the neighborhood like a bicycle” of 1971 have since been replaced by whoopee cushion and 3-D animal butt magnets, the novelty gift-giving tradition continues.

of days has raised some questions that we’re looking into.”

For Voorhes and Hannaford, “Malformed” helped to answer some of their questions, but not all of them. Both Voorhes and Hannaford said the jars of brains were virtually indistinguishable from each other, apart from tags which detailed the patient’s date of death and any conditions they had. Because of this, Voorhes became interested in the stories behind the patients themselves.

“When we first saw [the collection], it was wild,” Voorhes said. “I saw this Down syndrome brain, and it was marked as having been from 1983. That really struck me. I grew up then, and it just amazed me that someone with Down syndrome could have been sent to a state institution then.”

For Hannaford and Voorhes, their original investigation ended not only with the disposal of the brains, but with the disposal of the patients’ medical records. Although many of the brains were useful for

studying diseases which were seen as incurable in the ’50s, it might now be impossible to find any information as to whom the brains belonged. The stories of these patients from the former Texas State Lunatic Asylum might be lost forever.

“We wanted to understand more about the people,” Voorhes said. “That was my driving force. I wanted to know these people and what their lives were like.

That’s why I was disappointed the records were gone; they were the key to all of this.”

Phil Huber | Daily Texan Staff file photo

Although gag gifts remain popular today, the trendy novelty items in 1971 included, interestingly, ceramic animal figurines.