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SYSTEM
seekUT struggles to build user base By Caleb Wong @caleber96
The UT System announced it is making a major update to its salary and interactive debt database, seekUT, with new features at a higher education conference Tuesday. seekUT is a online tool that helps students compare salaries, debt levels and median earnings by major among UT System graduates. The system is planning to put medical and
dental schools in separate categories to make it easier for prospective medical students to make informed decisions about going into the health care field, said Jessica Shedd, who helped create seekUT. “For prospective medical students, it can really give you a sense of what to expect,” Shedd said. “What we really feel is important and helps students at any level, whether they’re medical students or undergraduates, is to
be able to put their debt levels in perspective.” However, even as seekUT plans to add new features to a stable core product they are pleased with, the System is struggling to reach its target audience: high school and college students. David Troutman, director of strategic initiatives for the UT System, said the website has been visited about 70,000 times over the course of a year. That means not very many of the System’s
250,000 students are using the tool, he said. “Students don’t know about it,” Troutman said. “We’ve tried Instagram. We’ve tried Facebook. We’ve tried any kind of Twitter.” Implementing feedback collected from students who have used seekUT, the system is trying to attract more users by making it easier to filter searches for salary data by individual schools they attend, said Paula Bales,
communications director of strategic initiatives for the UT System. The System doesn’t want students to be confused by national databases that compare institutions, such as private and public schools, which are fundamentally different from each other, she said. “We wanted to make sure that the students who were coming to UT institutions and that were graduating from
DATABASE page 3
CAMPUS
Student’s blog showcases black voices By Elizabeth Hlavinka @hlavinka_e
On a campus of more than 53,334 students, it can be easy for the voices of the 2,000 black students to be silenced by the majority. Advertising sophomore Langston Dillard is working to change that. This month, Dillard created The Four Point Five blog, a site that tells the stories of black students within the campus’s 4.5 percent minority. Dillard initially started the blog for a public relations course, but plans to continue updating the website with new portraits and profiles regularly. Dillard said the blog’s mission is to showcase diverse experiences within UT’s black community. As a minority, black students are often underrepresented on campus and can be reduced to a number. Dillard said his blog aims to deconstruct the universal black narrative in order to give others a better understanding of the black student perspective. “There’s not one way to think about being black — there’s not a single story to be told,” Dillard said. “That’s why I’m doing it. I think often there are voices that are louder than others.”
Briana Vargas | Daily Texan Staff
Advertising sophomore Langston Dillard is working to change the dynamics of black student expression. His project, The Four Point Five Blog, showcases diverse experiences within UT’s black community.
Public relations lecturer David Junker said Dillard’s blog stood out from other submissions. While other students featured the best brunch, queso or taco places in Austin, Dillard chose to write about an issue affecting thousands of
college students. “This is what’s beneath that abstract number — the life beneath it,” Junker said. “These stories, if not told here, are left untold.” Dillard said he was inspired to create the blog from his own experiences at
UT. After transferring from UTSA in the fall, he noticed a lack of diversity on campus. Walking into a class or standing in front of the tower, he often realized he was the only black person in sight. Dillard said he hopes the blog can give others a
frame of reference for understanding his experience. Thus far, Dillard has featured three black students on campus, giving each their own webpage, photo and interview shared on the blog.
BLOG page 5
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CAMPUS
Students show work at Research Week 2016 By Rachel Lew @rachelannlew
Undergraduate students from diverse fields of study are showcasing their work and exploring ways to participate in research during the University’s ninth annual Research Week. Research Week began Monday and will go through this Friday, and features a variety of events including exhibitions, performances and workshops all focused on undergraduate research, according to the Undergraduate Studies website. Groups from various disciplines across campus will table at Longhorn Research Bazaar from 12–2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20 at the Union Ballroom. Psychology professor Zenzi Griffin, director of the Cognition and Communication Lab, said she thinks Research Week provides an opportunity to share the lab’s work with others. “We will have three posters from the lab at the Research Bazaar,” Griffin said. “Research Week serves as an important reminder of how much students contribute to the world-class research that we associate with faculty.” The Cognition and Communication Lab focuses on speech and is comprised of students from the departments of psychology, communications sciences and disorders, and linguistics. Griffin said the lab studies how experiences affect the words and sentences people choose to use. Griffin said she thinks some of the most significant learning occurs when students get involved in projects outside the classroom. “Students who simply attend classes are missing out
RESEARCH page 2
UNIVERSITY
CITY
Grant funds expansion of online journalism courses
Biology professor to give Earth Day talk
By Elizabeth Huang @lizzthewiz
The Knight Center for Journalism, a UT program that trains journalists in Latin America and the Caribbean, recently received $600,000 to expand its global online courses. The grant came from the Knight Foundation, which seeks to promote quality journalism and advance media innovation. This money provides the Center with the stability and funding to create more free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS), said Rosental Alves, director of the Knight Center. “The importance of the MOOCS is the democratization of knowledge,”
Alves said. “The magic the MOOCS have is that someone from Africa or Latin America or Asia can take a course with an expert in the topic. We can connect people from all over the world.” The courses, taught by professional journalists and experienced journalism professors, consist of videos, readings and interactive forums. While the classes are all online, it is not impersonal because the core of the class is in the interaction between peers on the forums, Alves said. “What’s magical about this is they create a global community,” Alves said. “We have people from 150 countries on the
KNIGHT page 2
By Zia Lyle @Zia_Lyle
Think globally and act locally. According to integrative biology professor David Hillis, Austinites should use this mindset when approaching Earth’s conservation and protection. This Friday at 7 p.m., Hillis will give a talk about the Barton Springs salamander, an endangered species that only resides within the Barton Springs system in Austin. This Earth Day talk, part of the “Hot Science - Cool Talks” series, will discuss the history of the salamander and how the city of Austin acted to protect it. “The point of my talk really is that the things that are good for the salamander are also good for humans,” Hillis
said. “In order for Austin to develop as a city, you have to have adequate water supply and quality of life, and the Barton Springs salamander has basically been a tool that Austin has used to protect those things.” Hillis said the Barton Springs salamander is endangered primarily because it lives in a large urban spring, which is affected by development in Austin. Hillis plans to discuss what has happened since the discovery of the salamander in the early 1990s, focusing on the politics of conservation here in Austin. Bill Bunch, executive director of Save Our Springs, a local Austin nonprofit aimed at protecting Barton Springs, said the work necessary to preserve the Barton Springs salamander
Illustration by Victoria Smith | Daily Texan Staff
isn’t over. “To me, the salamander is a stark, powerful example of the fact that you don’t have to go to the rainforest of the Amazon or to Antarctica to see the clash
between preserving and sustaining Earth’s ecosystems,” Bunch said. Bunch also said if citizens of Austin can’t preserve
SALAMANDER page 2
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
ONLINE
REASON TO PARTY
Foreign policy expert lectures on counter terrorism. PAGE 3
Kissinger protests threaten academic inclusivity. PAGE 4
Texas comes from behind to defeat Rio Grande. PAGE 6
Enjoy these four stoner comedies on 4/20. PAGE 8
Design Institute for Healthdiscusses medical school. PAGE 3
Chariot ride-hailing is only a temporary solution. PAGE 4
Texas Tech continues to dominate Big 12. PAGE 6
Navigate running into your ex with these tips. PAGE 8
Sunday’s rainstorms displaced 55 dogs from the Town Lake Animal Center. Read about the efforts to get the dogs fostered at dailytexanonline.com
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Wednesday, April 20, 2016
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Volume 116, Issue 142
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TOMORROW’S WEATHER
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Undergraduate students from diverse fields of study are showcasing their work during the University’s ninth annual Research Week.
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A student steps out onto the sixth floor balcony of the Gates Dell Complex to talk on the phone Tuesday afternoon.
RESEARCH
on what the University has to offer both intellectually, but also in terms of developing professional skills,” Griffin said. John Parsons, research assistant at the SoundBrain lab, said he thinks it is important to see how individual research fits within the larger framework. Parsons said SoundBrain Lab is interested in the neurobiological processes behind speech perception and learning. “Research Week is an excellent opportunity to … learn what other labs and disciplines are doing,” Parsons said. “To have the opportunity to speak directly to those involved in research — in one place, no less — allows a more interactive experience that ultimately serves students a more comprehensive understanding of the work being done.” In addition to Longhorn Research Bazaar and guest speakers, Research Week features poster presentations by undergraduate students.
Mariana Gonzalez Daily Texan Staff
Student Engineering Council and Engineering Student Services collaborated to create a poster exhibition on engineering research, in which 70 undergraduate students presented posters while 100 graduate students and faculty members served as judges. Kristin Astrachan, chemical engineering junior and director of academic affairs in Student Engineering Council,
said the exhibition provides an opportunity for students to display their research and gain feedback from graduate students who do not specialize in their specific field of study. “A lot of times, the challenge is selling your research to those who don’t have the same technical background as you,” Astrachan said. “This is a technical audience, but not every graduate student is an expert in each field of research
being presented.” Civil engineering sophomore Arqa Mast said she thinks Research Week symbolizes the collaborative knowledge of scholars from different disciplines. “I decided to get involved in Research Week because I wanted to participate in this rich exchange of ideas, which occurs when presenters present their ideas to the general audience, and that leads to stimulating conversations,” Mast said.
KNIGHT
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Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sarah Lanford, Ben Magnusson, Kasey Salisbury Page Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kate Dukes, Alessandra Monnerat Life&Arts Writer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maggie Rosenbohm Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vera Bespalova, Hannah Daniel, Elizabeth Huang Opinion Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bailey Ethier, Reagan Stuart, Emily Vernon Comics Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jackson Archer, Laura Moyer, Chester Omenukor, Tin Rodriguez Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mariana Gonzalez, Mary Pistorius, Maddox Price, Briana Vargas Science & Tech Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zia Lyle
forums at the same time. It’s fascinating to see people of different cultures and different levels of English working together on an infographic.” The original objective of the Knight Center was to create an innovative distance learning program in 2003. Since then, the Center has reached a global audience and grown significantly with the implementation of MOOCs in 2012. “From 2003 to 2012, there have been 10 times the number of journalists. We’ve gone from training 7,000 to 70,000 in 169 countries,” said Teresa Mioli, online content coordinator for the Knight Center. These online courses have a visible effect on societies in Latin America, Alves said. For example, the Center is creating a MOOC for judges, lawyers and prosecutors in
Mary Pistorius | Daily Texan Staff
Rosental Alves, director of the Knight Center at Moody College, is using a new Knight Center grant to create more Massive Open Online Courses.
Latin America on why they should protect journalists and their freedom of expression. Janine Warner is the founder and executive director of SembraMedia, an organization that aims to create a community of digital journalists in Latin America and Spain. Warner, who taught an entrepreneurial journalism course, said she has seen
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(512) 471-1865 | advertise@texasstudentmedia.com Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gerald Johnson Business/Operations Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Frank Serpas III Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emily Cohen Account Executives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brady Beal, Allysun Gutierrez, Celeste Schurman, Shukree Shabazz Student Account Executives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Camilo Sanchez, Andrew Serice Student Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jannice Truong Special Editions/Production Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stephen Salisbury
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NEWS
how the courses have made an impact. “Since I taught that first MOOC in 2013, I’ve kept in touch with many of the participants who have gone on to produce new digital media projects, like Efecto Cocuyo en Venezuela, that are bringing valuable and much-needed information to countless others throughout the world,” Warner said.
Th hind Disn to im syste direc stitut DI Stace ing spok ulty purp work “Stra DI labor Colle Dell is ex first dents an in apply based the care Th year and C signe recog “It Gabriel Lopez | Daily Texan Staff gerat portu
SALAMANDER continues from page 1
the salamander, which is within such close proximity, then there is little hope that people can protect the rest of the planet. According to Hillis, the loss of diversity on a small scale can lead to large scale problems in entire ecosystems. He said he believes there is a lot of misinformation about endangered species and plans to discuss citizen involvement in local conservation efforts. “You often hear people say they think people are more important than salamanders,” Hillis said. “But, in fact, protecting endangered species is a way of protecting resources that are critical for humans, as well as other species.” Hillis said he cares about the Barton Springs salamander because he has been involved with it since its discovery, but he thinks others should care about it as well. “Personally, I care about salamanders because I care about salamanders,” Hillis said. “Larger than that, I think people should care about the salamander because it is an indication of having clean and abundant water, something that is critical not only for the Barton Springs salamander, but also an entire ecosystem that is critical for our own survival.” Hillis planned for this talk to be held on Earth Day partially because protecting this one endangered salamander relates to a larger Earth-scale focus on conservation, he said. “It is very difficult to take on projects that affect all of the Earth simultaneously,” Hillis said. “Protecting the Earth is going to require lots of local efforts, and this is an example of those local efforts.”
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NEWS
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Wednesday, Aprill 20, 2016
CAMPUS
Design Institute for Health reimagines health care By Vera Bespalova @thedailytexan
The design concepts behind Starbucks, Apple and Disney World can be used to improve the health care system in the U.S., said the directors of the Design Institute for Health (DIH). DIH executive director Stacey Chang and managing director Beto Lopez spoke to students and faculty Tuesday about DIH’s purpose, goals and future work in an event titled “Strange Bedfellows.” DIH is the result of a collaboration between UT’s College of Fine Arts and Dell Medical School, which is expected to welcome its first class of medical students this summer. DIH is an initiative that focuses on applying a creative designbased approach to tackle the United States’ health care challenges. The Institute started a year ago and is led by Lopez and Chang, both former designers from internationally recognized firm IDEO. “It would not be an exaggeration to describe the opportunities in Austin as one
of a kind, maybe once in a lifetime, essentially, to build a model for how the rest of the U.S. health system can work,” Chang said. Chang said DIH has three major aims: redesigning the system, developing Austin as the center for healthcare entrepreneurship and making people understand the value of design as a whole. “Design, as in any artistic endeavor, results in really tangible things that have an emotional impact on people,” Chang said. Chang said the dean of Dell Medical School, Clay Johnston, initially reached out to him because he felt the need for more creative, design-oriented minds to help solve problems with the health care system. “It’s not just thinking about new ways and new approaches, it’s actually about getting your hands dirty and building new things,” UT alumnus Lopez said. Lopez said DIH wants to rethink seemingly insignificant moments, such as checking into the hospital. They also want to consider the role care providers play
Gabriel Lopez | Daily Texan Staff
DIH executive director Stacey Chang, left, and managing director Beto Lopez speak to students and faculty about DIH’s purpose at the Doty Fine Arts Building on Tuesday morning.
in places where they’re not typically recognized, like the grocery store or bank. He believes the idea that health care only happens at
hospitals is outdated. Tamara Carroll, theatre and dance graduate student, said she attended the event as part of her
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Shaarik Zafar, special representative to Muslim communities at the U.S. Department of State, discussed the importance of countering violent extremism Tuesday afternoon at the LBJ School of Public Affairs.
UT System Institutions had the facts about students who were like them,” Bales said. “If someone graduated from a private school in the Northeast with $100,000 in debt, that’s not a very accurate picture for a student going to one of our institutions.” However, students still prefer to use other online tools such as LinkedIn or Glassdoor during their job or graduate school search over seekUT, said Robert Vega, director of Liberal Arts Career Services. Vega also noted seekUT isn’t ideal for some students who are taking unconventional career paths or looking at outof-state career options. “We coach students
Maddox Price Daily Texan Staff
Foreign policy expert gives lecture on importance of combating extremism By Hannah Daniel @hannnahdaniel
Shaarik Zafar, special representative to Muslim communities at the U.S. Department of State, gave a lecture discussing the importance of countering violent extremism yesterday afternoon at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Zafar, a Plan II and UT School of Law alumnus, said Muslims are victims of terrorist acts far more often than they are the perpetrators. The stereotypes about this group perpetuated by society are inaccurate, Zafar said. “There’s 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, and they care about the same things everybody else does,” Zafar said.
portfolio program. “I thought it was really interesting … just thinking about what the problems in the health care system
Zafar said recruitment by extremist groups causes some young Muslims to undergo a process of radicalization influenced by personal, group, community, sociopolitical and ideological factors. Although these factors might motivate a violent extremist, Zafar clarified none of these influences can justify or excuse the actions of terrorist groups. Combating violent extremism should be a joint effort by private groups, individuals and the U.S. government through foreign policy, Zafar said. For example, one private group took Zafar’s suggestion and held a free workshop teaching Muslim activists how to produce their own material to combat the
high-quality propaganda videos being created by terrorist groups. Zafar ended the talk by saying individuals in the Muslim community are making active efforts to negate the ideas promoted by violent extremist groups. “Young Muslims are recognizing that their communities are being attacked,” Zafar said. “They are increasingly taking leadership roles in countering violent narratives and making clear that terrorists do not represent themselves or their religion. This is what gives me hope and a sense of optimism.” Public affairs graduate student Sam Biscaro said the lecture reassured him about the government’s strategy to mitigate terrorism, since
he agreed with many of Zafar’s points. “It was really insightful,” Biscaro said. “The big takeaway for me is that there’s not one problem. You have to go at this from a lot of different angles and address areas like economic policy, women’s rights and humanitarian policy.” Government sophomore Hicks Bolton said he was encouraged by Zafar’s hopeful outlook, despite the frequency of terrorist attacks in recent years. “I thought it was really interesting hearing someone in the government’s perspective on it,” Bolton said. “It really struck me how optimistic he was, even though he’s the one doing this work and who sees the dirt behind this.”
are, and thinking about innovative approaches is applicable, I think, to any management position,” Carroll said. interested in in-state, out-ofstate and international careers as well as gap year and non-traditional employment options; therefore, we utilize and coach students to utilize national and international research tools and social media networks,” Vega wrote in an email. Undergraduate studies sophomore Pearl Souvannarath, who plans on majoring in advertising, said she has never heard of seekUT but has looked at salary data for various majors using a different online tool. “A lot of us base our majors on what we’re going to make after [graduation],” Souvannarath said. “It would be helpful to know what we’re getting into and whether it will pay off.”
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CLAIRE SMITH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | @TexanEditorial Wednesday, April 20, 2016
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COLUMN
Kissinger protests harm honest academia By Reagan Stuart Daily Texan Columnist @realreaganstu
From April 26 to 28, the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library at UT will host the Vietnam War Summit. The event will feature many distinguished speakers such as Secretary of State and Vietnam War veteran John Kerry, award-winning documentarian Ken Burns and several Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists. But the name drawing the most attention is former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a historically colossal figure who stands right at the heart of any discussion about America’s role in Vietnam. Kissinger is the embodiment of divisiveness. For his efforts in organizing a cease-fire in Vietnam, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973. The decision was controversial, as Kissinger also organized bombings in Cambodia. Two members of the Nobel selection committee resigned in protest. North Vietnamese leader Le Duc Tho, co-recipient of the prize, refused to accept his portion because he did not want to share it with Kissinger. While Kissinger is regarded by many as the most effective American statesman in the last half-century, others believe Kissinger should stand trial for what they say are war crimes committed in the Vietnam era. Regardless of which side of history one believes Kissinger belongs on, he is undeniably of historical and academic significance. His effects on
foreign policy can still be felt today. As such, his presence on a panel concerning Vietnam at our University is an honor. That is why the tone of the protests against Kissinger’s upcoming campus visit is so disappointing. The International Socialist Organization claims Kissinger should not be allowed to speak on campus and is planning to picket his speech. The public Facebook event page states the diplomat “has no place on a [university], much less speaking at an event addressing the indefensibly imperialist US invasion of Vietnam.” This is not the first time Kissinger has faced controversy at UT. In 1984, 50 protesters were arrested when Kissinger spoke with Robert McNamara. In 2000, a Kissinger appearance on campus was canceled for fear of violence. Plenty has been written about students protesting commencement speeches by many prominent public figures they disagree with, often leading to those events being canceled. While the implications of such tactics on free speech are debatable, to picket Kissinger and explicitly wish for him not to attend a conference about a historical event in which he played a major role is unacceptable because Kissinger’s attendance is purely academic in nature. It is not just an attack on free speech that is occurring — it is an affront to the spirit of academia. I do not wish to dispute that Kissinger made decisions of poor moral judgment. The bombings of Cambodia and Laos are horrific historical events
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Helen Fernandez | Daily Texan Staff
From April 26 to April 28 the LBJ Library will partner with UT to host The Vietnam War Summit
that are objects of national shame. However, if we wish to avoid such tragedies in the future, then we owe it to ourselves to learn from our past mistakes. As an institution of learning, this is part of the mission of the University of Texas. When the LBJ Library was dedicated at UT in 1971, Lyndon Johnson reflected on the open-
ness of the library, saying, “It’s all here, the story of our time — with the bark off. There is no record of a mistake, or an unpleasantness or a criticism that is not included in the files here.” The student body would be wise to continue with that spirit of openness in the coming weeks. Stuart is a Plan II sophomore from Lubbock.
COUNTERPOINT
Raising minimum wage Increasing minimum wage necessary for sustainability proves unfair and harmful By Mubarrat Choudhury Daily Texan Senior Columnist @MubarratC
Thousands came together last week in a nationwide strike for a $15 minimum wage, highlighting how livable wages have become a significant issue in this election cycle. Although the proposal has faced significant backlash, many of the arguments against it are grounded in myth. Opponents of a $15 minimum wage argue the consequence of enacting such policy would result in employers hiring fewer workers or reducing the number of hours employees work. However, nonpartisan research institution Center on Budget and Policy Priorities looks at the issue beyond simple supply and demand and uses mostly empirical precedent for their research. The institution argues raising the minimum wage would increase business efficiency by increasing employees’ perceived value of work and increasing employers’ performance standards. This combination would then yield lower job turnover and reduce employers’ hiring costs, leading to employment gains. Further research also shows that with at least a moderate increase, the minimum wage has had little effect on the amount employed. And although a $15 wage isn’t necessarily moderate wage increase, that doesn’t mean that the government shouldn’t find a way to gradually reach that point. What a livable wage will do is increase the purchasing power of individuals and allow people to overall buy more, leading to further economic growth. However, opponents of the minimum wage increase would argue that when increasing the minimum wage, this growth would negatively affect low income workers because it would increase the prices of goods and services. But according the Economic Policy Institute, a minimum wage increase will protect people from prices that will increase regardless.
By Bailey Ethier
What a livable wage will do is increase the purchasing power of individuals and allow people to overall buy more, leading to further economic growth.
Daily Texan Columnist @baileyethier
The average starting salary for graduates with a bachelor degree in education is $34,900, according to The Wall Street Journal. A criminal justice degree will get you $35,000 to start, while graphic design students start out at $35,700. Someone flipping burgers for 50 hours a week for $15 an hour will make $39,000 annually before taxes. In the last week, protesters in Austin have sought to alter the U.S. wage structure by seeking a $15 minimum wage. But there needs to be a wage structure that exists to encourage people to work their way up; without one, capitalism would fail the U.S. economy. More than doubling the federal minimum wage is a change that goes too far, too fast. It’s basic economics. If employee salaries have to go up, the employer either has to employ fewer workers or raise the price of their goods and services to offset costs. So, sure, some employees would go from making $7.25 an hour (the federal minimum rate that Texas abides by) to $15 an hour — but some would go from making $7.25 an hour to $0 an hour,
Even beyond economic issues, we have to look at the amount of people without a livable minimum wage. A person working fulltime with two kids needs about $30,000 to be able to live and stay out of poverty. That’s a $15 minimum wage over a 40-hour work week, which would raise four million people out of poverty. Morally speaking, if it can increase the quality of that many lives, the $15 minimum wage is an absolute necessity. It’s easy to say that we can leave this issue up to the states, especially when a $15 minimum wage wouldn’t be necessary in some areas than others. But if the country wants to see substantive change in its domestic fiscal policy, without the harms usually projected by wage increase opponents, it would gradually increase the minimum wage to a livable wage like $15. Otherwise we’ll be leaving four million people in a third-world Illustration by Gabby Breiter | Daily Texan Staff America. Choudhury is an economics freshman from Richardson.
such as the 500 employees at UC Berkeley who were fired, in part, because of a $15 minimum wage. As numerous politicians have noted, minimum wage isn’t meant to serve as a lifelong salary. Although this sentiment has been repeated to the point of triteness, minimum wage is meant to be a starting point — in 2014 nearly 50 percent of minimum wage workers were between 16 and 24, and from this they were able to work hard and receive a raise. More than 80 percent of small businesses in the United States do the right thing: use minimum wage as a starting point. But this salary point doesn’t last forever, as a starting wage turns into a raise, rewarding effective, hard-working employees and motivating them to continue working hard. Raises should be earned, rather than giving inflated starting wages. Having an inflated $15 per hour starting wage doesn’t make sense generally, but it especially doesn’t vibe with varying costs of living across the country. The real value of $15 has vastly different worth of purchasing power depending on location; for instance, spending $15.51 in Texas will buy you only $12.74 worth of goods in DC. In Mississippi it will get you $17.28 worth of goods. Putting everyone at the same starting point across the board means different things for people in different places. Ultimately, minimum wage should be left up to the states and cities. It is a universal truth that all Americans want to be compensated fairly for the work they are doing, but the federal government doesn’t need to get involved to ensure people get paid more. If businesses continue to compensate workers in the ways they can afford to, and if workers treat minimum wage as the starting point it is designed to be, there is no need to radically alter a system that works for the vast majority of American businesses. Ethier is a government freshman from Westport.
COLUMN
Chariot for Women aids in securing women’s safety By Emily Vernon
Daily Texan Columnist @_emilyvernon_
In the coming months, a ride-hailing app called Chariot for Women will be launched that is designed to address some women’s fears of riding in a car alone with an unknown man. The company will hire only female drivers and only serve women or boys under the age of 13. It was created by Michael Pelletz, a former Uber driver concerned with the potentially dangerous situations women could be put in when both using and driving for a ride-hailing app. If this app was available in Austin, I would unquestionably use it when leaving a friend’s apartment by myself at 2 a.m. It has the potential to help secure
women’s safety, something Uber and Lyft have failed to do. While Pelletz should be applauded for taking women’s safety into consideration, developing a single app cannot replace long term goals of eradicating sexual assault and violence against women. Rather, we need to continue dialogue about these issues and include men and boys in the solutions as well. Between April and August 2015, there were seven reported cases of sexual assault by an Uber or Lyft driver in Austin alone, not necessarily a comforting statistic. This data validates the creation and use of an app like Chariot. At the same time, the app proves the necessity of a drastic cultural change in today’s world pertaining to how we talk about women’s safety. As Rachana Jadala, a business honors
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.
freshman and member of the UT Feminist Action Project, said, this conversation needs to be more about empowering women to protect themselves. “In terms of how we discuss women’s safety, the discourse tends to circle around the idea that women must be protected, and we as a society should protect them — when I think the better and less patronizing option is to give women tools to protect themselves,” Jadala said. These stories of sexual assault deserve the utmost attention. Perhaps women would feel safer if Uber and Lyft required more comprehensive background checks on their drivers, which is currently the subject of a contentious fight here in Austin. Whatever the tactical and currently unknown solution is, it is disappointing
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.
that women are targeted to the point of feeling uncomfortable when hailing a ride. However, Pelletz’s idea is crucial to protecting women, even if only temporarily. As a society, we need a cultural change, and it needs to start with the way people talk about sexual assault. We need to include boys in the conversation and not simply make it a gender-specific problem. This is not a “women’s issue,” it is a societal issue. We cannot rely on an app to protect women; we need to be able to rely on the general population. It is great that Pelletz recognizes the inherent dangers of being a woman; however, it is crucial that society reaches a point where men are no longer congratulated for protecting women. Vernon is a PACE freshman from the Woodlands.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2016
MOVIE REVIEW | ‘HOSTILE BORDER’
Weak narrative outweighs strong direction, imagery in ‘Hostile Border’ By Charles Liu
@CharlieInDaHaus
Although it’s a crime drama, “Hostile Border” has enough political subtext in its opening that viewers might guess the rest of the movie will be social commentary. For the first 10 minutes, there are illegal immigrants in the U.S. and glimpses of an American dream that’s become a nightmare for lead character Claudia (Veronica Sixtos). An illegal resident herself, she’s arrested for credit card fraud and deported back to Mexico. Lucky her — she doesn’t know how to speak Spanish, making her what Mexicans call a “pocha.” Claudia goes to live on the ranch of her estranged father Andres (Julio Cedillo) and grandmother (María del Carmen Farias), but she wants to return to America. That’s when Ricky (Roberto Urbina) shows up. He’s a drug smuggler who has to sneak his cargo across Andres’ ranch to bypass
Mexican law enforcement, and he offers Claudia money and a better life for her help. Claudia greedily snatches this opportunity, and the ensuing acts of the movie become a crime drama that somehow drags and feels light at the same time. The drug smuggling never becomes the focus throughout most of the story’s midsection. We know it’s happening, yet it never becomes a source of drama. What if Claudia had to avoid being caught by her father? What if the authorities decided to post more manpower along the ranch? These things never happen; Claudia apparently includes drug runs into her daily schedule quite easily. Claudia’s relationship with her father fares better, adding emotional dimension to the proceedings. Cedillo commands a strong presence as the rugged, flawed Andres, a man who wants to teach his daughter nobility in the face of hardship. Claudia, who does jobs for easy money, needs to grow
and adopt the righteous ways of her dad. On paper, Claudia’s arc is poignant, but the execution is a mixed bag. She spends most of the film reacting to things and has little to say or do, though Sixtos manages to sell her silent, torturous apprehension as she finds herself lost in a homeland which she feels no attachment to. Unfortunately, that’s a paradoxical dilemma the film has little interest exploring, instead relying on long shots of Sixtos brooding as Claudia comes to realize she has to choose between Andres and Ricky. Too much of the picture relies on Sixtos’ physical performance to let us into Claudia’s head, and while she does what she can, the way her character is written leaves her cold to viewers. This makes the film’s violent finale unexpected — not because it’s a surprising plot point, but because we don’t understand Claudia well enough to know why she makes the choices she does.
Courtesy of Veracity Productions
“Hostile Border” has strong direction and impressive cinematography, but is ultimately weakened by a weak narrative.
“Hostile Border” is a pretty film to look at, and director and cinematographer Michael Dwyer delivers some gorgeous views of the Mexican desert. There are many viscerally striking scenes, such as a long tracking shot of Claudia’s horse race with her father, and some up-close moments with
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the same emotional maturity of a 12-year-old, but it’s also sweet. Franco and Rogen are delightful as likable losers, and their comic chemistry is impeccable.
Dillard featured corporate communications sophomore Kelly Nwonuma, who shared her ambitions to go to law school and to be an advocate for students with special needs, a dream inspired by her own autistic brothers. Nwonuma, who is also a part of spirit and academic groups on campus, said she doesn’t limit herself to one identity and that Dillard’s blog helps to spotlight that. “I tend to stray away from only identifying as one thing,” Nwonuma said. “I’m a multi-faceted person, as I think everybody is. While I do identify [as] a black, African-American woman, I’m so much more than that.” Dillard said he includes himself in his reporting in an
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“Dazed and Confused” The night following the last day of school is more than alright for the characters of Richard Linklater’s “Dazed and Confused,” which encapsulates the joy and awkwardness of youth. Set in the 1970s, the picture is drawn to teenage rites of passage, from hazing to smoking pot, and finds its heroes in a crew of teens who get drunk and have sex. The main character is “Pink” Floyd (Jason
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Courtesy of Universal Studios
Matthew McConaughey plays a marijuana-loving Lothario in Linklater’s iconic high school movie, “Dazed and Confused.”
London), a high school graduate and footballer who grapples with signing a pledge to abstain from drugs over the summer. Among the rest of the cast are young stars Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey and Adam Goldberg,
who play characters that aren’t romanticized depictions of young adults. Throughout “Dazed and Confused,” Linklater explores the dynamics of the teenage climate, asks what makes the losers and winners, and delivers a profound and hopeful conclusion.
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a flamethrower Claudia uses to torch bothersome cacti. Moody lighting and dark images also set a grim mood when Claudia realizes how dangerous Ricky really is. The film is an interesting piece as the work of budding indie filmmakers, and that it was made at all should be com-
mended. There are the makings of an engaging morality tale with the performers to make it work, and it’s well-shot and directed. The fact that the narrative doesn’t hold up as well is disappointing. As it stands, “Hostile Border” is a stepping stone for Dwyer, from whom better productions may come.
I’m a multi-faceted person, as I think everyone is. While I do identify [as] a black, AfricanAmerican woman, I’m so much more than that. —Kelly Nwonuma, Corporate communications sophomore
attempt to bring readers into the conversation. That way, the pieces are more inclusive for the audience. In an interview with music production junior Dashon Moore, for example, he shared Moore’s success as an entrepreneur, but also revealed his own nervousness in interviewing him, and admitted to getting sidetracked within
their conversation. Moore said speaking with Dillard helped him become more conscious of his relationship with the black community. “Though I can relate to some of the things they go through, we don’t have the same story,” Moore said. “[The Four Point Five] is about giving a voice to the diversity within that 4.5 [percent.]”
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JACOB MARTELLA, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansports Wednesday, April 20, 2016
BASEBALL | TEXAS 7 – 5 UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
Longhorns defeat Vaqueros in comeback fashion By Michael Shapiro
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@mshap2
Prior to Tuesday night’s matchup with UT Rio Grande Valley, it looked as though the Longhorns would cruise. Texas had defeated the Vaqueros in all of their past 40 matchups, dating back to 1972. But on Tuesday, the victory didn’t come so easy. After falling down 3-0 early, the Longhorns desperately needed a spark. And in danger of falling five games below .500, they found that spark — not at the plate or on the mound, but on the base paths. Texas took advantage of redshirt junior catcher Austin Oakes’ inefficiency behind the plate throughout the night. The Longhorns completed the game with four stolen bases, in addition to advancing on two passed balls and three wild pitches. The carousel on the base paths combined with some timely hitting gave Texas a 7-5 win, its third in four games. “A lot of times we have folded this year when we were down,” freshman outfielder Tyler Rand said. “Tonight, we showed we still have a lot of fight in us.” After a stagnant opening two innings, Rio Grande Valley got the scoring started in the third. A one-out walk was followed by back-to-back hits, including a bloop single to left, scoring two runs. The
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Gabriel Lopez | Daily Texan Staff
Texas began their comeback against UT Rio Grande Valley when freshman outfielder Tyler Rand walked and stole second, his first of two steals of the night. Rand would score on a Kody Clemens double to cut the Longhorns’ deficit to two. Texas would win 7-5.
Vaqueros added another run via single with two outs in the inning, extending their lead to 3-0. While none of the base hits came against sophomore starter Connor Mayes — that honor would go to freshman pitcher Blake Wellmann — he still picked up all three earned runs. When Mayes’ stat-line was complete, it was ugly: three earned runs, three hits and four walks, all in less than three innings. The poor
performance failed to net Mayes his first victory of the season, holding his record to 0–4 on the year. “[Mayes] obviously is struggling with his confidence,” head coach Augie Garrido said. “He’s a really good pitcher, he’s just struggling.” The Longhorns took the lead in the fifth, thanks to Oakes’ shaky defense. Three balls slid past the Vaqueros catcher in one at bat, with two wild pitches and one
BIG 12 NOTEBOOK
passed ball leading to two Texas runs. Heading to the sixth, Texas led 5-4. “The opposing catcher was a good friend,” Garrido said. “Going into the game there had been 49 stolen base attempts against him. And 40 of them were successful.” Once given the lead, the Longhorns never looked back. A pair of insurance runs were highlighted by a home run from freshman infielder Kody Clemens as
Texas claimed a 7-5 win. The Longhorns now sit at 17–20 on the year, far from where they had hoped to be when the season began. But with 15 games left in the season, Garrido isn’t looking in the rearview mirror. He’s looking straight ahead. “If we win the 15 games that are in front of us, we have a good chance to win the league,” Garrido said. “We have 15 games to play, and our job is to go out and win them.”
FOOTBALL | COLUMN
Run game to play vital role in Gilbert’s offense By Jacob Martella @ViewFromTheBox
Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
Texas Tech currently sits at 29–9 and looks to continue its domination. The Red Raiders have won nine games in a row and are set to take on the Longhorns this weekend.
Tech continues to dominate throughout Big 12 conference By Michael Shapiro @mshap2
As the Big 12 slate continues, one question has arisen throughout the conference: Can anyone stop Texas Tech? So far, the answer is no. The Red Raiders continued their scorching play in the past week, winning their past five games. Their nine-game win streak continued over the weekend, sweeping San Diego State with a run differential of plus 17. Tech currently sits at 29–9 overall, 11–1 in Big 12 play. The Red Raiders are in the driver’s seat, but preseason favorite TCU sits close on the their heels, holding a 9–3 conference record. The Horned Frogs are a potent force in the Big 12, but as it currently stands, Tech is the team to beat. Skoug fuels Horned Frogs attack As TCU chases Tech in the race for the Big 12 title, its offense has been fueled by catcher Evan Skoug. The sophomore from Libertyville, Illinois, continued his strong season
in the past week, posting a .600 batting average in a four-game span. Skoug knocked in six RBIs in a weekend sweep of Oklahoma, including a 4-4 appearance in Friday’s 11-3 takedown. Skoug’s prowess at the plate has been well documented this season. He’s drove in the most doubles in the conference with 16 and ranks second in RBIs with 36 in 35 games. In three games against the Longhorns this season, Skoug drove in three RBIs, hitting .444. Cowboys cruise behind Cobb, Elliott Tied with Texas in the Big 12 standings is Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are currently in third place with a 7–5 conference record, but blow by the Longhorns in overall record. While Texas sits at 16–20, Oklahoma State boasts a 22–13 clip. Prior to last weekend’s series with Baylor, the Cowboys lost four straight, including a ten-run rout at the hands of Tech on April 10. But the weekend turned things around,
with a three-game sweep highlighted by junior pitcher Trey Cobb’s performance on Saturday. Cobb struck out 12 Bears in a career-high eight innings, racking up 126 pitches, earning him Big 12 pitcher of the week honors for the second time this season. He has become the Cowboys workhorse in his junior season, throwing over 100 pitches four times. In addition to Cobb’s contributions, Oklahoma State received a boost from freshman pitcher Jensen Elliott. The right hander from Coppell earned his fourth victory of the season in the series finale against Baylor, going seven innings while allowing only one run. The Bears failed to mount any attack against Coppell, mustering just two singles on the day. The Cowboys currently trail Texas Tech by four games in the Big 12. And if they want to march to the top of the conference standings, their pitching staff will have to throw as they have over the weekend.
It might have been easy to miss on Saturday, but through the intermittent rain and freshman quarterback Shane Buechele’s flashy performance, another part of the Longhorns’ offense emerged as a potential threat for opponents: the run game. Running backs junior D’Onta Foreman and sophomore Chris Warren combined for 174 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown each in the 30-minute spring game. And if Texas is going to have a bounce-back year, they’re going to have to rely on them in the fall. “We need to turn around and hand that ball off,” head coach Charlie Strong said. “Let’s ride those big hulking guys until we can’t ride them anymore.” Foreman and Warren are two of the most physical backs in the country. They each check in at least six feet and 238 pounds and aren’t afraid to take on contact. Offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert said he’s never had running backs quite this big in his offense before, though he plans on using their size to his advantage. And that style might be a big help in Big 12 play, where almost all of the defenses are geared to stop speed rather than size. Sophomore linebacker Malik Jefferson said it’s been hard for them to
stop the running backs in practice — and they know what’s coming. “It’s just crazy when you go up against them every day,” Jefferson said. “Those guys run downhill and we meet them in the middle like everyone else will.” But even more important than their style of running is their consistency of running. Last year, Foreman and Warren averaged 7.2 and 6.6 yards per carry respectively. And those numbers, along with an increase in the number of carries, will go a long way for the Longhorns’ offense. It puts the offense in a favorable spot on second down. It forces the defense to play up and focus on the run, opening up the potential for the long ball. And, most importantly, it keeps the quarterback, whoever it might be, from thinking he has to do it all, taking a load of pressure off of the position. Of course, how successful this season is will still depend on how the quarterback performs. The Longhorns had a trio of talented running backs — Malcolm Brown, Joe Bergeron and Johnathan Gray — in 2012 and 2013, but went 8-4 in both years because Case McCoy and David Ash each had their struggles at the position. But Texas can give whoever is named the starting quarterback a big help by giving opposing defenses a big helping of Foreman and Warren.
Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
Junior running back D’Onta Foreman (33) avoids being tackled by cornerback John Bonney in the Texas spring game last Saturday.
TOP TWEET Imani Boyette @ImaniBoyette “Fun Fact: One of my biggest life goals is to have a TED talk.”
TODAY IN HISTORY
1912
Fenway Park officially opens as the Red Sox defeat the New York Highlanders, 7-6.
SPORTS BRIEFLY Swimming and diving wins eight awards
Following impressive seasons from both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, both cleaned up at the Big 12 conference postseason awards Tuesday afternoon. Texas brought home eight total awards — five for the men’s team and three for the women’s. The men’s conference coaches voted Texas sophomore swimmer Joseph Schooling as the Big 12 Men’s Swimmer of the Year, junior diver Mark Anderson as the Men’s Diver of the Year and freshman swimmer Townley Haas as the Men’s Newcomer of the Year. Head coach Eddie Reese was selected to his 14th Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year in the award’s 15-year history. Schooling also won the CSCAA Division 1 Men’s Swimmer of the Year award as he set the NCAA, NCAA Championship, U.S. Open, Big 12, pool and school records while winning the 100-yard and 200yard butterfly at the NCAA Championships in Atlanta. For women’s swimming, senior diver Meghan Houston was selected as the Women’s Diver of the Year and freshman swimmer Joanna Evans as the conference’s Women’s Newcomer of the Year. Matt Scoggin was voted as both the Men’s and Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. —Mark Skol Jr.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2016
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CAT CARDENAS, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan Wednesday, April 20, 2016
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SEX
FILM
Run-ins with exes prove doable
Classic stoner movies represent 4/20 culture By Charles Liu
@CharlieInDaHaus
Movie characters have been blazing it for years, and the best stoner comedies are the ones that give their viewers a truly special high. Here are four movies The Daily Texan recommends you pass along.
Illustration by Melanie Westfall | Daily Texan Staff
By Maggie Rosenbohm feelings and unfinished busi@magstahhh
Question: I recently just had a bad breakup with my girlfriend, and I’m dreading the possibility of seeing her around because I’m afraid I won’t know what to do. If I run into her, how should I prepare myself? All goods things must come to an end, and some ends are harder than others — especially breakups. Unfortunately, we live in a world where exlovers don’t simply go away after you end it. Whether it’s in class, at the gym or maybe even at home, run-ins with exes are inconveniently common and can ruin a good day. If you’re lucky, your breakup was civil and handled with the utmost grace. However, the reality is there were probably a lot of tears along with hurt
ness, making co-existing with an ex extremely hard. But we have to accept the fact that some things — and people — are just unavoidable. When the inevitable ex run-in happens, it can be detrimental to the process of regaining normalcy, but only if you let it. These encounters don’t have to be as dramatic as they might’ve been in your nightmares. If the idea of seeing your ex makes you want to lock yourself away and never leave the house, there are ways to use the run-in to your advantage and make it a little easier on your broken heart. Remain calm This may seem like an obvious statement, but when seeing anyone you weren’t expecting, it’s hard not to react.
When you and your ex see each other at the neighborhood coffee shop on a Saturday morning, fight or flight senses will kick in. If they recently hurt you, you may be inclined to lash out and cause a scene. But letting all of your emotions out for everyone to see is not only bad for the situation, but also your reputation. Whether you give them a wave and smile or head to the nearest door, it’s important to keep your cool — at least until you’re in a private space. Keep it short If you get to start a conversation with them, and they ask you how you are, let them know. Just don’t overdo it. Even if there’s a lot left over from the relationship, a casual run-in is not the time or place to hash it out. Say hello,
casually chat about something new, and move on. You’ve both probably already decided whether or not you should try things again, so if you agree being apart is best, keep the conversation as short as possible. Take the high road While it may be tempting to show up your ex by publicly flirting with someone else or bragging about your newest job, remind yourself that breakups are hard on both parties and your ex is probably feeling the same way as you. Maintain the respect for the relationship you once shared and consider the situation as an opportunity to be mature. You’ll feel better about the encounter, and ultimately, better about yourself for handling it well.
“Inherent Vice” Paul Thomas Anderson throws coherence out the window in “Inherent Vice,” an inexplicably dense detective picture involving murder, drugs, kidnapping and cults set during the waning days of American counterculture. Viewers will feel exactly like “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), a private investigator and pothead who’s unlucky enough to be swept up in a multitude of conspiracies. He’s pulled in first by his ex (Katherine Waterston), who needs his help finding her lost lover (Eric Roberts), but it is Doc’s encounters with “Bigfoot” Bjornsen (Josh Brolin) which send him into the abyss. This adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel begins adding layer upon layer of plot, building to a manic, paranoid high, then mellowing out in its last act. You’ll be hard-pressed to understand what’s actually going on during the film’s hefty running time if you’re not paying strict attention at all times, but “Inherent Vice” is immensely satisfying to those who do. A movie such as this one demands rewatches — and it deserves them. “The Big Lebowski” This Coen brothers film is just as stoned as its
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characters. There’s a nonsensical string of events that almost makes up a plot, a string of events which tosses Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), an unassuming Los Angeles slacker, onto a journey to rescue the trophy wife of another, wealthier Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston). Her kidnappers are German nihilists who demand a hefty ransom, and the Dude soon realizes he might be in over his head. “The Big Lebowski” is executed with a consummate affinity for the bizarre. The movie lazily stumbles through its plot points and often directs attention to secondary story threads, such as the Dude’s bowling escapades, which offer quotable exchanges and hearty laughs. “The Big Lebowski” is flippantly subversive — go in expecting something conventional, and you’ll be out of your element. “Pineapple Express” James Franco and Seth Rogen kick off their comedy partnership in the crude, lowbrow “Pineapple Express.” Rogen plays Dale Denton, who goes on the run with his pot dealer Saul Silver (Franco) after witnessing a murder committed by a drug lord (Gary Cole). Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and Ken Jeong also make appearances as characters who are just like the movie they’re in: loud, brash and juvenile. “Pineapple Express” appropriately balances its abrasiveness with wit and heart. Yes, that heart boasts
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