SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900 @THEDAILYTEXAN | THEDAILYTEXAN.COM
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 111
N E WS
O PI N I O N
LI FE&A RTS
SPORTS
UT will not penalize prospective students for participating in gun law protest. PAGE 2
The editorial board endorses candidates for March primary races. PAGE 4
Student orgs across campus require their members to volunteer. Paradox much? PAGE 8
Depleted Longhorns can’t pull off statement victory over No. 6 Kansas in Lawrence. PAGE 6
WEST CAMPUS
UT senior dies after falling from balcony on Saturday
UNIVERSITY
Fenves violates flight policy
By Anna Lassmann @annalassmann
Education senior Lawrence Emanuel fell from a balcony in West Campus on Saturday night and died shortly after, an Austin Police Department spokesperson said. The incident took place around 10:12 p.m. near 2500 San Gabriel Street in West Campus, an APD spokesperson said. APD is investigating the incident as an accidental death. “The loss of Lawrence is devastating to our entire university. We express our deepest sympathies to his family and friends,” the UT Police Department told KXAN. “The University said the school’s counseling services and other programs will be available for students as they mourn.” The funeral for Emanuel will be held March 3 with a wake held Friday evening. The times and addresses have not been set yet, according to a GoFundMe set up for Emanuel’s funeral expenses. The GoFundMe was set up by Lydia Breedlove, an athletic training and allied health professions senior. It has raised $16,722 out of a $20,000 goal as of Monday night. APD is still investigating the incident. Updates will be available on The Daily Texan website as more information becomes available.
CAMPUS
SG voting to begin on Dean of Students website By Katie Balevic @katelynbalevic
Voting for Student Government elections will begin at 8 a.m. on Wednesday and close at 5 p.m. on Thursday. Students can use their EID and password to vote on the Campus-Wide Elections page of the Office of the Dean of Students website. The ballot will be more crowded than usual with a total of eight executive alliances vying for the president and vice president positions. The campaigns are: Guneez Ibrahim and Hannah McMorris; Colton Becker and Mehraz Rahman; Aakash Saraiya and Daniel Noble Hernandez; Bryce Fuller and Vikram Sundaram; Austin Goss and Denny Lee; Aparna Chandarshekar and Shawn Killian; Joshua Richardson and Chison Liu; and Blake Dow and Walker Adams. Arvind Ashok and Max Lopez have dropped from the running. Detailed profiles of the executive alliance candidates can be found on The Daily
SG VOTING page 3
We acknowledge the audit results and the need to follow University rules.
Fenves to reimburse UT after flying business class. By Maria Mendez @mellow_maria
U
T President Gregory Fenves will reimburse the University $27,000 for violating UT-Austin rules by flying business class instead of economy multiple times. A February audit by the UT System found Fenves’ business class flights, considered premium airfare, to be in violation of UT rules, which only allow the University president to fly economy class for University affairs unless under approved exceptions. “UT-Austin’s institutional travel policy does not allow for payment of premium airfare without an approved allowable exception, which
includes a documented health issue, only seat available, lowest airfare available, contract/agreement requires it, another entity is reimbursing the airfare or research grant allows it with the use of grant funds,” the UT System audit states. The documents Fenves provided for the audit did not fall under any allowed exceptions. Fenves told the Austin American-Statesman on Monday he believed business class airfare was approved. He has agreed to follow University policy for future flights. “President Fenves accepts the findings of this audit, will reimburse the University for the cost of the business class travel and his office will follow all internal policies,” University Spokesperson Gary Susswein said in a statement. Fenves took 50 business class flights, 40 of which his wife accompanied him on, Susswein said. The
carlos garcia the daily texan file President Gregory Fenves will reimburse $27,000 for violating UT travel rules. Fenves flew business class instead of economy multiple times according to an audit done by the UT System.
were audited. Apart from the airfare, the audit concluded Fenves’ “expenses seemed appropriate and accurate.” But a February memo from the UT System, separate from the audit report, raised concerns about the University’s approval of “Entertainment and Official Expenses” for UT’s top administration officials. Under the University’s policy, food and beverages, facility rentals, flowers, invitations and similar
FENVES page 3
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
SG candidates will raise transcript fees, add pub on campus By Katie Balevic @katelynbalevic
Of all the campaign promises Student Government candidates have made in the last two weeks, only one president and vice president team has promised to raise transcript prices. Candidates Aakash Saraiya and Daniel Noble Hernandez are running a light-hearted campaign for president and vice president, respectively, with the hope of providing short term solutions for students. “We’d like to raise transcript prices to the point where graduate schools can no longer ethically request them,” biology junior Saraiya said. Noble Hernandez said the change will work out for students in the end. “We’ve got a novel
approach,” said Noble Hernandez, a biomedical engineering junior. “We’re going to create such a drama that President Fenves is going to take it right back to zero (dollars).” The alliance also hopes to add a pub on campus to foster a sense of community, Noble Hernandez said. “Most people don’t take it seriously, but it’s actually a serious point,” Noble Hernandez said. “It’s not a place you go to get drunk. It’s just a place you go to with friends, for food or just to chat, maybe grab a cider.” Saraiya said the idea is plausible because the University already has a location on campus that serves alcohol — Cactus Café, located at the Union. “It would be a more controlled (alcohol) situation for the University (and) a more casual place to experience
QUARTERS ON CAMPUS West campus living redefined
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added costs amount to $27,000. The flights were paid for with donations specifically made to cover presidential expenses. Tuition and taxpayer money was not used. The audit recommended the President’s Office stop purchasing premium airfare for Fenves and his wife, or revise University rules. The University said Fenves would comply with the existing rules and reinburse the University for the additional costs, even though the audit did not require repayment. “We acknowledge the audit results and the need to follow University rules,” the University’s statement said. The audit was part of UT System requirements to periodically examine the President’s travel, entertainment and University residence maintenance expenses. Since becoming president in 2015, this was the first time Fenves’ expenses
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angela wang | the daily texan staff Biology and premedical senior Aakash Saraiya, left, and biomedical engineering senior Daniel Noble Hernandez are running for student government president and vice president. drinking,” Saraiya said. “It would be a good place to have meetings as well.” The team has other unique ideas for solving campus problems, such as installing a moving walkway
along Speedway. Saraiya said they also want to address the University’s history of oppression by renaming campus buildings. “We would like to rename (Robert Lee Moore Hall)
… to a different famous mathematician who’s gone to UT who’s not as racist,” Saraiya said. Overall, the team is trying
SG CANDIDATES page 3
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018
UNIVERSITY
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UT: Admissions won’t be affected by protests
PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Laura Hallas Assoc. Editors Liza Anderson, Jaree Campbell, Cuillin Chastain-Howley, Josie Maclean Senior Columnists Elizabeth Braaten, Laura Doan, Noah Horwitz, Caleb Wong, Ryan Young Forum Editors Vik Shirvaikar, Janhavi Nemawarkar, Liza Anderson
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By Maria Mendez @mellow_maria
Following suspension threats from Texas school districts, UT-Austin reassured high school students on Monday that disciplinary actions for peaceful protests will not impact their admission chances. Rice University first tweeted Sunday it respects students’ right to free speech after Needville ISD threatened to suspend any number of students who walked out of school in protest against current gun laws. On Monday, the Houston Chronicle reported several public Texas universities agreed and stated that prospective students’ admission prospects would not be dampened by civil protesting. “The University is committed to the principles of free inquiry and expression and is dedicated to creating an environment where the expansion of knowledge and the freedom to exchange ideas is safeguarded,” University Spokesperson
J.B. Bird said in a statement to the Chronicle. “This commitment extends to the students admitted to the University, whose admission status will not be affected by exercising their constitutional right to freedom of expression.” UT System Spokesperson Karen Adler said the decision to take into account disciplinary actions for protesting would be up to individual UT institutions. When asked, UT Rio Grande Valley and UT Permian Basin both responded no. UT Dallas said in a statement that the university uses “a holistic admissions process … and would not turn away any qualified students based on their participation in peaceful protests.” UT San Antonio said prospective students should not worry about peaceful protesting even if it results in disciplinary actions from their school district. A UT Tyler spokesperson stated that whether a student was disciplined for protesting
Podcast Director JT Lindsey
This commitment extends to the students admitted to the University, whose admission status will not be affected by exercising their constitutional right to freedom of expression. J. B. Bird,
university spokesperson
would “not help or hinder their admissions.” Texas A&M spokesperson Amy Smith said as long as the protesting was “lawful,” students would not be hurt. “We’re looking for students who represent the core values of Texas A&M, and part of that is civic engagement,” Smith said in a statement to
veronica jones | the daily texan staff the Chronicle. Texas State and University of Houston also provided the Chronicle with statements indicating peacefully protesting students would not be affected. Students across the U.S. have organized walkouts from schools in response to the recent Parkland High School
Shooting, which resulted in 17 deaths. Hundreds of students in Austin ISD walked out of local schools last Friday. More peaceful protests referred to as the “March for Our Lives” are being planned for March in Washington D.C. and multiple cities across across the U.S.
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(512) 232-2207 news@dailytexanonline.com The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com.
Race for State Capitol: Who to watch
AUSTIN WEATHER TODAY Feb. 27
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Candidates vie for lead in the gubernatorial primary election. By Sami Sparber
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ith the gubernatorial primary election less than two weeks away, pollsters and pundits agree Gov. Greg Abbott doesn’t face much competition from the Republican ballot. However, of the nine candidates seeking the Democratic nomination, a clear front-runner has yet to emerge. Abbott, running for a second term, is challenged by retired teacher Barbara Krueger and telecommunications consultant Larry Kilgore. Kilgore, a perennial candidate, is identified on the ballot as SECEDE Kilgore — a nod to his support of Texas leaving the Union. With 95 percent of the vote, a recent University of Texas/Texas Tribune
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of who emerges victorious in the competitive primary, ousting Abbott in November would require “a herculean effort.” At the end of 2017, Abbott had a record-breaking $43.3 million on hand for his re-election campaign — 1,000 times more cash than Valdez, who had $40,346 by the same time. Valdez was also outraised by White, who had $104,475 on hand by the end of the year. Abbott, who hasn’t lost a statewide election in nearly three decades, likely won’t be losing any sleep over the gubernatorial primary. But for Valdez and White, it’s a fight to the finish — and winning the Democratic primary is just the beginning.
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angel ulloa | the daily texan staff Gov. Greg Abbott leads the Rebulican ballot for the gubernatorial primary election that will take place on March 6. The Democratic party still has no clear front-runner.
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and White as front-runners in the competitive Democratic gubernatorial primary, but pundits debate which candidate is the stronger contender. Citing his collaborative spirit and adeptness in understanding the state’s complex challenges, the Morning News endorsed White, son of the late Texas Gov. Mark White, as “far and away the better choice” in the crowded race. While the Morning News editorial board said they initially had high hopes for Valdez, they ultimately were “disappointed by her gross unfamiliarity with state issues … particularly an almost incoherent attempt to discuss state financing.” Patrick Svitek, primary political correspondent for the Texas Tribune, said while Valdez’s experience gives her a comparative advantage, “she faces no guarantee of the kind of cakewalk to her party’s nomination that former state Sen. Wendy Davis enjoyed in 2014.” However, Svitek said regardless
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poll revealed Abbott is miles ahead of his Republican primary opponents. Krueger came in with five percent of the vote, while Kilgore had zero. The Dallas Morning News endorsed Abbott as “the only responsible choice” in the GOP primary for governor, pointing to his compassionate leadership in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and his contributions to sustain Texas’ economic success. The Democratic ballot, on the other hand, is comprised of nine little-known individuals. Lupe Valdez, former Dallas County Sheriff, is the only candidate who has held elective office. In 2004, she became the first openly gay, Hispanic female sheriff in the country. Valdez leads the UT/TT poll with 43 percent of the vote. Houston businessman Andrew White came in second place, with 24 percent. The other seven candidates trail moderately behind, with no individual winning more than seven percent of the vote. These numbers establish Valdez
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COPYRIGHT Copyright 2018 Texas Student Media. All articles, photographs and graphics, both in the print and online editions, are the property of Texas Student Media and may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without written permission. The Daily Texan, a student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin, is published by Texas Student Media, 2500 Whitis Ave., Austin, TX 78712. The Daily Texan is published daily, Monday through Friday, during the regular academic year and is published once weekly during the summer semester. The Daily Texan does not publish during academic breaks, most Federal Holidays and exam periods. News contributions will be accepted by telephone (471-4591), or at the editorial office (HSM 2.120). Entire contents copyright 2018 Texas Student Media.
By Madelyn Reiter @madireiter_
Information about UT services may soon be just a text message away if a recently passed Student Government initiative comes to fruition. Natalie Engel, social work and communication studies senior, and neuroscience junior Benjamin Solder proposed a two-way texting bot called UText to SG in September after realizing students’ need for easy access to information about resources such as Student Emergency Services and University Health Services. “It is a texting tool that will allow students to access any information they need on any campus resource,” Engel said. “It’s feeding from a database; we built a huge
database with all the resources campus offers, and they’re all linked to words that are associated to them. So you just text in words, and it sends back all the information that you need based on what we have input in the database.” Rather than having multiple phone numbers for specific resources, the bot only requires users to save one phone number. The bot would connect users with the appropriate service via text. For example, if a student texts a phrase including “sick,” the bot would relay information on UHS, Engel said. Rather than hiring an outside company to make the bot, it will be made for students by students. Shaayaan Sayed, computer
channing miller| the daily texan staff
science senior, and Michail Shaposhnikov, computer science and mathematics sophomore, were brought on the team to construct the bot. Sayed and Shaposhnikov will use the most upto-date technology, such as the cloud system, to create a database that could respond to student and staff text messages appropriately, Sayed said. He said in their current plan, the bot will be able to provide any online public information on campus resources. If the first project is successful, the team hopes to advance the bot by using more complex technology, such as Natural
Language Processing. “For understanding, it will use a programming called Natural Language Processing, which attempts to codify the English language and use technologies, like context awareness, to realize the student’s intention and emotion and capture the best response,” Shaposhnikov said. The initiative now sits in the Senate of College Councils, and its launch depends on student support and funding. “We need more demonstrations of student support for the project, so we have a stronger case for when we ask for funding,” Solder said. If approved by the Senate later this spring, UText could be a reality by the end of the semester, Engel said.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018
ELECTION
Website details primary ballot candidates By Chase Karacostas @chasekaracostas
mallika gandhi| the daily texan staff
The upcoming primary election has become increasingly contentious as Republican officeholders retire in droves while Democrats run for every single U.S. House seat in Texas for the first time in years. Congressional District 21 alone — currently held by the soon-to-be-retired Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio — has 18 candidates running for the office’s Republican nomination. To help you sift through the maze of candidates, The Daily Texan put together a list of almost every elected office you will see on the ballot, who is running and their major platform points. The ballot explainer is available online at https://thedailytexan.atavist.com/. Once you are on the website, the first step is to select the primary you have an interest in voting in, Republican or Democratic. From there, the explainer is broken up into three sections: national, state and local races.
For the major races, such as state legislative offices and high-ranking executive offices, the explainer includes a link to the candidate’s campaign website, some background information on them and anywhere from one to five of their major platform points. This is by no means all of the information available on them, and The Daily Texan recommends that you pursue further research into any candidates that interest you. The goal is simply to give you a starting point for your voting research and ease what can be, for many, an overly complicated process. Please note this explainer includes all offices that may show up on your primary ballot. For example, legislative races, such as the state representatives, are restricted geographically and will only appear on your ballot if you live in that office’s district. The offices included in this explainer are the ones that cover the majority of where students live: North and West Campus along with East Riverside.
party icons from flaticon.com
SG VOTING
FENVES
Texan website. Candidates have been openly campaigning since filing closed on Feb. 13. There are over 50 campus positions available in Student Government, Graduate Student Assembly, Texas Student Media, University Unions and Events + Entertainment and University Co-op, according to the Office of the Dean of Students. While filing ended Feb. 13, some positions were left without a candidate. The Election Supervisory Board, which oversees campus elections, granted a three-day extension for the following positions: atlarge graduate, graduate, architecture, education, geosciences, law, nursing, pharmacy, public affairs and social work. An in-depth look at the candidates and resolutions to be voted on can be found on The Daily Texan website.
expenses are covered as entertainment expenses when used for University events. Citing the current University policy, under which “deans, vice presidents and vice president equivalents may approve their own expenditures and exceptions,” the memo called this procedure ineffective. “This does not provide effective oversight of expenditures because any expenses/ exceptions for senior management may be self-approved,” the memo states. The memo recommended the University revise its policy to not allow self-approval of entertainment expenses and exceptions, which the University agreed to begin amending by March. “Internal controls need to be tightened so that no employee may approve their own expenditures,” the University responded in the memo. The policy has been in place for years, but no public
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money or Permanent University Fund money can be used for these events, Susswein said. Tuition can only be used to support student academic services and events and can never be used to purchase alcohol, according to University policy.
SG CANDIDATES
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to reach those who do not usually care about SG, Noble Hernandez said. “The point of our campaigning is to highlight that SG takes itself too seriously,” Noble Hernandez said. “You’re not in the U.S. Congress. It’s just at the University, and it’s just for a year.” Note: The Dow-Walker campaign canceled its interview with the Daily Texan and was unavailable to reschedule after several attempts. The Daily Texan will not be publishing a profile on this executive alliance.
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LAURA HALLAS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @TEXANOPINION
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018
COLUMN
Gun violence continues with complacency By Noah M. Horwitz @texanopinion
senior columnist
Something feels different this time after the Stoneman Douglas shooting in Parkland. Sandy Hook’s massacre occurred the day I finished my first semester of college, then Boston. People broke down crying in the middle of the airport. My mother sobbed some hours later when she picked me up at Bush Intercontinental. I thought it was going to be different that time too. But alas, nothing happened. The Senate voted down a proposal by President Obama to increase background checks that did not go nearly far enough to fix the problem. So each atrocity is met with trite responses. The president tweets “thoughts and prayers.” The flags are flown half-staff. Arguments erupt on Facebook pages. And, of course, politicians do nothing. After Stoneman Douglas, I resigned myself to the same cycle. I figured that this is just the new normal — the bimonthly sacrifice of children to the gods, Colt, Smith & Wesson. A friend with whom I was planning to study that evening put his foot down and said enough. He refused to abide becoming numb to these atrocities. It appears he isn’t alone.
We need to protect the children. We need gun control. And we will need to vote the cowards afraid of the NRA out of office. ” The children have shown up this time. They’re demanding action, they’re speaking truth to power — and the deceit and mendacity that accompanies it — they’re keeping the issue at the forefront of our minds and headlines. And they’re making progress. Top Republicans, including Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Rick Scott, have broken from the malevolent National Rifle Association to endorse reforms. Very modest, incremental reform, but reform nonetheless. Ban the bump stocks. Raise the age to purchase guns. Increase background checks and mental health funding. And please, for the love of HaShem and all that is holy, take semiautomatic weapons of war out of the hands of civilians. I get that shooting feral hogs from a helicopter with an AR-15 is cool. You know what else is cool and fun? Drinking a can of Lone Star in your car. But in 2001, the State of Texas made that time-honored tradition illegal because too many children were dying. Enough. Sandy Hook’s aftermath — or lack thereof — left me with a deep sense of nihilism on the issue. For if the murder of little children didn’t incite progress, what could? It appears the children speaking out may do it. In a country so deeply divided, without an Edward R. Murrow or Walter Cronkite to speak to all of us, I have long wondered if there is something that could bring all of us — or at least a consensus — together. So suffer the little children, America. Suffer their cause, suffer their action and suffer their pain. Suffer their loss, suffer their grief and suffer our own complacency — or perhaps complicity — in letting this abomination that befalls our country continue so long unabated, and claiming so many lives. Suffer Alyssa Alhadeff. Suffer Martin Duque Anguiano. Suffer Scott Beigel. Suffer Nicholas Dworet. Suffer Aaron Feis. Suffer Jaime Guttenberg. Suffer Christopher Hixon. Suffer Luke Hoyer. Suffer Cara Loughran. Suffer Gina Montalto.
COLUMN
Daily Texan endorses for March primaries By The Daily Texan Editorial Board Primary season is in full force. Early voting started on Feb. 20, with primary elections on March 6, 2018. This first post-2016 primary has particular significance in Texas, where students and young voters are increasingly cited as making or breaking political movements in the post-Trump era. For that reason, alongside the typical importance of political participation, we want to direct students to the polls with a few standout candidates in mind. Governor: Andrew White This race wasn’t what we expected. Lupe Valdez started out strong with her years of exceptional public service and commitment to representing Texas’ underserved Latinx voters, but her ambiguous grasp of state policies, especially those concerning higher education funding, was more disappointing than her stunted fundraising. While Democrat Andrew White has little chance in the general election against Abbott’s $43 million ‘war chest,’ he has a clear grasp of the importance of bolstering both infrastructure and higher education that will serve Texans across the political spectrum. Lt. Gov: Mike Collier In a common theme for this editorial board,
we again choose Mike Collier as Lt. Governor for his focus on higher education funding. A CPA is as good a resume fit as anything for a state position tasked with overseeing the Legislative Budget Board, but Collier has the platform and priorities for a real improvement over Dan Patrick’s blustering. Particularly, Collier casts a clear contrast with the higher-ed funding battles of last legislative session with his practical movement toward tax reform as a sustainable approach to financing public education. Furthermore, he has a clear-eyed approach to women’s health rights based in sex education and access to contraceptives, one that is all too rare among state leadership. Land Commissioner: Miguel Suazo We know most students have no idea who the land commissioner is or what the office does, but you should — especially this year. The Land Commissioner oversees major state assets and investments, including the Permanent School Fund, a Texas public school counterpart to the Permanent University Fund. In addition, this election’s winner will oversee continued relief and recovery along the Texas coast following Hurricane Harvey. Austin energy lawyer Miguel Suazo is the right candidate for the job for his years of practical experience — in both public service and private law firms—navigating the regulatory minefield he will be asked to oversee.
CD 21: Elliot McFadden Lamar Smith’s retirement has resulted in a mad rush by Democrats and Republicans alike for this seat, but Elliot McFadden has set himself apart in his qualifications to represent Austin students. Kopser, Crowe and McFadden all share platform points that would serve this district well, but McFadden’s demonstrated expertise in transportation infrastructure will prove critical in representing Austin as the city continues to grow. McFadden also stood out in his familiarity with higher education funding, affordable housing and a livable wage. While McFadden may face challenges in a competitive primary, we are assured his unique, Austin-centric background and higher-ed expertise make him the right representative for students. U.S. Senate: Beto O’Rourke A comfortable endorsement if there ever was one. After an early declaration for this race, Beto might reasonably be considered the poster candidate for Texas’ blue wave. O’Rourke’s widespread support and skyrocketing fundraising are indicative of his proven abilities as a public servant both in El Paso and in Congress. A Texan interview with O’Rourke earlier this year — also factored into this endorsement — highlighted his commitment to reducing the burden of higher education and support of DREAMers that makes O’Rourke a natural choice for students going into 2018.
COLUMN
Toxic masculinity and gun culture form a deadly duo By Sam Groves @samgroves
senior columnist
The perpetrators of the 10 worst mass shootings committed by a single individual on a single day in U.S. history all have one thing in common. It’s not their race, religion, mental health or motive. It’s their gender. They were all men. Granted, there are a lot of men out there. But the sheer demographic uniformity is still remarkable. There have been scores of mass shootings since 1982, but according to data collected by Mother Jones, just three of them were committed by women. If the reverse were true — if women were responsible for the vast majority of these catastrophes — people would definitely be talking. This clear pattern should invite a conversation about the connection between violence and toxic masculinity. To be sure, there is only one direct cause of America’s mass shooting epidemic: the wildly disproportionate number of guns in this country compared to the rest of the world. But we should also think about who these guns belong to — mostly men. More precisely, 62 percent of American gun owners are male. What, then, do the majority of American gun owners learn from their culture about how to wield power over others
— in this case, the power to kill? Eric Madfis, a sociologist at the University of Washington-Tacoma told Politico in January that men “tend to externalize (blame and frustration) through acts of aggression.” Jennifer Carlson, who studies gender and gun politics at the University of Arizona, told USA Today last October that “demands put on men … end up being not just outwardly destructive but also inwardly destructive.” The notion of masculinity that permeates Western culture is closely associated with aggression and strength. Fictional characters toted as masculine ideals are often gun-toting rogues with no compunction about resorting to violence to get what they want (see: Han Solo, Batman, James Bond, etc.). As the actor and author Michael Ian Black wrote for the New York Times on Wednesday, “too many boys are trapped in the same suffocating, outdated model of masculinity, where manhood is measured in strength, where there is no way to be vulnerable without being emasculated, where manliness is about having power over others.” This is a problem men have to fix, by challenging their own notions of masculinity and inventing new, less toxic norms for their gender. When they’re bending over backwards to obfuscate the lethal reality of America’s gun problem, conservatives like to say that it’s not a
mel westfall | the daily texan staff
gun problem at all, but a “culture problem.” They’re usually referring to old scapegoats like violent video games and rap music, which is absurd. But there are dangerous elements of our culture that horrific events like the shooting in Florida last week can shed light on — and toxic masculinity is one of them. Groves is a philosophy junior from Dallas.
COLUMN
Elect representatives who stand for accessibility By William Kosinski @willkosinski
columnist
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed the ADA Education and Reform Act, a bill that restricts disabled individuals’ abilities to declare lawsuits against private businesses for not having accessible facilities. Five of Austin’s six congressional representatives voted in favor of this bill, ignoring the voices of liberal constituents who want policy that gives equal access and rights to this marginalized group. The people of Travis County must use their power to choose representatives who will defend the rights of disabled people in this primary election. Otherwise, Austin’s existing representatives will continue to erode the rights of disabled people across the country. This bill does not give businesses protections. It requires disabled people to submit a written explanation of how the business violated the ADA. That business would then have 120 days to fix the issue or make “substantial progress.” According to the American Civil Liberties Union, potential passage of this law “would effectively exempt businesses from compliance” with their
Suffer Joaquin Oliver.
obligations under the ADA by allowing them to ignore compliance issues for years. Instead of fixing the issue, a business can claim they are making progress because of “circumstances beyond the control of the owner or operator.” For example, if a person in a wheelchair wrote a complaint about a business not being accessible, that business can ignore the access issue indefinitely because they claim to not have the financial resources to address the issue. Michael McCaul, Bill Flores, Lamar Smith, Roger Williams and John Carter are the five Republican congressmen that dilute Austin’s influence. They do not accurately represent voters in a liberal county that support civil rights because their districts also reach to The Woodlands and Waco. Instead, they represent conservative constituents who believe businesses need more freedoms and protections from lawsuits. Austin is a city that fights for immigrants and welcomes the LGBT community, and it should affirm its progressive beliefs in the federal government when policy concerns disabled individuals. The city’s current representatives do not embody its values and the March primary is an opportunity to replace them. Advocates of the bill say that this will prevent frivolous lawsuits against businesses, but Joyce
Rogers of the American Association of Retired Persons explains that states such as Texas can already take punitive actions against lawyers for mindless, money-motivated litigation. If our five Republican representatives truly wanted to reflect the GOP belief in states’ rights, then they should have voted against this bill. They instead took a direct stand against the rights of disabled individuals across the nation. As a hearing and vision impaired person, I believe that protections for any person with a disability are of utmost importance. Therefore, I encourage the people of Travis County to vote for a candidate who will defend the rights of disabled individuals in the future. Bill Flores and Roger Williams are the respective Republican incumbents of districts 17 and 25. They are running unopposed in their primaries, so choose your favorite Democrat. In district 10, 21 and 31, there are opportunities to replace Michael McCaul, Lamar Smith and John Carter, who will not give disabled individuals the protections they deserve. To find more information about the candidates, visit the Texas League of Women Voters’ website for a nonpartisan voting guide. Kosinski is a journalism freshman from San Rafael, California.
GALLERY
Suffer Alaina Petty. Suffer Meadow Pollack. Suffer Helena Ramsay. Suffer Alex Schachter. Suffer Carmen Schentrup. Suffer Peter Wang. Suffer them all, and suffer their surviving classmates who have loudly proclaimed, “Never again.” We need to protect the children. We need gun control. And we will need to vote the cowards afraid of the NRA out of office. Horwitz is a second-year law student from Houston.
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.
yulissa chavez | the daily texan staff
SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | Email your Firing Lines to editor@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.
RECYCLE | Please recycle this copy of The Daily Texan. Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it. EDITORIAL TWITTER | Follow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter (@TexanOpinion) and receive updates on our latest editorials and columns.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018
TELEVISION REVIEW | UGLY DELICIOUS
‘Ugly Delicious’ tells a beautiful story about culture through food
HEALTH
Know difference between eating disorders, disordered eating By Christa McWhirter @chrismac1193
copyright netflix, and reproduced with permission Restaurateur and author David Chang draws inspiration for his career as a chef from his Korean-American upbringing.
By Brooke Sjoberg @sj0b3rg
Taking common foods and tracing them through their popular and traditional culture, David Chang’s Netflix Original “Ugly Delicious” serves up an introspective, visual conversation that focuses on the role of food as a force for change. Beginning with pizza and ending with dumplings, the series trails its way through common foods which have a strong, well-established historical significance. Following a loose interpretation of their historical path, David Chang brings in food writers, celebrities and chefs such as Peter Meehan, Aziz Ansari, Jimmy Kimmel and Rene Redzepi to discuss the cultural, social and political relevance of foods such as tacos or barbecue in an intensely visual way. Chang’s social commentary defines the series. It discusses the social implications of bringing food to different locales and developing it to the tastes of the area. By giving other chefs an opportunity to speak about their food and of their personal connections to their cooking, the series gains an intimate feel through the interviews featured in the program. This also allows
the series to seamlessly slip into discussions of food as a mechanism for change, as many of the interviews are with immigrant chefs or patrons who have seen community response to their food pave the way to acceptance of their culture. The settings in which chefs, product suppliers, actors and restaurateurs are interviewed also lend to the comfortable, intimate feel which pervades the series as they discuss their upbringing, journey as a chef and, in some cases, their experiences emigrating to the U.S. and other countries. The intimacy of their interviews ties in quite nicely with what Chang is trying to say about food and its social power. By describing their experiences with immigration and its implicit tie to their culinary experience, Chang and his interviewees transform food into more than a simple means of consumption. For viewers and patrons, food becomes a gateway into dialogue surrounding immigration in terms of human experience as opposed to what types of laws or systems should be in place. Their experiences humanize the issue, their food makes their patrons willing to listen and their emotions on screen pull viewers into their struggles. While a typical documentary may feature a talking head detailing events, histories or
UGLY DELICIOUS
RATING: TV-MA RUNNING TIME: 8 episodes SCORE: facts of the industry, “Ugly Delicious” features fun animated sequences, such as a debate between a crawfish and shrimp discussing their own popularity in Viet-Cajun cuisine. This lends a more creative side to the storytelling aspect of the series. It breaks up the blocks of people alternating between eating and talking, keeping the series from being boring. Another aspect of the visual method of storytelling employed in the program are of clips from other works to establish the history of the food, if it has a long tradition, instead of having another talking head sharing this information. “Ugly Delicious” takes popular foods and tracks them through their multicultural histories and environments. It tells a story about food as a mechanism for social change regarding immigration and product sourcing, as well as how to really define “authenticity” in terms of food. The series is well worth watching, and will have viewers ordering their own pizza halfway through the first episode.
As spring break approaches, college students are beginning their pursuit of the mythical “beach body” but not everyone is doing it in healthy way. There are two primary kinds of unhealthy eating behaviors amongst college students: disordered eating and eating disorders. The first is defined by experts as struggling with unhealthy eating habits in some capacity, while the latter is medically diagnosable and significantly impairs someone’s ability to function due to their unhealthy eating behaviors. A national survey conducted by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) showed that about 32 percent of women and 25 percent of men on college campuses had eating disorders, a number that rose over 13 years from 23 and 7.9 percent, respectively. Dr. Allison Chase, the clinical director of the Eating Recovery Center in Austin, said she believes it is important students are educated on the difference between eating disorders and disordered eating in order to receive the proper treatment. “If a therapist treats disordered eating and it turns out that the patient has an eating disorder, that medical provider may be way out of their realm of expertise,” Chase said. “And that’s not fair to the patient.” Chase said it is dangerous to confuse an eating disorder for disordered eating, but it can be difficult to know what latter really looks like because many of the behaviors are seen every day. Chase emphasized that eating disorders are a larger problem than most people think. “They are extremely
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“The Neon Demon” and “Lolita” proved there are tasteful ways to handle this subject
channing miller | the daily texan staff dangerous and deadly disorders,” Chase said. “One person dies from an eating disorder every hour.” Chase emphasized that eating disorders are complex and can be difficult to define since there are so many and can be affected by outside factors such as society and relationships. Jennifer Barnoud, a registered dietitian for University Health Services, said it is important to know what disordered eating is because it has become normalized in our culture — particularly through social media sites such as Instagram. With most popular fitness accounts citing their calorie intake, Barnoud wants students to recognize that using external sources such as calorie counting to guide eating patterns is considered disordered eating. “Counting calories is not normal eating behavior because you aren’t using your bodies cues,” Barnoud said. Lauren McGill, the director of nutrition for the Fitness Institute of Texas at UT, suggested that students balance their social media accounts with body positive accounts that make them feel good to combat the prevalence of unhealthy behaviors on social media. “Social media is not reality,” McGill said. “The images that
we are fed to portray beauty and health, those people in them may not even be healthy by medical standards.” When it comes to those who are worried about someone they know, Barnoud urged students to approach their loved one with their concerns. “Follow your gut,” Barnoud said. “Eating disorders are driven by shame and they thrive in isolation. Don’t wait because you could save your friend’s life.” Chase said that students can support their friends by helping them do research or going with them to assessments. She added that there are times it is appropriate to call a parent or guardian. “That does come with risks as a friend, but we’re talking about someone’s health and safety,” Chase said. “People suffering from eating disorders need to get help.” Chase said she believes that getting help from someone who is trained and skilled in the treatment of eating disorders can be the most important thing someone does. According to Chase, 80 percent of patients with eating disorders who receive treatment will recover or go into remission. “Everybody deserves that hope,” Chase said.
matter, but “Mute” fumbles it to a comical degree. None of this would really matter if the rest of the film was any good, but it’s not. As “Mute” crawls to the finish line through
a slog of a detective tale, nothing of value has happened. The only thing “Mute” accomplishes is putting the future of similar vision-driven projects in jeopardy.
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TRENTON DAESCHNER
SPORTS EDITOR @TEXANSPORTS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Texas ‘rock chalks’ up 80-70 loss at Kansas TOP
By Steve Helwick @s_helwick
The Longhorns purchased a lottery ticket on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse. It didn’t cost much, but the potential reward was high. And like most lottery tickets, it didn’t cash in the Longhorns’ favor and was subsequently thrown away. But the purchase didn’t adversely hinder the team’s chances at striking gold with a NCAA tournament bid. With freshman center Mo Bamba out with an injured toe, Texas expectedly lost, 80-70, to the No. 6 Jayhawks (24–6, 13–4 Big 12), who were fresh off of clinching a 14th straight regular season Big 12 title. The college basketball blue blood earned its ninth straight victory over Texas, while the Longhorns (17–13, 7–10) dropped their seventh road game in their last eight tries. “Obviously, it’s a tough, tough environment to come into,” Texas head coach Shaka Smart said. “Kansas was a highly motivated team today with a chance to win the Big 12 outright, and they played like it.” After the previous game’s hero Kerwin Roach II nailed his second three of the night to catapult Texas ahead early, 13-11, the Longhorns slowly crumbled. The Jayhawks countered with a crushing 16-0 run. Similar to the Oklahoma State game on Saturday, the Longhorns didn’t allow the double-digit deficit to phase them. Trailing 45-32 at halftime, Texas
PERFORMERS
angela wang | the daily texan file Kansas senior guard Devonte’ Graham takes it to the rim against Texas junior guard Kerwin Roach II. Graham finished with 10 points and 11 assists in No. 6 Kansas’ 80-70 victory over the Longhorns on Monday night. clawed back with its short-handed roster, trimming the deficit to as little as six points less than five minutes into the second half. Sophomore shooting guard Jacob Young, who has seen a tremendous spike in playing time in junior guard Eric Davis Jr.’s absence, was a key player in shifting the momentum in Texas’ favor through his shooting and defense. Davis remains out while Texas investigates the findings of Friday’s Yahoo Sports report.
Young contributed a season-high 14 points, hauled in five rebounds and corralled three steals. Although Young brought a necessary spark to the tight rotation, the inability to contain Kansas in the paint ultimately put the Longhorns’ hopes of winning to rest. “I thought our guys showed a lot of fight, particularly in that second half,” Smart said. “You can pick a couple different areas where we’re right there in the
game to win, but we just weren’t quite tough enough, strong enough on the defensive end. “We didn’t gather enough of those rebounds. We didn’t take care of the ball enough in that right situation. But our guys certainly played with great effort and great togetherness.” As Bamba watched from afar, Kansas center Udoka Azubuike controlled the interior and posted 20 points on Texas’ defense. The 7-foot soph-
omore converted on his first 10 field goals, many of which were uncontested, powerful two-handed slams. “Azubuike was terrific,” Smart said. “Remember last time, Mo did a really good job against him in the first half. But Azubuike had a heck of a second half. He’s really hard for anyone to guard. When you take Mo out of our lineup — (Dylan Osetkowski) guarded him some, Jericho (Sims) guarded him some — they
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PTS reb f G
Kerwin Roach II
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4
7-15
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14
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tried to battle, they tried to fight, but Azubuike’s obviously a lot to handle.” When Texas wasn’t allowing easy buckets in the paint, its players were often accumulating numbers in the wrong column of the stat sheet — fouls. The team’s leading scorer, junior forward Osetkowski, fouled out with 7:28 remaining in the game when Texas trailed, 69-54. Freshman point guard Matt Coleman and freshman forward Sims collected four fouls apiece too, adding plenty of pressure on Texas’ best available players to avoid fouling out. Instead of conceding in Lawrence, Texas outscored Kansas in the second half despite the fouls and missing Bamba and Davis. Smart hopes the Longhorns continue to play with this effort and mentality when No. 20 West Virginia visits Austin on Saturday for the regular season finale. “The fight that we demonstrated in the second half, we’ve got to bring that at the start of the game on Saturday,” Smart said. “It’s an early game, but I don’t care when it starts. We have to make sure we have that level of aggressiveness and fight.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Texas seniors prepare for emotional regular season finale By Drew King @drewking0222
Sweat and tears rolled down Ariel Atkins’ and Brooke McCarty’s faces. The then-freshman guards had just barely made it through the team’s toughest practice of the 2014-15 season. Things hadn’t gone well for the two. “We didn’t know if tomorrow was going to come,” Atkins said. “Ever,” McCarty added. The pair, accompanied by fellow freshmen Diani Akigbogun and Tasia Foman, retreated to Atkins’ room to regroup themselves. They stayed up until 3 a.m. venting their frustrations and consoling each other. By 3:30 a.m., the tears had turned to laughter. They had another workout at 6 a.m. “That moment, for me, was just kind of a bond that could never be broken,” Atkins said. “If I didn’t have anybody here at UT that I could count on, I knew that I could count on them and they would have my back. And we did really well at the workout the next day.” Four years, 6,678 combined minutes and 2,888 combined points later, Atkins and McCarty are still counting on each other. They’ve led the Longhorns to 103 wins, three Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite Eight berth. Now, the seniors prepare for their last regular season game on the 40 Acres.
anthony mireles | the daily texan file Senior guard Ariel Atkins lays out for a loose ball in Texas’ 93-87 loss to No. 3 Baylor on Feb. 19. Atkins is one of the veteran leaders on a Longhorn squad determined to make a deep postseason run. Texas head coach Karen Aston recruited the two to be tone-setters for her program. They made up half of Aston’s No. 10-ranked recruiting class in 2014. At the time, the Longhorns hadn’t reached the NCAA tournament’s Round of 16 in 10 years. The Longhorns made it
there in Atkins’ and McCarty’s first season. “So much of the conversation during the recruiting process was the buy-in of wanting to get the respect back for our program,” Aston said. “We wanted to be known for hard work, the way we represent ourselves off
the court, in the classroom, and the best thing I can say is these guys hit it out of the park.” Fellow senior Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau transferred to Texas in 2016 from Gulf Coast State College. Atkins and McCarty helped Caron-Goudreau adapt to her new team and made
sure the forward felt like a true part of their class. The first thing Caron-Goudreau’s teammates taught her was Clark Field. Atkins and McCarty warned her about the conditioning drills the Longhorns went through at the on-campus park to prepare for the upcoming
season. Caron-Goudreau marveled at her teammates’ work ethic and eventually learned how to match it. “I knew that was going to be the hardest part,” Caron-Goudreau said. “Just the way they approach a game as well as the way they approach things outside of basketball. I’ve learned a lot from them.” Atkins and McCarty have learned plenty from their time at Texas as well. “I thought that I had it all figured out,” McCarty said. “But, turns out that I really, absolutely knew nothing. I think I’ve learned how to grow. I’ve learned how to deal with adversity. I’ve learned how to try to pull my teammates along. I’ve learned areas that I still need to improve on. And so, I think it’s just been a big learning curve for me.” No. 7 Texas’ (23–5, 14–3 Big 12) senior night against Oklahoma (16–12, 11–6 Big 12) tips off at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Caron-Goudreau has been ruled out indefinitely with a bruised left wrist and is unlikely to play. She played in 50 games and started in 26 during her two seasons as a Longhorn. No matter how the rest of the season unfolds, Aston said this class has already met her expectations. “They don’t need any validation from anyone,” Aston said. “They are not only great players, but they’re great people.”
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018
SUDOKUFORYOU
Today’s solution will appear here next issue
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CHARLES LIU & CHRIS DUNCAN
LIFE&ARTS EDITORS @THEDAILYTEXAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2018
CAMPUS
The curious case of the involuntary volunteer Students struggle to stay motivated doing required volunteer work. By Anna-Kay Reeves @annakay_reeves
D
irty soap. Little giant. Mandatory volunteerism. These pairings are obvious oxymorons, yet unlike the first two, the last is a common feature of college life. Whether the contradiction is a good or bad thing is less plain to see. From Greek life to spirit groups to campus clubs, volunteer hours are required across the spectrum of student organizations. Spirit group Texas Royals advertises community service as a core tenant on its website, and according to mathematics freshman Erika Young, members join fully informed of the expectation of service. “The Royals’ philanthropy focus is
Alzheimer’s research, so it makes sense that we’re required to volunteer in the Alzheimer’s wing of a nursing home,” Young said. “Girls wouldn’t join if they didn’t care about that and want to be involved with the cause.” For Young, it’s a positive thing that service is required, because it spurs members to be more involved than they would be without the extra push from Royals. “A lot of us wouldn’t be this connected to the community if it weren’t for Royals,” Young said. “And since the service is set up through the org, a lot of us sign up together and it becomes something fun to do with friends, not something to dread.” For heavily involved students, mandatory service hours can easily become another task to cross off the to-do list rather than a meaningful engagement with the community. This is the case for Connor Alexander, government and journalism freshman, who balances a 16-hour course load with an internship at the Texas State Capitol, not to mention involvement in student organizations. “In my own experience,
when organizations have requirements for volunteer hours, there tends to be a dip in my engagement with the service,” Alexander said. “I think requirements are an initiative to get started for some people, but I prefer to be part of groups that offer service opportunities so that when I volunteer it’s really voluntary.” Alexander points out that options for mandatory service are usually limited to physical activities such as picking up trash from Lady Bird Lake and helping out at community gardens. “I think those donations of time and labor are community service, but I think fundraising or donating your own money is community service, too,” Alexander said. “Those options usually don’t count toward required service though, so people limit their energy to physical volunteer work because that’s what they’ll get credit for.” Jonathan Dancy, a professor in the Department of Philosophy with an interest in ethics, offers a view similar to Young’s. “The idea of something being both voluntary and involuntary certainly looks odd,” Dancy said. “But members accept the imposition of service hours when they join a group, which they do by choice.” According to
Dancy, the dynamic between service groups and their members is similar to the dynamic between parents and children. Part of a parent’s role is helping develop their child’s moral compass and instilling values in them, which on occasion means making the child do something they don’t want to do. Dancy said the same principle applies to service groups, which are helping their members incorporate volunteerism into their lives. “Children often come to appreciate the things their parents taught them, even if they resisted at first,” Dancy said. “This isn’t always the case of course, but things would be far worse if people never made their children do anything they didn’t want to do naturally.”
“A lot of us wouldn’t be this connected to the community if it weren’t for Royals.” -Erika Young
mathematics freshman
mel westfall | the daily texan staff
MOVIE REVIEW |‘MUTE’
Hit ‘Mute’ on Netflix’s latest original release
copyright netflix, and reproduced with permission Alexander Skarsgard and the visuals surrounding him provide some of the only entertainment in the dull “Mute.”
By James Preston Poole @jamesppoole
Complete creative control may not always be a good thing, and writer and director Duncan Jones’ “Mute” is proof. Jones has been developing this passion project for over a decade, at one point mulling over releasing it as a graphic novel until Netflix greenlit his vision as a feature film. There was a lot of excitement going into this film, as his previous films “Moon” and “Source Code” were undeniably wellmade science-fiction pictures, even if his third outing, “Warcraft,” was a bit of mess. Unfortunately, that didn’t prove to be a fluke, as “Mute” is a dumpster fire of questionable filmmaking choices. The story follows Leo (Alexander Skarsgard), a mute Amish bartender who must traverse the seedy streets of a futuristic Berlin to find his missing girlfriend, Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh). His investigation brings him into contact with a pair of American surgeons (Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux), whose place in the mystery comes into focus as Leo dives deeper and deeper
down the rabbit hole. One of the few saving graces of “Mute” is its world. For the most part, Jones and cinematographer Gary Shaw have created a gorgeous interpretation of future Berlin. Neon lights pulse through an ever-present rain to give an authentic noir film that’s definitely indebted to Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner.” Any other enjoyment to be found in “Mute” is through its cast. Skarsgard conveys so much without speaking, portraying a deep of level of pain, longing and kindness through just his eyes and body language. Paul Rudd is a hoot as Cactus, a character whose crass, slimy demeanor is delightfully different from the “nice guy” role we’ve seen him play in the past. His handlebar mustache alone is enough to recommend this role. Even though she’s central to the plot, Naadirah is barely a character, robbing Seyneb Saleh of a larger chance to shine. In fact, none of the other actors play interesting characters, either. The story, if you can even call it that, follows the same path. Twists and turns happen seemingly just because, and the interesting hook of a mystery proves to be nothing more for
MUTE RATING: TV-MA RUNNING TIME: 126 min. SCORE:
an excuse for Jones to put things he’s always wanted to see in a movie, in a movie. It’s mind-boggling that ideas such as a robot strip club even got past the drawing board. Moreover, the sexual politics on display here are bizarre, to say the least. Sex is everywhere in Berlin, but the film never makes a real comment on it. There’s an attempt at homoeroticism with Cactus and Theroux’s character, Duck, constantly calling each other “babe” and “sweetie,” which doesn’t work and seems to have no place for either of those characters. Duck represents a part of the film that is morally reprehensible — its depiction of pedophilia. His character’s desires towards children play no part in the plot whatsoever, seemingly just there to make the viewer uncomfortable. Worse yet, in the first half of the film it’s played for laughs, eventually being dropped.
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