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SG ELECTION HEADS TO RUNOFF SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900 @THEDAILYTEXAN | THEDAILYTEXAN.COM
FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2018
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 119
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
AGAINST
After leaving her native Nigeria at 14, Aborowa has made the most of life in the US. By Justin Martinez @jtthesportsdude
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t took a 7,000-mile odyssey for junior forward Olamide Aborowa to realize her calling was back home. Aborowa spends most of her time with the Longhorns on the sideline, usually only making an appearance during one of Texas’ blowout wins. But even though the Longhorns are stacked with WNBA-level talent, it’s Aborowa who has gained the most out of basketball. Aborowa is a member of UT’s international relations and global studies program, an interdisciplinary major launched in 2009 that introduces
undergraduate students in the College of Liberal Arts to the most important challenges facing today’s world. The 21-year-old junior hopes to use her education to help those in African countries once she graduates. For Aborowa, it’s a passion that stems from personal experience. Aborowa grew up in Lagos, a bustling city in southwest Nigeria. With her father not around much and her mother out working various remedial jobs in London, Aborowa lived with a family friend. While other kids her age were out playing street soccer, Aborowa stayed at home studying and helping around the house with chores. “My day-to-day was basic,” Aborowa said. “I didn’t go out much with friends because if you’re not a boy, you can’t do that. I didn’t really do anything special.” On one of the few days she was
ALL ODDS
allowed to go outside, Aborowa ran into Joel Ige, a local basketball coach, on the street. Ige saw potential in the lengthy 14-year-old and asked if she would be interested in giving the sport a shot. Outside of seeing a game on television once, Aborowa had no idea what basketball was. Nevertheless, she wrote down Ige’s phone number and went back home. That night, Aborowa told her guardian about the chance encounter and showed her the phone number she’d scribbled on a small slip of paper. Aborowa’s guardian quickly snatched the paper from her. “Don’t talk to strangers,” she said, tearing the slip up in front of Aborowa. Aborowa was disappointed, but life went on. She returned to her normal routine. Go to school. Do chores. Study. Repeat. The cycle continued until one day
CAMPUS
angela wang | the daily texan staff She may only average 9.2 minutes per game at UT, but junior forward Olamide Aborowa’s impact reaches far beyond the game of basketball.
Aborowa ran into Ige for a second time. The coach asked why she hadn’t called him, and Aborowa explained. That should’ve been the end of it. But it wasn’t. Instead, Ige insisted on meeting her guardian, so the two went back to Aborowa’s home. Ige told her guardian about the benefits of joining a team sport, and she reluctantly agreed to allow it. From that point on, Aborowa’s life was basketball.
READ THE REST OF THIS STORY AT THEDAILYTEXAN.ATAVIST.COM
CAMPUS
Demand for CMHC surges after subsidy
By Anna Lassmann
counselor. To accommodate this increase, CMHC has exBy Stephanie Adeline panded options for group @stephadeline counseling and workshops in addition to individual counAfter UT President Gregseling, Craig said. ory Fenves announced the Craig said CMHC currently subsidizing of counseling does not have plans to hire fees in January, the Counseladditional couning and Mental selors because Health Center it would require immediatemore funds and ly saw a spike will not necesin demand for sarily solve the their services. Campus (psychi- problem of acIn January to care. and Februatry) services are cess “I don’t know ary, a total of 1,733 students sometimes the only if we would be able to hire our reached out to options accessible way out of the CMHC for their issue,” Craig services, comfor students. said. “If we hire pared to only five more coun1,203 students selors, we’re last January always going to and February. Ashley Deno, have students This amounts senior who need serto a 44 percent vices … that’s increase. why I still think we need to Marla Craig, CMHC ascome up with much more sociate director for clinical innovative, creative ways to services, said counseling approvide service.” pointments have been filling Ashley Deno, an African up more quickly after the announcement, which may lead to a longer wait time to see a
The Littlefield Fountain in front of the UT Tower was found marked with graffiti and water dyed purple Thursday morning, according to a tweet by the UT Police Department. The red spray paint read: “This is the blood of survivors that UT ignores,” next to a depiction of a hammer and sickle. UT Facilities Services crews removed the spray paint Thursday, UT spokeswoman Cindy Posey said. As the red paint was being removed, the water began turning purple, according to UTPD’s tweet. Posey said Facilities Services workers found two spots where it appears dye was poured into the fountain, causing the purple water. Facilities Services will have to drain the fountain, clean it and refill it in order to remove the purple water. As of 9 p.m. Thursday night, the fountain had not been drained. “I think it’s unfortunate for the larger campus
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Littlefield Fountain runs ‘bloody’ purple @annalassmann
ashley nava | the daily texan staff UT students stop and take a photo of the Littlefield Fountain while on their way to class. The Revolutionary Student Front graffitied and dyed the fountain in protest. community to have to deal with vandalism,” Perez said. “Whatever message the perpetrators used is equally as likely to turn people off to their message as achieve their goals. I don’t know how many man-hours it takes to drain the fountain, clean it and remove the spray paint, but those costs have to come from somewhere.”
UTPD is currently investigating the incident. “The use of the hammer and sickle is offensive and should be offensive to everyone,” said Luke Perez. government graduate student. “It’s a reference to the Soviet Union and, I gather, intended to suggest that the people who vandalized the fountain believe in communism.
It’s disgusting.” Accounting junior Aaron Hannie said when he first saw the purple fountain he thought it was planned for International Women’s Day, and then he saw the graffiti and thought it was a disrespectful way to get a message across.
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