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Friday, September 11, 2015
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Nobel laureate praises effects of GMOs By Eleanor Breed @thedailytexam
Genetically modified organisms are scientifically proven to safely address issues of malnourishment in developing countries, according to Sir Richard Roberts, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and molecular biologist. Modern GMOs are safer than traditional plant breeding, have no scientifically proven damaging effects and have nutritional benefits, Roberts said during a lecture Thursday. Non-governmental
organizations, such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF, also agree that GMOs can alleviate world poverty, Roberts said. Critics of GMOs express concerns that the production process is too manufactured and in turn harmful to people’s health, Roberts said. “As soon as you start to obfuscate the product and the way in which it is produced, you start to run into trouble because the method doesn’t matter,” Roberts said. “The product matters.” Environmental science
junior Kara Posso said she believes GMOs should be used because of their potential benefits. “GMO foods, if put to use, could turn out to be more sustainable by allowing us to feed a lot of people,” Posso said. “It would also mean using fewer pesticides, which are damaging to water resources.” Golden Rice, a modified crop containing high amounts of vitamin A, could reduce vitamin A deficiencies in developing countries,
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Gollis Golden said. The date of Sept. 10 marked 1,000 days since the shooting of 20 children and six adults
UT President Gregory Fenves has not communicated with former UT President William Powers Jr. since taking office, and the pair will likely not speak during the initial stages of Fenves’ presidency, Fenves said in an interview Wednesday. Fenves, who started his term June 3, was the executive vice president and provost under Powers. Despite their close working relationship during Powers’ tenure, Fenves said they mutually agreed to keep their distance. “I have a great relationship with Bill Powers, as I said I worked closely with him for seven years during actually most of his tenure as president,” Fenves said. “Once I became president June 3, we both decided that we did not need to communicate … I think he needed time to decompress from his nine years as president. He’s got other things he’s working on; he needs to spend time on that. I think Bill also recognized that I needed space to begin my presidency.” Powers offered his letter of resignation last year to the UT System chancellor at the time, Francisco Cigarroa, after Regent Wallace Hall made allegations regarding Powers’ involvement with student admissions. Cigarroa abruptly rescinded his public support
GUN CONTROL page 3
FENVES page 3
Thalia Juarez | Daily Texan Staff
Richard Roberts, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and molecular biologist, talks to a group of people after giving a lecture in the San Jacinto Residence Hall meeting room Thursday.
By Lauren Florence
Judy Jensen, right, holds up a sign pressing for gun control regulation during a Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense rally at Austin City Hall on Thursday evening.
@laurenreneeflo
Thalia Juarez Daily Texan Staff
tional day of action of about 50 Moms Demand Action chapters across the country. The rallies were held to push officials to take action and “pass legislation to reduce
Fenves will not consult Powers on presidency @juliakbrou
Mothers rally for gun legislation reform
to firearms on a daily basis,” Parker said in the column. Nicole Gollis Golden, member of the Moms Demand Action Austin chapter, said the rally was part of a na-
UNIVERSITY
By Julia Brouillette
CITY
About 30 people gathered outside Austin City Hall on Thursday to press for gun control regulation in response to the recent murder of two journalists in Virginia. The Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense held a “#WhateverItTakes” rally in response to an opinion column written by Andy Parker, the father of the Virginia WDBJ-TV reporter, Alison Parker, who was shot and killed while reporting live Aug. 26. Cameraman Adam Ward, who was filming Parker’s segment, was also killed. Andy Parker said he will do “whatever it takes to end gun violence” in the column published by the Washington Post. “[W]e must focus our attention on the legislators who are responsible for America’s criminally weak gun laws; laws that facilitate the access dangerous individuals have
bit.ly/dtvid
the senseless gun violence,” according to a statement from Moms Demand Action. “We’re calling on Congress to close loopholes on background checks and save lives,”
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AMSO blood drive honors 9/11 victims RecSports, Nike create fitness point system
By Kahlil Said @kahlelo
The Texas Ahmadiyya Muslim Students Organization collected 42 pints of blood on the first day of its blood drive in an effort to positively reshape perceptions of Muslims in the wake of 9/11. The blood drive is part of a national campaign to pay homage to the 9/11 victims and educate the public about the peaceful nature of Islam, according to biochemistry freshman Daniyal Munir. The Muslims for Life Blood Drive has run annually every September since 2011, which was the 10th anniversary of the attacks. The Muslim student organization aims to remove misconceptions of Islam by dispelling the misconceptions and promoting a peaceful coexistence within society, according to their website. Munir, who volunteered and gave blood at the event, said he thinks the blood drive shows a positive side of Islam. “We are working to better
By Nashwa Bawab @nashwabawab96
Thalia Juarez | Daily Texan Staff
Kristian Marroquin, economics freshman, and Joe Castellano, exercise science freshman fill out paperwork at the blood drive hosted by the Texas Ahmadiyya Muslim Students Organization.
Thanks to a new fitness point system, students will not run out of ways to have some friendly competition, UT RecSports officials said. The recreational sports group recently teamed up with Nike to create UT Campus Leaderboards, a system that tracks students’ fitness through a point system. More than 900 students, faculty, staff and RecSports members have signed up for the program, and the number has been growing daily since its start in August, according to Cecilia Lopez Cardenas, program coordinator at the Division of Recreational Sports. The program, which started at the beginning of the school year, allows students to track their exercises using Nike+ apps, Nike FuelBand or any of the exercise classes offered at UT. Cardenas said
UT Campus Leaderboards is the first program of its kind on a college campus. Students can link their UT EID to a Nike+ account to see other students’ points and compete with them for prizes, such as awards or digital trophies, Cardenas said. “If you go to our group fitness classes, our group cycling classes [or] our climbing wall, when you participate in those activities, our system automatically pulls that you have participated, once you’ve linked up those two accounts,” Cardenas said. “Then we award NikeFuel, which is basically a set of points for your participation. What that means for students and members of the UT community is that you are able to earn rewards when you reach the milestones in your fitness journey.” Through Nike+
the name of Muslims through helping the community with these events,” Munir said. “The blood drive is a way to show people what Muslims are really about, like helping people. I’m sure people have seen what we’re doing here and realized
the good in it.” To facilitate the blood drive, the organization has partnered with the hospital system Baylor Scott & White Health, which works with universities, religious entities and other organizations to collect blood for
more than five years. Ashley Davis, a donor service recruiter for Baylor Scott & White Health who has worked with AMSO for three years, said more than
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UT ranked 16th among public universities in U.S. PAGE 2
Consumers need to prioritize conscious spending. PAGE 4
Texas looks to rebound against Rice. PAGE 5
Studies show students form bad habits during college. PAGE 8
Students learn art of entrepreneurship. PAGE 3
UT core curriculum broadens students’ horizons. PAGE 4
Volleyball plays UTSA, Santa Clara. PAGE 5
“The Visit” combines horror and comedy. PAGE 7
Check out our video from The Texan Talks forum about transgender rights and advocacy on the 40 Acres: dailytexanonline.com
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BLOOD DRIVE page 3
NIKE page 2