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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2017
@thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
CAMPUS
Volume 118, Issue 45
BOOKS
Controversy erupts after publication of homeless anecdote
Poet Rupi Kaur recites new work By Albert Zhao Senior Life&Arts Reporter feels increasingly guilty for that sentiment. Kaur expressed her remorse in a poem titled “Broken English” during a Friday poetry reading of her latest book, “the sun and her flowers.” The reading, hosted by Urban Outfitters, brought several hundred fans and UT students to Space 24 Twenty
Kaur explores her identity as first generation American
By Grace Speas News Reporter
Growing up in Canada, 25-year-old poet Rupi Kaur said she felt embarrassed by her mother’s Punjabi accent. As she ages, she said she
Humans of the Forty Acres staff posted a story on their Facebook page about homeless man Jose Estrada, known as “Kool-Aid,” at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 27. Within an hour, the comments section began to explode. “We were completely blindsided,” said Joshua Gunther, Humans of the Forty Acres photographer. “We interview people, and then transcribe what they say exactly, so we only had his personal testimony.” Humans of the Forty Acres shares stories with pictures of people in the UT community, in a format that emulates internationally known Humans of New York. Comments on Estrada’s story ranged from students claiming they had peaceful interactions with him to some claiming he had verbally abused and grabbed them. “Stuff like that is false,” Estrada said. “If I would have touched people inappropriately
off of Guadalupe. “When she opens her mouth and broken English spills out, don’t be ashamed of the fact that she split through countries to be here so you wouldn’t have to cross a shoreline,” Kaur recited from her poem. “Her accent is thick like honey, hold it with your life. It’s the only thing
she has left from home.”\ The New York Times best-selling author said the poem highlights not only her journey to stop denying her parents’ roots, but also her appreciation of their struggles emigrating from India. “I’m just now in complete
KAUR page 3
FORTY page 3 UNIVERSITY
School of Social Work boasts most four-year graduates By Anna Lassmann News Reporter
angie huang | daily texan staff
Poet Rupi Kaur performs spoken word at Space 24 on Friday, Oct. 13th. Kaur shares pieces of her life from her recently published novel, “The Sun and her Flowers”.
HEALTH
UT uniquely charges for mental healthcare By London Gibson
Counseling session fees and limits across major Texas Universities
Senior News Reporter
The Steve Hicks School of Social Work’s 83 percent four-year graduation rate is the highest of all UT schools, according to the most recent data published by the University in 2013. Allan Cole, associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Social Work, said the school uses its advising process and summer courses to help students stay on track towards a four-year graduation. “We have a very high-touch advising process, so every student in our program is advised by our advisers every semester,” Cole said. “We’re also offering more of our courses, both elective and required, in the summers, so students can take advantage of summers in ways that had previously not been the case.” The School of Social Work would like to see every student graduate within four years, Cole said, but they realize some things come up in students’ lives that prevent that from happening. “We really do try to keep
GRAD RATES page 2
UT-Austin is one of the only large public universities in Texas that charges for counseling and mental health services. Of Texas’ 10 largest public universities, only UT and the University of Houston charge for counseling sessions. The University of Houston charges $5 for individual counseling compared to UT’s $10 per individual counseling session. Other major Texas universities, including Texas A&M University and Texas State University, provide free care included in tuition. The Counseling and Mental Health Center, or CHMC, first started charging for counseling in 2010 when the University was going through heavy budget cuts, said center director Chris Brownson. In the past six years, the center has seen a 53 percent increase in student interest and an 81 percent increase in the number of counseling sessions provided, Brownson said. Brownson said it is the variety and quality of mental health services offered to students through a large coun-
NAME OF UNIVERSITY
CHARGE PER SESSION
SESSION LIMIT
Texas A&M University
No charge
Case-by-case basis
University of Texas at Austin
$10
6 sessions
University of Houston
$5
Case-by-case basis
Texas State University
No charge
15 sessions
University of Texas at San Antonio
No charge
Unknown if limited
Texas Tech University
No charge
No limit
University of Texas at Arlington
No charge (6 sessions)
$10
University of Texas at El Paso
No charge
No limit
University of North Texas
No charge
Case-by-case basis
SOURCE: THE RESPECTIVE SCHOOLS’ COUNSELING CENTERS
infographic by aaliyah jenkins| daily texan staff
seling staff that requires a fee for counseling sessions. He said UT has one of the highest clinician to student ratios in the state of Texas. “We have a lot of counselors,” Brownson said. “We have a lot of different types of services, but as you can imagine, in order to be able to do that, there is a cost. So that is part of why there is a charge here.” The center does not require payment immediately and will lift any counseling related financial bars
at time of registration, Brownson said. “One of the things that is very important to me as the director is that we are not erecting barriers to students seeking care for mental health services,” Brownson said. “We will work with students … for any kind of payment plan that works for them.” Although time and mode of payment is negotiable, the $10 fee is not. For students like bilingual education ju-
nior Lourde Ventura-Rubio, the fee could be the deciding factor on whether they seek treatment or not. Ventura-Rubio sought counseling at UT last fall, but discontinued it after one session because she said she felt she could not afford regular visits. “I was helping with (my mother’s) bills, I was paying my own bills, and those $10 did make the difference,” Ventura-Rubio said. “(With) all of the money that we’re
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
UT students use drones to reduce overwatering on campus. PAGE 3
Columnist explain why Amazon should set up shop in Austin. PAGE 4
UT alumnus tells story of Pakistani immigrants in short film. PAGE 8
Herman discusses big picture following loss to Oklahoma. PAGE 6
6380/SXSW, LLC; Process color
obviously paying with tuition, there should be some type of fund for students who are in need of counseling.” The CMHC offers some free services like group counseling, classes, workshops and a 24/7 crisis line. Marketing senior Yingxin Xu works as a peer educator for the center. She said although the center does not have enough counselors to provide individual service to all of UT’s 51,000 students, they can still reach out for support with the free services. “It’s more about building the connection on campus,” Xu said. “I think it’s more about how we can help students to build the strategies to help themselves.” Ventura-Rubio said she thinks mental health issues are often downplayed even though it can happen to anybody for any reason. “This is something that the students want and are willing to vouch for,” Ventura-Rubio said. “And hopefully more people who are going through things, who are having difficulties, will step forward and get the help that they need.”