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NATIONAL
UTPD to reform notification system
Conversion therapy faces criticism for health risks
By Wynne Davis @wynneellyn
When the University of Texas Police Department received a bomb threat earlier this month, officers quickly went to sweep the area near the Butler School of Music — but did not send a text alert to students about the situation. UTPD is looking into
ways to better disseminate information to the community, UTPD Chief David Carter said. According to Carter, the officers’ first job is to respond to the situation and then decide what they need to communicate to the community. “What happens when the police respond in this case — there’s the question of, ‘is
this is a false alarm or is this real,’” Carter said. “They have to respond as if it’s real to be prepared in case they discover something. If they had discovered anything or had something had been occurring, then that notification system would have kicked in.” The police are often the only ones who know about threats made against the
University, and they do not publicize threats that are not considered legitimate, Carter said. In the case of the threat last week, Carter said the team went to the scene immediately because they did not know how reliable the information was. “What it really boils down to is do we believe it’s an actual threat,” Carter said. “We’re
not going to wait around.“ After this most recent threat, Carter said UTPD determined that alerts will be sent out telling the campus community to avoid certain areas because of police activity during all high-risk investigations, but the department is still looking to improve com-
POLICE page 2
HEALTH
Breathe easy: pollen levels decreasing By Samantha Ketterer @sam_kett
In the past few weeks, campus has changed colors — from burnt orange to bright yellow. Austin is reaching the end of the spring pollen season, according to pollen. com, but students are still being inundated with the allergy-inducing substance. Trees begin releasing their pollen between January and April, according to Weather Underground. Higher air currents tend to move the pollen particles through the air and into nasal passages, often creating a pollen allergy. UT campus had around 4,700 trees in 2013, according to a Daily Texan report. Laurie Lentz, communications manager of University operations, said the UT landscaping team does not have a protocol or clean-up process when pollen heavily coats the grounds. “[UT Landscaping does]
POLLEN page 2
Illustration by Melanie Westfall | Daily Texan Staff
SYSTEM
By Nashwa Bawab @nashwabawab
President Barack Obama recently took a stance against “reparative” therapy for gay and transgender youths. For some UT students who have gone through the process, the experience can be traumatic, according to Joey Hannah, LGBTQ specialist at the University’s Counseling and Mental Health Center. Last week, Obama denounced gay and transgender “conversion” therapy for minors and said he would back efforts to ban the practice at the state level. He said he was inspired in part by transgender teenager Leelah Alcorn, who died by suicide and cited these types of therapies in a note she wrote shortly before her death. A petition to ban the therapies went viral online soon after she died, and the petition gained more than 120,000 signatures before it expired. Most children just want to be accepted for who they are and struggle when they are told they must be “fixed,” according to Cristina Urdiales, Mexican American studies sophomore and legislative chair in the Queer Students Alliance. “Conversion therapies are done to mostly young adults and kids whose parents think they’re doing the right thing, but in reality, it’s something that can scar someone for life,” Urdiales said. “As harsh as this sounds, this statement
THERAPY page 2
CAMPUS
UT System to focus Documentary follows set of identical twins on diabetes initiative By Katie Walsh katiehwalsh_atx
By Josh Willis @joshwillis35
Lynda Chin, recently named associate vice chancellor for health transformation and chief innovation officer for health affairs for the UT System, is set to lead the newly created UT System Institute for Health Transformation. Chin will use the institute to develop workable, realistic strategies for improving health care quality. Modern health care techniques must adapt to more properly handle chronic diseases, Chin said in a press release issued by the UT System. “The current health care model is based on providing acute care to sick patients; that is very ineffective in management of chronic diseases like diabetes,” Chin said in a statement. “A
The current health care model is based on providing acute care to sick patients; that is very ineffective in management of chronic diseases like diabetes. —Lynda Chin Chief innovation officer
system re-design is needed. Today’s social, mobile and cloud technology along with big data and cognitive analytics can be the keys to a muchneeded transformation.” The institute’s first course of action will be to take
DIABETES page 2
Public relations seniors Gabby and Allie Byers take the “identical” part of their status as identical twins seriously. The sisters share a Facebook profile and the same class schedule, and sometimes, they even dream in sync. The twins’ unconventional relationship serves as the subject for MFA graduate student Shelby Hadden’s new documentary, “Her & Me.” Last year, while perusing the Internet in search of a subject for her documentary, Hadden came across a Daily Texan article about the Byers twins. The identical twins choose to dress alike, share the same friends and schedule their entire lives together, including mealtimes and work shifts. Their story instantly intrigued Hadden, whose grandfather was also an identical twin. “Everybody is fascinated by twins,” Hadden said. “People
who aren’t twins want to know what it’s like. Everybody has a million questions.” Hadden began filming her 15-minute documentary last September in hopes of providing some answers. She sought out interviews with sets of identical twins all over Austin. Hadden said she used interviews with the other twins in between scenes of the Byers to further explore issues of human connection, independence and family. Although the Byers sisters said they occasionally face backlash for choosing to dress identically, they said they simply feel more comfortable living in sync. In the first two years of high school, the twins tried to lead separate lives, with different wardrobes and schedules, but they said it didn’t feel right. “It may look kind of funny from the outside,” Allie said. “But once you start talking to us, we are super normal and sane.”
Rachel Zein | Daily Texan Staff
MFA student Shelby Hadden, center, sits with Gabby, left, and Allie Byers, the subjects of Hadden’s documentary, “Her & Me.”
In an attempt to understand how and why the Byers sisters choose to live such closely paralleled lives, Hadden spent hours filming and researching. She filmed “little moments” — the twins playing mini golf with friends — and “big moments,” such as Thanksgiving with the Byers family. In order to capture the sisters’ more subtle moments of teamwork,
Hadden filmed them picking their daily outfits and straightening the hard-to-reach parts of each other’s hair. “It’s really amazing to be able to enter someone’s life and share their story,” Hadden said. Hadden said she has been a documentary filmmaker since the fourth grade when she
TWINS page 6
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THERAPY
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Volume 115, Issue 135
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
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High school senior Shrader Davis harvests flowers at Prickly Pair Farm in Lampasas on Sunday morning. The farm is entering its fourth year and plans on expanding this season.
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POLLEN continues from page 1
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not take actions specifically to address pollen-related issues,” Lentz said. Austin’s monthly average pollen and allergy index increases from January to March, when it reaches its yearly peak, according to pollen.com. The index then decreases slightly in April and decreases significantly in May. From the end of March to the beginning of April, the Austin pollen index stayed at a level roughly above an 8-point index, which is classified as a medium-high or high pollen index.
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control of a program known as Project Diabetes Obesity Control (DOC). The program, approved by the UT System Board of Regents in November 2014, was created with the intent of improving care for patients with diabetes in South Texas. “The goal of Project DOC is to use big data and technology — whether social, mobile or cloud — to improve the health of diabetes patients by enhancing access to care,
This issue of The Daily Texan is valued at $1.25 Permanent Staff
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said she felt she had some of the worst allergies she has experienced in recent years. “I was really itchy all the time and sneezing every five seconds, over and over again,” Lasris said. Allergy symptoms include sneezing, nasal congestion, coughing, itchy and watery eyes, runny nose and itchy throat. Symptoms typically last around a week. Textiles and apparel senior Rose Montalvo said she was surprised she did not have pollen allergies, but she said the pollen affected others at her workplace.
DIABETES continues from page 1
TOMORROW’S WEATHER
High
Susan Hochman, assistant director at University Health Services, said many students have come into the Allergy Clinic in March and April with allergy symptoms. “I can say that we have seen an increase in students coming in for allergy related reasons, which is typical of this time of year when pollen count is high,” Hochman said. Pollen allergies don’t affect everyone — just those who inherit a tendency to be allergic to the particles. Linguistics and mathematics senior Madison Lasris
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“At my internship, I’ve been inside for most of the day, but a lot of volunteers have said they can’t come in because they have allergies,” Montalvo said. “It’s gotten the best of them.” Although Montalvo said she didn’t notice the pollen as much as others may have but that she was annoyed by the amount of pollen on her car. “Because it doesn’t affect my health, [the pollen] doesn’t really bother me,” Montalvo said. “But my car looks really yellow, so it might be sick.”
continues from page 1 brings to light that sometimes parents don’t know best.” Placing people in reparative therapy, also known as conversion therapy, demonstrates a misunderstanding about sexual orientation and gender identity, said Josh Rudd, neuroscience freshman and Queer Students Alliance public relations director. “Sexual orientation and gender identity are not things one can just change,” Rudd said. “It would be like trying to force people to change their race — it’s just not really possible.” California, New Jersey and the District of Columbia currently have laws that ban conversion therapy for minors. Last month, Rep. Celia Israel (D-Austin) introduced a bill that would ban the practice for minors in Texas. The bill, which would provide an exception for counseling that “provides acceptance, support and understanding of a child or minor … [allows] identity exploration and development … [and] does not seek to change sexual orientation or gender identity,” is currently in committee. The American Psychological Association advises that conversion or reparative therapies for young people be avoided and that families instead seek psychotherapy support and education to find accurate information about sexuality. Hannah said he would like to see more states ban these kinds of therapies as well and for there to be wider understanding of the damaging consequences of the practice. “This is a harmful practice, and it isn’t a viable option, and people are acceptable,” Hannah said. “The problem isn’t the person; the problem is the culture that needs to change.”
POLICE continues from page 1
empowering better selfmanagement and promoting healthier living,” a November 2014 statement said. A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows diabetes is on the rise in Texas. In 1994, between 4.5 to 5.9 percent of the Texas population was diagnosed with the disease. In 2013, that had risen to more than 9 percent of the population. UT System spokeswoman Jenny LaCoste-Caputo said the technology developed through Project DOC could be used for tasks such helping patients track and remember medication through a smartphone. She said the institute will provide the necessary social connections to help the technology advance. “In order to design the app for the right users — who may or may not be the patients themselves — and for the app to be effective, technology developers must understand cultural and language preference in a community, as
well as other social needs,” LaCoste-Caputo said. LaCoste-Caputo said Project DOC staff will collaborate with the recently established South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute at UT-Rio Grande Valley, the UT System Research Cyberinfrastructure, the Institute for Transformational Learning and other UT System institutions. The UT System will announce other initiatives the Institute for Healthcare Transformation will take on as they are launched, LaCoste-Caputo said. Former UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa named Chin to be a Chancellor’s Health Fellow in 2014 with a focus on diabetes care. The UT System Office of Health Affairs created the fellowship to recognize innovative work being done at health institutions throughout the System that had potential to have broad societal impact. Raymond Greenberg, UT System executive vice chancellor for health affairs, was not available for comment.
munication. “We also understand [people think] ‘Hey the [police are] here; this is scary looking,’ and so we need to find effective ways to let you all know what’s going on,” Carter said. “I think this is kind of one of those things where we would really like our campus community’s help.” After seeing posts about last week’s bomb threat on UTPD’s social media channels after the situation had been resolved, some parents and students wanted to know why they had not been informed. Biology junior Kathleen Lee, who didn’t have text messaging during a bomb threat in 2012 and was not alerted to the situation, said she urged her parents to add texting to her phone plan so that she could be aware of future incidents. “I just think that if something big like that is happening, then I need immediate notification of that — it wasn’t really nice to be caught by surprise,” Lee said. “I really wish that they did notify us. I know that they probably don’t want to incite
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public panic or anything, but if something like that is happening so close … then you have a right to know.” Lee said she didn’t know about either of the two threats this semester until she saw her friends posting about it on social media. The rapid pace of communication through these mediums often means people forget to notify police about situations as they develop, Carter said. “A lot of times folks start communicating on social media, and they’ll assume that [the police] know about it and we don’t,” Carter said. UTPD officers try to be judicious when determining when to send out alerts, and to whom the alerts should be sent, according to UTPD spokeswoman Cindy Posey. “The text messaging system — we already have [more than] 70,000 people signed up for text messages — if we overload that system, if we added every parent that wanted to be alerted, then the messaging would be slower to the people who needed it the fastest,” Posey said.
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RILEY BRANDS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / @TexanEditorial Monday, April 13, 2015
EDITORIAL
As Google Fiber revolutionizes Internet, some are still denied the right On Friday, the Texan noted a report published by the University and the city of Austin that examined Internet usage across demographic cleavages in Austin. Unsurprisingly, it found that Internet usage is ubiquitous among the young and largely affluent communities that comprise the 40 Acres. However, the report also found many without this connection. According to the report, only 80 percent of African-American residents in Austin had home access to the Internet, down from the more than 94 percent of Caucasians with a connection. Older, poorer and less educated Austinites were also significantly less likely to have any type of technological connection in the home, with a strong majority of them attributing their lack of Internet to financial constraints. All too often, the gap in this city between the haves and the have-nots has been ignored by policymakers and voters alike. This was put on full display last November, when the mayoral election results by precinct split right down Interstate 35, the traditional dividing line between white Austin and black and Hispanic Austin; unsurprisingly, these latter neighborhoods were among the most likely to have lower rates of internet connection.
Austin has been the focus of much national attention for its pioneer role in Google Fiber, the lightning-fast broadband service slowly expanding throughout the country. Google Fiber, we have been told repeatedly, is the future of our relationship with the Internet and will revolutionize our connections. However, this revolution will only be open to those affluent enough to afford the high-dollar prices that come with it. The fastest Internet through Google Fiber is $70 a month. And while a comparably slower internet connection offered through the service is free, there is a one-time $300 installation fee that serves as a huge barrier to entry, namely for that sizable minority of Austin still without any type of connection to the Internet. (Admittedly, the company is currently waiving the installation fee for a one-year commitment.) Basic needs have changed since the 1950s. Having a computer with a connection to the Internet is not a luxury signaling opulence; rather, it is a bare necessity for someone who wishes to maintain a modicum of competitiveness in an increasingly technological workforce. Internet access is a public right and, just as we attempt to guarantee lighting and power to all our residents, we need to do the same with these connections.
Michael Baez| Daily Texan File Photo
Mark Strama, head of Google Fiber in Austin, introduces the pricing plan for the local service in 2014.
Faster and faster connections for the rich might be fun, but Austin needs to be responsible and
ensure the entire city gets taken care of, not just a privileged few.
Q-AND-A
College of Natural Sciences dean discusses faculty, TA positions Editor’s Note: This interview is part of a series of Q-and-A’s with the University’s deans. Linda Hicke has been dean of the College of Natural Sciences, which has the largest enrollment of any college on campus, since 2012. This interview has been edited and condensed. DT: Could you start by telling us about the college generally... what sort of students it attracts and what sorts of projects it has going on? Linda Hicke: One of the things we’ve done recently is start the CNS Cornerstone, and that’s built on some of the other small communities that we had already happening in the college. Right now all incoming freshmen are part of a 20-person Cornerstone unit where they have faculty or an adviser working with every unit and also a peer advisor. They break down into communities of about 20 students and take a lot of the same classes with them, and we think that’s going to start to provide a strong sense of community and help the success of those students, particularly those who come from smaller, more rural backgrounds. One of the things I’m always very excited about is the Freshman Research Initiative. I always say that when I am reincarnated, I want to come back to UT as a freshman and be a part of the Freshman Research Initiative because it’s something that gets freshmen involved in exploring in the sciences and investigating independent research problems right off the bat before they have to memorize or learn a lot of content. It tends to get students really engaged in the sciences and keep them interested. DT: Last semester there were a lot of concerns, especially among physics graduate students, about TA positions being cut. What’s happened since then? Hicke: Finances are tight across the University. Having said that, we are looking very carefully at
the courses we offer so that the undergraduates are getting the courses they need to graduate… That’s our highest priority in terms of offering courses. The graduate support, the TA support has to align with what we need in our undergraduate education courses. What we’ve been doing is trying to again, look at the TA allocations not from the perspective of, “This is a good way to finance the graduate program,” but “This is what we need to support our undergraduate classes.” We have been working with graduate programs to find different ways of providing the financial support that graduate students need so that we can decouple the graduate students as this body that we need for teaching and supporting TAs from the optimal graduate student training experience. DT: Could you say more about how you’re achieving these changes for graduate students? Hicke: There have been new sources of money that have been put into graduate student support. A lot of our programs are looking at how they can raise the stipends for their graduate students and keep the TAing so that graduate students have some semesters where they don’t need to TA and can concentrate on their research. In some cases that means that graduate programs are deciding to somewhat shrink the size of their graduate programs so that they can have fewer students but students that are supported at a higher level and in a better way. DT: How important do you find fundraising to be? And how much is that a part of your job? Hicke: Super important, obviously. I would say I spend 20 to 25 percent of my time doing that, and we have a very robust and active development and external relations office in our college that has been doing great … It’s a very important part of being a dean, and it’s great not just for raising funds, but to have people understand and appreciate what is happening at the University of Texas.
DT: What does an average day look like for you? Hicke: Today, for instance, I came in and composed an email letting everyone know we are raising our TA stipend, which is part of our initiative to support graduate students. I then went to the Women in Natural Sciences Group about what it’s like to be a woman and have a career in the sciences and how did I get where I am. I’m visiting you guys … Being dean, you have to pivot about once every hour to focus on something different. There isn’t an average day. On any day, I would say I interact with students, faculty, external friends and donors, president, provost, other deans. DT: How do you balance the competing interests of all the different stakeholders in the college? Hicke: The hardest part is saying no, not because there are programs here that aren’t of good quality or good ideas, it’s that there are too many good ideas and too many great programs and we can’t do them all… In terms of balancing, when we did strategic planning, we got together as a college and decided what our priorities would be. I have a copy of that on my desk and it’s very well thumbed. When I’m deciding how to allocated resources, where to put time and attention, I pretty much go back to that and refer to that … I try to stick pretty closely to what the college believes it’s mission and values are for the next couple of years. The three things we consider to be our prime objectives are: providing optimal training for future scientists and mathematicians, making sure we are discovering new knowledge that is high-impact and ensuring that we are communicating the impact of what we are doing. Part of our strategic plan has a large communication component to it because it’s really important for us to make sure that Texas, the nation and the world understand not only how cool science is but why what we are doing
Photo Courtesy of Kim Willis
is important. DT: The college has had trouble in the past attracting a diverse faculty. Why? Hicke: The biggest problem is there aren’t very many folks who are coming through with Ph.D.s in the sciences who, for instance, are of AfricanAmerican or Hispanic descent. It’s possible to hire people with diverse backgrounds, but it’s hard to identify them as part of the candidate pool — they’re such a small, tiny fraction. It requires the work of search committees and faculties tobe out calling their colleagues…You can’t just sit there and wait for the applications to come in. You have to actively go out and identify candidates…It’s mostly getting people behind the fact that this is something that’s a good thing to do and we need to do and be willing to do the extra work.
COLUMN
We must encourage female interest in STEM fields from early age By Mary Dolan
Daily Texan Columnist @mimimdolan
It would be an understatement to say that the University of Texas is an enormous school. There are many different programs and majors that students can explore. Some of the most popular of these are the STEM majors: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. While the popularity of these majors has skyrocketed in the past few years for men and women, the gender imbalance among those who study STEM majors and work in STEM fields has remained large. The major reason for this gap has been the fact that women tend not to pursue STEM fields at the same rate as men. According to a February 2015 USA Today article, women comprise 47 percent of the U.S. workforce, but only 7.2 percent of mechanical engineers, 8.3 percent of electrical and electronic engineers, 28 percent of environmental scientists and geoscientists and 39 percent of chemists and material scientists. However, many seek to
change this. President Obama spoke in 2013 about the need for more women in STEM fields, and schools and organizations have acted accordingly. Volunteer group DiscoverE created Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (also known as Girl Day), a day specifically designed to introduce girls to the engineering profession in fun and creative ways. DiscoverE director of programs Thea Sahr spoke to USA Today, saying that the program was created “to sustain and grow a dynamic engineering profession through outreach, education, celebration and volunteerism.” UT was one of several schools that participated in the organization’s 14th annual Girl Day. Girl Day is certainly on the right track. It is important to introduce young women to STEM fields early on. It is in middle and high school that many girls tend to get turned off of STEM subjects. Many of them are only exposed to these subjects through math and science projects, and a lack of interest in these areas outside of school leads them to stop considering STEM subjects as a career choice. Ac-
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.
cording to a November 2014 Washington Post article, women get only 18 percent of computer science degrees and 43 percent of statistics and mathematics degrees. By encouraging young girls to explore STEM activities outside of the classroom in a variety of ways, we can help ensure that girls carry an interest in engineering or math or science into their college years and beyond. Many schools are doing their part to try and admit and retain women who wish to work in STEM fields. Because these fields are often presented and seen as nerdy or overwhelmingly male, many schools are working to change the image women have of these majors and career paths. These efforts include programs like the aforementioned Girl Day, which are designed to introduce girls to math and science activities, and clubs and social events that are meant to foster friendships between women in engineering and do away with the stereotype of the STEM fields as male-dominated, unsociable environments. Another tactic is to invite prominent women in STEM fields to speak with aspiring young
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.
girls about the opportunities in those areas. Such women can prove to be role models for younger girls. These types of events will hopefully continue to inspire girls to achieve their goals within STEM fields. Obviously, it is important to ensure that women will continue to explore their interests in science, technology, engineering, and math. There have already been a lot of efforts to crush the negative perceptions of these fields that many women have. We need to teach girls in elementary, middle, and high school that they can overcome these negative perceptions and excel in the fields that they choose. We should encourage them to explore their passions and interests and to not shy away from a desire to pursue an education in STEM fields. Women who have chosen those areas of study should be held up as examples to girls who wish to achieve the same success. The STEM majors are becoming more valuable than ever. In the coming years, hopefully more and more women are able to explore these areas of study and reap the rewards. Dolan is a journalism freshman from Abilene.
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.
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GARRETT CALLAHAN, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansports Monday, April 13, 2015
GOLF
Spieth dominates Masters tournament
SIDELINE NBA SUNS
By Caroline Hall @hallcaroline
Jordan Spieth has much in common with the average UT student. The former Longhorn, who attended the University from 2011–2012, calls Dallas home, avidly roots for the Cowboys, and celebrated his 21st birthday in July. But on Sunday, Spieth made history, trading in his burnt orange for a green jacket and joining a slightly more prestigious club. Spieth won the 2015 Masters Tournament with a score of 18-under par, tying a record set by Tiger Woods in 1997. Spieth is the fifth player in history to lead the tournament from start to finish and the first wire-to-wire champion since Raymond Floyd in 1976. It was a record-breaking weekend for Spieth, who set the Masters record for lowest score through 36 holes (-14) and 54 holes (-16) and tied the 72-hole score record (-18). Additionally, he broke Phil Mickelson’s record for most birdies at the Masters with 28 and became the first person to reach 19-under par at Augusta. Spieth is also among the youngest winners of the tournament, barely older than Woods was when he won almost two decades ago. CBS anchor Jim Nantz
SPURS
PELICANS
ROCKETS
THUNDER
PACERS
MLB ASTROS Marisa Vasquez | Daily Texan file photo
Jordan Spieth, bottom center, celebrates with the men’s golf team after winning the 2012 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. Spieth broke multiple records at this year’s Masters Tournament and tied Tiger Woods’ record for lowest overall score.
called Spieth’s Masters showing “one of the epic performances in the history of the sport,” claiming that “a new era has arrived.” It is undeniable that Spieth’s success at such a young age rivals only that of four-time Masters champion Woods. It’s been nearly two decades since Woods arrived on the scene and revived the sport in the late 1990s. With his
classic good looks, southern charm and rare ability to play golf nearly perfectly, Spieth is well on his way to reigniting golf ’s waning popularity. “It’s truly inspiring to see the type of things you can accomplish by putting in hard work, especially when they are done by a guy as nice and humble as Jordan,” said Connor Bush, mechanical engineering junior
BASEBALL
and a former high school classmate of Spieth’s. “It’s crazy to think that someone I used to walk by in the halls every day is going on to accomplish such incredible feats.” Incredible feats they are. This marks Spieth’s third win on the PGA Tour. Following this Masters win, he will rise to No. 2 in the world. “What a week and day for Jordan,” said Ryan
Murphy, former Texas men’s golf assistant coach. “He’s a very special young man, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach and be around him during his time at Texas. His winning the Masters does not surprise me. He’s as strong mentally as any young person that I have been around. It is a great day for the Spieth family as well as the Longhorn family.”
Sooners break Texas’ nine-game win streak @jwepstein96
Daulton Venglar | Daily Texan Staff
Freshman third baseman Bret Boswell gave Texas the lead on Saturday’s game with an RBI triple The Longhorns won the game 4-1. It was the only game they won, in the series.
Longhorns lose series, fall behind in Big 12 standings By Jacob Martella @ViewFromTheBox
For a moment, it looked like the Longhorn batters had finally broken free from their slump. With Saturday’s game tied at one apiece in the bottom of the sixth, Texas struck for three runs on three hits — its first three-run inning since March 24 — to eventually win the game, 4–1. That momentum changed Sunday, as the Longhorns struggled to find the key hit. Despite tallying 11 hits, the team left 10 runners on base, allowing Oklahoma to take a 3–2 win and the series. “The difference in the game were RBI hits,” head coach Augie Garrido said. “They had one more than we did.” Texas also struggled Friday, only scoring two runs in 12 innings. The team left the winning run on second in the 10th, dropping the 3 –2 decision. Still, players performed well Saturday. With one out and a runner on first, freshman third baseman
Bret Boswell tripled to right-center field to give Texas the lead. Sophomore catcher Tres Barrera, who came into the at-bat in a slump, singled to left to bring in Boswell. Three batters later, sophomore center fielder Zane Gurwitz, also in a slump of his own, came through with an RBI single to center. “Everyone did they’re part today, and hopefully, it sparks something,” Boswell said after Saturday’s game. The hope that the inning would spark the Texas offense fell through in the rubber match of the series. After Oklahoma took a 1–0 lead in the top of the second, Texas quickly loaded the bases and tied the game on a sacrifice fly by junior designated hitter C.J Hinojosa. However, even after re-loading the bases with one out, the Longhorns couldn’t take the lead. Texas came within inches of tying the game in the bottom of the eighth. With one out and a runner on base, Hinojosa drilled a ball down the left-field line, but the ball hooked just foul
at the last second for a loud strike. Cantu, who threw out three runners over the series, said missing those key hits was frustrating but that they need to stay composed. “Baseball is a frustrating game,” Cantu said. “So it’s just how you react to it and just got to keep rolling.” The series loss drops Texas to a .500 record in Big 12 action and fifth in the conference standings. The Longhorns also missed an opportunity to gain on conference favorites Oklahoma State and TCU. Both teams dropped their respective series this weekend as well. “The separation is because of these other games and the losses that have piled up on us, and now it makes this loss seem bigger than it would be had we won more of the other games,” Garrido said. The Longhorns will face Sam Houston State on Tuesday night before resuming Big 12 play with a threegame series at Kansas beginning Friday.
After a nine-game winning streak, including three wins against No. 22 Kansas, Texas dropped three straight to Oklahoma at the Red and Charline McCombs Field over the course of the weekend. In the softball edition of the Red River Rivalry, the Sooners entered the matchup with a 28–24 advantage, but the Longhorns were hopeful they could produce. “We’re just going to try and go and attack them and see what we can do,” freshman pitcher Erica Wright said before the series. “They are a really good team obviously, but we’re a good team too.” No. 5 Oklahoma (36–5, 9–0 Big 12) showed Texas (27–12, 3–3 Big 12) early how they had managed a 6–0 conference record and stayed at the top of the Big 12. Much of Oklahoma’s success arose thanks to freshman pitcher Paige Parker, who gave the Longhorns trouble all weekend. Parker earned two wins as she pitched 16 innings, struck out 21 batters and allowed just six hits and no runs. In the first inning of the first game, Oklahoma senior first baseman Lauren Chamberlain led off with a double. Shortly after, senior shortstop Shelby Pendley brought her in on a two-run shot to give the Sooners a quick 2–0 lead. Texas sophomore shortstop Devon Tunning reached on an infield single in the bottom of the inning to improve her onbase streak to 22 games. But the next three batters went down, and the Longhorns left her there until the end of the inning. The Longhorns provided a few reasons for optimism through the rest of the game, including a run-saving tag by junior catcher Erin Shireman in the third, another single for Tunning and a hit
NCAA BASEBALL TCU
KANSAS STATE
OKLAHOMA
KANSAS
SOFTBALL
By Jason Epstein
RANGERS
for junior outfielder Lindsey Stephens. But at the end of play, none rounded the bases, and the Longhorns lost, 8–0 — their biggest deficit of the season. “We have to stay focused on ourselves and stay in attack mode,” head coach Connie Clark said. And the Longhorns did that — for a little while, at least — in the next game. In the second game of Friday’s doubleheader, the Longhorns jumped to a quick 1–0 lead on Stephens’ 13th home run of the season. With an offensive advantage, senior Gabby Smith stayed strong at the mound and retired the first 12 to keep Texas in the lead through four. But in the top of the fifth, the Sooners quickly took over. Chamberlain hit one out of the park to tie up the score. Before the end of the inning, the Sooners scored another run off a hit by pitch with the bases loaded, putting them up one. Down 3–1 after another Oklahoma run in the sixth, sophomore pinch hitter Mickenzi Krpec jumped on base from a single and advanced on an error to second. Unfortunately, the swing stopped there and three consecutive outs stranded Krpec on second for the remainder of play. “They have a quality program and have quality athletes. We have a quality program, and we have quality athletes,” Clark said. “It really comes down to execution, making the pitch and competing well.” The final contest failed to result in execution, as Parker held the Longhorns scoreless in seven innings of play. On Saturday, the Longhorns drew more walks than they had hits, as they had four walks and only two hits. When the last pitch had been thrown, the scoreboard read 4–0 in the Sooners’ favor. The Longhorns play UTArlington on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at McCombs field.
TOP TWEET Kevin Durant @KDTrey5
Legendary performance @jordanspieth!! Congrats
SPORTS BRIEFLY Longhorns capture third-straight title
The Longhorns are Quidditch World Cup champions for the third-straight year. Texas defeated Lone Star Quidditch club 120–90 Sunday to finish off a comeback and leave Quidditch World Cup 8 victorious. The Longhorns capped off their threepeat when seeker Evan Carr caught the snitch, worth 30 points in U.S. Quidditch League play, to end the game. Lone Star Quidditch Team got off to a quick 20–0 lead, thanks in large part to chaser Christopher Scholz. The Longhorns tied the score at 20–20 when chaser Marty Bermudez was able to get past the vaunted Lone Star defense for a score. The game was back and forth, but Texas was able to take a 60–50 lead because of keeper Augustine Monroe. Monroe scored threestraight goals for the Longhorns and also played stellar defense to deny a couple of Lone Star shots. After a fierce battle, Carr came out on top with the snitch in his hand and a Texas championship in the bag. Texas finished the World Cup with a perfect 9–0 record. —Aaron Torres
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Monday, April 13, 2015
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KAT SAMPSON, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan Monday, April 13, 2015
HEALTH
Students promote Alzheimer’s awareness in exhibit By Emily Fu @efu_utexas
Imagine seeing your shoelace untied and not knowing how to tie it. Imagine seeing your daughter’s face but not remembering her name. Three UT students are exploring these issues with a an interactive art installation called “Eye See … I Forget.” Journalism junior Michael Baez, theatre and dance senior Callie Hacker and theatre and dance junior Selina Rosales created “Eye See … I Forget” to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative illness that impacts memory and cognitive function. “Eye See … I Forget,” resembles a giant brain made of a 2V geodesic dome covered with a pink parachute. Guests can crawl inside the brain, interact with artistically depicted neurons and examine family pictures and props representing various brain functions. The team received help from a fellow classmate, theatre and dance freshman Dack Justiz, and dedicated the installation to Justiz’s grandmother, Frances Nicholson, who has Alzheimer’s. Before walking into the installation, visitors watch an introductory interview tak-
en of Nicholson and her family. The video provides context for visitors so that they can better understand what they will experience inside the structure. “I look forward to my grandmother’s story being shared,” Justiz said. “My family has been very open about the process in hopes that anyone dealing with a family member with this disease knows they’re not alone.” Over the course of the installation’s five-day run, the internal structure of the brain will feature different videos and content. The team intends for these content changes to represent the seven stages of Alzheimer’s disease, as patients begin with “no impairment” and progressively lose the ability to control movement or respond to the surrounding environment. The team physically constructed the piece over the course of the last several months, transporting all the materials and visited Nicholson in Houston to interview her about her experience with Alzheimer’s. Hacker said these experiences taught them the importance of organization, communication and honesty. “We faced so many challenges but have worked so hard,” Hacker said. “It still surprises me that we will succeed.”
From left, theatre and dance senior Callie Hacker, journalism junior Michael Baez, and theatre and dance senior Selina Rosales created an art installation called “Eye See ... I Forget,” which will be featured as part of the Cohen New Works festival.
Charlotte Carpenter Daily Texan Staff
Rosales said her participation in the project was largely inspired by her grandmother, who passed away two years ago after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Rosales said conducting research about an Alzheimer’s patient’s brain with the team helped her understand what her grandmother went through in the last years of her life. Rosales said she is hopeful that the project, the result of
so much research, will inspire people who visit to research and learn more about Alzheimer’s disease. “That’s really what I wanted to get out of the project: to advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness,” Rosales said. “That’s been the biggest reward so far.” Hacker said the team wants the audience to leave the exhibit with newfound respect for Alzheimer’s patients and their families. She hopes they feel
gratitude for the little things in life that Alzheimer’s disease takes away. “I hope above all that our audiences will see the show in its entirety every day of the festival,” Hacker said. “Just 10 minutes of your day for five days — that’s all I want.” “Eye See … I Forget” is part of the Cohen New Works Festival presented by Broadway Bank. The festival is a biennial, week-long showcase of
MOVIE REVIEW | ‘WHILE WE’RE YOUNG’
Movie explores midlife crises, mocks hipster culture By Alex Pelham @TalkingofPelham
“While We’re Young” serves as an amusing and poignant satire of the hipster generation. It playfully mocks “artsy” New York millennials while exploring a range of more serious topics including midlife crises and the difficulty of making authentic, creative work. The acting, and particularly performances by Ben Stiller and Adam Driver, perfectly conveys the seemingly insurmountable generation gap between the young and old. Although it occasionally juggles too many themes at one time, “While We’re Young” takes a quirky, clever look at people who are determined to feed off each other’s energy. Josh (Stiller), a documentary filmmaker, has spent eight years working on his masterpiece — much to the chagrin of his restless wife, Cornelia (Naomi Watts). Their tedious life is interrupted when the pair encounter Jamie (Driver), who is a fan of Josh’s work, and his girlfriend Darby (Amanda Seyfried). The young couple are humorous flag-bearers for the middle-class hipster lifestyle: They collect vinyls, write exclusively with typewriters and believe the world is theirs for the taking. Josh and Cornelia, who seek to feel
youthful again, quickly become obsessed with the young couple. When Josh begins working on Jamie’s new documentary, he discovers that Jamie’s seemingly authentic vision and overall genial attitude may be misleading. Director and writer Noah Baumbach knows how to use hipsters for hilarious comedy fodder. He doesn’t waste any of this rich material. Nearly every joke hits its target, whether Baumbach is employing physical comedy (Josh and Darby dancing frantically to hip-hop) or taking a more subtle approach (detailing Jamie’s arrogance and pretension). The strange world Jamie and Darby occupy is a huge comedic highlight. The film hits on all the stereotypes millenials tend to attract, but the digs never feel malevolent or overdone. Stiller gives a heartfelt performance as the ambitious Josh. His character’s obsession with finding truth and artistic beauty in filmmaking is inspiring, and his overall fear of failure feels sincere and urgent. Driver’s cocky attitude keeps the film moving, while his character’s self-confidence and sheer smugness make him fun to hate. Watts’ sympathetic character experiences incredible self-doubt in her life, especially as she
Photo courtesy of A24 Films
In “While We’re Young,” the latest film from director Noah Baumbach, Josh (Ben Stiller) attempts to understand Jamie’s (Adam Driver) youthful lifestyle and approach to filmmaking.
starts wondering whether not having children with Josh was a missed opportunity. Seyfried charms as Jamie’s girlfriend — it’s intriguing to see a character come to grips with the notion that her entire lifestyle is just one, big passing fad. “While We’re Young” attempts to explore many themes, and its narrative at times feels engaged in a balancing act. The film focuses on Josh and Cornelia as they worry about growing old and explore a younger, hipper
world. Simultaneously, the story attempts to address the morals of documentary filmmaking. Josh cares about seeking the truth, while Jamie willingly manipulates facts for the benefit of an interesting story. Although it’s interesting to see how filmmakers of two different generations tackle the same ethical dilemmas, the film’s transition from midlife crises to the ethics of filmmaking feels too sudden. Baumbach tries to give each plot equal focus, but the combination isn’t smooth.
They hardly mesh together, and the result feels rushed. The film’s narrative may have been cleaner if it had one theme to take a dominant role. “While We’re Young” looks at the humorous rise of the hipster generation while also delivering touching messages about growing old and using art to find “the truth.” Although the film feels unfocused at times, the stellar comedy and richly drawn characters make up for that small shortcoming.
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TWINS
continues from page 1 made her first film, “A Cat’s Life,” a comparison of the life of an indoor cat to an outdoor cat. She’s moved on to human subjects, but documentary work remains her passion because she said there is no predicting what will happen next. ”It’s a really fun process when you can’t anticipate the magic that you are going to find,” Hadden said. “You’re constantly learning.” “Her & Me” was Hadden’s first experience working with a film crew. She said her director of photography and producer, MFA graduate student Tom Rosenberg and radio-television-film senior Avalon Gordon, respectively, helped ease this transition. The crew began shooting in September and finished in December. “Her & Me,” fully funded from a successful Kickstarter campaign that wrapped up March 31, will premiere May 17 at the radio-televisionfilm end-of-semester screening. Hadden said she plans to submit it to film festivals in the future. After seeing the rough cut, the twins, who worried they weren’t interesting enough or that the film would portray them incorrectly, said “Her & Me” stays true to who they are. “So far, people are reading it differently,” Hadden said. “It makes people look at their own relationships and ask themselves why they are so quick to judge [the twins].”
FOOD
Chop them, roast them, salt them: Go nuts with your diet By Elisabeth Dillon @thedailytexan
It’s time to get a little crazy with your diet. That’s right — it’s time to go nuts. Nuts, such as brazil nuts, almonds, cashews and pecans, are full of heart-healthy fats and can be used to make sweet and savory dishes stand out. It might seem counterintuitive, but eating nuts in their most natural state is not the healthiest way to consume them. Raw nuts contain phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, which prevent the body from taking in crucial nutrients and digesting food properly. To avoid these roadblocks, simply soak nuts in salt water to break down and remove the harmful elements. The salt water soak is also the first step
for making nut milk, a nondairy alternative perfect to use in smoothies and baked goods. After the nuts have soaked, place them in a blender with more water and then strain through a cheesecloth. Homemade nut butters trump their store-bought counterparts in virtually all aspects because the more expensive grocery-store nut butters tend to be laden with extra oil and sugar. Use nut butters to thicken up smoothies, “healthify” brownie recipes and eat by the spoonful while cramming for stressful final exams. To make homemade nut butter, toast raw nuts lightly in an oven to break down those pesky enzyme inhibitors, place in a food processor and blend until smooth. Walnuts are an omega-3 powerhouse and are also
known for helping with cholesterol levels and risk of heart diseases. Use walnuts for more savory dishes — stir them into a warm quinoa and Brussels sprouts salad. Walnut oil is also a good substitute for canola or vegetable oils. If you’re concerned about your protein intake, grab almonds from your pantry. Many plant-based protein bars found in grocery stores contain almonds and almond butter. Save the money and make your own energy bites using dates and almonds. Alternatively, lightly toast slivered almonds to toss on top of fresh asparagus. Brazil nuts, generally found in the bulk section at stores such as Whole Foods, contain high amounts of selenium. Selenium aids
Nuts are good sources of heart-healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. For our raspberry cashew butter smoothie recipe, visit www. dailytexanonline. com.
Elisabeth Dillon Daily Texan Staff
in the production of antioxidant enzymes, which help with cell damage and reduce the risk of cancer. Eat these in moderation, though, as brazil nuts contain higher amounts of saturated fat than their healthier
nut cousins. Cashews are a staple in many vegan kitchens. Not only are they high in vitamins and minerals, but they can be broken down into a cream used to make things such as cashew yogurt or
dairy-free cheesecake. These cashew-based desserts can end up being high in calories, but they’re also high in goodfor-you fats. For our raspberry cashew butter smoothie recipe, visit www.dailytexanonline.com.