SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900 @THEDAILYTEXAN | THEDAILYTEXAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2018
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 92
N E WS
O PI N I O N
LI FE&A RTS
SPORTS
UTPD has responded to four calls reporting students using fake IDs in the past 60 days. PAGE 2
UT students can benefit from mindfulness and meditation. PAGE 4
Soundcloud rappers take the music scene by storm with bombastic beats and face tats. PAGE 8
Texas travels to Lubbock in hopes of knocking off a top-10 Texas Tech team again. PAGE 6
CITY STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Resolution on faculty standards fails to pass
Famous Graffiti Park prepares to close
By Katie Balevic @katelynbalevic
In the aftermath of the discovery that a UT professor pleaded guilty to one count of domestic violence and was accused of another, Student Government attempted to fast-track a bill that would hold professors to the same ethical code as students. “Right now, students are being held to higher standards than faculty are,” said Natalie Engel, legislative policy chair and social work representative. Joint Resolution 5 included examples of students being dismissed from the University for incidents of interpersonal violence to demonstrate that students and faculty have been held to different standards by the University in the past. After intense debate, the fast-track motion failed because some argued pharmacy students were not included in the legislative process. The resolution, following the discovery of pharmacy professor Richard Morrisett’s charges, was passed on to the student affairs committee. “Students have been expelled just for being charged with sexual assault,” said Engel, a social work and communication studies senior. “Even though they were found not guilty, they weren’t readmitted, yet we have a professor who (pleaded) guilty and is still teaching.” Engel said students should have the written right to know about felonies professors plead
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Park will be moved to Carson Creek Ranch, East Austin. By Meara Isenberg @thedailytexan
S
tudents only have a little time left to admire the artwork, take a selfie or paint the walls at Graffiti Park. On Monday evening, Austin’s Historic Landmark Commission unanimously approved the demolition of the 7-year-old park — officially known as the HOPE Outdoor Gallery — in order to prepare for its permanent relocation
to East Austin. In its place, a residential housing development will begin construction this June, as previously reported by The Daily Texan. Historic preservation officer Steve Sadowsky said the decision was made after no one showed up for the public hearing portion of the meeting. “We were just putting it on the agenda, and anybody who wanted to address the commission about it would do so,” Sadowsky said. “The commission was most likely going to vote to not zone it historic, but at least people had the opportunity.” The demolition is part of
a plan to reopen the gallery in a bigger space at the 58acre Carson Creek Ranch, near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The current gallery averages about 500 visitors per day and has provided jobs for local artists and vendors, according to a press release from HOPE Outdoor Gallery. Nayzak Najm, an international relations sophomore, said the current space has become a staple, not just for the city of Austin but for UT as well. “I’m sure that most of the artists that go there are UT students and artists in the area,” said Najm. “When people come to visit UT, it’s really close by them, so they’d go
anthony mireles | the daily texan staff Mitchell Fernandez and Shea Kerrigan browse their phones somberly as they sit witnessing one of the few remaining sunsets at HOPE Outdoor Gallery, or the “Graffiti Park,” known to locals. Although the gallery will be relocated, its original location has a special place in the hearts of Austinites. there. I feel like if it’s 20 minutes away, they won’t make the effort to make the drive.” On the last day Najm visited the park, it was overcast and few visitors filled the usually busy outdoor art space. The weather didn’t empty the park, however, and Najm watched an artist spray geometric patterns onto a concrete wall. “I always love seeing all the new artwork, especially watching super good people
draw — that’s like my favorite part,” Najm said. Former student Emily Ding said she likes that the current park allows the community to paint freely but said that can also pose a problem. “It’s a good and bad thing,” Ding said. “A good thing because it is very ephemeral and fleeting and everyone can paint there. That’s part of the magic there, but it’s also a bad
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SYSTEM
CAMPUS
UT Faculty Council raises concerns over using professor productivity database
Student 3-D prints six-string violin By Brooke Vincent
By Maria Mendez
@brooke_e_v
@mellow_maria
UT System contracts with the company Academic Analytics have sparked concerns among faculty members over how the University administration evaluates professors’ work. Academic Analytics runs a database of U.S. faculty members and allows universities to compare their departments’ and professors’ published work, research citations, federal funding and awards with those of other universities. Worried that it does not present an accurate picture of their work, UT’s Faculty Council approved a resolution in opposition of the professor productivity database at their most recent meeting on Jan. 22. After the American Association of University Professors issued a statement cautioning that the database lacks qualitative analysis last spring, UT’s Faculty Council decided to look into the company. “We had heard the possibility that it was being used, but we weren’t sure,” engineering professor Brian Evans said. Last fall, Evans found a 2014 UT System report that described UT-Austin using Academic Analytics and a $3.6 million license contract for all UT System institutions from 2012 to 2017. There is another $2.9 million contract
The rush of sound from the composition “Dharma at Big Sur” is, for violinist Sean Riley, like the coastal waves it was inspired by. The music performance graduate student was determined to play it. The only problem — it wasn’t written for his 240-yearold acoustic violin, but a six-string electric. On his way to check out the piece of music, Riley laid eyes on the 3-D printers in the Fine Arts Library and it all clicked for him. In order to play this piece, he decided to design and 3-D print a
six-string electric violin in the Foundry’s makerspace in the library. A year later, Riley now plans to perform the piece on that violin for the public on Feb. 22, during his first doctoral recital. “This is not a violin, it’s a beast,” Riley said. “Sixstring violins aren’t rare, they exist, but they’re not played by classical musicians, and they are very expensive. I didn’t have too many options. The idea of getting to make something was more than just the music.” Riley received $2,500 from the Rainwater Innovation Grant which helped him pay mechanical engineer Daniel Goodwin
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victoria smith | the daily texan staff from 2017 to 2021. Evans then researched Academic Analytics and presented the resolution recommending UT administration not use the database. The Faculty Council’s resolution stresses that Academic Analytics fails to adequately measure professors’ teaching, service and contributions to book chapters,
investigations, patents, performances and art displays. Evans compares Academic Analytics’ process of rating professors to employers only “Googling” job candidates, instead of reviewing their resumes or references. After only hearing hesitation from one faculty member, the council unanimously approved
the resolution. “To keep faculty uninformed about the process seems wrong to us and to the principle of shared governance,” English professor Alan Friedman said. Joey Williams, communications director for the provost’s
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anthony mireles | the daily texan staff Sean Riley, a doctoral candidate for musical performance, helped design a working, 3-D printed violin with the help of two other designers, using tools from the Foundry at the Fine Arts Library,