SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900 @THEDAILYTEXAN | THEDAILYTEXAN.COM
THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 123
N E WS
O PI N I O N
LI FE&A RTS
SPORTS
Female students outnumber female faculty members on campus. PAGE 3
Thoughts on representation on Spotify and data collection online. PAGE 4
Mental health column discusses techniques to help conquer social anxiety. PAGE 8
Senior Paige von Sprecken pitches a shutout as Texas defeats No. 25 Texas State, 3-0. PAGE 6
UNIVERSITY
UT remains on high alert after bombing suspect’s death
COUNTY
Wait times hindering student voters Voting Center Waiting Times Average wait times on March 6, Primary Election Day Flawn Academic Center
Travis County Average
42
3
By Brianna Stone @bristone19
Although the suspected Austin serial bomber is dead, UT will remain on high alert in regard to campus safety and security in the following weeks. Over the last couple of weeks, four explosions have shaken Austin, leaving two dead and four injured, with one explosion outside of San Antonio injuring one. Suspect Mark A. Conditt of Pflugerville, 23, was killed Wednesday morning when he detonated a bomb in his car as police closed in on him. Despite the suspect being dead, UT is not letting its guard down. “If you see something, say something,” UT Police Department Chief David Carter said. “We know that the potential bomber blew up, but it’s very important for people to understand that does not eliminate all threats.” Carter said UTPD is working hard to ensure the safety of UT, but the community has the responsibility to be vigilant. Throughout the bombings, Carter said UT was never under immediate threat. After the fourth explosion
minutes
minutes
Randalls in Lakeway, Texas
0
minutes
Travis County has 155 total polling locations Half of polling locations had a wait time close to one minute or less
SOURCE: Travis County Elections Office
Election day lines and wait times may be discouraging student voting. By Chase Karacostas @chasekaracostas
O
n primary election day earlier this month, the average wait time for the Flawn Academic Center polling booth was 42 minutes — 14 times longer than the average for all of Travis County. This number is based off of data taken from each of Travis County’s polling location 36 times on election day, March 6. The wait time at the FAC, which is typically the most convenient polling location for students and faculty, ranged from just a few minutes to more than two hours throughout the day. For some students, the FAC’s wait time meant going off campus to vote in order to avoid the line. Advertising junior Urub Khawaja and biomedical engineering senior Drew Fix both waited for more than 30 minutes at the FAC before giving up and driving to another voting center. However, Khawaja said not everyone, especially many college students, has the option of being able to drive off campus to vote.
“Often times, many people will discuss how they are frustrated with the government or things that are happening in the country, but they won’t go out and vote,” Khawaja said. “Having long lines is a problem because they won’t have a say because they’ll be discouraged from voting.” The next closest polling location to campus is at the intersection of 29th Street and Lamar Boulevard and had an average wait time of one minute on election day. However, there is no way to measure how many students chose this location, or others, to vote. Sherri Greenberg, public affairs professor who served as a state representative from 1991–2001, said people are easily deterred from voting — especially college students, who may need the time to study. “Voter turnout in Texas is abysmally, horribly low (already),” Greenberg said. “Long lines can certainly be discouraging not just for students but for the general population. … One way or the other, I would like to see a shorter wait time, but I’m not sure how to best accomplish that.” However, Greenberg said lacking proper identification, insufficient knowledge about elections and inclem-
VOTING page 2
mallika gandhi| the daily texan staff
SUSPECT page 3 SYSTEM
UNIVERSITY
UT System clarifies data on financial aid for tuition By Maria Mendez @mellow_maria
UT only covers the full tuition of roughly 60 percent of students from families earning $80,000 or less, University officials said after data from the UT System raised questions on Monday. During the Board of Regents meeting, at which the Board approved a 2 percent tuition increase, System leaders presented information that appeared to indicate UT used scholarships, grants and tuition waivers to cover 100 percent of the tuition and fees of all students with family incomes of $80,000 or less. “I am a UT-Austin grad and my family makes less than 80k and I one-hundred percent did not get my fees and tuition covered by the University,” UT alumnus Spenser Walters said on Twitter. As students on Twitter suspected after the information was reported, the data does not reflect the reality for all UT students from that income bracket. UT System spokesperson Karen Adler said the there was a “lack of explanation on the data.” The main explanation lacking in the reports was that the data was an average of how much financial aid students from families earning $80,000 or less
received in the 2015–2016 academic year. “This means there are students in this income category who receive financial aid that covers more than 100 percent of their tuition and there are students who receive financial aid that covers less than the full cost of tuition,” Adler said in an email.
Tuition Aid For how many students does UT cover tuition?
60%
of students from families earning $80,000 or less who filed a FAFSA in 2016–2017 academic year SOURCES: UT Offices of the Executive Vice President and Provost
The data also only took into account undergraduate students who qualified for resident tuition, filed a FAFSA or Texas Application for State Financial Aid, and enrolled in 12 or more credit hours in the 2015-2016 academic year. Joey Williams, communications director for the Office
of the Provost at UT, said in the 2016–2017 academic year UT used scholarships and grants to cover the tuition of more than 60 percent of students from families with an adjusted growth income of $80,000 or less and who filed a FAFSA. This percentage does not usually vary, Williams said. “The way (the data was) presented leads you to believe that all students that fall in that category get a fullride essentially,” Williams said. “That’s definitely not case. We don’t have a tuition promise that matches any income currently.” Walters, who graduated from UT in 2012, did not receive any grants, scholarships or tuition waivers until after his sophomore year, when he joined the Marine Corps Reserves. He said the misunderstanding disappointed him. “The statement suggests that UT picks up the bill for all students whose families make 80k or less per year,” Walters said in an email. “It is very misleading and makes it seem like they are doing more for their lower income students than they actually are.” But Walters said he still understands the need for the tuition increases, especially with the recent decline in state funding. “It doesn’t change how I feel about tuition going up,” Walters said in an email. “Universities have to have funding.”
victoria smith | the daily texan staff
TOWER Fellows Program gives adult professionals second chance By Sara Schleede @ saraschleede
Entrepreneurs, CEOs and other experienced professionals will be trading briefcases for backpacks under UT’s new TOWER Fellows Program. Now accepting applications for the 2018–2019 academic year, the nine-month program is for those transitioning into a new career path, developing an entrepreneurial venture or hoping to explore the next stage of their life. “(We want) to provide people
with an opportunity to immerse themselves in university life today and to take advantage of the wonderful instructional facilities and resources that the University has,” said Isabella Cunningham, faculty director for the program. The program seeks fellows with 20 to 30 years of professional experience, meaning middle-aged adults and older can live the college life, from sitting in lectures to enjoying Austin’s culture. “Why is university education limited to young adults now that people can often change careers, or when they’re in their 50s and
60s and have another 15 years of productive work?” said Amon Burton, an adjunct professor of law who attended a similar program at Stanford. The program will accept 25–30 fellows, who will have to pay a fee to enroll. Fellows will have access to UT’s 12,000 courses and all UT facilities and events but will not necessarily be seeking degrees. Cunningham said undergraduates and graduates can benefit from learning from older, experienced professionals and
FELLOWS page 2