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Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
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Friday, December 5, 2014
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CAMPUS
Students protest Garner decision By Sebastian Vega @sebantoniovega
UT students staged a “diein” Thursday afternoon at the intersection of 21st Street and Speedway to protest the Eric Garner ruling. At the demonstration, black students performed a die-in, where they laid down as if they were dead, while non-black supporters kneeled around them with signs reading “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” The actions were meant to
protest the non-indictement of Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Garner’s death, a decision that was passed down by a Staten Island grand jury Wednesday. Tyler English-Beckwith, theatre and dance and ethnic studies junior, made the diein Facebook event Wednesday night. With a large crowd and over 500 Facebook users marked as “going” on the event page, English-Beckwith was astounded by the turnout despite the short notice. “I think what we made
collectively was an extremely organized demonstration,” English-Beckwith said. I didn’t imagine this many people at all. I was thinking like maybe 15 people since it was so last-minute.” Biology junior Julia Aycock said she participated to advocate for fair treatment. “I came to the protest because it’s necessary for young people to gather and stand for what’s right,” Aycock said.
Marshall Tidrick | Daily Texan Staff
PROTEST page 2
Students, faculty and others protested the decision in the Garner case at the intersection of Speedway and 21st street.
Class of ’17 on track to graduate on time @alexwilts
Powers looks to last semester as UT president By Alex Wilts @alexwilts
William Powers Jr. is set to serve his last semester as University president this spring. Some answers in this Q&A have been edited for clarity and brevity. The Daily Texan: What’s one item you hope to accomplish in your last semester as president? William Powers, Jr.: Next semester, we’ll have the legislative session, which starts in January, so that will take a lot of my time. That’s important for the University. The economy is coming back. There’s a little more wherewithal in the state budget. I don’t anticipate some huge increases in higher education funding, but that will be an important issue.
POWERS page 2
CAMPUS
By Alex Wilts
Q&A
DT: In your State of the
bit.ly/dtvid
Marshall Tidrick | Daily Texan Staff
Based on new data, 86 percent of current University sophomores are on track to graduate within four years, according to David Laude, senior vice provost for enrollment and graduation management. As part of a Universitywide effort to increase graduation rates, University spokesman Joey Williams said programs such as Progress to Degree have been implemented to track how close students in the class of 2017 are to completing their degree requirements. Williams said the Progress to Degree program implements a University-wide audit to identify which students are, and are not, on track. “The audit is conducted by the Registrar, who complies a snapshot of where the students are in their four-year progress,” Williams said in an email. “That list is then given to all the colleges, who then proactively work with each student who is not on track to graduate in four years.” In 2011, President William Powers Jr. announced his goal to increase the fouryear graduation rates to 70 percent. He subsequently appointed the Task Force on Undergraduate Graduation Rates, which published a report in 2012 stating that the University could achieve
President William Powers Jr. is stepping down from his position as president, effective June 2015. Powers has held this position since February 2006.
STATE
RATES page 2
UNIVERSITY
Proposed Senate bill LBJ School appoints director for new center seeks to define hazing By Aimée Santillán
By Eleanor Dearman & Jackie Wang @thedailytexan
State Sen. Judith Zaffirini proposed a bill in November that, if enacted, would update and clarify the legal definition and repercussions of hazing. Senate Bill 33 amends Texas’ hazing statute, created in 1995 and followed by universities statewide. Zaffirini filed similar legislation in 2007 and 2009. This version, which would take effect on Sept. 1, 2015, is a refile of the 2009 version, Zaffirini said in an email. The amended bill includes a narrower definition of immunity from prosecution and adds that coercing a student to drink alcohol or creating “an environment in which the student reasonably feels coerced” is part of the definition of hazing, among other amendments that
specify terms and procedures. Zaffirini included more specific descriptions of alcohol-related hazing and cases of immunity in SB 33 because she felt the state’s current hazing statute was inadequate. “[T]he statute does not address adequately the dangers of alcohol-related hazing,” Zaffirini said in an email. “[T]he immunity provisions for those reporting hazing are unclear and arguably create the perverse possibility that students can avoid liability by reporting their own acts of hazing.” The Office of the Dean of Students declined to comment on the proposed bill. “Once a [hazing] case has been filed, I know the Dean of Students takes it very seriously,” Interfraternity Council President Edwin
HAZING page 2
@aimeesan17
The LBJ School of Public Affairs announced this week Thomas O’Donnell as the inaugural director for the new LBJ Washington Center. In the past, O’Donnell has worked in the White House, the U.S. Senate and the Human Rights Campaign. “My goal is to create an outpost for UT at Washington D.C.,” O’Donnell said in a statement. Beninning in fall 2015, the LBJ School will provide an 18-month federal policy master’s degree curriculum, which will involve six months of graduate school coursework at the Washington Center and an opportunity to be involved in federal policy making. “Our goal is to follow what President Lyndon B. Johnson once dreamed, which is to involve people from Texas and other parts of the country who
want to contribute to public policy,” O’Donnell said. In addition, O’Donnell said the Washington Center will provide this platform of student engagement in public policy by pursuing extended research, workshops and speaker series, among other activities. “We want to produce more public leaders at a federal level,” O’Donnell said. O’Donnell served as a U.S. Senate chief of staff, managing both national and state offices and as a liaison to the White House and executive branch. “We are pleased to have such an experienced and proven professional lead our Washington Center and join us in empowering the next generation of leaders to take on national leadership roles,” said Robert Hutchings, dean of the LBJ School, in a statement. “At this time of great change around the world and
Thomas O’Donnell will be the inaugural director of the LBJ School of Public Affairs’ Washington Center.
Photo courtesy of Susan Hochman
growing concern about the effectiveness of government, the LBJ Washington Center represents our call to action to advance a new generation of skilled and committed leaders. [O’Donnell] will be essential to the execution of that call to action.” O’Donnell said the LBJ Washington Center will train future policy
makers by playing an open role in the national policy discourse and debate. “After 20 years in the federal public policy arena, I understand the need for aspiring young policy professionals to be equipped not only with solid theoretical thinking, but also with practical policy skills,” O’Donnell said.
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