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RESEARCH
Symposium begins with talk on climate By Claire Allbright @claireallbright
The government must partner closely with energy companies to combat climate change, according to Syracuse professor David Popp. As part of the 2015 UT Energy Symposium’s opening event, Popp spoke Thursday about the necessary intersection between politics and energy technology. Popp, a professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University, said more
government research and development is needed to address climate change. “[Research and development] can play an important role in bringing energy technologies to the market,” Popp said. “But it is a complementary role, and we need to have other policies such as carbon tax and using the technologies.” Popp said the government must increase R&D spending by 250 percent to reduce the threatening effects of climate change. Popp became interested
in energy as an economist and has studied technology and environmental policy for 20 years. “I started thinking about climate change policy and how much it would cost to combat climate change, and doing that, I realized that technology played an important role in doing that,” Popp said. Popp’s lecture highlighted the cost as well as the role of government R&D in technology change. Maia Drap-
CLIMATE page 2
Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
David Popp, professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University spoke at the UT Energy Symposium on Thursday afternoon.
By Nashwa Bawab @nashwabawab
Graeme Hamilton | Daily Texan Staff
Blanca Gamez, assistant director for Parking and Transportation Services said more data will be collected to assess the longterm viability of the UT Safe Ride program.
long-term contract.” Since Safe Ride’s original launch in fall 2014, students have taken more than 7,000 trips with the program, said
MasculinUT brings men to domestic abuse debate @forrestmilburn
UT to relaunch Safe Ride pilot program
said. “The only thing preventing it from being permanent was the long-term source of funding for ‘X’ amount of years, and we needed that to get a
CAMPUS
By Forrest Milburn
CAMPUS
UT is relaunching Safe Ride as a pilot program because of a lack of funds needed to permanently continue the ride-sharing service for the fall semester. Safe Ride is a free Parking and Transportation Services program that drives University students from the downtown entertainment district to their homes between midnight and 3 a.m. Thursday–Saturday. Safe Ride picks up riders at the corner of San Jacinto Boulevard and Eighth Street and drops them off at their homes in the West Campus or East Riverside residential areas. Safe Ride began as a Student Government initiative started by former SG President Kori Rady and is contracted through uRide, a ride-sharing service. SG completely funds Safe Ride, and the program could become permanent if the reintroduced pilot is successful, according to Blanca Gamez, assistant director for Parking and Transportation Services. “Before I left, we were looking for long-term funding, but we had enough to keep the program going for a while,” Rady
bit.ly/dtvid
Gamez. PTS will collect more data on the pilot program this semester to assess whether it should become a permanent campus program, according to
Gamez. “The pilot [program] is to give us enough statistical infor-
SAFE RIDE page 2
Voices Against Violence, a group affiliated with the Counseling and Mental Health Center, launched a new program Thursday aiming to include maleidentified individuals into the conversation of sexual and domestic violence on campus. With it’s first event, “This is Men’s Work,” the program, MasculinUT: The Healthy Masculinities Project, hosted a panel of speakers which included Michael Messner, professor of Sociology and Gender at the University of Southern California, as well as UT faculty members and Student Government representatives. “We intentionally pluralize masculinity because we want to explore the different facets of what it means to be a man in our world,” said Erin Burrows, outreach specialist for Voices against Violence. “One of the things we really landed on was most violence was committed by men but most men aren’t violent, so how do we fill that gap and really work with men to engage other men in this conversation?” Messner said he thinks younger generations of men identify with feminist values but don’t necessarily use the label as an identifier because of a millennial disinterest in ideological labels. “For the younger generation, feminism has kind of been in the air [men] breathe without even knowing it,” Messner said. “Feminist ideas are really built into our schools, our
MEN’S WORK page 2
CAMPUS
CAMPUS
Asian-American organizations Students submit weekly pitches welcome students to campus for business startup program By Eunice Ali
By Rund Khayyat
@euniceali
@rundkhayyat
The Asian American Culture Committee and the Asian Desi Pacific Islander American Collective, welcomed new students in the Shirley Bird Perry Ballroom on Thursday night. The annual event, titled You Bring Out the AsianAmerican in Me: United in One, referred to as YBO, featured YouTube artist Jason Chen and was intended to encourage new students to pursue their passions in college. Public health junior Mimi Lam, APAC director of operations and coleader of YBO, said the team chose YouTube sing-
er Jason Chen as the guest artist with the hope that students could learn about what it means to find their passions, despite cultural pressures as Asian-Americans. Chen himself studied
economics in college and worked briefly in accounting before pursuing his dream to become a singer. Desiree Pham, AAC
UT students presented 90 second business pitches to their peers and business mentors for feedback as part of Thursday’s Longhorn Startup Open Pitch Night. This weekly program is designed to allow any UT student to launch, pitch or fine-tune a business idea. It is part of the Longhorn Startup Seminar, but it is open to the public. “Our vision for it is for any student to feel like they can come pitch their ideas and get feedback,” said Joshua Baer, the seminar instructor and founder of the Capital Factory, a local startup incubator and
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Sixteen freshmen poised to make impact in 2015. INSIDE
Thalia Juarez | Daily Texan Staff
Jason Chen, a famous YouTube singer, performs for UT students in the Union Ballroom on Thursday evening.
WELCOME page 2
co-working space. Baer said this is important because pitching is vital for business startups to secure investments. You pitch all day long– that’s what you’ve got to do to get a business going.” Baer said. “The key to a good pitch is to focus on a problem, tell a story and practice.” Biology senior Patrick Foadey and government senior Bryan Landes pitched the idea of a marketplace full of tutors, contractors and book exchanges to make student life more productive. They said the program is invaluable to their business development process because of the feedback opportunities. “We came in with one
mindset, and now we can go back, brainstorm and incorporate the suggestions in order to make a better product,” Landes said. “This programs makes us see our idea from a different light. Hearing from people who have been successful in this process is incredibly fascinating.” The feedback ranges depending on how developed the business idea is, Baer said. “We ask questions to help students think deeply about their ideas,” Baer said. “If they’re further along we drill down on the core issues in developing their business.” Pharmacy sophomore
STARTUPS page 2 REASON TO PARTY
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Friday, September 4, 2015
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Volume 116, Issue 18
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A man walks past the “Big Chiller Blues” tile wall of the Austin Convention Center parking garage Thursday afternoon. The ten thousand square feet of blue glass tiles were designed by artist Ann M. Adams in 2005.
SAFE RIDE
STARTUPS
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should actually move forward with having a permanent program that’s funded here on our campus,” Gamez said. “The pilot is kind of to test the waters.” uRide CEO Robert Dick said he thinks the program took off after UT implemented the service last fall and would like to see it continued long-term if the funds are available. So far, there is not a long-term plan available, said Dick. “We’d love for it to be a permanent program,” Dick said. “If the students are happy with it, UT’s happy with it, we’re happy with it. It’s just a matter of funding. I think everyone agrees who works with the department that this is something we should do, we just have to figure out how.” Biology freshman Belen Gutierrez said free rides from downtown to residential areas reduces the inconvenience of finding a ride after having a fun night. “It’s less of a hassle, safer and
This issue of The Daily Texan is valued at $1.25 Permanent Staff
Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Claire Smith Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zhelun Chen, Adam Hamze, Kat Sampson, Jordan Shenhar Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Mitts Associate Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amy Zhang News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Samantha Ketterer Associate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anthony Green News Desk Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sameer Assanie, Justin Atkinson, Rachel Lew, Josh Willis, Caleb Wong Senior Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Matthew Adams, Nashwa Bawab, Zainab Calcuttawala, Lauren Florence Copy Desk Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cameron Peterson Associate Copy Desk Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Myra Ali, Megan Hix, Kailey Thompson Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia Scherer Senior Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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“I hope that it becomes a permanent program just because it’s a great way to keep students safe from the dangers of drinking and driving.
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chair, co-leader of YBO and international relations and global studies senior, said she wanted freshmen to be part of the UT family, regardless of country of origin. “I’m really excited,” Pham said. “I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve done.” Lam met Pham through a leadership institute two years ago, and the two have been friends since then. Lam said they started planning for YBO in May 2015 and grew closer in the summer. Special education senior Andrea Hoang, who tabled for the Vietnamese Students Association,
Student Government. Lam said AAC — a committee within Campus Events+Entertainment — is focused on culture and the media, while APAC – part of the Multicultural Engagement Center – is focused on social justice and educating people on issues such as racism through workshops.
“The energy crisis is the biggest challenge in the entire world, and some people take it for granted. This is about trying to produce energy cleanly, not for today’s needs, but for the future,” Estes said. “I am studying electrical engineering to impact the energy field. It takes more to drive change than just engineering. You have to understand the policy side and be able to interact with people.” Vivek Nath, a public
affairs and energy and earth resources graduate student and teaching assistant for the symposium, said the symposium gives students a platform to present research to their peers. “The symposium is a collaborative effort where speakers from a variety of different fields come to present their work and explain what is happening in the field,” Nath said. “My favorite part of the discussion series are the
sessions dedicated to allowing the students to present their own research. It gives them a chance to apply what they have learned to their own interests.’ The UT Energy Symposium will hold events in the Avaya Auditorium of the Peter O’Donnell Building every Thursday evening this semester at 5:15pm. This is the ninth semester the program has run, and the presentation will be accessible online.
equality, can intersect. This idea of intersectionality, the inclusion of other “progressive” movements into others, is a way of furthering the movement in the future, according to Messner. “Men need to be part of the conversation, even though we learned today that there has been some
sort of contradiction with intentions and contexts,” said Gloria González-López, an associate professor in the sociology department. “So I definitely celebrate the presence of young men in these dialogues.” According to Burrows, the MasculinUT project is still planning future film
showings and talks with guest speakers in an effort to reach more students. “You plant a seed, and then you never know where it’s going to flourish or grow,” González-López said. “It’s like a promise, and we had professors from UT, students and other activists here, and it was really great.”
WELCOME
they’re looking out for you so you don’t have to worry about some drunk friend taking you home,” Gutierrez said. Gamez said UT will continue to offer Safe Ride as an alternative for students with no better option to get home from downtown until the Safe Ride program gets permanent funding. “I hope that it becomes a permanent program just because it’s a great way to keep students safe from the dangers of drinking and driving,” Gamez said. “Once we know that there is permanent funding, then we can go through the whole process of selecting a vendor who will provide us the service here on campus.”
CLIMATE
continues from page 1 er, public affairs graduate student, said she was able to relate the lecture to her work at an agency involved in government investments. “I’ve worked in an agency that has spent money in government investments, so I was interested in the economic impact of that,” Draper said.
MEN’S WORK
curriculum and our organizations, and the idea of agreeing that women and men should be equal is looked at as common sense now by a lot of young people.” Messner and the other panel members agreed that the feminist and other equality movements, like those pushing for racial equality, LGBT rights and economic
provides them with access to mentors, Baer said, something that is not always easily available. “I started my first company in school. I didn’t have resources, or people to look up to,” Baer said. “I hope this makes more companies, students successful faster, and makes the world a better place.”
said she found a sense of community through VSA. Hoang said both her mother and sister were involved in VSA when they attended UT. Student Programming Advisor Lisa Dela Cruz said the students involved have worked diligently to put on the event. “This event is a great example of what students can accomplish on this campus,” Dela Cruz said. “That’s the major purpose of this event: If you get connected to UT and really utilize the resources that it has, you can really accomplish great things.” Pham said funding for this event came from partnerships with the University Union, Center for Asian American Studies and the
—Blanca Gamez, Assistant Director for Parking and Transportation Services
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ing their business.” Pharmacy sophomore Nick Ihek proposed a business to help connect local pharmacies to the communities they serve. He said he was lost when he first began to brainstorm, but the program
helped him find guidance from peers that think like him. “This program is awesome because you really need people on your team that are entrepreneurs with the same mindset, and that’s what pitching here gets you,” Ihek said. This event is valuable to students because it
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This event is a great example of what students can accomplish on this campus. —Lisa Dela Cruz, Student Programming Advisor
Dr. Michael Messner, professor of sociology and gender studies at the University of Southern California, signs a copy of his book after a panel discussion and Q&A in the CLA on Thursday afternoon. Thalia Juarez Daily Texan Staff
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Friday, September 4, 2015
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CLAIRE SMITH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | @TexanEditorial Friday, September 4, 2015
COLUMN
System moves toward transparency By Jordan Shenhar
Daily Texan Associate Editor @jshenhar
With a new president in Gregory Fenves and a fairly new chancellor in William McRaven, UT’s leadership has gotten a chance to rebrand itself following years of acrimonious disputes between former President Bill Powers and the Board of Regents. By keeping its decision-making processes as transparent as possible, their terms have gotten off to a good start. Fenves was especially open throughout the controversy over the Jefferson Davis statue. From the public forums to the committee’s recommendations to the final decision and the alternate choices under consideration, the general public was, at least in a broad sense, always aware of the University’s thinking on the issue. The Board of Regents took a similar tack toward transparency when it revised UT’s policy on rare admissions this summer. After it was revealed that Powers overrode dozens of rejection letters issued to the relatives of influential donors, the regents passed a bylaw that requires a president to justify any overturned admission to the system chancellor. By yielding some of the University’s authority to a public trustee, the regents sought to prevent those in power from abusing their authority behind closed doors. Some of these efforts to foster public engagement stem from Regent Wallace Hall’s lawsuit against the System, a rare positive development
in a legal battle that, if successful, could have endangered student privacy rights. But they also coincide with a broader phenomenon that history professor Jeremi Suri describes as the “democratization of information,” a byproduct of technological advancements that have made accessing records easier than ever before. Both in the U.S. and abroad, public figures known for secrecy and shrewdness have suffered damaging hits to their reputations, while upstarts perceived as honest and straight-talking have seen their profiles and polling numbers rise. For instance, although Hillary Clinton remains the front-runner in the democratic primary, her popularity has plummeted in recent months in the wake of scandals surrounding the Clinton Foundation and her storage of classified emails on a private server. On the flip side, candidates with blunt messages — including both Washington veterans like Bernie Sanders and political outsiders like Ben Carson and Donald Trump — are seizing headlines and attracting enthusiastic grassroots support. Across the Atlantic, former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned when his government’s obligations to creditors prevented him from ending austerity as he promised. Similarly, radical leftist Jeremy Corbyn looks poised to become the leader of the U.K.’s Labour Party following a campaign in which he attacked his predecessors’ bloviating, politically
Gregory Fenves
William McRaven
University President
UT System Chancellor
mild rhetoric. While Suri views this dissolution of the barrier between political figures and the citizens they represent as “generally good,” he warned that it can restrict a leader’s “deliberative space.” “Access to information is important,” Suri said. “But the timing needs to allow for leaders to think through all of their ideas, even those that might not be politically viable.” Suri’s point is particularly relevant to intelligence and defense, where revealing too much about a leader’s thought process can weaken national security. But in most cases, periodic insights into how that thought process is evolving keep the public informed
about and engaged with decisions that could profoundly impact their lives. Given the success, for better or worse, that figures like Sanders and Trump have found by keeping their public remarks raw and unsanitized, restricting access to unpopular proposals might be a weak tactic to begin with. As participatory mass media sources have replaced smoke-filled lounges as the sounding boards for new ideas, politicians no longer benefit from keeping their views or actions hidden. The University’s leaders — and Hall — deserve credit for recognizing that lesson. Shenhar is a Plan II, government and economics junior from Westport, Connecticut.
COLUMN
Student veterans deserve greater acknowledgement By Zhelun Chen
Daily Texan Associate Editor @ZhelunC
UT has over 1,100 registered student organizations and offers countless student services, but perhaps none do more for its members than the Student Veterans Services Office (SVS) and the Student Veterans Association (SVA). Although the SVS and SVA provide support and resources for student veterans, their work goes unnoticed when much of the UT student body is unaware of the prominence of student veterans on campus. According to Jeremiah Gunderson, director of UT Student Veteran Services, there are between 300 and 400 undergraduate student veterans on campus. Gunderson said college is different for many student veterans than it is for the average civilian student. “Our veterans are older than your traditional students,” Gunderson said. “Our average veteran ages are between 25 and 30. In a school filled with predominately 19 to 20 year olds, it can feel very isolating for them.” There are a lot challenges facing veterans who return to school after service, according to SVA vice president Kimberly Burris. “For veterans, the military dominates their life,” Burris said. “You simply
become identified as a veteran — for a lot of people they want to take a step back and just become John or Sally or whoever they are. So it’s very strange for them to come back into the fold and realize for them it’s okay to be a veteran and a student at the same time.” Fortunately, the SVA and SVS provide copious resources to student veterans to help them in their transition after leaving the services, ranging from full-time VA services, veterans orientation, mentorships, support groups, intake care, work studies, peer to peer support, working with dependency benefits, free tutoring, professional development and veteran scholarships. “We are unique at UT-Austin, because we have an everyday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. fully staffed office with veteran staff serving veterans and even a full time VA,” Gunderson said. “Most other schools don’t have that — they only have a certified official who is typically not a veteran processing their benefits.” The SVS and SVA are the two most visible organization on campus trying to reach out to student veterans, but they are having difficulties reaching out to the student body in recognizing problems facing student veterans. Student veteran issues should be at the forefront of student concerns. Those that
GUEST COLUMN
Illustration by Melanie Westfall | Daily Texan Staff
served the United States deserve the student body’s attention, and students should be aware of the challenges they are facing. We should help them in their efforts by educating ourselves about the presence of student veterans on campus and spreading the word
to student veterans who may not know about the services SVS and SVA provide. Students should let them know that they are not alone on this campus. Chen is an international relations and global studies senior from Galveston.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Funding cuts to Planned Write for The Daily Texan, Parenthood threaten women find a new corner of campus By Derek Poludniak Guest Columnist
Planned Parenthood of Texas cannot catch a break. The 2015 state budget, enacted on Sept. 1, effectively banned taxpayer Breast and Cervical Cancer Services program funding for any groups that have “contact with or provide funds to individuals or entities for the performance of elective abortion procedures.” As a result, 17 Planned Parenthood centers will no longer be able to partake in the BCCS program, forcing women who utilized Planned Parenthood to go elsewhere. Putting politics first and Texans second is nothing new to Texas women. Sadly, Gov. Abbott and the Republican-led legislature are keeping that tradition alive. “It’s really incredible how low the governor and some of the state legislators will go when you start throwing women out of cancer screening programs and making it impossible for them to continue to go get services where they have before,” Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, told The Texas Tribune. The cuts take effect just days after Abbott announced his new “LIFE” initiative, which proposes eliminating all taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood in Texas. But the governor and the legislature are wrongly directing their anti-abortion sentiments at Planned
Parenthood. Out of all the services Planned Parenthood performs, only 3 percent are abortion services. The other 97 percent are services such as clinical breast exams, mammograms and pap smears, which are funded by the BCCS program in Texas. 2,938 women turned to Planned Parenthood for services provided by the BCSS program last year. That’s roughly 9 percent of the 33,365 low-income women who participated in the program. By cutting off funding, Texas is making access to quality, affordable healthcare more difficult. Some Planned Parenthood centers provide abortion services, but many more do not. Should the state want to enforce an antiabortion agenda, they should focus their attention on health centers that solely provide abortion services and not an entire organization that dedicates more time to preventing unwanted pregnancies. It is notable that the state increased funding for women’s health services for the second consecutive legislative session. But increasing funding does little good unless it offers women, especially those at an economic disadvantage, more health options. Abbott and the legislature think otherwise and will continue to play politics with women’s lives. Poludniak is an international relations and global studies sophomore from San Antonio.
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.
By Claire Smith
Daily Texan Editor-in-Chief @claireseysmith
Welcome back to the 40 Acres. Your time here will prove to be one of the most formative experiences of your life. I hope you will share your time at UT with us, the staff of The Daily Texan. The Daily Texan has been in operation for 115 years. It has trained generations of journalists, thinkers and problem-solvers in Texas. The Texan has 20 Pulitzer Prize winners among its alumni and more awards to its name statewide, regionally and nationwide than any other student newspaper in the country. Countless issues of the Texan have circulated campus, and countless more students have contributed their time, energy and hearts to our pages. The Texan is in tune with campus life. It is no rare occurrence for fellow students, staff, faculty, alumni and community leaders to engage with and provide feedback to our work. In such instances, Texan staffers understand that their words, ideas and opinions carry weight, which drives us to produce our best work daily. The opinions on this page have great potential to effect change on this campus, drive discussions in our community and change state and University policy.
SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | Email your Firing Lines to editor@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.
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The Daily Texan is now accepting applications for its fall 2015 staff. Find the application online at dailytexanonline.com Every semester, we look for talented writers and artists to join our staff and help us create a sharp opinion page that reflects the diverse opinions on campus. Our columnists and reporters often produce work that is syndicated state- or nationwide, and every issue of the Texan is a historical document archived at the Center for American History. You have a voice, and we want you to use it in our office and on this page. The Texan matters because it shows students every day that their opinions are important. We want you to help us protect that mission. If you do not see yourself in our office, we hope you will take advantage of the news we produce and find meaning in our pages. If interested, please come to the Texan office at 25th and Whitis streets to complete an application form. If you have any additional questions, please contact me at editor@dailytexanonline.com. Welcome home to your campus, and welcome back to your newspaper. —Claire Smith, Editor-in-Chief
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.
CLASS 5
SPORTS
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Friday, September 4, 2015
VOLLEYBALL
Longhorns set to take on Nebraska and Florida By Claire Cruz @claireecruz5
It’s one of the oldest sports adages in the books: To be the best, you have to beat the best. When No. 3 Texas takes the court this weekend against Nebraska and Florida — both of which are tied for fourth in the nation — in the VERT Challenge at Gregory Gym, the team will see just how good it is. “Last weekend, we were probably as smooth as we’ve been in a few years in terms of taking care of business and winning handily in some games.” head coach Jerritt Elliott said. “Now we have to do that in a much tougher environment. You want to push your team. You want to see how teams are going to expose you and really learn from that this early in the season.”
Nebraska comes to Austin with a 3–0 record and one dropped set this season. The Cornhuskers have eight players with double-digit kills and a .317 team hitting percentage. All-American junior outside hitter Kadie Rolfzen leads the team with 34 kills and 3.78 kills per set, followed by sophomore outside hitter Annika Albrecht with 28 kills and freshman outside hitter Mikaela Foecke with 23. Sophomore setter Kelly Hunter leads Nebraska with 120 assists. Foecke is also third on the team with seven blocks. Junior middle blocker Amber Rolfzen and senior middle blocker Cecilia Hall both lead Nebraska with eight blocks. Nebraska’s passing is efficient, led by junior libero Justine Wong-Orantes’ 4.50 digs per set. Seven Cornhuskers enter the weekend
with double-digit digs, attributing to Nebraska’s .961 serve reception percentage. “Nebraska is a very, very good passing team — probably one of the best I’ve seen in a few years,” Elliott said. “They’re going to pose a lot of problems for us in their ability to side out, so we’re going to have to counteract that with some good defense and some good transition swings.” Florida holds a 2-0 record and one dropped set as it prepares to face Texas and No. 11 Oregon. The Gators have 114 kills and a 16.3 kills per set average, sparked by junior opposite Alex Holston’s teamhigh 33 kills and 4.71 kills per set and senior outside hitter Ziva Recek’s 27 kills. Holston and Recek are tied for third-most blocks on the team with six each. Florida’s dominant middle force is
SOCCER
Texas travels west to face UCSB, UCLA By Aaron Torres @aaron_torres95
Texas heads west this weekend, in hopes that its winning percentage goes north. The Longhorns travel to California to face the University of California-Santa Barbara on Friday at 9 p.m. CDT. Next, they will head 111 miles south for a date with No. 14 UCLA on Sunday at 9 p.m. CDT. The meeting with UCSB will be the first ever between the programs. “UC-Santa Barbara is a fantastic team,” head coach Angela Kelly said after Texas’ game against Ohio State on Sunday. The Gauchos enter the game with a 0-2-1 record. In three games this season, UCSB has scored only one goal and averages 10 shots a game. Unfortunately, that isn’t
much better than Texas’ standings. Through three games, Texas has scored one goal as well, and it averages 14 shots per game. The Longhorns have not been able to celebrate an offensive goal this season, and Kelly attributes that to failure to capitalize when the shot presents itself. Regardless, Kelly said that Texas still needs to make the most of the chances it gets, because “you have to maximize your opportunity” when playing at such a high level. In the game against UCLA, there may not be many opportunities. “We’re going to have to be really well organized,” Kelly said. “We’re playing UCLA who won a national championship a few years ago.” It’s been almost two years
Texas faces two tough opponents this weekend in Flordia and Nebraska. The two teams are tied in the rankings for No. 4.
Rachel Zein Daily Texan Staff
sophomore middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan, who has 23 blocks and 19 kills this season. Senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino runs the Florida offense and leads the team with 94 assists and a teamhigh five service aces. Her 21 digs tie sophomore outside hitter Carli Snyder’s for
second-most on the team. Senior defensive specialist Nikki O’Rourke has a teamhigh 30 digs. Nebraska leads Texas 3020 in all-time match ups but hasn’t beat the Longhorns since 2010. Texas defeated the Gators in Florida early in 2014, and the Gators re-
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since UCLA won its first national championship and just under a year since the Bruins beat the Longhorns 1–0 in Austin. The matchup against No. 14 UCLA marks the third ranked opponent that Texas has faced in its first five matches. That’s the most ranked opponents the Longhorns have faced in their first five games since 2004, when Texas faced three ranked teams to open up the season. Had the Longhorns opening game against No. 22 Clemson not been canceled because of inclement weather, Texas would have faced four ranked opponents in its first five games — the most since 2002. “We’re challenging ourselves tremendously at the beginning of this schedule,” Kelly said. “Therefore, the learning curve has to be expeditious.”
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turned the favor late in the season, beating Texas on its home court. “Both are going to be bigtime tests for us,” Elliott said. “It should be fun and give us a real good marker in terms of the areas that we need to work on for the remainder of the year.”
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JORI EPSTEIN, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansports Friday, September 4, 2015
FOOTBALL
Texas hopes to break luck o’ the Irish By Ezra Siegel @SiegelEzra
The Longhorns have waited a long time to make up for the brutal end to their 2014 campaign. After losing 48–10 to TCU at home to close out the regular season, the Longhorns were completely stifled by Arkansas, accumulating just 59 yards of offense in the 31–7 loss at the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl. The back-to-back blowouts to end the season sealed the Longhorns’ 6–7 fate, the program’s second losing season since 1998. Following the late-season meltdown, head coach Charlie Strong made a promise: Losing seasons will never be the standard at The University of Texas. Now, Strong has his first chance to make right for last season’s woes when the Longhorns travel to South Bend, Indiana, to take on the No. 11 Fighting Irish under the historic lights at Notre Dame Stadium. “First game of the year. South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame. NBC. Capacity crowd. Top-10 football team,” defensive coordinator Vance Bedford said. “If you’re not ready to play, you’re in the wrong place.” Texas has been working all offseason to mend its issues from last season. It’s revamped the offense, recruited a talented freshman class and fielded competition at several positions. While they won’t receive their typical “tune-up” match against lesser competition to start the year, the Longhorns are relishing the opportunity to open with a
Ethan Oblak | Daily Texan file photo
Senior running back Johnathan Gray looks to kick off his seaosn with a strong performance. Gray said his teammates are ready to go up against top competition, and he hopes Texas can get back to national contention.
high-profile match-up. “I think [the] guys are more excited now to definitely know that we’re getting ready to play a great team,” senior running back Johnathan Gray said. “I think the guys are excited to go in with some competition and get ready to just show what we’ve been working on for this year and show everybody that Texas is getting back on top.” The Longhorns will have their work cut out for them against Notre Dame. Coming off an 8–5 season, the Fighting Irish are returning 19 starters and will field one of the nation’s top offensive lines. Freshman quarterback Malik
Zaire has only one career start to his name, but a talented supporting cast surrounds him. “Their offensive line is a veteran group,” Strong said. “Wide receivers are a veteran group. They may be having an issue at running backs, but they have some guys who have played back there who can go move the football for them.” Strong will need his offense to produce in order to keep up with Notre Dame’s powerful offense. He’s emphasized that the unit, led by junior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, looks stronger and should be able to compete this season. While Strong said he has
full confidence in his quarterback, he’s still counting on his playmakers to carry the load. With three freshmen starting on offense and an untested receiving corps, the Longhorns especially need Gray to make an impact. “We have to run the ball because, if you run the football, you can control the clock, and then you don’t put everything on the quarterback,” Strong said. “I told our guys, ‘Let’s not ask our quarterbacks to win the game.’” As 10-point underdogs, according to CBS Sports, the Longhorns have a chance to make a massive statement on national television this weekend. With
If you’re not ready to play, you’re in the wrong place. —Vance Bedford, Defensive coordinator
a win, the Longhorns can take the momentum into the start Strong’s second season at the helm. “We know it’s a big game, but we treat it as every other game,” senior tight end Alex De La Torre said. “We have to focus on our objectives. We have got to just go do our jobs.”
SPORTS BRIEFLY Longhorns open season against Bobcats
Texas begins its 2015 season Friday as it hosts Texas State in the Texas Invitational at Balcones-Spicewood Country Course. The women will open with a 3K at 6:05 p.m., followed by the men’s 5K race at 6:30 p.m. The Longhorns have high expectations to start the season, as both teams landed No. 2 in the inaugural regional rankings. Coming off a season in which they competed in the NCAA Championships for the sixth year in a row, the men look to take the first step in not only continuing that trend, but building upon it. Despite finishing second at last year’s South Central Regional Championship, sophomore Connor Hendrickson believes that the team possesses untapped potential. “Quite a few of us were rather disappointed with the way the season ended up and how we raced when it came time for the championships,” Hendrickson said Wednesday. “There’s definitely room to grow, always room to get better.” Friday’s meet will be the first of two events hosted by the Longhorns this fall at Spicewood Course. Cross country coach Brad Herbster touched on the importance of gaining experience in early season meets. “We’re excited to just get the season going,” Herbster said. “We can practice all day long, but there’s nothing like a race environment to separate the field.” —Tyler Horka
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DANIELLE LOPEZ, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan Friday, September 4, 2015
ON THE RECORD Local record stores note surge in vinyl sales, despite popularity of online streaming By Thomas Boswell @thomasboswell11
VINYL SALES IN THE U.S. FROM 2005–2014
MILLION UNITS SOLD
In the world of digital streaming and underpaid artists, vinyl record sales have overcome a two-decade slump. With rapidly increasing vinyl sales, record stores are seeing a resurgence of an old-fashioned icon. In the early ’90s, vinyl sales reached an all-time low, and the music industry began to write off the oncepopular medium. But starting in 2007, record stores noticed a slow increase in vinyl consumption and, by 2014, sales reached 9.4 million units. This year, sales are expected to surpass last year’s, with sales already amounting to 5.2 million in July. John Kunz, owner of Austin’s Waterloo Records, said this July marked the first time since the early ’90s that vinyl sales surpassed compact disk sales at his store. Kunz said he embraces the new demand for vinyl, because it indicates people are paying money to support the artist instead of downloading songs illegally. “It’s frustrating when a lot of musicians are bemoaning the fact that music sales had evaporated with folks acquiring their music online or [artists] getting smaller payments for digital sales,” Kunz said. “If musicians stop making the music we love, then we are 10 going to have a much poorer world.” Kunz said the experiences associated with listening to vinyl records appeal to consumers — they enjoy dropping the needle on the records, the textured sound and flipping through old records in the local music store. “Music lovers want to truly relish their music as they are listening to it,” Kunz said. “It’s not scarfing down a fast food burger. It’s sitting down and making a really nice dinner for yourself and your friends.” Accounting senior Katie McDoniel, who owns more than 85 records, 8 said she buys records because it’s more profitable for the artist than streaming and digital downloads. She said it also forces her to pay attention to the full album. “I think it’s more of a collectible thing,” McDoniel said. “People like for other people to see their music tastes I think. You are putting your music collection on display.” Vinyl’s resurgence may indicate that a growing number of consumers are motivated to support artists, but many independent musicians 6 face obstacles when trying to press content on vinyl. Mike Buck, co-owner of local record store Antone’s, said many artists cant afford vinyl production because it’s expensive and inefficient. With only 13 existing pressing plants in the United States, the demand for vinyl has exceeded its supply. “Right now, the demand for vinyl is so high that pressing plants are backed up, it’s hard for independent musicians to get in and have their music pressed,” Buck said. “Hopefully some pressing plants will 4 spring up with the demand.” Waldo Wittenmyer, UT alumnus and keyboardist of local band Toma, said producing content on vinyl is much more costly and less time efficient for unknown artists trying to gain exposure. “One of my friends was talking about how it was taking over six months to get anything pressed,” Wittenmyer said. “How could anyone deal with that when you are trying to release something?” 2 Kunz said that eight years ago, he might have thought vinyl’s resurgence was just a phase. But today’s numbers confirm it is a lasting interest. “People are wanting to improve their collection, wanting to improve their sound system,” Kunz said. “When someone starts moving up in the world of the turn table they are listening to, putting more of an investment into it, I think that’s an indicator that this isn’t something that’s just trending.”
Turning tables: a beginner’s guide to collecting vinyl By Chris Duncan @chr_dunc
Artists such as Mac DeMarco, who sold 6,000 vinyl copies in the first week of his new mini-LP, Another One, are seeing a clear benefit from the resurgence of wax. Vinyl is a definite way to support your favorite artists, but, before jumping head first into collecting, it’s important to be informed on the investment needed to start a vinyl setup. First, it isn’t cheap. Andiophiles spend thousands of dollars on their vinyl equipment and collection, but someone who’s just starting out should expect to spend between $250 and $400. This investment isn’t in vain — vinyl records often sustain or increase in value over time. TURNTABLES At the core of every vinyl setup is a turntable. Prices
range anywhere from $20 to over $100,000, but, the design of the modern turntable hasn’t changed much since the 1970s. This means a turntable, along with almost any other necessary electronics for a setup, can easily be bought used. Craigslist and eBay are some of the best sites to find a quality used turntable. When shopping, look for known brands such as Technics, Pioneer and Stanton. Brands to stay away from include Crosley and Soundwagon, which may hurt your records by digging into the vinyl’s individual grooves and ruining the feedback. To buy new, find something from a reputable brand such as Audio-Technica or U-Turn. Although it’s a sign of a lowbudget setup, some turntables include a pre-amp, which is used to amplify the soft signal coming from a turntable into audible sounds. Other
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turntables might include speakers, but generally a quality setup avoids having built-in speakers or portability gimmicks. Be sure to look for the revolutions per minute, or RPM, at which the turntable can spin vinyl. Turntables that play at 33 1/3 and 45 RPM work for most people, but if you intend to collect rarer 78 RPM records, make sure your turntable spins at all three speeds. AMPLIFIERS AND SPEAKERS Most turntable setups take two forms. The most common way is to connect your turntable to an amplifier and stereo system. The amplifier then connects to a set of passive speakers, which need an external amplifier to function. If the amplifier doesn’t include a built-in pre-amp, then one is required to adjust the signal from your turntable to the amplifier. The second common setup
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YEAR removes the amplifier, but requires a pre-amp and generally more expensive active speakers. Active speakers include an amplifier built into their design, which is why the amplifier is not necessary. ALBUMS When deciding which records to purchase first for your setup, go with something cheap and simple. Pick a new release you know won’t be damaged, but don’t shy away from used records. When buying used, make sure you inspect the condition of the vinyl, looking for surface scratches, warping of
the vinyl or even damaged grooves that could ruin your needle or turntable. STORAGE To ensure your collection stays in good condition, make sure you store your records standing up. Many collectors use milk crates or cabinets along with plastic sleeves to make sure both their vinyl and its cover both play and
look good. Vinyl isn’t the most practical medium for music, considering its lack of portability, high cost of investment and its potential for confusion. But to some people, hunting for records and hearing music in this format is more than worth the effort.
TOP 10 BEST-SELLING VINYL ALBUMS OF ALL TIME 1
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1 Thriller (1982) 2 Back In Black (1980) Michael Jackson AC/DC
The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
3 4 Bat Out of Hell (1977) 5 Saturday Night Fever (1977) 6 Rumours (1977) 7 IV (1971) Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) 8 9 Hotel California (1976) 10 Abbey Road (1969) Pink Floyd Meat Loaf
50 MILLION SOLD
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Bee Gees
Fleetwood Mac Led Zeppelin
The Beatles Eagles
40 MILLION SOLD
37 MILLION SOLD
32 MILLION SOLD
31 MILLION SOLD
32 MILLION SOLD
Source: Times Union; Graphics by Virginia Scherer | Daily Texan Staff
The Beatles