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Monday, April 27, 2015
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT
UNIVERSITY
GSA pushes for graduate housing By Samantha Ketterer @sam_kett
After months campaigning for increased graduate student housing, members of the Graduate Student Assembly said they are hopeful administrators will approve housing plans in the near future.
GSA’s Graduate Student housing committee began administering a housing survey to graduate students in February at the request of the UT administration, and more than 2,300 students responded. GSA president Brian Wilkey said the University administration has responded
positively to the results of the survey. “Our data was presented to the Graduate School and President [William Powers Jr.] has come to address at the GSA saying that the likelihood of the housing being approved is high,” said Wilkey, human development and family
sciences graduate student, in an email. “This means we’re simply in a holding pattern until approval is given.” Joy Wyckoff, psychology graduate student and committee chair, said most graduate students who responded to the survey said they felt affordable housing should be provided by
Orientation to offer more flexibility for new students
the University. “The majority [of] graduate students felt that it was important for UT to provide graduate student housing,” Wyckoff said in an email. “One reason is because many people found it difficult to find off-[campus]
By Caleb Wong @caleber96
support, and they promise to help us with recognition of that massacre, a later day they forget about this because they don’t want to damage their relationship with Turkey, which is an ally of [the] U.S.” No president since Ronald Reagan has used the word
Incoming freshmen and transfer students will be required to attend fewer activities at orientation this upcoming summer than in previous years. Alex Kappus, New Student Services coordinator, said administrators hope to increase student attendance at optional events by reducing the number of mandatory activities, although the overall number of activities offered will remain about the same. “A philosophical shift for this summer is this idea of really helping create an orientation that keeps in mind the flow for the new students, building in time for students to commute between events so that they don’t feel like they are rushing from place to place,” Kappus said. Joey Williams, communications coordinator for the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, said each incoming freshman will be required to participate in a small group, which he said helps increase student retention rates in the long-term. The class of 2017, the first class to participate in small groups, had the highest average GPA and retention rates of any UT class in history, Williams said. “We know [participation in small groups] has a direct impact on how well students do in terms of persisting, staying in school, their GPA [and] how many hours that they are taking,” Williams said. Williams said the personal finance course “Bevonomics,” which in the past has been taught in-person, has
ARMENIA page 2
SUMMER page 2
HOUSING page 2
CAMPUS
Armenians commemorate 1915 genocide By Caleb Wong @caleber96
Students and members of the local Armenian community lit candles inside a replica of an Armenian monument in memory of a historical tragedy. Volunteers from the Armenian Cultural Association built a replica of the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, located in Yerevan, Armenia, on the West Mall to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1.5 million Armenian people killed in the Ottoman Empire, now Turkey, in 1915. Most historians consider the deaths one of the first modern genocides. Karen Aroian, who helped organize the commemorative event, said the goal was to increase awareness of the Armenian genocide and other mass killings. “If we, as [the Armenian genocide] descendants, do not speak out for the voiceless and vulnerable, then genocide is bound to continue to today,” Aroian said. “What more do you need beside the mass murders of women, children and men who are defenseless?” Brandon Keropian, coowner of South Austin Studio and member of the Armenian community, said the genocide personally affected
Charlotte Carpenter | Daily Texan Staff
Sophomore Nyrie Kasparian places her handprint on a poster commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Students and community members convened on the West Mall on Friday to remember the 1.5 million Armenians who were killed.
his family members. “My great-grandparents went through this,” Keropian said. “My great-grandmother was one of seven kids, and they were all murdered, and she was lucky that she was spared. Her parents hid her with some Mormon nuns in Armenia.” Advertising graduate student Davit Davtyan said he was
CITY
frustrated President Barack Obama broke his campaign promise to recognize the Armenian genocide in such terms. During his first presidential campaign in 2008, then-Sen. Obama called the events in Armenia in 1915 a genocide. He has not referred to the killings as a genocide since his election.
A White House press release to acknowledge Armenian Remembrance Day referred to the historical event as a “mass atrocity.” “He promised to recognize the Armenian genocide and name it a genocide,” Davtyan said. “Any time when a U.S. official, like a senator or someone like that, asks for
bit.ly/dtvid
CAMPUS
UT receives funds for Cabinet member addresses transportation Asian-American study By Nashwa Bawab
By Jackie Wang @jcqlnwng
The University will conduct a study about AsianAmerican quality of life in Austin funded by the Austin City Council. On Thursday, the Council approved to pay the University $139,758 for a one-year period of research. The study will focus on five major Asian-American subgroups in the Austin area: Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Indian and Vietnamese. The fast-growing population of Asian-Americans in Austin — an increase from 3.3 percent of the population in 1990 to almost 5 percent in 2000 and around 6.5 percent today — inspired the study. Social work associate
professor Yuri Jang, the study’s principal investigator, said Asian-Americans have not historically been the focus of research to help identify community needs. “Asian-Americans [are] a growing population that is underserved and understudied,” Jang said. “This is a unique opportunity to explore unexplored populations because the Asian-American voice is usually unheard.” The study will primarily focus on Asian-American Austinites ages 18–70 and involve a compiled database of resources that could benefit Asian-Americans in the city. The goal is to have data for public policy recommendations in the future, as well
STUDY page 2
@nashwabawab
Anthony Foxx, U.S. secretary of transportation, discussed the future of technology as it relates to transportation in a meeting with UT researchers, faculty, and graduate students Friday. Foxx, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013, said the administration hopes to encourage new technological developments that will improve processes such as cargo shipping. “Freight is … a huge issue in this country because we are going to see 45 percent more freight moving around our country over the next 30 years,” Foxx said. Different governmental bodies must work together
to implement new technologies, according to Foxx. “Metropolitan planning organizations, state departments of transportation, local departments of transportation, federal department of transportation — all those players have to intersect in order for us to get the most out of the 21st century,” Foxx discussed “Beyond Traffic,” a federal initiative which will outline traffic trends and the way they shape the U.S. population’s needs over the course of the next three decades. According to civil engineering graduate student Kristie Chin, the program might help increase traffic control and make people more aware of the problems traffic causes, but possible
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Daulton Venglar | Daily Texan Staff
Anthony Foxx, right, U.S. secretary of transportation, tours the TACC Visualization Laboratory on Friday.
technological applications for transportation extend far beyond traffic monitoring. “We can increase market penetration [with Beyond Traffic], but then we also looked at [using] more futuristic, higher levels of automation like 3-D print-
ing, drones [and] automated trucking,” Chin said. Technology could make U.S. transportation systems safer and more efficient, said Andrew Kerns, electrical and computer engineering
FOXX page 2
Sign President Powers farewell and help support student media. Only $10 for students visit farewellpowers.com to find out more