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Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
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Friday, February 12, 2016
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CITY
Ride-hailing petition goes to vote By Forrest Milburn @forrestmilburn
Austin voters could have the final say on ride-hailing regulations as early as May 7 after City Council members decided Thursday to call for an election with a specific date yet to be decided. After City Clerk Jeanette Goodall announced she had verified the minimum number of petition signatures to force council action on Feb. 2, the council could either call for an election and allow voters to
decide — which would cost between $500,000 and $800,000, Goodall estimates — or approve the ordinance detailed in the petition. “I think everybody on this council, while we disagree, has done what they believe is in the best interest of their community,” said council member Delia Garza, who supported the December regulations. “We have continually conceded — and sorry, I’m not going to use compromise — to this company over and over again and the history has been they’re
not moving.” The petition’s ordinance, which voters will decide on at the ballot, would nullify the December regulations — including the controversial fingerprint background checks originally intended to protect the safety of riders — and revert back to the minimal regulations approved under former Mayor Lee Leffingwell in 2014. “I like my Uber like I like my Blue Bell ice cream,” said Laurie Felker Jones, who testified in favor of calling for an
VOTE page 2
Chancellor William McRaven and the Board of Regents held a civil but spirited meeting over proposed tuition increases Wendesday in Galveston. “If you aggregate the increases, it’s less than $2.78 [more] a day,” McRaven said. “How about seven cents a minute?” regent Alex Cranberg said. “I feel like we’re getting sold something.” This lively exchange over tuition increases during the meeting captured the skepticism the Board of Regents displayed toward the proposed changes during their scheduled meeting in Galveston. At the time, they decided to take no action on tuition increases and vote on tuition increases later this month, according to UT System spokesperson Melanie Thompson. If passed, the proposed tuition increases will mark the first time tuition levels have changed at UT-Austin since a 4 percent increase in 2011. The proposed increase would cost students
Rachel Zein | Daily Texan Staff
Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, whose district covers UT and West Campus, discussing ride-hailing regulations Thursday.
PROPOSED TUITION INCREASE $
3%
$150
$15M
The University has proposed an anual 3 percent tution increase. The $150 tution increase would provide the University $15 million per year in spending.
The average tuition cost for UT-Austin is
$9,848 The average tuition nationwide for an in-state public university is
$8,957
6th
UT-Austin ranks as the highest tuition cost against other Texas public universites.
52nd
UT-Austin ranks nationally in the U.S. News and World Report among U.S. colleges and universities Sources: U.S. News, University of Texas at Austin
Infographic by Iliana Storch | Daily Texan Staff
about $150 more each semester for the 20162017 and the 2017-2018 academic year. While McRaven and system institutions defend tuition increases as necessary for a high quality of education, some regents have
pointed out the impact the tuition increase will have on students. McRaven said institutions need more tuition money to maintain competitive faculty salaries, fund research and invest in student success programs.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
UTPD voids citation for West Mall evangelist @wynneellyn
Regents support proposed tuition increase @caleber96
POLICE
By Wynne Davis
UNIVERSITY
By Caleb Wong
bit.ly/dtvid
Referring to a chart ranking UT-Austin 52nd nationally from U.S. News and World Report, McRaven said tuition increases could help UT keep rising in national rankings. “Most of our tuition and fees are at or well below the
national average,” McRaven said. “This is really about staying competitive.” Cranberg said Pell Grants and other forms of fixed state and federal financial aid grants may not
TUITION page 2
After reviewing a citation written to an evangelical preacher for disorderly conduct, the University of Texas Police Department voided the citation because it did not meet the requirements of the law. “Our review further showed that the officers in training responded to a call for service in good faith and with respect for all parties involved, including the person(s) wishing to file charges as well those being accused,” UTPD Chief David Carter said in a statement. UTPD officers wrote the citation for Joshua Borchert, an intern with Campus Ministry USA, after a young woman called about a group of people on the sidewalk next to West Mall who she said were saying offensive things. Campus Ministry USA is a religious organization that travels to college campuses across the nation, preaching its beliefs to students. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives all people the right to freedom of speech. Even hurtful and hateful speech is covered under the amendment, and police officers must defend everyone’s constitutional rights, Carter said. “We’re there to protect and serve, but we have to do so within the constitution framework,” Carter said. “If there’s not a threat of violence based on speech, the police really cannot do anything.” Carter said if an individual was threatening a student with their speech, the police could and would take action against that person.
VOID page 2
CAMPUS
SG Election Supervisory Board Campus tutoring offers cheap determines campaign violation alternative to online options By Rachel Lew
By Anam Fazli
Center, said the center’s drop-in tutoring is free to all students and allows tutors to teach small groups in challenging courses such as chemistry, physics and calculus. Ana Mancera, Sanger Learning Center office assistant, said the Center also provides one-on-one tutoring for other courses. The first five sessions are free to all students, and the first 10 sessions are free to financial aid recipients. Once the five or 10 sessions are completed, the rate per session goes up to $14 an hour. “If a student has unfortunate financial circumstances and cannot afford
The University’s Election Supervisory Board, which supervises all campus-wide elections, determined that one Student Government campaign team failed to comply with election code by attempting to solicit the support of Alexander Chase, a member of the editorial board at The Daily Texan. Zachary Long, ESB vice chair, said Chase brought forth a complaint stating he received a Facebook message asking for support from a Helgren-Kim campaign agent. “Campaigning begins Feb. 17 at 12:01 a.m.,” Long said.
“Before that date, campaign teams can recruit members of the student body to be a part of their team so they have an outreach team when campaigning begins, but campaign teams are not allowed to directly campaign by soliciting or asking for votes.” Long said the ESB had to determine whether the Helgren-Kim team violated the election code by asking Chase for support. “What it came down to was the meaning of the word ‘support,’” Long said. “The Helgren-Kim campaign said they were just asking Alexander Chase to be on their team, but Election Supervisory Board decided that using the word
‘support’ could be interpreted in such a way that the HelgrenKim campaign team was asking for Chase’s vote, which is a direct violation of the Student Government election code.” Long said the ESB classified the team’s action as a Class B violation and imposed a moratorium upon Helgren-Kim’s campaigning until Feb. 18 at 12:01 p.m. Helgren-Kim can appeal to the Student Government Judicial Court within 24 hours of the ESB’s decision, according to the election code. The court can uphold the decision or issue a new one. Kevin Helgren, executive
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
ONLINE
LEAD creates engineering innovation fund PAGE 3
“Our Three Heroes” continue to promote service PAGE 4
Men’s basketball gets ready for Cyclones PAGE 7
Students share experiences on dating apps PAGE 8
Find great spots for Valentines Day on High Five
APD talks about officer involved shooting PAGE 3
Hyperloop has the potential to solve Austin traffic PAGE 4
Softball wins opener against Arkansas PAGE 7
Romantic comedy “How To Be Single” falls flat PAGE 8
@thedailytexan
ELECTION page 2
@anamfazli
While online tutoring options such as Chegg and Studypool have increased in recent years, sometimes charging students up to $500 a semester, UT has several resources available on campus to assist students struggling with their classes at little to no cost. Tutoring sites such as Tutor.com or Smarthinking charge around $45 for a one-hour online session. One hour per week could add up to about $180 in a month. Michelle Jewell, director of the Sanger Learning
our tutoring, then our office can work with those students to figure something out,” Mancera said. “Students come back all the time because the tutoring boosted their academic performance, and our rates are more affordable than our competitors.’” Biology sophomore Amy Hill said she paid for several online tutoring sessions through Eduboard but found the cost prohibitive. “It was around $20 for a 30 minute session, [which was] too expensive for me to keep up with,” Hill said. Jewell said the Sanger
ONLINE page 2 REASON TO PARTY
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