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Friday, November 4, 2016
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Young Conservatives host Ben Shapiro By Van Nguyen @nguyen_van
“Facts don’t care about your feelings” is conservative journalist Ben Shapiro’s catchphrase, which he uses to denounce views of the left that he believes stifle freedom of speech. Students filled a 275-person maximum capacity lecture hall in the Jackson Geological Sciences Building on Thursday evening to hear Shapiro speak on issues conservatives face at universities. “Today we’re going to talk
about all the stupid, moronic words that your professors and administrators on this campus use to stifle debate, shout down opposition [and] excuse violence,” Shapiro said. “We’re going to go through and talk about the five most common terms of the fascist left: diversity, white privilege, trigger warnings, microagression and safe spaces.” Shapiro said he chose to discuss these topics because he believes conservative viewpoints on campus are hampered by others considering them offensive.
UT’s Young Conservative of Texas chapter hosted the event to discuss conservative viewpoints, which they believe to be overlooked or underrepresented at UT, according to their event page. The event was announced shortly after YCT held an anti-affirmative action bake sale last Wednesday, an event that led to uproar across campus, but YCT chairman Vidal Castañeda said Shapiro was contacted earlier in the semester to speak on campus.
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Alex Dolan | Daily Texan Staff
Ben Shapiro, editor-in-chief of the Daily Wire spoke about free speech at a Young Conservatives event on Thursday.
By Paul Cobler @PaulCobler
Ravin René| Daily Texan Staff
Psychology professor Dr. Kevin Cokley spoke at a vigil called “My Black UT Matters” on Thursday at the Student Activities Center ballroom.
to feel empowered and feel like they have support, especially during times like this.” During the reading of the names, marketing sophomore Chase Mitchem sat with his hands
over his face. Mitchem said recognizing those who have died allows him to move forward and do something progressive. “I do it for a spiritual level,” Mitchem said. “The people that died are still
Sanders supporter votes Clinton despite doubts @brittanywagner_
Joshua Ellis voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) in the primary election, but when Hillary Clinton was elected as the Democratic presidential nominee, Ellis was faced with a decision. Ellis, a government and African and African diaspora studies sophomore, said in spite of problems with Clinton’s campaign and her past, he decided to cast his ballot for her. “As much as I wanted to write in Sen.
here. Their essence is still here. We’re saying it physically, so my head is down so that I can acknowledge that they had a life here and that it was valued.” Psychology professor
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With early voting drawing to a close, students, faculty and members of the surrounding community have made UT’s polling place of choice, the Flawn Academic Center, the Travis County polling place with the third highest turnout. Just over 42 percent of Travis County’s registered voters have already cast their ballots, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office. As of Wednesday, 16,253 people had voted in the FAC, according to the Travis County Clerk’s office. Speech pathology junior Sarah Bookout didn’t want to reveal who she voted for but said she decided to vote early in order to avoid the long lines on Nov. 8. “I didn’t want to wait on long lines on Election Day, and it was really convenient that UT had it here and set up and it was an easy process,” Bookout said. “Everyone’s been advocating for going to early vote no matter who you’re voting for. Everyone has their stickers on their Snapchat stories. It’s definitely a popular thing to come early vote rather than wait until Election Day.” Business freshmen Genesis Hernandez and Taryn Medina came to vote together after class on Thursday. Both said they voted for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and down-ballot Democrats. Hernandez said the convenience of the FAC greatly affected her decision to vote. “Honestly, I don’t think
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CITY
CAMPUS
By Brittany Wagner
FAC reports third-highest voter turnout in Travis Co. @sarahphilips23
Vigil honors victims of police shootings
reflect with. “We want to reaffirm black students’ existence on campus and in this country,” Barnes said. “Our main goal in holding this event is allow black students’ voices to be heard and for them
CAMPUS
By Sarah Philips
CAMPUS
A dark SAC ballroom twinkled with the glow of candles as the names of 200 black men and women who have been killed in policeinvolved shootings were read aloud during a vigil called My Black UT Matters on Thursday night. The event, hosted by Students for Equity and Diversity, was organized in response to the numerous shootings over the summer and to give students a time to reflect on these events, organizer Jasmine Barnes said. “This summer there were multiple police shootings, and, really for the first time, we were seeing victims being killed on tape,” said Barnes, a sociology and journalism junior. “I remember feeling really alone in that experience and feeling really traumatized by that fact. I didn’t have a space to reflect on that or a community during the summer.” Barnes said after Terence Crutcher was killed in a police-involved shooting in September, she decided to organize My Black UT Matters to give students feeling similar emotions a community to
bit.ly/dtvid
Sanders, I see it as much more important to keep the other major candidate out simply because his rhetoric is too damaging,” Ellis said. “I don’t like to think about what America would look like [under a Donald Trump presidency].” Ellis is a member of the Black Student Alliance, a campus organization committed to empowering students in the black community, and said although he can’t speak on behalf of BSA, he is opposed to some
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Dallas lab helps process backlogged forensic tests By Lisa Dreher @lisa_dreher97
Emmanuel Briseño | Daily Texan Staff
Joshua Ellis, a government and African and African diaspora studies sophomore, decided to vote for Hillary Clinton during this year’s presidential election.
Austin City Council unanimously approved a contract at its general meeting Thursday for Austin Police Department to have its backlogged sexual assault forensic tests processed at a lab in Dallas to address hundreds of sexual assault cases left without DNA results. The Texas Forensic Science Commission shut down APD’s crime lab in June due to untrained staff
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and outdated methods, according to the commission’s audit report. Since the closure, the Texas Department of Public Safety has been processing an average of 20 DNA tests per month, but new cases keep piling up. According to APD officials, there are 722 pending sexual assault cases and 588 involving unprocessed rape kits since 2014. “Today’s action gets us a step closer to [clearing the
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