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Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
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Friday, April 17, 2015
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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
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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
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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
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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
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visit farewellpowers.com to find out more