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MONDAY, AUGUST 7, 2017
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Volume 118, Issue 10
A L O O K A H E A D FALL 2017
see PAGE A6
SECTION A
Here’s what to expect for the upcoming semester. NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
SCI&TECH
The Haruka Weiser murder trial is set for October. PAGE A6
Columnists compare freshman living options, lectures and art. PAGE A4
Take these classes before you graduate.. PAGE A8
Tom Herman aims to reverse Texas’ culture of losing. PAGE A9
Fast facts on the August solar eclipse. PAGE A11
CAMPUS
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University introduces interactive housing program
Rebranded course tackles Trump era
By Maria Mendez @mellow_maria
The Division of Housing and Food Service will welcome freshmen into the first Living Learning Communities on UT campus in the fall. Housed together in sections of Whitis Court, Kinsolving and Moore-Hill residence halls, students in one of the five new communities will explore a topic of interest through additional programming and activities. Aaron Voyles, an associate director for Housing and Food Service, said this
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A popular UGS course on race issues is flipping the script in the wake of a new presidency. By Maria Mendez @mellow_maria
The Age of Obama is over, but the Age of Trump is just beginning. This fall, the signature course “Race in The Age of Obama” will change name and perspectives to examine race under the current presidential administration of Donald Trump. “Here’s what’s amazing about America: The same country that elected Barack Hussein Obama is the same country that elected Donald Trump,” said Leonard Moore, the history professor of the course. Since 2010, first-year
students in the Gateway Scholars and Longhorn Link programs have discussed the politics of race
black president to better understand the 2016 election and supporters of President Trump in the fall.
“ I’m trying to change the
class from the viewpoint of a Trump supporter, which is going to be hard. But I’m trying because it’s too simplistic that some people say, ‘All Trump supporters are racist.’” —Leonard Moore, UT history professor
in the signature course. Moore said he will move away from examining race politics under the first
“I’m trying to change the class from the viewpoint of a Trump supporter, which is going to be
hard,” Moore said. “But I’m trying because it’s too simplistic that some people say, ‘All Trump supporters are racist.’” Tiffany Lewis, director of the Gateway Scholars and Longhorn Link programs, said the course served as a critical thinking seminar for freshmen prior to Barack Obama’s election, but Moore’s work as a black scholar helped focus the class content on race issues. “We don’t just talk about the president,” Lewis said. “We talk about real life issues that are affecting the country, the people in the room. (Moore’s) approach is not to get students to agree; it’s to throw something out there and get students to dialogue and see other perspectives.” In lectures, Moore said he will continue leading discussions about race and related issues like affirmative action and immigration, but also wants
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to address poverty and the economic politics that might have persuaded Trump’s supporters. “I don’t think it was the wall, (and) I don’t think it was immigration,” Moore said. “I think a lot of them truly believed that he was going to make their economic lives better.” Ilse Colchado, a Mexican-American studies junior, said Moore’s class inspired her to continue learning about race-related issues through her major and work in social justice. But Colchado said she also appreciates Moore’s efforts to change the focus of the class. “While I am not exactly fond of Trump, I think we also have to understand his administration and his intentions as America’s president,” said Colchado, who took the class in 2015. “I am more than confident that Dr. Moore’s change in
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Monday, August 7, 2017
CAMPUS
New student housing opens for sober living
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UT gains extra week of summer break, loses week in winter break By Wesley Story @wesleystory0
Students will be trading in one week of winter break for an extra week of summer this upcoming school year. Last year, classes started on Aug. 24, and final exams ended on Dec. 14. This year, however, classes start on Aug. 30, and finals end Dec. 20. This change is a result of guidelines set by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which sets parameters on when fall and spring s emesters are allowed to begin. Vice provost and registrar Shelby Stanfield from the registrar’s office said the University follows the “common calendar” recommendations from the Coordinating Board and didn’t have much control over the schedule. “There’s a whole set of conditions and requirements that go into setting the calendar,” Stanfield said. “By the time you map all that out, there’s very little discretion for shifting when the semester starts and when the semester ends.” Stanfield said these conditions include the rules that a fall semester cannot start
until the fourth Monday of August and must end before Christmas Eve. The fourth Monday of August happens to fall six days later this year compared to last year and because UT’s fall semester begins on a Wednesday, the starting date was pushed back to August 30. Last year, the spring semester began on Jan. 17 and this year it is beginning on Jan. 16. Because classes start at the same time in the spring, the result is the loss of one week of winter break, which is being traded in for one extra week of summer vacation. Some students are frustrated with the rules because of how late classes will end in December. Government and astronomy junior Amanda Quintanilla said she doesn’t like that the semester ends so close to Christmas. “We don’t need a longer summer,” Quintanilla said. “Summer is already long enough. It really isn’t fair for the students that have finals on those last few days or the people who work for the University that won’t be able to go home until the 21st.”
Many of the guidelines set forward by the Coordinating Board affect the scheduling of the semester, including rules that say a semester must include 15 weeks of instruction and one week for final exams, and another rule that states a university must begin a term within seven days of the date set by the common calendar, according to the Coordinating Board’s website. While some students may not be happy about the trade-off, others appreciate the extra week of summer break. Samuel Weyser, a biomedical engineering sophomore, took classes this summer through the McCombs Summer Institute for Business Foundations. Weyser said he’s happy to be getting more vacation time at the end of the summer since the program just ended. “I’m really looking forward to getting a full month at home because last year the students in the program only had a couple of weeks before school started back up,” Weyser said. “I’ll take a longer summer and a shorter winter any day.”
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College culture is commonly tied to drinking, but two new housing initiatives seek to expand sober spaces for UT students in recovery from addiction. The Healthy Lifestyles Living Learning Community will house students abstaining from alcohol in the University’s Moore-Hill Residence Hall, while Alpha 180 will open a sober fraternity house in West Campus this upcoming fall. With 16.3 percent of adults aged 18 to 25 meeting the criteria for a substance abuse disorder, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, students in recovery are not new to college campuses. “(College) is definitely a challenging time for students who want to abstain from substances for whatever reason,” said Sierra Castedo-Rodgers, assistant director of UT’s Center for Students in Recovery and the Healthy Lifestyles community. “It can be particularly challenging if a student needs to do that because they are in recovery.” Though the Healthy Lifestyles community isn’t exclusively for students in recovery, the 16 students in the community commit to stay sober in and out of the university residence hall and will work closely with the CSR. “Peer support is really what it’s all about,” Castedo-Rodgers said. “It can be really daunting to come to a college campus when you’re a person in recovery from addiction. I know that from personal experience. I’m in recovery. I got into recovery when I was in grad school here at UT-Austin, and I did feel very validated knowing I belonged.” Aaron Voyles, a director for the Division of Housing and Food Service, said the sobriety policy in the Healthy Lifestyles community is unique because the University normally permits alcohol in dorms for students at least 21 years old. But most students living in UT’s dorms are not of drinking
age, Voyles said. “This is just going a bit further, so it’s for students who want to come home and everybody in the wing of their residence hall is sober,” Voyles said. Even though the Healthy Lifestyles community will only house freshmen, a few sober off-campus housing options are listed on the center’s website. Alpha 180, the first sober fraternity in the United States, hopes to become another sober housing option for students looking to live in West Campus. The fraternity will open a house for 16 male students, requiring students to have been in recovery for at least 90 days. Bobby Ferguson, the executive director for Alpha 180, said the fraternity decided to open its first chapter in Austin to build upon the work of the CSR. The fraternity plans to open another house for female students in the spring. “There’s a student community in sobriety already established in Austin that provides a lot of support and services for students, but doesn’t provide off-campus residential services,” Ferguson said. The fraternity, which is not affiliated with Greek life, will also provide clinical support and academic case management for students at Alpha 180’s office and clubhouse, located at the former Texas Phi Delta Theta house in West Campus. The fraternity’s housing and services will open to UT and Austin-area college students on Aug. 23. Like the CSR, Alpha 180 will host social events for students to connect with the sober community at UT. Ferguson said he hopes Alpha 180 can become a safe space for sober students during the weekends and party nights like Halloween, Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day, when the CSR may not be open. “All those times are very difficult, challenging times for sober students, and we want them to hang out on those occasions, but safe and sober,” Ferguson said. “What I want to do is help students in sobriety move out of the shadows and into the heart of student life at UT.”
CAMPUS
University considers fate of all-male Creekside dorm By Wesley Story @wesleystory0
UT’s last all-male dormitory could be replaced by a residence hall with more than six times the number of beds, according to Division of Housing and Food Service administrators. DHFS is considering replacing Creekside Residence Hall with a new dormitory that could include a brand new dining facility and house approximately 1,200 residents. Hemlata Jhaveri, executive director of DHFS, said the project is just in the planning stages and has not been approved yet. Jhaveri said as part of the department’s “definition phase,” they need to put together a business plan, come up with project requirements and make decisions about programming for the new building, including things like floor plans, room types, dining options and
cost estimates. “Right now it truly is what I would call a preliminary planning phase,” Jhaveri said. “We have to develop all of those details before we go and ask for permission to build on that site.” Built in 1955, the dorm would have to undergo significant renovations if DHFS were to keep it as it currently stands. Jhaveri said when they looked at the site, it seemed like a good candidate to do a replacement because it doesn’t take away from any other sites on campus. As of right now, the department is considering making the new dorm co-ed, but no official decisions have been made. UT alumnus Joshua Montgomery lived in Creekside for two and a half years. Montgomery said living in Creekside was a life-changing experience from start to finish.
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“Creekside’s close and tightly knit community really made me feel like part of a family,” Montgomery said. Montgomery said there are a number of pros and cons to building a new dorm in Creekside’s place. “One pro is that the location would finally get some love and attention,” Montgomery said. “Creekside hasn’t gotten any renovations for years. The cons are that, right now, Creekside provides a community space that no other hall provides.” Uniquely positioned in the northeast section of campus surrounded by Cockrell School of Engineering, Butler School of Music, the Performing Arts Center and the fine arts buildings, Creekside currently houses 190 male residents. Creekside is almost equidistant from both campus dining facilities, meaning residents have to travel farther to get food than students living in the dorms located in the northern and southern parts of campus.
specialized housing option was developed as a response to students’ requests to learn and engage with faculty and staff outside of the classroom. “There’s a lot of schools that have been doing living learning communities, but we wanted to put them in place in a way that was going to work for UT,” Voyles said. “Each learning community that we have actually has a different curriculum that we work to build with our campus partners.” Voyles said the Global, Women in Engineering and Women in Natural Sciences living learning communities developed from University programs with existing residential components. Partnering with the Office of Sustainability and the Center for Students in Recovery, DHFS also created two new residential programs for the Healthy Lifestyles and Sustainability Living Learning communities. After adding applications for the Living Learning communities to
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Carlos Garcia | Daily Texan Staff
UT’s Division of Housing and Food Services is considering replacing the all-male Creekside Residence Hall with a new dormitory building six times bigger.
Montgomery said if a new dorm is built, he thinks it should include a fullfledged market and dining facility for convenience. DHFS worked with University Residence Hall Association and a group of resident assistants last year to get feedback about the project and what they would want out of a new residence hall. The department also has students from both URHA and Student Government currently on the planning committee. Amanda Quintanilla, astronomy and government junior and former URHA
senator, said student input is crucial for a project like this. “The students are the ones who are going to be living in the new hall if it ends up getting approved and being built,” Quintanilla said. “I know residents with lots of ideas about amenities and features the new hall should have. Hopefully some of those ideas become reality.” Jhaveri said DHFS is excited to explore the possibilities and will have a firmer grasp on their plans for Creekside by the end of the fall semester.
TRUMP
For Neil Kaufman, the sustainability coordinator for DHFS, said the community will provide the opportunity to immerse 40 students in sustainable initiatives at UT through tours of campus energy, food service and zerowaste programs. “These are students that are passionate, inspired and are energized,” Kaufman said. “We want to be able to offer them a platform and space to experiment with all their great ideas.” In partnership with the CSR, the Healthy Lifestyles community will bring together 16 students pursuing wellness goals and a sober lifestyle at Moore-Hill Residence Hall. Voyles said the DHFS expects to continue the five communities in the future and hopes to add more by the fall of 2018. “(The five communities) all look like they’re verged to be really successful,” Voyles said. “We’re hoping to expand with at least a few more for next year so we can continue to offer a diversity of options for our students.”
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continues from page A1 class could bring a different light to what is happening across America.” Lewis said the new course title made some parents and students hesitant about the class, but most incoming freshmen have expressed excitement. Though the course is full for the fall, Moore welcomes interested students to sit in on the class. “I think we need more discourse around difficult topics on campus,” Moore said. “I think part of maturing politically is being comfortable around people who you disagree with politically.”
the existing on-campus housing application, the DHFS invited a different number of students to each community to help fit the goals of campus partners. DHFS invited 50 students from a variety of countries and cultural backgrounds to the Global community in Whitis Court. Forty female students in the Women in Engineering community and first-year interest group will reside in the Kinsolving dormitory, where the Women in Natural Sciences community will also be housed. Elizabeth Morgan, coordinator for the Women in Natural Sciences program, said the Living Learning communities allowed them to expand their competitive support program and house 53 students with a resident advisor. “For the first time this year, they’re all on the same floor of Kinsolving,” Morgan said. “I think that’ll make a big difference on them getting to know each other, doing things as a group and doing specific activities with their RA related to women in science.”
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Monday, August 7, 2017
COLUMN
On-campus art critical for student engagement By Emily Severe Columnist @thedailytexan
For freshmen, getting involved on campus can be a daunting proposition. To supplement their experience and education, students should look to art — a resource the University has in abundance — for reflection and avenues of involvement. Access to a diverse collection and opportunities provided by a variety of programs and institutions allows students to become well-rounded and better prepared for life beyond the 40 Acres. Well-known works like Nancy Rubins’ “Monochrome for Austin,” a sculpture made of canoes that overlooks the intersection of Speedway and 24th, command the attention of passerby and make a name for UT’s public art collection. Rubins’ work was commissioned by Landmarks, a program that seeks to enhance the student experience through the University’s public art collection. This program doesn’t just supply the art, they have a variety of volunteer opportunities for students to get involved. By looking to the source, students will be able to engage with their community in new ways that will help them explore their creativity and seek a well-rounded education. There’s more to art on campus than meets the eye — a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo is
tucked away inside of the Harry Ransom Center and the bones of a new Ellsworth Kelly exhibit rest on the Blanton Museum of Art’s lawn. To truly take advantage of the opportunity for personal growth that art has to offer, students should also look to the pieces that are members of diverse collections across campus. The Blanton has thousands of pieces in their collection, ranging from drawings and prints to looming sculptures, many of which are available to students for study. The Ransom Center, a humanities research library and museum, provides students with opportunities for reflection and growth through internships and volunteer work as well as access to an extensive archive. Finally, students can explore their own creativity and engage with their community by getting to know local artists — that is, art students. Students work to produce art and help curate campus collections that are available to peers during art shows and special presentations. Art provides a vital means of connection with other human beings and prompts creativity, a valuable trait for undergraduates, by encouraging students to reflect and think critically. Everyone benefits from making and viewing art, from elementary schools including art in their curriculum to promote development to medical schools teaching students to look to art to learn empathy. Undergraduate students, especially incoming freshmen who are
Marshall Tidrick| Daily Texan Staff
ACC professor John Blum admires sculpture “Monochrome for Austin,” comissioned by Landmarks. The sculpture is one of several public artworks located around campus.
experiencing growth and independence for the first time, can engage with art to great personal and educational advantage. The University affords students the opportunity to work closely with art, to have access to expertise and to connect with peers outside of majors and programs. While the canoes leave their mark,
the true benefit of engagement won’t be realized until students embrace opportunities like internships and volunteering, make an effort to engage with archived collections and encourage peers to do more than simply look and walk by. Severe is a Business Honors junior from Round Rock.
COLUMN
Lecture-based learning has its place in education By Sam Groves Senior Columnist @samgroves
At some point in their higher education experience, almost every college student finds themselves packed in a giant lecture hall with 300 of their peers, listening to a professor—who doesn’t know their name — recite bullet points from a PowerPoint presentation. At large public schools like UT, students typically encounter many such classes. This is widely regarded as a bad state of affairs. Students are told to get the big classes out of the way in their first few semesters so they can move on to smaller, more discussion-based upper level classes. Many college guides, including US News and World Report, include information about each school’s student-faculty ratio (UT’s is 18:1) and the percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students (it’s 35.1 percent here). Implicitly, lower ratios and smaller classes are considered preferable. But there are virtues to bigger classes that often
go unsung. For a certain type of student — perhaps an introvert who doesn’t like to participate in class discussions, or a visual learner who appreciates a good PowerPoint — bigger classes can actually be preferable to smaller ones. The traditional preference for small classes over big ones is understandable. The more students a professor has to teach, the harder it is to answer each one’s individual questions. One UT faculty resource explains: “As the number of students in a class increases, so do the challenges in creating an effective learning environment.” Every student is different, so offering an educational experience that works for hundreds of them can be difficult. But this reality — that every student is different — can have negative manifestations in small classrooms as well. In small classrooms, discussion-based learning is typically favored over the lecture format. And class discussions, in turn, tend to favor a certain kind of student: one who is more extroverted, more sure of the value of their own thoughts and opinions, more eager to contribute and perhaps less eager
COLUMN
Class discussions tend to favor a certain kind of student: one who is more extroverted, more sure of the value of their own thoughts, more eager to contribute and perhaps less eager to listen. —Sam Groves Senior Columnist
to listen. And more likely to be male. Research shows that female students are less likely to speak up than male students in class discussions, and “less likely to have their comments credited, developed, adopted, or even remembered by the group,” according to Columbia University. Instructors call on male students more than female students and are less likely to elaborate on points made by female students. And female students are, unsurprisingly, more likely to be interrupted. In a very real sense, small classes are actually less egalitarian than big ones. So an institutional preference for small classes over big ones in academia puts some students at a disadvantage. Meanwhile, with a good instructor, big classes
can be just as effective as small ones. It’s easier to take notes on a lecture than a discussion, which makes studying easier. Lectures don’t meander like class discussions do; they can’t be derailed by a single egomaniac who insists on blurting out every thought that pops into his or her head. And bigger classes typically demand the use of helpful visual aids, which smaller classes often neglect. Neither format works for everyone, but the drive in higher education toward smaller classes and more discussion-based learning is a well-meaning but misguided effort. There are plenty of reasons to prefer big classes over small ones, so students shouldn’t be encouraged en masse to avoid them whenever possible. Groves is a philosophy junior from Dallas.
COLUMN
West Campus living is ideal University should offer more on-campus living options transition to adulthood By Mia Ciardi
By Emma Berdanier
Columnist @mia_ciardi
As high school students graduate, the inevitable separation from home and journey into college life quickly approaches. Incoming college freshman dedicate June, July and August to making sure they have purchased everything they will need for classes and their new rooms. Most universities require freshmen to live on campus, however, UT allows for the option to live off campus — something every freshman should take advantage of. Transitioning from living with parents who provide for everything, to living in a new place where there are no adults can be very difficult for some students. Dorm life is considered a happy medium where students live away from home, but do not truly feel as if they are living on their own. However, this hinders the transition by allowing for the continuation of the coddling that high schoolers receive from parents. Living off campus gives the opportunity for freshmen to learn responsibility and understand what living alone is truly like. Rent for an off campus apartment is not included in tuition. Even though some parents pay for their children’s rent, it still is able to show students the process of needing to be financially conscious and how to spend money while remembering that there needs to be enough left over for necessities. Apartment life also teaches social awareness, which is something that is absolutely essential in a classroom and workplace. There are no RAs wandering the halls making sure residents
Senior Columnist @eberdanier
Living in a place without an RA, with a personal bathroom and kitchen and basically no rules is the best way to become comfortable living away from home. —Mia Ciardi Columnist
are behaving or are in their rooms. There is no one to write a student up if they are making too much noise during quiet hours. Freshmen build social awareness by being forced to regulate their social lives with their academic lives while being conscientious of the people living around them. Maintaining an apartment is hard work. Some adults out of college even have difficulty keeping up with rent, utilities, and the other parts of their lives while living in an apartment. People living under their parents’ roofs take advantage of how much is done for them. Living in a place without an RA, with a personal bathroom and kitchen and basically no rules is the best way to become comfortable away from home. Students are lucky that UT is one of the few colleges to allow for the growth and maturity that on-campus living simply cannot offer. Incoming freshmen should jump at this opportunity and learn the ins and outs of living solo. Ciardi is a journalism junior from Bernardsville, New Jersey.
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.
Living on campus is not a requirement for freshmen at UT; it’s a choice, and quite a big one. Whether choosing to live on or off campus, there can be impacts on a student’s social life and their academic performance. But the choice of living situations is not entirely the student’s, it’s the University’s. As the number of admitted freshmen increases, living in dorms becomes less of an option due to everybody fighting for the same spot. Last fall, UT admitted its largest incoming freshmen class. Welcoming more than 8,500 students, this was an increase of nearly 1,000 students from the previous year. And with such a large incoming class came the question of where the University would fit all of the students, given that the residence halls fill up each year and West Campus is filled to the brim with occupied apartment complexes. Large numbers of freshmen coming from outside of Austin — some from outside of the state or country — shouldn’t have to question where they’re going to live when they arrive. Instead, UT should be able to provide housing accommodations for all the freshmen who want to live on campus, not just those who apply early enough or are lucky enough to get in. Students are encouraged to apply for housing as soon as they finish applying to UT, and putting down a $50 housing deposit before they even know if they’ve been accepted. Living on campus freshman year benefits students by improving academic success and a higher graduation rate. Studies show that students who live on campus during their freshman
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year get higher grades than those who don’t, and are twice as likely to make the Dean’s List. Students who live on campus for their first two years are 25 percent more likely to graduate. Residence halls are also more secure than living off campus. Most apartment complexes only require keys to access, unless you have the money to pay for something more expensive, and require students to walk between apartment buildings at night. Residence halls require people to swipe in with their UT IDs after hours and require a key to access rooms. They also feature RAs who monitor the building. Dorms are also located on a campus dotted with blue-light security phones and are patrolled by UT Police Department. Moreover, a freshman’s social life also improves when living residence halls. Campus living allows easy access to their academic peers, giving students an easier transition from home to college. Living off campus makes it harder for students to make friends, especially when students who live off campus have to go back to campus for critical social activities. Residence halls are safer and more convenient than off campus apartment complexes, and push students towards academic success. All of these benefits to living on campus would give UT better assurance of remaining high in college rankings and producing more successful graduates, should UT try to get as many freshmen to live on campus as possible. As class sizes increase, so should the number of dorms on campus. While there’s limited space on campus as is — and this would require investing in a large construction project — introducing as many new dorms as possible should be a top priority for UT. Berdanier is a philosophy senior from Boulder, Colorado.
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SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY
SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY
Exhibit highlights Texas landscaping UT scientists reaffirm By Poorinma Tamma @poornima.tamma
In collaboration between the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and UT scientists, an ongoing exhibition explores different plant propagation, or growing, techniques in landscape construction. The exhibition, titled “Growing Landscapes: Propagation Materials and Practices,” is located in the Materials Lab of the West Mall Building. It is open until Sep.1, 2017. “This is the first landscape-specific exhibition that I’ve developed and they’ve hosted, and the intent was to demonstrate in a very basic level how landscapes are constructed,” Jason Sowell, associate professor in the School of Architecture, said. The exhibition consists of posters depicting landscaping projects in Texas, such as the Dell Medical School green roof, and live specimens that demonstrate techniques used in those projects in the center of the room. “Because the techniques that the live specimens demonstrate are utilized in the projects displayed around the perimeter, there was a nice juxtaposition for someone moving through the exhibition and engaging in the material,” Sowell said. Different propagation techniques include growing plants from seeds, cuttings,
live stakes or plugs, as well as grafting and micropropagation, which produces new plants from tissue in a lab. Sowell said that these different techniques are related to the type of plant species used, and the project’s goals, such as aesthetics, long-term management of the landscape, and ecological function. John Hart Asher, an environmental designer at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, said that the center is currently working on 15 different large-scale projects that have many different focuses and goals, including green roofs and restoring grassland and riparian habitats in urban areas. “(This was) an opportunity to explore and feature processes, practices and, most importantly, biotic resources that are the foundation for creating complex contemporary landscapes,” Asher said. “The increasing desire and need to thread ecosystems through our urban centers requires a fundamental understanding of systems that generate and sustain life.” Graduate student Matthew Wagoner said that this exhibition is important because landscape technologies are not easily demonstrated, especially in a space like the Materials Lab, which generally focuses on construction materials and practices. “We work with more
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black hole theories By Poornima Tamma @poornima.tamma
Courtesy of Jason Sowell
The Growing Landscapes Exhibition explores different plant propagation techniques in landscapes through projects.
ephemeral materials than our architecture counterparts so bringing those materials into a classroom environment is challenging,” Wagoner said. While some of the plants have become wilted from lack of sunlight, Wagoner said the exhibit is still a way for students to learn about how landscapes are built. “While I think all of us students would love to personally experience the sites that were highlighted in the
stories videos photo galleries
exhibition,” Wagoner said, “This format brought little pieces of those projects into the School of Architecture for everyone to learn from.” Exhibition Team: Jason Sowell, Michelle Bright, Kara Holekamp, and Matt Wagoner This exhibition is made possible by the generous contributions of the following: Taylor Creek Restoration Nursery, Native American Seed, Profile Products and North Creek Nursery.
UT scientists have shown that black holes are really black — everything goes in and nothing comes out. Einstein’s theory of general relativity suggests that there is a boundary known as the event horizon around the black hole beyond which nothing can escape the black hole’s enormous gravity. “There’s no astrophysical test for most black holes. We know that matter falls into the holes, but it’s actually not easy to test whether there’s anything that comes out,” said Wenbin Lu, lead author and graduate student in astronomy. Lu and his team theorized that if a black hole actually has a surface instead of an event horizon, when a star falls into it, a lot of radiation, heat and light would be emitted by the collision. They observed supermassive black holes at the center of local galaxies over the period of three and a half years using the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii. They expected to see evidence of more than 10 collisions if black holes have a hard surface. “We found none,” Lu said. “Stars, when they fall into black holes, they fall silently. They simply get swallowed, and nothing escapes.” Lu said this isn’t absolute proof that black holes are
inescapable, but that their work supports Einstein’s theories. Astrophysics professor Pawan Kumar said that this aspect of black holes hasn’t been tested until recently, since stars falling into supermassive black holes have only been observed since 2007.
The theoretical idea we proposed in our recent paper certainly could have been proposed several decades ago. —Wenbin Lu, Astronomy graduate student
“The theoretical idea we proposed in our recent paper certainly could have been proposed several decades ago,” Kumar said. “However, no one to my knowledge carried out the analysis we did in our recent paper.” Lu said they first got the idea after studying the interactions between stars and lower-mass black holes, and that he was curious about what happens when larger mass black holes swallow stars. The next step for the team is to use more powerful telescopes and study more black holes to improve their findings that black holes do indeed have an event horizon, Kumar said.
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Monday, August 7, 2017
NEWS
Texas Senate special session nears end of 30 days
TOP STORIES
What to
EXPECT Here’s what you can look forward to in the upcoming semester.
NEWS
Construction continues through fall on Speedway, McCombs graduate school Students can expect to see ongoing construction projects continue through the fall semester. The Speedway Mall project is scheduled to expand to just a few feet north of the J.T. Patterson Labs Building by the end of August and will likely go into spring 2018. Construction on Rowling Hall, the new graduate school for the McCombs School of Business, will continue through the fall and the building is scheduled to open in spring 2018. The enclosure for the Blanton Museum’s “Austin” by Ellsworth Kelly is scheduled to be completed this month and after that, construction will continue on the inside of the installation. The Engineering Education and Research Center will be partially open in the fall.
Chase Karacostas | Daily Texan Staff
Students will continue to navigate through construction on Speedway until spring 2018.
Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
Alejandrina Guzman and Micky Wolf serve as student body president and vice president for the 2017–2018 school year.
NEWS
First Latina UT student body
president begins term
Alejandrina Guzman, a Mexican American studies and government senior, will begin the school year as the first Latina student body president at UT and the first physically differently abled student body president in the Big 12 this fall. Guzman and Micky Wolf, Plan II and business honors senior, were elected as student body president and vice president March 9, running on a platform of representation, advocacy and empowerment. The pair plan to work directly with student leaders on campus initiatives, integrate the Multicultural Engagement Center and the Gender and Sexuality Center, add handicap-accessible vans to SURE Walk, provide guarantor forms for undocumented students in off-campus apartment buildings and to revive the non-conference Texas A&M-UT football game for 2025. This will be the 111th Student Government session at UT.
As the end of the 30-day special session fast approaches, not one bill has come to Gov. Greg Abbott, making it unlikely for the governor to see all 20 of his priorities for the session become law. While the Senate moved quickly, acting already on all 20 priorities, some of the session’s most controversial legislation — including Senate Bill 3, which would require transgender individuals to use the bathroom according to the sex on their birth certificate, as well as school finance reform bills and tighter restrictions on abortion — seem stalled. The special session ends on Aug. 16; however, if Abbott is unsatisfied with the outcome, he could call another special session. Already, the session is estimated to have cost taxpayers over $650,000, according to the San Antonio Express News. Most bills passed during the long session, as well as those that might be passed during the special session, will go into effect on Sept 1.
Angel Ulloa | Daily Texan Staff
Gov. Greg Abbott announced his re-election campaign in San Antonio in July.
NEWS
Trial begins for Haruka Weiser case in October The Haruka Weiser murder case is expected to move forward this fall as the court is in the process of choosing jurors for the case. The trial will begin this October. Several hearings have been held in the past few months to discuss the jury selection process. Eighteen-year-old suspect Meechaiel Criner, who plead not guilty to the murder, was arrested in April 2016 and accused of sexually assaulting and killing theatre and dance freshman Weiser. This fall, several more officers will be on patrol on and around campus, after UTPD added 13 new officers to the team this summer. The officers have been training throughout the summer and will officially begin serving the UT community in the coming semester. UTPD also plans to transfer eight officers to the team, setting the total number of members at 99 officers.
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Rachel Zein | Daily Texan Staff
Students attended a vigil for Haruka Weiser on April 7, 2016.
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LIFE&ARTS
SCI&TECH
Music festival season approaches with ACL, Sound on Sound When festival season comes around each fall, it’s all flower crowns and fringe for some, but writers in the Life&Arts section are hard at work. We’ll be joining festival goers at ACL, Sound On Sound and film festivals galore as the leaves begin to fall on the forty acres. Stay tuned for coverage all your favorite artists, from Jay-Z, Solange (Beyoncé, anyone?), indie gems like The Shins and feature films at Austin’s own Fantastic Fest.
Events happening in the science community this fall Star parties
The solar eclipse isn’t the only think you should be gazing up at this fall. Join UT astronomers each Wednesday at 9 pm to spot stars, planets and other celestial wonders from the RLM building telescope.
Hot science, cool talks Learn about the world of lemurs in Madagascar, where females rule the hierarchy, this September 15. Anthropology professor Rebecca Lewis studies sifaka lemurs to test the limits of evolution research.
Identification day Found a weird rock in your backyard? Come to the Texas Memorial Museum on Sept. 17 to have UT scientists and experts identify your fossils, bones, rocks and prehistoric artifacts.
Photos by Emmanuel Briseno and Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
SPORTS
New football era begins with coach Tom Herman
New head football coach Tom Herman talks a big game — and his powerful recruiting choices and tough-love strategies say he might just back it up. After three straight years of losing seasons under Charlie Strong, Herman has plans to revitalize the program and give UT football a chance to reverse its trajectory. “I think losing has to be awful, and you can never get used to losing,” Herman said at Big 12 Media Days. “That is one of the biggest maybe downfalls of a lot of teams is you get used to losing. No, losing is awful.” The longhorns kick off the 2017 season on Sept. 2 against the University of Maryland Terrapins.
Emmanuel Briseno | Daily Texan Staff
Amanda Perofsky talks about lemurs at Science Under the Stars.
Stephanie Martinez-Arndt | Daily Texan Staff
Tom Herman speaks at Big 12 Media Days in July.
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Yifan Lyu | Daily Texan Staff
Christopher Kirk, anthropology professor, speaks at a Hot Science Cool Talks titled “Some Like It Hot, Hot, Hot: When Primates Roamed Texas.”
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MORGAN O’HANLON LIFE&ARTS EDITOR
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Monday, August 7, 2017
CAMPUS
In face of stress, some students turn to study drugs By Sydney Mahl @sydney_mahl
Editor’s Note: Names have been changed to protect the identity of sources. It’s 9:00 on a Monday night. Biology junior Allison Stein’s phone lights up: “Do u have addy?” After Stein began to notice she was falling behind in her classes, she got prescribed Adderall and Vyvanse last January. It only took a couple months before she started selling. “I first started selling last March when I realized I had a bunch of extra and my friends needed them,” Stein said. Stein’s circumstances aren’t uncommon on UT’s campus. According to data on the HealthyHorns website, 58 percent of non-medical prescription drug users reported receiving the drugs from peers. In a survey published by the American College Health Association in spring 2017, 7.7 percent of males and 6.8 percent of females at UT reported using non-prescribed stimulants such as Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse
and Concerta. If caught selling her drugs, Stein could face felony charges and suspension from UT. Despite the risks, Stein continues to sell because of the financial benefits of doing so. Stein charges $5 for Adderall and $8 for Vyvanse. Though she only makes an average of $30 per month selling pills, she said she once sold an entire bottle of Vyvanse to a friend for $200. “I’m not worried about the legality of it because I generally only sell to friends who are responsible and don’t give out too much at a time,” Stein said. Stein’s customer base includes fellow students such as electrical and computer engineering junior Brian McDaniel, who spends roughly $25 per month on study drugs. “It’s pretty easy to find someone who sells them,” McDaniel said. “If it’s not a test week or there’s nothing majorly pressing due, I’ll probably take study drugs only once a week, but if it’s a test week it’s everyday.” Understanding why students like McDaniel turn to illegal study drugs and educating
Illustration by Mel Westfall | Daily Texan Staff
them on healthier, legal study habits is part of a day’s work for Jessica Wagner, the manager of the University Health Services’ Office of Health Promotion. “We really like to focus on
trying to understand why a student is misusing prescription stimulants,” Wagner said. “Is the need more time management or a reduced course load? We want to have
a better understanding of why it’s happening.” The answers vary, from stress to a matter of staying up later and later. “I feel like there’s pressure at
UT to be better and better every year,” Stein said. “There’s a limit on what you can do, so people look to study drugs.”
DRUGS page A10
CAMPUS
Switch up your schedule with these unique, engaging courses By Lisette Oler @LisetteOler
Goodbye, swimming pools and lazy mornings. Hello, coffee and lecture halls. As the fall semester kicks off, students will begin the biannual rush to fine-tune their schedules. While considering what to save or axe, keep these professors and their classes on the radar. The topics of the classes vary, but the energy the professors bring to their classes is the same. If you enjoy the following topics, you’re sure to love these classes taught by some of UT’s finest. Goosebumps and the creeps With a love of horror and passion for the weird, Elizabeth Richmond-Garza teaches a UGS class entitled “Modernity and the Art of the Uncanny.” It explores the fuel behind our love of creepy things such as vampires, werewolves and nursery rhymes by examining everything from the “Twilight” saga, Salvador Dali, Oscar Wilde and Nine Inch Nails. What’s more? You’ll get a dose of different cultures from 19th century French and Russian to our own and everything in between. If reading and writing about things that go bump in the night sounds like your cup of tea, try to get on that waiting list.
Idiosyncrasies and how to interpret them Understanding each other is critical, and we cannot live without it, but somehow good communication is one of the hardest things to master. In John Daly’s “Interpersonal Communication Theory” class, he takes on the challenge of teaching students not only how to communicate, but also how to understand how others communicate. The class is large, but the combination of Daly’s enthusiasm and the class’ multi-TA structure mimics the feeling of smaller, more intimate classes. Work is required in this class to succeed, but the end justifies the means when it comes to this class. Immortality and garlic Dracula to Angel to Edward — our society is obsessed with vampires. But where do they come from, and what is fact versus fiction? In “The Vampire in Slavic Cultures,” Thomas J. Garza leaves no stone unturned by looking at films, art and literature. Garza encourages students to use Twitter during class and covers topics such as how to kill a vampire, vampires in Russian pop music and even vampire sexuality. This class is full of reading and writing, but is worth the work because of Garza’s deep knowledge on the topic. If this sounds
luxury student living
appealing, but doesn’t fit your schedule, Garza previously taught “Russian Fairy Tales” and “Russian Sci-Fi” and might teach them again in the future, so be on the lookout. All of these classes are offered through the Slavic and European Studies department and don’t require any prior knowledge of the Russian language. Science without confusion Science classes are not everyone’s idea of fun, and more reluctant students put them off until the last minute. If that sounds familiar, register for John Lassiter’s “Introduction to the Solar System.” The class covers how the earth evolved to support life, the history of planetary exploration and, of course, the scientific method. Lassiter is the type of professor that exudes as much energy as a dying star — without being as dense as a black hole. Beware — if looking for a fall science class, this is not the one, as it is only offered in the spring semester. Creating and playing The techy world of video games seems far removed from the realm of liberal arts, but when push comes to shove, video games depend upon storytelling as much as a novel. Sheldon Pacotti, a senior lecturer in
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Monday, August 7, 2017
COLUMN | FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL
Future of Longhorn program Texas needs defensive improvement bright in Herman’s hands to truly change culture on 40 Acres By Trenton Daeschner @TrentDaeschner
There’s an old U2 lyric from the song “God Part II” that seems to make so much sense, no matter the context. “You glorify the past when the future dries up.” For the past seven years, the future has seemed plenty dry for Longhorn football. False hope and a false guarantee from ESPN play-byplay commentator Joe Tessitore (“Texas is back, folks!”) have left the burnt orange faithful wondering where the light is at the end of this dark, dark tunnel. And so Texas has glorified its illustrious past, and rightfully so. Just flip on the Longhorn Network. Oh, the 2006 Rose Bowl is on again? Now following a period in which the program hit rock bottom and went 16–21 over the course of three seasons, new head coach Tom Herman has arrived with a full-speed-ahead message. “I think losing has to be awful, and you can never get used to losing,” Herman said at Big 12
Media Days last month. “That is maybe one of the biggest downfalls of a lot of teams is you get used to losing. No, losing is awful. It’s not just, ‘Oh, well, we’ll get them next week.’ No, this is like the-sky-is-falling-type stuff.” That’ll wake you up. But should Longhorn fans buy the “this time, things will be different” rhetoric? Should they have high expectations after countless agonizing moments over the last seven years? As hard as it may be for even the most pessimistic fans to expect a dramatic turnaround under Herman, the reality is they should. Not only is there plenty of talent and experience at Herman’s disposal — including a proven quarterback and a bevy of playmakers — there’s a markedly different attitude on the 40 Acres, founded upon the first-year head coach’s incessant attention to detail. From monitoring the color of his players’ urine with hydration charts, to making sure junior defensive back P.J. Locke III doesn’t leave his water bottle behind, to a
no-trash-left policy in the player’s lounge, Herman has shown he means business no matter what. Of course, these hardball tactics do not automatically translate to wins. It’s unlikely the color of your urine has much to do with your ability to convert on third down or, heck, beat Kansas. But after seven long years of irrelevancy and embarrassment, this may be exactly what Texas needed — a swift kick in the pants and a long look in the mirror. If nothing else, that’s what Herman has brought to Texas — a reality check. And that’s why it’s reasonable to expect Texas to have a turnaround under Herman. Texas can’t go on like this forever. Sooner or later, the tide has to turn again. Maybe this time, the future isn’t so dry. Who knows — maybe the LHN higher-ups will eventually give the 2006 Rose Bowl a bit of a break from programming, and there will be new glorious games, like a national championship, to re-air over and over again, courtesy of Herman. Maybe this time, Texas will get fixed.
By Abhishek Mukund @abhishek_mukund
Head coach Tom Herman’s main mission this offseason has been to reverse Texas’ culture. He’s used the buzzword time and again through spring practice and summer workouts, aiming to change the mindset of a team that had lost 21 games over the past three seasons. “You should never become numb to losing no matter how often you do it,” Herman said. “It should hurt the even worse the 21st time as it did the 20th time, and even worse the 19th time than it did the 15th time.” Herman will need to instill a new culture for the stink of three sub-par seasons to wear off, but he can only do so if the Longhorns re-commit themselves to the defensive side of the ball. Texas ranked No. 94 in the nation in total defense in 2016, failing to stop opposing offenses in any meaningful way. But an added year of experience for the core of Texas’ defense should give way to some optimism. One unit the Longhorns will rely on is the linebacking core. Herman and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando are altering Texas’ scheme this year, employing the 3-4, with an added linebacker on the field. One player who should benefit is junior linebacker Malik Jefferson. The Poteet product recorded 6.5 sacks and 60 tackles last
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Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
Junior linebacker Malik Jefferson will be tasked with turning around a defense that ranked No. 94 in the nation in 2016.
season, excelling when utilized as an edge rusher. Jefferson should earn even more time on the edge this year with Orlando’s guidance. “He’s basically thrown himself at coach Orlando and said, ‘I’m yours; do with me as you will and make me better’,” Herman said. “I think he’s put himself in a position with how he’s worked in the offseason to go out and have a really productive season.” While the Longhorns should be solid up front, they must improve in the defensive backfield. The Longhorns ranked No. 105 out of 128 teams in the nation in yards allowed per game last year, allowing chunks of yards through the air. The cornerback and safety units will bring back much of the same squad as the previous year and will need to see development out of its young corners and safeties. Look
for junior DeShon Elliott and sophomore Brandon Jones to make a greater impact. On the offensive side of the ball, the Longhorns have a strength at the quarterback position. Sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele — who passed for 2,598 yards with a 60.4 percent completion rate in 2016 — will look to build on his strong freshman campaign. However, the starting job is not guaranteed to be his throughout the season. Four-star recruit Sam Ehlinger impressed with his physical tools in the spring and will compete for the starting nod throughout preseason practice. “In a perfect world, you would not waste a year of eligibility on a guy to go in for mop up duty,” Herman said regarding Ehlinger. “I don’t think there’s anybody that would want to do that, regardless of their quarterback situation.”
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In order to reverse its string of losing, Texas brought in head coach Tom Herman. The Longhorns have been mired in mediocrity over the past three seasons, compiling a 16–21 record.
CHALLENGES OF EVERYDAY LIFE Available in Paperback and DVD
FOOTBALL
O-Line growth main focus for Williams entering 2017 By Alex Briseno @Alexxbriseno
Connor Williams hasn’t always been considered the best offensive tackle in college football. Two years ago, when Williams arrived on the 40 Acres as a freshman, he didn’t do so as a four- or five-star recruit. The junior offensive tackle was just the No. 75 ranked tackle in the nation, per 247Sports. Since then, Williams has come a long way in two seasons with the burnt orange. He was named a consensus first team All-American in 2016 and is ranked as the No. 10 best returning player in the country according to Pro Football Focus. And when his time in Austin is complete, Williams is projected to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft. But despite all the accolades, Williams said national recognition isn’t his top priority. “I try to avoid it because that’s not my focus,” Williams said. “My focus is this season, and my focus is to go out and be able to play with my teammates and play the best game I can for my teammates.” Williams has enjoyed plenty of personal success with the Longhorns. But on a team level, Texas hasn’t delivered. The Longhorns have yet to reach a
The Problems of Work paperback book and companion film are the “secrets” of organization, Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff
Junior offensive tackle Connor Williams enters the season with a slew of honors, including first-team All-American.
bowl game with Williams, sporting back-to-back 5–7 campaigns. “It’s definitely eye-opening,” Williams said. “Because the players came to Texas came here to win. They came here to hold trophies, and for us not to do that it’s a very eye-opening experience. We must be doing something wrong, so we’re trying to figure it out.” As the Longhorns try to chip away at the residue that three consecutive losing seasons brings, there is another stat nearly just as haunting: Texas has not seen an offensive lineman selected in the NFL Draft since 2008. Almost a decade. It’s almost guaranteed that Williams will put an end to that streak, but he isn’t the only player on the unit who’s benefited from playing alongside Texas’ stellar left tackle. Williams’ mentality seems
to be contagious amongst the offensive line. “We feel like a family,” Williams said. “We can come to each other about anything. We can be real with each other. If someone is not going 100 percent you can get on them and you know that the whole O-line is going to have your back … It’s not personal we just want to be the best we can.” The national coverage and NFL Draft talk surrounding Williams won’t subside during the season. But that doesn’t bother Williams. He’s focusing on a singular goal. After two underwhelming years, Williams is focused on getting Texas’ offensive back on track. “I feel like we’re finally getting our confidence,” Williams said. “I feel like we’re finally getting our swagger, our little strut. I like it. We’re taking control.”
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DRUGS
continues from page A8 McDaniel said he takes study drugs not because of pressure, but because he just needs to get a lot accomplished every night. He said he remembers things better, focuses more and doesn’t get off task. While these are potential benefits for people who are legally prescribed these drugs, Wagner said taking the drugs can cause increased heart rate, high blood pressure, a lack of appetite, insomnia and sexual dysfunction. These side effects can be compounded when the drugs are paired with caffeine and energy drinks, which are other stimulants students use to increase the power of the study drugs. Wagner also cautions students that study drugs have an addictive potential, especially for college students whose young adults brains are still forming and wiring themselves to learn. Wagner said it can change your brain chemistry, although there is not a lot of long-term data. “There’s a misperception that misusing study drugs makes you smarter,” Wagner said. “You don’t magically get more critical reading skills. It’s simply a stimulant to make you stay up and consume more information.”
COURSES
continues from page A8 the Radio-Television-Film department, teaches “Writing for Interactive Games.” Students have hands-on experience both writing for videogames and learning basic programming. Pacotti, with 10 years of experience in the field of writing and programming, has vast depths of knowledge for any kind of student. The demos built in this class could lead to jobs in the future, or a more pure love of video games. As with Lassiter’s class, this one is only offered in the spring, so put it on a sticky note for registration in November.
Monday, August 7, 2017
ASTRONOMY
Stellar students plan for solar eclipse By Rachel Zein @radibez
Texas summers have two constants: scorching heat and an unrelenting sun. But for just a few minutes on Aug. 21, Texans can expect a brief reprieve from the sun’s rays in a spectacular pairing of timing and coincidence. On Monday, Aug. 21 at 1:10 PM, the moon will move directly into the path of the sun, momentarily blocking light from reaching the earth. A partial eclipse will be visible all across North America, and those in the path of totality — the area over which the moon will completely cover the sun — will briefly experience the complete cover of nightfall in the middle of the afternoon. “Everything will be serene,” said Emily Strickland, astronomy and physics junior and co-president of UT’s Astronomy Students Association. “From what I understand, there are no shadows during a total eclipse. Birds will stop flying. Everything will quiet down.” Strickland, no stranger to interesting space phenomena, said the eclipse will be an eerie and beautiful experience. Having recently completed a fellowship studying dark matter, Strickland and her fiancé will travel to view the eclipse in Wyoming, one of the first places it will be visible during its fast-paced journey across the country. Solar eclipses are notable not only for the impressive visual effect they produce, but also for their rarity: Nearly 100 years have passed since a total eclipse passed over the entire contiguous United States. The last time a total solar eclipse was visible anywhere in North America was 1979. “You have to remember that Earth is almost 75 percent water, so for the eclipse to travel over a large stretch of land, let alone the
Illustration by Mel Westfall | Daily Texan Staff
contiguous United States, is rare,” Strickland said. Short, sweet and bordering on supernatural, the eclipse will last a mere two minutes. But for astronomy and physics sophomore Rylee Ross, the marvel of the event itself is enough to warrant a multi-day, cross-country roadtrip. “Imagine just blotting out the sun,” Ross said. “There are so many interesting things happening.” In addition to staring at the moon itself (with proper safety glasses) from a prime viewing spot in Paducah, Kentucky, Ross said she hopes to observe how the eclipse affects objects on Earth. “I’m going to find the nearest tree and watch how it reflects the light,” Ross said. “Every leaf will reflect light from the solar eclipse, so every beam becomes a minor solar eclipse.”
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Ross’ trip to see the total eclipse will be just one event of many in her astronomy-packed summer. She recently traveled to UT’s McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, Texas, with a Freshman Research Initiative group to conduct research imaging white dwarfs and the nuclear centers of galaxies. In addition to the chance to see a singular astronomic event, astronomy senior Anna McGilvray considers her upcoming trip to Illinois to see the total eclipse as the perfect start to her last year of college. “I saw a partial solar eclipse in Austin my freshman year,” McGilvray said. “It was a pretty cool experience because I hadn’t really found my place yet in the astronomy department.” After studying the science of space for so long, McGilvray sees the trip as a must.
“You have to remember that Earth is almost 75 percent water, so for the eclipse to travel over a large stretch of land, let alone the contiguous United States, is rare.” —Emily Strickland, UT Astronomy Students Association co-president
“I have to go — how could I not go?” McGilvray said. While the trip to see the eclipse marks the first event of McGilvray’s last year in college, it’s only the beginning for incoming physics freshman Joseph Guidry, who is also traveling to Illinois with students from the astronomy and physics departments for the rare event. Guidry said he was anxious to see the “diamond ring” effect — a phenomenon that takes place in the
moments just before and after a total eclipse during which bits of sunlight peek through on either side of the moon, creating a visual effect that resembles glimmering diamonds nestled atop a shining band of light. As for how he will spend the precious two minutes during eclipse itself, Guidry’s plan was simple. “Take lots of pictures,” Guidry said, “and pray they come out well.”
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KATE THACKREY SCIENCE&TECH EDITOR
@thedailytexan
Monday, August 7, 2017
ASTRONOMY
Total solar eclipse to darken skies coast to coast By Jack Stenglein @thedailytexan
In less than three weeks, a total solar eclipse will cross the country. Here are some quick facts for the curious observer. What causes an eclipse? The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, but it is also 400 times farther away from Earth. Because of this astronomical quirk, when the sun, moon and Earth line up perfectly, the moon blocks the light of the sun and produces a solar eclipse. In the center of the moon’s shadow on Earth, called the umbra, a total solar eclipse is visible. Outside the center, or in the penumbra, observers can see a partial solar eclipse, where the sun appears to have a shadow over part of its surface. What will we see during the eclipse? Those in the path of totality — the area that lies directly in the shadow of the moon — will be able to see the moon completely block the sun, revealing the sun’s outer atmosphere, which appears as white rays surrounding the blacked-out star. The sky will darken and the temperature will drop. Texas, however, lies outside of the totality, so Austin will see only a partial eclipse. The moon will only cover part of the sun, and the outer atmosphere will not appear. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the eclipse will be visible in Austin starting at 11:41 a.m. and ending at 2:39 p.m. The eclipse will reach its maximum around 1:10 p.m., when the moon blocks 65 percent of the sun. Although Austin will miss the total eclipse this time, the city will in the path of the
Illustration by Mel Westfall | Daily Texan Staff
totality during the 2024 eclipse. Why is this eclipse so special? Although a total solar eclipse sounds rare, NASA says that they occur about once every 12 to 18 months. However, the totality crosses any arbitrary location on Earth only every 100 years or so. This eclipse is special because it is the first time since 1918 that the totality will cross the United States
from coast to coast. The totality will cross 14 states, and the others will see a partial eclipse. Outside of the United States, the event will only be visible as a partial eclipse. How can I watch the eclipse? The eclipse can be seen from anywhere in Austin with a view of the sun. However, looking directly at the sun is still dangerous during a
partial eclipse, even with sunglasses. According to NASA, observers should either wear eclipse glasses or watch the eclipse indirectly, such as on a screen. The UT Department of Astronomy will host a viewing in Robert Lee Moore Hall using the department’s heliostat, a solar telescope that displays a projected image of the sun. The viewing is open to the public.
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