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STUDENT GOVERNMENT
CAMPUS
SG leaders establish serious platform
Davis statue vandalized again amid controversy
By Samantha Ketterer @sam_kett
The Student Government president and vice president were elected on a satirical campaign, but they said their new platform is no joke. After President Xavier Rotnofsky and Vice President Rohit Mandalapu won the executive alliance runoff election in March — an election they did not necessarily expect to win — they came into office with a mostly humorous platform. Now,
Rotnofsky, Mandalapu and their executive board are forming more concrete plans and ideas they said they hope to work on during their year-long term. Some of their initiatives include expanding student eating options on campus, with a focus on extending dining hall hours, adding healthier late-night food choices and increasing kosher and halal food selections. Mandalapu said they have already received some positive feedback in talking with the administration about
their ideas. “With any platform point that affects a huge amount of students, there’s always going to be issues that come up, in funding and how they can be,” Mandalapu said. “But I think we’ve chosen a list of things that are not only very helpful to the student body at large, but also very doable.” The team also hopes to increase civic engagement, possibly by implementing a program where resident
PLATFORM page 2
By Sebastian Herrera @SebasAHerrera
Jack DuFon | Daily Texan Staff
President Xavier Rotnofsky and Vice President Rohit Mandalapu intend to implement several policies centered around the needs of the student body.
UNIVERSITY
Four-year graduation goal remains elusive By Josh Willis @joshwillis35
The University’s fouryear graduation rate has shown improvements over the last several years — but when President William Powers Jr. leaves office at the end of the school year, fewer than 70 percent of the students who started as freshmen in fall 2011 will be leaving with him. In an interview with The Daily Texan, Powers acknowledged that he will leave office without watching a class achieve one of the central goals of his presidency — a 70 percent fouryear graduation rate. Still, Powers said, the University is on its way to meeting such a goal. “We’re not quite there yet, but we’re making tremendous progress,” Powers said. The four-year graduation
POWERS page 2
Marshall Tidrick | Daily Texan Staff
One of President William Powers Jr.’s central goals for his presidency was to achieve a 70 percent four-year graduation rate. While the goal has not yet been reached, Powers said the University has made “tremendous progress.”
The Jefferson Davis statue on the South Mall was defaced at some point between Wednesday night and early Tuesday morning, this time by something more permanent than chalk. The statue had “Davis must fall” and “Emancipate UT” written on both the north and south sides of its base, written in red and yellow spray paint. UTPD discovered the graffiti at 8:42 a.m. on Thursday and contacted University Facilities Services to remove it, according to UTPD spokeswoman Cindy Posey. “We will always look into any type of graffiti on campus,” Posey said. “We will investigate into who did it.” Cleaning the graffiti from the statue took approximately three hours and cost an estimated $225 in labor and maintenance, according to Laurie Lentz, Campus Planning & Facilities Management communications manager. The statue has stirred controversy on campus because Davis served as the president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. In late March, Student Government voted almost unanimously in support of the statue’s removal. The statue was also defaced on Feb. 27, when the word “chump” and an arrow pointing at Davis’ face was written in blue chalk on statue’s base. The statue’s removal was a major platform in newlyelected SG President Xavier
DAVIS page 2
CITY
CITY
City Council votes on strip club regulations
As Austin grows, off-campus rents rises
By Jackie Wang @jcqlnwng
Austin City Council voted unanimously Thursday to pass amendments to the city code that will change the way adult-oriented businesses receive permits to open. With the new amendments, adult-oriented businesses, such as strip cubs and pornography shops, now need to be 1,000 feet away from museums and libraries. This is in addition to the current code, which required the businesses to be 1,000 feet away from other adultoriented businesses. The requirement also applies to day cares, schools, parks and churches. Areas of downtown zoned for “mixed use” will also require the businesses go
through “conditional use” process, instead of a “permitted use” process, to open. A permitted use process requires potential businesses to meet certain criteria and be individually approved by the city planning department. A conditional use process requires all those steps as well as a public hearing jointly held between the business and the planning commission. Planning and Development Review Department staff member Jerry Rusthoven said the changes will be grandfathered in — so adult-oriented businesses already operating, subject to Chapter 245, will not have to obtain new permits. “This ordinance takes place
STRIP page 2
By Jackie Wang @jcqlnwng
Students who live off-campus often move there in search of prices more affordable than dorm room rates — which, at the cheapest, are $1,084 a month for a shared bedroom and community bathroom. But off-campus rental rates are increasing as well. Last year, Austin was ranked the number one fastest growing city by Forbes in 2014 for the fourth year in a row, with an annual growth rate of 2.5 percent. With the city’s increasing population, there is a shortage of rental units, causing prices to rise. For students living off campus, rental rates are often out of their price range. In 2008, only 4 percent of rental units were deemed affordable for those making less than $20,000, according to the Neighborhood
Graphic by Iliana Storch | Daily Texan Staff
Housing and Community Development Department. While most college students do fall under the category of making less than $20,000 a year, the US Census Bureau takes their high earning potential into account when adjust-
ing poverty rates of cities with large student populations. Erica Leak, the city’s housing planning and policy manager, said this does not change the shortage of affordable housing units is increasing. “The number of renters
in Austin earning more than $75,000 annually increased by 74 percent since 2007,” Leak said. “The number of renters earning less than $25,000 annually has only grown by 1
RENT page 3
visit farewellpowers.com to find out more
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Friday, April 17, 2015
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NEWS
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Volume 115, Issue 139
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Tibetan monks Konchok Jampa, top, and Lobsang Tsundu work diligently at City Hall on a sand mandala, a traditional Tibetan artwork. The mandala takes 5 days to finish and is part of the Gaden Shartse Phukhang Monastery’s tour to share the beauty of the traditional practice with the public.
POWERS
continues from page 1 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.
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rate was 54.5 percent in fiscal year 2014, up from 40 percent in fiscal year 2000, according to a University accountability report. David Laude, senior vice provost for enrollment and graduation management, said when he was brought into the provost’s office, he was charged with improving the four-year graduation rate quickly. “The class that was supposed to have this done by was the class of 2017,” Laude said. “That means the class that is currently finishing its sophomore year — two years from now — they need to be graduating not with a 50 percent graduation rate, but with a 70 percent [rate].” Over the course of the last two years, the University introduced a number of initiatives aimed at increasing the four-year graduation rate. Laude gave a $3
This issue of The Daily Texan is valued at $1.25 Permanent Staff
Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Riley Brands Senior Associate Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Noah M. Horwitz Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olivia Berkeley, Cullen Bounds, Olive Liu Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jordan Rudner Associate Managing Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brett Donohoe, Jack Mitts News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julia Brouillette Associate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . Anderson Boyd, Danielle Brown, David Davis Jr., Chanelle Gibson, Adam Hamze, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natalie Sullivan Senior Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wynne Davis, Eleanor Dearman, Samantha Ketterer, Jackie Wang, Josh Willis Copy Desk Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taiki Miki Associate Copy Desk Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Liza Didyk, Matthew Kerr, Kailey Thompson Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alex Dolan Senior Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Virginia Scherer, Kelly Smith, Iliana Storch Multimedia Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Resler, Lauren Ussery Associate Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amy Zhang Senior Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carlo Nasisse, Griffin Smith, Ellyn Snider, Marshall Tidrick, Daulton Venglar Senior Videographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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Albert Lee, Connor Murphy Senior Comics Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crystal Marie, Isabella Palacios, Amber Perry, Rodolfo Suarez Special Projects Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amanda Voeller Tech Team Lead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miles Hutson Social Media Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sydney Rubin Editorial Adviser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Chen
million-grant to the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs to hire mental health counselors in the University’s largest colleges, to reduce student stress, and launched a four-year graduation “help desk,” among other initiatives. Last month, UT System Chancellor William McRaven said he was not satisfied with current four-year graduation rates at any of the UT System institutions. “We have got to get our four-year graduation rates and our six-year graduation rates — we have got to improve those across all of our institutions,” McRaven said. “I’m not happy with where they are in a number of areas.” Postponed graduation causes a negative ripple effect impacting student debt, among other factors, McRaven said. “We are doing a disservice to the students, to the family of those students and, frankly, to the institution by not having better graduation rates,” McRaven said. Powers said the root of the argument for increasing four-year graduation rates is that UT should do all it can to reduce the financial impact of higher education on students and families. “There’s a lot of discussion and, rightly so, about afford-
ability and the resources that a family has to devote to public higher education,” Powers said. “We’re sensitive to that.” Powers said the dialogue on campus between students and the administration has changed in his years as president. “I’m very proud of the fact that the initial response was, ‘Well, they’re telling us we’re not graduating on time,’ and now the attitude is, ‘We’re working together, helping each other toward a common goal,’” Powers said. The class of 2017 is exhibiting the right signs for meeting the 70 percent graduation rate, Laude said. “The class of 2017’s persistence rate at the end of their first year was 95 percent,” Laude said. “In other words, all but 5 percent came back and started their sophomore year, and that is the largest rate in the university’s history.” The improvements stem in part from a changing campus mindset, according to Laude. “A lot of the reason for this improvement has to do with things like really getting everybody to buy into the idea of trying to make it possible to graduate in four years,” Laude said. “There’s lots of community building.”
Business and Advertising
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continues from page 1 assistants and desk monitors can become deputized as voter registrars. Rotnofsky said they also want to advocate for student issues in the legislature, including lobbying against campus carry, a bill that would allow students, faculty and staff to carry concealed handguns into campus building. Taral Patel, newly-named SG chief of staff, said the team does not want to make empty promises with their platform. “The broader ones are harder, but we want to make sure what we do is very effective, and it’s not just making a statement,” Patel said. “We want to try to do more than that — try to figure out how we can make a bigger impact.” Other platform points include bus route expansion, making campus more accessible for students with disabilities and increasing recycling options on the Drag and in West Campus. They also said they hope to continue platforms from the past SG administration, such as securing funds for Safe Ride, implementing on-campus tailgating and increasing
STRIP
continues from page 1
Issue Staff
Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nashwa Bawab, Sebastian Herrera, Caleb Wong Multimedia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Dufon, Mariana Gonzalez, Andy Nguyen, Aaron Torres Sports Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ezra Siegel Life&Arts Writer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Katie Walsh Columnists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alberto A. Martinez, Claire Smith Page Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kyle Herbst, Rachel Rascoe Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mae Hamilton, Nancy Huang, Selah Maya Zighelboim Comic Artists . . . . . Hanna Bernbaum, Andrew Brooks, Nathan Burgess, Jason Cheon, Tiffany Hinojosa, Anna Pederson, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chester Omenuko, Lydia Thron, Melanie Westfall
PLATFORM
Andy Nguyen | Daily Texan Staff
John Fisher works on cleaning graffiti off of the Jefferson Davis statue Thursday. The statue has been tagged twice this semester.
DAVIS
continues from page 1 Rotnofsky and Vice President Rohit Mandalapu’s election campaign. Mandalapu said the statue’s most recent defacement proves that many students are frustrated with what the statue symbolizes. “I think that statue serves to marginalize a portion of students at the university, especially a lot of underrepresented minorities, and that’s not what this university should stand for,” Mandalapu said. “People are interested in this issue and clearly have a point to make about it. With that being said, I think there are better ways [than graffiti] to go about expressing how you feel.” The Davis statue, together
with a nearby statue of former President Woodrow Wilson, are meant to show how the American effort in World War I brought the nation together after the split caused by the Civil War, according to UT spokesman Gary Susswein. “In previous decades, there have been proposals to remove the statue,” Susswein said. “The University administration chose, at those times, to leave them in place, but also to emphasize the University’s values by adding prominentlyplaced statues of such leaders as Martin Luther King and Barbara Jordan. As with all Student Government proposals, this one will be sent to the president’s office, where it will be reviewed and carefully considered by university leaders.”
on April 26,” Rusthoven said. “The mayor made a statement under state law. Adult-oriented businesses are subject to Chapter 245 under local government code. … They’re okay if they are already open.” Mayor pro tem Kathie Tovo sponsored the resolution and said it was important to address the fact that in certain areas of downtown, strip clubs could open for business without a public hearing. Tovo said businesses should have the opportunity to discuss whether adult businesses nearby are appropriate for the area. “This will not prohibit adult businesses from opening up where zoning categories are appropriate — just have them come in front of council to determine if they are,” Tovo said. “It requires them to [meet] a higher level of review — a public hearing — which means other businesses can come and weigh in, residents, anyone who wants to. Then, the planning commission would make a decision, and it can be appealed to the City Council.” While the ordinance will not affect already-opened and operating strip clubs, Expose Men’s Club man-
branding on campus. Mandalapu said their platform is not set in stone and will likely evolve as the year continues. “The thing about platforms and how we see them is it’s always evolving,” Mandalapu said. “Things are going to come up; things are going to get shot down. I think we’ve come up with a solid list of things we’re really passionate about.” Rotnofsky said he plans to maintain the duo’s sense of humor while also being transparent with students. “While we will be humorous in our outreach to students, we’re also going to be completely honest with ourselves and with the students, and so, if something fails, we’ll say, ‘OK this is why this couldn’t work out,’” Rotnofsky said. Mandalapu said he and Rotnofsky hope to continue connecting with students the way they did during their campaign. “I feel like we’re very approachable,” Mandalapu said. “People don’t think that we’re these … mystical figures who run the university. Instead, I think we’re very normal students who happen to be in these roles.” ager Ryan Miller said the new ordinance is bad for Austin’s economy. “Pretty much all that’s doing is making it more difficult to obtain a [sexually-oriented business] license,” Miller said. “A lot of people don’t agree with this kind of business, but, you know, we produce jobs and probably got 15 employees at this club and then dancers — we probably have a couple hundred. It’s just going to make it more difficult for new clubs to open and pull money out of the Austin area, and people are going to go out of town to open new clubs.” Individuals who proposed a strip club on Fifth Street and Congress Avenue are still in the permitting process, and they have not gotten their site plan approved yet, Rusthoven said. Randell Salinas, international relations and global studies alumnus, said because there is already a regular crowd that frequents Sixth Street, close to the proposed Fifth Street and Congress Avenue strip club location, the culture will remain the same even if the strip club isn’t constructed. “You’re not going to change the type of people that are going to go downtown,” Salinas said. “What’s another bar or club or gentleman’s club?”
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NEWS
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Friday, April 17, 2015
CAMPUS
Divestment bill heads to full SG assembly By Adam Hamze & Samantha Ketterer @thedailytexan
The Student Government Legislative Affairs committee voted down three proposed amendments to a highly-discussed divestment resolution Thursday and subsequently sent the resolution to a vote by the full assembly. The resolution, which has gained widespread support and opposition from different student groups on campus, asks the University of Texas Investment Management Company to stop investing in corporations that, according to the resolution’s authors, “aid in the oppression of the Palestinian people by the state of Israel.” The first proposed amendment at the meeting asked for a broadening of language, specifically calling to alter a clause that currently refers to “Palestinian rights” and would have been changed to “human rights.” The amendment failed after no SG representative seconded the amendment proposal. The second proposed amendment called for the removal of a clause contain-
ing a quote by Nelson Mandela from the legislation. The representative who proposed the amendment said the quote, which referred to divestment’s success in helping South Africa reach the end of apartheid, was not relevant to the legislation. Mohammed Nabulsi, law school representative and an author of the legislation, said the quote is relevant because he believes the allusion to the effectiveness of divestment is a crucial detail in the resolution’s argument. The amendment also failed after no SG representatives seconded the proposal. University wide representative Kallen Dimitroff proposed a third amendment to remove the specificity of Israel from the legislation, because she said she believes referring explicitly to Israel targets the country and causes a division within the University community. “I think it’s divisive because it’s only advocating with one group,” Dimitroff said. “I just don’t think differentiating is the [proper] way.” Removing any mention of Israel from the legislation
Aaron Torres | Daily Texan Staff
At a meeting Thursday, an SG committee voted down three proposed amendments to a resolution that asks UTIMCO to stop investing in corporations that aid in Palestinian oppression.
would dilute the document’s intentions, Nabulsi said. “The resolution does not aim to target Israel, but aims to target Israeli policies in Palestine,” Nabulsi said. “We don’t want to erase Palestinian suffering.” The third amendment was also not passed. Walker Fountain, a government junior who spoke at the
meeting, said he believes SG should not attempt to regulate UTIMCO’s business. “The Permanent University fund, the largest [UTIMCO] fund, is not drawn from tuition,” Fountain said. “So first, I must ask if this resolution is relevant to students.” Melissa Smyth, graduate student in the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, said
she believes student contribution to the University gives UTIMCO’s actions relevance to student affairs. “An institution we work for, pay tuition to and carry with us is implicitly justifying these acts of oppression,” Smith said. “That’s what we’re opposing.” The SG Assembly will vote on the legislation as it stands Tuesday.
RESEARCH
Former CIA agent discusses US role in Afghanistan
their stone as the
By Caleb Wong plat@caleber96 see volvsaid. The United States undercomemined Afghanistan’s indeo getpendence by taking the leadwe’veing role in the fight against the ist ofTaliban, according to former sion-CIA agent Robert Grenier. “After 2005, we as a government made a very serious plans mistake, ” Grenier said. “We sense beingdecided in effect that Afnts. ghanistan was too important hu-to [leave to] the whims of Afch toghans.” ng to Grenier spoke at a campus withevent hosted by the Robert e stu-S. Strauss Center for Interthingnational Security and Law his isand the Clements Center for workHistory, Strategy and Statecraft on Thursday to proandmote new his book, “88 Days tinueto Kandahar.” dents Grenier served as a senior uringCIA counterterrorism official
y apalapuRESEARCH think stical niverwe’re who By Nashwa Bawab oles.” @nashwabawab
country, we’re to help the government to sort that out,” Grenier said. According to Grenier, given the weak leadership from Hamid Karzai, former president of Afghanistan, the country’s fate was entirely determined by the United States and the Taliban. “He was an admirable fellow in a lot of respects, but also kind of unsteady,” Grenier said. “By the end, it was just hopeless.” International relations and global studies junior James McNally said strong leadership is needed to guide Afghanistan toward independence. “Given the tremendous institutional knowledge that we have about Afghanistan, we are in a great position to make positive effects within that area,” McNally said. “It comes
Mariana Gonzalez | Daily Texan Staff
Former CIA couterterrorism official Robert Greiner speaks about counterterrorism at Sid Richardson Hall on Wednesday afternoon.
to helping the good people and hurting the bad people.” Plan II and advertising Chandler Michaels sophomore said Grenier’s original plan for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan rightly sought to ensure Afghanistan’s independence.
“I think it was really interesting that he was the one who formulated that plan,” Michaels said. “The U.S., just as a support system for the Afghan people, is a really important part of the plan of support — without taking over [Afghanistan].”
continues from page 1 percent over the same time period.” Zumper.com, a startup company based in San Francisco, recently named Austin the 21st most expensive place in the country to rent, and the prices are continuing to increase. Zumper measures rental rates in every city based on median one-bedroom prices, according Devin O’Brien, the company’s head of strategic marketing. According to Zumper, the median one-bedroom price in West Campus is $985, $1,010 in North Campus, $990 in the University neighborhood area and $1,016 in Riverside. These numbers are not representative of prices for apartments that offer multibedroom options. “Median is a good way [to measure] that if there are a bunch of high-rises,” O’Brien said. “Taking the average would skew the numbers … the majority of your rental data out there is centered around one or two bedroom.” History senior Nicholas Samendinger found his house on W. Sixth Street in 2012. He and his two roommates pay $2,100 total a month for three bedrooms and two bathrooms. In his area, the median rate for a one-bedroom rental is $1,544, according to Zumper. Eighty-two percent of UT students live off campus, according to U.S. News and World Report. It’s easy for students to forget about areas other than North and West Campus, Samendinger said. “Pricing in [West Campus] is absolutely insane,” Samendinger said. “It’s way more expensive to live near campus than it should be for students. I’ve got friends living in West Campus paying $900 per bedroom.” Mayor Steve Adler said housing affordability is one of his chief concerns. “It’s an issue not only for tenants, but people who want to buy homes, renting, and hope some day to buy homes,” Adler said. “It’s an issue for people who are trying to rent places. This is an expensive city to live in, and we’re pricing people out.”
Visiting journalist discusses declining agriculture in rural India
Rural farming in India is d thedisappearing because farmers d fortypically earn low incomes and suffer from high suicide that’srates, according to an awardmorewinning journalist who spoke sexu-on campus Thursday. s] li- Worldwide, 70 percent of lot offood comes from small and h thismarginal farmers. In India, youthe monthly average income s andof a farmer’s household oyees dancave a just e difopen of the le are wn to
proFifth venue itting e not n apsaid. ernalobal d bea reguents o the and club ill ref the cted. g to eople ownWhat’s gen-
until he was dismissed by former CIA director Porter Goss in 2006. Overwhelming Afghanistan with U.S. military forces led to unsustainable progress the Afghans could not maintain, Grenier said. “We completely overwhelmed this very small, very primitive, agrarian country with a tiny GDP and, at best, nascent national institutions,” Grenier said. “We should have known and quickly learned that the successes we had [and] the progress we were able to make was progress that couldn’t be sustained by Afghans over the long term.” Contingent forces are necessary in Afghanistan to ensure that Afghanistan’s government can transition to peace, Grenier said. “If the Taliban … control substantial parts of the
RENT
with five family members is $103, according to journalist Palagummi Sainath. Sainath said at a lecture Thursday that low income rates are causing a rise in suicide rates among farmers in India — approximately one suicide every 30 minutes — and that the problem is spreading. “The predicament of the rural farm is not just restricted to India; it’s worldwide,” Sainath said. “Small farms
are in a state of collapse.” Journalism freshman Maleeha Syed said rural India’s disappearance is significant because farming is a big part of the country’s economy. “Farmers are such a big part of the world’s economy, and so the fact that they feel that such a big part of their labor is going towards other people and feeding other people, yet they can’t even provide for themselves — I think it’s really sad,” Syed said. “It’s
even worse because they’re such a crucial part of the Indian economy; it just kind of shows where the priorities lay within the country.” Sainath said a partial solution to this growing problem is a website he founded called the “People’s Archive of Rural India,” where he tells everyday stories of people living in rural India. Journalism senior Natalia Fonseca said she loves the idea of creating a people’s ar-
chive and hopes to apply it to her home country of Honduras after she graduates. “The situation of the farmers [in Honduras] is not unlike other world problems,” Fonseca said. “In general, the urgency to do something is very similar to the one I see back in my country. Journalists from anywhere with an iPhone or with a Nikon camera can tell the story of the country, which I think it is very important to empower the people to
help themselves.” The idea of empowering the people through stories about people and told by the people helps erase the feeling of isolation, Sainath said. “A people’s archive [is an entity] that governments and the powerful cannot take down or make their own,” Sainath said. “This is an archive that does not dispose people of anything and has the potential to better the situation.”
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RILEY BRANDS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / @TexanEditorial Friday, April 17, 2015
COLUMN
Texas legislators hard at work filing, passing regressive bills By Claire Smith Senior Columnist @claireseysmith
I am disgusted by this Legislature. The recent trend of filing and passing grossly regressive bills in both chambers of the Legislature is a massive failure of Texans. If you aren’t mad, you should be. Here’s why: HIV prevention: On March 31, the Texas House of Representatives passed Rep. Stuart Spitzer’s, R-Kaufman, amendment to divert $3 million from HIV prevention programs to abstinence-only education programs. According to the Texas Tribune, Spitzer admitted his goal in penning the amendment was “for everyone to be abstinent until they’re married.” Let’s lay out some facts: According to the Journal for Adolescent Health, 88 percent of virginity pledges, a common pillar of abstinence-only education programs, are broken, and pledgers are less likely to use contraception when they ultimately begin their sexual lives. Texas has the fifth-highest teen birth rate in the country and the eighth-highest STI rate. I’ll state this outright because it will obviously be news to people in Spitzer’s camp (so a majority of the state representatives): Those statistics didn’t happen because Texans weren’t sexually active or could be convinced to abstain through an abstinence-only program. Abstinence-only education just doesn’t work. But instead of educating Texans to allow them to take a strong preventive role in their own sexual health, the Legislature has stripped Texans of the opportunity to protect themselves from dangerous diseases in order to feed the myth of abstince-only programs’ success.
Undocumented students: On April 6, SB 1819, the bill that proposes the repeal of instate tuition for undocumented students, was sent to full committee for review with the recommendation to pass. It was sent to the Border Security subcommittee, not the Higher Education committee. As the Texas Dream Act is currently written, undocumented students who have lived in Texas for three or more years and graduated from a state high school can pay in-state tuition at public universities. Former Gov. Rick Perry, who signed the bill into law in 2001, said, “We must say to every Texas child learning in a Texas classroom, ‘We don’t care where you come from, but where you are going, and we are going to do everything we can to help you get there.’ And that vision must include the children of undocumented workers.” If that doesn’t give you chills, doesn’t move you beyond the pitfalls of shallowly reasoned conservative rhetoric, I’m pretty sure the problem isn’t the message but that you don’t have a pulse. This issue is about bullies in the Legislature stripping young undocumented people of their greatest opportunity to better themselves and become the contributors to our state that they want to and can be. These legislators want to pull undocumented students out, slap them with the degrading and dehumanizing label “illegal” and hunt down and rip apart what is most precious — their education — like a pack of rabid dogs. Make no mistake: If this bill becomes law, it will not be a victory for Republicans seeking to secure our borders, but rather a grenade, and its casualty will be the educations undocumented students truly deserve but will no longer be able to afford. Campus carry: Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about HB 937 and SB 11. Lawmakers filed the identical bills in both the House and Senate, respectively, on Jan. 26.
GALLERY
Stephanie Tacy | Daily Texan File Photo
Legislators recently passed an amendment diverting funds to abstinence-only education programs and passed SB 11, which allows campus carry. Additionally, legislators filed a bill to repeal in-state tuition for undocumented students.
We could talk about the philosophy of the Second Amendment until we’re blue in the face, but what we should be talking about is how dangerous and reckless the implementation of these bills could be. I write opinion columns. The thing about this job is that you can make people mad. Generally, when that happens, I think we’ve made people think critically about an issue that matters, and I like that. But when people get mad, they do stupid things. When the Legislature empowers people to carry weapons on a college campus, which we all know to have a high-stress environment, bad things are going to happen. Every office on campus is at risk, including ours. As the bills are currently written, SB 11 and HB 937 do not allow universities to opt out of
campus carry, designate safe zones or require students to file their concealed handgun license with the University, meaning there are weapons on campus with next to no regulation. Yet against all reason — against the opposition of administrators, law enforcement and students — SB 11 passed the Senate. Soon, it will probably pass the House, and then it will go to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, where he will probably sign it into law. What a failure. So tell me: How do I keep The Daily Texan office a safe workplace? How does the University protect any office on campus? Well, the Legislature doesn’t care. If you care about these issues, please call your representative today. Smith is a history and humanities junior from Austin.
EDITORIAL
SG should vote down BDS bill
Saniya Walawalkar / Daily Texan Staff
Last month, this board asked Student Government to vote down a resolution that offered nothing but obsequious promotion and praise of the State of Israel. We did so not because we disagreed with the political points of the resolution’s proponents but because we felt it was inappropriate for Student Government to meddle in a “foreign policy squabble” such as the ongoing territorial and political disputes between Israel and Palestine. Now, representatives of the Palestine Solidarity Committee have introduced legislation in Student Government to pressure the University’s investment company into divesting from any company that does business with Israel. The plan is part of a broader platform called Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), which seeks to stigmatize and isolate Israel into changing its foreign policy, particularly toward the Palestinians,
whose lands they continue occupying in defiance of international law. Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has also recently backed away from statements supporting the creation of a Palestinian state on that land, as Israel has supported in the abstract for nearly 25 years. Both are serious transgressions that require immediate attention, but Student Government is the wrong place to deal with it because such contentious issues have nothing to do with the stewardship of this University. With a new SG administration at the helm, this is a time for actually accomplishing real things, not mean-spirited fights over a foreign policy squabble half a world away. SG should vote down this divestment bill, as well as other proposals from the misguided BDS movement. It’s just, in more ways than one, the wrong thing to do.
COLUMN
To improve low student-faculty ratio, UT must hire more faculty for less By Alberto Martínez Guest Columnist
One reason why Harvard University constantly excels as a top university is its low student-faculty ratio. Remarkably, for each professor at Harvard, there are only about seven students. Those students therefore benefit from close learning interactions and mentorship from expert educators and researchers. Seventy-five percent of classes at Harvard have fewer than 20 students. The student-faculty ratio at Princeton University is 6:1. The ratio at the University of Pennsylvania is about the same. The ratio at Caltech is 3:1. At the University of Virginia, it is 16:1. At the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, it is 15:1. How does UT Austin compare? Back in 2001, the ratio of students to faculty at UT Austin was 21:1. This proportion left much to be desired, so UT’s president, Larry Faulkner, announced a plan to add 300 tenured and ten-
ure-track faculty to our University. Faulkner’s goal was to enhance education at UT by lowering our student-faculty ratio to 16:1. In 2006, UT’s new president, William Powers Jr., in his inaugural address, emphasized the importance of fulfilling Faulkner’s initiative. Moreover, Powers set a higher goal: to eventually reach 445 new faculty positions. So where are we now? At the start of the academic year 2014-2015, UT Austin had 2,462 full-time equivalent teaching faculty, that is, 435 more than when Faulkner began his initiative 14 years ago. So it almost sounds as if we reached our presidents’ goals. But unfortunately, that’s not the case, because our student population has also grown. To calculate student-faculty ratios, we divide “student full-time equivalents” by “faculty full -time teaching equivalents.” (It’s not enough to just divide student headcounts by faculty because some students are only enrolled part- time, and some faculty do not
teach full-time.) As of September 2014, UT Austin has 45,720 student full-time equivalents. Therefore, our student-faculty ratio is now 18.6:1. We have almost reached midway from the goal that we had hoped to reach by 2010. That goal was reified in 2002 by the Commission of 125, a wisely convened group of 218 distinguished members, who earnestly sought to fulfill the mandate of the Texas Constitution of 1876 and establish “a university of the first class.” The Commission labored for two years to systematically evaluate UT Austin’s entire curriculum. Finally, their No. 1 recommendation was to “reduce the undergraduate student-faculty ratio to 16:1.” They rightly concluded: “The quality of education the Commission seeks for UT students can be achieved only if there is a direct and meaningful engagement between students and professors. Such engagement is essential if we are to prepare students for an increasingly complex world. The student-faculty ratio is an
important and traditional measure of a quality undergraduate education.” Naturally, it was not sufficient to simply hire more instructors, because if enrollments also grew, then our student-faculty ratio might not be improved. Therefore, the Commission added another goal: “Decreasing the studentfaculty ratio will require reducing enrollment while also expanding the faculty. But the latter objective must not undermine the University’s commitment to recruit and hire new tenuretrack professors of the highest quality.” This issue has now been raised in Faculty Council. Our likely next president, Gregory Fenves, will face this challenge: How can we fulfill the important goals set by the Commission of 125 and by our past two presidents? My recommendation will be that instead of hiring a few new faculty members at everhigher salaries, UT should hire more quality faculty at moderate salaries. Martínez is an associate professor in the Department of History.
ONLINE
Our commentary doesn’t stop on the page. For more of our thoughts on the issues of the day, check out our blog, A Matter of Opinion, at dailytexanonline.com .
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.
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SPORTS 5
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GARRETT CALLAHAN, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansports Friday, April 17, 2015
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Enemkpali to take Seattle by storm
SIDELINE NCAAB
By Jeremy Thomas
TENNESSEE
Watching the WNBA Draft, surrounded by her family, senior forward Nneka Enemkpali was finally able to let out a sigh of relief Thursday night. After months of uncertainty about Enemkpali’s future in basketball, the Seattle Storm drafted the former Texas basketball star as the second pick in the third round of the 2015 WNBA draft, placing her No. 26 overall on the selection board. “Ever since high school, it has been a dream of mine to play professionally … I’m so excited that it is now a reality,” Enemkpali said. “I can’t wait to bring my competitive fire to Seattle’s organization.” The Storm drafted Enemkpali though she played in only 17 games this season as a senior. She will sit out the 2015 WNBA season while she recovers from a torn ACL in her left knee she suffered in January. Despite the injuries, Enemkpali posted high numbers while at Texas. Before her injury this season, she led the Big 12 in rebounds, averaging 10.6 a game and double-doubles with nine. She recorded a Texas basketball record of seven double-doubles — a mark neither LaMarcus Aldridge nor Kevin Durant ever eclipsed. Furthermore, her accomplishments landed her a spot as a Senior CLASS Award Second-Team All-American, in recognition of excellence
KENTUCKY
@JeremyOBThomas
VANDERBILT
S. CAROLINA
NCAAS BAYLOR
OKLAHOMA
TULSA
Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan file photo
Former Texas basketball player Nneka Enemkpali was selected in the second round of the 2015 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. Enemkpali ranks ninth in rebounds in Texas’ history.
in the community, classroom, character and competition. She ranks ninth in Texas’ record books with 899 total rebounds while she finished with 30 total double-doubles. She also ranks 30th all-time in total points with a little more than 1,100. Before her injury, she was on pace to become the fifth Longhorn to reach the 1,000 mark in both points and rebounds in a career.
“I’m incredibly excited and proud of Nneka,” head coach Karen Aston said. “She is a testament to what can happen if you have a consistent work ethic and a commitment to being successful. The Seattle Storm saw the potential in Nneka and trusted that her work ethic will pay off in the long run.” Enemkpali is the eighth Longhorn drafted in the WNBA and the first since 2010,
when Brittainey Raven went to the Atlanta Dream in the third round. Seattle, led by thirteen-year veteran Sue Bird, tied for the worst record in the WNBA last season, giving them the first overall and third overall picks in this year’s draft. Enemkpali joins Jewell Loyd, former Notre Dame guard, and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, from UConn, and center Vicky
McIntyre, from Oral Roberts, as draft picks. “There is unity and excitement around the future,” said Alisha Valavanis, Seattle Storm president and general manager. The Storm will look to content for a title run this season but will have to overthrow defending champion Phoenix Mercury. Seattle opens its season June 6 at home against the Los Angeles Sparks.
BASEBALL
Catcher a bright spot in a rough season By Nick Castillo @Nick_Castillo74
Trying to steal a base against freshman catcher Michael Cantu isn’t an easy task. The feat proved especially challenging Saturday, as Cantu displayed his defensive prowess against Oklahoma. In the sixth inning, a Sooner runner tried to steal second, but the freshman made a phenomenal off-balanced throw from his knees to senior second baseman Brooks Marlow for an inning-ending out. He followed that with another equally impressive throw from his knees to freshman shortstop Joe Baker later in the game. “Cantu did a great job throwing people out at the plate,” sophomore pitcher Kacy Clemens said after the game. Cantu, a Corpus Christi native, has thrown out seven runners attempting to steal on him this season. He’s hitting .265 on the season and is tied for third in the Big 12 in walks with 25. The 6-foot-3, 237-pound catcher has been a bright spot throughout the season — especially when the team overall is struggling.
Although Texas dropped two out of three against the Sooners, Cantu hit .500 and drew three walks. Head coach Augie Garrido said he was impressed with Cantu’s play. “He threw out every runner that tried to run on him,” Garrido said. “He was a very mature baseball player. If we could get everybody particularly on offense competing the way he competes — they certainly have a leader and a model to follow in him.” Cantu came to the team with high accolades. Before coming to college, he was ranked the No. 1 catcher in the state by Perfect Game USA. Perfect Game USA also named him an underclass second-team All-American in 2013 and a third-team All-American in 2014. The Texas Sports Writers Association named him a first-team all-state catcher in 2013 and second-team in 2014. Cantu was also drafted by Chicago Cubs in the 30th round in 2014. Cantu has proven himself with his confident play from behind the plate. Cantu said that confidence comes from his trust in himself and his
Four months after the Longhorns’ 31–7 loss to Arkansas in the Advocare V100 Texas Bowl, head coach Charlie Strong still has a bitter taste in his mouth. “[The loss] burns; it will continue to burn,” Strong said in February. “I guess what burns you more than anything is that when you go and compete, and you feel like we didn’t compete at the level that we should.” Strong’s first chance this season to get the team competing at his desired level arose in late March when the members of the spring 2015 roster took the field for four weeks of spring practices, all leading up to this weekend’s Orange-White game. The practices yielded several changes for the team, including a revamped up-tempo spread offense that will be
put on display Saturday for the first time. While the offense is a work in progress, Strong expressed satisfaction with what he has seen so far. “Just with us installing the new offense and trying to tweak it, I think that we’re looking at each day trying to get better, and we’re accomplishing that,” Strong said. The Longhorns hope their new offense will be a better fit for the team, allowing for a faster-paced offense. “It allows us to go out there and play aggressively,” senior lineman Marcus Hutchins said. “I think this year, with this offense and tempo, our speed will fit us even better, and I’m excited to play in it.” In addition to scheme changes, Strong hopes that competition will generate improvement. The Longhorns
Baseball @ Kansas Friday 6 p.m., Saturday 6 p.m. Sunday 1 p.m. ESPN3 AM 1300 The Zone Softball vs. Iowa State Friday 6 p.m. Saturday 4 p.m. Sunday 1 p.m. Longhorn Network Women’s Tennis vs. Kansas State Friday 1 p.m. vs. Kansas Sunday 1 p.m.
Quandre Diggs @qdiggs6
Looking for some fishing poles for when I get back to Angleton for the draft.
Daulton Venglar | Daily Texan Staff
Freshman catcher Michael Cantu has made his presence known behind the plate, throwing out seven would-be baserunners this season.
baseball ability. “You got to be confident,” Cantu said. “I was always told that there’s no age in baseball. It doesn’t matter. If you can play, you can play. That’s the big thing: You got to have confidence and trust yourself and trust that what you’ve been doing that’s got you here will keep you going.”
Although he isn’t shy about his skill, Cantu also is quick to mention his teammates and throw the spotlight off himself. “I’ve just been trusting myself and having confidence in my teammates,” Cantu said. “I threw a guy out that Joe [Baker] caught [against Oklahoma]. The ball was up the line, and he made a great play on it. It’s just
trust in ourselves and trusting our defense.” Texas (19–18, 6–6 Big 12) hopes to live up to that trust as they continue to battle through recent struggles. Cantu and the Longhorns will try to break out of their slump in a three-game series against Kansas starting Friday at 6 p.m. in Lawrence, Kansas.
Texas set to unveil offseason changes at spring game @SiegelEzra
WEEKEND TEXAS SPORTS
TOP TWEET
FOOTBALL
By Ezra Siegel
OKLAHOMA ST.
have already had several key position battles this spring, including a quarterback duel between junior Tyrone Swoopes and redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard. Swoopes took most of the first-team reps in spring practices, but Heard is not far behind. Most recently, Strong said Heard’s play was better, but lacked Swoopes’ consistency. Senior running back Johnathan Gray praised both quarterbacks and said he expects them to be ready come Saturday. “You’re going to see a smarter Jerrod [Heard] and a smarter Swoopes — guys who can operate the offense and bring us to where we need to be,” Gray said. On the other side of the ball, senior Peter Jinkens, junior Timothy Cole and redshirt freshman Edwin Freeman will be
Marshall Tidrick | Daily Texan file photo
Freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard and sophomore quarterback Tyrone Swoopes will both get reps with the first team.
competing for the vacancies at the linebacker position left by injured players and departing seniors. Other notable position battles include the wide receivers, tight ends and offensive line — positions that gave the Longhorns trouble last year.
While Strong said he’s satisfied with the team’s progress, they will have their first chance to demonstrate that progress Saturday. “On Saturday, it’s going to be different,” Hutchins said. “It’s going to be a different era — a different team. You just got to tune in and watch.”
WEEKEND PREVIEWS The Texas men’s and women’s track teams will compete in the Michael Johnson Invitational this weekend, hoping to improve an already successful season. Redshirt sophomore Chris Irvin is one of many Longhorns who took home a win from last year’s event in Waco. Irvin edged out the competition in the 200 meters with a time of 21.84 seconds. Sophomore Wolf Mahler also took part in the team’s victory with a title in the 110-meter hurdles. Another hurdler, junior Melissa Gonzalez, made the podium after winning the 400-meter hurdles. The invitational last year was the final meet at the Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex. This year, the event will take place at Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium in Waco, the $18.1 million facility that is currently in its inaugural season. The Longhorns, who sit ranked No. 3 in the women’s ranking and No. 6 in the men’s rankings, hope to build on the momentum they attained from sweeping the Texas Invitational last weekend and move up in the rankings before the Big 12 championships next month. —Bradley Maddox
6 SPTS
COMICS
Friday, April 17, 2015
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COMICS 7
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KAT SAMPSON, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan Friday, April 17, 2015
OFFBEAT
Student performer hones abilities as mentalist By Katie Walsh
Sofia Dyer, Plan II and Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies sophomore, performs her mentalism act in front of Tesoros on South Congress on April 10. Dyer and her father are there every Friday to entertain passersby and raise money for Sofia’s college tuition.
@katiehwalsh_atx
The Tower bell rings Friday afternoon, and Sofia Dyer is finished with classes. Rather than hopping into bed for a well-deserved Netflix marathon, Sofia grabs a blindfold, puts on her turban and makes her way down to the corner of Elizabeth Street and South Congress Avenue. For the next three hours, she will perform on the street as the state’s youngest mind reader. “It was a really nuts idea,” Sofia, a Plan II and Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies sophomore, said. “The idea of going out on South Congress with a turban on in the middle of the day and getting people to try and stop so that you can read their mind. That’s nuts.” Sofia began her career in magic and the allied arts, which includes sword-swallowing, juggling, acrobatics and fireeating, when she was nine years old. At first, she and her dad held séances for friends and family. Later, she moved on to magic shows and, finally, to performing acts of mentalism on the streets as “The Girl Who Knows.” Sofia performs at 6 p.m. every Friday. Her act includes guessing cards, random audience objects and serial numbers on dollar bills while wearing a blindfold. She performs alongside her magic-loving father, Jake Dyer, who gathers the crowd and collects tips as the “bottler.” “The one thing that we stress is that it’s all for
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fun, and we do this for entertainment purposes,” Jake said. “What we do is in this very weird gray area. We don’t want to be accused of being charlatans or the people out there who take advantage of others’ emotions.” Sofia said she did not inherit her mentalism from a kooky, psychic grandmother but, rather, from her upbringing in a household that encouraged magic. During the act, Jake asks the audience to focus on a card or object that Sofia has never seen before. Sofia then tries to guess the card based on the impressions she receives from the energy of a group of minds
have developed. In the beginning, Sofia said she tried various characters for her show that didn’t work. Did she want to be the serious mentalist or the tortured genius mentalist? She eventually settled on a character with a personality reminiscent of her own. “I think when I started, I was the shy, incredibly awkward ‘Girl Who Knows,’” Sofia said. “But I hope that I have become the shy, mysterious ‘Girl Who Knows.’ The character is very much a reflection of me, and I am very much a reflection of that character.” Despite this closeness, Sofia manages to keep her
life as a mentalist separate from her life as a student. “It’s odd how easily I have been able to keep these two parts of my life very separate,” Sofia said. “I have my mentalism, but I don’t feel like it overwhelms my everyday life. It’s pretty nice.” Sofia will perform at the Monday Night Magic Showcase at Dozen Street at 7 p.m. on Monday. The free show will open the stage to guests, similar to an open-mic format, and feature seasoned performers of magic and the allied arts as well. Like her weekly performances on South Congress Avenue, Sofia said
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Monday’s show is an opportunity to have fun and get exposure. “It’s an expression of art and creativity,” Sofia said. “What we are doing is entertainment — we are not trying to talk about some pseudoscience or explain the unknown. We’re there for the crowds, and we’re there for fun.”
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focusing on a single object. Sometimes she’s wrong, but, more often than not, she guesses correctly. Sofia became interested in busking, or performing on the street for money, when she unintentionally drew a crowd while doing tricks for her friends at the Pecan Street Festival in 2011. Later that year, she and her father set up on South Congress Avenue. They said their first audience members were the cops who told them to leave. The next week, the duo returned and successfully made it through a performance. Since then, both the show and Sofia’s abilities
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