The Daily Texan 2015-01-28

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SPORTS PAGE 6

COMICS PAGE 7

LIFE&ARTS PAGE 8

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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

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LEGISLATURE

Shots fired in ‘campus carry’ debate By Eleanor Dearman

allowed to keep handguns in cars on campus, but general “campus carry” is illegal even with a permit. The two bills, HB937 and SB11, which five representatives and 19 of the 20 Republican senators authored, prohibit University officials from creating rules to ban concealed handguns on campus in general. Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo), an author of

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State legislators in the House and Senate filed identical bills Monday that would allow University students, faculty and staff with proper licenses to carry concealed handguns in campus buildings. Under current Texas laws, licensed students, faculty and staff at universities are

SB11, said the bills give more freedom to independent and private schools because the institutions are not regulated by the state as strictly. Rep. Allen Fletcher (RCypress), primary author of HB937, said the bill would only apply to students over the age of 21 who have completed training and background checks. “As long as they are concealing their gun as law

requires with a license, we don’t want them to have to unarm themselves to [go to class],” Fletcher said. Each bill does provide some leeway in certain areas and buildings on campus. According to the bill, administrators could still prohibit concealed handguns in residence halls, university-operated hospitals, sports games and on-campus preschools,

elementary schools and secondary schools. UT currently has an on-campus preschool. UT spokesman Gary Susswein said it is not clear whether Seton’s planned teaching hospital, made in conjunction to Dell Medical School, will be considered a hospital as defined by the bill. He said it will depend on

GUN page 2

FRAMES featured photo

Rachel Zein | Daily Texan Staff

Rowers train on Lady Bird Lake on Tuesday afternoon. Many Austinites chose to enjoy the afternoon outdoors after a week of torrential rainfall.

CITY

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CAMPUS

Med school construction means fewer parking spots Because of Dell Medical School construction, the University removed hundreds of “C” parking spots in lots near the Frank Erwin Center and School of Social Work, causing frustration among some commuting students as they returned to campus for the spring semester. According to UTPD spokeswoman Cindy Posey, Lot 108, south of the Erwin Center, lost approximately 290 spots at the end of the fall semester. All of Lot 80, near the social work building, is being used to construct a chilling station for the Dell Medical School complex, Posey said. “About 200 spaces will be returned to this lot at the completion of the project,” Posey said. “The parking needs when these spaces return will dictate the designation for these spaces, but I am certain that student parking will be a part of the mix.” Austin Hill, mechanical engineering senior, said students who commute to campus often have difficulty finding a place to park. “Today, I drove around for almost 10 minutes in circles waiting for a spot to open up — along with about five other cars,” Hill said. “And, sometimes when you find a spot, it’s a carpool spot, which I didn’t know was a thing until I got a ticket for it last Thursday.” Hill said he used to park in Lot 80, but, because of the closure, he now tries to park mainly in Lot 70, just north of the closed-off area. Hill said he does not park in the lots east of I-35 because of how far they are from his

PARKING page 2

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Math study uses video game technology By Nashwa Bawab @thedailytexan

Griffin Smith | Daily Texan file photo

The Dell Foundation promised a $25 million matching donation to the Seton Healthcare Family’s teaching hospital Tuesday.

Dell Foundation offers matching hospital grant By Josh Willis @joshwillis35

The Dell Foundation promised Tuesday to match donations, dollar for dollar, up to $25 million for the Seton Healthcare Family’s teaching hospital to help cover the remaining costs.

The hospital will be located next to the underconstruction Dell Medical School, to which the Foundation donated $50 million in 2013. The 211-bed teaching hospital is slated to open in 2017 and will cost an estimated $295 million.

DELL page 2

Two UT alumnae are using video game technology to help students better understand math concepts. Carmen Petrick Smith and Barbara King earned their Ph.D.s from UT in mathematics education. Together, they conducted a study using a Microsoft Kinect sensor, a type of technology used in video games that tracks movement, to examine how students use physical movement to learn math. For the study, Petrick Smith and King had students stand in front of the sensor and play a game that required them to analyze angle measurements. The sensor tracked students’ arm movements as they created different angles, and the screen turned different colors based on the student’ responses. The researchers found that students who participated in the game better understood the

math concepts. Petrick Smith said she thinks the hands-on nature of the game helps students better engage with math concepts. “The classroom can be dominated by a lecture-based instruction model, and it’s hard for students to see that as relevant and for that to be engaging,” Petrick Smith said. “One way [to do that] is through games … to get students acting out math concepts with the Kinect.” Piyush Khandelwal, computer science graduate student, said a Kinect sensor is useful for games involving precise movements because it captures the image of a room as well as objects in the room relative to that space. “The sensor on the Kinect makes it easier to process information when compared to a regular camera,” Khandelwal said. Petrick Smith said the

objective of the Kinect game is for the students to develop a better understanding of the classification of geometric angles. Each new level gives them additional information about different types of angles. King said she thinks using

Illustration by Albert Lee | Daily Texan Staff

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

LIFE&ARTS

ONLINE

Drought decreases in Texas, but water loss persists. PAGE 3

TSM situations remain bleak a year later. PAGE 4

Why won’t the Longhorns feed the big men? PAGE 6

Grad student interviews female WWII veterans. PAGE 8

Try out for The Daily Texan.

UT second in number of students who study abroad. PAGE 3

“Campus carry” bill shouldn’t pass. PAGE 4

Softball needs a quick start in rebound year. PAGE 6

PrintAustin host monthlong printmaking expo. PAGE 8

dailytexanonline.com/ employment

movement will help students understand more abstract math concepts and make the subject more exciting for them. King said the researchers want to try to bring the

KINECT page 2 REASON TO PARTY

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