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POLICY
Senate talks ending top 10 percent rule in Texas By Claire Allbright @claireallbright
UT President Gregory Fenves said for 20 years the top 10 percent rule has sent a clear message to Texas students: “Perform well in high school, and you can go to the flagship university of the state.” Senate Bill 2119, authored by state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, would get rid of this law established in 1997 and allow public state universities to determine their own admissions criteria for all their applicants. Although no action was taken on the bill during the Higher Education Committee meeting Wednesday, a vote from the committee could come as soon as next week. Current law says a student who graduates in the top 10 percent of their Texas high school class is granted automatic admission to any public institution of higher education across the state. Seliger said in actuality this law has mainly applied to UT-Austin and Texas A&M University.
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WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS Advocates lobby at Capitol for abortion services. ONLINE
Students speak on Planned Parenthood By Lisa Dreher @lisa_dreher97
While sitting in an examination room for a regular checkup, Courtney Naquin spotted anti-abortion rights stickers covering her hometown doctor’s laptop, making her feel uneasy when she should feel the most comfortable. “I’m an 18-year-old girl in my hometown,” said Naquin, a sustainability studies junior. “If I have to talk about my sex life to this extremely pro-life, rightwing, Catholic doctor, I’m go-
ing to feel so uncomfortable.” Last Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence broke a tie within the U.S. Senate to pass a bill which would allow states to defund Planned Parenthood, a service Naquin has used for years. Naquin said she has used Planned Parenthood since she was 18, because it was the only place which would accept her insurance for services such as an intrauterine (IUD) device, which provides birth control. Naquin is from the conservative, middle-class city of
Campus event sheds light on sexual assault By Kayla Meyertons @kemeyertons
On Wednesday evening, psychology senior Jasmine Bell read her poem about sexual assault to a crowd on the Main Mall. “For the first time, I saw my body was a cigarette and he had been burning me for years,” Bell said. Voices Against Violence’s Take Back the Night is an annual interactive event for survivors of sexual assault to express themselves in a supportive community. The event is gender-inclusive, and this year’s Take Back the Night was hosted by VAV in conjunction with UT Theatre & Dance students. In addition to dance performances, the event included free food, poetry, an open-mic opportunity for survivors, a resource fair, an interactive art installation and keynote speaker Wendy
Jordyn Caruso | Daily Texan Staff
The Take Back the Night event was held on Wednesday evening, Wendy Davis spoke about sexual violence and rape kit VAV page 2 backlog. Take Back the Night was hosted by Voices Against Violence.
LECTURE
HEALTH
State Sen. Kirk Watson seeks to improve psychiatric care
Pluto still falls short of planetary status. PAGE 4
By Van Nguyen
SPORTS
@nguyen_van
Softball falls in extras to Texas State. PAGE 6
Austinites run urban farm along Boggy Creek. PAGE 8
REASON TO PARTY
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ONLINE Catch up on how former Texas stars are doing in the NBA at dailytexanonline.com
PARENTHOOD page 2
Rachel Zein | Daily Texan Staff
Service sustainability junior Courtney Naquin uses the services of Planned Parenthood due to its affordability.
CAMPUS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
Orange, Texas, which she said has limited women’s health services. In Naquin’s own backyard, a federal judge in February blocked Texas lawmakers’ attempts to defund Planned Parenthood from the state’s medicaid program. The bill has yet to be signed by President Donald Trump, and it would reverse the former administration’s regulations requiring state and local governments distribute funding among women’s health providers, regardless if they
Illustration by Geo Casillas| Daily Texan Staff
University hosts severe weather training event By Catherine Marfin @catherinemarfin
As part of its larger weather safety initiatives, the University is hosting a Basic SkyWarn Severe Weather Recognition and Safety training session on campus next Thursday for members of the UT community. The National Weather Service, a federal agency under the Department of Commerce, is tasked with protecting life and property in the event of severe weather. The NWS has 122 field offices nationwide and utilizes Doppler radars to keep track of local weather patterns. “We need help during weather events, and the help comes in the form of weather
reports,” said Paul Yura, warning coordination meteorologist for the NWS in Austin and San Antonio. “As far as what size hail is falling or tornadoes that are on the ground, those things have to come from eyewitness reports.” To close this gap, the NWS established the SkyWarn program in the late 1960s. SkyWarn is a volunteer program with 290,000 severe weather spotters who are trained to recognize severe weather in their counties and report it to the NWS, using specific hashtags and phone numbers. The NWS then sends out weather watches, advisories and warnings to local media outlets.
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State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, has partnered with the Dell Medical School to innovate psychiatric care in Central Texas and replace the Austin State Hospital, which was built in the 1850s. The Texas Brain Health Center, as he refers to it, is Watson’s vision to replace the state psychiatric hospital with a center for brain health care, research and education. ASH, located on 41st and Guadalupe Streets, currently serves Travis County and 37 other counties in Central Texas. But according to state agencies, its old infrastructure can be replaced. “Our objective is to create a brain health center of excellence that will both improve access to care in Central Texas and be a destination for world-class care for brain health,” Kate Alexander, Watson’s policy director, said in an email. In 2014, a report released by the state Health and Human Services Commission concluded five of the 11
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state psychiatric hospitals were beyond repair and needed replacement. ASH is one of the five. According to the report, the infrastructure at ASH is not suitable to support the needs of contemporary care. The current number of beds for patients at ASH is 257, but the report recommends 350 beds, HHSC spokesperson Christine Mann said. “This isn’t just about building another building,” Watson said to the Austin American-Statesman. “This is about taking an opportunity. We have an energized mental health community and I think if we spend some time planning, yes, we end up with a model that can be replicated nationally.” Last Spring, Watson reached out to Stephen Strakowski, Dell Medical psychiatry chair, asking him to lead the group in charge of the planning surrounding ASH. Strakowski said school officials have been in stages of pre-planning and are consulting with outside sources to plan their next steps for ASH. Currently, the Dell Medical School is waiting
We have an energized mental health community and I think if we spend ... time planning ... we end up with a model that can be replicated. —Kirk Watson, State Senator
for funding from the Texas Legislature. Strakowski said one of Dell Medical’s goals is to look at how to provide care where it meets the patient’s needs more directly. One problem with current psychiatric care is patients may be spending more time in hospitals than they need to, Strakowski said. As they redefine the current model, Strakowski said he believes the cost of care will go down because they will be able to treat patients more efficiently. “Part of redesign is to look at not only more of
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Volume 117, Issue 133
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Studio art freshman, Victoria Allen, and undeclared junior, Aaron Garza, join UT’s Disneyy Club to release lanterns on Wednesday night.
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“I believe our top-tier institutions such as UT and Texas A&M should not be mandated to use only a student’s class rank to determine a majority of their freshman class admissions, nor should they be directed by the state on who to admit,” Seliger said. In 2009, the Legislature passed a law that stated at least 75 percent of the university’s freshman class had to be automatic admit students because of the overwhelming number of applicants. This effectively lowered the top 10 percent requirement for UT to between 7 and 8 percent. During his testimony, Fenves
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thanked the Legislature for this change and said UT-Austin has filled the remaining 25 percent of spots well. Last June, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Fisher v. University of Texas that the University’s holistic admissions process for filling the non-automatic admission seats was constitutional. If SB 2119 passes, Fenves said the University will continue to use their holistic review process and recruit students from diverse backgrounds. “Our admissions process will always reflect our mission and our core values while serving the state,” Fenves said. “Individual students whose personal achievements exemplify these core values will always be considered for admission.”
PARENTHOOD
continues from page 1 offer abortions. In a Washington Post op-ed, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who authored the bill, said abortion services are amoral and a waste of taxpayer money. “Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the abortion industry in this country,” Ernst said. “Nor should they be forced to foot the bill for an organization like Planned Parenthood that has displayed such blatant disregard for human life.” Physics sophomore Vanessa Jimenez said she believes a mother should give birth to a
WATSON
continues from page 1 what we have, but better designs to meet the needs (of patients) more effectively, ideally in a less costly way so that our dollars go to take
VAV
continues from page 1 Davis, the former Democrat gubernatorial candidate. Davis said the most important thing she learned from her years in public office was to speak up for something that matters. “This particular campus has just done something extraordinary,” Davis said. ”Something that no campus of its size or even a smaller size across this country has done, and it did it because of people like you. It made a decision because of the leadership of Chancellor (William) McRaven to engage in a self-analysis of the climate of safety on this campus.” VAV is a program of UT’s Counseling and Mental Health Center that helps students with issues of sexual violence, relationship violence and stalking through prevention, awareness and response. Government senior Brad
Seliger said when the top 10 percent law was passed, its intention was to better diversify institutions of higher education, but the Legislature should continually consider if this law is the best way to accomplish that goal. The committee substitute, or revised version of SB 2119, would require each public institution report to the Legislature the demographics of admitted and enrolled students. Seliger said this was added to ensure that institutions are diversifying their student body. Raymund Paredes, the commissioner of higher education, said this reporting requirement is essential. “I think the testimony by the president and provost of UT-Austin (that their) com-
mitment to diversity will not wane but instead increase is something that we will be able to monitor and suggest adjustments if that turns out not be the case, which I expect it won’t be,” Paredes said. While Paredes said it’s hard to precisely say what the effects of the top 10 percent rule have been on minorities, there was agreement that the law has helped rural students. If Seliger’s bills passes, Maurie McInnis, UT’s executive vice president and provost, said UT will continue to automatically admit 75 percent of their incoming class for the next two years and will continue some form of automatic admission for two years after that as a transition phase.
baby instead of terminating a life, although she sympathizes with women who may need an abortion as a result of rape. “(Abortion after the first trimester) is cruel,” Jimenez said. “It’s cruel what they do to the fetus. I think there should be some restriction on abortion.” Beside its access to abortion, Naquin said she appreciates Planned Parenthood for being an accepting and professional environment where she can discuss intimate details concerning her health. “It’s so important, especially because of the culture Planned Parenthood cultivates,” Naquin
said. “They’re very nonjudgemental. I don’t have to feel nervous about anything that I have to say because they’ve seen it all.” Naquin also said her friends have received breast cancer screenings from the provider. Lawmakers attempting to defund Planned Parenthood do not realize how beneficial its services are for women like her with limited resources, Naquin said. “I think (the bill is) a tragedy for women around the U.S.,” Naquin said. “I don’t think the people who pushed the law forward ... understand how far this would hit a lot of people.”
care of more people and to produce better outcomes,” Strakowski said. Strakowski estimates the time to create plans for the facility and testing of Dell Medicals psychiatric care models will contin-
ue for a year or more after the Texas Legislature approves funding. A budget will not be approved by the Texas Legislature until close to the end of May, when members adjourn before next session.
Rabun said he became involved with VAV because he believes sexual violence is an issue affecting everyone. “If I have a daughter someday, I (would) like her to grow up in a world where she doesn’t have to worry about going to college and getting assaulted,” Rabun said. “I want my son to know that’s not okay to assault women. I was raised with three older sisters. I had no choice but to be respectful.” Plan II sophomore Mia Goldstein, VAV student organization president, said Take Back the Night is VAV’s flagship event and the largest it puts on annually. “Survivors of sexual violence can come here and get connected to all the tables and resources as well as find a community of support,” Goldstein said. “It’s just a very intentional space for survivors to be believed.” Goldstein said VAV asked
students to submit their own definitions of consent which was defined as mandatory, necessary and “given, not a given.” Mechanical engineering junior Ross Miglin, member of Texas Blazers, said the fact UT campus puts on an event like Take Back the Night speaks to the culture that individuals are interested in creating and facilitating. “There needs to be a framework for them to be able to recover from those experiences and to be able to seek help, which is unfortunately not the case,” Miglin said. “(It’s important) to have those conversations for both the survivors and non-survivors to get involved and to create something that can be a robust structure in the future.” In addition to Blazers, the event was co-sponsored by Texas Orange Jackets, BeVocal, Healthyhorns and many more.
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Next week, the Office of Campus Safety and Security will be hosting University Incident Meteorologist Troy Kimmel, members of the University emergency management team and Yura for an on-campus SkyWarn training. During the training, UT affiliates will learn severe weather spotting techniques, such as recognizing storm clouds, estimating wind speeds and knowing the difference between a weather watch, advisory and warning. At UT, Kimmel posts daily weather forecasts, sends severe weather email alerts to the UT community and works closely with Campus Safety and Security to develop severe weather incident plans. Kimmel said knowing basic weather terminology is an important component of campus safety. “What happens if I send an email out or our social media folks send out a tweet or something on a severe thunderstorm warning?” Kimmel said. “You don’t need to be learning (what it means) then, you want to know what it means so when you see it come up on social media or in an email, you’re able to make a smart decision about how to protect yourself.” The most common weather concerns on campus are thunderstorms, lightning and flash flooding, all of which students and faculty often don’t fully understand the dangers of, Kimmel said. “I’ve never been concerned personally during thunderstorms, because we’re on campus — the buildings could withstand any rain we’d see in Austin,” said Kristina Alli, radio-television-film and sociology senior. “But it’s still important to know what to do, especially during things like tornado warnings, which aren’t out of the question being in Central Texas.” While the NWS offers a citywide SkyWarn training class once per year, this is the first time the course is being offered exclusively for the campus community. “It’s very easy a lot of times for people to say ‘Oh that’ll never happen to us on this campus,’” Kimmel said. “But from a safety and security standpoint, we aren’t willing to bet your life on it.” The SkyWarn training is open to all UT students, faculty and staff and will take place next Thursday from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the University Teaching Center. To attend, email RSVP Kimmel by this Friday.
ZIA LYLE, SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Thursday, April 6, 2017
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HEALTH
Professor fact-checks Macka B’s cucumber video By Sarah Blodworth @bloodworthy22
Veganism went viral in March when Macka B, a 56-year-old reggae musician from England and Jamaica, posted his latest healthful hit, “Cucumber.” Macka B, a vegan social media personality, raps 15 health benefits of “cucumbas” in 50 seconds. The musician has already produced videos about foods including kale and avocados. While Macka B is known in the social media sphere as a chill, clean and generally trustworthy face for promoting healthy living and compassion, most of his cucumber claims don’t hold up under scrutiny. Information from WebMD supports some of Macka B’s claims, including that cucumbers
contain vitamins and minerals and are 95 percent water. Cucumbers are relatively high in Vitamin K, which prevents blood clots, and the mineral
vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin A and potassium. Nutritional science professor Lydia Steinman said she’s skeptical of many of Macka B’s statements,
“I’ve never heard that silica increases hair or nail growth,” Steinman said. “It also sounds bogus to me that silica could be absorbed into the cells with
Illustration by Lexi Acevedo | Daily Texan Staff
molybdenum, which contributes to increased antioxidants and boosts the immune system. Yet, cucumbers are not actually “high” in other vitamins and minerals. According to the USDA, cucumbers contain only minute amounts of other
including cucumber’s high nutritional value. “It certainly has nutrients in it and it’s good to incorporate into your diet, but I don’t see cucumbers as a nutrient dense food,” Steinman said. Also, there is little data to support Macka B’s claims
APPS
New tablet app pushes more efficient homework practices By Jack Stenglein @thedailytexan
Homework sucks, but it doesn’t have to. This is the philosophy behind a tablet app called Desk, developed by six UT undergraduates to change the way STEM students do their homework. Business honors sophomore Daniel Miyares, who works on the operational and business sides of Desk, said the current system for homework is inefficient. “When students currently solve a homework problem, they have a textbook, calculator, pen and paper and a laptop open,” Miyares said. “They’re going back and forth and copying from a bunch of different places. It’s really inconvenient.” Instead, Desk allows students to take a picture of a problem with their tablet, take notes and turn written math statements into text. The app can also take an equation and quickly return the answer. Miyares said that while the team has considered taking the app to high schools, college students are the current focus. “I think right now we are solid on targeting college students,” Miyares said. “Professors are much more willing to accept many different kinds of homework, as opposed to K-12 where it’s what the teacher wants. College students also have more control over their workflow in general.” According to Cage Johnson, the founder of Desk and
that silica promotes hair and skin health. Many articles claim that cucumbers contain silica, and there is an entire Ted Talk dedicated to the cucumber’s role
in bone health. Cucumbers have even been used for centuries in spas to reduce dry eyes and puffiness. But Steinman said it is unlikely that the average person will consume enough cucumbers to produce these potential benefits such as bone and skin health.
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cucumber slices on the eyes. One slice of (cucumber) could not have that much silica.” The “Cucumber” video also contains a shout out to cucumber water to replace soda. While replacing energy drinks and soda would definitely be a healthy
switch, it wouldn’t do much to increase electrolyte intake or energy. Websites such as Healthy Eating do offer recipes for low-sugar cucumber sports drinks, but 29 cups of sliced cucumbers are required to meet an adult’s daily requirement of electrolytes. There is no evidence to support Macka B’s claims that cucumbers make you look younger, help with bad breath, or are high in fiber. According to the USDA, cucumbers are very low in fiber: One cucumber contains only 1.5 grams of fiber, only about four percent of the daily recommended fiber intake. Overall the claims in “Cucumber” are mostly false as they portray the cucumber to be a superfood with many health benefits. In reality, cucumbers aren’t that big of a dill.
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@thedailytexan Follow us for news, updates and more. Courtesy of Cage Johnson
The Desk tablet app allows students to take pictures of their homework and convert written equations to text.
an Electrical Engineering and Business senior, the team still needs to fix a variety of bugs and will then simultaneously release the app to the iOS App Store and the TestFlight Beta program. Johnson said the app should be released within four weeks and will cost about $7. “At the end of a long project, it gets kind of tiring,” Johnson said. “I feel like I’m crawling right now, but we will get it done.” Desk is a project five years in the making. Johnson originally wanted to create better human-computer interaction, and he decided the most practical idea was a calculator app that breaks equations up into blocks, which can be rearranged. Johnson said that he had the idea for the app in 2012 but it took until 2015 to develop a prototype. “I showed my first version to people and they would say, ‘I already have a calculator’ and show me the default
calculator,” Johnson said. “I realized I wasn’t solving any (problem). I reevaluated everything, and I figured we needed to have an integrative problemsolving environment.” Johnson started building the current version of Desk as part of a design project in the fall of 2015. However, the project fell through, and Johnson formed a new team last fall and entered into this spring’s Longhorn Startup Lab, a class for student entrepreneurs. Johnson said that since the start of the semester, the team has spent about 10 hours each week working on the startup. “It’s awesome to see it finally coming to fruition,” Johnson said. “I always wanted to start a business while I was a student here at UT. I’m super grateful this particular team got behind it. I don’t know when there’s been a better team than this one working at UT.”
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COLUMN
Lawmakers must regulate powdered alcohol By Madalyn Marabella Daily Texan Columnist
Several days ago, the House committee began the process of regulating powdered alcohol. Although the substance has not yet made it to Texas markets, the committee unanimously approved two bills that would define powdered alcohol as an alcoholic beverage and limit the size of a packet to 14 grams. Though many support outright prohibition, Texas should pass the two bills to regulate, rather than ban, powdered alcohol. Powdered alcohol is a dangerous substance, which is why many people advocate banning it outright. The packets would especially pose a risk to youth. The biggest concern is that the small packets are easy to hide and transport. Seventeen yearold Andrea Marquez made this exact point ten days ago during a House committee meeting. She filled her makeup bag with Kool-Aid packets (which are roughly the same volume as a packet of powdered alcohol) to demonstrate how easily she could conceal 48 shots-worth of the substance. Anyone who does not fully grasp how concentrated the substance is could easily overdose. Nicole Holt, CEO of Texans Standing Tall, is concerned that powdered alcohol “take(s) a product that is already dangerous and (makes) it even easier for kids to consume at larger quantities and a larger rate.” People searching for a quicker high than what liquid alcohol induces may try to eat or snort the powder, which could cause throat or
nasal damage. However, while all of these arguments reinforce the idea that powdered alcohol is potentially harmful, they do not definitively lead to the conclusion that the state should ban the dangerous substance. First, if powdered alcohol is really more convenient for minors, they will still seek it out even if it is illegal. The characteristics that make powdered alcohol so attractive in the first place would also provide incentives for suppliers to enter the black market. Even though prohibition would impose an additional obstacle — minors would have a harder time acquiring powdered alcohol from adults — similar cases have shown that making a substance illegal does not get rid of it. Banning powdered alcohol would likely not eliminate it from Texas markets. Instead, the drug could follow the same path as novel psychoactive substances. When the government banned “spice” (synthetic marijuana), prohibition drove the drug to underground markets. More common drugs — heroin, cocaine and marijuana — exhibit a similar pattern. Between 1990 and 2007, the price of these three drugs decreased by about 80 percent, while the purity of the drugs and the overall number of seizures increased. This suggests prohibiting and criminalizing addictive substances do not deter people from buying or supplying them. The alternative to banning, regulation, must cover more than price and quantity. Lawmakers
COLUMN
Illustration by Victoria Smith | Daily Texan Staff
should also consider regulating how suppliers can advertise powdered alcohol. As the bills stand, brands would have to say that the powder should not be consumed in powdered form. But since adolescents are particularly susceptible to advertisements for alcohol, regulations on advertising powdered alcohol should possibly mirror regulations on advertising cigarettes. We cannot lose sight of what is actually in question. The argument is not whether
powdered alcohol is dangerous, but rather how the state can best prevent people from abusing it. Of course powdered alcohol has potentially harmful effects. Of course adolescents should not have access to it, but regulation, not prohibition, is the state’s best chance of protecting adolescents from abusing the drug. Marabella is a business honors, Plan II and Spanish freshman from Austin.
COLUMN
Scientists should not acquiesce to demands from Pluto zealots By Sam Groves
Daily Texan Senior Columnist @samgroves
Maddox Price | Daily Texan staff Students, bicyclists and pedestrians rush around campus on Wednesday, April 5. Some residents have criticized Austin’s adoption of bike lanes, claiming they create confusion for commuters.
Rio Grande bicycle lanes endanger drivers and bikers By Ryan Young
Daily Texan Columnist
As I returned to my West Campus apartment at the end of spring break, I noticed something different about Rio Grande Street. The cones that divided the bicycles lanes from the traffic lane had been replaced by concrete islands. As a regular bicycle commuter, I believe bicycling infrastructure should be safe both for cyclists and for cars. That isn’t the case for the bicycle lanes on Rio Grande — they’re defective by design. These dangerous lanes will only cause needless accidents and injuries to cyclists. And by replacing the cheap and flexible cones with expensive and permanent concrete, the city of Austin just made these lanes nearly impossible to fix. The Rio Grande bicycle lanes are of a design known as the two-way cycle track. There’s two bicycle lanes, one in each direction, on one side of the street. A buffer separates them from the single lane for other vehicles. Cycle tracks offer “(improved) perceived comfort and safety” and are “more attractive to a wide range of bicyclists at all levels and ages,” according to the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Intuitively, cycle tracks seem safer. Bicycles and motor vehicles are separated, so shouldn’t there be less opportunities for crashes? In reality, safety issues arise at intersections. A large-scale study of bicycle lanes in Denmark found that “the number of injury accidents with vulnerable road users in intersections had increased by 34 percent ... while the effect on (straight) sections was small and uncertain.” Sustainability writer Zachary Shahan suggests a possible cause: Drivers are “in the habit of looking for oncoming traffic on their left when they are turning left, but two-way bike lanes result in bicyclists coming up from the far left on the back side.” Who can blame them? No driving instructor teaches you to expect oncoming traffic
from the wrong direction. The Rio Grande cycle track is located in the worst possible environment for a cycle track. On Rio Grande, there is an abundance of cross streets, driveways, intersections and stop signs, all of which increase the chances of a traffic collision involving a cyclist. It may be a deathtrap, but at least it’s attracting new riders. After the construction of the cycle track, the number of bicyclists on Rio Grande more than doubled, according to a study by Portland State University and the National Institute for Transportation and Communities. There’s a perverse irony to the bicycle lanes on Rio Grande Street — they entice people to bicycling, but they also put them in danger. It’s unethical to build bicycle infrastructure to attract new riders if that infrastructure is poorly designed. As a West Campus resident and bicycle commuter, I value safety, freedom and independence. Clearly, the Rio Grande cycle track is unsafe. Worst of all, it sends the wrong message to everyone: Bicyclists are second-class users of the road that need special treatment and expensive dedicated lanes. I want the liberty to ride everywhere, not just on roads with fancy green bicycle lanes that are designed to hurt me anyway. But by replacing cones with concrete, the city of Austin has cut off that debate. Reconfiguring Rio Grande now would require expensive demolitions of the new dividers, and concerned citizens would — not without reason — decry the construction of any bicycle infrastructure as incompetent and wasteful. We had alternatives. We could have turned Rio Grande into a two-way street, improving mobility for everyone, and used other designs like bike boulevards and shared-lane markings that integrate bicyclists and motorists instead of segregating them. I suppose we’ll never get the chance now. Young is a computer science junior from Bakersfield, California.
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.
Do facts matter? Can they be objectively determined, or is truth ultimately subjective? In our fragmented society, can there be any such thing as a consensus? These are all questions raised by the most contentious debate of our time — a debate that is often emotional and deeply personal for its participants, and one that will likely never be truly settled. I am talking, of course, about the debate over Pluto’s status as a planet. Ostensibly, the scientific debate was settled in 2006, when the International Astronomical Union approved a new definition of the word “planet” that Pluto did not meet. But the decision was controversial, and if anything, it actually drew more attention to the Pluto debate than ever before. By demoting the former ninth planet from the sun, the IAU incubated the cult of Pluto enthusiasts and sympathizers to an extreme level. At the end of the year, the American Dialectical Society declared “plutoed,” which means demoted or devalued, the word of the year. Multiple state legislatures moved to voice their solidarity with a tiny frozen rock orbiting the sun at a distance of 3.67 billion miles and occasionally crossing Neptune’s orbit. Since then, the debate has continued to flare up every few years. In 2014, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics held a debate on Pluto’s status and let the audience (which was not composed of experts) vote at the end. They made headlines by voting in favor of making Pluto a planet again. And two weeks ago at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Kirby Runyon, a Johns Hopkins University earth and planetary sciences doctoral student, presented his case for a new definition of a planet that would include Pluto — as well as more than 100
One of the best arguments against making Pluto a planet is that indeed, doing so would probably require a definition like this, accepting dozens of new objects into our solar system as planets. other celestial objects. The five currently recognized dwarf planets would qualify as regular planets under this definition. So, as a matter of fact, would most moons, including Earth’s. Which, come on. How much are we willing to sacrifice just to save Pluto? One of the best arguments against making Pluto a planet is that indeed, doing so would probably require a definition like this, accepting dozens of new objects into our solar system as planets. In fact, there are likely thousands of undiscovered Pluto-like rocks orbiting the sun in the distant Kuiper Belt. Should they all become planets? As Runyon notes, “there is a psychological power to the word ‘planet’ that helps people realize it’s an important place in space.” But there’s also psychological power in the number of planets we choose to recognize. Imagine forcing schoolchildren to learn the names of dozens, potentially hundreds of planets. Imagine mnemonic devices that stretch for paragraphs and pages. It wouldn’t work. The question of Pluto isn’t just a scientific one — it’s a linguistic one, and also a pedagogical one. There is, of course, no objective definition of a planet. But whatever definition we agree on should be one that makes space intellectually accessible to ordinary people. An informed public interest in space is worth the cost of a single former planet. Groves is a government sophomore from Dallas.
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Thursday, April 6, 2017
GAMES Players begin their duel and strategizing on Saturday afternoon. A game of serious strategy and ferocity, Yu-Gi-Oh! has made its mark as one of many card games in the United States.
Pedro Luna Daily Texan Staff
Yu-Gi-Oh! fans gather weekly at Dobie Mall By Jose Gonzalez @Jose_thewriter
For some, the days of dueling with Yu-Gi-Oh! cards are stuck in the early 2000s, but for these UT students and Austinites, the game has not been lost in the shuffle. Yu-Gi-Oh! cards made their first appearance in the United States in 2002, winning over children’s hearts with mysterious and fanciful creatures. Since 2012, Resurrected Games, a game store in Dobie Mall, hosts weekly Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments in the building’s food court. Though the usual turnout is about 30 players, as many as 60 people have attended in the past. Troy Whitmoyer, store manager at Resurrected Games, oversees the
tournaments and sees them as a fun, yet unorthodox UT tradition. “These tournaments are continuing to grow because of players coming in and, especially considering we’re part of UT, every year there’s new students,” Whitmoyer said. “Every year there’s people already playing Yu-Gi-Oh! who will say, ‘This is where you go each week if you want to play.’” Because new card sets are released every month the game’s constantly evolving nature keeps Yu-Gi-Oh! fresh for players. Whitmoyer said even though the game has gotten more complex over time, the appeal of the tournaments lies in watching players help each other. “The players bring their friends, show them
how to play the game and make a new deck,” Whitmoyer said. The Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments are tailored for longtime players and newcomers alike, many of whom are not UT students. 23 year-old Concepcion Olivo, a tournament regular, said he began with $20 worth of cards and has now gradually accumulated $600 worth of decks in the last year. “The first time I played was here, I started out with a bad deck,” Olivo said. “Ever since, it became more competitive for me — you don’t play for fun. You play to win.” Since the games have multiple rounds, tournaments can get very intense. Each round starts with a bracket of eight players that ultimately ends with a showdown between
the final two. The reward usually includes new card packs, though sometimes the prizes can be as big as a new video game console. As the final round begins, the remaining players must decide whether they’re going to battle it out or split the reward, so nobody goes home empty-handed. Though the competitors display impressive card skills, Whitmoyer said this sportsmanlike attitude between them is what impresses him the most. “All of a sudden, it turns into this very democratic conversation between students,” Whitmoyer said. “It went from a few minutes ago talking trash to each other to (becoming) like a courtroom and it’s important.” Despite the competitive
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nature of the tournaments, UT alum Khoi Nguyen said he attends to have fun with his friends. Nguyen said players are recognized for the individual skills they bring to the game. “I was called a budget player, which means I don’t play with the most expensive cards,” Nguyen said. “I just played with what I had, but I’m known to beat everybody with my deck, even if it’s not optimal.” Though the original players have gotten older and the nature of the game is always changing, the “Heart of the Cards” remains with the players. “Digital is just not the same,” Whitmoyer said. “Nothing beats the feeling of sitting down next to a person, shuffling your deck and actually playing the game.”
DRUG
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Nau’s gained traction in the ‘50s as a local pharmacy and still sells medication. Other than the required license to practice, Nau’s old style hasn’t changed much. The pharmacists still sit down and speak with their loyal group of customers and even meet with doctors to consult prescriptions. Unlike the customers of big name vendors such as CVS, patients here can find a bit more service. One of the pharmacists, Sara Aldaz, spent some time at Walgreens before coming to Nau’s. Aldaz said she learned a lot more working at Nau’s, completing orders without a technician and interacting with customers. “You become close with people,” Aldaz said. “You go out of the way a little bit more for them, makes it feel more rewarding.” Aldaz said some customers have been returning for decades, showing up with their grandkids to grab candy along with the prescription then a burger before they head out. One long-time regular brings his dog every weekend. “She’s my favorite,” Aldaz said. “He always brings me treats to give her, she does all these tricks and stuff. It’s like the highlight of my Saturday.” Despite positive customer relations, Labay said rising expenses and the change in finance distribution, especially between pharmacies and insurance companies, has made it difficult for Nau’s to operate. “People like us, we’re kind of on the verge,” Labay said. “We’re trying to make it, but we don’t want to be (driven) out of the system.”
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TYLER HORKA, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansports Thursday, April 6, 2017
SOFTBALL | TEXAS STATE 2-1 TEXAS
Longhorns fall 2-1 to Bobcats in extra-innings By Leah Vann
@Vanntastic_Leah
Senior third baseman Celina Felix tagged a runner, but fumbled the ball. With the bases loaded at the bottom of the ninth, Texas knew its fate. Texas State’s junior catcher Jaelyn Young had ripped a single for the walk-off win. Texas State downed the Longhorns 2-1 in San Marcos. “They got the timely hit and unfortunately; we didn’t,” head coach Connie Clark said. Junior pitcher Kristen Clark would forfeit the first run at the circle to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Bobcat second baseman Bailee Carter got the offense rolling in the bottom of the third with a leadoff single, after a sac bunt put her in scoring position, center fielder Christina McDowell knocked an RBI single to the right for the lead.
Texas wouldn’t score until the sixth inning. Freshman Taylor Ellsworth’s hit was fumbled in the outfield for a double to get on base. Senior pitcher Tiarra Davis fired a single to the left, which was muffed by the Bobcat outfield to allow pinch runner Bekah Alcozer to run home. Freshman Tuesday DerMargosian had two key blasts to put the Longhorns on base at the top of the fifth and the seventh innings, but the Longhorns were unable to bring her home. The Texas State defense caught senior shortstop Devon Tunning’s follow-up blasts to prevent any damage in regular innings. Tied 1-1, the game went to extra innings. Texas would leave runner Kaitlyn Slack stranded on second at the top of the eighth inning, but that was as close to scoring that the Longhorns would get. The Bobcats loaded the bases at the bottom of the
Sophomore Bekah Alcozer scored the Longhorn’s sole run Wednesday night. Texas proved unable to overcome the lack of run support in a 2-1 loss to Texas State.
Joshua Guerra Daily Texan Staff
ninth with a walk and two singles. Texas State took advantage to seal the win in walk-off fashion. “We’ve got to come up with timely hits and I think
our ball club is better than the runs we’ve been putting up,” Clark said. Texas used all of its pitching staff throughout the game, limiting the Bobcats
to seven hits. Erica Wright and Paige Von Sprecken both notched two strikeouts at the circle. “I thought we just competed exceptionally well from
the circle tonight,” Clark said. “We’ve got some nice defense at times, but we’re not going to win a lot of games if we score one run. That’s the bottom line.”
BASEBALL
Cantu, McCann make their case for starting catcher spot By Alex Briseno & Vanessa Le @Alexxbriseno @vanessale
No one in the Longhorn clubhouse anticipated a battle for the starting catching job to arise at the beginning of the season. But with the 33rd game of the season approaching, junior Michael Cantu and redshirt sophomore Michael McCann find themselves in the midst of such competition. Head coach David Pierce continues to split playing time behind the plate between Cantu and McCann, but this doesn’t seem to be making his decision any easier. “They’ve been very hard workers, and both of them have reaped benefits because of it,” Pierce said. “Michael McCann wasn’t even in the picture to play much defensively other than to rest Michael Cantu ... they just complement each other so well.” Cantu, the six-foot-three, 240-pound junior from Corpus Christi has been the starter behind the plate since his freshman year, while McCann only saw the field a mere five times in the same year. However, this season has been different. McCann arrived in the fall with his own determination to claim the Longhorn catching position. “During the fall, we would get at each other everyday,” McCann said. “We were fighting for the job.” After a slow offensive start to the season for Cantu, McCann began to receive
opportunities to showcase his ambition for the catching role with more game starts. And sure enough, McCann quickly emerged as one of the team’s best sluggers — he currently holds the highest batting average at .368. “McCann came out of the gates swinging the bat really well and Cantu struggled and now they’re both hitting,” Pierce said. “It’s a good challenge for me to have options from both of them right now.” Pierce appeared to be leaning towards a decision as McCann saw more and more of the field. But on March 28, the Longhorns played Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Whataburger Field, and Cantu was eager to put on a show for his hometown crowd. He posted three RBIs in the game and blasted a home run to help his team clinch a 12-2 win over the Islanders. Cantu followed his homecoming performance with three hits, including another homer, during Tuesday’s 8-1 win over Sam Houston State. McCann attributes his counterpart’s physique as a leading factor in Cantu’s recent success at the plate. “One, I would love to steal his body,” McCann said. “And two, I would love to steal his swing. He’s got a really pretty swing. Last night he hit a home run that went like 700 feet.” Regardless of which catcher Pierce chooses to start a game, the ball will be in good hands behind the plate. Cantu and McCann’s competitive natures often bring out their
Even when I’m playing, he’s in (the dugout) watching me, and when he’s playing, I’m making sure he’s doing everything right. We just hold each other accountable. —Michael McCann, Catcher
best athletic performances as a result. “Even when I’m playing, he’s in (the dugout) watching me,” McCann said. “And when he’s playing, I’m making sure he’s doing everything right. We just hold each other accountable and I think our friendship and that really allows us to play well when each of us are back there.” Despite being each other’s biggest competition as catchers in the game, McCann and Cantu prioritize their strong relationship as teammates and friends at the end of the day. “I guess it’s just our attitude and personalities,” Cantu said. “We are really easy going guys who get along with everybody. Me being the guy I am and just having fun with playing ball, that’s what we both love to do, so we always look for ways to help each other. It’s a good relationship.”
Redshirt sophomore catcher Michael McCann has looked impressive this year, leading Texas in batting average at .368.
Joshua Guerra Daily Texan Staff
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MAE HAMILTON, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan Thursday, April 6, 2017
FOOD
Vintage restaurant dishes out blast from the past By Matt Douglas @thedailytexan
If you’re seeking a trip to the ‘50s, look no further than Nau’s Enfield Drug. The pharmaceutical room in a back corner earns the store its name, but that’s hardly all Nau’s has to offer. A convenience store greets shoppers in the front, and a small counter cafe in the back brings in customers looking for a bite. Nau’s was the second of two locations opened in 1951 by brothers Hilton and Ladner Nau. In 1963, a regular named Lambert Labay began working there. In 1971 Labay took over, and today his daughter Laura owns the business. “It’s nostalgic, the old-fashioned family business,” Labay said. “You know the owner of the pharmacy, you know the pharmacist, everything is open. It’s kind of like stepping back in time.” Apart from a few changes like tacos on the menu and modern brands on the store shelves, Nau’s has maintained its ‘50s image. The aesthetic detail hasn’t changed since it opened. Labay recounted a photo of her parents sitting at the far end of the dining counter, same stools and all. The Naus and Labays were pretty close:
Jessica Joseph | Daily Texan Staff
Nau’s Enfield Drug’s nostalgic, old-fashioned feel has drawn customers since the 1950s. the store serves as a pharmacy as well as a diner.
They even got together for Thanksgivings. “Hilton didn’t have any children, so they kind of took my dad under their wing,” Labay said. Even from the days La-
bay’s father visited, the kitchen has stayed true to its roots. Nau’s diner caters to a crowd in search of old fashioned burgers and shakes without being too pricey. Meals range be-
tween five and ten dollars. A past visitor, Andrew Robb, saw the ‘help wanted’ sign up front and now works in the convenience store and occasionally the diner. He joined last
December after moving to Austin from Oklahoma City. Though he never worked a service job before Nau’s, Robb said he enjoys getting to know all the restaurant’s
devoted regulars. “That’s what I look forward to in the day, just seeing people I enjoy talking to,” Robb said.
RESTAURANT page 5
CITY
Urban farmers cultivate community through annual festival By Gerardo Gonzalez @thedailytexan
From sunrise to sunset, husband and wife Larry and Carol Ann Sayle spend their days tilling and harvesting on their Boggy Creek Farm while their chickens, ducks and goats roam the lot. This picturesque image may sound like it’s pulled straight from a nursery rhyme, but listen closely and you’ll hear the soft hum of motors on I-35. Boggy Creek Farm is one of four urban farms to be featured in the 8th Annual East Austin Urban Farm Tour held this coming Sunday. The tour allows local and out-of-town attendees to visit these farms, try recipes prepared by top Austin chefs, sample farm-fresh ingredients and sip wine from local merchants. Carol Ann Sayle decided to organize an urban farm tour to showcase the abundance of crops and ingredients produced by the urban farms in East Austin. “We wanted people to see what farms were doing
and could do and inspire people to garden,” Sayle said. “The first year we had about 250 people.” Before the urban farm tour was even an idea, Carol Ann Sayle and Larry Sayle bought their house in 1992 to start their farm — one of the first in the area. They named it Boggy Creek Farm after the inactive creek that used to run behind the house. In order to ensure fresh ingredients, Carol Ann Sayle said Boggy Creek Farm harvests every day. On top of maintaining their farm, the duo also run a farm stand by their house throughout the year. Between property taxes and the modest earnings from farming, Carol Ann Sayle said farming in the city isn’t always easy. However, the farm stand helps support the farm and makes it possible to farm on a small scale. Aside from introducing urban farms to a wider audience, the tour also attracts sponsors. For several years now, it has been hosted by Farmhouse Delivery, a company that
delivers organic farm produce and milk to members anywhere they need. Lisa Tridle, marketing and events manager for Farmhouse Delivery, said getting involved with the tour and sponsoring the event was mutually beneficial for her company and the farmers involved with the tour. “Urban farming is a community of people,” Tridle said. “We have a direct connection to the mission of the urban farms when you get into what Farmhouse Delivery does and who we work with, which are small farms that raise food ethically.” This mission of supporting farming translates to beneficiaries of the event. Profits from the tour go to the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, a national organization that advocates for independent farming and healthy food products. Teresa Davenport, the communications and outreach director for FARFA, said the donations from the tour greatly benefit the alliance, which runs on a low-budget, and
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Carlos Garcia | Daily Texan Staff
Carol Ann Sayle organizes urban farm tours to showcase the crops grown in East Austin. Proceeds go to advocates for independent farming.
enable FARFA to head to the capitol to find sponsors for the organization’s cause. Carol Ann Sayle said the tour has practically been a success every year. In past years, line control has become a challenge for the farmers because of the increasing popularity of the event. Last year
during the tour not even rain seemed to thin the crowds. “It was crazy,” Carol Ann Sayle said. “Nobody canceled. Everybody just came in their umbrellas and boots and everything. The streets were just full of colors.” On the tour’s eighth year, Carol Ann Sayle said the event
has become a win-win situation for the farmers, sponsors and FARFA and she expects to keep holding it as it continues to benefit that community. “Seeing urban farms flourish in an area that is increasingly becoming more urban by the minute feels good,” Davenport said.
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