2017 Fall Preview

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Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900

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

CAMPUS

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

LIVING page A3

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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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.”

Illustration by Mel Westfall Daily Texan Staff

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CAMPUS

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Wednesday

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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Monday, August 7, 2017

CREEKSIDE

LIVING

“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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@TexanOpinion

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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Monday, August 7, 2017

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

check us out

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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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Fall Preview

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.

SCI&TECH

LIFE&ARTS

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.

Angel Ulloa | Daily Texan Staff

Photos by Emmanuel Briseno and Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff

Gov. Greg Abbott announced his re-election campaign in San Antonio in July.

SPORTS

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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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

@thedailytexan

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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MICHAEL SHAPIRO SPORTS EDITOR

@texansports

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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B2

Monday, August 7, 2017

CITY

CITY

A

Lax booting regulations cause Students ride free with annual A headaches for Austin citizens UT, Cap Metro partnership

By Paul Cobler

By Claire Allbright

Businessmen, wrecker company owners and students just trying to find a parking spot all agree: Car booting is not a pleasant experience in Austin.

This feeling of discontent from all sides centers around the state laws and city ordinances surrounding the practice. Currently, the City of Austin does not regulate booting, said Detective Thomas Ballard of the Austin Police Department’s Wrecker Enforcement Unit. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation supervises the practice at the state level, but Joe Santiago, owner of Capital Parking ATX, said the current laws are far too lax.

“With TDLR there is no price cap (on fines,)” said Santiago, whose company provides booting services in Austin. “You want to charge $500? You can. You see a Mercedes and want to charge $1,000? You can. They have that rules and regulations structure for towing, but none for booting.”

Santiago said he believes if Austin begins to regulate booting, it will benefit everyone involved by making the practice more legitimate.

“I think you need more regulations, they just need to be the right regulations,” Santiago said. “It’s a problem when you have these guys that can get a license for

Economics junior Kate Dopkin is just one of many UT students who relies upon the city bus system to explore Austin.

“I lived on campus and didn’t feel like I needed (a car) because most of the places I went were near campus,” Dopkin said. “It was intimidating at first, but the Austin bus system is pretty easy to figure out, and the Cap Metro app really helped.”

Of the approximately 50,000 students enrolled in the University, there were only 13,029 parking permits sold during the 2015 school year, according to Parking and Transportation Services, making students like Dopkin, who said she relied on the bus to attend off-campus events like concerts and to get to H-E-B, common.

This is made possible because of an approximately $6 million agreement each year between the University and the Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority, Austin’s public transit provider, that allows all UT students, faculty and staff to use Cap Metro’s services

@thedailytexan

TWINS

continues from page B1 with the public.

“Sharing sciences with the public is also a great way to inspire future scientists,” Kizziar said. “When we connect visitors with individuals who work in science,

@claireallbright

Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff

Current Austin city ordinances do not regulate booting, causing a lack of consistency in booting fines.

$250, then charge $150 per boot. That’s when you start getting the riff-raff out there booting like crazy.”

Capital Towing Austin currently charges $150 for the removal of a boot, according to their website, but Santiago said he is in favor of decreasing his company’s removal fee and increasing the cost to be licensed in Texas to as much as $50,000 to ensure only serious companies are booting.

As recently as three weeks ago, Santiago’s company operated in the parking lot of I Luv Vintage and Spider House Cafe and Ballroom, owned by Conrad Bejarano.

Santiago said his employees would monitor the lots and immediately boot drivers parked illegally.

“As an owner, we get zero compensation for it,” Bejarano said. “It all goes to the

towing or booting company.”

Bejarano said he dealt with people illegally parked in his lots for 10 years before finally hiring Santiago’s company.

“A lot of the responsibility goes to Austin, in fact, it all goes to Austin,” Bejarano said. “There isn’t any infrastructure within the city, and there isn’t any parking because everyone is dependent on driving … I’m the scum for hiring a booting company that monitors it, and they have to pay 150 bucks. I’m sorry it sucks, but I need that parking for my customers.”

Detective Tom Ballard said he and the City Attorney’s office recently submitted a new booting ordinance to the Austin City Council, but it won’t be heard until later in the year. The ordinance would create numerous city regulations on the practice, Ballard said.

engineering, or art, they have a chance to put a human face to the topic.”

Morgan said the collaboration will further the program’s mission to recruit and support more women in science by helping current WINS students and inspiring young girls to

study science.

“Maybe one of the young girls at one of the community nights or events that we do will be really motivated about science,” Morgan said.

“Maybe she’ll apply for WINS one day or move forward with something in science, engineering, or math.”

Capital Metro and the University allow students, faculty and staff to ride public transportation buses for free due to a $6 million agreement.

Joshua Guerra Daily Texan Staff

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for free with a valid UT ID. PTS assistant director Blanca Gamez said in an email the agreement gives students “fare free access to all of Cap Metro’s services” including UT shuttles, cross-city bus routes and the Cap Metro commuter train. The partnership is paid for using funds from the Student Services Fee that each student pays as a part of their tuition, Gamez said.

Dopkin said once she brought a car to campus her second year, she used the bus occasionally to get to her car which was often parked in a lot on the east side of I-35, but mainly used her car to get around Austin. However, having access to the bus services remained helpful, Dopkin said.

“I still take the bus when I’m going places downtown, though, because parking is expensive and hard to find,” Dopkin said. “I take the 40 Acres bus occasionally to get across campus when I don’t feel like walking.”

Mariette Hummel, a spokesperson for Cap Metro, said the University pays a fixed portion of the operating cost of each UT shuttle service hour, which

is around $4.8 million, and 58 percent of the base fare e for all ID swipes on other h services, but starting Sept.

1, UT will begin paying e 62 percent of the fare for U ID swipes. c Hummel said Cap Metro n projects 2.8 million rides l were paid for using ID t swipes, or approximately 2 o million student rides and a 800,000 faculty rides for a the contract year, which ends at the end of August. m “Capital Metro and the t University have partnered c on campus transit issues i for almost 30 years,” HumM mel said in an email. “All i of Capital Metro’s services are a good resource for students. Which service works best for you depends a lot on where you live.”

Dopkin said for next year, she plans to take the shuttle to and from her off-campus apartment, and that her good experiences with the bus system encourage her to ride more frequently.

“Depending on where I’m going, it can be easier and faster drive my car, but the bus system is cheaper and more environmentally friendly, so I feel like I should make an effort to use it more,” Dopkin said.

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Monday, August 7, 2017

ALUMNI

Alumnus reflects on illicit UT tunnel adventures

By Wesley Story @wesleystory0

UT alumnus Kevin Mille er is a self-proclaimed r habitual trespasser. .

Almost 20 years ago, Millg er stumbled upon a well-kept r University secret. Miller discovered a network of tuno nels containing key utility s lines that run underneath D the University while working 2 on a photography project for d a class during his third year r at UT. h “I remember the specific moment of following this e tunnel and feeling a blast of d cool air above me and looks ing up and seeing the sky,” Miller said. “I suddenly reall ized that I was in a tunnel that s s t

connected one building to another.”

In 1928, UT engineering professor Carl J. Eckhardt Jr. oversaw construction of UT’s underground tunnel system.

According to the Texas Tribune, the system is still used today to transport energy across campus.

Miller said he continued to explore the tunnels for the rest of his time at the University and even returned a few times after graduating in 2001.

While still in school, Miller made a map of the tunnels and posted it on his personal website. Williams said initially nothing ever came of the map, but then people found it, and it started spreading.

Miller later appeared in “Subterranean City: The UT Steam Tunnels,” a 2005 documentary about the tunnels.

When news of the tunnels spread after the documentary, UT officials warned students not to try to access them.

“Anyone caught trying to enter the tunnels, anyone caught in the tunnels — they will be arrested and they will be put in jail,” University spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon said in an interview with KVUE. “If they’re a student, they will no longer attend the University of Texas at Austin.”

Miller said there are door triggers and motion detectors throughout the tunnels but that he never got caught and was never contacted by

UT. By the time people knew what he had done, the statute of limitations had passed, Miller said.

“People down there aren’t going down there to cause trouble,” Miller said. “They’re going down there to explore and answer their own curiosity. Urban explorers want to discover things for the sake of discovery.”

In addition to a habitual trespasser, Miller identified himself as an urban explorer, someone who explores manmade structures often abandoned or hidden from the general public.

Corporate communications senior Alyssa Hollander said she doesn’t think many students currently attending

UT know about the tunnels.

“I’ve heard lots of conspiracy theories about the tunnels but wasn’t sure if they even existed,” Hollander said. “I would be thrilled to see them in person, but it’s just not worth the risk.”

Today, people can find Reddit threads online full of speculation about the tunnels, including theories about why they exist and how to access them.

Miller said the tunnels were one of the highlights of his college experience.

“I had this maybe selfish feeling of knowing that in this busy place, with thousands of people coming and going, that, as far as I could ever tell, I was the only one who knew

Anyone caught trying to enter the tunnels, anyone caught in the tunnels — they will be arrested and they will be put in jail. If they’re a student, they will no longer attend the University of Texas at Austin.

—Rhonda Weldon, University spokeswoman

about the tunnels,” Miller said. “It was exciting to have this secret that I could share with people.”

t e r , e

e r t r I o

Illustration by Albert Lee | Daily Texan Staff

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B4

LAURA HALLAS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

@TexanOpinion

Monday, August 7, 2017

COLUMN

COLUMN

CNS B.S.A. degree plan lacks Social enclaves benefit new upper-level science courses students, encourage diversity

By Holly Hodge

By Rohan Batlanki

Most students can agree they picked their major because they wanted to learn material related to their future career. However, the College of Natural Sciences’ B.S.A. degree plans, offered since 2014, don’t have strict upper division major requirements for students, causing students to lack science classes their junior and senior years and therefore failing to fully prepare them for the work force.

For example, UT’s biology degree requirements show a huge discrepancy between the number of upper division biology classes needed to graduate under the B.S. vs. the B.S.A. plans.

The B.S. degree plan requires double the amount of hours of upper division biology classes than the B.S.A. degree plan. Upper division requirements for the B.S.A. are just six biology upper division classes and one lab. This number of classes is shockingly similar to UT’s minor requirements, consisting of five or six classes. The fact that students end up spending the same amount of time on a minor as on advanced classes shows a lack of major-specific education which is needed to be successful in future careers in the sciences.

B.S.A. students have major-specific introductory classes that they must go through to take upper division classes. Many of the additional science class requirements for natural science students, such as math, chemistry and physics, dominate the first two years of an average student’s four year degree plan. The suggested fouryear plan fills the last two years with English and history classes. These last two years at the University should be spent refining field knowledge with some humanities interspersed, not as the dominant percent of classes students take.

The structure of the B.S.A. degree plan requires students to only take one biology class every semester with only two biology labs interspersed throughout their four years at UT. CNS students only need 40 percent, or 48 of their 120 hours, to be science classes in order to graduate with a B.S.A. If a biology or chemistry student chose a minor in liberal arts, they could theoretically take more College of Liberal Arts than CNS classes during their time at UT. The biology degree plan is not the only B.S.A. natural science degree with this issue; neuroscience, for example, only requires students to take six actual neuroscience classes to fulfill their

Picture the opening of any ’80s highschool drama. Recall how the camera pans across all the cliques ­— the jocks, the cheerleaders, the goths, the skaters. Don’t just read the words. Seriously. Picture it. Did each of your envisioned social groups accurately represent the demographics of the United States? Mine didn’t either. So where were minority students— hidden within their own very necessary, albeit highly criticized, socio-ethnic enclaves.

As the exercise proved, social groupings are forever a part of the settings in which young people find themselves. These designations help young people find like-minded individuals with whom they can grow, giving them a sense of belonging in which they can find comfort.

But how do adolescents from minority backgrounds, who have already grown into a society that inadvertently makes them feel other, find a group that can resonate with their own backgrounds and pop-cultural proclivities? In response to this weighty question, minority students on college campuses have formed their own variant of “ethnic enclaves,” giving rise to organizations such as Black/South Asian/Asian fraternities, sororities, activity groups and cultural associations.

Ayushi Sharma, former UT Nach Baliye dancer and UT Indian Cultural Association membership director explains, “At home you’re always surrounded by your culture, but being in a place where you’re thrown out to so many different people it’s harder to feel comfortable. ICA and Nach Baliye

Columnist @thedailytexan

Columnist @RohanBatlanki

Illustration by Rachel Tyler | Daily Texan Staff

degree plan. This means out of the 120 hours needed to graduate, only 15 percent of the classes neuroscience students take under the B.S.A. degree plan are neuroscience classes.

Most of the 11 B.S.A. degrees have the same structure of only needing to take one major specific class per semester. The University should have higher standards as to what awards a student a major in a field. The excessive non-CNS requirements detract from B.S.A. students becoming experts in their chosen field. UT can be an exciting new leader in the B.S.A. degree plan but they still have to ensure their CNS students are leaving the 40 Acres as scientists.

The vision of the B.S.A. program is not a bad one. There is much more to learn outside of CNS that is beneficial because everyone needs to learn to write and know about our government but the standards for science education has been jeopardized under the current B.S.A. plan. I thinks that one class per semester of just major-specific classes for four years is not enough to adequately prepare natural science students to be proficient in their field of study and excel in their careers once they leave college.

Hodge is a neuroscience sophomore from Austin.

How do adolescents from minority backgrounds, who have already grown into a society that inadvertently makes them feel other, find a group that can resonate with their own backgrounds?

—Rohan Batlanki Columnist

were my way of making UT home.”

Critics of this phenomenon argue that it’s an act of self-segregation. They say that in purportedly diverse environments, these enclaves seem to propagate a feeling of ‘us’ versus ‘them.’ But these critics fail to recognize that such enclaves actually help students identify with their counterparts in parallel social spheres.

To these critics, Dr. Sharmila Rudrappa, the Director of the Center for Asian American Studies counters, “coming to a university like UT, they (students) find a racial identity. In that sense, these kind of spaces help students understand the kinds of commonalities we have. I think it’s not self-segregation that’s going on, but a particular kind of self-discovery that leads to an understanding of who we are as Americans.”

Gradual assimilation is the best way for students to intermingle and exchange cultural ideas. A great example of this is the “Tri-Fam” alliance between the fraternities Omega Phi Gamma and Delta Epsilon Psi and sorority Sigma Phi Omega. Both fraternities are national fraternities founded at UT through the help of the sisters of SPO. OPG brother Shen Tan agrees. “I found people who share my background through the Omegas,” Tan said. “And as I developed, I was able to find people from different backgrounds that I relate to like some of my tri-fam brothers from DEPsi.” Ethnic enclaves are nothing new, and neither are their ensuing criticisms. But to those who find themselves a part of such an environment, it’s an invaluable part of personal growth. Individuals align themselves in their respective niche in these safe spaces where they feel more understood by their peers. Enclaves allow students to retain their uniqueness and not drown in forced assimilation. After establishing themselves, they are better suited to seek out peers who match their personal interests rather than their backgrounds.

These relationships between analogs build more on personal interests than backgrounds.

In this way, cultural exchanges are primed to form organically. Universities must encourage development of these safe spaces if they seek to become truly diverse.

Batlanki is a neuroscience sophomore from Flower Mound.

COLUMN

MetroRapid expansion puts UT in the fast lane

By Ryan Young Senior Columnist @OldRyanYoung

Just in time for the fall semester, Capital Metro is making it much easier to get around Austin. Improvements to the agency’s flagship MetroRapid service are arriving Aug. 20, and UT students and staff stand to benefit the most.

Even if you’re new to the 40 Acres, you’ve probably already noticed the bright red, bendy MetroRapid buses making their way up and down Guadalupe Street Route 801 runs via South Congress and North Lamar and route 803 runs via South Lamar and Burnet. Both MetroRapid routes have two UT stops on the Drag, and route 803 also stops at the Pickle Research Campus.

On Aug. 20, CapMetro plans to increase the

number of buses on MetroRapid so that passengers will spend less time waiting to catch one.

On weekdays, a MetroRapid vehicle will arrive every 10 minutes (down from 15). On weekends, every 15 minutes (down from 20). Just like a train or subway, there’s no need to consult a schedule; just show up to a MetroRapid station and wait for your ride to arrive.

Noah Giese, a recent UT graduate now living near the Crestview MetroRapid stop and working for the Department of Chemistry, said he is looking forward to the increase in service.

“It would mean that I wouldn’t have to leave extra early and wait at the bus stop, because I have to be at work at a certain time,” Giese says.

When MetroRapid comes more often, Giese will be able to take a later bus, giving him some extra time to himself in the morning.

Also starting on Aug. 20, both MetroRapid

routes will start running until 2:30am on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. CapMetro currently provides late-night service to UT on its E-Bus and Night Owl routes, but those services only go to 6th Street and the E-Bus does not operate in the summertime. Late-night MetroRapid will give UT students access to Austin nightlife away from downtown while also serving students staying in Austin for the summer.

One of those students is Jocelyn Whistler, a civil engineering junior who uses MetroRapid to go to bars on 6th Street, shop at The Domain and attend special events such as Blues on the Green. Later MetroRapid service would be “really helpful, because usually I’m not going back that early if I’m going to 6th Street,” Whistler said.

Riding an 801 or 803 MetroRapid bus is a viable alternative to get around town. You can

keep up with friends on the free Wi-Fi or even make new ones on the bus. Thanks to dedicated bus lanes downtown and the ability to manipulate traffic signals, taking MetroRapid is sometimes faster than driving to your destination and then struggling to find parking.

Riding public transportation reduces your greenhouse gas emissions and relieves congestion on crowded streets, and when the semester begins anew, Austin’s will be even more convenient and easy to use. Lastly, you can’t beat the price. MetroRapid, like all CapMetro services, is free with your ID card for all UT students and staff.

So the next time you’re looking to explore the very best of Austin, ditch the car — and Uber — and let MetroRapid do the driving.

Young is a computer science senior from Bakersfield, California.

COLUMN

Jeremiah ‘The Innocent’ deserves more recognition

By Audrey Larcher Columnist

Painted on the corner of 21st and Guadalupe, a frog mural decorates white brick wall, greeting all that pass by, “Hi, How Are You?” There’s nothing outstanding about technique, nor the muted black-and-white color scheme, that draws pedestrians’ gazes to this mural.

But the simple smile — the wild eyes wide with something genuine and friendly — are enough to capture the attention of tourists and locals alike.

Unlike many of Austin’s other photo-worthy locations, such as the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue or Mount Bonnell, no plaque accompanies this mural. Consequently, no one thinks of the work as more than just another piece of quirky Austin street art. Although we’re quick to take pictures and ask the frog “How are you,” most people don’t really stop to ask “What are you?”

A long history surrounds the street art, and the friendly face is just a fraction of it all. The frog was commissioned in 1993 by the Sound Exchange record store that once operated out of the building. This amicable amphibian’s name is Jeremiah the Innocent, and he is the album art on a record called ‘Hi, How Are You?’ by Texas-based artist and musician Daniel Johnston.

Johnston, similarly to his friend Jeremiah,

is mostly unrecognized by name. But his influence on both Austin and national music cultures runs deep. His clunky yet endearing lo-fi recordings inspired artists from Kurt Cobain to the Flaming Lips in their deeply emotional and illustrative songwriting. Johnston is also widely regarded as one of the foremost artists of New Sincerity, an immensely impactful collective of Austin musicians.

Due to various turns of events and mental illnesses (Johnston lives with schizophrenia and manic-depressive disorder), Johnston’s art never saw the big-screen-and-flashinglights recognition enjoyed by those he later influenced. Knowledge and appreciation for his artistry is now mostly confined to fringe groups and musical sub-cultures.

But everyday, Jeremiah the Innocent sits and waits and smiles at us, and everyday, people admire him and take pictures with him. And everyday, the ‘Hi How Are You?’ mural remains a globally recognized symbol of Austin, Texas.

Johnston deserves a plaque next to Jeremiah to summarize the story of the mural and his music. This iconic piece represents Austin’s unique musical landscape and its importance for artists around the world.

If people admire Jeremiah enough to take pictures with him, our community is doing them a disservice by not sharing more about how he came to be.

Students familiar with the frog mural on the corner of 21st and Guadalupe may not be aware of its link to Austin music history.

Joshua Guerra Daily Texan Staff

Sitting on some of the most coveted real estate in Austin today, Jeremiah shoulders many burdens to continue living on Guadalupe Street and has earned the right to recognition. When the mural’s original owners could no longer afford rent and Baja Fresh moved in, it was only the innumerable calls urging management not to paint over Jeremiah that saved the day.

In 2013, a woman who felt Jeremiah was insulting her spray-painted obscenities across his face, warranting restoration.

These efforts to preserve the mural would be honored by a plaque.

Erecting some sort of informational marker might be legally tricky. The mural only still remains because the businesses that lease out the building respect its history and decide not to paint over it — Jeremiah is not protected by the city or state. Qualifying for certain historical landmark protections would be difficult if not impossible for this mural. But if ever a current business owner collaborated with local government or simply placed a plaque on the wall by themselves, I’m sure Jeremiah would feel more at home in Austin.

Larcher is a Plan II sophomore from Austin.

B5

MICHAEL SHAPIRO SPORTS EDITOR

@texansports

Monday, August 7, 2017

MEN’S GOLF

FOOTBALL

Frittelli finds groove prior to PGA Championship

Longhorns kick off 2017 campaign with week one of preseason practice

By Trenton Daeschner @TrentDaeschner

It was around 8:25 a.m. when Dylan Frittelli stepped onto the first tee for the opening round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 20. And the nerves of playing in his very first major had come full circle for the former Longhorn.

Not doing him any favors to help quell those nerves, a camera went off before Frittelli could even take the club and begin his backswing.

He backed off, regrouped, then stepped back in.

Just as he readied to begin again, a golf cart drove by, forcing Frittelli to back off once more. Maybe it was bad luck, or maybe the golf gods were trying to remind Frittelli that this was his first major, a culmination of everything he had ever worked for in his golfing life.

“It was tough to get that first tee shot away,” Frittelli said.

“I was pretty nervous. I managed to steady myself and get it off the tee.”

In the past year, Frittelli has found a groove on the European Tour. After a near-victory at the Volvo China Open in April — which Frittelli lost in a playoff to finish second — the South African won for the first time in June at the Lyoness Open in Austria.

“It’s just a culmination of probably two-and-a-half years of hard, diligent work,” Frittelli said. “It’s just a matter of time before you figure out what to do. You put yourself in that situation enough, you’re gonna figure out a way to win.”

A tied-14th finish at the BMW International Open two weeks later secured Frittelli a spot in the Open Championship. But Frittelli’s major debut was forgettable. He missed the cut after shooting rounds of 73

It’s just a culmination of probably two-anda-half years of hard, diligent work.”

—Dylan Frittelli, Golfer

and 75 in difficult weather conditions, while his former Longhorn teammate Jordan Spieth delivered an epic performance to capture his third major.

It was just five years ago when Spieth and Frittelli led Texas to its third men’s golf national title, with Frittelli drilling a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole to seal the deal for the Longhorns. Since then, Spieth has risen to superstardom on the PGA Tour, while Frittelli has played all across the eastern hemisphere and grinded his way to a No. 84 world ranking.

Spieth will bid for the career grand slam next week at the PGA Championship in North Carolina, and Frittelli will make his second career start in a major. It will also mark the first time Frittelli has played a professional tournament in the United States.

Frittelli says his goal is to eventually move back to the United States and play on the PGA Tour. He believes he’s only “two or three” years away.

But golf is a next-shot game; dwelling on the past or looking too deep into the future is not a recipe for success. Frittelli’s focus at the moment is to shoot a solid score at the PGA Championship, then finishing out the year strong on the European Tour.

“Just a little bit of good golf can go a long way to setting myself up for next year,” Frittelli said.

By Michael Shapiro @mshap2

With a little less than a month remaining before opening day, the Longhorns opened preseason practice this week, culminating in an 11-on11 scrimmage Saturday morning. Here are three things we learned from week one of Tom Herman’s first preseason camp.

Buechele’s taking the reigns By most metrics, sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele had a stellar freshman campaign in 2016. He started 12 games for the Longhorns, setting freshman records for yards and touchdowns.

By season’s end, Buechele became the first Texas quarterback since Colt McCoy to have at least 2,500 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in one season.

As Buechele enters his second season as the Longhorns’ signal caller, Herman and offensive coordinator Tim Beck have implored him to take a greater leadership role.

Buechele often let others on the team do the talking last season, taking a back seat to the veterans on Texas’ roster. But that’s no longer the case through the first week of preseason practice.

“We heard (Buechele) scream, which was really cool,” Herman said following Saturday’s scrimmage. “Both in enjoyment, and in disapproval … His voice is really powerful, and it can have a dramatic effect on the way that we

respond, whether it’s to success or to failure. What you say and how you say it should have an effect, and he’s taken that to heart.”

Longhorns looking slimmer Herman noted the improved conditioning he’s seen from the Longhorns throughout the week. And on Monday, he disclosed some impressive statistics

mentioned their improved state, including junior offensive lineman Patrick Vahe. The freshman All-American in 2015 said he’s shed nearly 6 percent of his body fat since the winter, losing 15 pounds of fat and gaining eight pounds of muscle. Vahe praised McKnight for reshaping the Longhorns in the offseason.

“We heard (Buechele) scream, which was really cool. His voice is really powerful, and it can have a dramatic effect on the way that we respond, whether it’s to success or to failure.”

—Tom Herman, Head coach

compiled from strength coach Yancy McKnight.

“We’ve shed 500 pounds of body fat and added 380 pounds of lean muscle mass as a team since January,” Herman said. “It’s noticeable out there. (We have) much more stamina, and I don’t mean that from a lung standpoint.

When you are strong, you can go and bend and change direction.”

Numerous Longhorns

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“He pretty much has everybody accountable,” Vahe said. “So if he asks you to do something a lot of players respect him so we’ll all do it … We trust him in that, and that’s why we’ve all progressed to where we are.”

Skill positions still crowded While Buechele holds a firm grip on the starting-quarterback spot, the depth chart at Texas’

skill positions is murky.

No running back on the roster tallied more than 500 yards last season, and while junior Chris Warren is the likely starter, there’s no guarantee he’ll earn a lion’s share of the carries.

Sophomore Kyle Porter should test Warren, as will a pair of freshman backs, Toneil Carter and Daniel Young. Carter was a fourstar recruit coming out of high school per 247Sports, arriving in Austin as the No. 10 running back in the nation.

The crowd is even larger in the wide receivers room. Sophomore Collin Johnson has emerged as Texas’ primary weapon, leaving a slew of receivers to fight for time below him on the depth chart.

The Longhorns return five receivers who caught 20 or more balls in 2016, and Texas may also rely on a few youngsters to make key contributions early in the season. Herman praised redshirt freshman Reggie Hemphill-Mapps early in the week.

Junior Jerrod Heard is one receiver looking to separate himself from the pack. The Denton product converted to wideout in 2016 after starting 10 games at quarterback the year before, tallying 24 catches and three TDs. Heard is currently listed as Texas’ emergency quarterback, but he said he’s focused solely on his duties as a wide receiver.

“I’m a receiver now,” Heard said. “I don’t even claim (to be) a quarterback anymore.”

B6

Summer

Monday, August 7, 2017

SCIENCE&TECH

TOP STORIES

Summer

in Review School’s out, sun’s out — here’s what you missed while away from UT campus.

Neuroscience professor pioneers new way to repair damanged nerves Neuroscience professor George Bittern’s research lab delved into the world of nerve repair — Bittner has spent decades working on a simple but incredibly effective method for repairing severed nerves in the peripheral nervous system, which includes the nerves in arms and legs. His team uses a molecule called polyethylene glycol to reattach the outer membranes in animal nerves in seconds, allowing for recoveries of up to 80 percent.

Illustration by Victoria Smith Daily Texan Staff

NEWS

Rising rent prices on the Drag drive businesses away This summer, both the Taco Cabana and the McDonald’s on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard closed their doors, and during the last school year, at least three different West Campus restaurants closed or changed locations, including Kismet Cafe and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. Many believe rising rent prices are to blame for these changes. Rent prices have significantly increased in the past few years and in the last three months, the rent per square foot of commercial property has increased over 10 percent, according to reports from the Austin American Statesman. Students have taken to the “UT LONGmemes for HORNSy Teens” Facebook page to collectively jest about the all too familiar feeling of seeing a beloved off-campus eatery close.

Illustration by Mel Westfall | Daily Texan Staff

SCIENCE&TECH

SCIENCE&TECH

New club promises safety, recognition for UT LGBTQ

UT researchers find mass matters when it comes to star brightness UT astronomers discovered that stars must have a mass equivalent to 70 Jupiters to shine at all. This means that smaller stars, called brown dwarves, must be sniffed out using infrared technology, rather than traditional optics. The team plans to continue to use multiple telescopes around the world to give their findings more weight.

LGBTQ+ communities are still small in science, technology, engineering and math fields, but a new UT club called CNS-Q will work with students and faculty to create safe, healthy research environments for students on campus. The club, which will start this fall, plans to host networking activities, meetings and Sunday brunches.

NEWS

University Health Services warns of mumps outbreak On July 11, University Health Services emailed multiple students to warn of a possible mumps exposure from a student in their classes. The UHS email said, “I am writing you to let you know that you may have been exposed to mumps because a UT student in one of your classes has been diagnosed with mumps or has symptoms of mumps.” The contagious disease caused by the mumps virus spreads through the air when a person coughs or sneezes.

UHS currently reports a total of 11 mumps diagnoses since June 19. UHS will continue to contact individuals who are identified as having potential exposure as they track reported cases at UT.

Illustration by Lexi Acevedo | Daily Texan Staff

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Review

B7

SPORTS

Runner finishes UT career ready for championship win The last time Chrisann Gordon dug her spikes into the track donning burnt orange, she was at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. In the final meet of her collegiate career, Gordon saved her best for last, winning the 400m in 50.51 seconds. She led from start to finish, becoming just the seventh Longhorn to win the event in school history.

Gordon graduated from Texas in the spring.

Now, she’s eyeing victory on a greater stage: the 2017 IAAF World Championships, beginning on Aug. 4 in London, England.

SPORTS

Cornerback establishes leadership in preseason A forgotten water bottle in the players’ lounge during summer practice appeared to be little more than a harmless mistake by junior cornerback P.J. Locke III. But he quickly learned to never make it again.

As Locke reported to the practice facility the next morning, he knew a full day of work was ahead of him.

And the punishment wasn’t without purpose. It was all part of head coach Tom Herman’s bigger message.

“You can do it another way, you really can,” Herman said. “You can go party all you want, you can go enjoy Austin, enjoy college... But don’t come to me and say you want to win a championship then.

Those two can’t coexist.”

NEWS

LIFE&ARTS

Tejano music finds home in Austin scene amid adversity

Through venues, radio stations, bands and enthused fans, the spirit of Tejano music lives on in the heart of Texas.

Though the endemic music genre now boasts several festivals and celebrations, its visibility in the Austin music scene did not come easy. The battle to increase the frequency of Tejano music events in Austin has been a battle fought by some of the genres most ardent fans to both encourage its appreciation by younger generations and get the city to devote more of its budget to preserving the cultural art.

Kendrex White declared competent to stand trial UT stabbing suspect Kendrex White was indicted for murder and three counts of aggravated assault on July 17 and will be put on trial, according to courtroom documents. White, who has been in jail since May, claimed he does not remember the stabbing incident.

However, he was found competent to stand trial and cannot use the defense of insanity. White stabbed four students outside Gregory Gym on May 1, including freshman Harrison Brown, who died from his injuries.

A month after the stabbing, Brown’s father passed away after a long battle with ALS.

Evelyn Moreno | Daily Texan Staff

Tejano Band Da Krazy Pimps performs at the Texas Club.

Zoe Fu | Daily Texan Staff

Junior cornerback P.J. Locke III was punished after leaving a water bottle in the UT locker room.

NEWS

Legal strategist in Abigail Fisher case files second affirmative action suit against UT Another lawsuit against UT’s affirmative action policy was filed June 27, a year after the Fisher v. University of Texas case upheld the University’s approach to admissions. Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions and a major architect of the case, filed the suit, claiming it went against the Texas Equal Rights Amendment’s clause that states it is illegal to discriminate based on “sex, race, color, creed or national origin.”

“It is our belief that the Texas Constitution unequivocally forbids UT-Austin from treating applicants differently because of their race and ethnicity,” Blum said in a press release.

Maurie McInnis, UT executive vice president and provost, stands by UT’s policy and said the University will take action if its policy is challenged again.

Rachel Zein | Daily Texan Staff

Esteemed artist and activist Ai Weiwei designed the Forever Bicycles statue at Waller Creek.

LIFE&ARTS

Chinese artist unveils latest art piece featuring Austin staple

Matthew Adams | Daily Texan Staff

Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions, filed another suit against the University a year after the Fisher case.

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The work of prominent Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is now on display at Waller Creek. The towering Forever Bicycles statue appeared on the lawn by Lady Bird Lake’s Waller Creek Boathouse on June 3. On hot summer days, its hundreds of silver cycles glisten in the bright Texas sun.

Though bicycles are a common sight on the nearby bike trail, the statue glorifies their significance in our everyday lives.

What’s more: the piece seeks to reminds us of simple freedoms afforded to us that we must fight to preserve—like the movement and independence afforded to us by the bicycle.

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B8

Monday, August 7, 2017

KATE

RESEARCH

continues from page B9

For 15 years, UT engineering professor Daene McKinney researched Himalayan lakes and flooding risks for nearby communities.

Texan’s doorstep, my first few weeks were filled with the prejudiced destruction of oxford commas and the forced migration of paragraphs. But I felt safe here, and after getting the hang of it found myself able to talk to anyone and about anything with confidence and elegance.

During my time as a reporter, I wrote about apps that fight cancer, canyons on Jupiter’s moons and using lasers to fight depression. I talked to people who really care about what they are doing and who are using their time to make a difference in the world.

As an associate editor, I worked with the ever-kind and competent Eva Frederick and Zia Lyle to help other reporters present this information to our school and the world.

As department head this summer, I had the privilege of editing four new reporters from fields across the college of natural sciences, and the joy of three returning reporters.

At the Daily Texan, excellence is the baseline — we are here because we want to be better, stronger journalists. I like to think that we have helped bring this mindset to the SciTech department.

In the end, though, it was the family created here that convinced me that engaging with the world is far better than hiding from it.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

F a

Courtesy of Daene McKinney

UT researchers study flood risk in Himalayas

By Jennifer Liu @jenn_liu98

A June report from UT researchers measures the risk posed by lakes in the Himalayas in order to protect nearby communities from flooding.

UT engineering professor Daene McKinney worked over the course of 15 years with a team of researchers to build a new method of assessing risk to glacial lakes over large regions in Nepal.

McKinney said this allowed the main disaster planning agency to decide which lakes pose the greatest flood risks.

“The aim of this study is to conduct a holistic hazard and risk assessment of all the glacial lakes in the Nepal Himalaya,” the study, published in Remote Sensing, stated. “To accomplish this goal, a remote sensing glacial

lake survey for the Nepal Himalaya was performed for 2000 and 2015 using Landsat satellite imagery.”

According to the study, 11 lakes in the Himalaya are at very high risk of flooding, and 31 lakes are at high risk.

Scott Watson, a doctoral student at the University of Leeds, studied glacial lake outburst floods in Bhutan for his masters degree. Watson said he initially became involved with the project through David Rounce, one of McKinney’s former Ph.D. students, after they met on Khumbu Glacier in Nepal while they were both doing fieldwork.

“The collaboration came about after that chat on the glacier,” Watson said. “I knew (Rounce and McKinney) had a huge amount of field and remote sensing experience, so it was the perfect project to be involved with. They are

also a great bunch of people, which makes collaborations especially worthwhile, and we’ve since met several times in Nepal.”

According to the study, glacial lake outburst floods can be triggered by avalanches that enter the lake and cause a tsunami-like wave.

“The sudden release of stored lake water ... can have devastating socioeconomic consequences, including loss of life, buildings, bridges, transportation routes, arable land and hydropower systems,” the study stated.

McKinney has studied river basin management around the world since 1995. In 2008, the United States Agency for International Development approached him to provide technical support in Peru.

This opened the floodgates on his work with high mountain water issues,

such as floods and droughts, in Peru and Nepal, McKinney said.

But in light of the environmental threats of climate change, McKinney said his research is vital to not just the scientific community, but also to the rural communities in Nepal and urban communities in Peru that it directly affects.

“The investment in our research has aided rural communities in Nepal, rural and urban communities in Peru and governments in both countries,” McKinney said.

Agencies and programs such as USAID, the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Scholar Program and the Mountain Institute have aided McKinney to help these communities deal with concerns of insecurity and unreliability in their water resources.

The investment in our research has aided rural communities in Nepal, rural and urban communities in Peru,” —Daene McKinney, UT engineering professor

McKinney said the team plans to work with researchers in other fields to study the relationship between people and water systems.

“We are now engaged in interdisciplinary work with geographers and anthropologists to understand the socio-hydrology involved in these critical human and natural systems,” McKinney said. “This is a new area of research and we will continue in this direction.”

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B9

KATE THACKREY SCIENCE&TECH EDITOR

@thedailytexan

Monday, August 7, 2017

BIOLOGY

30 COLUMN

Fishes of Texas project aids the future of Science editor discovers people aren’t as scary as aquatic biodiversity research ventures previously believed

By Jace Klein

By Kate Thackrey

@thedailytexan

True to its name, the Fishes of Texas project aims to introduce UT researchers to the wide world of scaly creatures swimming in the Lone Star State.

The goal of the project, which is housed at the Pickle Research Campus, is to collect and document all known fish species in the state of Texas. It’s continually updated by the Hendrickson Lab, led by curator Dean Hendrickson.

The project, which started in the 1950s, will soon include an online database that can be easily accessed and features a physical ichthyology — or fish — collection, available at the research center.

“More and more, I find myself learning about data management, web publishing and bioinformatics, as I work to make the data about the specimens I curate and the Fishes of Texas database useful to others,” Hendrickson said in his lab biography.

The database contains information on when, where and how the fish were collected. According to Gary Garret, research biologist in the Hendrickson Lab and former Texas Parks and Wildlife employee, this data could be useful in determining where to focus conservation efforts.

“A lot of our native fishes don’t quite have the range they did at one time,” Garret said. “Parks and Wildlife is using (the database) to help identify some of the last strongholds in the state for native fishes, where the

@kate_thackrey

Editor’s note: A 30 column is a chance for departing permanent staff to say farewell and reflect on their time spent in the The Daily Texan. The term comes from the old typesetting mark (-30-) to denote the end of a line.

Illustration by Rachel Tyler | Daily Texan Staff

best areas for them are, or where the best areas are for them to be restored and where conservation should take place.”

Ichthyology collection manager Adam Cohen said reservoirs that block rivers pose a major problem for fishes that need long flows of river to complete their lifecycles.

The group has also done research on Barton Springs and its biodiversity, according a June 2015 paper published by the group in Environmental Management. Using the data from the Fishes of Texas project, the researchers were able to predict what species should be currently present and found Barton Springs had a lower level of biodiversity than predicted.

“Yes, we have definitely noticed declines in fish diversity in Texas,” Cohen said. “Reservoirs are a big

part of it, but it’s probably many factors: human development, changes in flow regime, overfishing in some cases and pumping of water (especially in West Texas).”

According to Garret, the Fishes of Texas project includes every Texas fish collected by UT researchers since the 1950s. Data comes from collecting trips done by the lab and information from past researchers and museums all over the world.

The fish are also georeferenced, making it possible to find where each fish was collected on a map.

“The purpose of (the project) is to become a one-stop shop for everything about Texas fishes,” Garret said. “It could be used by researchers, resource management agencies, like Texas Parks and Wildlife, the general public (and) public schools.”

The physical ichthyology collection contains more

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than 1 million fish specimens preserved in jars of alcohol, according to the ichthyology collection website.

Cohen said different fish have been studied at different levels, from fish simply preserved in alcohol to others undergoing genotyping.

“Most of the specimens that end up in the collections are collected by researchers or Parks and Wildlife, and they all have different preservation histories,” Cohen said.

According to Garret, having the collection is vital to verifying the presence of a fish species at a certain place and time period.

“A lot of people understand, and some don’t, that it’s very important to actually have that fish preserved in a jar,” Garret said. “It’s useful for research; it’s been used in lawsuits and to make determinations on endangered species status.”

A letter to: Ellen Airhart, who started this crazy thing; Eva Frederick, who for her kindness and compassion deserves sainthood; Zia Lyle, whose love of chacos and genuine friendship will always be remembered; Peter Chen, who is the only person I will allow to call me a “little shit;” Jack Stenglein, whose humor I will probably get in a few years; Aditya Singh, whose energy is infectious and Julianne Hodges, who will be an excellent department head and an even better astronomy reporter.

It might surprise you all that before I decided to go into journalism, I was terrified of talking to other human beings.

For most of sophomore year, I huddled in my Kinsolving dorm room with

the blinds drawn, stuck my nose in neuroscience textbooks and otherwise isolated myself from the world to avoid the chance of being rejected by it. I spent days without talking to a single person. At my worst point, I only went outside for class or to buy food from the convenience store downstairs.

You guys were my salvation. After adding on a journalism degree, I met professors who pushed me beyond my comfort zone, classmates who became fast friends and a profession which became a passion.

Eventually, I stopped debating for hours about what to put in an email, made phone calls without a wavering voice and soothed panic as it bubbled up before face to face meetings.

It was the Science & Technology Department, though, that made all the difference.

Over the past two years, the people here have built a home of a caliber that is both rare and precious.

As with most reporters who show up, blinking, at the Daily

KATE page B8

Juan Figueroa | Daily Texan Staff

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B10

MORGAN O’HANLON LIFE&ARTS EDITOR

@thedailytexan

Monday, August 7, 2017

CITY

Mayor’s office takes action to reduce homelessness

By Jose Gonzales @Jose_thewriter

As downtown Austin’s waistline expands beyond the belt of I-35 — a symptom of the city’s exponential growth — the issue of homelessness has been ever-growing. Pressure from all sides forces the city to seek the near impossible: a solution that works for everyone.

The sometimes-contradictory needs of downtown’s homeless population and businesses located near the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless on 500 East Seventh St. has prompted the City of Austin’s Innovation Office on Fourth Street to collaborate with several entities in the downtown area to aid the homeless. Between complex issues such as mental illness and drug addiction, their solution was to create street teams to assist individuals on a more personal level.

Paul Hayes has frequented the ARCH on and off in the last four years and has struggled with homelessness since 2010. Hayes said

I s

the ARCH has been a big help in his recovery from alcoholism and has given him peace of mind.

“When you start drinking, it starts (to) take a heavy toll, and it ruined me,” Hayes said. “I was fortunate that the ARCH gave me something to grab onto.

I’d say I’ve improved, but

I was fortunate that the ARCH gave me something to grab onto. ... What keeps me going is knowing I at least have a place to sleep, and that’s a real blessing.

—Paul Hayes

when things start to feel hopeless, what keeps me going is knowing I at least have a place to sleep, and that’s a real blessing.”

In June 2016, Kerry O’Connor, chief innovation

Brittany Le | Daily Texan Staff

The Austin Resource Center for the Homeless is just one of many programs collaborating with the City of Austin’s Innovation Office to help decrease homelessness in the area.

officer for the City of Austin, teamed up with Downtown Austin Alliance to initiate what is called the Homeless Outreach Street Team (HOST). The program

FEATURE

Small-town native flourishes as mentor typically go untold.

The move from the quiet border town of Mission, Texas, to the “Live Music Capital of the World” wasn’t easy for Brianna Gonzalez. Leaving her small-town comfort zone,

By Acacia Coronado she was now going to be only @acaciatree18 one of 50,000 students at UT. “It was an adjustment.

Editor’s note: In 300 words or fewer, this series spotlights people You are not in your safe little in our community whose stories bubble anymore,” Gonzalez

said. “I started learning like everyone does and it got easier, better.”

Now a public health junior, Gonzalez has grown accustomed to walking the 40 Acres, living in a big city and being exposed to a variety of cultures. As a first-year interest group mentor, her mission is to help other students do

300 page B11

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is still on its test run, but its purpose is to tackle different problems that lead to homelessness.

“We have two community health paramedics, two

mental behavioral counselors, two Austin police officers and one downtown community court case manager,” O’Connor said.

Because each agency

oversees different sides to homelessness, O’Connor said it is difficult for HOST to assess how much

ARCH page B11 Public health junior Brianna Gonzalez, once intimidated by the large size of UT-Austin, now helps other small-town natives with the transition to college in her role as a FIG mentor.

Gabriel Lopez Daily Texan Staff

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B11

Monday, August 7, 2017

CAMPUS

Informal class educates community on sustainability through chicken keeping

By Lisette Oler @LisetteOler

Theresa Zelasko’s five chickens spend their days doing the things chickens do best — picking at food scraps in the compost pile, laying eggs and squawking to their heart’s content. The benefits of owning such a coop are plentiful, but for Zelasko, they can be boiled down into just two: environmental stewardship and companionship.

Zelasko, a librarian at Southwestern University, teaches a course called “Backyard Chicken Keeping” through UT Informal Classes. The course, which covers the basics of keeping chickens, will be held in October, the 14th time Zelasko has taught the course.

After returning from the Peace Corps in 2010, Zelasko’s roommate, Mary Ellen Chrzanowski, wanted to raise chickens after seeing international farmers raise them. When Chrzanowski moved out, Zelasko decided to keep the feathered animals because she’d become attached to them.

“I was discovering all these things about their personalities (including) the cuddle factor,” Zelasko said. “I really enjoyed

having them around. They made me smile. They made me happy.”

Through trial and error, Zelasko learned the best practices for keeping chickens and in 2014 she was asked to teach a small, introductory course at Southwestern. After seeing the positive response to her first class, she reached out to UT Informal Classes and applied to teach a longer version hoping to aid new chicken farmers with the process.

“We didn’t have anybody to talk to at the time,” Zelasko said. “My whole goal is to help people really get a good idea of what exactly they are getting into if they want to go this route and have chickens in their backyard.”

The class is three hours long and covers everything from where to buy chickens to how to build a chicken coop and what to do if they become injured.

All the logistics aside, Zelasko said the best part about keeping chickens is watching them develop their personalities.

“I used to think, ‘Oh, all chickens are the same’,” Zelasko said. “That’s just not true, some chickens are sweet and some are mean. I had one chicken last year she just pecked me every time I

came outside.”

The chickens will chase each other, get really excited and even scare off cats who get to close to their eggs. Though Zelasko treats them as pets, she also sees the environmental benefits of keeping chickens, including them helping turn compost piles.

“Part of sustainability is being able to keep my waste in a cycle that produces something else,” Zelasko said. “By putting my compost out in the backyard and letting my chickens turn it, they add to the soil out there and add to their own health and happiness by eating the parts they want.”

According to Jim Walker, director of the Office of Sustainability, the basic core of the term sustainability is a stewardship over the resources we have and living more consciously. He said students are aware of that and are embracing it individually.

“The local food movement over the past few years is national,” Walker said. “Students these days are certainly part of that.

They are more concerned about where their food is coming from and how it’s processed. All of that is appealing and not just because universities are

doing it.”

Vaishali Jayaraman, a computer science and Sanskrit junior, decided in September 2016 to live more consciously by choosing to live a zero-waste lifestyle, where she produces little to no waste in a year. Jayaraman, now the education and outreach coordinator for the Campus Environmental Center, said after years of trying to help the environment this choice was the next step.

“I was still going to Walmart and getting Chips Ahoy!, which has film plastic,” Jayaraman said. “After I finished eating all the cookies, I threw something away that’s going to be in the world for 15-20 years.

I felt like I was being a hypocrite.”

Sustainability encompasses zero waste lifestyles, chicken keeping and much more. Walker said there is something everyone can do to help themselves live more sustainably.

“Whatever they’re interested in there is a way to get involved,” Walker said. “(There is) recycling at the football stadium, bees, or biking groups. If any student has any interest in any of (sustainability) then there is a way to get involved.”

Angel Ulloa | Daily Texan Staff

Theresa Zelasko, a librarian at Southwestern University, teaches “Backyard Chicken Keeping” through UT informal Classes.

The course is aimed to teach new chicken farmers the basics of chicken keeping.

300

continues from page B10 the same.

“I wanted to show first-year students that it is OK to struggle,” Gonzalez said. “Whether they express it outwardly or just think about it, everyone struggles emotionally, physically, mentally.”

Last year, Gonzalez had her first group of students to mentor and said she enjoyed it so much she will be returning as a mentor this year. Gonzalez said she liked walking the students through their first semester, teaching them to study, become organized and relating to

them as she reminded them it was normal to not get straight A’s right away.

As a mentor, Gonzalez created study groups and tried to do activities and answer questions for her students to help them feel secure and independent. She said the main piece of advice she gives is to not be afraid to look and act like a freshman by asking questions and approaching mentors, TAs and professors for help.

“It is OK to not do the normal,” Gonzalez said. “It is about finding your own path and excelling in that path. At the end of the day, we are all just trying to succeed.”

ARCH

continues from page B10 overall progress they make or what the specific causes are to the issue. However, the benefit of cross-referencing data is that they do find gaps where their efforts can improve.

“We would find that there are certain patterns that make bridging the gap into services difficult,” O’Connor said. “Someone with an addiction may go into a 90-day treatment program, but once they leave to enter a longer-term program there’ll be a couple of days where there’s no housing

APPLY to work at

for them. That’s a gap.”

In order to fill in those gaps, O’Connor said they look to local shelters such as ARCH and create community teamwork. Mitchell Gibbs, executive director of homelessness services nonprofit Front Steps, said new programs have been implemented to address prominent issues of homelessness that were previously ignored.

“We created a medical program that directly connects with the homeless that are in hospitals in order to attend to their ongoing medical needs,” Gibbs said. “Otherwise they may

Illustration by Mel Westfall | Daily Texan Staff

30 COLUMN

Scientists discover cave creature that can survive without sunlight: Life and Arts Editor

By Mae Hamilton

An underclassman with no idea what to do with an English degree or her life and with no journalism experience whatsoever, I was really determined to just not make a fool of myself during tryouts. That is, if I could find the office first. I probably circled the block three times trying to find the entrance to the Daily Texan office all the while nervously apologizing to the then-copy chief on the phone for being late. Looking at those dark, dank and slightly mildewy basement steps from the top of the staircase off of Whitis Avenue, I knew I would be having to say goodbye to the beautiful Texas sunshine and fresh air for awhile.

Starting off as a copy editor, learning the finer points of AP style and fact checking, I never imagined that I would end up writing for the Texan, much less be trusted enough to edit other people’s stories. Leaving the basement in the wee hours of the morning to make the mad dash back home on the other side of campus as a copy editor left me with a thrill. Though, it could’ve just been the adrenaline of having to run through West Campus in the dark. But really, I think I must have left my cold, clammy heart in a rolly chair there.

First of all, a very heartfelt and humble thank you to Elizabeth, Cat and Katie for trusting me

enough to a) give me the position of being a senior writer b) believing I could make the jump from senior writer to editor. Another heartfelt and humble thank you to Daisy and Morgan for listening to me moan and groan during the length of said editorship.

Thank you to Akshay and Peter for having the good patience to answer all of my incessant questions and the warm and positive feedback. Special thanks to Eva for just being the sweetest.

And of course, thank you to all of the beautiful Austinites that entrusted me with their stories enough to tell them.

My time in Life and Arts has been unreal. I got to read, write and talk about some of the coolest music, movies and events happening in Austin with some of the most driven and passionate budding new writers the city has to offer.

I’ll never forget getting to cover SXSW with my fellow cave dwellers and seeing some of my favorite musicians. It more than made up for the blisters.

I don’t know long that copy of Cyanu Reeves has been in the basement, but I like to think that we’ve grown old and faded together. In my time at the Texan, I’ve not only grown as a writer, but fundamentally as a person. Sitting here typing this during a typhoon on the other side of the planet, I know that I wouldn’t have been able to get this internship had it not been for my time at the Texan.

Here’s to the lovely future Life and Arts cave creatures, Morgan, Justin and Daisy, and the many more that will come after them.

Take it easy, but take it!

be discharged back into the streets.”

Though local businesses and their employees don’t want to appear indifferent to the struggles of homeless people, some say they still have a fear of being harassed if nothing is done.

“I’ve been assaulted several times, (so have) my co-workers,” said Ashley Avey, the owner of Smoking Caterpillar, a pipe shop on Sixth Street. “There’s no way around talking about it without appearing to have disdain for the homeless.

We want things to get better, but there’s backlash to honesty as well.”

There has been a significant decrease in homelessness over the last year, but there is still a visible homeless population that some property owners say is unappealing to their businesses. Gibbs said this sentiment hints at a larger societal problem.

“The visibility and the fact that we have homeless people in our community and our society should make us all feel uncomfortable,” Gibbs said. “With additional resources and more community effort, that would be a big step in eliminating homelessness from our street view.”

@thedailytexan

Editor’s note: A 30 column is a chance for departing permanent staff to say farewell and reflect on their time spent in the The Daily Texan. The term comes from the old typesetting mark (-30-) to denote the end of a line.

Facebook /thedailytexan Instagram @thedailytexan Twitter @thedailytexan

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Monday, August 7, 2017

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Editor’s note: A 30 column is a chance for departing permanent staff to say farewell and reflect on their time spent in the The Daily Texan. The term comes from the old typesetting mark (-30-) to denote the end of a line.

B13

Monday, August 7, 2017

LIFE&ARTS

Senior Life&Arts reporter departs Texan with gratitude in her heart

By Lisette Oler @LisetteOler

Emmanuel Briseno | Daily Texan Staff

In her five semesters with the Texan, journalism senior Kasey Salisbury has served as copy editor, associate copy desk chief and copy desk chief. She credits her time here for her growth as a writer and losing the fear of others reading her work.

COPY

Copy desk chief finally gets first, last byline, reflects on memorable tenure

By Kasey Salisbury @thedailytexan

While I’ve never really doubted my choice to study journalism in college, when it came right down to it, I was a little terrified of working for a newspaper, albeit a student one.

So when I applied for the Daily Texan, I was drawn to the copy department because I thought I could do my work behind the scenes and avoid public scrutiny while still getting some experience. In reality, my five semesters here challenged me to be a better writer and reporter while helping to push the Texan toward its full potential.

In the (probably) over 1,000 hours I’ve spent holed up in the basement, eating way too much pizza and arguing about em dashes, commas, word choice, hyphens, titles and headlines, you would think things would begin to feel a little trivial. But in

a time when journalism as an institution has become constantly under scrutiny, and even The New York Times is cutting back its copy department, publications have to fight to be taken seriously, and each little mistake or misstep degrades that reputation we’ve worked so hard to achieve.

It was difficult to admit that I was scared of having others read my work, but I’ve also come to realize the copy department was still a perfect fit for my passions for thorough, informative writing and generally being nitpicky about things. I’ve learned to have difficult conversations when our work just hasn’t been good enough or we have things to reevaluate. And, best of all, I’ve found a community on campus.

Last semester, I finally got the courage to (gasp) go to my college’s internship fair and apply for editorial internships. When I landed interviews, I found my formative experience with

the Texan was a huge talking point because I had so much to say about it. And in the end, I got not one, but two internships for the summer and fall, fact-checking and editing while actually doing some of my own writing that people would actually read and enjoy.

I used to hate the idea of having something with my name attached to it if it could never be perfect, but now I’m not feeling that much anxiety about it. I couldn’t thank everyone at the Texan enough for that.

I strongly advise anyone looking to get more involved on campus to consider the Texan, even if journalism isn’t your passion. You might just find another one.

To all my copy editors, and the future ones: Never doubt the importance of the work you’re doing. Keep fighting the good fight for, you know, the truth – and Oxford commas.

–30–

Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as saying, “That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do—not that the nature of the thing is changed, but that our power to do is increased.”

I put this in my Facebook quotes section long before I ever got to the basement of the Daily Texan, but as my time at the Texan comes to an end, I find it rings truer than ever before.

When I applied to be a permanent staff member for the fall 2016 semester, I had recently returned from Russia and had no idea what ‘p-staff ’ entailed, but I applied for News, Life&Arts and Sports anyway.

Elizabeth, then-editor of the Life&Arts section, interviewed me via FaceTime. I knew as soon as I realized we were both doing this interview in the back of our respective cars that this was the section that I wanted to be a part of.

She took a chance on me that no other editor that semester did. She never gave up on me, even when I got very flustered at having to repitch week after week. Plus, she fully supported me in trying to find an urban forager, which finally paid off with the only ‘good’ Peter has ever given me. Thank you, Elizabeth.

I didn’t think by the end of that semester the journalist’s life was for me, so I didn’t return. I took

Illustration by Rachel Tyler | Daily Texan Staff

time to get some perspective. When I was finally ready to return in summer 2017, Mae welcomed me as if I’d never left. Thank you, Mae. Working with Morgan and Justin this summer was a little weird at the beginning because they were brand new issue writers when I first joined the staff in the fall. Both younger than I was and both editors now, it was truly humbling to see how they had progressed and how they could help me improve in every aspect of my process. Thank you, Morgan and Justin.

Eva was a ray of sunshine in that drab basement. The minute I met her I was grateful I said yes to writing that last minute LGBT Flag listicle. She always had a smile on her face and a positive attitude that

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was infectious. Thank you, Eva. Finally, I can’t think about the Daily Texan without thinking about my sister, Vanessa. She was there to read every story, even the crappy ones. She was there when deadlines stressed me out and I needed story ideas. She was there to remind me that working at the campus paper was actually a viable option all along. For that, I am the most grateful. Thank you, Vanessa.

I’ve learned how to write faster, pitch better and see broader. My power to take on the whole “Daily Texan” thing became stronger with every published story. I know I can persist no matter my final career path and with that I bid the paper adieu. Thank you, The Daily Texan.

–30–

Listen to The Daily Texan newscast

FRIDAYS AT 5 P.M.

soundcloud.com/thedailytexan

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A6

Fall Preview

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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Weʼre looking for fun, energetic and outgoing individuals to provide hospitality services at several Austin locations, like Driskill, W Hotel, JW Marriott and Westin!

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Fall Preview LIFE&ARTS

A7

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.

Yifan Lyu | Daily Texan Staff Stephanie Martinez-Arndt | Daily Texan Staff

Tom Herman speaks at Big 12 Media Days in July.

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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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