The Daily Texan 2017-11-16

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Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2017

@thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com

CAMPUS

Volume 118, Issue 67

NATION

Homeless service calls increase since 2015 for UTPD

Mike Pence addresses governors By Chase Karacostas Senior News Reporter Pence speaks to Republican Governors Association in Austin

By Ashley Liu Senior News Reporter

Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the Republican Governors Association (RGA) on Wednesday afternoon to garner their support for the

The number of UT Police Department service calls involving the homeless population has increased almost 50 percent since 2015. Service calls involving the transient population at UT increased from 107 calls in 2015 to 145 calls this year to date, according to KXAN. In 2017, assault dropped below the top three crimes involving the homeless, which are alcohol, drug and trespassing violations. UTPD captain Gonzalo Gonzalez said the upward trend might be reflective of an increase in people’s willingness to report. “People are reporting more, and officers are seeing and acting on things more,” Gonzalez said. “We are educating the public more about reporting before posting concerns to social media.” The UT community should be aware that the numbers include both criminal and non-criminal calls for service, Gonzalez said. Non-criminal calls totaled 54 in 2015, 58 in 2016 and 53 this year to date. “A non-criminal call could be due to a welfare concern or just someone acting suspicious,” Gonzalez said. “That can include (the homeless) talking to themselves, panhandling, sleeping in public, or it could be call for help if someone is in medical distress.” Students should not be too

new GOP tax plan and reassure them of the Trump administration’s support. Following an introduction from Scott Walker, RGA chairman and governor of Wisconsin, Pence began by thanking Gov. Greg Abbott for his work on Hurricane Harvey relief. “Through it all, we never

failed to be inspired by the resilience and the faith and the character of the people of Texas, and we never failed to be inspired by the compassion and the strength and the leadership of the great governor of Texas,” Pence said. Pence then discussed the GOP’s tax plan, which is cur-

rently making its way through the U.S. Senate, and congratulated the governors in the room who had already managed to cut taxes in their states, including Florida Gov. Rick Scott. “When I look at the governors gathered here, I see a

PENCE page 2

brooke crim| daily texan staff

Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the Republican Governors Association on Wednesday afternoon. Among his speaking points were Trump’s new tax plan, Hurricane Harvey and next year’s governor elections.

HOMELESS page 2

CAMPUS

Wendy Davis discusses sexual assault By Allyson Waller News Reporter

angie huang| daily texan staff Former Texas senator Wendy Davis and UT students Alison Aydin and Sophie Jerwick discussed sexual assault issues on Wednesday.

Former Texas Senator Wendy Davis is known as one of the most progressive voices in Texas, but on Wednesday evening, Davis let the voices of students join hers as student leaders discussed the impact of sexual assault on college campuses.

UT students Alison Aydin from UT’s Voices Against Violence and Sophie Jerwick from UT’s Not on My Campus talked about their experiences working for Davis’ nonprofit, Deeds Not Words, at a panel hosted by University Democrats. Davis’ nonprofit works to promote equality for women in the state and helps give them the

tools to mobilize their communities to get involved in policies that matter to them. “The work that we’re doing for Deeds Not Words (is) we help students learn how to share their story and to use personal story to persuade, because it’s the most powerful tool that we have,” Davis said. During Texas’ 85th

legislative session, Aydin and Jerwick worked on specific bills involving sexual assault, such as House Bill 281, which makes it easier for victims to track their DNA samples contained in rape kits. “So many times we see people going through this very traumatic and long

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CAMPUS

SURE Walk rises in demand, lacks resources By Reagan Ritterbush Senior News Reporter

SURE Walk has quadrupled its number of fulfilled requests for rides over the past year, said Holden Hopkins, one of the SURE Walk directors. According to SURE Walk data, in the fall of 2016, the organization fulfilled 3,279 requests, but reached 12,283

fulfilled requests in the spring of 2017. Hopkins, Plan II and business honors sophomore, said current data suggests SURE Walk will probably fulfill around 15,000 requests in the fall of 2018. “This pattern is increasing still,” Hopkins said. “We get around 3,000 requests a month, but this number increases around the holidays and finals, so we are definitely reaching more students as the years

go on.” This increase has made SURE Walk’s limited amount of resources and funding apparent, Hopkins said. In order to keep up with the growing demand, SURE Walk is raising money to buy two additional golf carts. “We want to be able to give as many rides as we want to and work as proficiently as possible,” Hopkins said. “We

currently have three working golf carts, which makes it hard to fulfill all the needs of each student who turns in a request.” The fundraiser, hosted on student crowdfunding website HornRaiser, has only raised a small portion of the $18,000 needed to buy the two golf carts, said Joel McNew, co-founder and vice president of SafeHorns, a parent organization

NEWS

OPINION

LIFE&ARTS

SPORTS

Briscoe Center unveils civil rights photography exhibit. PAGE 3

The editorial board weighs in on the proposed tuition increase. PAGE 4

UT Puerto Ricans ask University for aid after Hurricane Maria. PAGE 8

Volleyball collects a second win over No. 16 Kansas. PAGE 6

SURE WALK page 3


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