SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900 @THEDAILYTEXAN | THEDAILYTEXAN.COM
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 98
N E WS
O PI N I O N
LI FE&A RTS
SPORTS
UT students start nonprofit to donate socks to those in need. PAGE 2
Thoughts on the proper way to handle the homeless, girl scouts, and more. PAGE 4
‘Nostalgia gaming’ causes debate in the video game industry. PAGE 8
Miscues late in the fourth quarter cost Texas its first loss in four home games. PAGE 6
CITY
CAMPUS
APD not likely to open new Guadalupe substation By Allyson Waller @allyson_renee7
Online comments posted on UT Police Department’s social media last month urged the Austin Police Department to consider creating a substation on Guadalupe Street in response to recent crimes. However, APD currently has no plans to bring a Guadalupe substation to fruition, APD Commander Andy Michael said in an email. Last month on Guadalupe Street, APD said there was a robbery at a Subway restaurant in Dobie Mall. A few days later, APD said an unidentified male pulled down the pants and underwear of a female UT student. UTPD then received comments on their Facebook page suggesting APD have a permanent substation on Guadalupe Street. Michael said a substation on Guadalupe Street is not feasible at the moment. “Even if a business were to donate available (retail) space for a satellite location, as well as all the infrastructure required, such as computers, networking, etcetera, we do not have the staffing or resources to assign officers to such a location,” Michael said. APD’s main headquarters is located about two miles away from the UT campus on East 8th
APD page 3
elias huerta | the daily texan staff Felicia Green, a leadership and communications junior, left, and her daughter Madison Bake, a commuincations studies senior, share similar experiences on campus as students. But Green is a part of the 3.4 percent of undergraduates over 25 years old who find it hard to adapt to campus life.
Students Over 25 helps make UT home New organization helps students over 25 find niche on campus By Maria Mendez @mellow_maria
F
elicia Green and her daughter Madison Baker are both Longhorns, but their college experiences are very different. Baker, a communications studies
senior, entered UT along with many recent high school graduates. But Green, a 47–year–old communication and leadership junior, felt silly among the 18–20 year olds at her orientation last fall. “(Orientation) was sort of silly to me because … it didn’t fit my mindset,” Green said. “But I do appreciate it because I know my daughter loved it, so I know it fits the majority (of students).” Green is part of the 3.4 percent of undergraduates over the age of 25
who enrolled in the fall of 2017. As a small portion of the student body, students like Green feel out of place. But a new student organization called Students Over 25 is helping older undergraduates find each other and create a community of their own. The student organization grew out of a Facebook group, which allowed Green to find other older undergraduates at her transfer student orientation. Tara Chapman, a psychology and philosophy senior, started the
Facebook group in the fall of 2016 to share resources and information for older students. “The more I asked around, the more I realized that I wasn’t the only one that needed a resource,” Chapman said. Even though UT provides a wide variety of resources for all students as well as additional support for transfer students, Chapman found most of these resources to be specifically tailored toward younger students.
STUDENTS page 2
UNIVERSITY
CAMPUS
Basketball arena may replace School of Social Work By Mason Carroll @ masonccarroll
mel westfall | the daily texan staff
Student Emergency Services aims to ease financial stress By Sol Chase
@solchaseforsure
UT-Austin’s Student Emergency Services is seeking to ease financial pressure on students by providing free food and professional attire. The food pantry will offer free canned and packaged food to hungry students while the career closet will provide gently used professional clothing for students to borrow for job and internship interviews. Both services are scheduled to open May 4 and will be behind the Student Services Building. “National trends are that there is a need,” said Doug
Garrard, the associate vice president for campus life and senior associate dean of students. “One in four students have indicated that they have been hungry, and they couldn’t eat because they didn’t have money.” Although Student Emergency Services already offers programs to help students with financial need, Garrard said these new initiatives are meant to compliment these efforts. Garrard said they currently have short–term fixes like gift cards, but the new services will be more long–term. Garrard said there will be no limit to the frequency of students’ visits, making the food pantry an ongoing resource.
Research suggests universities across the country are dealing with similar issues. A study published by the College and University Food Bank Alliance in 2016 found nearly half of all students nationwide reported food insecurity within a 30-day period. Many other campuses, including the UT-Rio Grande Valley, have implemented food pantries, and the new program will draw heavily from these examples. Chelsea Lopez Loya, a food pantry attendant at UTRGV’s Brownsville campus, said one of the biggest challenges the
FOOD page 2
UT President Gregory Fenves announced last week the administration is now seeking proposals for the new basketball arena. Two possible locations were named, one of which would replace both the Recreational Sports Center and the School of Social Work. Not all students are excited by the news. For many students in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, finding out about the new arena in a University-wide email came as a shock. “We were just blindsided (that we weren’t told) and wondered where we would have classes,” social work junior Sarah Jones said. “I think they should have communicated with (social work students) to
see what we wanted in the first place.” This is not the first time students in the social work school have felt left out of major changes to the school. Last semester, social work students were also told in a campus-wide email that their school would be renamed as the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. Social work junior Danielle Redhead said students in the school should have been told about both changes ahead of time instead of finding out with the rest of the student body. “With the stadium, I am just mad because it was lack of communication, and this has happened before,” Redhead said. “I was initially angry but then that turned into disappointment. We are already overlooked as a major and as a
school, and once I saw (the email) I thought, ‘Of course they didn’t tell us.’” Gary Susswein, chief communications officer for Fenves, said the administration aims to be completely transparent in announcing the arena project. He also said when the Steve Hicks School of Social Work was renamed, they deliberately wanted to have an element of surprise at the event in order to thank Regent Hicks. “While we understand that some individuals may have wanted advance notice, it was important to let the entire community — every one of whom may be affected by this project — know as quickly as possible and to hear about it straight from University leadership,” Susswein said
ARENA page 2
jeb milling jr. | the daily texan staff