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Tuesday, March 10, 2015
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STATE
Bill proposes higher minimum wage By Wynne Davis @wynneellyn
Rep. Eddie Lucio Jr. (DBrownsville) filed a bill Thursday to raise minimum wage in Texas from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 per hour. The minimum wage for federal contract workers increased to $10.10 per hour after President Barack Obama passed an executive order in January. Houston Tower, Rep. Lucio’s
legislative director, said Lucio aimed to follow a national trend. “Right now, roughly 75 percent of the public, according to some polls, is in favor of a raise of the minimum wage, and, while that may not say exactly the amount, we’re running off the what the federal government has done, as well as other states,” Tower said. Plan II and economics sophomore Alexander Chase said he works at Which Wich
and earns $7.25 per hour. Any increase in minimum wage would help him cover more of his expenses, Chase said. “I feel like raising the minimum wage to $10.10 … is not only reasonable, but has been needed for some time,” Chase said. “The fact of the matter is that wages have to keep up with rising costs of living.” Chase said he has worked in the food industry for two years, and the minimum wage has not increased during
that time. The money he currently makes does not adequately help him pay his bills, Chase said. “Given [the] costs of living, … any jump up at all is necessary,” Chase said. “$10.10 is not only reasonable, but probably a good starting point for discussion.” The bill is aimed at helping those who continually work hourly jobs, Tower said. “Down in the district, there are quite a few folks that are
just working minimum wage jobs,” Tower said. “There’s all types of hourly jobs, and just putting a raise to the minimum wage would obviously put more money in their pockets, while at the same time … not losing jobs.” A rise in the minimum wage could possibly increase unemployment among lowwage earners if businesses do not find it profitable to hire
BILL page 2
CAMPUS
Latino community discusses Fiji decision By Adam Hamze @adamhamz
On Monday, a panel of UT faculty and students discussed the University’s decision not to take punitive action against Texas Fiji after its Feb. 7 party guests said was “border patrol” themed. “I’m not satisfied,” Domino Perez, director of the Center for Mexican American Studies, said. “I want more to be done. I want more to be done so everyone on campus can feel safe, and students don’t have to be the subject of hurtful displays.” The Department of Mexican American and Latino Studies held a forum to discuss the University’s decision to not punish the fraternity. The fraternity’s party was intended to have a “Western” theme, according to Fiji president Andrew Campbell. Many attendees wore sombreros, ponchos and
FIJI page 2
Carlo Nasisse | Daily Texan Staff
Maria Villalpando speaks at a panel held by the Department of Mexican American and Latino Studies on Monday. The panel focused on the party guest said was “Border Patrol” themed that Texas Fiji held Feb. 7.
UNIVERSITY
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STATE
Bill to permit service based on ‘religious convictions’ By Eleanor Dearman @ellydearman
Rep. Molly White (RBelton) filed a bill that, if passed, would allow private business owners to refuse business to people based on the owner’s religion or on “conscientious grounds.” HB 2553, filed Friday, would edit the State Business and Commerce code and prevent private business owners from being compelled to provide goods and services that are “in violation of that business owner’s sincerely held religious or personal beliefs.” It would also remove owner liability for refusing goods or service based on these same grounds. White said the bill was a response to cases across the nation in which private business owners were sued after refusing to serve customers, citing a 2007 New Mexico case and 2013 Oregon case. In 2013, the owner of an Oregon cake shop refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple and was fined for her actions. In another case, a New Mexico photographer refused to take commitment ceremony photos for samesex couple Vanessa Willock and Misti Collinsworth in 2007. New Mexico ruled the case as discriminatory. “Certain small business owners, private business owners, are being sued for
WHITE page 2
CAMPUS
US News: UT education Sorority aims for LGBT, queer inclusivity grad program in top 10 By Zainab Calcuttawala
By Sherry Tucci @sherrytucci
The College of Education is ranked among the top 10 graduate schools of education in the nation for 2016 because of its increased focus on research, according to a University official. U.S. News and World Report released the schools ranked within the top 10 graduate schools last week, but they plan to
post exact ranking on the website Tuesday. UT is one of only three public institutions among the schools listed on the U.S. News ranking. Last year, the University’s College of Education ranked 10th overall and fourth among public schools. This year, it is expected the University will rank tenth overall again and move up to third place
RANKING page 3
Ethan Black | Daily Texan Staff
The graduate school of education ranks among the highest ranked public schools in the country, according to a new survey by U.S. News & World Report.
Audrey Ferguson, left, and art history and English senior Lauren Ferguson are vice president and president of Gamma Rho Lambda. This new sorority aims to create an open and educated environment for the LGBT community.
@zainabroo9
UT students established a campus colony of the national sorority Gamma Rho Lambda this semester — the first queer-focused and transsexual-inclusive women’s Greek society at the University, according to the organization’s leadership. The sorority aims to combat issues regarding the status of queer women in mainstream society and within the LGBT community, Lauren Ferguson, president of the colony and art history and English senior, said. As part of the three-semester colonization process, the organization’s leaders recruited nine members this semester for the Alpha class and will start taking pledges in the fall. Founding members hope the colony will create a space to improve the quality of dialogue between the LGBT community and social conservatives, according to neuroscience and psychology senior Shelby Dax Fisher-Garibay, the soror-
Zoe Fu Daily Texan Staff
ity’s new member mother — a type of recruitment leader. ”I think the biggest thing we can do is education,” Fisher-Garibay said. “If we are educated about what the [conservative] opinions are and the best responses to those arguments, then, hopefully, we can bring a more educational dialogue to the table instead of just hateful banter back and forth.” The colony will also tackle issues of transphobia within the queer community, an occurrence which leads to
the exclusion of transsexuals in spaces that ought to be trans-inclusive, Ferguson, who is also a columnist for The Daily Texan, said. “There are a lot of really awesome women’s or LGBT organizations [on campus], but they are either really specifically for, say, LGBT women of color or they are non-trans-inclusive,” Ferguson said. “One of the tenants of [Gamma Rho Lambda] is that no one is excluded, and the only requirement is that you identify as a woman. A lot of the feminism move-
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Population growth will not affect student enrollment. PAGE 3
Resolution for removal of Davis statue offers hope. PAGE 4
Bears beat Texas in Big 12 Championship game. PAGE 6
Will Butler’s debut solo album shows potential. PAGE 5
Follow The Daily Texan on Twitter for the latest campus updates.
Entrepreneurs discuss start up strategies. PAGE 3
Adminstration should give SG more power. PAGE 4
Texas searches for offense on the diamond. PAGE 6
UT alumna handcrafts chocolates to sell online. PAGE 8
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ment and the LGBT community does not want to include trans-women into the queer spectrum because there is a lot of transphobia within [those communities] as well.” One of the reasons that LGBT-specific Greek organizations exist is because queer individuals have traditionally been rejected from larger Greek organizations, Leo Rodriguez, president of the University’s first LGBT fraternity, Delta
SORORITY page 3 REASON TO PARTY
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