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Friday, October 14, 2016
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CITY
Restaurants under fire for labor laws By Lisa Dreher @lisa_dreher97
Over 500 Austin restaurant employees will receive back wages after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division revealed employers violated labor and wage laws. WHD investigated 60 Austin restaurants from October 2015 to June of this year, 95 percent of which had violations and allocated $330,000 in back wages
for undercompensated workers. Of these 60 restaurants, seven were in the 78705 zipcode. Madam Mam’s, VERTS Mediterranean Grill, Austin’s Pizza, Changos Taqueria and Taco Shack on Guadalupe have violations. “The current level of noncompliance found in these investigations is not acceptable,” WHD administrator David Weil said. “WHD will continue to use every tool we have available to combat this issue. This
includes vigorous enforcement … to ensure that Austin restaurant workers receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.” According to a database on the Austin Business Journal’s website, Austin’s Pizza had 13 restaurants with violations from 2013 to 2015. Its oncampus location had 32 labor and wage violations during this time. Austin’s Pizza owner J.D. Torian said the violation was
Restaurant Wage Violations Changos Taqueria: 10 Trudy’s: 8
Taco Shack: 6
Cafe Hai Ky: 9
Source: Bizjournals
Infographic by Elizabeth Jones | Daily Texan Staff
CAMPUS
Rally advocates for healthy relationships By Michelle Zhang @michelle05155
Voices Against Violence hosted a rally Thursday on West Mall to promote healthy relationships in the social media era. Part of this year’s Relationship Violence Prevention Month, the rally highlighted the importance of clear communication and consent when navigating romantic relationships on social media platforms. Katy Redd, assistant director for prevention and outreach at the Counseling and Mental Health Center, said 27 percent of student counseling appointments last year were related to romantic relationship issues. Sociology junior Maggie Oxman, one of VAV’s copresidents, said it was the first time VAV integrated technology into discussions on healthy relationships. “[We’re] trying to frame
RALLY page 2
Ravi-Teja Mulpuri| Daily Texan Staff
Voices Against Violence volunteers organized “Rally for Healthy Relationships” on West Mall to engage the UT community about healthy relationships.
STATE
Clery report highlights decrease in crime rates @KeenanArroyo
Austin’s Pizza: 32
LAWS page 3
CAMPUS
By Katie Keenan
Madam Mam’s: 40
VERTS Kebab: 76
bit.ly/dtvid
Reported crimes in multiple categories have steadily decreased in the last three years at UT, according to the 2016 Clery Annual Security and Fire Safety Report released by the University over a week ago. A few notable exceptions include an increase in rapes on on-campus student housing locations, from four in 2014 to nine in 2015, and a slight bump in car thefts on campus. Nearly every other category of reported crime decreased, with the number of reported liquor law violations seeing the most dramatic downturn. UTPD assistant chief Peter Scheets credits the decrease in crime to greater engagement among police officers, students and UT staff. “I think that the reduction in crime is a community function,” Scheets said. “We have been leaning toward a more community oriented policing approach at the University. The increased communication … helps us identify and respond to situations that can turn into criminal activity.” Geography junior Madison Holloway, a west campus resident, said she feels out of harm’s way both on and off campus, even in light of last
CLERY page 3
CAMPUS
Gov. Abbott pushes for Festival celebrates Hispanic heritage, roots By Quanit Ali stricter abortion laws @brown__gosling
By Van Nguyen @nguyen_van
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is no stranger to the antiabortion community, as he has pushed for limits on abortion procedures throughout his political career and plans to continue to support further restrictions during the next legislative session. At a dinner last week hosted by the Texas Alliance for Life, the antiabortion organization awarded the governor with the “Courageous Defense of Life Award” for his continuing efforts to limit abortions. “For several years, the eyes of the nation have been on Texas, and not by accident,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life, at the dinner. “Gov. Abbott’s
leadership on the pro-life issue has been invaluable. As we get ready for the next legislative session in January, Gov. Abbott is already contacting his staff in the middle of the night with ideas. I know this because they contact me to get our help.” MacDonald Walker, press assistant for the office of the governor, said the governor would continue to advance his LIFE Initiative, a plan to “protect the unborn,” which was announced last year after accusations against Planned Parenthood for selling fetal tissues surfaced. “Gruesome — and potentially illegal — harvesting of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood cannot be allowed in Texas,” Abbott said in a press
On Thursday night, laughter and Latin cuisine filled the East Mall during Somos Latinos, an event marking the end of Hispanic Heritage Month. Latino Pan-Hellenic Council and Latino Community Affairs co-hosted the festival to close out the month-long celebration of Hispanic history and culture. “I hope Hispanic students get to rediscover their culture and maybe find out some things they didn’t know before and find out who they are,” said Marcus Ramirez, economics junior and vice president of the Association of Latino Professionals For America. Ramirez said the event reminds students of their roots and where they come from, while also giving non-Hispanic students an opportunity to experience their culture. Somos Latinos was a carnival-style event where students played games, such as darts and musical chairs to earn tickets,
which could used to buy food and treats. “It’s very reminiscent of having parties back home … enjoying pan dulces and pupusas,” Ramirez said. “It’s nice to be able to bring that [to UT].” Erasto Renteria, LCA codirector and advertising senior, said Hispanic Heritage Month aspires to showcase Latino heritage on campus and foster a sense of community among UT students. “We want Latino students to come and congregate and see other students that are like them,” Renteria said. Vincent Collura, LPHC president and applied movements science senior, said a major issue on campus is the disparity of representation, but events like Somos Latinos help underrepresented demographics on campus gain exposure. “Caucasian students proportional to [Caucasian] Greek students is a lot larger than total Hispanics to Hispanic-Greeks,” Collura said. Campus organizations also
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Alexandra Dolan| Daily Texan Staff
Sisters of the Kappa Delta Chi sorority sign students up for a cupcake walk at the Somos Latinos event on Thursday.
sought to make an impact and raise awareness of Latino presence on campus and in the workforce. The Kappa Delta Chi sorority and the Association of Latino Professionals For America were recruiting students at Somos Latinos. “We invite Latinos, but it’s open to everyone else as well,” Ramirez said. “[ALPFA] started with just Latinos trying to find their way into the professional world and develop
themselves into future leaders.” ALPFA tabled to raise awareness of the services they offer, from résumé building to securing internships. “We try to develop our members to promote diversity in the business world because it seems to be lacking in recent years,” Ramirez said. Somos Latinos marked the last major event for Hispanic Heritage Month, which officially ends on Oct. 15.