The Daily Texan 2015-04-06 by The Daily Texan

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STATE

RESEARCH

Bill calls to lift gambling restrictions

Autism study explores deaf and hearing pronoun use

By Zainab Calcuttawala @zainabroo94

In alliance with the Alabama-Coushatta and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribes, state Reps. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) and James White (R-Woodville) authored a resolution in March that would authorize gambling on all Native American lands. If passed, House Joint Resolution 129 would lead to a November ballot measure

proposing a state constitutional amendment allowing gambling on tribal lands. Ronnie Thomas, vice chairman of the AlabamaCoushatta tribe, said he is optimistic that Texans will pass the amendment. Out-of-state gaming organizations have shown opposition, but if the legislation passes and the issue goes on the ballot, there is a high chance that voters will approve the measure, Thomas said.

In 2001, the Alabama-Coushatta tribe opened a casino on its reservation in Livingston. However, after nine months of earning approximately $1 million in monthly revenue, a federal court ordered that the casino be shut down. Currently, the Kickapoo tribe runs the only functioning casino in the state in Eagle Pass. UT anthropology professor Shannon Speed said gaming rights for Texas’ Native American tribes vary according to

the method the tribes used to retain federal recognition. “The Kickapoo tribe in Texas managed to gain their recognition [in 1983] by applying for it through the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” Speed said. “The AlabamaCoushatta gained recognition through a congressional act, which stated that the tribe could not engage in any

GAMBLING page 2

By Vinesh Kovelamudi @trippyvinnie3

Illustration by Melanie Westfall Daily Texan Staff

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Smart inks seven-year coaching deal By Evan Berkowitz @Evan_Berkowitz

When men’s athletic director Steve Patterson was looking for a new head basketball coach, he said he felt Shaka Smart was the only man for the job. “We said: ‘Who do we really want?’” Patterson said. “Somebody who’s a great, dedicated coach; somebody who plays an exciting style of basketball and is really interested in developing the entire group of studentathletes both on the court and off the court; somebody who is consistent in operating in an ethical fashion; somebody that we really wanted to bring to the University of Texas. We thought of Shaka Smart.” On Thursday, Smart, the only candidate interviewed for the job, agreed to join Texas’ basketball program. He replaces former head coach Rick Barnes, who was asked to leave UT earlier after a 17-year tenure last week.

SMART page 6

Marshall Tidrick | Daily Texan Staff

Shaka Smart was introduced as the head men’s basketball coach at a Friday press conference. Smart joins Texas after six seasons at Virginia Commonwealth University.

CAMPUS

A study conducted by a UT professor and a UT alumnus found deaf children with autism tend to avoid using pronouns, mirroring similar habits observed in their hearing counterparts. “The major result was finding that deaf children with autism tended to refer to themselves with a name sign rather than a sign pronoun,” said Aaron Shield, a Boston University psychology professor who received his Ph.D. in linguistics at UT. UT linguistics professor Richard Meier and Boston University psychology professor Helen Tager-Flusberg a coauthored the study. A name sign is unique to a deaf individual and is usually given by a deaf child’s parents, whereas pronoun signs require deaf individuals to point to themselves or other people with their index fingers, according to Shield. Autistic children’s reluctance to use pronouns was previously believed to be a result of the arbitrary nature of pronouns in the English language, Shield said. “We speculate that something bigger and more basic, perhaps the way that people with autism experience the self, could be at work here,” Shield said. The fact that deaf children with autism also avoid pronouns challenges the previous perception, Shield said.

RESEARCH page 2

UNIVERSITY

UT has safeguards for students abroad By Nashwa Bawab

The University has different protocols in case any “risk situations” affect students studying abroad. According to the UT International Office public affairs specialist, UT is prepared to deal with emergency situations.

@nashwabawab

Zoe Fu | Daily Texan Staff

Ben Nava showcases a traditional Native American dance during the “Grand Entry” at the Spring Powwow on Saturday afternoon.

Organization holds sixth Native American powow By Josh Willis @joshwillis35

The UT Native American and Indigenous Collective held its sixth Spring Powwow at the East Mall on Saturday. Powwows are Native American community gatherings that often involve singing and dancing, and the UT powwow usually serves as a

showcase of various types of Native American traditions, such as religious and competitive dancing. The fivehour event was open to all members of the community and aimed to expose others to indigenous traditions. “The entire event is a huge appreciation and

POWWOW page 2

After terrorist group alShabaab killed at least 147 people, most of whom were students, in Garissa, Kenya, the UT International Office quickly ensured that there were no students or UT faculty in the region during the attack. Although there are currently no UT-affiliated study abroad programs in Kenya, the University’s international office has different protocols for a variety of “risk situations” for students studying abroad, according to Fiona Mazurenko, public affairs specialist at the International Office. “When we heard of the news going on in Kenya, there was immediately checking of databases and everything to make sure we didn’t have anybody on the ground,” Mazurenko said. The UT International Office is well prepared to deal

Mariana Muñoz Daily Texan file photo

with emergency situations, Mazurenko said. “If there was somebody there, we would work with our partners on the ground to find the student — we would reach out to them directly,” Mazurekno said. “We would reach out to the emergency contacts to locate them and make sure that they were safe and had a plan in case they needed one.” UT has evacuated students

from their study abroad programs in the past. The University evacuated students in certain areas of the Middle East during the Arab Spring, as well as students in Japan after the 2011 tsunami that left more than 15,000 dead, according to Gabriela Rios, international risk outreach coordinator at the International Office. Last year, administrators

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for Russian Express, a language and culture program, canceled the part of the program that normally takes place in Kiev, Ukraine, after political unrest erupted in the country. The program took students to Irkutsk, Russia, located in Siberia, instead. “In December, there was

ABROAD page 2

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Monday, April 6, 2015

NEWS

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CONTACT US Main Telephone (512) 471-4591 Editor-in-Chief Riley Brands (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com Managing Editor Jordan Rudner (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com News Office (512) 232-2207 news@dailytexanonline.com Multimedia Office (512) 471-7835 dailytexanmultimedia@ gmail.com Sports Office (512) 232-2210 sports@dailytexanonline.com Life & Arts Office (512) 232-2209 dtlifeandarts@gmail.com Retail Advertising (512) 475—6719 advertise@texasstudentmedia.com

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GAMBLING

continues from page 1 activity that the state of Texas did not allow its citizens to engage in. Because operating a casino in Texas is illegal, this has become the basis of the disparity in tribes’ rights to engage in gaming activities.” Because Native American tribes represent sovereign nations rather than minority

The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com.

POWWOW

Copyright 2015 Texas Student Media. All articles, photographs and graphics, both in the print and online editions, are the property of Texas Student Media and may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without written permission.

continues from page 1 celebration of the culture,” Mexican American studies senior Jacob Barrios said. “It’s a good way to share and teach because not many people are familiar with different aspects of Native American culture. … Not everybody gets exposed to this every day.” In addition to song and dance, the event featured Native American literature and food. Civil engineering

TOMORROW’S WEATHER

High

Low

Woman, I am the cavalry!

groups, Speed said restricting tribal gaming rights within reservations limits the tribes’ ability to self-determine with regard to their economic structure. “If you are pursuing your civil rights as a minority, you are pursuing your rights as a citizen of a nation, but most native tribes are actually looking for their rights as sovereign nations apart from the U.S.,” Speed said. “So if

tribes are unable to participate in gaming based on an act from a foreign government, it really encroaches on the tribes’ sovereignty.” Speed, who is a member of the Kickapoo tribe, said legal gaming has the potential to create huge financial and cultural opportunities for the Alabama-Coushatta tribe, as the casino in Eagle Pass did for the Kickapoo tribe.

“[The Kickapoo] began gaming in the late 1980s, and now the Kickapoo Foundation is actually the second-largest employer in the state of Oklahoma after Wal-Mart,” Speed said. “The tribe has been able to effectively redistribute the funds from gaming to tribal members through social services like free medical care, housing loans, fellowships for education, awards for the arts

and more.” Rep. Thompson said the Legislature should pass the resolution to let Texans decide on equal rights for Texas’ tribes. “[Rep. White and I] ask the Legislature to let the people decide,” Thompson said. “We believe the voters will decide to let them do the same thing the Kickapoo are doing in Eagle Pass. Let the people decide.”

sophomore Kristian Byrd and her family sold traditional Navajo-style tacos. Byrd said even the bread used for the tacos is unique to her family’s roots. “We’re Navajo, so we usually make our bread pretty big,” Byrd said. “That’s something different. Instead of Indian tacos, they’ll say Navajo tacos.” Powwows often present an opportunity to share indigenous culture with members of a broader community, according to

Lakota Pochedley, curriculum and instruction graduate student. “My sophomore year [at Columbia University], we planned our annual powwow, and it was just a really great event where students could come together,” Pochedley said. The Native American and Indigenous Collective attempts to hold a powwow annually, but Pochedley said the group hasn’t held the event in recent years because of logistical

and organizational complications. Despite the difficulties involved in planning large-scale events, Pochedley said she believes powwows have a lot to offer to the community. Latin American studies sophomore Susana Hart said she considered the powwow a learning opportunity. “I think it’s just really nice to be able to walk around and see this kind of diversity on campus, and it really opens your eyes to the world that

we live in,” Hart said. Hart said understanding other cultures is what brought her to UT to major in Latin American studies and is what helps bring the many ethnic groups on campus together. “Really being able to learn about other cultures is really important because many times, we don’t really know about other people and what their culture is all about,” Hart said. “It lets us be more compassionate with each other as human beings.”

ABROAD

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Daulton Venglar | Daily Texan Staff

Lingustics professor Richard Meier co-authored a study with UT alumnus Aaron Shield that found deaf children with autism avoid the use of personal pronouns.

RESEARCH

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“The study shows that linguistic arbitrariness, the lack of motivated relationship between a word’s form and its meaning, is not the cause of pronoun difficulties in the speech of children with autism,” Shield said. The study’s authors had previously hypothesized that deaf children with autism would use pronouns at a more regular rate than hearing children with autism because of the nature of sign-

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language pronouns. “Sign-language pronouns make their referents quite clear because they point at them,” Shield said. “We hypothesized that this transparent form-meaning relationship could help deaf children with autism learn pronouns.” The results of the study provide more knowledge about the linguistic capabilities of children with autism, according to Meier. “The research has great significance for the deaf community and for educators of deaf children,” Meier said. “It

helps us to better understand linguistic markers of autism in all children, deaf or hearing, signing or speaking.” Business freshman Darrell Sung, who has volunteered to help children with autism, said he had noticed that many frequently declined to use pronouns. “Whenever I was playing board games with [the children] for volunteering, they always referred to me by my name even when it was unnecessary,” Sung said. “I remember because they used to jokingly mispronounce

RECYCLE AFTER READING YOUR COPY

that shooting in Australia, and there were students there at the time, so we went through our normal protocol to work with our partners on the ground and to get details about the situation and also to reach out to all the students to make sure they were safe,” Rios said. Because of the heightened risk traveling in certain areas presents, UT has a restricted regions list for its international programs. No student, faculty or staff member can be required to travel to a country on the list. A country’s placement on the restricted regions list can come about as the result of a number of factors, including U.S. Department of State travel warnings and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health rankings. Emma Hines, environmental science and geography sophomore, has traveled to Ecuador — which is on the restricted list — as a study-abroad student and plans to go back with a UT Maymester group. She said she feels UT is well prepared to take care of its students and wouldn’t be sending them abroad otherwise. “When I studied abroad last summer, they made us complete some safety modules online and read a packet of information about general and personal safety,” Hines said “I was nervous last summer before going to Ecuador but never for safety reasons.”

RILEY BRANDS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / @TexanEditorial Monday, April 6, 2015

COLUMN

On-campus eating shouldn’t break the bank Students should watch for signs of unhealthy eating habits

By Stephanie Del Paggio Daily Texan Columnist @sdelpaggio

We’ve all been there. You’re a freshman, hungry at 10 p.m., searching for food in Jester (because you have no car to drive elsewhere), considering all the options. What shall it be: $4 Blue Bell ice cream or $7 gelato? “Man,” you think to yourself, “if I had a car, I could get this at H-E-B for $2.” You sigh, grab the overpriced ice cream carton and check out. “Congrats, you saved $0.05 with your dine-in dollars!” cheers the cashier. Long before you even step into your first classroom at this University, you know where the on-campus dining halls are. It’s natural human instinct to know how to feed yourself. And at UT, there are countless options to choose from around campus such as J2, Kinsolving and Jester City Limits. But the excitement dies there. You notice that in the on-campus markets, products have hiked-up prices. The foods sold are considerably pricier than if you were to buy these products anywhere else. A bottle of water can cost anywhere from $1.75 to around $3. Ice cream is around $4 and fruits are at least 89 cents each. Since many freshmen don’t have vehicles to get to grocery stores, many are forced to buy

A bottle of water [on campus] can cost anywhere from $1.75 to around $3. Ice cream is around $4, and fruits are at least 89 cents each.

By Jazmyn Griffin

Daily Texan Columnist @JazmynAlynn

Ricky Llamas| Daily Texan File Photo

Jester City Limits is just one of many places on-campus that charge several times more than off-campus establishments for basic goods.

produce and foods on campus, often forking over a decent amount of “dine-in dollars.” One dine-in dollar equates to one real dollar. Throughout the years, theft has become noticeable as students try to avoid paying top dollar for food. Tactics such as saving receipts from recent purchases, putting them on your current plate of food and walking out briskly have spread throughout the freshman class. Very few find the prices on campus reasonable, and some even understand their peers’ actions when they steal food. “Nowhere else in my life would I buy ice cream for $4 when I can buy it for $2 at H-EB,” says Carol Trinh, a psychology freshman living in Jester. “I don’t personally shoplift, but I can understand why others would, especially if they don’t have the means to buy food from

grocery stores or off campus.” The best way to fix this problem would be simply to lower the cost of food. The University should keep the students’ best interests in mind and find a way to lower prices. With thousands of students living at Jester and thousands more in each incoming freshman class, the University has a huge consumer group to feed. Both supply and demand are large, and it would motivate people to think twice before stealing. I understand that many factors come into play when determining why on-campus groceries are two or three times as expensive as nearby grocery stores, but the University should strive to make food more affordable. Del Paggio is a Plan II and marketing junior from Spring.

ONLINE

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COLUMN

Nix the top 10 percent rule, affirmative action By Daniel Hung

Daily Texan Columnist

The University and state government have not seen eye to eye on many issues, but one thing they can agree on is that UT needs to be ranked higher nationally. President William Powers Jr. has said that it is his goal to make UT the best public university in the nation, while Gov. Greg Abbott wants to have five public universities in Texas ranked in the top 10 nationally, according to U.S. News and World Report. Both are ambitious goals, but the question is, how do we accomplish them? Currently, UT is ranked 17th among public universities, while only five Texas public universities are even ranked at all. To analyze what has to be done to increase the ranking for UT and the other public universities in Texas, I am comparing the University of California, Berkeley (the top ranked public university) with UT on the factors that U.S. News and World Report uses in its ranking. The University will likely argue that money is the biggest factor and that it needs more because the state only provides 14 percent of the University’s budget, down from 52 percent in 1981. However, UC Berkeley only receives 12 percent of its budget from the state. For some of the other factors, there isn’t much a university can do, such as counselor ratings and peer assessments. However, factors such as student retention and selectivity seem to be easier to address. Student selectivity is related to student reten-

The University will likely argue that money is the biggest factor and that it needs more, because the state only provides 14 percent of the University’s budget...

tion, because the better the quality of the students admitted, the less likely they are to drop out, transfer or take longer to graduate. The correlation is strong, with higher-ranked universities having students with higher SAT/ACT scores as well as a better retention rate. In other words, the answer sounds simple: Just admit better students. However, to do this, we must have a meritocracy instead of institutional discrimination. Right now, 75 percent of UT’s freshman class is reserved for those in the top 7 percent of their high school, while race is used as a factor in deciding whom to admit into the remaining 25 percent. Both are racist, discriminatory and are keeping UT and other public universities in Texas from moving up in rankings. What was originally the top 10 percent rule was promulgated after affirmative action was temporarily declared unconstitutional in 1996. This rule has harmed education in Texas in more ways than one. First, it incentivizes students to transfer to a high school with lower-performing peers so they can graduate higher in their respective classes. Second, universities have no control over the SAT/ACT scores of 75 percent of these students that they must admit automatically. Those admitted under the top 7 percent rule have average ACT scores of 28, compared to 30 from those not admitted under the top 7 percent rule. Third, this rule is simply unfair to those students who attended more rigorous high schools and have high SAT/ACT scores but couldn’t get into UT nonetheless. Adding insult to injury, public universities in Texas are allowed to discriminate against applicants on the basis of their race all for a vague and very unfair concept called diversity. The University argues that diversity is important for education, which is why white and Asian applicants are to be discriminated against for the benefit of black and Hispanic applicants. However, this ignores the fact that universities in California are able to provide better-quality education for its students, all without having to resort to using race in the admission process. California banned the use of race in admissions in 1996. Now, the state dominates half the spots in the top 10 list of public universities. The answer is simple, but it isn’t easy. Some lawmakers would rather let our higher education system suffer than do something unpopular with their

LEGALESE | Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the Editorial Board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.

constituents. The concern is that if the top 10 percent rule and affirmative action, respectively, are abolished in Texas, the percentage of Hispanics and blacks will decrease in Texas public universities. But this ignores the plights of the thousands of applicants who have been denied admission since 1996 because of the color of their skin. We should be admitting students based on their brain and not their skin. Let there be no doubt that discrimination on the basis of race is unconscionable. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas stated that arguments of affirmative action’s benefits are the same used by segregationists in the Jim Crow era. Affirmative action was narrowly upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 5-4 in 2003, but the majority opinion stated that “25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today,” meaning — if we are to take the words literally — affirmative action should not be used in just 13 more years. This is especially relevant now that the Fisher v. University of Texas case might once again head to the Supreme Court. The question isn’t whether UT will win again, but whether this case will go down in history as another Plessy v. Ferguson (upholding segregation) or as a Brown v. Board of Education (striking down segregation). Another question is why continue policies that many believe to be discriminatory and unconstitutional when it isn’t even for the greater good of the state? Why not give up on affirmative action now before it is possibly declared unconstitutional? Why not enact higher education policies that don’t discriminate and will help UT and other Texas public universities become some of the best in the nation? Albert Einstein once said, “What is popular may not be right and what is right may not be popular.” It will take real leadership to ban affirmative action and repeal the top 10 percent rule. Courage and backbone in standing up for what is right and best for this state. We can accomplish the goal of making UT the best public university in the nation and put five public universities in Texas in the top 10 nationally, but to do that we must do what is right, not necessarily what is popular. Hung is a first-year law student from Brownsville.

SUBMIT A FIRING LINE OR GUEST COLUMN | E-mail your Firing Lines and guest columns to editor@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be between 100 and 300 words and guest columns between 500 and 1,000. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.

As the weather heats up and clothes are shed, many students try to work off the extra weight brought on after spring break that has been hiding under oversize sweaters for a few months. People tend to lose weight as spring rolls around, purposefully and accidentally, but often at a cost that our bodies pay the price for. As more and more students hit the gym to promote their physical health, they should take care not to sacrifice their mental health. While there is nothing wrong with students seeking to strengthen their bodies or to increase their physical strength, the temptation can be great to overdo it. As a result, nearly 30 percent of students fall victim to an eating disorder. Juggling a day full of meetings, studying, social life and sleep can lead to a missed meal, but the often satisfied feeling of undereating rather than overeating to avoid typical college weight gain can be detrimental. “It is important to look out for feelings of extreme guilt when one is unable to control food intake that can result in compensatory behavior, such as purging or overexercise,” said Katherine Yates and Jenny Bazan, eating disorder specialists at the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center. “In general when a preoccupation with weight, food and/or exercise starts to interfere with one’s emotional well being, it is time to consider seeking help.” Subconsciously, the things we see and hear on a daily basis shape body image. In the process of attempting to keep our grades up, bolster our resumes and live the social aspect of the college experience, students sometimes crack under the pressure to succeed. It can lead to ridiculous self-expectations, spreading from grades to the way your body looks in comparison to peers or pop culture icons. Unfortunately, while up to 30 percent of

It is important to look out for feelings of extreme guilt when one is unable to control food intake... college students reported having an eating disorder, many internalize them out of embarrassment. “There is often a great deal of shame that people with eating disorders experience and, with this, they may feel isolation,” Yates and Bazan said. “It is important to note that your friend may or may not be ready for this feedback.” Students should not only be aware of potentially harmful eating habits, but also what expectations society is placing on them, either subtly or not so subtly. Female bodies are often portrayed in the media and pop culture with unattainable measurements and proportions. While men may not outwardly appear as preoccupied with body image, up to 10 percent of male college students have eating disorders. The trend crosses gender boundaries and racial categories, leaving every group at risk. According to the specialists, harmful habits include being overly concerned with eating habits, overcompensating at the gym for guilty eating, constant body criticism and denying positive bodily comments. Even if the issue seems trivial, if students notice this within themselves or peers, seeking guidance is the best option. “Often criticizing our own bodies is contagious to others,” they said. “This means that people often join in when they hear someone shaming their own or other’s bodies.” Eating disorders are not a rare occurrence, nor are they something to be ashamed of. At a time when students are discovering themselves and enjoying their newfound independence, they should not be hindered by a desire to be perfect. We can change this trend simply by bringing awareness to it, being supportive of others and using the resources specifically made to help us. Griffin is a journalism freshman from Houston.

RECYCLE | Please recycle this copy of The Daily Texan. Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it. EDITORIAL TWITTER | Follow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter (@TexanEditorial) and receive updates on our latest editorials and columns.

GARRETT CALLAHAN, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansports Monday, April 6, 2015

SOFTBALL

Longhorns top Bobcats for eighth-straight win By Claire Cruz

NBA WARRIORS

Daulton Venglar Daily Texan Staff

she also reached base safely in game two. Freshman pitcher Erica Wright struck out four and gave up just one hit to improve her season record to 11–4. Wright’s performances have been increasingly consistent, and she said she hopes to continue turning in strong performances as the team prepares for a tough Big 12 schedule. “The biggest thing is just to continue attacking the strike zone and focus on taking deep breaths, not getting caught up in the moment and

working on hitting my spots and producing what we want to happen,” Wright said. Stephens came up big again in game two, notching her team-high 12th home run of the season in the top of the seventh to spark a Texas comeback. Senior right fielder Marlee Gabaldon followed Stephens’ solo shot and sophomore first baseman Kelli Hanzel’s game-tying RBI with a decisive, walk-off RBI single. Sophomore Lauren Slatten attained the win from the mound, improving to 2-0 on the season. She threw six

continues from page 1

Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan file photo

In its series against Oklahoma State, Texas was unable to capitalize with runners on base.

The brooms are out as Cowboys sweep Texas The Longhorns’ recent misfortune continued Sunday as they dropped their seventhconsecutive game in an 8–3 loss to Oklahoma State. With the win, Oklahoma State (22–9, 7–2 Big 12) completed a three-game sweep of Texas (17–15, 5–4 Big 12). The Cowboys struck first with a run in the first inning, but the Longhorns were able to answer in the top of the third. Sophomore center fielder Zane Gurwitz drew a one-out walk and freshman shortstop Joe Baker followed with a single. Gurwitz stole third and both runs came home on a bloop RBI single by junior left fielder Ben Johnson to give Texas a 2–1 lead. But Texas struggled once Oklahoma State loaded the bases in the third. Cowboys sophomore first baseman Dustin Williams hit a ball that was ruled fair before hitting the first base umpire in foul territory and ricocheting to the right. The incident put two runs on the board, and they struck for another run in the inning as the Cowboys extended their lead to 4–2. The Oklahoma State onslaught continued in the fourth inning as it added four runs. All of the runs came with two outs, and the Cowboys pushed their lead to 8–2. The breaks kept going Oklahoma State’s way. In the top of the sixth, Johnson led off the inning with a triple. Sophomore catcher Tres Barrera followed with a line drive that Cowboys

NOTRE DAME

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@Nick_Castillo74

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BASEBALL

By Nick Castillo

NCAAW

Junior outfielder Lindsey Stephens, front, and her teammates celebrate senior right fielder Marlee Gabaldon’s walk-off RBI single.

@clairecruz5

Texas softball rolled past Texas State this weekend, improving its season record to 26-9 and maintaining a number of ongoing streaks. The team has now won eight games in a row, its longest streak since 2013. The Longhorns’ 10–2 victory over the Bobcats in five innings Friday was also their ninth-consecutive road victory. They followed with their third-straight home walk-off win Saturday. In both games, Texas got on the board in the first inning, stretching that streak to seven games. “From the first inning, we were just on them,” junior center fielder Lindsey Stephens said. “When [teams] come back, it’s always a little stressful, but not one time do we ever doubt that we can pull off the win.” The long ball anchored Texas’ offense during game one, which took place in San Marcos in front of the secondlargest crowd Bobcat Softball Stadium has ever seen. Stephens went 2-for-2 with one walk in the game and hit her 11th home run of the season. Sophomore shortstop Devon Tunning blasted two home runs and went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks to extend her career-best on-base streak, which now sits at 20 games as

SIDELINE

senior second baseman Tim Arakawa dove for. The ball appeared to hit the ground, but the umpire called it a lineout. Johnson, who was running toward home, was thrown out at second as a result. Texas scored a run in the ninth inning when senior right fielder Collin Shaw hit an RBI single to cut the Oklahoma State lead to 8–3. But it was too little, too late, and the Cowboys closed out the game and the sweep. Texas sophomore pitcher Kacy Clemens took the loss for the Longhorns while Cowboys senior pitcher Michael Freeman put up a dominating performance. Freeman struck out seven and only allowed two runs in eight innings of work. Although Freeman was able to contain the Longhorns, head coach Augie Garrido said he was content with Texas’ effort at the plate Sunday. “The message is that we played a much better offensive game against one of the best pitchers in college baseball today than we have in the past,” Garrido said. “We actually took a lot better at-bats today, got really aggressive against good pitching, and we need to build off that.” Texas entered the weekend atop the Big 12 standings, but the three-game sweep drops the Longhorns into fourth place. Texas will try to end its losing streak against Wichita State (14–18) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Austin. The game will be broadcast on Longhorn Network.

Patterson said Smart received a seven-year contract, with the first six years fully guaranteed, with an average annual compensation of about $3 million. As part of the buy-out with Virginia Commonwealth University, Texas will pay the Rams $500,000 and either play them in a home-and-home series or pay another $250,000. Smart quickly became one of the hottest coaching commodities in the country when he led the 11th-seeded Rams from the play-in game to the Final Four in 2011. His teams were consistently good over his six years as a head coach. He won at least 26 games in every season and made the NCAA Tournament in each of his final five years in Virginia. Many schools had tried to pry Smart away from VCU, but all were unsuccessful. “To be honest, I didn’t know if I would ever leave VCU because of the relationships that I had there with the players and the coaching staff,” Smart said. “It really

innings, gave up seven hits and struck out a career-high seven batters. The come-from-behind victory, Texas’ 10th of the season, once again exemplified the Longhorns’ competitive side. “Any day, any given team can be beat,” Stephens said. “It’s good to know that even against good teams, we can continue to fight, rally up runs and get things going on our side.” With eight home games ahead for the Longhorns, including two conference series, head coach Connie Clark said she wants took a world-class institution, a world-class athletics program and a phenomenal place to convince my daughter, my wife and myself to make this move.” But Texas was a “nobrainer,” Smart said. “When the opportunity was presented to me to be the head coach here at Texas, I quickly realized this was something different,” Smart said. “This athletics department is all about championships, and I knew I was going to have the opportunity to work with a great group of young men.” Smart is the first AfricanAmerican head basketball coach at Texas. Texas will now be the third Division I school with African-American head coaches in both basketball and football, joining Stanford and Georgia State. Smart said he feels the weight of his position as a “first.” “I take that very seriously,” Smart said. “I grew up and was able to learn from and benefit from some terrific role models [and] some great mentors. … I hope that in this role as the men’s basketball coach at the University of Texas, I can play this role for someone else in

her team to stay focused on themselves. “It’s really about what we do — are we throwing strikes, having quality at-bats, putting bunts down when we need to, playing defense when we need to, all those things,” Clark said. “We’re getting to the next pitch as good as we ever have, and that’s really what we’re focused on right now.” Texas’ next action takes place Tuesday afternoon at Red and Charline McCombs Field against Texas A&MCorpus Christi. this terrific state.” Smart said he is going to bring his style of “havoc” basketball with him from Richmond, Virginia, which means a lot of pressing, fast breaks and overall aggressiveness. “I can tell you right now, when you come to the Erwin Center to see us play, you’re going to see an exciting style of basketball,” Smart said. However, Smart knows he will have to adjust that style a bit with his new roster — one that has a plethora of skilled big men. “That means maybe you adjust what you do to fit those guys’ strengths,” Smart said. “But at the same time, we’re not going to get away from what I believe in. We’re always going to be aggressive. We’re always going to be highly competitive.” After the deal was announced, players said they agreed Smart’s confidence and style of play will have exciting implications for the program. “My immediate reaction to hearing about Coach Smart was excitement,” junior forward Connor Lammert said. “We are turning a new page in the book and are real excited about it.”

WEEKEND RECAPS

TRACK AND FIELD | BRADLEY MADDOX Texas track and field didn’t send many runners to California for the Stanford Invitational, but the ones who went were successful on the long trip. Friday represented the only running action for the Longhorns. Senior Craig Lutz and sophomore Sandie Raines led the group of distance runners from Texas in

the team’s first performance since the 88th Nike Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. Raines ran the 5,000 meters in a time of 15:48.04, just 36 seconds off the school’s top mark Marielle Hall set last year. Lutz posted the school’s second best time in history in the 10,000 meters with a time of 28:33.48. His time is just 14 seconds off the University’s

top mark. The Longhorns have a chance for some home cooking at the Texas Invitational this weekend in Austin. The meet begins Saturday morning with the women’s hammer throw at 10 a.m. and will conclude with the highly anticipated men’s 4x400-meter relay Saturday evening.

MEN’S TENNIS | MICHAEL SHAPIRO After 15 years at the head of the Longhorns’ program, head coach Michael Center secured his 300th win when No. 9 Texas defeated No. 21 Texas Tech by a score of 4–1 Saturday. The Longhorns got off to a rocky start as they lost the doubles point for the 10th time this season. But the Texas deficit didn’t last long as the Longhorns rallied with four consecutive victories at the singles positions, highlighted by a hard-fought 7–6, 0–6, 6–1 victory by senior Clement Homs, which improves his season record to 5–0. Following the victory

over Texas Tech, Center’s new record at Texas stands at 300–105. In addition to his .741 winning percentage, Center has coached 16 ITA All-Americans and has won Big 12 Coach of the Year four times throughout his career with the Longhorns. “I’m proud of the studentathletes I’ve had, not only this year, but in the past, that have made contributions to our program while they were here and after their graduation,” Center said. “It has been very gratifying, and I’m looking forward to many more with this group.”

Michael Center

Men’s tennis coach

Texas will continue its fourmatch home stand Tuesday against unranked UTSA at the Caswell Tennis Center in Austin.

SPURS

TOP TWEET Isaiah Taylor @Zay_Ctmd11

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TODAY IN HISTORY

1896

The first modern Olympic games open in Athens, Greece.

SPORTS BRIEFLY Texas volleyball dominates SMU

It might only be the spring season, but Amy Neal was in midseason form Friday night. The junior outside hitter posted 22 kills, 15 digs and three aces in a 4–1 Texas win over SMU, the team’s first victory of the spring. Texas dropped the opening set of the match despite outhitting SMU .267 to .191. But the Longhorns dominated from that point on. They held the Mustangs to a negative hitting percentage in the second set and took the remaining three sets with an average hitting percentage of .317. Sophomore middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu, who was named to the NCAA Division I All-Tournament team in the fall, recorded a team-high .522 hitting percentage along with 14 kills and nine blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Paulina Prieto Cerame finished the night with 12 kills and 16 digs. Junior outside hitter Cailin Bula led the Mustangs with 11 kills and nine digs and junior setter Avery Acker posted 23 digs. The Longhorns will be back in action this weekend at the F.A.S.T. Complex Collegiate Invite in Houston. Texas returns to Gregory Gym for its last match of the spring season on April 24 against UTSA. —Jacob Martella

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KAT SAMPSON, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan Monday, April 6, 2015

CAMPUS

Chalk art transforms blackboards in RLM Physics graduate student Frank Lee draws one of his famous white-onblack sketches in the graduate student study lounge in Robert Lee Moore Hall. Lee has been drawing the sketches for five years, and each drawing is more intricate than the last.

By Marisa Charpentier @marisacharp21

Most of the blackboards in Robert Lee Moore Hall are covered in complex formulas — but the boards commandeered by physics graduate student Frank Lee are covered in an entirely different kind of art. Lee spends most of his time doing research and holding office hours in the RLM graduate lounge. One day during Lee’s first year, while he was working in the lounge, he took a break and doodled some chalk cartoons on the board. Five years later, he’s still drawing. Lee’s artwork started out with simple sketches of iconic cartoon characters such as Winnie the Pooh and Ren and Stimpy. Today, he draws detailed photorealistic sketches. One of his last drawings, a portrait of Joseph Stalin, took him about 12 hours to complete. “I have to make it perfect,” Lee said. “I always have to outdo the last drawing, so it gets more and more time consuming.” Before Lee erases each drawing, he uploads a photo of it to his website, “Frank M. Lee’s White-on-black.” Some of Lee’s subjects are characters from some of his favorite movies, such as Roger Murtaugh from “Lethal Weapon” and Don Corleone from “The Godfather.” Others are historical figures — Lee is a self-proclaimed “World War II nut.” Next to his recent portrait of

Mariana Gonzalez Daily Texan Staff

Stalin, Lee satirized one of the politician’s famous quotes: “One physics grad student is tragedy. Two Hundred is statistic.” “These boards are full of equations and horrible stuff,” Lee said. “So it provides a good contrast to all that misery.” Lee’s white-on-black drawings aren’t permanent, and he said he likes it that way. While working on a drawing, Lee writes “do not erase” on the board; after about a month, he erases the

drawings himself. Lee first learned how to create white-on-black drawings from his high school art teacher, Kathy Stastny. When creating a white-onblack drawing, an artist must shade in the bright areas of a portrait rather than the dark areas. “I like it a lot more because with a pencil, it’s not quite black on white — it’s gray on white,” Lee said. “You don’t get as much contrast. The white on black provides a lot of contrast.”

ALUMNI

UT alumnus designs gig posters By Cat Cardenas @crcardenas8

Austin poster designer Rob Jones’ career took off when White Stripes frontman Jack White broke his finger. In 2003, after designing posters for a number of smaller acts, Jones received an opportunity to design a gig poster for the White Stripes. White’s broken finger forced the band to delay the tour, giving Jones more time to create a series of posters. White, impressed by the posters, asked Jones to design additional posters for each day of the tour, starting off their now 12-year-old partnership. As a child, Jones was mesmerized by an encounter with an airbrush artist on the streets of Tennessee. He said the event inspired him to pursue a career in the arts, although his parents were less than enthusiastic. Still, Jones said he simply couldn’t escape art. He originally entered UT as a pre-med student and eventually switched to advertising in the hopes of making gig posters. “I just kept going back to it,” Jones said. “It was what I would do when I was by myself. I’d make collages, costumes [and] action figures, so I slowly kept changing my major until I decided I wanted to do

gig posters.” Jones received his first chance when a friend in local punk-rock band Pink Swords asked him to design a poster. Although he said his first pieces were far from perfect, doing the work made him realize he could pursue gig poster design as a career. “I was unaware at the time that the stuff I was making wasn’t great,” Jones said. “I just needed wider exposure, so I went online; I looked at what other people were doing, and I knew this is what I wanted to do for a living.” Now, when he’s not designing posters for the White Stripes, Jones assists other artists as the creative director of Mondo, an Austin-based shop that specializes in limited edition movie posters. When designing posters, Jones said listening to the artists’ songs is important but listening to interviews gives him a better sense of his clients’ personalities and tastes. Jay Shaw, head of design at Mondo, has printed some of the posters Jones designed. Shaw said Jones always comes prepared with very clear ideas for the posters. “When [Jones] assigns a poster to an artist, he’s going to mold it into something he

thinks Jack will like,” Shaw said. “We worked together on a tour poster for one of Jack’s shows in Ireland. [Jones] came to me with this one obscure lyric in one of the songs and somehow based the whole design off of that.” Jones’ hard work paid off in 2011 when he won a Grammy for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for “Under Great White Northern Lights.” Jones worked closely with White throughout the process, and eventually Jones insisted they submit the package for a nomination. “I knew we had done a great job on that package, so I knew we had a chance,” Jones said. “I told them to make sure they sent it in, which is something I’ve never said for any of the other works I’ve done.” Apart from his work with White, Jones has also designed posters for bands including Arcade Fire and the Arctic Monkeys. After over a decade of late nights spent working and waking up from posterrelated nightmares, Jones said he can’t imagine doing anything else. “Jack could fire me tomorrow,” Jones said. “That’s probably why I do well. I stay up late, and I try and do the best work that I possibly can.”

Marshall Tidrick | Daily Texan Staff

UT alumnus Rob Jones has been creating posters for Jack White since 2003. winning him a Grammy in 2011 for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.

Growing up, Lee always loved sketching. In elementary school, he’d draw maps on anything he got his hands on and made comic books with friends. During class, he’d scribble drawings in his notebooks. At an art exhibit during Lee’s senior year of high school, someone offered to buy his white-on-black drawing of a Vietnam War photo for over a thousand dollars. He said he decided to keep it because he spent nearly 100 hours working on it.

Lee said he doesn’t want to use his art to make money. “If I turned it into a job, I think I’d enjoy it a lot less,” Lee said. “If I’m not motivated myself to do it, I probably could never do it.” Physics graduate student Rick Korzekwa said he has watched Lee’s drawings develop over the years. “They make [the room] feel less sterile,” Korzekwa said. “I think the fact that they stay up as long as they do means that people like them. If you look at the

boards right now, there’s just a bunch of math on them, so it’s nice to have other stuff on there.” Lee said working on his chalk drawings provides him an escape from the stress that comes along with being a graduate student. “When I’m drawing, I’m not really thinking about anything else,” Lee said. “I’m just focused on making the drawing as good as possible. It enables me to forget about everything else when I’m doing that.”

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Name: HOUSE; Width: 29p6; Depth: 10 in; Color: Process color, HOUSE; Ad Number: -