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Monday, February 27, 2017
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Student files SG campaign complaint By Will Clark @_willclark_
A complaint was filed to the Election Supervisory Board on Friday evening by engineering fifth year Amber Camilleri in response to Friday’s Daily Texan article regarding the emails from the Isaiah Carter-Sydney O’Connell campaign that appear to have violated the 2016 Student Government Election Code. Carter’s campaign sent emails to multiple freshmen whose contact information he acquired from a list of students who expressed interest in SG during summer orientation 2016. Carter has
access to this list because of his position as Chief of Staff of SG. The emails, sent three weeks before the sanctioned campaign period, were all identical and asked the students, who say they do not know Carter personally, to join his campaign. Catrin Watts, chair of the Election Supervisory Board, said such emails could constitute a violation of the Election Code. Camilleri did not receive one of the emails, but said she was outraged by the reports of possible violations and wanted to file a complaint. “I’m just a student who’s tired of seeing
corruption in our Student Government campaigns,” Camilleri said. “I’d like to see a fair campaign happen for once.” There will be a public hearing today at 5:30 p.m. in SAC 3.106, where each party will be given five minutes to present information and evidence, followed by a three-minute rebuttal from each side and closing with a period of questioning from the Board. “Either the Board will find that there is a violation of the code, and we will debate the type of violation it is, or if there’s not sufficient evidence to find a violation, then there is no violation and we close
I’m just a student who’s tired of seeing corruption in our student government campaigns. I’d like to see a fair campaign happen for once. —Amber Camilleri, Engineering fifth year
the case,” Watts said. The specific part of the code in question, Section 8.2, states “All candidates are prohibited from campaigning … before the sanctioned campaign period … However, this prohibition does not include
the personal individual recruitment by a candidate of individual team members.” Carter said last week the emails did not violate any Election Code because he
COMPLAINT page 2
CITY
WHAT’S INSIDE
Austinites rally against ban, wall By Lisa Dreher @lisa_dreher97
NEWS Austin has high number of undocumented detainees. PAGE 3 Texans rarely interact with communities. PAGE 3
OPINION
On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro, D-San Antonio, said divisive rhetoric in America is nothing new, saying his grandmother remembered derogatory signs about Mexicans like herself in the 90s. “Signs above Texas establishments, they said ‘No dogs or Mexicans allowed,’” Castro said. “But in every generation
there have been people like you, Americans who have stood up and said that’s not the kind of country we want.” According to Texas Capitol Police, 5,000 to 7,000 people overflowed the Capitol’s steps during a No Ban No Wall rally. Rallies supporting undocumented immigrants and Muslims under the same message swept the country this month. Refugees, immigrants, lawyers and lawmakers spoke about their experiences
as subjects and allies amidst President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders, toughening immigration law. Similar rallies were held in major cities in states like California, Oregon, Virginia and Kansas during different times this month. Adonias Arevalo-Melara, an undocumented student and member of immigrant-rights group United We Dream, spoke and challenged recent Immigration and
Customs Enforcement raids. Arevalo-Melera then urged the crowd to chant “unafraid, undocumented.” “I am standing here today because people of my community are being criminalized by the system,” Arevalo-Melara said. “No ban, no wall and no raids. No more separation from our families.” Brazilian band Maracatu Texas pounded on
RALLY page 2
Ken Paxton is no martyr worth rallying around. PAGE 4 Hate speech bans attack rights worth protecting. PAGE 4
SPORTS Pierce’s squad powers past Huskies, 9-3. PAGE 6 Longhorns lose thirdstraight to Iowa State. PAGE 6
LIFE&ARTS Students debate coffee, tea shops. PAGE 8 Thundercat impresses in new album. PAGE 8
REASON TO PARTY
Noel Mahouch | Daily Texan Staff
Protestors rallied at the Capitol on Satuday afternoon to oppose Washington’s toughened stance on immigrants and refugees. The “No Ban No Wall” rally drew hundreds of demonstrators who oppose Trump’s executive orders.
STATE
@claireallbright
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ONLINE Men’s track & field earn Big 12 Indoor Title Swimming & Diving takes Big 12 championship at dailytexanonline.com
A UT student was the inspiration behind a bill filed Thursday that would limit the amount a public institution of higher education could charge for an official transcript to $10. Juliette Perrier, an intern for State Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, said House Bill 2307 was inspired after talking with her classmates about the University raising the cost of an official transcript to $20 last fall.
POLICE
Fake callers clone phone numbers in recent scam By Catherine Marfin @catherinemarfin
The UT Police Department warned the community last week of an uptick in reports of a phone scam that continually targets UT students. A caller clones the number of a law enforcement agency, Internal Revenue Service office or a University office and tells the student they owe back taxes, tuition or failed to complete university paperwork. The caller then tells the individual they must provide payment over the phone and if they end the call for any reason, a warrant will be put out for their arrest. The caller then instructs the student to purchase gift cards in the value of the “owed” amount and read the gift card number over the phone as payment. “(The callers) can ask from anywhere to a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars,” UTPD Sgt. Samantha Carter said. “Unfortunately we have had students (fall victim to the scam).” While demanded payments are usually consistent, Carter said there was an incident this semester in which a student fell victim to the scam and paid the caller $10,000, the largest loss value Carter said she has seen in this particular scam. The investigation is ongoing. Additionally, scammers have recently begun cloning FBI phone numbers, UTPD Spokeswoman Cindy Posey said. English sophomore Julio Diaz said he received a call from these scammers last fall. “I didn’t pay, but students (are easy targets),” Diaz said. “We’re gullible and fear the law, and we fear the uncertain.” Carter said in recent years the department has seen increased occurrences of the scam during tax season and the beginning of each semester, when FAFSA applications and tuition payments are due for students. “We have the belief that it’s the same group of people calling each time, but it’s not something we can prove,” Carter said. Neuroscience junior Tamanna Basri said she nearly fell victim to the scam last semester, and when she disconnected
SCAM page 2
CAMPUS
State Rep introduces $10 transcript fee bill By Claire Allbright
bit.ly/dtvid
“The motivation behind it was really with all the money that students are already paying for college, is there any way to lessen it, especially in areas where it doesn’t really require $15 or $20 to get a transcript,” Perrier said. Perrier said she filed this bill as a part of a program in Guillen’s office that encourages the interns to submit bill proposals. “I was shocked to learn that the days of 10 cent copies are long gone. I’m
TRANSCRIPT page 2
Cockrell School’s ‘Girl Day’ promotes female engineers By Jenan Taha @jenan_a_taha
Hundreds of elementary and middle school girls from around Austin celebrated UT’s 16th annual Girl Day on Saturday at the Cockrell School of Engineering, where they participated in hands-on engineering activities ranging from building makeshift prosthetics to coding. Tricia Berry, director of the Women in Engineering Program, said the activities
GIRL DAY page 2
Gabby Lanza| Daily Texan Staff
Addison, 12, catches a ball thrown by a machine built by the Girl Scouts of Central Texas Lady Cans Robotics Team. “Girl Scouts CAN Drive Robots: Can You?” was one of the many exhibitions showcased out Saturday.
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Monday, February 27, 2017
FRAMES featured photo
NEWS
thedailytexan
Volume 117, Issue 110
CONTACT US Main Telephone (512) 471-4591 Editor-in-Chief Alexander Chase (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com Managing Editor Akshay Mirchandani (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com News Office (512) 232-2207 news@dailytexanonline.com Sports Office sports@dailytexanonline.com Life & Arts Office (512) 232-2209 lifeandarts@dailytexanonline.com Multimedia Office (512) 471-7835 multimedia@ dailytexanonline.com Retail Advertising (512) 471-1865 advertise@texasstudentmedia.com
Noel Mahouch | Daily Texan Staff
Yami Martinez dances to beating drums with members of Danza Azteca de Cristo Rey on Saturday. The group performed at the Capitol.
Classified Advertising (512) 471-5244 classifieds@ dailytexanonline.com
TRANSCRIPT
continues from page 1 The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com.
COPYRIGHT Copyright 2017 Texas Student Media. All articles, photographs and graphics, both in the print and online editions, are the property of Texas Student Media and may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without written permission.
TOMORROW’S WEATHER
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told they now go for 20 bucks at UT,” Guillen said. “So all we are doing here is trying to hold the line at 10 and I say a modest 10,000 percent increase or so should suffice.” Shelby Stanfield, UT registrar and vice provost, said the increase in the cost of transcripts was the first since 2001 and aimed to cover the rising operating costs associated with the office’s services. Stanfield said the additional fee helps maintain the security and accuracy of the document as well as the cost of printing the transcript, the security paper and staffing the office. Stanfield said the passage of HB 2307 would hurt his office. “It would negatively impact our ability to deliver the level of service that we feel students are warranted,” Stanfield said. “We tried to wait as long as we
can without compromising our ability to provide those services to our students, but after 15 years our operating costs have just increased to the point we did have to take some measures in order to cover those increased costs.” Student Body President Kevin Helgren said a survey sent out last semester showed two groups of students were disproportionately affected by the increase: those from low socioeconomic backgrounds and students ordering transcripts in bulk. As a result, Student Government, Senate of College Councils and the Office of the Registrar worked together to reduce transcript costs to $10 for Pell Grant recipients as well as for students ordering five or more at once. “Hopefully (the price changes) help to ease some of the financial burden that comes with being a student who’s trying to get themselves through college and
RALLY This issue of The Daily Texan is valued at $1.25 Permanent Staff
Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alexander Chase Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Jensen, Janhavi Nemawarkar, Khadija Saifullah, Caleb Wong Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Akshay Mirchandani Associate Managing Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eva Frederick, Michelle Zhang News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ellie Breed Associate News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forrest Milburn News Desk Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Will Clark, Hannah Daniel, Sunny Kim, Sarah Phillips, Wesley Story Senior Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Claire Allbright, Mikaela Cannizzo, Lisa Dreher, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anusha Lalani, Catherine Marfin, Kayla Meyertons Senior Investigative Reporter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Van Nguyen Copy Desk Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kasey Salisbury Associate Copy Desk Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jaree Campbell, Vanessa Martinez, Bella McWhorter, Colin Traver Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Jones Associate Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Megan McFarren Senior Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liza Anderson, Sierra Garcia, Sunnie Lee, Rena Li Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Zoe Fu Associate Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emmanuel Briseno, Gabriel Lopez Senior Photographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Juan Figueroa, Joshua Guerra, Mary Pistorius, Briana Vargas, Rachel Zein Video Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monica Silverio Senior Videographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Negrete, Faley Goyette Science&Tech Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Zia Lyle Associate Science&Tech Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julianne Hodges, Kate Thackrey Senior Science&Tech Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sarah Bloodworth, Angela Kang, Freya Preimesberger Forum Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jordan Shenhar, Emily Vernon Senior Columnists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Emma Bernadier, Alyssa Fernandez, Sam Groves, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Noah M. Horwitz, Josephine MacLean, G. Elliott Morris Life&Arts Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mae Hamilton Associate Life&Arts Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Daisy Wang, Morgan O’Hanlon Senior Life&Arts Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephen Acevedo, Acacia Coronado, Chris Duncan, Justin Jones Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tyler Horka Associate Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sydney Rubin Senior Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alex Briseno, Vanessa Le, Shane Lewis Comics Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Audrey McNay Associate Comics Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Victoria Smith, Melanie Westfall Senior Comics Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Geovanni Casillas, Albert Lee, Bixie Mathieu, Jacky Tovar Social Media Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stephanie Martinez-Arndt Editorial Adviser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Chen
Issue Staff
Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rachel Cooper, Jenan Taha, Albert Zhao Life&Arts Writers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jose Gonzalez Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dalton Phillips Science&Tech Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amanda Kaeni Columnists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Usmaan Hasan Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natalie Heineman, Susana Lugo, Xavier Richardson Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aaliyah Jenkins, Renee Koite Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Iris Bilich, Jordyn Caruso, Gabby Lanza, Noel Mahouch Comics Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mia Batts, Danielle Gines, Michelle Peck
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continues from page 1 robust drums and jingled Latin sleigh bells after the speakers’ statements. Some participants wore Mexican flags like capes and others held up signs reading “All walls must go from Palestine to Mexico.” Syrian refugee Sam and his daughter Lyla shared their memories of their war-stricken homeland. Lyla paused to cry after saying children like herself slept out in the cold because their homes were destroyed. International relations freshman Ayu Sofyan said Lyla’s story was heartbreaking. “I really liked that Syrian refugee little girl, Lyla,” Sofyan said. “What she had to say about her conditions, especially as someone as young as her, made me like cry.”
SCAM
continues from page 1 the initial call, the scammer called her back and insisted she make a payment or risk being arrested due to a “government violation” of her FAFSA information. “I insisted on calling my parents or someone else to verify that this was true, but they said I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone,” Basri said. “Even though I saw all the red flags that it was fake, in the
RECYCLE
your copy of
for students who are pursuing professional degrees after undergrad,” Helgren said. “Higher education in general is already fairly inaccessible for a lot of groups and we’re not doing students any favors by adding one more institutional barrier to them either completing their education or pursuing future education.” The Blake Burley-Robert Guerra SG campaign wants to provide free transcripts for all students. Burley said in an email this goal has attracted interest to their campaign since many students are on financial aid and request multiple transcripts at once for graduate school or job applications. “Many of us cannot afford to pay these fees. Nobody should have to choose transcripts over groceries,” said Burley, a philosophy and government junior. If passed, HB 2307 wouldn’t allow institutions of higher education to charge more than $10
GIRL DAY
continues from page 1
Many of us cannot afford to pay these fees. Nobody should have to choose trascripts over groceries. —Blake Burley, Philosophy and government junior
for an official transcript. The University of Houston currently charges $12.50 per transcript, Texas A&M University charges $10 and Texas Tech University and Texas State University charge $5.00. Currently, no action has been taken on HB 2307. Perrier said she is excited about her bill and would love to see it debated in committee to find out if other people across the state share her idea.
Mentions of State Gov. Greg Abbott and personal hardship triggered booing. U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, and State Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, spoke about persuading their fellow lawmakers. The message did not stop short at immigrants and refugees, as speakers included LBGT members and women, especially those of color, in their calls for unity. Sulma Franco, a member of ICE Out of Austin, said she fled her home country of Guatemala after facing prejudice for her sexual orientation. Franco had her speech translated in English. “I needed to get away from my country because I was discriminated against for my sexual orientation,” Franco said. “Now I’m being discriminated again for my undocumented status.”
John Nechman is a Houston immigration attorney who represented people detained at a Houston airport following Trump’s travel ban. Nechman said those waiting to see their family members cried out of gratitude for lawyers like himself. “All 20 to 30 of them walked over to our little table of volunteer attorneys and they shook our hands and they embraced us,” Nechman said. Marcela Ramirez, of Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera, which advocates for social and economic justice along the border, said walls do nothing and quoted civil rights activist Angela Davis. “Walls turned sideways are bridges,” Ramirez said.
moment they said that there was a warrant out for my arrest, I felt scared and framed and I was like, “But what about the .00001 percent chance that this is real?’” UTPD currently believes that the scammers are retrieving student’s phone numbers through the UT Directory. Carter recommended students restrict any information they don’t want made public through the directory. UTPD has reminded students through their social
media pages and the Campus Watch, a subscribed email to inform people of selected daily crimes reported to or observed by UTPD, that neither law enforcement nor the University will ever demand payment over the phone. UTPD suggests to ask unknown callers for their name, the department they work for, the name of their supervisor and a case or file number and verify their information before giving personal information over the phone.
COMPLAINT
campaign team to send the emails individually and that he is certain his team followed his guidelines. Carter did not immediatley respond to a request for comment Sunday.
continues from page 1 had personally met many of the students while tabling for SG during orientation. Carter also said he urged his
Editor’s Note: Certain surnames were omitted for privacy.
help girls feel accomplished and more interested in careers they may not have considered before. “Our aim is to get more girls into engineering and the only way is to get more girls interested,” Berry said. “We’re trying to spark that interest early. I think it’s important to give girls an opportunity to see role models of other girls who are engineers, so they can start to connect with people in those fields.” The event, organized by WEP and over 150 sponsors, is meant to encourage young girls to consider a future in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Biomedical engineering sophomore Arohi Ranade, who volunteered at the event, helped the attendees build prosthetics using rubber bands and other common objects. Ranade said the activity can help girls gain confidence in their problem-solving skills, as well as interest in a science career. “They are being encouraged to learn engineering principles, and when they apply to college, they might not feel afraid of doing engineering,” Ranade said. “That initial fear and hesitation goes away once they see girls doing engineering.” Juliet Booker, 10, attended Girl Day to learn more about designing houses and said she wants to eventually become a designer. “I want to be a home designer, I love home designing,” Booker said. “I love putting stuff in and seeing how it looks.” Leah Carter, a volunteer representing oil company Halliburton, said it is important to encourage girls to pursue STEM jobs to keep the field diverse. “Historically, it has been a male-dominated field,” Carter said. “We need young girls to know that they can do it too.” Carter, who organized an activity where kids designed a machine to rescue a child from a well, said inspiring kids was the best part of Girl Day. “My favorite part of the day is the excitement on the kid’s faces when they’ve built something that works,” Carter said. “They’re very proud of themselves, and that encouragement…is what I want every kid to walk away with.”
W&N 3
NEWS
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Monday, February 27, 2017
UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH
Texans avoid their neighbors, study finds By Albert Zhao @_albertzhao
Illustration by Melanie Westfall | Daily Texan Staff
Tuition Green Fee funds student sustainability By Amanda Kaeni @amandaknee
Five extra dollars from each student’s tuition bill helps fund projects to make the UT campus more environmentally friendly. The Green Fee is a program that collects this extra charge to provide funding for environmentally focused services and ideas from students, faculty and staff, said Jim Walker, UT director of sustainability. Programs like the Green com-Fee exist at schools all over erest-the country, and all have the y notsame purpose: to take monre. ey from tuition fees and moreuse it to fund sustainable eringprojects on campus. UT’s is toGreen Fee was originally a sted,”direct result of Texas House ryingBill 3353, which enabled ear-the collection of this fee at rtantTexas universities in 2009. ortu- Every year, students els ofand faculty can apply for engi-a grant to fund a project art tothat promotes sustainabile inity on campus. The program typically requires ed bycollaboration and encourpon-ages partnerships with courconence,CITY ering
off-campus entities. Jill Parrish, Green Fee program coordinator, said that successful projects fall into two categories: those that generate ongoing support every year, such as Longhorn Lights Out, Student Gardens and the Waller Creek Workshop Project, and one-time projects that continuously provide a positive impact to the UT community, such as the refillable bottle fountains, additional bike racks and solar charging stations. “(Successful projects have) vision, passion, good partnerships, clear goals and financial accountability,” Parrish said. She added that the Green Fee is unique because it is predominantly student driven. Students advocated for the fee in 2009, she said. The Green Fee committee itself is made up of six students, along with three faculty members. “Obviously students have an interest in campus sustainability,” Parrish said. “This program allows for students to take what they
learn in the classroom, and gives them an opportunity to put it into action, giving them real world experience. They can learn what it takes to see a project to fruition.” The bill that enabled the Green Fee expired after the fifth school year, and put the program on a one-year hiatus, but continued student interest reinstated the program permanently in 2017, Parrish said “Students again stepped up and worked with the administration to ensure the Green Fee would continue with essentially the same purpose,” Walker said. “The campus benefits just by having this funding source available to inspire creative ideas, and of course through the many projects and student jobs that Green Fee supports.” Geosystems engineering freshman Sylvie Higgins is a member of the Climate Change Action Committee, a group of students advocating for action to fight climate change. She said the group is applying for a grant to build more solar panels
on campus to counteract the fact that UT is primarily powered by oil. “I think the Green Fee is important because it sets aside money to help protect our environment,” Higgins said. “Of course, I think that every decision made on campus should be centered around protecting the environment, but in reality it’s just not a priority for some people. I think (the Green Fee) is a great step forward, and I am grateful to have it.” The deadline to apply for a grant is March 12. The application involves thoroughly explaining one’s project, including a timeline, a budget and a description outlining the benefits and costs. Parrish wants applicants to know that the more research, leg-work and partnership-building that applicants do before applying leads to a stronger proposal. She added that the sustainability department wants to help students, and that the committee believes in a fair review process in which the most cost-effective projects are chosen.
More than 82 percent of Texans like living in their communities, yet only 43 percent of Texans interact with neighbors at least once a week, according to a report by the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life. The Institute’s mission is to “understand and overcome civil disengagement.” The report, released on Feb. 14, highlighted the strong positivity Texans and Americans feel among their communities but also the troubling level of disengagement that accompanies it. The report showed more than half of Americans and Texans are not members of any group or organization in their community. According to the report, the lowest participation of respondents was in charitable or service organizations at under 10 percent and the greatest participation was in religious organizations at more than 26 to 28 percent for Americans and Texans, respectively. The study also addressed how one’s political affiliations tie into their community engagement. Both Republicans and Democrats were close in their engagement with charitable or service organizations but Republicans were more likely than Democrats to engage in other groups such as sports leagues, neighborhood associations and most of all, religious organizations. Institute director Susan Nold said the report’s overall figures of community participation showed troubling signs. “While I am pleased that most Americans and Texans have positive feelings toward their communities, I am concerned by the levels of disengagement captured in this survey,” Nold said in an email. “Group membership is not
I am concerned by the levels of disengagement … Group membership is not a reality for most Americans and Texans. —Susan Nold, Director of Strauss Institute
a reality for most Americans and Texans.” The report also showed Americans and Texans rarely have political disagreements with one another, though the person they talk to most about politics are typically their spouse, partner or significant other. Less than 10 percent of the sample discussed politics with their neighbor. The low level of political disagreement was portrayed more strikingly along party lines. “In Texas, 68 percent of Republicans rarely disagree while 64 percent of Democrats rarely disagree,” the report showed. Nold said technology may contribute to the creation of an insular environment for political discourse. “These findings are of concern because we live in an age when people can feel totally connected to others and to the world without even leaving their homes,” Nold said. However, Nold said there are encouraging signs in the data in that more education leads to more community engagement. “Proponents of education will find good news in this report because throughout the report we see that those who are more educated are also more engaged in their communities,” Nold said. “Without question, education is a catalyst for accessing many of the advantages of one’s community.”
ICE arrests many immigrants with clear records in Austin
neerArohi eered d the thetands By Lisa Dreher ob@lisa_dreher97 the girls their Austin has the highkills, est percentage of undocuin a mented immigrants without criminal convictions cour- in the U.S., according neer- to reports by the Austin and when American-Statesman KVUE on Wednesday. llege, fraid “Most of the people arring,” rested by (Immigration and Enforcement) nitial Customs in the recent raids were goes non-criminal immigrants, ” girls Mayor Steve Adler wrote in , at- a Facebook post Wednesday. learn “By not focusing on appregning hending criminals, ICE is wants causing fear to spread in our come community, and when otherwise law-abiding people home are afraid to interact with law e de- enforcement, we are less safe d. “I as a city.” and Of ICE’s confirmed 51 detainments over the course olun- of four days this month, 28 com- detainees were not previaid it ously convicted of crimes, urage accounting for 55 percent of jobs the arrests. ICE detained 23 people rse. with criminal convictions, has with two convicted of sexunated ally abusing children, two for “We assault and nine for drunk know driving. The data also ino.” cludes detainees that have nized been convicted of drug trafkids ficking, marijuana possession e to well, or obstructing the police, was according to the Statesman. has conducted Day. ICE sweeps over the past few t of weeks across the country for ment
when thing said. d of t enhat I walk
♲
Operation Cross Check, which the agency says targets mainly undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions, according to fact sheets ICE released concerning U.S. cities with detainments. Since Feb. 6, ICE has arrested more than 680 people collectively from San Antonio, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, according to a fact sheet released on Feb. 13. ICE arrested 38 people with criminal convictions out of 41 during five days, accounting for 5 percent, according to New York City’s fact sheet. ICE said the arrests sometimes occur when a suspected undocumented immigrant is with someone wanted for a crime, according to the Statesman. “During targeted enforcement operations, ICE officers frequently encounter additional suspects who may be in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws,” ICE said in the fact sheets. “Those persons will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and when appropriate, arrested by ICE.” ICE officials have not released the names of those arrested in Austin, but said many of them are from the area, according to the Statesman. On Tuesday the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released memos defining President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
John Kelly, secretary of DHS, gave ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection more authority in immigration enforcement, including the power to deport incarcerated undocumented immigrants or those apprehended at the border. Some Austin City Council members condemned the new rules, which only apply to DHS and no other department or agency. “The undocumented members in our community are an overwhelmingly positive part of our community,” council member Delia Garza of District 2 said in a press conference Tuesday. “The main effect of increasing deportations and expanding the immigration enforcement bureaucracy will be to tear apart families, and will overlook truly pressing needs in this country, like education, jobs and infrastructure.” Council member Sabino Renteria of District 3 said Trump’s recent actions do not serve their intended purposes. “I’m constantly surprised at the dangerous disregard that the Trump administration continues to display for the American values that actually make this country great,” Renteria said in the press conference. “The new enforcement policies are an enormous waste of government resources and will inevitably make our communities less safe.”
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4 OPINION
ALEXANDER CHASE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | @TexanEditorial Monday, February 27, 2017
4
COLUMN
Paxton’s ethics issues make him no martyr By Usmaan Hasan Daily Texan Columnist @UzzieHasan
Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr., attorney general for the Abbott administration, is the top lawyer in Texas. In May, he will stand trial for fraud and, if found guilty, faces up to 99 years in prison. Republicans have passed their fair share of inane resolutions this session (I’m looking at you, flag-man), but now the legislature has taken up another pointless, and much more nefarious, cause: Ken Paxton. As attorney generals go, Paxton has taken unusual steps to politicize his post including earning the dubious honor of being the first state to support the immigration ban. After President Donald Trump’s election, Paxton quipped that he’d still have a job to do because he will always have the City of Austin to sue. Funny guy. As details relating to the three felony fraud charges Paxton faces have been revealed, he has stuck to his guns. He is calling the allegations and trial a political witch hunt perpetrated by his enemies. In the face of two consecutive state trials and one federal trial being conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paxton has enjoyed incredible support among the Republican party. Elected officials out of Collin County planned ways to pressure the Collin County Commissioners Court into reducing pay for the special
prosecutors trying the Paxton case. In the wake of the indictments, Paxton has been the recipient of near-record levels of fundraising. Besides the potential jail time, the charges Paxton faces appear to have been a boon to his political career. The support that has been provided for the attorney general is unsurprising. Politicians make a living through dodging and ducking accusations leveled at them. However, the lengths that the Texas Republican party is willing to go to in order to protect Ken Paxton is absurd. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. Van Taylor made ethics reform a top priority for this session while simultaneously embracing the potential ethics violations present in Paxton’s trials. In addition to being ardent supporters of the sitting AG, the Republican party has channeled their inner Trump-denialism, arguing that the charges are phony or merely a political witch hunt. This is a position that fits in perfectly with the congressmen deriding protesting constituents as paid flacks. It fits in with the Trump White House narrative peddled day-in and day-out about the “fake news” perpetrated by mainstream media outlets. It fits in with the slow degradation of the institutions created to serve as checks and balances to power gone rogue. The Texas Republican party has a history of intervening on Paxton’s behalf. In 2014, 14 legislators asked Dan Branch, Paxton’s rival in the
Courtesy of Ken Paxton
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Human Trafficking Advocacy Day rally on Jan. 27. Paxton’s ethical lapses have made him a controversial figure for Republicans to rally around.
primary runoff for the attorney general election, to drop out. In 2017 the whole band has come out in full force. The all-out assault conducted by Paxton and his supporters on the trial process paints a picture that the sitting attorney general is too big to be prosecuted. Presumed innocence before
proven guilty is the maxim criminal trials in the U.S. are conducted under, yet Team Paxton is strangling the proceedings in the cradle. If Republicans desperately need an issue to rally around, they should consider lobbying Apple for a Texas flag emoji. Hasan is a business freshman from Plano.
COLUMN
Autism-centric development deserves its nixing By Josephine MacLean Daily Texan Senior Columnist @maclean_josie
The Austin Zoning and Planning Commission recently voted against a zoning change that would allow the creation of both a housing development and a residential treatment center for adults with autism in West Austin. “(The decision) signals that the commission with its new membership is not going to require wealthy home owners west of MoPac to endure the burden of growth that the rest of us will have to,” said Gabriel Rojas, the outgoing vice chair of the zoning and planning commission. While Rojas’ argument about the general attitude of West Austin towards urban growth is straight on the mark, not every project promising urbanization should be blindly approved. This decision is a new precedent for reigning in over-optimistic developers and preserving already developed neighborhoods in Austin. Jim Duncan, one of the new members on the commission and retired city planner,
says his vote against the proposed plan was motivated by the greediness of the proposal. “(This project’s developer), Milestone, was trying to get more than they should on this property,” Duncan said. The commission’s ruling changed the zoning to only allow development of 30,000 sq. foot lots, when Milestone originally asked for 10,000 sq. foot lots. While the ruling was on the dramatic end of the spectrum, Duncan’s overall assessment of the original proposal is accurate. The city municipal code supports a long-standing view that the Hill Country should not be heavily urbanized for environmental and aesthetic reasons. “River Place (the surrounding neighborhood) is almost 95 percent developed. You don’t change the rules in the fourth quarter,” said Duncan. While Milestone claims its project would help provide single family housing in Austin, houses in the development would be between $700,000 and $900,000. That price tag is higher than the average for the neighborhood, and certainly unattainable to the average family in need of housing.
The other half of the proposal was the Autism Center. Proponents say smaller lots were necessary to generate a certain amount of profit to fund the endowment for the Center. While this may be true, and the plans are lovely on the surface, when you look closer, there are problems. The family slated to run the Center, of Polly and Johnathan Tommey, has been very involved in the anti-vaxxer movement. None of the Tommeys list any kind of medical education or behavioral health certifications as qualifications, yet they plan to run a home with more than 40 adults with autism. “Whether a concept will be successful or not will be mired in the details,” said Ann Hart, a board member and parent-support volunteer with the Autism Society of Texas for over a decade. Hart also brought up concerns about cost. Residential treatment is expensive. Even with an endowment, it’s unclear how much families would have to pay for the Center. The decision to reign in Milestone’s plan was necessary because it considered the bigger picture. The ideals behind the project are worthy, but tying a charity cause to them
While Rojas’ argument about the general attitude of West Austin towards urban growth is straight on the mark, not every project promising urbanization should be blindly approved. does not justify giving the developer whatever they want. “We’ve let the growth industry run the show, and we’ve left a lot of people behind,” said Duncan. Protecting established Austin neighborhoods, even the rich ones, could be a step towards changing that trajectory. Hopefully, this preservation-oriented trend continues when it comes to neighborhoods in less affluent parts of Austin. MacLean is an advertising sophomore from Austin.
FORUM
Carter-O’Connell takes chilling hate speech position By Kat Taylor and Jack Cozort
Daily Texan Forum Contributors
While well intentioned, the Feb. 24 oped from the Carter-O’Connell executive alliance candidate team must be examined critically, as their proposed “stand against hate speech” is an attack on free speech. The problem with Carter-O’Connell’s platform lies in their definition of, and proposed ban on, “any speech that insults a race, religion, gender, or creed.” The idea of prohibiting any speech found to be insulting is unrealistic. An individual may or may not be “insulted” by certain comments and one person’s definition of what is insulting can easily contradict another’s, creating an impassable gray area. The definition of hate speech is speech that targets an individual or group for any number of reasons, not limited to key trigger points like race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. By the Carter-O’Connell definition, if a student “maliciously” mocks fraternity members for wearing identical, whitewashed Wrangler jeans and members find it insulting, it qualifies as hate speech. Most respond that such a statement should not be upsetting. Who is to decide the intent. or whether or not it is offensive? We understand that Carter-O’Connell did not intend for a situation like this to be included in their definition; their position is aimed at serious issues such as racist, anti-LGBT, transphobic, and Islamophobic rhetoric. Despite their intentions, all hate speech is fully protected under the First Amendment as a
result of statutory interpretations. The distinction we draw lies in the difference between hate speech and incitement through hate speech. We agree with Carter-O’Connell that incitement through hate speech has no place on our campus; in fact, federal law prohibits incitement in all forums. No student may threaten harm on another student, leading that student to fear for his or her personal safety. By law, it is acceptable to say that Joe is the worst neighbor, and you wish he would drop dead. However, you cannot say that, knowing Joe will be home at 10 p.m., you will attack him. The former is hate speech; the latter is incitement and furthermore, could qualify criminally as assault. Carter-O’Connell briefly discussed Ku Klux Klan groups and Student Government’s role in possibly allowing them on campus. We agree with Carter-O’Connell that the KKK is a despicable organization. Yet, as long as the members are students, they have the same rights as any other student organization. They may not be forcibly silenced because of the views they espouse. Students lambast President Gregory Fenves for refusing to take a strong stance on this issue; he cannot do so without threatening UT’s standing as a respected institution of higher education. The American Civil Liberties Union would be more than willing to file suit for infringement of First Amendment rights. Don’t think so? The ACLU defended the rights of a Neo-Nazi group to march in Illinois in the 1970s. The laws on hate speech are clear; all speech is granted equal protection, as long as it does not incite a direct threat of harm against an individual or group.
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.
Emmanuel Briseno | Daily Texan Staff
Carter-O’Connell’s prohibition on offensive speech would not only be illegal, but would have a severe chilling effect on open discourse. As stated in the op-ed, Carter-O’Connell aim to make everyone feel safe on campus by encouraging students to “come as you are” and be “unapologetic of what makes you, you.” This is an honorable mission, but their goal is firmly at odds with their platform. To truly “(learn) from people that are different from us” all groups must be granted the right to share their points of view, no matter how disturbing. Otherwise, those ideas will be repressed, never debated and never
SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | Email 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.
resolved, luring campus into a false sense of homogeneity. It is correct to call groups like the ones Carter-O’Connell name hate groups. Their hate speech is deeply offensive and wholly unkind, but their speech is protected and they legally have the right to be on campus. We may wish to block out these views; however, hindering legal speech accomplishes nothing, especially when the goal is to achieve an open discourse as Carter-O’Connell desire. Taylor is a Plan II and history junior from Palo Alto, California. Cozort is a Plan II and business junior from Houston.
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CLASS 5
LIFE&ARTS
5
Monday, February 27, 2017
UNIVERSITY
UT celebrates 80 years of its most prominent symbol: the Tower By Acacia Coronado @acaciatree18
Built literally on metal bookshelves and wrapped in limestone, for 80 years the University of Texas Tower has been keeping track of time for students and reminding them of who they are—Texas Longhorns. Monday, Feb. 27 will mark the 80th anniversary of the UT Tower. To celebrate, the Architecture and Planning Library and the Alexander Architectural Archives will feature the UT Tower as the fifth part of their “To Better Know a Building” exhibition series. It will include original architectural planning documents. “You can see around the edges of the drawings little scratches, bubbles and little tornadoes where they are getting their pen working the way they wanted,” said Nancy Sparrow, curatorial assistant for public services for the Alexander Architectural Archive at the APL. Sparrow said most of the designs were originally made by the three architects who were responsible for building the Tower and many of the buildings on campus.
DRUNK
continues from page 8 er’s attention. At times, Thundercat utilizes a feature to flesh out a song’s idea and create what could serve as breakout songs for this LP. However, the experience often varies from feature to feature. Occasionally, Thundercat’s instrumentation fails to hold up to a featured artist’s performance. On “Drink Dat,” Thundercat calls on Wiz Khalifa but doesn’t provide the song with the same deep grooves and beats he’s brought to the table on nearly ev-
Paul Cret was the consulting architect for UT who created the development plan, Robert Leon White was the university architect who oversaw construction on the ground and Dr. William Battle held the chair of the faculty building committee that made recommendations to the regents. Cret was tasked with the challenge of building a larger library after the campus had outgrown its previous one, said UT historian Jim Nicar. Nicar said Cret knew this would be the emblem associated with the University of Texas, so it had to be at the center of campus, upon the hill where the Old Main Building then stood. This immediately caused an uproar among alumni, who were not only fond of it, but were also putting a large effort into expanding the University during the Great Depression. “The alumni built four buildings in the middle of the Great Depression,” Nicar said. “They are people who skipped meals to pay a dollar a year, so the last thing you want to tell the alumni is ‘Oh hey, we are going to tear down Old Main, your oldest building on campus.”
Despite much debate, Nicar said it was finally decided they would build an annex expansion area onto Old Main, and in 20 or so years they would revisit the idea of tearing it down. Fueled by the New Deal grant, they completed the new library and Main Building in 1937. The Tower’s engraved details exemplify its essence as
ery track Drunk has to offer, making Wiz’s guest vocals fall flat. The main difference between Thundercat’s solo work and that with rappers, or other artists, is that on his own, Thundercat tries everything he possibly can, whereas when collaborating he refines his sound in an attempt to get as close to flawless as possible. Whether it’s an artistic choice or just a massive dump of tracks sitting in Thundercat’s archives, Drunk feels massive. Although it only lasts around 50 minutes, one full listen of this record is a difficult task to
get through. Despite its flaws, Drunk is far from a failure. There are more than enough tracks to please soul fans no matter what they’re looking for. It’s just Thundercat’s style to give the listener more than they might enjoy, and honestly that brings this project’s experience down a bit. Other than that slight pitfall, Drunk is an engaging and exciting release that blends genres to create an overall enjoyable experience. Barring poor reviews, Drunk will likely make Thundercat one of the biggest names in soul.
Feb. 27th marks the University of Texas Tower’s 80th anniversary. Paul Cret, the consulting architect for UT created and develope the plans.
Zoe Fu Daily Texan Staff
a library, with symbols like the Lamp of Learning, Athena and the names of prominent historical authors. “You have got learning and wisdom, truth and beauty, so these are the values of high education,” Nicar said. In the end, architecture professor Richard Cleary said the intricately designed, completed building ended up being much taller
AMOR
continues from page 8 tell how much this musical tradition means to people from the emotional reactions to the songs they play. “On weddings, it’s amazing to see the bride cry, and they ask for their regular song—like Hermoso Cariño,” Guerra said. “It’s really beautiful to see us have an impact for that hour, or even two hours, by having mariachi there.” Guerra carpools to venues with her friend Sanchez, a UT alumna who joined Mariachi Amor shortly after Guerra did. Sanchez said
than anticipated. “This idea of making it taller and taller had a lot to do with the growing sense of the University as a great institution, proud in its own terms, proud of its place in Texas, proud of its complex relationship with the state Legislature down the way,” Cleary said. Currently, parts of the UT Tower and Main Building
she has grown much as a musician with Ramirez at the helm of the music group. “At first I was really nervous because my repertoire wasn’t that extensive,” Sanchez said. “I had to learn keys, I had to differentiate keys, I had to learn how to transpose on the spot—Alex taught me that.” Sanchez said she loves how engaging the band is with the crowd, as opposed to just being the background music. She said she also appreciates the comradery of the mariachis, proving there is so much people can share with
are being used as office and library space. Cleary said the future of what may be housed here remains uncertain. “If I had a wish for the Tower, it would be that it has a use that continues to draw students and others into that building for an academic purpose,” Cleary said. “Not just a tourist point, not just an office space, but some reason about why we are all here.”
There’s such a huge age difference, but I feel like we bring out the young in them. —Veronica Sanchez, Mariachi member
the culture. “There’s such a huge age difference, but I feel like we bring out the young in them,” Sanchez said. “They make us wiser.”
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TYLER HORKA, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansports Monday, February 27, 2017
BASEBALL | TEXAS 9-3 UCONN
Texas powers past Huskies to clinch series win By Alex Briseno @Alexxbriseno
The Longhorns have a Ryan Reynolds of their own, and although his performance didn’t win an Oscar last night, it was pivotal in Texas’ game-three victory over Connecticut at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The freshman third baseman didn’t star in any Oscar-nominated films, but he did show his versatility at the plate in the 9-3 win on Sunday afternoon. Reynolds started the game by blasting a pitch over the left field fence, allowing Texas to jump out to the early 2-0 lead. “It felt good,” Reynolds said. “But it didn’t feel as good as getting our team up on top first and getting some runs for Blair (Henley) and the rest of our pitchers.” But Reynolds’ trot around
the bases wasn’t nearly as smooth as his swing. The Huskies fired the ball to home plate in an attempt to throw out freshman shortstop David Hamilton after the ball bounced back into the field. Reynolds was stuck at second base as the crowd erupted in confusion. Soon after, the umpires ruled it a tworun homer, allowing him to continue the awkward trot a few seconds later. “I kind of hit it and I didn’t know if it was going to stay fair because it was kind of hooking,” Reynolds said. “I was just running, I didn’t even know it went out, so it was kind of a shock to me too.” Reynolds was hit by a pitch during his following at bat, and senior first baseman Kacy Clemens followed that up with a shot that almost cleared the fence, but
ricocheted off the center field wall. Reynolds, who was on first, rounded the bases and slid safely into home plate, but it wasn’t exactly well executed. Reynolds’ head awkwardly bounced off the turf as his hand scraped across the plate, and his teammates were sure to let him know about it afterwards. “They were just making fun of me about it in the clubhouse, just how I face planted,” Reynolds said. “But hey, they called me safe, so I’m happy about it.” Freshman pitcher Blair Henley got the start, but had a rough day. Henley gave up two runs on six hits in just 2.1 innings. But junior Jake McKenzie, who’s earned run average was 54.00 going into the afternoon, had a much better outing. The right-handed pitcher threw for four strikeouts, while only allowing one
Freshman third baseman Ryan Reynolds finds the ball against a Husky pitcher during the Longhorns’ weekend series win. Reynolds homered during Sunday’s 9-3 Longhorn victory.
Joshua Guerra Daily Texan Staff
hit in 4.2 innings. “Jake McKenzie was the player, pitcher of the day. There’s no doubt,” head coach David Pierce said. “Both teams were very aggressive, it looked like it could potentially be a big offensive day, and he did a great job of settling in and just coming in and eating up innings … he pretty much held
them at bay.” The game-three win sealed Texas’ first series victory of the season. After striking out at the plate 17 times in their 2-1 loss on Saturday afternoon, the Longhorns had Smokey the Cannon going off early and often in their last outing of the weekend. The combination of the explosive offense and
dominant pitching displayed on Sunday afternoon have left the Longhorns quite confident going into Tuesday’s matchup with Lamar. “The bats came alive today, which was nice to see,” McKenzie said. “We got nine runs up there, we should win if we score nine runs, that’s a given. I think we can roll from here.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL | NO. 6 TEXAS 66-70 IOWA STATE
Aston’s squad drops third straight on Senior Night By Dalton Phillips @Dalton_Tweets
Texas stood primed to capture the Big 12 conference title eight days ago. The team had put together a pair of top 5 road upsets on its way to 19 consecutive wins, entering the final stretch as the second-hottest team in college basketball. Today, the Longhorns find themselves on the wrong end of a three-game losing streak, capped off by a senior night loss to unranked Iowa State on Friday night. No. 6 Texas fell 70-66 in its final home game of
the season, handing Iowa State its fourth-straight win and its first in Austin since 2015. “I think you are always disappointed when it’s senior night and you do not take care of your business when it’s your last home game,” head coach Karen Aston said. “I think that is always a disappointing loss. I have not had many of those honestly in my career, but credit to Iowa State.” The Cyclones jumped out to an early lead, controlling the first two periods to enter halftime up 37-33. From there, they seemed content
trading baskets, matching Texas point-for-point. The two squads scored 21 points each in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth, as the orange and white failed to build any kind of lasting momentum down the stretch. It wasn’t for a lack of opportunities, however. The Longhorns put together a 6-0 run with 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to go up 60-58 for the first time since the opening minutes. Iowa State responded with nine unanswered points to reclaim a 67-60 lead. The two battled back and forth, both teams struggling
MEN’S BASKETBALL | TEXAS 67-77 NO.3 KANSAS
Texas’ woes continue against conference-leading Jayhawks By Shane Lewis
Freshman guard Andrew Jones rushes up the court during Texas’ 77-67 loss against the Jayhawks. Jones and freshman forward Jarrett Allen combined for 38 points Saturday.
@theREALsplewis
Texas and Kansas sit at opposite ends of the Big 12 hierarchy this season, with the Jayhawks hovering in the rafters and the Longhorns dwelling in the cellar. Kansas clinched its 13th consecutive conference title this past week and has been the definition of sustained excellence. Texas has just three Big 12 titles in its history. But after Saturday’s 77-67 loss to the Jayhawks, freshman guard Andrew Jones remained adamant that there’s not much of a gap between the two programs. “They’re not unbeatable,” Jones said. “They’re a beatable team. If we would’ve been smarter and made more plays, we could’ve hung with them.” Jones and freshman forward Jarrett Allen gave Texas a reason to believe it will be competing with Kansas for titles soon. The duo combined for 38 points in Saturday’s loss on an ultra-efficient 16–29 shooting performance. Allen continued his recent string of highlight-reel plays, electrifying the Frank Erwin Center with several dunks. Jones’ evolution into a more complete player was also on display, and the guard showcased his midrange game. Head coach Shaka Smart praised the players’ performances. “Jarrett played really well against (Kansas) last time and was active again tonight—our guys realize that he’s our best option,” Smart said. “Andrew made some really big plays. He’s really gotten better with his ability to attack and make plays. His mid-range jumper was going.” The play of the freshmen
Gabriel Lopez Daily Texan Staff
was spoiled by a lackluster shooting performance from the rest of the team. Outside of Allen and Jones, Texas shot just 10–26 from the field. Despite these struggles, the Longhorns were able to hang with the Jayhawks for much of the game. Kansas came out of the gate hot, jumping out to a 9-2 lead. But the Longhorns battled back and eventually took a 20-19 advantage. This proved to be Texas’ only lead of the game. The Jayhawks responded with a 12-0 run and remained a step ahead of the burnt orange for the remainder of the contest. The Longhorns went into halftime trailing 40-31. In the second frame, the Longhorns remained within striking distance. The team got within six points on several occasions and pulled as close as five points with just over 10 minutes remaining. But every time Texas appeared poised to rally, the Jayhawks responded with a key offensive possession or a
defensive stop that kept the game out of reach. Smart said the team’s inability to break through reflected a lack of resolve. “To be honest, you got to have a group of guys that really stick their chest out and believe in themselves and each other in that situation,” Smart said. “I don’t think our spirit was good enough.” The Jayhawks feasted down low. The team finished with 40 points in the paint, outscoring the Longhorns by 10 in that department. Kansas’ junior forward Dwight Coleby scored 12 points and controlled the painted area, wreaking havoc with several punishing dunks. “Whenever my number is called, I’m ready to contribute,” Coleby said, who came into the contest averaging just over a point per game. Only two games remain on Texas’ regular season schedule. The Longhorns travel to Texas Tech on Wednesday with their last chance to seize a road victory this year.
to score, until a steal led to a layup by Texas freshman guard Alecia Sutton to make it a one-possession game with 44 seconds left on the clock. Here, execution hurt the Longhorns as it had all game. The team failed to convert on a final look to win or tie the contest, and a pair of free throws on the other end sealed the defeat. “We just did not play with a lot of urgency, possession after possession after possession,” Aston said. “There were times where we played with urgency, but not the kind you need to win in the Big 12.” Sutton posted a career-high
10 points in the loss—one of four Texas players to score in double figures. Junior Guard Brooke McCarty added 12 points and tied her season-high with six rebounds. Texas concludes its regular season schedule with a rematch at Kansas State on Monday night. Barring an Oklahoma upset over Baylor and a fourth-straight loss for the Longhorns, the team will finish second in the conference in back-to-back years. The Wildcats sit at fourth place in the Big 12 with an 11–6 record. In the first matchup of the season,
freshman forward Joyner Holmes and senior center Kelsey Lang combined for 31 points and 18 rebounds in the narrow 63-58 home victory. Texas looks for another pair of strong performances as it attempts to close out the season on a high note. In spite of the slide, Lang is confident the losses can help the team improve. “We can learn a lot from these games,” Lang said. “We have gotten comfortable with the things we did really well in the middle of the season. I think we can definitely learn from it, and if we learn from it, we can move on and grow.”
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COMICS 7
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Monday, February 27, 2017
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Today’s solution will appear here next issue
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MAE HAMILTON, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan Monday, February 27, 2017
ALBUM REVIEW | ‘DRUNK’
FOOD
Brewing java or steeping tea, students debate the drinks By Matt Douglas @thedailytexan
Courtesy of Brainfeeder| Daily Texan Staff
Drunk isn’t an album for everyone, but those entrenched in neo and psychadelic soul will find themselves right at home.
Thundercat finds his own voice on new soul album By Chris Duncan @chr_dunc
If it weren’t for his performances on To Pimp a Butterfly, Thundercat might be releasing his newest album to the same cult acclaim as before. But with his recent boost in collaboration, Thundercat is ready to take the soul world by storm on his new solo LP Drunk. Thundercat made his way into the music scene as a bass player, accompanying the likes of Erykah Badu and Flying Lotus. However, it wasn’t until his seminal work on To Pimp a Butterfly with Kendrick Lamar that Thundercat became a big name in music. Thundercat, and his neo-soul and psychedelic vibes, brought TPAB its
signature feel, making it such an impressive LP and bringing live performances an extra personal dimension. Now, he is ready to capitalize on his fame with his new solo record Drunk, bringing in a few features and heavy instrumentation to throw a bunch of different sounds at the listener, hoping that some of it sticks. And more often than not, Thundercat finds success. Tracks such as “Tokyo” and “Walk On By,” which features Kendrick Lamar, feel as if they could have been leading singles for this LP, displaying the smooth grooves and occasional surprises that made Thundercat such an emerging figure in soul and hip hop. On the surface, many
DRUNK Genre: R&B/Soul Rating:
songs seem too short and don’t feel fleshed out, but the intention of making certain tracks short is to transition from one idea to another with ease. Thundercat uses short sound bytes such as those on “Rabbot Ho,” “Jethro” and “Jameel’s Space Ride” to introduce ideas, successfully providing the listener with a sample, or tease, of things that are to be explored further on the album. A good comparison would be to Madvillainy—even though these two albums differ in genre, they both use track length to direct the listen-
DRUNK page 5
Rachel Zein | Daily Texan Staff
Members of the musical group Mariachi Amor perform at a birthday party Saturday night. The group varies widely in range and includes several UT alumni.
Mariachi Amor band plays for love of Mexican heritage @Jose_thewriter
At a quinceañera, as the birthday girl sits centerstage surrounded by her friends, the cheering crowd shouts for their favorite songs to be played. Head mariachi Alex Ramirez and his band is always ready to please. In 2013, Ramirez established Mariachi Amor, a musical group that performs around Austin for birthday parties, weddings, or other special events. Official members of the group include Steve Urrutia, Alexis Andaverde, Noel Angel Ayala, Elsa Guerra and Veronica Sanchez. After being let go from his job as an underwriter, Ramirez wanted to fully commit to his passion for music, which had been put aside for too long. “I saw music as a necessity,” Ramirez said. “Yes, it’s a passion, but at the same time
cated on 37th and Guadalupe streets. The barista at La Tazza, oboist junior Jillian Kouzel, has spent a year at the shop. In essence, she loves coffee, she had time, so she applied for the job. “I just drink hot, black, regular coffee. Like bare minimum, nothing fancy,” said Kouzel. “It really is just the utility of it. The fact that it wakes me up.” There was a notable attention to detail, but Kouzel admits she isn’t an expert, she simply knows how to make drinks. Eventually, the subject of shop regulars came up. Typically, small coffee shops have a solid group of regulars that sit at the bar and converse. These relationships can become pretty significant. Kouzel is learning Spanish, and even met her boyfriend from behind the counter. Kouzel said she had stints with “super sweet” coffee and lattes, explaining the latter were more for taste than the former. “I love a hot cup of coffee in the morning and during the day,” Kouzel said, “It’s not like anything spiritual for me, it just makes me feel energized. It works.” Musical Performance junior Jillian Kouzel, a barista at La Tazza Fresca has worked at the shop for about a year. She likes coffee and decided to work at a coffee shop because of the extra time she has.
Iris Bilich Daily Texan Staff
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MUSIC
By Jose Gonzalez
At either ends of the Drag lie two distinct realms of caffeine for energy-drained college students. On one end, a quaint hole in the wall of bright toned walls mixes cool, refreshing tea, and on the other a dimly lit, moderately spirited haven serves up steaming java. Tea and coffee were both adopted by Europe by the 17th century. Now, the modern consumer demands a vast array, and in an effort to captivate the modern customer, coffee and tea were made boundless. Today, one can find a coffee or tea derivative of any brewing process, temperature and ingredient blend they desire. The stimulating qualities attributed to both beverages make them ideal for exhausted intellects, drudging through books, essays and the like. At the Tapioca House on Guadalupe Street, manager Simon Liu is often seen taking part in the tedious orders of business. Liu has been brewing for 30 years, but the shop itself is about 14 years old. He said the Chinese have been
drinking tea for thousands of years. “Tea is part of our everyday life,” Liu said, “In China, we say there are some things you face every day: rice, water and tea.” His drink of choice is traditional milk tea. In part because every store has its own take, its own secret recipe. For neuroscience freshman Maher Rahman, drinking tea is an integral part of his Bengali heritage. “Tea is a social setting,” Rahman said. “When you brew tea you brew it for the entire household.” Tea is usually served around lunchtime and right before dinner, standard culture for Bengali families. He drinks traditional chai with coffee creamer around lunch and green tea, or Bengal spice, before dinner. It serves as a sort of preparation for the coming meal. For Rahman, coffee is too strong, too bitter. He prefers, as some would say, pompous water. A common appeal for java enthusiasts are independent coffee shops. One such establishment is La Tazza Fresca, lo-
it’s a talent that not so many people have, and I knew I was fortunate to have that.” Eventually, Ramirez and his mariachis began receiving recommendations through word-of-mouth as Mariachi Amor gained more success. In 2014, Ramirez was approached by his former eight grade music teacher Ezekiel Castro, who is now the ensemble director for UT Mariachi, to tutor his students. Ramirez said he agreed to do this apart from Mariachi Amor because he wanted to help young people embrace the mariachi tradition and become part of its evolution. “(Mariachi) evolved musically, and the level of skill you find in these players is incredible,” Ramirez said. “They all have their own way of playing, their own style, and hopefully they continue because to me, Mariachi is a lifelong journey.” In 2016, Ramirez’s lead-
ership skills and experience compelled Guerra to join Mariachi Amor. She said her relationship with Ramirez is more than a mentorship; It’s a friendship. “I feel like I have a whole other family with Alex and the mariachis,” Guerra said. “We’re so close and he helped me a lot.” Ramirez’s mariachis feel a strong bond to their Mexican roots, shown through their love for classic tunes by Vicente Fernandez, and other Tejano-style music. Apart from the music, Guerra said her personal connection to her heritage is also drawn from the aesthetic that comes with being a mariachi. “I love the bright colors that the girls would wear, their monos and stuff,” Guerra said. “I really wanted to be one.” When they play with a full crowd, Guerra said she can
AMOR page 5
TSM would like to thank the Student Services budget Committee for their continued support of Texas Student Media and the independent student voice.