SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900 @THEDAILYTEXAN | THEDAILYTEXAN.COM
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 94
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2018
E L L SWO R T H K E L LY ’ S “A U S T I N ” The late artist’s cathedral-inspired design will open on campus later this month. READ MORE ON PAGE 3
andre fernandez | the daily texan staff
UNIVERSITY
New Canvas access mode helps monitor UT athletes’ academics
NATION
Tillerson outlines US diplomacy goals
By Brianna Stone @ bristone19
The University and athletics department launched a pilot program this semester that monitors student athletes on Canvas to provide them with better academic support. Select instructors were automatically opted–in to give certain privileges to athletics academic coordinators — meaning they can check student athletes’ classroom progress. Before the semester began, provost Maurie McInnis sent an email about the program to instructors who had basketball athletes in their spring courses. Athletics academic coordinators will be allowed “observer-only” status on Canvas to monitor student athletes. The University said it is piloting this effort with only basketball athletes because focusing on a small number of students allows for necessary attention during the piloting process. “The information that Athletics Academic Coordinators will be accessing on Canvas is not new and meets FERPA guidelines,” McInnis said in the email. “The goal is to modernize the current paper-based system to provide more timely feedback, when needed.” These instructors have the ability to opt-out of the program, but the University highly
carlos garcia | the daily texan staff Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is congratulated by President Gregory Fenves after his speech on his plan to “remodernize” relationships with Latin America. Tillerson is a notable UT alumnus who graduated from the Cockrell School of Engineering and played in the Longhorn Band.
Secretary of State details nation’s policy aims for Western hemisphere. By Chase Karacostas @chasekaracostas
S
ecretary of State Rex Tillerson, a UT alumnus, acknowledged the country’s role in supporting drug cartels and laid out the nation’s plans to root out corruption in
Latin America during a visit to campus on Thursday. Tillerson’s visit was the first leg of a seven-day trip to Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Jamaica and Colombia. During his speech at the Blanton Museum of Art, Tillerson outlined the U.S.’s commitment to supporting democratic values in Latin America. Tillerson said many countries in Latin America, such as Venezuela and Peru, have untapped energy resources. To help the
region, Tillerson said the U.S. plans to invest billions to tap into those resources. “By building out a more flexible and robust energy system in our hemisphere, we can power economies with affordable energy,” Tillerson said to an audience of nearly 300. “We can lift more people out of poverty. We can make our hemisphere the undisputed seat of global energy supply.” By helping people out of pov-
erty, Tillerson said crime and especially the power of transnational criminal organizations, such as drug cartels, will be severely weakened in the region. “We must address security and development issues side by side,” Tillerson said. “You cannot expect to have one without the other.” At the same time, Tillerson also recognized that the U.S. has long been a source of strength for drug cartels.
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UNIVERSITY
Student accused of sexual assault sues UT semester three different times after receiving notice of an impending lawsuit. The report was @chasekaracostas allegedly amended by replacing the word “incapacitation” with An unnamed student accused “intoxication” in a sentence of sexual assault is suing the that originally said a witness University ahead of a Title IX observed that Roe was showing hearing set for next week. The signs of incapacitation by acting hearing will decide if he should less “socially inhibited” than she be punished with would normally. a potential twoLater pages of the year suspension. report, however, The student, were not amendreferred to in the ed to replace the lawsuit as John “incapacitation” If UT can’t get their Doe, is accused story straight on what the with “intoxicaof assaulting a fetion,” according male student, re- definition of incapacita- to the lawsuit. tion is how in the world ferred to as Jane “If UT can’t Roe, at a party are a couple of hormone get their story that took place on straight on what filled college students the definition of April 28, 2017. The students supposed to do it after a incapacitation is were both drinkafter months of night of drinking?” ing at the party contemplation and left together and a recent FedExcerpt from lawsuit around 2 a.m. eral Court suit and had sex afand public admoterward at the female student’s nitions on the same topic from apartment, according to the (a) Federal Judge, how in the lawsuit. The following day, Roe world are a couple of hormone told her friends she blacked out filled college students supposed and did not remember anything to do it after a night of drinkuntil “moments just before she ing?” the lawsuit said. and John finished having sex.” The lawsuit requests the The lawsuit states Doe will hearing and other disciplinary not be treated justly in the Feb. action against the student be 7 hearing because UT amended stopped and that the student be a Title IX case report filed last awarded damages.
By Chase Karacostas
geo casillas | the daily texan staff
Ideas of race, ethnicity continue to evolve for students across campus By Maria Mendez @mellow_maria
Hispanic. Latina/o. Latinx. Which term are you supposed to use? Well, it depends. Researchers have grappled with discussing race and ethnicity for years, but there is still no clear solution, es-
pecially with continuously evolving identities. While many surveys and government forms often ask students to self-identify, the options provided do not always reflect how many students, especially those of Latin American descent, identify. For Nadia Flores, a Mexican-American and Latina/o
studies junior, having to choose a race has often left her baffled. Her options were often something along the lines of “White,” “Black or African-American,” “Asian,” “American Indian,” or “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.” But Nadia didn’t identify with any of these. “When I was a kid, I
was really confused because I was like, ‘I’m not white,” Flores said. Nadia prefers the term Mexican-American, but she usually fills out forms as white and Hispanic. “As I’ve gotten older, I understand that for the sake of
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