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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017
@thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Volume 118, Issue 63 WEST CAMPUS
CAMPUS
New Target prepared for security concerns
Community discusses removal of Fine Arts Library materials By Maria Mendez Senior News Reporter Almost 100 students voiced opposition to the removal of fine arts books and collection materials at the UT Fine Arts Library, FAL, town hall Thursday. The town hall was prompted by concerns about changes to the FAL, which has lost more than 75,000 books, music scores and library materials over the past year. Douglas Dempster, dean of the College of Fine Arts, explained the college needs more space for innovation and programs in a four-page letter in
October. At the town hall, students continued to strongly oppose changes to the FAL in the E. William Doty Fine Arts Building. “Destroying a collection is the farthest thing from anyone’s mind here,” said Dempster at the town hall when students began shouting. Since the number of materials checked out from the on-campus Fine Arts collection dropped from 216,000 to less than 100,000 in the last couple of years, Dempster said changing the library space to meet student needs is necessary.
“Circulation has crashed,” Dempster said at the town hall. “The library exists to meet the demands of these students and faculty. If we’re not meeting those needs, then we’re failing, and I’m failing as dean.” Sixty percent of collection materials have already been moved to storage facilities off-campus, according to an October FAL memo. The materials can be retrieved within three business days upon request. Students and faculty like Mary Ellen Poole, the director of the
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angela wang| daily texan staff
Associate studio art professor Michael Mogavero argues to against the closure of the Fine Arts Library at a town hall meeting.
By Ashley Liu Senior News Reporter
According to law enforcement, the new Target on Guadalupe and 21st Street could face security concerns similar to the ones stores in the West Campus area deal with. A small-scale Target on the first floor of Dobie Twenty21 residential and commercial tower is scheduled to open Sunday. The 22,000-square-foot store will sell groceries, dorm and apartment essentials, clothing, beauty products and electronic gear. Sgt. Stephen Andreini, Austin Police Department patrol officer, said shoplifting and loitering of the homeless could be possible security issues for the new store. “It’s not uncommon for stores on Guadalupe Street to see shoplifting,” Andreini said. “Generally they’re just misdemeanors, but the smaller stores, especially 7-Elevens, in West Campus get a lot of grab-and-runs or beer-runs. The severity of the crime depends on the value of the goods the criminal tried to steal.” Andreini said shoplifting is a nuisance crime, and Target store managers will usually hire independent loss prevention officers to catch shoplifters. “If the Target officers catch anything, they can call APD,” Andreini said.
“They can retain shoplifters by law, and we’ll make it our priority to respond quickly to make an arrest. If the suspect left the scene, then APD will file a report.” Target management has not responded to request for comment. Kasey Zhang, an employee at the Starbucks in the new Target, said she is trained to be aware of loss prevention. “We are trained to keep an eye out for any signs of suspicious activity, regardless of where we are working on the floor,” finance sophomore Zhang said. Zhang said the store has specific asset protection measures to prevent shoplifting crimes. “I know we have asset protection officers who are dedicated to preventing property loss,” Zhang said. “I know we also have multiple security cameras that track the entrance area to monitor potential shoplifting.” In addition to shoplifting, Andreini said the local homeless population could be another potential security concern for stores like Target. “I know the Walmart on Anderson Lane and Burnet Road has had struggles with the homeless and transient population,” Andreini said. “They might frequent the store by harassing customers or shoplifting or loitering in the store, which can become trespassing. Target could have
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CAMPUS
Faces of Immigration gives students chance to share varied experiences By Stephanie Adeline News Reporter
Middle eastern studies senior Markfirah Krueng grew up just like every other American kid — or so she thought. Krueng said she only recently realized her experience differs from that of others because she is an immigrant from Aceh, Indonesia. “I grew up watching Disney Channel and Nickelodeon and doing typical American kid things,” Krueng said. “But (there were) things that were (a) part of my childhood that my friends didn’t grow up doing.” Krueng was one of three student speakers who discussed immigrant experiences at Faces of Immigration, an event hosted by the Students for Equity and Diversity on Thursday evening. Student body president Alejandrina Guzman helped host the event and shared her story with about 100 attendees. Guzman’s parents were undocumented immigrants from Mexico, which Guzman said gave her family disadvantages when she was born. “I was not alive, I was not breathing for nine and a half minutes, and my parents didn’t know English,” Guzman said. “Coming from a Latinx culture, (it) is
already difficult to … have a first child in a nation that you don’t even call home. It’s also me being differently abled. … My parents were discriminated on so many different levels.” Neuroscience sophomore Karoleena Krypel said her family was privileged compared to other immigrant groups because her family is from Poland. “Nobody looks at you and says that you don’t belong here and you’re clearly an immigrant,” Krypel said. “But it does upset me because … (my acquaintances were) talking about how bad immigrants are for the United States and I said, ‘My family’s immigrants. We’re from Poland.’” Zaira Garcia, an advocate from FWD.us, a bipartisan non-profit that fights for immigration reform, said she thinks U.S. immigration is inherently flawed because of its documentation process. “My parents, if they were to want to become legal, they are required to go back to their home country for at least 10 years before they can begin the process,” Garcia said. “And that has not changed.” Everyone needs to act for immigration reform, especially to defend recipients of the Deferred Action
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CITY
Travis County voter turnout drops to 13 percent from 65 percent in 2016 By Chase Karacostas Senior News Reporter
Travis County voter turnout dropped more than 50 percent between the 2016 presidential election and Tuesday’s local and constitutional election. In 2016, Travis County had a voter turnout rate of 65.24 percent of total registered voters. On Tuesday, 13.41 percent of registered voters in Travis County showed up, more than twice the statewide turnout, which was just 5.77 percent. During the 2013 constitutional election, voter participation was marginally higher at 13.77 percent in Travis County and 8.55 percent statewide. Reliable information on student voter participation for Tuesday’s election was unavailable at press time. The ballot consisted of seven amendments to the state’s constitution and three bonds. Two of the bonds were for infrastructure in Travis County, and the third was a $1.1 billion bond for Austin Independent School District. TX Votes, a non-partisan student organization that focuses on improving civic engagement, spent the last two months promoting the election and registering students to vote in Travis County. Maya Patel, chief volunteer deputy registrar for TX Votes, said the low turnout on Tuesday was disappointing but not surprising. Local elections often affect voters much more directly because local government affects the day to day lives of citizens much
voter turnout for Nov. 7 election
2017
There were seven constitutional amendments, two Travis County bonds and one Austin Independent School District bond in these elections. Percentages based on total registered voters.
Constitutional
13.41% Travis County
5.77%
2016
statew
ide
Presidential
65.24% Travis County
59.39% statew
ide
Source: Travis County Clerk’s Office
infographic by sunnie lee| daily texan staff
more, Patel said. “It’s kind of sad — I’d almost say pathetic, but it’s what we see almost every local election,” Patel said. “A lot of people just vote in presidential elections, which is great, but you have so much more of an impact in local elections.” Kassie Barroquillo, TX Votes program coordinator, said the low voter turnout likely resulted from the lack of elected officials on the ballot and 2017 being an off year for major elections. Barroquillo said the items on the ballot also were not particularly contentious for the average voter, which certainly did not help improve turnout. Regardless, Barroquillo said it is important for voters to get into the habit of voting in every election because it leads to them being more
informed when larger elections — such as primaries and midterms — roll around. “It really important that we create a habit of voting,” Barroquillo said. “Having the practice of knowing how to be informed is a big deal because when you have to start doing that for 30 plus items in a larger election, it can seem overwhelming.” Because so few people vote in smaller elections like Tuesday’s, Barroquillo said each vote is worth many times more than a vote in a presidential election. Instead of each vote being one among millions, each vote is one among thousands. In some districts, it could be even be one among just a few hundred.
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