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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
@thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Volume 118, Issue 30
STATE
CAMPUS
Court allows parts of SB 4 to be enforced By Chase Karacostas Senior Reporter
anthony mireles| daily texan staff
Last week, chemistry senior Alec Lucas officially came out as UT’s first openly gay College Republican president.
Republican president comes out By Albert Zhao
Last week, Lucas hit a turning point and officially came out during a general meeting with College Republicans. Lucas said he wanted his visibility to encourage other gay conservatives to fully express their identities — and not feel inhibited by them. “If there is anyone who’s in the organization who feels like they’re not welcomed for also being LGBT, or if they’re considering coming out but they’re not sure how their peers would react, they could see me,” Lucas said. “It’s not an issue. We’re not any different.” Lucas said his conservative beliefs
Senior Life&Arts Reporter
It was an unlikely journey becoming UT’s first openly gay College Republican president for chemistry senior Alec Lucas. Growing up in the conservative town of Flower Mound, Lucas identified as Republican but struggled to reconcile his sexuality with his politics. “You grow up feeling who you are is wrong,” Lucas said. “I was in denial for years, really up until college. I was really scared of being bullied or being harassed.”
don’t conflict with his sexuality. His support for free-market capitalism prevails over some of his disagreements with the party’s social agenda. Nonetheless, Lucas said reconciling his party’s continuous opposition to same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ issues remains challenging. He pointed to last year’s platforms from the Republican Party and Republican Party of Texas that both rejected the Obergefell v. Hodges decision and condoned gay conversion therapy. Lucas said these views were problematic and detracted
REPUBLICAN page 2
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that sections of Senate Bill 4 can be implemented, overriding a lower court’s ruling that previously blocked the entire law. The appeals court ruled unanimously that local jurisdictions could not — for now — prohibit cooperation with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detainer requests. The ruling followed a hearing Friday afternoon where the state asked for a stay of federal district judge Orlando Garcia’s August preliminary injunction against SB4. “We are pleased today’s 5th Circuit ruling will allow Texas to strengthen public safety by implementing the key components of Senate Bill 4,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has been defending SB 4 for several weeks in court, said in a statement Monday. “I am
confident Senate Bill 4 will be found constitutional and ultimately upheld.” SB 4, also known as the “sanctuary cities” law, orders law enforcement agencies to comply with all ICE detainer requests and authorized officers to inquire about an individual’s immigration status during routine duties. State Rep. Mary Gonzalez, D-Clint, is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “Today’s ruling by the 5th Circuit Court is a step back for Texas,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “I am hopeful that the court’s final ruling will protect our state’s immigrant communities.” The court maintained the injunction against portions of SB 4, including punishments for public officials who refuse to cooperate with ICE and a prohibition of “endorsements” against the law. Both Paxton and the judges agreed the word was vague, and the plaintiffs argued it would allow
SB 4 page 2
angel ulloa| daily texan staff
Protestors against Senate Bill 4 and the termination of DACA gathered around the Capitol building on Sept. 2, 2017. On Monday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the SB 4 will be implemented in sanctuary cities.
CAMPUS
CAMPUS
Study lounges temporarily Documentary sheds light house students on campus on educational inequality By Michael Hankins
By Nicole Stuessy
General Reporter
General Reporter
After the Division of Housing and Food Service received more housing applications than they could grant, 170 students took up residence in study rooms as supplemental housing this fall. Residence halls have faced overcrowding the past few years because of large incoming freshman classes of 8,000 students. Up to 200 students who do not receive typical housing may be offered supplemental rooms at a 10 percent discount until space in a dorm room becomes available, said Ryan Colvin, DHFS’ assistant director for occupancy management. “Right now we’ve offered a handful of rooms out and I would say the majority of students have chosen to remain in their supplemen-
Right now we’ve offered a handful of rooms out and I would say the majority of students have chosen tp remain in their supplemental spaces.”
—Ryan Colvin, DHFS’ assistant director for occupancy management
With 58 graduates joining Teach for America in 2017, UT is tied with UCLA as the top contributing campus. Teach for America at UT Austin hosted a screening of the documentary film, “Teach Us All” on Monday. The national organization seeks to promote educational equity by recruiting college students to become teachers in low-income communities. The program itself is two years long, during which college graduates are trained as teachers and work directly with students in public schools. Jorge Galan, the Director of University Partnerships and Recruitment at Teach for America, explained what kind of students his program is looking for. Galan said Teach for America seeks to create a system of equal opportunity so young people can achieve
success regardless of their background. “It’s very apparent in our country that where you live, how much money you have and what you look like determines your opportunities as far as your education and career,” Galan said. “With Teach for America, we believe that in order for this system to change, we need to have the right leaders who have the experience to drive that change.” Jake Polansky, a supply chain management senior and UT campus ambassador for Teach for America, offered insight into his experience with his organization. Polansky said as a student ambassador, he tries to spread Teach for America’s mission of promoting education. “I basically try to get young kids like us as excited about education as I am,” Polansky said. The featured documentary, “Teach Us All”, consists
tal spaces,” Colvin said. “Because those rooms are study lounge spaces that would serve the community if they were opened back up for them, students in rooms that get under 51 percent occupancy no longer have the option to stay.” Colvin said most supplemental rooms are in Jester and San Jacinto dormitories. Business freshman Marta Almazan lives in a supplemental room in Jester West with three other
roommates. “At first I was kind of skeptical about the idea of having four people in a room with two bunk beds, but I think it really helped with the social aspect,” Almazan said. “The downside is that it’s kind of difficult living with three other people but I think I got pretty lucky because I get along with all of my roommates. Even if we do get offered permanent rooms, we all agreed to
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
University Democrats host fundraiser for DACA recipients. PAGE 2
Columnist critiques FEMA laws for aid to churches in wake of Harvey. PAGE 4
Vietnamese immigrants bring Banh Mi truck to the 40 acres PAGE 8
Former Longhorn reflects on battle beyond the hardwood. PAGE 6
6267/UT Athletics; Process color
HOUSING page 3
of a collection of interviews with school administrators, civil rights activists and low-income students and their families. According to the documentary, segregation is still alive and well in America’s public schools system, largely stemming from income inequality that determines the quality of education that students receive. The documentary said change starts with better educators. Civil rights activist Sylvia Mendez said in the documentary that as a child her school was racially segregated and thus education quality was worse than schools with white students. Mendez said although schools are not segregated by law, the disparities are still there. “We have completely gone around in a circle,” Mendez said. “One thing that we do need in our schools is better teachers — teachers that are more caring about the students.”