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Tuesday, October 11, 2016
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CAMPUS
Organizations rush to register voters By Sarah Philips @sarahphilips23
With Election Day 28 days away, student organizations are rushing to register students to vote before the deadline today at midnight. Civic engagement groups on campus, such as Hook the Vote and UT Votes, are holding an all-day voter registration event and a voter rally at 6 p.m. in a last-minute attempt
to register students. Groups will be registering voters from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Gregory Gym and the West and East mall, and 6 p.m. to midnight at the Main Mall. “We’re having a huge rally on the last day to register to vote with a bunch of other organizations that do civic engagement,” said Richelle King, president of Texas Rising. “There’s going to be music, a pet sanctuary, puppies,
prizes and food. Everything and anything we can do to get people to turn out to vote.” On Sept. 27, National Voter Registration Day, groups such as these registered more than 1,200 students to vote in the upcoming election, and Travis County beat a record by registering 90 percent of the county’s eligible voters, according to the Austin American Statesman. University Democrats said they’ve
registered more than 5,000 voters this semester. As reported by the Texas Tribune in March, Texas had the second-lowest voter turnout rate in the primaries, beating only Louisiana, which requires voters to register as a Democrat or Republican before voting in their respective primaries. King said the low voter turnout rate in Texas makes the job of
volunteer deputy registrars even wmore important. “Texas has extremely low voter turnout rates especially among millennials, so it’s really imperative that folks like us that are [volunteer deputy registars] engage our peers in the voting process,” King said. Psychology sophomore Samantha Brewer, a VDR and resident assistant, said voters
VOTERS page 3
UNIVERSITY
Regents break campaign donation pattern By Cassi Pollock @cassi_pollock
None of the nine UT System Regents have donated to current GOP nominee Donald Trump so far, despite their longtime associations with high-dollar donations to Republican candidates, adding to the unconventionality amid a bitter battle for the presidency. As of Oct. 10, a Daily Texan review of Federal Election Commission records dating back to 2004 shows the Regents’ customary practice of donating to the Republican nominee for president — George W. Bush in 2004, John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012 — hasn’t applied to this year’s nominee so far. However, current Regents may have donated to Trump more recently, but that information has not been released yet. Campaign contributions made between July 1 and Sept. 30 will be released in the October quarterly FEC filings, which are expected to be published in December based on filings from previous presidential elections. There’s also the potential that Regents may be holding off donating to Trump to avoid media scrutiny,
Infographic by Kelly Smith | Daily Texan Staff
according to Andy Hogue, communications director for the Travis County Republican Party. “Keep in mind whenever a candidate is controversial for any reason, it’s commonplace for people to go ahead and donate at the last minute,” Hogue said.
WEST CAMPUS
In 2012, five Regents — Alex Cranberg, Paul Foster, Steven Hicks, David Beck and Jeffrey Hildebrand — gave more than $130,000 combined to the party nominee, Mitt Romney, through two Romney-affiliated Political Action Committees: Romney Victory and Romney for
President. Cranberg, Foster and Hicks were already on the Board when they donated, and Beck and Hildebrand joined the Board in 2015 and 2013, respectively. Six regents also donated more than $10,000 to another contender for president, former Gov. Rick Perry, in 2012.
During 2008’s presidential election cycle, Hildebrand and Brenda Pejovich gave then-presidential nominee John McCain $4,600, while Hildebrand and Cranberg gave $4,600 to Romney. In 2008, Foster donated to
REGENTS page 2
bit.ly/dtvid
POLICY
Panel talks denial of climate change By Sarah Philips @sarahphilips23
State Rep. Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin) and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) hosted a discussion on climate change at the State Capitol on Monday involving UT researchers Kerry Cook, a professor from the Jackson School of Geosciences, and Charles Jackson, a researcher with the UT Institute for Geophysics. The panel focused on the rhetoric of climate change deniers and the institutions that negate climate science. “What’s convincing to a climate scientist is not necessarily the same thing that convinces everyone else,” Jackson said. Cook pointed out the danger climate change denial poses for the developing world and brought up the difference in damage between regions affected by Hurricane Matthew. “The developing world is faced with the consequences of climate change,” Cook said. “It’s the difference of being in Florida or in Haiti facing down Hurricane Matthew.” Cook introduced a class called “Global Warming” to undergraduates four years ago. The class is open to all majors, which Cook believes is particularly important. Cook said the class isn’t about public policy or political discussion, it’s simply
CLIMATE page 2
UNIVERSITY
Nueces Mosque leaders UT Senate hosts forum on transcript fees By Paul Cobler plan for reconstruction @PaulCobler
By Jenan Taha @Jenan_a_taha
Plans for the reconstruction of the Nueces Mosque in West Campus are taking off after decades of delay, with mosque leaders intending to present the proposal to the Austin Council by January. Under the reconstruction plans, the mosque will be razed and rebuilt into a much larger structure, which will include more prayer areas, classrooms, a student center and student housing. According to Shaykh Mufti Mohamed-Umer Esmail, who is the Imam at the mosque, the current building is about 100 years old and
costs $10,000 each year for repairs. Esmail said the reconstruction is long overdue and will make prayer more convenient for the approximately 400 students who use the mosque. “We’ve had this place since 1977, so it’s about time we did something,” Esmail said. “It’ll be a safe place for students. They can come here to study, and it’s providing services for the community.” The Islamic Center of Greater Austin is overseeing the reconstruction. After the plan is submitted and approved, reconstruction is expected to begin in 2018,
MOSQUE page 3
University Registrar Shelby Stanfield faced students for the first time since fees for transcripts doubled Oct. 2 as the Senate of College Councils hosted its Campus Conversation about registration yesterday. Stanfield answered a variety of questions from students voicing frustration over the fee doubling from $10 to $20 and was presented with a petition holding 6,000 signatures from students and parents concerned over the fee increase. “We don’t take it lightly, increasing fees,” Stanfield said. “When we increased the transcript fee from $10
to $20, we received a lot of student feedback, and I want to be able to answer everybody’s questions and concerns to the best of my abilities.” Senate President Sergio Cavazos said the event was first scheduled a month ago to provide students with an opportunity to get questions answered about registration, but the transcript fee doubling was made the focus following the recent outcry by students against the increase. “It just happened to work out timing-wise where this transcript issue came up last Monday, and we decided to shift gears,” Cavazos said. “I’ve been hearing a lot from students and getting a lot of feedback about these
Alissa Jae Lazo Kim | Daily Texan Staff
Tony Hernandez questions the Registar’s recent decision to charge $20 for every official transcript that a student requests from the office.
issues, so we wanted to facilitate this conversation and shift focus because we already had the registrar in the room.”
GRADUATE SCHOOL FAIR
Since the fee was announced to the University by email Oct. 3, 6,000
TRANSCRIPT page 3
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