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SPORTS PAGE 6
COMICS PAGE 7
LIFE&ARTS PAGE 8
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Wednesday, April 13, 2016
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POLICE
New details emerge in UT homicide By Wynne Davis @wynneellyn
Dance freshman Haruka Weiser, the victim of last week’s campus homicide, appears to have been sexually assaulted and was the victim of strangulation, according to a report by the Austin American-Statesman. The Statesman reported this based on preliminary evidence gathered and processed so far, according to officials working on the case. The sources declined
to be identified due to the nature of the ongoing investigation, and because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the case. According to the Statesman, forensic examiners are still processing DNA samples, and the Travis County Medical Examiner’s office still has more time before the final information is released on Weiser’s death. Final results will not be released for many weeks. Previously, officers with the Austin Police Department
and the University of Texas Police Department only said Weiser was assaulted, but declined to offer specifics. Following the discovery of Weiser’s body in Waller Creek on April 3, APD arrested Meechaiel Criner, a 17-year-old homeless man, on Thursday and charged him with murder Friday. Criner has not had an arraignment at this time, but the Statesman reported APD would most likely use these
HOMICIDE page 2
Texas faces seismological activity due to fracking @forrestmilburn
Marshall Tidrick | Daily Texan Staff
The UT Tower was in the darkened configuration on April 7 in honor of dance freshman Haruka Weiser, the victim of an on-campus homicide.
Bike registration plummets in recent years By Caleb Wong @caleber96
New bike registration steadily decreased from the 2009–2010 academic year to the 2013–2014 academic year, according to the most recent data made available by Parking and Transportation Services. According to the 2013– 2014 PTS report, 2,967 bikes were newly registered at UT during the 2009–2010 academic year. In 2013–2014, only 1,404 new bikes were newly registered on campus. Public relations senior Natalie De Leon said she’s never registered her bike on campus, despite seeing constant advertising for bike registration on campus. “Honestly, I don’t see a need for it,” said De Leon, who rides an inexpensive bike to class. “I never leave Infographic by Kelly Smith | Daily Texan Staff
FENCING
STATE
By Forrest Milburn
CAMPUS
BIKES page 2
bit.ly/dtvid
Texas is one of six states facing the most significant threat from earthquakes as a result of both natural earth shaking and energy extraction processes, according to a recent report. On March 28, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) released maps identifying areas around the country with heightened earthquake activity from both natural earthquakes and those resulting from human activity. USGS seismologist George Choy said the maps are a one-year forecast on natural earthquakes and the effects of wastewater disposal from energy extraction, providing research and data to educate the public and to help governmental officials make more informed environmental and energy decisions. “In the past few years, the increase in oil and gas extraction and the need to dispose of the wastewater has caused a tremendous amount of activity,” Choy said. “The problem is, this activity is short term and it could be controlled by external factors.” Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — an extraction technique that uses water and chemicals to retrieve natural gas from underground deposits — has been at the center of legislative
FRACKING page 3
CAMPUS
Fencing team spars at Michael Dell speaks on entrepreneurship national championship By Hannah Daniel By Elizabeth Huang @lizzthewiz
The UT Fencing Club competed in the United States Associate of Collegiate Fencing Clubs (USACFC) College Fencing National Championships on April 3, placing seventh overall out of 38 schools. The team placed in both team and individual events, with winners including Loktao Shing, a Plan II and civil engineering senior, in first place for men’s foil and biochemistry senior Julia Chernis in second place for women’s epee. The women’s epee and men’s foil teams also won first place in their respective team events. “This is our third year in a row competing at the national level after a long hiatus,” said Chernis, who also serves as the vice president of UT Fencing Club. “I am extremely proud of the achievements of my teammates, for many of whom this was their first year in the sport.” Christopher Chen, president of UT Fencing Club and electrical engineering junior,
said he has enjoyed watching the club consistently grow and improve over the years. “Out of the 40 colleges that attend the USACFC National Championships, we have gone from 12th my freshman year to 10th last year, and finally to seventh this year, so we are now breaching the elite echelon of collegiate fencing clubs,” Chen said. “We also have had an outpouring of interest from the student body, with our beginner night newbie attendance growing from a handful to over a hundred in the last three years.” The club’s other victories this year include winning first place at the Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association tournament last year. The fencing club meets every Tuesday and Thursday in BEL 302 at 7:30 p.m. to practice. Practice consists of warm-up games and stretching followed by footwork and blade work drills. In the last part of practice, members free fence or receive lessons from the coaches.
FENCING page 2
Michael Dell, UT alumnus and Dell Inc. CEO, speaks to students at the Hogg Auditorium on Tuesday evening. Dell spoke about his life experiences and emphasized the importance of learning from failure.
@hannahdaniel
Michael Dell discussed Dell Inc.’s evolution and advised students not to be afraid of failure, even in competitive environments, in Hogg Auditorium as a part of the Texas Cowboys Lectureship series Tuesday. Dell, the founder, chairman and CEO of Dell Inc., began working on computers as a UT student before dropping out to pursue his business. According to Forbes, his net worth is now over $22 billion. Texas Cowboys foreman Louis Andres, a management information systems senior, said the group was drawn to Dell because of his involvement with UT and his experience in the fields of business and technology. “We like him a lot because he’s entrepreneurially driven, and I think he’s going to speak not only as a businessman, but also as a former student,” Andres said. “The idea is to inspire anyone there, not to make them drop out, but to make them
Gabriel Lopez Daily Texan Staff
feel like they can accomplish anything and fulfill whatever dreams they have.” The interview was moderated by Clint Tuttle, a McCombs School of Business lecturer. They discussed the evolution of Dell’s company, which began with a business he ran out of his dorm room, Dobie 2713, upgrading and selling computers. Dell said he entered college as a pre-med biology student, and he initially faced resistance from his parents when he switched
career paths. Dell also touched on the business model of his company, discussing the company’s main sources of revenue, the new acquisition of EMC and the recent privatization of Dell Inc. Tuttle asked Dell if he had any advice for budding entrepreneurs at UT, especially given the high level of anxiety about making mistakes that accompanies the increasing caliber of achievement on campus. Dell said he has
learned more during times of failure than he has during successful periods. “Waiting to have a perfect plan or being afraid of failure is not a good recipe for success,” Dell said. “[Opportunity] favors the bold and those who have a new, fresh perspective, which tend to be more in dorm rooms than in boardrooms.” Psychology junior Alina Schmitz-Hübsch said the lecture showed her that a good idea, passion and an
DELL page 2
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
ONLINE
REASON TO PARTY
VP of student affairs announces departure. PAGE 3
Minority graduations must be a priority. PAGE 4
Longhorns fall to Houston Cougars 3-2. PAGE 6
GLORY wrestlers fight for gender inclusion. PAGE 8
New app aims to improve study abroad experience. PAGE 3
Unlivable prison conditions require reform. PAGE 4
Felix makes seamless transition to Divison 1. PAGE 6
UT alumnus, former rocker composes symphonies.
Did you check out CMHC’s glow in the dark yoga event yesterday as part of Mental Health Promotion Week? Check out our recap video at dailytexanonline.com
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Wednesday, April 13, 2016
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NEWS
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B Volume 116, Issue 137
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CORRECTION In the April 11 edition of the Texan, the article “Student’s designs modernize 1960s fashion” misstated the date of the Elements fashion show. The show will take place tomorrow, April 14.
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TOMORROW’S WEATHER
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I see bikes as people.
Mary Pistorius | Daily Texan Staff
An employee of Long’s Upholstery Furniture, just one of many stores in Chinatown on North Lamar, upholsters a pillow.
HOMICIDE
FENCING
and further lab results to file additional charges against Criner. Officers from APD declined to comment on the details surrounding Weiser’s death, citing the ongoing investigation. Comment was not immediately available at the time of publication from the Travis County Medical
Chernis encourages students to join even if they’ve never fenced before. “We run large beginner weeks at the beginning of the semester so no prior experience is required, and about 80 percent of our most talented fencers started in college,” Chernis said. Alexandria Procell, a journalism freshman who joined the club this year, said she was initially scared about joining, but is glad she did. “I honestly loved the people, the atmosphere, and overall it was just something new,” Procell said. “I’ve made so many friends and memories that I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t joined the club.”
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DELL
continues from page 1 ability to execute are more important to success than a degree in business. “His life is just a fascinating story, and it’s inspiring to hear him talk about it,” Schmitz-Hübsch said. “He was Entrepreneur of the Year at age 24, which is incredible. I’m 23, so it’s time for me to get going.”
This issue of The Daily Texan is valued at $1.25 Permanent Staff
Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Claire Smith Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexander Chase, Davis Clark, Mary Dolan, Mohammad Syed Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amy Zhang Associate Managing Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nick Castillo, Jackie Wang News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wynne Davis Associate News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natalie Sullivan News Desk Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellie Breed, Estefania Espinosa, Rund Khayyat, Catherine Marfin Senior Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mikaela Cannizzo, Cassandra Jaramillo, Rachel Lew, Forrest Milburn, Caleb Wong Life&Arts Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cat Cardenas Life&Arts Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Megan Hix, Katie Walsh Senior Life&Arts Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Duncan, Elizabeth Hlavinka, Charles Liu Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacob Martella Associate Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Akshay Mirchandani Senior Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniel Clay, Tyler Horka, Michael Shapiro, Mark Skol Special Ventures Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eleanor Dearman Special Ventures Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nashwa Bawab, Marisa Charpentier, Aaron Torres Special Ventures Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jesús Nazario Science&Technology Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ellen Airhart Associate Science&Technology Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eva Frederick Forum Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walker Fountain Senior Opinion Columnists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benroy Chan, Mubarrat Choudhury, Laura Hallas, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Noah Horwitz, Leah Kashar, Khadija Saifullah Copy Desk Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kailey Thompson Associate Copy Desk Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vera Bespalova, Nicole Farrell, Michelle Zhang Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iliana Storch Associate Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Smith Senior Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sammy Jarrar, Elizabeth Jones, Lillian Michel Video Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hannah Evans Senior Videographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Charlotte Carpenter, Heather Finnegan, Monica Silverio Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rachel Zein Associate Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daulton Venglar Senior Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zoe Fu, Joshua Guerra, Gabriel Lopez, Mike McGraw, Stephanie Tacy Comics Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melanie Westfall Associate Comics Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lindsay Rojas, Victoria Smith Senior Comics Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Cheon, Albert Lee, Connor Murphy, Isabella Palacios Social Media Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Akshay Mirchandani Technical Operations Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Li Senior Tech Team Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Adam Humphrey, Sam Limerick, Junyuan Tan Podcast Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anthony Green Associate Podcast Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lillian Michel Podcast Technical Producers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zeke Fritts, Sam Groves
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Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Defne Comlek, Ben Magnusson, Kasey Salisbury Page Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kate Dukes, Alessandra Monnerat Life&Arts Writer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephen Acevedo, James Rodriguez Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vera Bespalova, Hannah Daniel, Elizabeth Huang Sports Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claire Cruz Columnists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Janhavi Nemawarkar, Emily Vernon Comics Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jasmine Lelduti, Laura Moyer, Chester Omenukor, Jessica Vacek Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angie Huang, Maddox Price, Marshall Tidrick
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Texan Ad Deadlines
4/13/16 Monday .............Wednesday, 12 p.m. Thursday.................Monday, 12 p.m. Tuesday.................Thursday, 12 p.m. Friday......................Tuesday, 12 p.m. Word Ads 11 a.m. Wednesday................Friday, 12 p.m. Classified (Last Business Day Prior to Publication)
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Courtesy of the UT Fencing Club
The UT Fencing Club competed in the College Fencing National Championships on April 3, winning multiple awards.
BIKES continues from page 1 my bike overnight; I always take it with me. I’ve already had my bike for two years here on campus, and nothing bad has ever happened to my bike.” Registering your bike is required for anyone who bikes on campus. PTS has issued impound notices for people who haven’t registered their bikes or improperly parked their bikes, according to a recent article in The Daily Texan. De Leon, who said she has never received an impound notice on her bike, said the advertising on campus tells people how to register their bikes but not why bikers should register their bikes with PTS. “What would have motivated me to register my
bike as a student is if they answered the ‘why should I’ question better?” De Leon said in an email. “What I mean is, if it was mandatory, I would have done it.” PTS bike coordinator Jeremy Hernandez said registering bikes on campus, which can be done online, makes it easier for PTS to contact bikers so they can unlock their bikes to relocate them instead of cutting the lock and impounding the bike, which carries a $25 fee. It also serves as a theft deterrent because the bike will be easier to trace through law enforcement systems, according to the PTS website. “I am trying to do the right thing by communi-
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cating with the students,” Hernandez said. “I don’t see bikes as just bikes; I see bikes as people.” Biology sophomore Katherine Steinhauser said the fear of having her bike taken away and the cost of her bike motivated her to register her bike as soon as she could on campus. “I was worried that the campus police would come remove it if I didn’t have the registration sticker,” said Steinhauser, whose bike cost $600. “I didn’t want something to happen to it.” Hernandez said one of the reasons people don’t register their bikes is because it can be difficult to grab students’ attention and because he has to constantly encourage
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approximately 20,000 new students to register their bikes every semester. “There are a lot of things going on campus at any given time,” he said. “Not everybody knows they have to register their bike. I think it’s always going to be a work in progress.” To raise more awareness about bike registration, Hernandez said he is collaborating with student groups such as Greek life and Texas Triathlon and looking into other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. “There are definitely some other avenues we can explore,” Hernandez said. “Hopefully, some of these groups can get the word out.”
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Wednesday, April 13, 2016
RESEARCH
Rsearchers uncover rare Etruscan text By Jasleen Shokar @jasleenshokar
Archaeologists uncovered a slab of stone containing rare text in the ancient language of Etruscan north of Florence, Italy, on the Poggio Colla site. Michael Thomas, professor and director of UT’s Center for the Study of Ancient Italy, is co-director of the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project where the slab was found, and has been working on this site for 21 years. “This is our last year of excavation, so it was a huge find,” Thomas said. “Inscriptions of that length are very rare, and it’s very rare to find something like that in a sanctuary setting.” The inscribed stone, or any other artifact made by the Etruscans, gives us primary evidence for how a people created a piece of writing and what it may have meant to them, classics professor emeritus Ingrid Edlund-Berry said. “It is by studying objects like this stone that we can reconstruct a whole period of history for which we have very little writing but where the people built cities, traded and traveled, created art and practiced their religion,” Edlund-Berry said. The slab was found within the foundation of a podium of a temple. Thomas said only a
Courtesy of Michael Thomas
Researchers at the Mugello Valley Archaelogical Project’s Poggio Colla site in Italy unearthed a slab of stone containing ancient text in the Etruscan language. Professor Michael Thomas is the co-director of the project and has been working on the site for 21 years.
handful of people in the world can read Etruscan. As a teacher, Thomas said it’s essential to expose students to an archaeological site and study these things first hand. “You’re digging it up and learning about it and its immediate contact,” Thomas said. Artifacts and the pursuit
of understanding them hold up a mirror to the contemporary world, studio art senior Connor Frew said. “By looking into the objects of the past, we can generate historical narratives from new perspectives and hope to give agency to those that previously had none,” Frew said.
Thomas said collections of gold jewelry, a collection of 100 silver Roman coins and all sorts of bronze statuettes have been found at the site. The length of the text on the stone makes it valuable, Edlund-Berry said. She said there are only a few longer texts that give the dates
of a calendar, tombstones or contracts between families to clarify property ownership. “In short, the inscribed stone from Poggio Colla is an important part of the puzzle that allows us to imagine what life was like in ancient Etruria about 2,500 years ago,” Edlund-Berry said.
APPS
New student app helps travelers acclimate By Vera Bespalova @thedailytexan
A group of UT System students have created a new social networking app, Awayys, to help connect study abroad students to resources when they arrive in unfamiliar countries. “Awayys is an app that brings the world together at a whole new level,” said Doris Llamas, co-founder of the app and UT-El Paso senior. The app helps travelers find people to hang out with by using a search engine with
FRACKING
continues from page 1 and policy disputes over whether the process is one of the main human-induced causes to the uptick in earthquakes nationwide. Fracking shoots water into typically shallow formations of resources in the ground, which can lead to small-scale earthquakes that typically go unnoticed, physics professor Michael Marder said. “I’m not sure what the maximum magnitude has been, but none of them have yet to be a very large earthquake,” Marder said. “[The problem is] they have been occurring in areas where they’ve previously been unknown.”
multiple filters. The app is synced with users’ Facebook accounts to maintain authenticity, which also gives users the option of limiting their search to their social circle and to the social circle of their friends. The app lets users leave reviews of the places they’ve visited for other users to read. Llamas said she came up with the idea for the app while studying abroad in Paris. “The concept of Awayys was born out of my own needs as an exchange student,” Llamas said. Diego Urrutia, an ecoChoy said that although fracking has received “a bad name” lately, it is not the extracting of oil and gas, but actually the disposal process of wastewater as a result, that leads to increased earthquake activity. The wastewater disposal penetrates deeper into the ground than the actual fracking process and is absorbed into permeable sandstone, leading to slipping if there is a fault nearby, Marder said. Peter Hennings, research scientist with the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University, is currently the principal investigator in UT’s Center for Integrated Seismicity Research, where his
nomics junior at UT-Austin and co-founder of the app, said the app allows travelers that wouldn’t otherwise connect to do so. “We’ve all been to Europe backpacking … if you’re by yourself over there, there’s a lot of people that are also backpacking in the same areas as you are, but you don’t necessarily meet up,” Urrutia said. “Awayys will allow you to see those people you would have otherwise missed.” The app is particularly helpful for anyone traveling team is aiming to understand “false triggering mechanisms,” or how much new fluid is needed to cause an existing fault to move. Hennings’s research team hopes to use its research to build a network of detectors that could predict human-induced earthquakes and help cities prepare ahead of time, which is expected to be operating towards the end of the year, Hennings said. “With that research, those stakeholders will learn more about what’s going on in Texas and they will be able to formulate better ideas and it may inform future regulations as a product of that,” Hennings said.
alone, not just study abroad students, allowing them to make friends during their trip, Urrutia said. Llamas said the app can also serve as a safety net for students. “We believe that connecting to people from your community is essential,” Llamas said. “Awayys can serve as a safety measure for students abroad, who, in case of any disaster, can find help and support wherever they are.” Harrison Crowl, an international relations and
global studies sophomore, said he plans on studying abroad next year and thinks the app would be helpful. “I think this app would be a great way for me to get in contact with other exchange students who might be outside my program and I wouldn’t see otherwise,” Crowl said. The app is in its last stages of testing and should be released to the public on Google Play and the iTunes store for free at the beginning of May.
NEWS BRIEFLY VP of student affairs to leave UT after 16 years
Gage Paine, vice president for student affairs, is leaving UT after serving the campus for 16 years. Named VP in 2012, Paine is the first female to serve in this position at the University. Under this role, Paine managed a diverse group of the University’s non-academic units, including residence halls, dining facilities, recreational sports organizations, medical and mental health care units and over 1,300 student organizations. Paine is credited with creating BeVocal, the University’s bystander initiative that aims to teach students how to prevent high-risk behavior and harm. She also reimagined New Student Orientation and created many programs on campus that have “garnered state and national attention,” according to an email President Gregory Fenves sent to UT students Tuesday morning. Paine has worked with the UT System for almost 20 years, serving in student affairs leadership positions at four other Texas universities. Paine will join Keeling & Associates after she leaves the University, where she will serve as a senior consultant, advising campuses nationwide on student affairs. President Fenves has asked Soncia Reagins-Lilly, Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, to serve as interim vice president while the University looks to fill Paine’s spot. “As our campus community dealt with the shock and sadness of losing Haruka Weiser last week, Drs. Paine and Reagins-Lilly worked tirelessly behind the scenes to provide care and support for our campus and Haruka’s family,” Fenves said in his email. “I am grateful for the dedication both of these leaders have to UT. The campus will greatly miss Dr. Paine, but I wish her the best in her new endeavor.” Paine will continue to work at UT until May 31. ReaginsLilly will begin her interim appointment on June 1. —Catherine Marfin
Infographic by Lillian Michel | Daily Texan Staff
Name: 4350 re:fuel Chief Commercial; Width: 60p0; Depth: 5 in; Color: Process color, 4350 re:fuel Chief Commercial; Ad Number: 4627
4 OPINION
CLAIRE SMITH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | @TexanEditorial Wednesday, April 13, 2016
4
COLUMN
Minority graduation needs attention By Mubarrat Choudhury Daily Texan Senior Columnist @MubarratC
With graduation just around the corner, many students at the University of Texas are excited to finally start a new chapter in their lives. And in recent years, graduation rates at UT have been increasing. Unfortunately, the gains of graduation have been going to those who’ve needed them least. According to a report from the Education Trust, the gap in graduation rates between white and minority students has widened between 2003 and 2013. The report found that six-year graduation rates for minority students at UT, which includes black, African-American and Native students, had risen from a mere 65.8 percent to 69.6 percent, while the graduation rates of white students had risen from 74.3 percent to 83.1 percent. With more than a 5 percent difference in the rate of the rise in graduation rates between whites and minorities, higher education institutions need to start realizing how they can better cater to minority students — otherwise, this fight for affirmative action would be meaningless. Jeff Strohl, research director for the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, argues how different backgrounds ultimately become academically segregated in an interview with the Washington Post. “The American postsecondary system in-
Unfortunately, providing an equal oppurtunity for minorities to attend college doesn’t necessarily translate in said minority students to succeed in college. creasingly has become a dual system of racially separate pathways, even as overall minority access to the postsecondary system has grown dramatically,” Strohl said. Through the implementation of affirmative action in universities, the conversation has been directed to providing equal opportunity to students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. And although there has been some retaliation, such as Fisher v. University of Texas, it could be argued that affirmative action policies have had a net positive impact in the sphere of fully integrating students from different backgrounds. Unfortunately, providing an equal opportunity for minority students to attend college doesn’t necessarily translate in said minority students to succeed in college. Rather, universities need to implement programs beyond their admissions: programs that cater specifically to minority students, their academic performance and their proper integration within college life. One thing that higher education institutions can
Daulton Venglar| Daily Texan Staff
do is something like UT’s Texas Interdisciplinary Plan, which is designed for students that have low SAT scores, low family income and less-educated parents. TIP students are put into smaller sections of classes already offered in the University without sacrificing the course subject material. On top of that, TIP students are required two hours each week of extra instruction with upperclassmen or peer mentors in order to make sure students will be on top of their academics. David Laude, creator of the TIP program, emphasized the necessity of providing increased assistance in an interview with the
New York Times. Beyond just TIP, having programs that specifically cater to minorities would be the ultimate solution. We need to continue to support and expand these programs in order to close the graduation gap between whites and minorities. For too long has the conversation been only surrounding getting students into college. We finally need to turn the conversation towards getting minorities to finally succeed in college. Choudhury is an economics freshman from Ricahrdson.
COLUMN
Texas inmates deserve more humane conditions By Emily Vernon
Daily Texan Columnist @_emilyvernon_
If you think Texas summers are bad, imagine enduring them without air conditioning. This is just one of the many unfair circumstances inmates in Texas prisons encounter. Other issues include lack of independent oversight, denial of an attorney through habeas corpus once in the system and abnormally high medical copayments of $100 despite having no income. In response to these, inmates from seven different state prisons have been conducting a work strike since April 4 to protest unfair conditions. Many criticize the prisoners for unionizing and fighting these injustices simply because they are criminals. While these inmates have committed a crime and need some penalty for their actions, we need to understand that prisoners are still people who have basic rights and deserve humane living conditions. Amanda Woog, a postdoctoral fellow at UT who is affiliated with the Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis, spoke on the moral obligations to their human rights. “The fact is that people who are in prison do have basic rights to certain conditions of confinement related to issues such as healthcare and overcrowding,” Woog said. “They are not the rights that you or I have, but they do have a right to safe conditions.” Most of us have not been in a prison and
Most of us have not been in a prison and are not aware of the conditions that the incarcerated face. It is imperative we are mature enough to listen to those from within... are not aware of the conditions the incarcerated face. It is imperative we are mature enough to listen to those from within who are speaking out. There needs to be a balance between proper punishment for the crime and fair living conditions. Some of the conditions can be life-threatening. Take the lack of air conditioning and proper ventilation found in Texas prisons. Since 2007, extreme heat has been the cause of death for 14 inmates, all of which had a body temperature between 105 and 109 degrees Fahrenheit upon death. Prisoners are painfully aware of their situation and rightly protest for independent oversight, which could be a substantial means of fixing superfluous punishments. “Independent oversight could mean a complaint process that does not just go through internal channels — people who are employed by the Texas department of criminal justice,” Woog said. “It could also mean an outside body could come in and do inspections on prison conditions.”
Infographic by Lillian Michel | Daily Texan Staff
This appears to be more than just necessary for the prisoners. It seems to be essential to maintaining their dignity as human beings. Ariel Dulitzky, law professor and director of the UT Human Rights Clinic, pointed out that inmates are not supposed to be robbed of their basic human rights when they enter the prison system. “[Inmates] get to keep their rights when they are in the system,” Dulitzky said. “The main right [of prisoners is] to live with dignity and humanity.” Although it has not yet been determined
that Texas prisons run in a way that violates these rights, it is only a matter of time until conditions force some long overdue overhaul. We need to take the inmates’ complaints into consideration and recognize the humanity of those who are locked away. While the inmates may have acted in an unlawful way, the state of Texas should not meet the unjust with the unjust. Proper changes need to be made that do not deprive the inmates of their rights. Vernon is a PACE freshman from the Woodlands.
COLUMN
Fracking companies must recognize recent data By Benroy Chan
Daily Texan Senior Columnist @BenroyChan
Oklahoma experienced only two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater in 2008. Last year, the state experienced 890. Scientists believe the injection of wastewater fluid from oil and gas production has caused this stark increase in earthquake occurrences, and hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, is ultimately responsible for this increase in wastewater fluid. But as fracking companies continue to debate with the public on the safety of their operations, it is imperative that they respond to emerging data in a truthful way to reduce misguided consumer fears that hinder cooperation. The United States Geological Survey recently released a report documenting areas that may experience damaging earthquakes in 2016. For the first time, they included the risks associated with earthquakes caused by humans rather than natural activity. Although
Oklahoma is at the highest risk of these earthquakes, small areas in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Texas made it onto the projections as well. While it would make sense to ask fracking companies to stop or control their processes in light of emerging evidence, the limitations of scientific studies make blaming them particularly difficult. Scientists can only show a correlation between wastewater disposal and earthquakes. As a result, companies can rely on the heinous defense that no causal relationship can be made, no matter how strong the correlation. Environmental science freshman Elsa Toskey said she believes the pursuit of profit incentivizes petroleum companies to be dishonest about their procedures and associated risks. “I think fracking’s profitability impairs judgment of the government and of petroleum companies,” Toskey said. “There are many questions about its impacts on groundwater contamination and seismicity that have yet to be thoroughly answered.”
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.
However, the burden falls as equally on the public to approach emerging data in a way that is fair and moderate. The earthquakes in Oklahoma caused by wastewater injection have not matched the intensity of deadly earthquakes in natural hotspots such as California and Japan. If the public attacks fracking companies with a “sky-is-falling” mentality, their claims can be easily dismissed or debunked in a way that prevents any real progress. In addition, asking these companies to completely stop their operations is a failure to see the benefits the technology brings. Fracking has greatly improved the U.S. economy by generating jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Completely banning fracking operations would put an end to these benefits. Environmental science senior Leslie Jordan said she thinks fracking has been a positive addition to the U.S. “Fracking is tied to national security,” Jordan said. “It increased the size of U.S. [oil] reserves, which allows the country to be less reliant on foreign oil. It’s poorly regulated but overall is a
SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | E-mail 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.
With all factors considered, fracking has benefits we should utilize, but public concert from anecdotal and scientific evidence must also be addressed. good thing.” With all factors considered, fracking has benefits we should utilize, but public concerns from anecdotal and scientific evidence must also be addressed. Perhaps we should limit wastewater disposal to certain areas or prioritize a quicker shift to renewables instead of attacking each other with extreme arguments. But in order to reach reasonable compromises, fracking companies and the public must maturely discuss the issue. Chan is a journalism and environmental science freshman from Sugar Land.
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
LIFE&ARTS
5
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
ALUMNI
Alumnus makes cereal political By Stephen Acevedo @stephenace24
The young entrepreneur behind Snorkel ATX and the Netflix and Chill condoms is back — this time with a political agenda. UT alumnus Yousef Okasheh began selling humorous presidential campaign cereal boxes online Sunday to raise money to complete his latest app, “Who’s Hungry?” The company currently offers two cereal options — Raisin Bern for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Cinnamon Toast Trump for Donald Trump. Both cereal boxes were custom-designed by Okasheh and psychology senior Scottie Geiger. Geiger said getting involved with Okasheh’s latest project was a no-brainer. “I’ve gotten so used to people having these grand ideas, and they either fall through or never get off the ground,” Geiger said. “Yousef is one of those special people who not only gets you hyped about something, but also follows through with it. That’s always been very inspiring to me, so getting involved with one of his projects was an easy decision.” Geiger said their goal for this project was not to be politically neutral, but to openly support Sanders in
Mike McGraw | Daily Texan Staff
UT alumnus Yousef Okasheh, left, and psychology senior Scottie Geiger designed cereal boxes with politically satirical graphics to support Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
a fun-loving way. It is no mistake that “Who’s Hungry?” only offers cereals for two presidential candidates. Okasheh said he intentionally decided to exclude the others. “People keep asking me why I didn’t include a Hillary Clinton or Ted Cruz cereal, and it’s honestly because I don’t want to acknowledge them as candidates,” Okasheh said. “I don’t think Trump should be acknowledged as a candidate either, but everyone loves to hate him, so why not make some money off him?” Twenty-five percent of
CRAWFISH continues from page 8 This is a great stop for people who have spent weeks immersing themselves in the culture of crawfish season and are in desperate need for a different take on their new favorite food.
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the cereal box profits will be donated to Sanders’ campaign, but because Okasheh said he does not want to isolate potential customers, there is an option on the online order form to opt out of the donation. Yousef said the idea to sell novelty cereal boxes came from complications associated with his latest app. When Yousef and his friends developed and launched “Who’s Hungry?,” he said it had too many bugs to function properly, forcing them to take it down. “It was too expensive for us to rebuild the back end
of our app to get it fully functioning again, and it was upsetting to me that the product we had worked so hard on was just going to be sitting there unused,” Okasheh said. While the main goal for selling the presidential cereal boxes is to raise money to finish the “Who’s Hungry?” app in the next five months, for Okasheh, it all comes second to simply starting a commotion. “I mostly enjoy doing shit like this because it creates a buzz,” Okasheh said. “That is just so much fun for me, personally.”
it on the menu, it can be a lot more fun and cheaper to attend a crawfish boil at a restaurant or bar that does not typically offer crawfish. Places such as Lustre Pearl, Haymaker and Tap 24 hold various crawfish boils throughout the spring, making eating bite-sized
lobsters a celebratory social event. Check social media or flyers around town to find details on upcoming one-off crawfish boils. Where: The Goodnight, 2700 W. Anderson Ln. #101 When: Saturday, April 9 Admission: Free
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PUNK continues from page 8 it was super anti-punk to like classical music. We started listening to classical music in the van just to chill out and not be mad at each other, and I started to hear some cool things going on in there. I’d hear all these other different pieces and I thought, ‘Wow, this is really interesting.’ There’s so many things moving around and arranging, and I just got captivated.” Felix spent five years composing The Curse the Cross & the Lion, combining his pop and punk sensibilities with classical music. He can point to the spot in his living room where he spent every night between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the couch writing music. Once the composition was completed, he emailed every orchestra he could find, offering to pay them to play and record his music. In 2012, André Lousada, a conductor from New York, said yes. “[Nathan] seemed like a person that was very driven,” Lousada said. “That was the thing that makes him special. He was not bound to rules and things that we learn that we can and cannot do when we are studying at the conservatory.”
Once Lousada’s orchestra completed the recording, Felix leveraged a network of friends in media to promote the work. Riding the wave of good press, the album gained traction on classical music stations. Stephen Felix, his older brother and a former member of his band, said Nathan has always possessed a doit-yourself attitude. “He’s been blessed with this understanding of music that’s not quite like everybody else,” Stephen said. “I remember at the time when people were like, ‘You can’t do this; this is not the way it’s supposed to be done.’ And then others were like, ‘This is fascinating.’ He was really pushing the boundaries of classical music.” Before Felix completed Neon Heaven, he was approached by an orchestra in Denmark that wanted to be the first to play it. Now, as he works on his third symphony, a oneact opera, he said he looks forward to the experiments yet to come. “I want to write an opera. I want to write everything,” Felix said. “I want to do everything and cover every genre. It’s fun. Life is short.”
Angie Huang | Daily Texan Staff
UT alumnus Nathan Felix, punk rocker turned symphony composer, is releasing his second symphony, Neon Heaven.
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6 SPTS
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JACOB MARTELLA, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansports Wednesday, April 13, 2016
BASEBALL | HOUSTON 3 - 2 TEXAS
Longhorns fall short to Cougars
SIDELINE NBA THUNDER
By Michael Shapiro @mshap2
SPURS
Kacy Clemens seemed to have tied the game. Down 3-2 with one out in the ninth, the junior first baseman squared up a 1-1 fastball. Clemens’ lefty swing drove the ball to right center, looking as if it would clear the fence at Constellation Field in Sugar Land. But the mid-April air dragged the ball down at the warning track into the outfielder’s glove. The Longhorns’ best chance at tying the game quickly faded away, and Texas dropped the Tuesday night matchup with Houston, 3-2. Texas’ bats spent most of Tuesday’s contest stymied by the Cougars’ pitching. Starting for Houston was redshirt junior Bubba Maxwell. Maxwell missed nearly all of 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery but has rebounded this year to the tune of a 2.16 ERA in eight appearances. Tuesday provided more of the same for Maxwell, who went the first four innings without surrendering a base runner. As Maxwell cruised, sophomore Longhorn starter Connor Mayes scuffled. After going through the first two innings without a hitch, Mayes struggled in the third, allowing two Cougar runs to cross the plate. The scoring began with an RBI single by redshirt senior Michael Pyeatt, who was
MLB BRAVES
NATIONALS
ROYALS
ASTROS
TOP TWEET Charles Omenihu
@charless_94 Gabriel Lopez | Daily Texan Staff
Junior first baseman Kacy Clemens had a chance to send the Longhorns into extra innings with a ninth inning at bat. But Clemens’ drive to deep right center fell just short of the fences as Texas lost the game to Houston, 3-2.
followed by another base hit from sophomore Corey Julks, putting the Cougars up 2-0 after three innings. Maxwell’s perfection evaporated in the fifth. A Zane Gurwitz double drove in Texas’ first run of the day, continuing Gurwitz’ recent hot streak. The junior from San Antonio tore the cover off the ball during the weekend series with Kansas State, batting .583 to go along with six RBIs.
MEN’S BASKETBALL | COLUMN
Texas took advantage of some classic Augie Ball in the sixth. Back-to-back singles put runners at the corners with one out. With a chance to tie the game, junior Tres Barrera approached the plate. Barrera has been the catalyst of Texas’ offense this season, occupying the three hole in the Longhorns lineup. But instead of trying to bash the ball over the left-field fence, Barrera
laid down a bunt. The safety squeeze allowed Barrera to reach base and score freshman Kody Clemens, tying the game. But the score didn’t stay knotted for long. The Cougars responded in the seventh with their third RBI single of the game. Senior Justin Montemayor took a 2-2 pitch from Nick Kennedy and drove it into left field, giving Houston a 3-2 lead. Texas mustered just one
hit in the matchup’s final three innings, falling 3-2 to the Cougars. The loss marked the Longhorns’ third consecutive Tuesday night loss, dropping their record to 14–19 — 2–9 in one-run games. Tuesday gave the Longhorns another chance to gain some momentum as they attempt to right the ship in the 2016 season. But once again, that chance slipped away.
SOFTBALL
@amirchandani41
If Isaiah Taylor indeed goes through with his NBA dreams, his final game in a Texas jersey will be one where Texas lost on a halfcourt buzzer-beater. It doesn’t have to end that way, though. The junior guard has the ability to return for a senior season in Austin but announced last week that he will declare for the 2016 NBA Draft. Taylor won’t hire an agent, meaning he still has the ability to opt out of the draft and return to Texas within 10 days of the NBA draft combine. Regardless, Taylor should return to Texas for one last ride — not because of what he can give to the Longhorns, but because of the jump in his game he can take. The surface numbers say Taylor is already improving his game. Last season, the first under head coach Shaka Smart, Taylor averaged 15.0 points, 5.0 assists per game on 42 percent shooting from the field. All were career highs and Taylor earned a spot on the All-Big 12 first team. His speed gives him the ability to get to the rim at will, but the one thing that is clearly not NBA-ready is his jump shot. Taylor shot 31.1 percent from the 3-point line — which is an improve-
ment from his freshman and junior campaigns, but still not NBA-ready. The raw talent is there, but one more year under Smart can help Taylor harness it and grow other areas of his game. He would follow in the footsteps of recent Big 12 players who stayed in school for four years and improved. Oklahoma senior guard Buddy Hield is a projected lottery pick in this year’s draft after averaging 25.0 points per game on 49.6 percent shooting overall and 46.4 percent from three. Those numbers are all up from his junior season, where he averaged 17.5 points on 41.6 percent shooting and 37.1 percent from three. Then there’s Iowa State forward Georges Niang, who averaged 19.8 points, 6.2 rebounds on 54.7 percent shooting for his senior year. All up from his junior year stats of 15.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 46.8 percent shooting. His 3-point shooting was down, but he still shot a respectable 38.1 percent from deep. There’s no guarantee Taylor becomes a high firstround pick by returning to Texas like Hield. But right now, he’s not exactly high on anyone’s mock draft. Returning would give Taylor a chance to improve that stock, and, most importantly, his game.
Gabriel Lopez | Daily Texan file photo
Isaiah Taylor averaged 15.0 points and 5.0 assists per game, shooting 42 percent from the field in his junior season.
TODAY IN HISTORY
1954
Hall of Famer Hank Aaron made his major league debut with the Milwaukee Braves.
SPORTS BRIEFLY
Taylor should return for his senior season By Akshay Mirchandani
“I’m not interested in competing with anybody I hope we all make it !”
Defensive tackle position lacks depth
Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
Junior Celina Felix’s transition from junior college to the Division 1 level at Texas has been seamless. Felix ranks second on the team in batting average (.359) and home runs (6).
Felix makes smooth transition from junior college to Big 12 By Claire Cruz @claireecruz5
Celina Felix was surprised when she learned Texas wanted her. The Montclair, California, native started her collegiate career at Mt. San Antonio College in her hometown and was close to transferring to nearby California State University-Fullerton. But one night toward the end of her sophomore year while studying for a test, she got a call saying Texas was interested. “I couldn’t believe it,” Felix said. “I honestly kept it a secret for so long until it was official. I wanted to stay local if it wasn’t a big, really good school until this opportunity presented itself, and I just had to take it.” Although it’s a big adjustment moving from California to Texas, the junior third baseman hasn’t missed a beat on the field. Felix earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors just two weeks into her Longhorn career. She’s currently ranked second on the team in batting average (.359), home runs (6) and RBI (27) and has struck out just seven times in 117 atbats. She’s solid defensively
on the hot corner, too, and has made some highlight reel plays for Texas. Head coach Connie Clark praises Felix’s natural ability. In fact, Clark said she doesn’t try to over-coach Felix or let her think too much because that’s when she starts getting in trouble. “Celina Felix is about as raw of an athlete as we’ve had,” Clark said. “She’s so instinctually active, and at the plate she does things you can’t teach. Her handeye coordination and ability to really zero in and square up pitches is tremendous.” Felix came to Texas after the coaching staff searched the country for someone to help build depth on the left side of the field. Texas assistant coach Jennifer McFalls was on the Olympic team with Crystl Bustos of the Mt. San Antonio College staff, and that connection helped the Longhorns find their missing piece. “She really brings something special to the team,” senior second baseman Stephanie Ceo said. “She came out with a positive energy, she’s got an amazing swing and all that confidence; it’s really something special.”
She came out with a positive energy, she’s got an amazing swing and all that confidence; it’s really something special.
—Stephanie Ceo, Second baseman
The confidence her teammates have in her made the transition from junior college to Big 12 softball easier for Felix. She has fun and feels comfortable, and that allows her to play to her best ability and achieve the dreams she’s worked toward for so long. It wasn’t an easy process, but that makes her appreciate this experience even more. “I had a goal starting school,” Felix said. “I wanted to play ball and go to a good school, and fighting for that is exactly how I got here. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but I feel like I’m in it now. It feels good.”
Over the years, the mold for consistency on the Texas defense has been the defensive tackle position. Last year, former Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown was selected by the New England Patriots in the 2015 NFL Draft and junior defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway is projected to be a second round draft pick in this year’s NFL Draft. But in the upcoming season, the play in the trenches will look a lot different. Now that Ridgeway and senior Desmond Jackson declared for the NFL Draft, there are only four defensive tackles left on scholarship. With the lack of depth comes a lack of experience, and keeping up with new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert’s fast paced offense has been taxing on a thin corps of defensive tackles. “It’s tiring,” junior defensive tackle Poona Ford said. “There’s been days where I’ve found myself gassed, and I’m just worried about getting lined up.” Even though the lack of depth on the defensive line leaves players winded, it gives many the opportunity to step up to the challenge, even if they are true freshman. “If you are 300 pounds, you will play for us this coming season coming in as a true freshman,” defensive coordinator Vance Bedford said. “Why? Because you are big. I’ve got expectations for those guys, I’ve got to be honest with you, [playing] 20 snaps a game.” With the OrangeWhite scrimmage this Saturday, the defensive tackles currently on roster will have a chance to showcase their growth throughout the spring. “From what I’ve seen, I think everybody’s improving,” Ford said. “I think everybody is going to get a chance to prove they can play.” —Mark Skol, Jr.
COMICS 7
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Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Jasmine Lelauti
Today’s solution will appear here next issue
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CAT CARDENAS, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan Wednesday, April 13, 2016
CITY
ALUMNI
Female wrestling group turns theatrical
Punk rocker transitions to classical music career
By Elizabeth Hlavinka
Studio art junior Shelby Bohannon practices kicking, striking Jade White in the face at Zilker Park on Feb. 7, 2016. GLORY is an all-female wrestling show that will take place on April 16.
@hlavinka_e
Screams and grunts echo from within the wrestling rink’s rope walls. Two opponents bare their teeth as one lifts the other over her knee in a backbreaker, slamming her down for an easy pin. The match is Slampax versus Queen Cup, two characters representing tampons and menstral cups, respectively, wrestling to determine which female hygiene product prevails. The performance is one of many concepts created by Glorious Ladies of Rasslin, Y’all (GLORY) Austin’s first all-female and non-binary theatrical wrestling group. UT alumna Esme East, who helped develop the group, said its mission is to open a typically male-driven sport to a more diverse audience, in terms of both gender and race. “[Wrestling] is predominantly white males in the U.S.,” East said. “That scene is not hospitable to people who aren’t white males. We’re trying to contribute to a new scene that is hospitable to more people and allows them to engage with this art form.” Co-founder Cheryl Couture said female wrestling often has sexual connotations and is not taken as seriously as male performances. World Wresting Entertainment, for example, recently changed the title of the “Divas” championship, where women often fought in bras and panties, to the Women’s Championship.
Daulton Venglar Daily Texan file photo
Couture said she hopes GLORY can provide an opportunity for women to enjoy the medium without these stigmas. “During the attitude era of the World Wrestling Federation, all of the dumbest dudes I knew were in wrestling, so I dismissed it immediately as something that wasn’t cool,” Couture said. “Now I love it — I rewatched all of those attitude era matches.” Each GLORY match tells its own story, developed through physical stunts and dialogue. The members create their own characters, relationships and conflicts to be performed live during a show. East said the performances are a mix between a wrestling match and a play, including announcers, referees and audience participation. GLORY will perform at
GLORY PRESENTS: PLAGUE OF BLOOD 1.0 When: Saturday, April 16, 8 p.m. — 11 p.m. Where: Midway Field House, 2015 E. Riverside Dr. Admission: $13
the Midway Field House on April 16, complete with seven wrestling matches. East said members have the liberty to construct any character they want. Physics and math senior Aimee Sixta is performing as “Pussy Whip,” a cowgirl who ran away from home because she had “something to prove.” She teams up with “Potty Mouth,” a ranch hand character performed by international relations junior Julia Aikman. The two will wrestle in a tag-team match, working their stories
That scene is not hospitable to people who aren’t white males. We’re trying to contribute to a new scene that is hospitable to more people and allows them to engage with this art form. —Esme East, GLORY member
together in what they call a dysfunctional duo. “I’m terrified of being in front of people and speaking, but somehow being a ridiculous character helps with that,” Sixta said. “It’s a huge creative outlet for me. It gives me a lot more confidence. I feel like we’ve been encouraged to be as weird as we can be.” English senior Blair Wright is performing as a referee. Wright said she was inspired to join
GLORY after a male wrestler told her she was incapable of wrestling him. She said she began practicing with the group to literally take him down. Her character is an inattentive sorority girl that throws glitter and cash at the audience. “It pissed me off a little bit,” Wright said. “So when [a friend] brought up GLORY, [I saw it] as a way to eventually wrestle and beat this guy — to take down the man.”
By James Rodriguez @jamie_rod
Nathan Felix, a punk rocker who spent his first three post-grad years touring with his band, could feel himself getting antsy. So he did what any other person in his position would do: He decided to compose a symphony. “We were touring and playing our same songs every night, and we weren’t back learning our craft and different styles,” UT alumnus Felix said. “I saw a lot of different styles on tour, and that’s when I fell in love with other kinds of music. I thought, ‘Man, I want to do something bigger or better.’” With no formal education in music — he was rejected from the music school at the University of North Texas because he could not read or write sheet music — Felix crafted his own crash course in composing. He pored over library books and scoured the internet for instructional videos, driven by a newfound fascination with classical music. Over a decade later, Felix is an accomplished composer on the verge of releasing his second symphony, Neon Heaven, a follow-up effort to 2013’s critically acclaimed The Curse the Cross & the Lion. While his boredom with punk eventually led him to classical music, he said the conversion wasn’t something he would’ve predicted. “I hated classical music,” Felix said. “I hated it with a passion, because I thought
PUNK
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FOOD
Seafood spots offer distinct takes on crawfish this season By Stephen Acevedo @stephenace24
With crawfish season in full swing, Cajun and seafood restaurants all over Austin are adding the Southern delicacy to their menus. The Daily Texan has compiled a list of five stops to find boiled crawfish in Austin this spring. ATX Boudain Hut This popular West Campus food truck offers everything from gator po-boys to red beans and rice. However, during the spring, their most soughtafter menu item is boiled crawfish. Offered every Saturday of the season, their pound of crawfish is served with corn, sausage and potatoes. Get there early Saturday because they are known to sell out of crawfish quickly. Where: 2512 Rio Grande St.
Shoal Creek Saloon The giant Saints helmet propped up on its roof makes Shoal Creek Saloon nearly impossible to miss when
driving down Lamar Boulevard. With their advertised “color TV,” Shoal Creek is a perfect place to catch a NBA playoff game while getting a healthy fix of boiled crawfish. Although they charge extra for corn, sausage and potatoes with the crawfish, it is definitely worth the extra couple of bucks. Shoal Creek also has a nice outdoor patio on the creek for anyone who wants to get into full Cajun mode while they enjoy their boiled mud bugs. Where: 909 N. Lamar Blvd.
Stuffed Cajun Meat Market This Austin gem is primarily a Cajun grocery store. From authentic seasonings to handmade boudin and andouille sausage, Stuffed has all the fixings for anyone planning a home-cooked Cajun meal. They also offer a lunch and dinner menu for those who would rather have their food prepared
by Louisiana professionals. During the spring, the folks at Stuffed have fresh boiled crawfish straight from Louisiana on deck every day for Austinites looking for their most genuine crawfish option. For people wanting to try their hand at boiling their own crawfish, Stuffed sells live graded crawfish, boil seasonings and a wide range of specialty sausages. Where: 5207 Brodie Ln.
LA Crawfish LA Crawfish has a slightly more unorthodox menu for a crawfish joint. In addition to boiled seafood and po-boys, it also serves up a number of Asian specialties such as Vietnamese pho and kimchi oysters. The Asian twist on classic Cajun menu items makes LA Crawfish distinguishable from any other crawfish joint in Austin. Even the boiled crawfish is given a taste of Asian culture with a “hot and sour” option.
PLEDGE DRIVE KICK OFF SHOW THURSDAY, APRIL 14 AT 9 PM
SPIDER HOUSE CAFE AND BALLROOM 2908 & 2906 FRUTH ST, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78705
CRAWFISH page 5
Illustration by Melanie Westfall | Daily Texan Staff
MARSHALL TIDRICK | DAILY TEXAN PHOTOGRAPHER