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Monday, April 17, 2017
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STATE
SG strives to reduce budget rollover
Proposed bill lowers campus carry age
By Rachel Cooper @rachelcoopa
For the past two school years, almost a third of Student Government’s operating budget has gone unused. In the 2014-15 school year $31,130, or 27.6 percent, of SG’s budget went unused. The following school year, the unused budget increased to $35,176, making up 31.2 percent of the budget. Jonathan Harper, former SG internal financial director, said SG’s operational budget is about $112,000 each year and comes from the Student Services Budget Committee to fund student organizations and internal agencies. Harper said the large rollover balance is caused by the accumulation of unused money from previous years and from SG agencies and student organizations either canceling events or not using all the money given to them. Harper, a finance, business honors and Plan II
BUDGET page 3
WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS McCombs sees $1 million donation PAGE 3
OPINION Historic segregation in Austin ISD requires fix PAGE 4
SPORTS Herman makes debut in Spring Game PAGE 6
LIFE&ARTS Austin farms keep the good vibes flowing PAGE 8
REASON TO PARTY
PAGE 7
ONLINE Check out our review of Fate of the Furious on dailytexanonline.com
By Claire Allbright @claireallbright
Campus carry legislation passed last session would undergo a major change if legislators sign off on a “constitutional carry” bill from state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford. House Bill 375 would eliminate the requirement to obtain a license and complete gun safety classes in order to carry a
handgun. The bill’s provisions would extend to public college campuses. The “campus carry” law, which went into effect Aug. 1, 2016, allows individuals to carry a concealed handgun on public college campuses and in certain buildings as long as they have the proper licensing. Under current law, a person must be 18 years or older to legally buy a firearm and is required to
have a license to carry a handgun outside of their home or vehicle. However, you may only acquire this license if you are 21. By eliminating the licensing requirement to obtain a handgun, Stickland’s bill would lower the legal age to carry a handgun on campuses to 18. The places an individual could carry a handgun on campus would not change under the bill.
BILL page 3
Illustration by Jacky Tovar | Daily Texan Staff
CITY
Protesters demand Trump tax returns By Lisa Dreher @lisa_dreher97
Protesters chanted “traitor” and “show us your taxes” as they demanded President Donald Trump release his tax returns during a protest at the state Capitol on Saturday afternoon. About a thousand people, according to Capitol police, joined others in a national Tax March, demanding Trump be more transparent about his taxes and business connections. With the tax filing deadline coming up tomorrow, some advocates said Trump owes America his tax information that presidents before him have released. “When Donald Trump said that he was worth $10 billion and everyone else in finance are telling us it’s less than that, it matters because he should not be lying as president,” said J.C. Dufresne, president of the advocacy group Common Cause Texas. Trump was the first presidential nominee of a major party to not disclose his taxes in more than 40 years. Trump said he could not disclose his tax returns because he was under a procedural audit during his candidacy. Psychology junior Chase Ehrig said protests such as the Tax March with specific goals are more effective. “I think fighting for tax
Noel Mahouch | Daily Texan Staff
Protesters rallied at the Capitol on Saturday afternoon fighting for Trump’s tax disclosure. Thousands across the country marched to show their support for the move.
disclosure helps some action get done, hopefully,” Ehrig said. “Releasing taxes has been a tradition for a long time. I don’t know what the problem he has with releasing them, and I think that is what’s concerning.” Major cities such as New York and Los Angeles saw thousands of protesters
flooding the streets for the same movement. The protest called for more accountability not only from Trump but from members of Congress, as well. Protesters fanned themselves and squinted in the sunlight, holding signs with “grab’em by the taxes” and Cheetos to create Trump’s hair. Key Democratic Party
CAMPUS
members — including U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett from Austin, whose district encompasses parts around campus — have backed a bill requiring Congress to request that Trump release his returns. Rey Garza, a rhetoric and writing senior, said he leans conservative and was surprised when he saw a protest
was happening that day. Garza said he understands why the protesters want transparency, but felt the protest only exacerbated the issue. “This protest is a general excuse to come back to hate Trump,” Garza said. “They’re using tax day to fume, to fuel
TAX page 3
CAMPUS
Students shave heads to raise Engineering students awareness for pediatric cancer win leadership award
By Jahnavi Muppaneni their involvement on the
By Ashley Liu
@jaaahnavi
@ashley_liu111
Hundreds of students cheered as participants “Braved the Shave” this past weekend in front of Gregory Plaza. “Brave the Shave”, hosted by Students Making Impacts Through Love and Empathy, allows students to shave their heads in order to raise awareness and funding for pediatric cancer research. All proceeds from the event go toward St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest childhood cancer research organization in America apart from the U.S. government. Event coordinator Aarthi Srinivasan, a psychology junior, said the organization has already raised more than $36,000. “Our participants help us
Ramya Srikanth | Daily Texan Staff
Brave the Shave was held Saturday, April 15 at Gregory Plaza to help raise funds for pediatric cancer research. Participants shave their heads to support children battling cancer.
get the most money,” said Srinivasan. “We have profit shares and fundraisers throughout the year, but it’s this event that makes the most difference. One girl, Jasmine Bell, raised $4,500 all
by herself.” Srinivasan said her past experience with Texas THON, another student-run philanthropic organization, inspired her to organize the event.
SHAVE page 2
Two of the six annual President’s Leadership Awards were given to students from the Cockrell School of Engineering. The two students — Jade Jackson, a chemical engineering and chemistry senior, and electrical engineering senior Garrett Maples — received the award for their leadership skills and commitment to extracurricular activities, the University announced last month. Students are nominated annually by UT faculty and staff and later interviewed by a panel of Texas Exes members and past student leaders. Nominees were asked about
Name: 5689/City of Austin Public Work; Width: 60p0; Depth: 2 in; Color: Process color; Ad Number: 5689
40 Acres. “I feel like I talk about how much I love UT a lot anyways, so this wasn’t too much trouble,” Maples said. Jackson said leaders must make the progress and success of people around them a priority. “Of course, we all want to be remembered for the positive things we’ve done, but the most lasting impact you can make is on individual people,” Jackson said. Jackson served as UT’s chapter president for the National Society of Black Engineers and director of operations for Black Women in Science and Engineering. She said her inspiration to
AWARDS page 2