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WHAT’S INSIDE
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CNN’s Paul Begala speaks on campus. PAGE 3
OPINION Electronics ban proves unnecessary. PAGE 4
SPORTS D’Onta Foreman impresses at Pro Day. PAGE 6
LIFE&ARTS ATX Barrio gives followers taste of old Austin. PAGE 8
REASON TO PARTY
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ONLINE For more stories, read online at dailytexanonline.com
CITY
US Census errs 2015 Austin population By Lisa Dreher @lisa_dreher97
The U.S. Census released a revised report last Thursday saying Austin officially exceeded 2 million residents in 2016, and not 2015. A report released last June by the Census Bureau said Austin surpassed 2 million residents in 2015, but the report prematurely estimated the growth by about a month, according to city demographer Ryan Robinson. Robinson said Austin’s rate of growth is more significant than just its population size. “The total gain from 2015 to 2016 was about 58,000 and that’s actually the largest in total terms since 2010,” Robinson said. “Austin is singular in how much growth it has experienced.” The Census measures only the metropolitan statistical areas made up of five counties: Williamson,
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CAMPUS
Fenves gives campus safety updates By Catherine Marfin @catherinemarfin
NEWS
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
In preparation for the oneyear anniversary of the death of dance freshman Haruka Weiser, UT President Gregory Fenves emailed the campus community to announce a vigil in her honor as well as provide a detailed report of updated security measures on campus. Shortly after Weiser’s murder last spring, Fenves requested the Texas Department of Public Safety conduct a security vulnerability assessment of the main campus and J.J. Pickle
Research Campus. At the end of the four-month review, DPS recommended providing campus areas with additional lighting, increasing police presence, adjusting campus landscapes to improve visibility and addressing the transient population, among other recommendations. “The DPS report is one data point for us,” said Gerald Harkins, associate vice president of Campus Safety and Security. “There’s been communications from emails, community meetings, talking with staff on campus and dialogue with members of the community that also
provided data points.” Some changes, such as updating building access and increasing police presence, have already been implemented. Of the 164 buildings on campus, 80 have been updated to require a UT ID for access after certain hours, Harkins said. As of this week, 34 of the general-purpose classroom buildings now have this feature. Additionally, the UT Police Department has implemented more officers patrolling campus on foot and on bikes.
Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
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UT President Gregory Fenves emailed the campus community Tuesday morning to provide a detailed update on security.
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Wendy Davis explains ‘Pussy Hat Economics’ By London Gibson @londongibson
Wendy Davis, former Texas state senator and gubernatorial candidate, said in a lecture Tuesday that supporting women’s reproductive rights puts more women in the workforce, and in turn, boosts the economy. Davis’ economic concept, which she named “Pussy Hat Economics” after the knitted hats popularized during the nationwide women’s marches in January, is based on the fact that women make roughly 80 percent of the buying decisions in the U.S. When women have more control over their reproductive rights, they’re able to take a larger role in the workforce, Davis said. She said because women are the primary consumers in the country, more money being made by women means more money going back into the economy. “When we create a workforce that includes women and we pass policies that make sure that women have an opportunity to have a vibrant part in our workforce, then our economy does well for everyone,” Davis said during a press conference. Davis, known for her work
Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
Former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis spoke to the media Tuesday evening at the LBJ Library. She did a lecture on women in the workforce and equal opportunity.
on women’s reproductive rights and gender equality, spoke to an audience of hundreds at the LBJ Auditorium in this year’s Dean Jack Otis Social Problem and Social
Policy Lecture. During the lecture, she touched on her struggles as a woman in the government, and encouraged young women to take a larger role in advocacy.
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She said the best way to make women’s voices heard is to ensure there are enough women in government. “When there aren’t women in the room … these issues are,
of course, going to lag,” Davis said during the lecture. Davis has also campaigned for women’s safety, particularly
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STATE
SURE Walk sees increased Senate bill decreases requests, seeks to expand university funding By Mikaela Cannizzo
By Catherine Marfin
@mikaelac16
@catherinemarfin
Two years ago, government junior Isaiah Carter spent an entire semester volunteering with SURE Walk and only received one call to walk a student home over the course of four months. Students United for Rape Elimination, or SURE Walk, was founded in 1982 by then Student Body President Paul Begala as a means to provide students with a walking buddy to-and-from campus. Before the murder of dance freshman Haruka Weiser early last April, the organization was widely underused and unnoticed, Carter said. “It’s good that campus safety is now on the forefront of the campus dialogue, but it’s a little concerning that it takes instances like (the murder) to remind students how important
Infographic by Maya Haws-Haddock | Daily Texan Staff
campus safety is,” Carter said. “The end goal is to make students use the service despite instances like that.” When he was appointed Student Government chief of staff just three weeks after Weiser’s murder, Isaiah Carter made vamping up the service one of his top priorities. Two years after he first volunteered as a freshman,
when the organization would receive at most 10–15 requests each week, it now receives hundreds to thousands of requests each month. Last month, SURE Walk received 2,827 requests from students. In the two months prior, nearly 1,000 walks and rides were requested,
Name: UT Athletics; Width: 60p0; Depth: 2 in; Color: Process color; Ad Number: -
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The Texas Senate unanimously voted on Tuesday to pass the finance committee’s proposed budget, which decreases state funding for many colleges and universities by 6 percent to 10 percent. Senate Bill 1, which determines the state’s budget for the next two years, passed with $217.7 billion in total funding, up $4 billion from the original amount proposed at the beginning of the session. Despite this slight increase, legislators still had to cut higher education funding in order to allocate money to other priorities. According to the Texas Tribune, UT would lose almost $48 million, about 10 percent of its current budget.
“Decreases are always unfortunate and we regret that, but please keep in mind this is a tough budget,” Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, said during the Senate meeting. “We were told we only had so much money to work with.” While institutions of higher education will suffer some loss of funds, SB 1 increases financial aid for college students by providing an additional $45 million for the TEXAS Grant program. Additionally, it changes the process of funding for special items such as research centers and startup projects. The Senate’s budget originally lowered funding reserved for these special items by approximately $1 billion, which Seliger said would have potentially cut 46 percent to 51 percent of funding for some institutions.
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Volume 117, Issue 127
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
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TOMORROW’S WEATHER
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in regards to sexual assault. At a press conference before the lecture, Davis commented on UT’s recently released sexual assault study, which revealed one in seven female students is a victim of sexual assault while attending UT. Davis commended UT System Chancellor William McRaven and the UT administration for conducting and releasing the study. “What they’ve done actually is quite rare, and it’s commendable, and I hope that they’re going to set a tone for other universities to follow,” Davis said. Davis, most famous for her 13-hour filibuster in 2013 to prevent the passing of an anti-abortion bill, brought some long-time fans to the lecture, such as Cedar Park retired teacher and UT alumna Nancy Malito. “I think she’s no-nonsense,” Malito said. “I think she’s clear-headed. I think she
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speaks for women, and young women in particular.” Social work sophomore Susie Presley said gender equality is an important issue for her as a female student. “There’s so many stereotypes around what women can and can’t do,” Presley said. “It’s nice to hear that there’s someone in such a conservative state standing up for what they believe in.” Davis spoke about her year-old advocacy initiative, Deeds Not Words, which is a resource to help young women have a more active role in government. “We need to make sure that we’re creating a climate where more women are empowered to feel that they ought to be stepping up for themselves,” Davis said. “Unless and until we’re reflected in the same numbers in legislatures across this country as we are in the general population, we can expect that issues that are important to us are going to continue to go unaddressed.”
continues from page 1 Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell and Hays. Robinson said these counties make up one of the top five fastest growing metropolitan areas in the U.S. and has attracted people because of its environment, climate and the University. Robinson said the 2 million mark is nothing to celebrate if the growth limits housing availability and affordability. Radio-television-film sophomore Victoria Keo said she works hard at her job at Chipotle to pay her rent and attend UT. “I would prefer West Campus if it weren’t so expensive,” Keo said. “The only way to get it cheap is if you do a shared room. If you pay $200 more you can have a room by yourself, so it just doesn’t make sense.” Architecture assistant professor Jake Wegmann,
who specializes in real estate, said West Campus and co-ops provide affordable housing options for students who struggle to live in a rapidly growing city with subsequently high rent. “I view what’s happened in West Campus as a huge success story,” Wegmann said. “I think one thing that we should be doing a lot more of is looking at types of housing where younger adults such as students, but also non-student young adults and postgraduates, can live together and share resources.” Fred McGhee, an urban and environmental anthropologist, said Austin appears exciting and fun, but only for those who can afford it. “Austin is great for certain people of a certain income range who can spend $200 and see Dave Chappelle and can blow $5 on coffee at a local cafe,” McGhee said. “The real conver-
sation is about the majority, quite frankly, of Austinites who do not simply have that type of lifestyle.” Robinson said when broken down by race, Austin has a high non-Hispanic white population at about 47 percent, and a booming Asian population around 35 percent to 36 percent. Robinson said the African-American population is relatively low compared to other major cities. McGhee said the low African-American population is because of gentrification resulting from soaring housing costs for lower-income people. Gentrification occurs when unkept buildings and houses are renovated to increase property value and improve the area’s image. “That 78702 ZIP code is one of the three most gentrified ZIP codes in America,” McGhee said. “These things do not reflect well on Austin.”
STUDENT GOVERNMENT 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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SG passes unassigned student section seating By Reagan Ritterbush @Reagan0720
Eighty-seven percent of students are now in support of unassigned seating in the student sections of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, according to a survey conducted by the authors of Assembly Resolution 27. Student Government passed AR 27 unanimously on Tuesday. As discussed at the previous SG meeting, the resolution proposes to eliminate the row and seat number from the Big Ticket. This way students will have the option to sit wherever they would like within their assigned sections. “Unassigned seating will reward students who show up early to games with seating closer to the field,” said Matt Offill, Cockrell School of Engineering representative and mechanical engineering junior. “Passionate students who show up earlier will be closer together, which creates a louder and more enthusiastic environment.” University-wide representative Madison Huerta said the resolution now includes a clause which states the legislation will have no impact on the current American with Disabilities Act accommodations in place. “This resolution is in no way meant to hurt anyone,” said management junior Huerta. “It should not only positively affect students, but the football team’s
Alissa Jae Lazo-Kim | Daily Texan Staff
Matt Offill, SG Cockrell School of Engineering representative, further elaborates on what opening seating would entail and highlights the perks dedicated fans would receive.
performance as well.” Joint Bill 1, which amends the Campus Wide Election Code to reflect changes from the 2016 Election Code Taskforce, was also passed. This bill was drafted in response to recommendations from past members of the Election Advisory Board, which conducts and oversees all student elections, as well as from members of the SG Supreme Court and four other entities involved in campus-wide elections. Adit Bior, administrative director and philosophy senior, said the changes produced in the bill reflect a desire to make elections consistent and educational.
Kevin Cokley, director of the Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis and UT professor, was a guest speaker at the meeting. Cokley discussed his research in the area of African-American psychology. Cokley said he focuses mostly on racial and ethnic identity development, academic motivation and academic achievement in his research. “I have challenged the notion that African American students are anti-intellectual,” Cokley said. “This has led me to critically re-examine the impact of racial and ethnic identity and gender on academic achievement.” Research always reflects
a researcher’s general experience and the struggles he faces in life, Cokley said. He said he cannot help but feel like an impostor sometimes in a place where there are so few African-American faculty members. “When I started teaching, my biggest fear was that I would be in a classroom, and that I would have some white students looking at me as someone who doesn’t belong and was merely there because of affirmative action,” Cokley said. “I wanted to make sure that in everything that I said and did, that I did not confirm what I thought were stereotypes people had about me.”
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I think it’s an awesome service, but they should definitely do things like have later hours. I think people stay out a lot later than midnight or two in the morning ... —Evangelina Rivera, Sociology freshman
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Gabby Lanza | Daily Texan Staff
UT alumnus Paul Bengala speaks about leadership in politics at the Union yesterday evening. Bengala was an advisor to President Clinton and currently works at CNN as a political commentator.
UT alumnus recalls political journey By Van Nguyen @thedailytexan
From serving in the White House with President Bill Clinton to being a political commentator on CNN, UT alumnus Paul Begala returned to campus Tuesday for a talk titled “Don’t Whiz in the Well and Other Lessons on How to Change the World,” addressing topics on leadership and political activism. Over a hundred students gathered to hear Begala speak at the Shirley Bird Perry Ballroom in the Union. Evan Smith, Texas Tribune CEO, helped moderate the Q&A portion of the talk. The event was hosted by the Student Endowed Centennial Lectureship, which is comprised of nine student organizations. SECL hosts speakers throughout the school year and provides the speaker an
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continues from page 1 “Officers on foot should be walking into buildings, visiting with building managers, things like that,” UTPD Chief David Carter said. “You don’t want them to be just responding call-to-call, because then they lose touch with their community. (We need) that visibility to prevent things from occurring.” Long-term, increasing police presence on campus will require updating the department’s record keeping and computer dispatch technology, both of which are outdated and can keep officers held up in their offices, Carter said. UTPD is also in the process of assessing the size of its department to determine if
FUNDING
continues from page 1 Special items at UT such as the McDonald Observatory and the Bureau of Economic Geology were at risk of losing their funding through this original budget proposal. The passed version of the budget ensures at least 90 percent of each institution’s special items are funded. Seliger said this new system will be more efficient than the initial cut and preserve funding for initiatives that need it. “This committee left no stone unturned looking for savings, examining our budget drivers and looking for ways to make smarter use of our limited resources,” said Committee
opportunity to interact with the campus community. After graduating with his bachelor’s in government, Begala continued his education at the UT School of Law where he received his law degree. Begala said he learned a great deal in the classroom to help with his career, but that was not enough. “Everything I really needed to know about politics and government I learned outside the classroom,” Begala said. While studying at UT, Begala served as student body president in 1982. His road to victory wasn’t a smooth one, however. Prior to that election year, Student Government had been disbanded for five years due to student criticisms. Begala and other students had the idea to reinstate SG, and in his junior year
he ran and lost to a fictional cartoon character named Hank the Hallucination, created by a cartoonist at The Daily Texan. He won the re-election, but Begala said Hank’s slogan “Get Real” has stuck with him to this day as one of the best political slogans he’s ever heard. During his time as student body president he created SURE Walk, a service allowing students to have a volunteer walk them home. SURE Walk is still active on campus today and serves the entire campus area as well as parts of West Campus. Binna Kim, student body vice president, told The Daily Texan earlier this month that the number of students using SURE Walk has increased this year, but there is a lack of volunteers to meet the demand.
more officers should be hired. Additionally, Fenves announced the Executive Compliance Committee approved a long-term strategy in January for implementing DPS recommendations. The ECC plans to create a University-wide standard for the number of call boxes, video cameras and lights that exist on each pathway and building on campus, Harkins said. After this standard is defined, risk assessments of campus locations will be used to determine areas that need improvement in order to meet this standard. The University is still in the process of finalizing plans to add video cameras to UTPD emergency call boxes and campus buildings, as well as establishing
a University-wide emergency cell phone app for students. In his email, Fenves announced a memorial ceremony in Weiser’s honor that UT Student Government will hold at the Main Mall on April 3. Weiser was reported missing on April 4, 2016 after failing to return home from a dance rehearsal the previous evening. On April 5, her body was found in Waller Creek. Meechaiel Criner was indicted on capital murder in connection to her death and is currently awaiting his August trial date. A full copy of Fenves’ email and ECC report can be found on the Office of the President’s website (http://president. utexas.edu/messages/honoring-the-life-of-haruka-weiser).
Chairwoman and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound. Sen. José Rodríguez, D-El Paso, said he is concerned about the estimated $332 million institutions of higher education would lose across the state under SB 1. He said the cuts in financial aid and research proposed by the federal budget add to his worry about the future financial state of colleges and universities. “Texas higher education, my friends, will take a double hit potentially down the line,” Rodríguez said during the meeting. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said this budget plan has been a work in progress for about a year and said legislators still have a long way to go before confirming a financial
plan for 2018-19. However, he commended senators for their hard work and unity in approving the committee’s version of SB 1. “On this day, in this body, on this budget, we are united and speaking with one voice,” Patrick said in a statement. “This budget reflects Texans’ priorities as conservatives and our commitment to meet the needs of this vast and rapidly growing state despite tough fiscal challenges.” HB 1, the budget filed in the House of Representatives, has yet to be approved. As the only piece of legislation required to pass this session, both chambers must reconcile their proposals before passing a budget for the next two years. Senator Joan Huffman, left, talks with Senator Jane Nelson, right, before a lege session on Tuesday Feb. 7.
Joshua Guerra Daily Texan Staff
“This time last year if you called for a SURE Walk it could come pick you up right then and there, whereas now there’s around a 30 minute wait,” Kim said. During the Q&A portion of the talk, Smith brought attention to the current political climate. One recent event mentioned by Smith was the Women’s March that occurred in January. “How do you turn a moment into a movement?” Smith asked in reference to the march. Begala called for the students at the talk to be more politically active, applauding the Women’s March for its efforts. Democrats going forward have to be a party of resistance and resurgence, Begala said. “Get real,” Begala said. “Take what starts here and change the world.”
according to records provided by UT Parking and Transportation Services. SURE Walk’s transformation began last summer after SG and PTS allowed the group to secure finances for supplies such as flashlights, t-shirts and walkie talkies for its volunteers. PTS also provided the group with two cars, allowing SURE Walk to expand its abilities and begin offering rides to students. The partnership with PTS also allowed SURE Walk to begin tracking monthly ride requests and peak operation hours, provide paid staffers during summer months and late-night hours and establish a permanent office in Jester Center for volunteers. Additionally, a $20,000 donation from Begala last fall allowed SURE Walk to purchase two golf carts. While SG was in the planning stages of amping up SURE Walk’s services last spring, the UT Police Department provided an interim transportation solution. “(After Weiser’s murder), we had guards at night with vans and Suburbans to assist students,” UTPD Chief David Carter said.
“It was a quick response to make sure campus had some kind of a backup system as we figured out what the future held in terms of transportation services.” UTPD continues to informally offer rides to students at night, but SURE Walk provides a formal transportation program for the community, David Carter said. Sociology freshman Evangelina Rivera said while SURE Walk is a great service, but it still has room for improvement. “I think it’s an awesome service, but they should definitely do things like have later hours,” Rivera said. “I think people stay out a lot later than midnight or two in the morning, and (SURE Walk) would be a good thing for students to have on those nights.” Isaiah Carter plans to continue meeting with PTS and the new chief of staff, who will be instated early next month, to discuss future plans for the organization. Proposed plans include expanding volunteer recruitment and serving students further off campus in the Riverside area. To request a SURE Walk, students can call 512-232-9255 between 7 p.m. and 2 a.m. Monday through Sunday.
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4 OPINION
ALEXANDER CHASE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | @TexanEditorial Wednesday, March 29, 2017
4
COLUMN
Legislature should keep educators in mind By Emma Berdanier
Daily Texan Senior Columnist @eberdanier
The Texas Legislature has a long history of wasting their time on education bills that do nothing to alleviate the actual issues within the Texas education system. Instead they focus their energy on bills that brush over the real problems and solve nonexistent ones. The latest bill in this series is House Bill 22, filed by Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, which would push back the implementation of a new grading system for school districts. A new state grading system for school districts and campuses was passed in 2015 to harsh criticism from educators throughout Texas, as it unfairly targeted schools with larger numbers of low income students. The new bill that’s been filed aims to push implementation back a year, but merely pushing it back is not enough — the system shouldn’t be implemented at all. The proposed system requires the Texas Education Agency to grade each campus within a district on an A-F system, and to then derive the district’s grade from that composite. Schools would be graded in five performance indicators: performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), improvement on the STAAR, postsecondary readiness, closing performance gaps between low-income and high-income students, and community engagement. Each school and district then receives an overall grade corresponding to their performance in these five categories. In January, preliminary ratings for all schools and districts within Texas were released from the new system. These ratings saw schools with large numbers of low-income students disproportionately receiving lower grades on average,
Infographic by Sunnie Lee Daily Texan Staff
and subsequently those poorer districts receiving lower overall grades. Lower ratings for a district, especially from a system that’s hard for parents to understand, could mean a lower enrollment rate and decreased funding to the schools within it. This unfair penalization that disproportionately affects low-income students derives from the data the system relies on. The system is based heavily — 55 percent — on students’ performance on the Texas standardized test, STAAR. Low-income students statistically perform worse on standardized tests largely because poorer schools and districts can’t afford updated textbooks. Schools with larger numbers of low-income students also face larger numbers of absent students, which hurts them in the
measurement of postsecondary readiness. However, HB 22 does nothing to alleviate these concerns. All it proposes is to push back the implementation of the grading system until 2019, and to narrow down the categories that would be graded to three. These three categories still involve a heavy bias towards higher income students and the districts that house them. The Texas Legislature shouldn’t be considering a bill that keeps the A-F grading system with slight changes in an attempt to appease educators. The school boards of 150 Texas districts have called on the Legislature to repeal the new grading system, not postpone its implementation and make small changes. Keeping a system like this in place instead
of scrapping it. is detrimental to state public education. We should be creating something better with educators’ voices in mind that leaves less room for income bias. District grading systems should be created with educators and students in mind, and should be tested so they aren’t found to be biased against low-income students. The Texas Legislature is wasting the precious little time it has focusing on HB 22 when it could be fully restructuring a district grading system with input from educators and focusing more heavily on legislation to improve the education Texans are receiving in the classroom. Berdanier is a philosophy junior from Boulder, Colorado.
COLUMN
Electronics ban wastes effort to improve security By Alina Agha
Daily Texan Columnist @alinaagha96
Last week, U.S. government officials informed airlines that they must require passengers flying in from 10 airports to check certain personal electronic items, and must not allow them to take these items in their carry-on baggage. The ban applies to several major international travel hubs, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Istanbul. Fears that terrorists may try to smuggle explosives in electronic devices onto passenger flights prompted the implementation of the ban. However this fear is one that has existed for some time, so the ban is not only an inconvenience, but is also not likely to have any sort of significant impact in terms of security. Any high activity airport has standard security procedures where every traveler and their carry-on baggage is put through security screening, and checked further if airport authorities find anything suspicious. This includes all electronics, especially laptops, which are often put through screening separately from the rest of a passenger’s baggage. So if these screenings don’t pick up anything in these electronics, there is no point of checking them into cargo. Moreover, whether these electronic devices are with the passenger or are with the rest of the checked baggage in cargo, they are still physically on the airplane. So if a device poses a threat, the damage it could do would be
relatively the same whether it was in carry-on storage or in the cargo hold, and should be completely removed from the aircraft. “It’s weird, because it doesn’t match a conventional threat model,” said Nicholas Weaver, a senior researcher at the International Computer Science Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, in an interview with The Guardian. “If you assume the attacker is interested in turning a laptop into a bomb, it would work just as well in the cargo hold.” Some airlines are allowing passengers to keep their items right before boarding, at which point they may hand them off to staff. Again, regardless of where the device is or who has it, can inflict similar damage. This is likely to make the boarding process run less smoothly, with staff having to record all the devices they collect — assuming they even have a system in place yet, considering the ban has only been in place for about a week. In additional to all these logistical discrepancies, there are other questions to be addressed. In 2016, over 83 million people traveled through the Dubai airport — a vast majority of which would have traveled to the United States — and that number is expected to rise. It is unclear who would take responsibility for lost or damaged items. Tablets and laptops don’t grow on trees, sometimes costing upwards of $1000, and for most people those devices hold a lot of important data that may not be recovered if damaged or lost. There are other minor inconveniences. Some
Rachel Zein | Daily Texan file photo
Protestors gathered at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Jan. 29 to demonstrate against Trump’s Muslim Ban. The electronics ban has been called an extension of Trump’s executive order ban from Muslim-majority countries.
flights to the U.S. can be up to 15 hours long, time that can be used for many to get work done on their laptops, or even use them as source of entertainment. While this isn’t the biggest issue, it’s an unnecessary bother on top of the already hectic aspects of international travel. This electronics ban simply does not make sense, and the reasons cited by government
officials for the ban are events that have taken place outside of the U.S. So why implement this ban now? The government needs to rethink their ideas and use the resources this country has to focus on more tangible and logistical security measures. Agha is a public relations junior from Karachi, Pakistan.
COLUMN
Aldridge Place district damages student housing By Olivia Griffin
Daily Texan Columnist @oglikesdogs
City council has produced a tentative resolution to transform the Aldridge Place neighborhood of North Campus into a historic district. The district would span from Guadalupe Street to Speedway and from 30th to 34th Street. This historic designation is a poorly thought out initiative that creates a burden for student housing and the mass influx of new Austin residents. The historic district would span from Guadalupe Street to Speedway and from 30th to 34th Streets. The district is already a popular residential area for students due to its proximity to campus. On the surface, designating an area as a “historic district” has sentimental value. According to polls, a majority of homeowners polled supported the historic designation. However, this
sentimental allure clouds future necessity by failing to anticipate future housing demand. The historic designation would permit the city to control the construction and renovations of homes in the area without even offering residents a tax break. Essentially, the construction of new, affordable housing in the district will be halted and rental costs will increase. In the process, the city will be addressing Austin’s real problem — the incoming population surge — with their hands tied behind their backs. Students will be forced back into the already-crowded West Campus, where ongoing construction can hardly keep up with the influx of students. To begin with, UT’s population is soaring to the point that it cannot even accommodate its incoming freshman class in on-campus housing. Some freshmen are even commuting in from as far away as the Riverside area. On top of this, Austin is one of the fastest growing big cities in the country. Alex Meed, a junior computer science major,
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.
active in testifying against the Aldridge Place designation, states that “it would make it harder to develop affordable housing” in an area primarily focused on students. Meed also notes that the existing zoning laws already restrict development and construction in the area. Frankly, Aldridge Place is not historic. Historic districts are already in place in Hyde Park for those wanting to preserve a piece of “old Austin charm.” Furthermore, if Aldridge Place possessed “historic value,” then why is it not a major tourist destination? In reality, Aldridge Place’s historic designation is manufactured history. While historic designation is justified for widely recognized historic areas, such as Harlem, the French Quarter, or Georgetown in D.C., it is not appropriate to designate certain neighborhoods as “historic” when even local Austinites are not aware of their existence. If anything, the neighborhood is known only for its loud parties and abundance of college students seeking cheap housing.
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.
Essentially, there is an important distinction between “historic” and “pretty.” Aldridge Place is pretty, but it’s not historic. At this point, city council is abusing its privilege to designate certain areas as historic to create burdens to local residents and students. Rather than looking forward and preparing for an Austin of the future, the city council is weakly grasping onto a manufactured past. There is still an opportunity to overturn the city council decision with a two-thirds majority vote by councillors. To preserve affordable and convenient housing, students must become informed on the issue and make their issues heard. Austin is a young, dynamic city. With its relative lack of consequential local history, we shouldn’t be grasping onto the near past, but rather looking to the future and developing practical yet aesthetically pleasing options to accommodate Austin’s burgeoning population. Olivia Griffin is a Plan II and government junior from Dallas.
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CLASS 5
LIFE&ARTS
5
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
CAMPUS
Out-of-state Longhorns rely on new SG resource agency By Matt Douglas @TheDailyTexan
Not all butterflies break out easily. It’s common for outof-state students to struggle with the move, but UT has taken measures to help non-Texans find a place in the Longhorn community. Previously known as the Out of State, Transfer and International Student agency, UT Student Government has given the out-of-state division its very own department, currently directed by sophomore Lexi Darrow. After being established last semester as an independent agency, it’s finally escaped its preparatory period, now hosting a series of programs to assist non-Texan freshmen as they assimilate into the Longhorn community. Last week a workshop was held on campus involvement, graduation and affordable living. “Having someone who you’re able to relate to, who is also from out of state, they share the same experiences as you,” Darrow said. “That was really helpful for out-of-state students.” Among the workshop’s
speakers, three were out-ofstate students themselves — mathematics freshman Andrew Stonebarger, government junior Jennell Benson and sociology senior Harrington McDowelle. Stonebarger is a member of the Student Ambassador association. His presentation was centered on campus involvement in any of UT’s 1,300 clubs, picking out campus organizations as a key influence on student assimilation. “It’s a good way to build a community,” Stonebarger said. “Whether it’s student ambassadors or student organizations in general, it’s a really great way to find your niche and find a home as soon as you get here.” One point of his presentation provided insight on what one could do to promote the school among high school campuses across the country and help make prospective non-Texan horns feel welcome. He said by speaking with other out-of-state students about school and campus life, one can make a profound difference in how they
SEKRIT
the barrio — black and brown neighborhoods that never got the attention they deserved.” Garcia said the best part of the project has been seeing people submit their own images and take part in telling the full story of Austin for future generations to see. “Those are the stories that are still in the hearts and minds of the residents and deserve to be recorded,” Garcia said. “That’s what it’s about — our stories being told by all of us for us to rescue this culture and this heritage from these neighborhoods.”
as an informal community center seems to be fading. For now, the Sekrit Theater waits while photographers hold shoots in the backyard and local fans come to take in the theater’s uniqueness. Reichert has support from many in the community and plans to move elsewhere to begin anew with the next stage of his artistic process. “I’m looking at a 700-acre ranch in New Mexico,” said Reichert. “I’m going to build an entire new concept on a much, much bigger scale,” As of late March, the property looks to be up for sale soon. The decreased
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feel about moving into unfamiliar territory. He plans to travel around his home area, of Syracuse, New York, to speak with high school students about the Longhorn community. “(We are) just continuing to get the message across that (the) University of Texas is a home for all,” Stonebarger said. Benson and McDowelle are squad leaders for the Dean of Students’ office, and are in charge of the transfer student lounge. Although transfer student affairs were given a separate student government agency, the groups share some similar conflicts with campus assimilation. Currently there isn’t an out-of-state department within the Dean of Students office, but student-related programs of the sort are regularly added to the list of accommodations. Overall, these efforts have been set in place to promote out-of-state student involvement, and to provide a community and a resource for incoming students unfamiliar with the Longhorn community. attendance in events means Reichert cannot afford to upkeep the theater any longer. The only hope for Reichert’s project now is for it to be bought by an owner willing to maintain its current spirit of the theater. “It’s going to take the right person with the money who wants to keep this place the way it is,” said Watkins. Luckily for the theater, Reichert said this may not be too much to hope for. “It does look like several of the interested parties are interested in preserving the theater and continuing my vision,” said Reichert. “It’s the only way I could figure out how to save the theater. It’s kind of bittersweet.”
Briana Vargas | Daily Texan Staff
Sophomore Lexi Darrow currently directs the Out of State Agency, a UT Student Government organization which hosts a series of programs, meetings, and social events to help non-Texan freshmen assimilate into the Longhorn community.
“This was an event where we wanted students to come in and just here about outof-state happenings,” Darrow said. “Things that could benefit them.” But out-of-staters take up about 10 percent of the student body and it can become difficult for the agency to reach the intended audience.
PIZZA
continues from page 8 Express is all served in personal portions, which Abbruzzese said is the best way to prepare pizza quickly while also making sure it’s fresh out of the oven. The outer crust is nice and fluffy, while the crust under the toppings is at the ideal thinness to allow the flavors of the toppings to be clear. The menu is currently only four pizzas deep, but it’s clear that they are sure to perfect each of those four pies. The Margherita pizza is the most simple option, but still packs an impressive amount of flavor. The minimal combination of
“It’s kind of like finding a needle in a haystack,” Darrow said. For interested parties, there is an Out of State Student Association that holds meetings and social events, and there is an out-of-state mentorship program matching current and incoming out-of-state students. The
agency will also host a call project to address questions from recently admitted out-of-state students. “Working with out-ofstate students and in-state students all throughout has changed my life,” Stonebarger said, “(It’s) given me a passion for doing something bigger than myself.”
tangy tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan are put over the top with the addition of some fresh basil leaves. It’s a surprisingly effective preparation for a pizza. The best pizza on the menu by far is the A Diavolo pizza. Using the same base ingredients as the Margherita pizza, it distinguishes itself from the rest with the addition of spicy salami, hot honey and fresh Italian jalapenos. For a recipe coming from a New York chain, it’s actually very successful in delivering a noticeable, but still enjoyable, spicy flavor that Texans will appreciate. Although the pizzas
are all well-made, the prices are a little high, ranging from $9 to $13 a pop without a drink. Customers will undoubtedly get the quality they’re paying for, but it won’t be enough food to keep everyone full. That aside, it’s clear that Neapolitan Express has the right kind of pizza to set itself apart from competitors and find success in downtown Austin.
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TYLER HORKA, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansports Wednesday, March 29, 2017
FOOTBALL PRO DAY
Foreman impresses scouts at Pro Day By Steve Helwick @s_helwick
Scouts of all 32 NFL teams flooded through the revolving door at Texas’ indoor practice facility. It was Pro Day for Texas, with 15 Longhorns demonstrating their abilities in front of a horde of talent evaluators. All eyes cast upon running back D’Onta Foreman. Foreman finished second in the FBS in rushing in 2016, registering a remarkable 2,028 yards. As a result, Foreman took home the prestigious Doak Walker Award, which recognizes the nation’s top running back. Although his success in college was evident, Foreman had a lot to prove on Tuesday morning. After facing injury at the NFL Combine, Foreman needed to remind scouts why he belongs in this stacked running back class featuring the likes of Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey. “I definitely feel like I’m one of the best,” Foreman said of the upcoming running back class. “I don’t mind competing. I’ve
competed my whole life ... and I just work hard. If you (draft) me, you know you’re going to get a good player, somebody who’s going to work hard day in and day out.” Foreman blazed through the turf during the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.45 seconds — the fastest time in combine history of any running back of his weight (234 pounds). The power back also posted a 33-inch vertical and caught every pass thrown his way in receiving drills. He credits his boost in athleticism to cutting over 10 pounds since the conclusion of football season as a result of improved nutrition. “I knew coming into the day I had to have a good weight since I didn’t work out at the combine,” Foreman said. Bereft of the NFL Combine opportunity in Indianapolis, Foreman created his own spotlight by attracting scouts, running back coaches and numerous family members to the facility. One of his staunch supporters included his twin brother Armanti, who will continue his college
D’Onta Foreman carries the ball in Texas’ 45-37 win over Texas Tech on Nov. 5. Foreman, who eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark in 2016, continues adding to his resumé before the NFL Draft in late April.
Emmanuel Briseno Daily Texan Staff
career as a Texas wide receiver in 2018. “(My family’s attendance) helped a lot,” Foreman said. “I love my family so much and they’re very supportive of me.” Along with Foreman, another one of Texas’ former halfbacks worked out at Pro Day. Johnathan Gray, who last stepped foot on the gridiron in 2015, tore his Achilles tendon preparing for the NFL draft in January 2016. Spending the last year training kids and coaching at local high schools, Gray refused to give up on his NFL
dream. He reminded scouts of his athleticism, clocking in around 4.58 for his 40. “It feels great to come back out and knock some of that rust off,” Gray said. “I had to sit back, gather my thoughts, grow up a little bit and face adversity. I’ve grown up a lot and I’m ready to keep pushing forward.” Another Longhorn who starred in the Mack Brown era was former quarterback David Ash. Ash retired from football one game into the 2014 season, but tested his throwing and punting abilities in Tuesday’s Pro Day.
“He’s always been able to throw it, so I wasn’t really concerned with if he was rusty or not,” recently graduated Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes said. Swoopes transitioned to tight end for Pro Day, catching several passes from his former colleague at quarterback. Many Longhorns returned to the football field in Austin after a long absence and others continued unfinished business from 2016, but they all attended with one purpose — to captivate NFL scouts.
SOFTBALL
Texas continues road-filled stretch at UTSA By Wills Layton @willsdebeast
Taking to the road for the fourth time this season, the Longhorns travel to take on the Roadrunners of UTSA in a University of Texas system showdown. Texas is coming off of a sweep at the hands of the Cowgirls of Oklahoma State where the team lost each game in the three-game series by a single run. While a match-up versus the reigning national champion Oklahoma looms in early April, the focus has been largely on preparing for whatever challenge presents itself next. “You got to feel as prepared as you possibly can be,” head coach Connie Clark said. “We’ve really been talking a lot about taking care of the little things and how important that is.”
UTSA presents a midweek road challenge for the Longhorns, an opportunity to recover from last weekend’s disappointment. As a top150 Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) team with a premier ace in junior Lizzy Fox, the Roadrunners have the necessary tools to conquer Texas. The teams first collided this season in Austin at the beginning of March, with Texas pulling off a 7-2 victory. For a team that has played a majority of its games on foreign fields this season, there is a growing comfort in playing away from home. All of the travel has made playing at McCombs Field odd for the Longhorns. “I can tell you it felt weird to be home,” Clark said. “I think at this point we feel a little more comfortable on the road than we do at home, which is crazy, but obviously
we’ll be here quite a bit in the month of April and obviously we’re looking forward to that. I think it’s helped us.” Not only has the team been on the road for a good portion of the season, it has fought against the fifth-toughest ranked schedule in the nation according to the RPI. While these challenges appear to be difficult to overcome, Texas has handled the pressure well, posting a top25 RPI. “I think we’ve been well prepared,” redshirt sophomore Erica Wright said. “We’ve had the fifth-toughest schedule in the country, so I think we’re ready for it, we’re prepared. We’re just all really excited for it. It feels like it’s been forever since we started this season, but it’s here now so we’re ready for it.” While San Antonio is a
BASEBALL
Cantu delivers in his homecoming victory By Alex Briseno @AlexxBriseno
Michael Cantu returned not only to the field Tuesday night, but to his hometown as well. The Corpus Christi native returned to the lineup after Michael McCann received the majority of playing time as catcher. But Cantu made his presence felt on his return. The junior took advantage of every at-bat he had, including the swing that would eventually cut the night short. Cantu stood at the plate with two outs in the top of the sixth with the score at 9-2 and a runner on third. The hometown boy connected with the 1-0 pitch and sent it flying over the left field wall to put the Longhorns up 12-2, cementing Texas’ second-straight run-rule victory over the Islanders, this time coming in Cantu’s hometown at Whataburger Field. “It’s his hometown,” head coach David Pierce said. “He deserves it. He’s been playing well. I just felt really good about him playing tonight, and not only because
he came home, but because he deserves it. It gave McCann a rest and he came up big for us and I was just really proud for him.” Texas flexed its muscles offensively throughout the game, though the Longhorns trailed early. Sophomore Nick Kennedy earned the start, but the left hander didn’t get off to a great one. Kennedy yielded two runs in the top of the first, putting Texas in a 2-0 deficit. But that two-run first inning was all he gave up. Tate Shaw, redshirt sophomore left fielder, captained the Longhorns out of the hole almost immediately. Shaw approached the plate with bases loaded and capitalized on the opportunity. The left fielder sent a shot to left field. Although it looked playable off the bat, the powerful wind carried the ball until it cleared the fence. The Islanders’ 2-0 lead was obliterated after Shaw’s grand slam, which was Texas’ first since 2012. “It was a great resilient comeback, and it didn’t take long,” head coach David Pierce said. “The thing that’s been really productive
in our offense is drawing the base on ball just as much, and then coming up with some clutch hits and we got a big one from Tate tonight.” Kennedy turned his rough first inning into a career night on the mound en route to throwing his first complete game. The left hander finished with career-highs of 11 strikeouts on 101 pitches. The dominant performance by Kennedy improves his record to 4-0 on the mound this season. Although the game occurred in Corpus Christi, a sea of burnt orange made up the majority of the crowd of 4,754. Texas proved that the 15-0 victory over the Islanders on March 8 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field was no fluke, and that changing the location of the game will not change the result. Texas’ 12-2 route of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi marks the Longhorns’ fifth-straight win as they improve to 1810 (3-3 Big 12). Texas returns to action on Friday as the Longhorns resume conference play with a threegame series against Kansas in Lawrence.
Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Erica Wright winds up on the mound for a pitch at Red and Charlene McCombs Field.
much less exhausting trip when compared to those to California, Oklahoma or Arizona, it’s still another trip in which the student athletes have to pack up and leave their classes for a day. While the challenge for the players can be daunting, there is always a brighter side.
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“Last year we were barely on the road, and now every time I look up I’m having to wash my clothes and repack,” Wright said. “I mean it’s really fun to travel with my teammates, stay at hotels and stuff. So I can’t complain too much. There are pros and cons to traveling.”
SIDELINE WARRIORS
ROCKETS
SPORTS BRIEFLY Texas soccer hires new assistant coach
Texas endured a long, trying season in 2016. The Longhorns posted a subpar 8-9-1 record en route to falling short of the cutline for its own conference tournament. Such seasons often result in shakeups near the top, and that’s just what happened this week. Head coach Angela Kelly announced Keri Sanchez as her next assistant coach. Sanchez was formerly head coach at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, and Kelly said it still speaks to the high regard of the Texas program for it to be able to hire former head coaches as assistants. “Keri brings a host of talents and experience to the table, from a coaching standpoint as well as a successful playing background,” Kelly said. “Her loyalty, relentless work ethic and a deep desire to pursue excellence makes this hire so tremendous.” Sanchez compiled a 148-92-30 record during her 13-year stint at CMS. She’s the all-time winningest coach in program history. Even more impressive might be Sanchez’s playing career. She played at North Carolina from 1991-94, where she won four-straight national titles. Coming to Texas is a reunion of sorts — Sanchez and Kelly were teammates on those dominant UNC teams. “I am excited to work with the committed soccer staff and a tremendous group of talented young women. I look forward to helping to build on the incredible tradition that is Texas Athletics and Texas Soccer.” —Tyler Horka
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Wednesday, March 29, 2017
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Today’s solution will appear here next issue
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MAE HAMILTON, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan Wednesday, March 29, 2017
FOOD
ALUMNI
UT alumnus’ Instagram account bears witness to old East Austin By Acacia Coronado @acaciatree18
Iris Bilich | Daily Texan Staff
The Neapolitan Express food truck can be found on 5th and Colorado and 3rd and Congress. New to Austin, the food truck has a growing menu with pizzas ranging from a simple Margherita to a spicy sausage pizza called the “A Diavolo.”
New York-based pizza chain opens new Austin locations By Stephen Acevedo @TheDailyTexan
Between Home Slice and Austin’s Pizza, the 512 already has plenty of picks for onthe-go Italian favorites. However, New York-based chain Neapolitan Express thinks there could still be room for improvement. This month, Neapolitan Express officially opened its first two Austin-based trucks. “We’re trying to grow this business all across the country,” corporate partner Chris Abbruzzese said. “Austin is very food truck intensive, so a move down here was a natural step for Neapolitan Express.” Neapolitan Express plans to establish itself in Austin by serving authentic handmade Neapolitan pizza — which is a type of pizza topped with mozarella and sliced
tomatoes — with the highest quality ingredients. “Mostly all of our ingredients are imported from Italy,” Abbruzzese said. “Everything is handmade with all fresh, organic and non-GMO ingredients, which is very different than most pizza places around here.” In order to ensure that the pies are being made to the absolute best of employees’ abilities, Neapolitan Express’ Austin locations are starting with a limited menu that will slowly grow as new staff master the pizza-making process. “Every two weeks, we expect to launch with another two new pizzas,” Abbruzzese said. “That’s so our staff gets trained more efficiently to make them.” In addition to offering high-quality pizza, Neapolitan Express also serves their pies out of some of the most
eco-friendly food trucks on the streets. “We burn about 75 percent less carbon emissions compared to the average food truck on the road,” Abbruzzese said. “We run on compressed natural gas and use reclaimed methane gas from landfills.” He said it’s important to the company to do their part to help limit the amount of carbon emissions they put out. They also make a point of leaving the truck’s windows wide open for customers to see inside. “We like to show what’s going on inside the truck and how clean it is so people can enjoy the pizza making experience,” Abbruzzese said. “We take a lot of pride in that.” The pizza at Neapolitan
PIZZA page 5
CITY
Sekrit Theater may change hands due to recent attendance decline By Gerardo Gonzalez @TheDailyTexan
Tucked within a small East Austin neighborhood, a locally famous backyard arts complex showcases a vintage school bus, a small greenhouse decorated with uncommon objects, and an outdoor tiered fountain. But the crown jewel of the space is a theater that has attracted filmmakers, musicians, photographers and couples looking to tie the knot. The Sekrit Theater isn’t unknown to locals. As the backyard of Austin native Beau Reichert’s home, it has become a haunt for movie nights, community hangouts and fundraisers. Reichert, an Austin native, moved back to Austin about 10 years ago from Wimberley, Texas where he attended high school. He settled on the east side to establish a space where he could work on personal art projects such
as those currently sitting in his backyard. Jonathan Boecher has helped Reichert run the theater for the past seven years since the lot’s popularity began rising. He said he considers the theater, the neighborhood and Reichert like family. “(Reichert) has lived in our neighborhood since before the theater was really done,” said Boecher. “He used to just come over for barbecues and hangout when he first lived here, then he started working on the outdoor theater.” Reichert originally built the theater screen to display his film collection to friends in the neighborhood. Eventually, friends turned into groups and groups turned into crowds. The theater grew more popular and even hosted a music showcase during SXSW 2016, but attracted unwanted attention. Unfortunately, noise complaints were reported
to the city. Officials discovered several code violations and decided the property would have to be rezoned to host community events and parties. Bryan Watkins, who helps maintain the art projects around the property, said Reichert invested in noise reduction systems for the theater and even began the process of rezoning. “It got accused of being a commercial business, which it’s not,” said Watkins. “We take donations, but it was never intended to be a thing. It was just his way of meeting people and (it) became the neighborhood communal place.” Reichert said rezoning the property would take a budget he doesn’t have and years of complications he may not be able to handle. The theater has hosted no events in recent months. Its role
SEKRIT page 5
Juan Figueroa | Daily Texan Staff
Owner of Sekrit Theater Beau Reichart is selling his property after noise complaints and requests from the city to rezone the property. Reichart started his art complex almost 10 years ago.
In the shadows of East Austin’s trendy food trucks, colorful murals, quirky sights and modern sounds, a hidden past lay in quiet wait for someone to find it once again. In an attempt to preserve the history of East Austin, UT alumnus Alan Garcia created an Instagram account titled ATX_ Barrio_Archive that serves as an online museum of the sights and sounds of old East Austin. “It turned into a way of sharing this culture of Austin that historically has been ignored by the museums, archives, and UT,” Garcia said. “It was (a way to) respect these communities of color and create a place for them in our city’s past.” In August 2016, Garcia was rummaging through family photos when he realized that there were many families out there whose unsung stories had not been acknowledged either. So, Garcia decided to make it his mission to bring the Insta limelight to the people of the past who created today’s Austin. “That was a story that hadn’t been told before — the immigrant community of Austin, how much change they have seen, the jobs that they have worked, how they contributed to the growth of Austin,” Garcia said. During his anthropology and archeology research at UT, Garcia encountered many old images of
Courtesy of Alan Garcia
Everyday life in East Austin at 1003 Juniper Street in 1980.
familiar East Austin neighborhoods. He realized many of the families featured that actually lived in the area would never have access to seeing them. “Rather than have it only be available for researchers, I decided a lot of this stuff really needs to be seen by the community because these neighborhoods still exist,“ Garcia said. His favorite memory of his archives so far is of Rose De La Fuente, who submitted pictures of her grandparents — the original owners of the restaurant now known as Las Cazuelas. De La Fuente said she was happy to see someone putting an effort into preserving the familiar, small town-esque East Austin she once knew. “I remember going to the HEB on East 7th Street with my grandpa,” De La Fuente said. “The people that worked there knew us by name. It was a very different time. It’s something that should be remembered.”
Garcia also created a display at the Carver Branch Library of the Austin Public Library for his pictures. Doreen Boyd, managing librarian for the Carver Branch Library, said she knew the images went right along with the library’s mission to share and preserve history. “Not being a native of Austin, and coming new here and being able to see these images of what East Austin was like before is a beautiful thing to see,” Boyd said. Garcia said the history of how Austin has fostered art mediums like blues, art and muralism that originate from black and Chicano American traditions shouldn’t be forgotten since these are the things that give Austin its unique reputation. “The immigrant communities that worked in the hotels helped Austin become a tourist destination,” Garcia said. “A lot of the culture that makes Austin a famous music and art city was born in
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