SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900 @THEDAILYTEXAN | THEDAILYTEXAN.COM
MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2018
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 135
N E WS
O PI N I O N
LI FE &A RTS
SPORTS
Panelists discuss gun violence and gun policy at on-campus event Saturday. PAGE 2
Rex Tillerson would not make an acceptable Chancellor for UT. PAGE 4
South of Everywhere combines fashion with a community meeting place. PAGE 3
Texas dominates Samford en route to third-consecutive series sweep. PAGE 6
UNIVERSITY
The tuition increase will fund faculty salaries, other initiatives. By Maria Mendez @ mellow_maria
W
ith slightly higher tuition bills for the next two years, students will help UT fund efforts for student success and faculty salaries. In March, the UT System Board of Regents allowed the University to raise tuition by 2 percent for the next two academic years. A survey by the Senate of College Councils last fall found almost half of UT students opposed raising tuition, which previously increased in 2011, 2016 and 2017. But University officials say the revenue from the latest increases will help the University serve students while addressing inflation and budget constraints. The increases are estimated to add $13.5 million to the
University’s budget for the 2019 fiscal year and $13.2 million for the 2020 fiscal year. Forty percent of this revenue will go toward the University’s various student success efforts, including a new University-wide career and development center in the Flawn Academic Center, said Joey Williams, communications director for the Office of the Provost. The career center is still under planning but will focus on ensuring all students are prepared for careers. Existing student success efforts include the Graduation Help Desk, First-Year Interest Groups and success programs, such as the Foundation Scholars for Liberal Arts students and the McCombs Success Scholars. Williams said the University is also seeking to improve financial aid to students. All these efforts, which will be expanded with revenue from the increases, are intended to “support students to graduate on-time, minimize debt and prepare them for life after
graduation,” Williams said in an email. The other 60 percent of the revenue from the tuition increases will help improve faculty salaries, which have lagged behind salaries at other universities since the global financial crisis of 2008. Due to the crisis, the University kept faculty salaries frozen for many years, Williams said. But other top research universities continued raising their faculty salaries. “Now, we find ourselves in a position where our faculty salaries are well below average compared to our national peers,” Williams said. The below-average salaries put the University at risk of losing faculty because of higher compensation at other universities, Williams said. “We’re trying to make investments in making sure we’re keeping our top faculty here … and top competitive salaries to hire new faculty,” Williams
TUITION page 5
infographic by mallika gandhi | the daily texan staff
UNIVERSITY
Pharmacy professor Richard Morrisett found dead Morrisett, whose criminal charges sparked campus controversy, dies at 57. By Anna Lassmann & Chase Karacostas @ annalassmann @ chasekaracostas
UT pharmacy professor Richard Morrisett was found dead in his South Austin home Thursday afternoon, the University confirmed in a statement Friday morning. The cause and manner of Morrisett’s death has yet to be released from the Medical Examiner’s office. “Professor Morrisett’s death is a tragedy,” UT President Gregory Fenves said in the statement. “We support his family and loved ones as they grieve during this time. We recognize these are difficult times on campus and the University will offer all the support we can to students, faculty and staff members.” The Travis County Sheriff’s office said they went to Morrisett’s house Thursday for a welfare check, which was called in by the University after Morrisett missed an appointment, University spokesperson J.B. Bird said. Morrisett’s neighbor, Shelby Walden, said she lives diagonally across the street from him and had not seen him recently. Walden said she has known Morrisett for years and he typically did yard work on the weekends.
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NATION
CAMPUS
Gay dating app Grindr will remind users to get tested regularly for HIV By Chase Karacostas @chasekaracostas
The gay dating app Grindr, which claims to have more than 3 million daily users, now offers a feature for users to receive reminders to get HIV tested every 3–6 months. The reminders debuted late last month and are accompanied by recommendations for the nearest test clinic for users who opt-in to receive the reminders. Grindr already allows users to display their HIV status and “Last Tested Date” as part of their profile, and Jack Harrison-Quintana, Grindr’s vice president of social impact, said this was a
logical next step. “The gay, bi and trans people are especially impacted by HIV, and in places like rural America or the American South where there isn’t a lot of funding for HIV education, Grindr is a great way to reach people who might not otherwise know about testing sites near them or where to find resources for sexual health education,” Harrison-Quintana said in an email. Thomas Mayer, a supply chain management sophomore, said he has been using Grindr for a few years. Mayer said he thinks the reminders are a good idea because of how the app inherently encourages casual sex and plans
to use them. “If you’re dating around or sleeping around, you’re definitely getting the safety and health recommendations at the source,” Mayer said. Overall, the rate of new annual HIV infections in the U.S. is declining, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. However, among gay and bisexual men, the number of annual new infections remained stable at about 26,000 per year from 2010–2014. Gay and bisexual men also accounted for 70 percent of new HIV infections in 2014. HIV lacks a cure but is now a highly treatable disease. Individuals who test positive
and begin antiretroviral treatments, which can suppress the virus to an almost undetectable state, can often live healthy lives, said sociology professor Shannon Cavanagh, who teaches a class on HIV and AIDS each fall. The use of antiretrovirals, along with PrEP, a drug that protects against the virus, means those living with HIV can still safely have sex without worry of spreading it. Nevertheless, Steven Tamayo, a representative for The Q Austin, an LGBTQ community clinic providing HIV testing, said testing still faces stigma due to a lack of
GRINDR page 5
channing miller | the daily texan staff
Students shave their heads for cancer research By Nicole Stuessy @ nicole_stuessy
Actuarial science senior Madason Donaho ran her fingers over her completely bald head in front of the UT Tower on Saturday morning. Just an hour before, it was covered by waist-length hair. Donaho and 84 others participated in Students Making Impacts Through Love and Empathy’s eighth annual “Brave the Shave” on Saturday morning, an event where participants shave their heads to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer. As of Friday night, SMILE raised over $36,500 for St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest childhood cancer research organization in America. “I was probably the most nervous I have ever been in my life,” Donaho said. “I was just terrified because this is unmarked territory for a lot of us women, we haven’t ever had a bald head since we were out of the womb.” Donaho said she decided to shave a week earlier but had been debating it for around six months. “Honestly I just couldn’t get the idea of it out of my head and I knew that if I didn’t do it, I would be disappointed in myself,” Donaho said. “Both of my grandparents died of pancreatic cancer.” Event committee chair Sydney Moore said they recruit people to be shaved but also receive some volunteers. “We have a lot of people that reach out to us and then we also
BRAVE THE SHAVE page 2
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MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2018M
UNIVERSITY
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Class registration inflicts stress upon students By Karsyn Lemmons @klemmonsss
The two words “class registration” have the capability to send a chill down students’ spines, bringing to mind prior struggles with the system. UT students will soon be able to enroll in Fall 2018 classes. But with such a high student population and even higher demand for specific classes, students can be left without the courses they need to graduate on time, filling their schedules with unnecessary subjects. Civil engineering junior Javier Holguin says he wonders why UT doesn’t offer a different system allowing students to register for all their classes at the same time. “After the time it takes to enroll in one class, all my other classes are filled,” Holguin said. “There should be a system that always (allows) me to enroll in multiple classes at once.” Holguin isn’t alone in this feeling. Management information systems sophomore Saman Ali and biology sophomore Simin Maknojia agreed, saying they both transferred from schools with easier systems. Shelby Stanfield, Vice Provost and University Registrar, said despite the fact the system has been changed over the years, there’s no actual reason why students are required to
Sports Reporters Wills Layton, Shane Lewis
mel westfall | the daily texan staff enter unique numbers individually during registration. “There’s no specific reason for why UT hasn’t moved to a different type of system,” Stanfield said. “This is simply something UT hasn’t yet explored, although the system has been enhanced and developed over the course of the years.” Maknojia said she believes at the very least students should be able to see how many
MORRISETT
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lacey segars | the daily texan staff Panelists discuss common sense gun laws and solutions to gun violence at an on-campus event hosted by Texas Progressive Action Network.
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Gun panel discusses arming teachers
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of seats in each class may do more harm than good as class sizes are subject to change during registration. “We get this request routinely,” Stanfield said. “Though a reason this is not offered is that the number of seats is variable and changes over the course of registration as the university evaluates different factors. Being that it’s not a set number it has the potential to
CITY
L&A Reporters Karsyn Lemmons, Liliana Hall, Daniel Young, Alexis Tatum
TODAY Apr. 9
seats are available in each class as well as how many spots become filled the closer they get to registration. “That way if you’re trying to sign up for it, you can see how many spots will be available, even if it’s full,” Maknojia said. “If it’s a bigger class, more people are likely to drop it and that way you can have backups.” Stanfield said supplying students with an exact number
be misleading.” For journalism sophomore Savannah Olson, registration just isn’t coming at the right time. With major exams around the corner, she said the addition of determining your fall course schedule adds an extra burden of stress. “I feel really unprepared because you’re dealing with the stress of school while also figuring out what classes you need to take, what classes you’re allowed to take, and trying to build the correct schedule that doesn’t get you offtrack,” Olson said. “And you have to do all this when you’re almost preparing for finals, too.” Stanfield said he agrees that planning the perfect time for registration can be difficult, but ultimately it’s about scheduling it during a time that is most practical for the students. “It’s about trying to find a time that is the least intrusive,” Stanfield said. “You don’t want registration during spring break and you don’t want it too far out in the summer, so you have a limited window.” Stanfield offered a last bit of advice to students prior to their registration date — use the tools UT provides students. “Work with your advisors,” Stanfield said. “Check to see if you have any financial holds that can be cleared in advance and be very familiar with the degree audit system, so when the time comes, you’re prepared.”
During a panel discussion Saturday, Shraddha Joshi, a student organizer for the Round Rock March for Our Lives, said the scope of gun violence is not just limited to school shootings. “I was really young when Sandy Hook happened, and as just a middle school student I wanted to start advocating for it,” Meridian World School junior Joshi said. “But after a few months, things kind of died down and here we are seeing another uprising.” Six panelists spoke at the on-campus event, which was hosted by the Texas Progressive Action Network. Panelists discussed gun violence and the impact policies related to it would have on students. Stephanie Martin, an English teacher from Early College High School in Round Rock, said she is opposed to the idea of increasing officers on her campus and tougher disciplinary measures. “We’re talking about children here, not hard criminals,” Martin said. “My job as an educator is to teach them the power of literacy in their own voice and also to be a model for them. You can choose to set your school up like that or you can be a hardnosed authoritarian.” Margaret Haule, founder
BRAVE THE SHAVE continues from page 1
go and talk to student organizations and table in West Mall and Speedway,” Moore, an undeclared sophomore, said. “We have had three people just today show up and decide to shave so we just fit them in the schedule.” Environmental science sophomore Han Ooi said he was not nervous to shave his head because he has been bald before. “My parents don’t agree with it, but I love being bald and it’s easier washing your
of Black Lives Matter Austin, said student mental health must be prioritized, which starts with better-trained counselors. Haule also said schools need to implement alternatives to punishment that don’t lead to the criminalization of students. “The presence of school officers has a strong correlation in regards to harsher disciplinary measures of students, particularly policing the students,” Haule said. Arming school teachers, an idea opposed by 73 percent of school teachers according to a Gallup poll, would be harmful primarily to African-American students, said Ishia Lynette, an Austin Justice Coalition board member. “There’s a lot of cultural differences between African-Americans and white people,” Lynette said. “Let’s say a black child reacts a certain way and a white teacher may view this as violent, does that give the teacher the right to feel threatened and shoot this child or react to this child in a different way?” Human biology senior Cory Nunn, who attended the discussion for a research project, said she would have liked to see more students present. “I think a lot more people should have come,” Nunn said. “They said it only takes a couple votes to flip a seat (in the government) and there’s only 20 people in this room and we’re not enough.”
hair,” Ooi said. “I did it mainly for (my) grandpa because he passed away last year and shaving my head is a way of showing the love I have for him.” Donaho said the experience was empowering for her. “I decided to shave because it scares the hell out of me,” Donaho said. “I know that there are women and men out there who have to face the fear of losing their hair without choosing to do so, and I’m choosing to stand with them and show women that it doesn’t matter how long your hair is, you are still beautiful.”
Walden said she heard police sirens around noon on Thursday but did not see the Travis County Sheriff SUVs outside of Morrisett’s house until 45 minutes later when she left to run an errand. “I actually thought (the sirens) were coming from FM 1826, which is that highway that you come off on into our neighborhood,” Walden said. “I didn’t realize it was this close into our house.” Walden said Morrisett has lived there for many years and used to host annual parties for pharmacy school faculty and students but has not done so in several years. Morrisett was charged with a felony after strangling his girlfriend until “she saw stars,” in May 2016, according to an arrest affidavit. Morrisett was also accused of a violent incident in July 2016 that sent his girlfriend to the hospital. These charges were
resolved through a plea deal with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office in February 2017, sentencing him to four years probation, 100 hours of community service and a required class on family violence. Following an Austin American-Statesman investigation, which revealed UT kept Morrisett as faculty after pleading guilty, backlash occurred. On Feb. 5, the pharmacy buildings were tagged with red graffiti messages such as “Watch your back Richard,” alongside a depiction of a hammer and sickle. Additionally, about two dozen students protested outside the pharmacy buildings on Feb. 13. Fenves ordered a policy review for handling off– campus employee criminal conduct after the Statesman investigation. Fenves announced the results of the policy review on Thursday and said University review of off-campus misconduct would be expanded to
consider if actions violate the University’s “Mission, Core Values and Code of Conduct.” M. Lynn Crismon, Dean of the College of Pharmacy, released a statement Friday regarding Morrisett’s death, saying he does not have information about potential memorial arrangements for the professor. “I regret to inform you that Pharmacology & Toxicology Professor Richard Morrisett has died unexpectedly,” Crismon said. “My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.” Pharmacy Council president Melissa Kang, a pharmacy graduate student, also released a statement Friday on behalf of the Council following the news of Morrisett’s death. “Our College has had a difficult semester that has culminated in devastating news,” Kang said. “It is crucial that our University learns from this whole situation and never allows it to happen again.”
copyright nikolas nobel, and reproduced with permission Professor Richard Morrisett, whose criminal charges shook campus this semster, was found dead in his home Thursday. The Medical Examiner has not released cause of death.
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alex briseno | the daily texan staff Social work sophomore Annie Teer, left, and economics sophomore Katia Eaton, right, hold hands as they participate in Brave The Shave.
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CHARLES LIU & CHRIS DUNCAN
LIFE&ARTS EDITORS @THEDAILYTEXAN
MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2018
FASHION
South of Everywhere brings new style to Austin Fashion-forward retail store offers new shopping experience. By Alexis Tatum @tatumalexis
A
ustin’s latest retail shop provides new styles and amenities you might not typically see
in Texas. According to co-owner Bryan Jordan, South of Everywhere is a fashion-forward retail store designed to give visitors a new shopping experience. The store is run by three men in their 20s, and it is specially constructed to act as a venue, lounge space and streetwear boutique. “We created South of Everywhere to fill a sort of void for creatives in Austin,” Jordan said. “We wanted a place for young people who are in tune with fashion and music.” Jordan heads the store along with CEO Cade Wilson and head of marketing Emory Blake.
Located roughly four miles from campus, the store opened last month and seeks to attract a fashionable and style-savvy audience. Jordan said he thought of the name “South of Everywhere” while working on a personal blog a few years ago. “It was one of those things where I talked about where I was from,” Jordan said. “I’ve lived a little bit of everywhere, and I couldn’t choose where to say I was from. So I just said ‘south of everywhere’ and it stuck.” Blake described South of Everywhere as an experience rather than just a retail store. “We want people to enjoy themselves here,” Blake said. “It’s an urban contemporary fashion gallery or a culture center where people can just vibe.” Blake said he got the idea for the store after finding a lack of his own tastes in Austin. “I’m from Austin, I’ve definitely noticed a void where I can shop,” Blake said. “Austin has vintage stores and normal retail stores that have nice things, but they’re not quite my style. There’s
just certain colors, cuts and skins that are hard to come by here.” Jordan, a 2016 textile and apparel UT alumnus, said the store will provide a relaxed atmosphere for young people to shop and creatives to gather. “First thing that people notice when they walk in here is the design,” Jordan said. “It’s a multi-usable space. We have a stage, a lounge with Wi-Fi, and the racks are removable.” Isaiah Garcia, a textile and apparel sophomore and South of Everywhere intern, said the shop correlates with his own tastes. “It was first brought to my attention by my friend, and he said that it seemed like a really cool store that I would fit in with because I’m into fashion, especially streetwear,” Garcia said. “I like the goals. They wanted to bring a certain New York or L.A. aesthetic here to the heart of Texas.” Garcia said South of Everywhere is especially important to him because of the diversity and unity he sees there. “How many boutiques do you see in Austin run by black
joshua guenther | the daily texan staff South of Everywhere co-owner Emory Blake relazes between steaming $225 shirts and planning a Masters Tournament watch party with co-owner Bryan Jordan and CEO Cade Wilson. people? Not many,” Garcia said. “The great thing about South of Everywhere is that there’s these two black guys and one white guy and they bring together this greater sense
of community.” Jordan said South of Everywhere stands out from other stores in Austin because of the exclusive garments it houses. “The pieces we have here are
completely different from anything you’ll see in this city or in this state,” Jordan said. “There’s a lot of love here; the people in here, we’re passionate about what we do.”
ALBUM REVIEW | ‘SEX AND FOOD’
Dance with Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s psychedelic new LP By Ruben Paquian @rubenpaq
With funky psychedelic grooves and somber Spanish influenced sonnets, Unknown Mortal Orchestra explores disappointments with modern society in their fourth studio LP Sex and Food. From their sophomore album II to their third, Multi-Love, modern psychedelic indie rock band Unknown Mortal Orchestra shifted from acoustic psychedelic sound to a electronic psych pop. Their latest LP Sex and Food takes the strength of both previous albums, employing songs heavy with hard ‘70s psychedelic buzz to soft serenading hymns, making it their most diverse arrangement yet. New
Zealand natives, singer songwriter Ruban Nielson and bassist Jake Portrait of Unknown Mortal Orchestra deliver an intense commentary on the social state of the world with Sex and Food. Through their signature groovy style, Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Sex and Food leaves listeners moving to songs of love and pain while waiting for the end of the world. To serve the album’s artistic direction, Nielson took over a year to travel and record in studios around the world. With recording locations varying from Mexico City and Vietnam, influences from each region make their way onto multiple tracks. Both “Internet of Love,” an earnest address to an old lover, and the acoustic-apocalyptic “This Doomsday” reveal hints of Spanish-influenced guitar melodies, most likely taken
from Nielson’s time in Mexico. Subtle influences such as these add unique components to Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s modern psychedelic sound. Sex and Food expands on this psychedelic trend through its heavy use of psychedelic distortion and buzz in their guitar and bass. The album’s third track “Major League Chemicals” is a prime example of their heavy instrumentation — the high energy lo-fi buzz of the instrumentals in this piece make it sound as if it came straight from a set list at Woodstock. “American Guilt” explores a complex relationship with pride and guilt Nielson believes is accompanied with American culture. Employing the hard hitting buzz makes this the heaviest song composed by the band. Although Nielson denies any intention to make his albums
politically charged, many of this record’s core ideas could be seen as a commentary on state of the world’s political climate. The song “Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays” hides its critique of society’s rampant careless drug use with funk melodies and basslines. Lyrics such as “I’m caught beyond the feeling, I won’t live far beyond this” sum up Nielson’s feelings of pessimistic dread. The more ominous stoner psych tune “Ministry of Alienation” adds more material to this dreadful theme, addressing Nielson’s grievances with the current political discourse. The lyric, “can’t escape the 20th century, Handing in my resignation,” speaks to this motif of disappointment. While the album is rampant with heavy critiques and themes, Nielson reserves a few tracks for less
“SEX AND FOOD” ARTIST: Unknown Mortal Orchestra GENRE: Alternative/Indie RATING:
politically charged themes. “Hunnybee”, a soft funky song Nielson wrote for his daughter uses a sweet groove catchy melody as a needed break from some of the heavier themes on the album. Closing with “If You’re Going to Break Yourself,” Sex and Food concludes with a slowed heartfelt song speaking to the love that lingers after a breakup, leaving the listener
LP page 8
MOVIE REVIEW | ‘YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE’
TEXAS STUDENT MEDIA is home to the most promising future journalists, editors, satirists, radio producers and showrunners at the University of Texas at Austin. Deened by its mission to provide the “uncensored voice” of the UT student body, Texas Student Media is at the forefront of student-focused, skills-driven, practical learning. Through its six award-winning media entities — The Daily Texan, TSTV, KVRX, the Cactus Yearbook, Texas Travesty, and Burnt X — more than 1,500 student participants learn how to report and produce content each year. At TSM, students have the unique opportunity to run independent newsrooms and gain the professional credibility that will allow them to thrive in an ever-evolving media industry. Simply put, TSM provides the tools eve and training that transform aspiring students into young professional credibility that will allow them to thrive in an ever-evolving media industry.
copyright amazon studios, and reproduced with permission Lynn Ramsey delivers a powerful, singular story in “You Were Never Really Here,” her follow-up to 2011’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
‘You Were Never Really Here’ is a heartfelt, face-slamming hit By Daniel Young @danielyoung54
“You Were Never Really Here” is an hour and a half of Joaquin Phoenix beating up strangers with a hammer, but it has more heart than most of the movies released so far this year. Written and directed by Lynn Ramsey (“We Need to Talk About Kevin”), “You Were Never Really Here” follows Joe, a hammer-wielding vigilante-for-hire on a quest to rescue a child from sex slavery. Between hitmen, the burden of taking care of his elderly mother and his own trauma, Joe is pushed to his breaking point. As he beats his way through hired muscle and inches closer to finding the girl, he’s forced to confront his worst fears. Beyond that, synopsizing “You Were Never Really Here” doesn’t do the film justice. Ramsey is a director in a league of her own, and her voice is integral to the identity of the film in a way that few director’s are. In the hands of anyone else, this story could easily have been passable or overblown, the kind of fare that you skip when you find it on Netflix because you’ve already seen “Taken.” Under Ramsey, though, it’s a rare, pulse-pounding poem
of a movie — everything is intentional, and from the broadest plot point down to the tiniest moments, she crafts the film with an obsessive attention to detail. At times, “You Were Never Really Here” almost seems to be an homage or response to “Taxi Driver,” as the plot and themes of Scorsese’s film seem to linger around the picture from beginning to end. However, Ramsey flips the script in such a way as to make the “tortured man saves young girl from sex slavery” story feel completely new and entirely more impactful than it’s ever been before. Joe isn’t Travis Bickle. He’s a grizzly-sized veteran of the war in the Middle East, and unlike Bickle, whose “You talkin’ to me” monologue has become a cultural touchstone, Joe’s “episodes” aren’t quotable or iconic so much as they are dazzlingly painful. Above all else, Ramsey loves Joe, and her dedication to understanding him sets her work apart from anything similar to it. Phoenix’s turn as Joe, the latest in a career that’s already filled to the brim with amazing physical performances, stands out as yet another classic. He broods around the movie, looming physically over everything and everyone he comes into contact with
while still remaining the most vulnerable character on screen at all times. Carefully, Phoenix delivers Joe’s fundamental injuries without missing a beat, crashing around a scene at one moment like a force of nature and breaking down into tears the next. It also can’t be understated how beautiful this movie is. Cinematographer Tom Townend, who shot “We Need to Talk About Kevin” for Ramsey in 2011, is back again with a magnificent sense for how her stories ought to be told visually. Between Phoenix’s outstanding performance and Ramsey’s skill for visualizing raw emotions, “You Were Never Really Here” stands as another great entry in two impressive careers. Whereas most filmmakers would seem content just to make movies with either a compelling action flick or moving drama, Ramsey delivers on both fronts, and as a result, “You Were Never Really There” might be a new classic.
“YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE” RUN TIME: 90 minutes MPAA RATING: R SCORE:
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JANHAVI NEMAWARKAR, VIK SHIRVAIKAR, LIZA ANDERSON
MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2018
FORUM EDITORS | @TEXANOPINION
GUEST COLUMN
GUEST COLUMN
University community must say no to Rex By Andrew Costigan guest columnist
mel westfall | the daily texan staff
Federal immigration policies are un-American By Joseph Kopser guest columnist
Immigration reform has become one of the most divisive issues in our country today. Never a simple topic in modern times, it has been used by President Trump to divide the American electorate, introduce and inflame fear and literally break families apart as a backdrop for his incendiary and racist rhetoric. Trump’s decision to send the National Guard to our border is just the latest step away from American values. America was founded on the principle that we are stronger as a whole, with people from a multitude of backgrounds contributing to the greater good. As the threats of travel bans, ICE deportations and exploitation of sanctuary cities and DREAMers become the new normal in American political discourse, that principle has been left behind. Congress has the power to reign in this abuse but in refusing to act time and time again, they have become complicit in betraying American principles. We must demand they stand up to the President and represent America’s true values. As a Democratic candidate in TX-21, my commitment to the citizens of this district and Americans from all walks of life is the same, and together we must challenge the President and Congress to: Stop ripping families apart Thousands of children are being separated from their parents. Siblings are being scattered across countries. This is unethical and un-American. Keep our promises DREAMers are here by
no fault of their own and have worked hard to gain an education and contribute to the strength of our nation, fulfilling the requirements of the law. We need to fulfill our side of that bargain. No border wall Having lived along the border myself, I know what is already in place — and I know that building on existing fencing would be an outrageous waste of resources. Our borders can be adequately secured by technology and diplomatic action. The long-term solution is to engage Mexico and Central America to improve their overall economic situation and quality of life, in the mutual interest of a safe, prosperous region. Begin real, comprehensive immigration reform that builds on our founding principles and prevents the issue from being compromised on the campaign trail. These are not just the right things to do; they’re the practical things to do. If we don’t have real immigration reform — a comprehensive path to citizenship that welcomes new Americans from overseas and across our borders, we will not have the resources necessary to fuel the economy of the 21st century. Whether it’s to ensure we have enough workers paying into the system to keep Social Security intact or to ensure we’re defended at home and abroad, immigration is a moral, ethical and economic imperative to the long-term development of both Texas and America. And a strong economy, sustained social safety programs and a robust military are all byproducts of the most important objective: keeping families together. Kopser is a candidate for U.S. Congress in Texas’s 21st district.
The consideration of Rex Tillerson, former Secretary of State with the Trump Administration and former CEO of ExxonMobil, for chancellor of the University of Texas System should be a cause of serious concern to the University community for several reasons. First, Rex Tillerson has no experience as an educator or researcher. His total lack of experience in both domains makes him poor choice to oversee a network of institutions for which education and research are the primary endeavors. Second, according to a lawsuit filed by the New York State’s Attorney General, Rex Tillerson, in the capacity of CEO at ExxonMobil, was a key participant in a decades-long campaign of misinformation to sway public opinion and deter action addressing climate change. The University of Texas at Austin touts ethical behavior in the practice of business, research and learning as an important characteristic of community members, and the representation of truth and personal responsibility are stated core values. The ongoing investigation into Mr. Tillerson calls into question his sense of ethics and willingness to represent the truth. Third, the appointment process for the chancellor is not democratic and offers limited opportunity for input from the 240,000 students across the Texas System, as well as the thousands of faculty and staff members. Rather, this process rests largely in the hands of UT’s Board of Regents who are appointed by the governor. The search and appointment process for a new chancellor should make use of education experts across the UT system, as well as surveying the perspectives of students in order to determine the type of leadership they want because the students are the bedrock of the university, the reason it exists. Fourth, the consideration of Rex Tillerson is yet another example of a disturbing and decades-long trend of public higher education institutions reflecting a corporatist model governance and organization. Increasingly, leadership roles are filled by individuals with professional experience and expertise in business, management and “efficiency,” rather
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than people with the skills he rac and experience to be visionary leaders in the field of education. The former type of leader is ill-equipped to facilitate activity on university campuses addressing the myriad of pressing issues affecting Texas and our society in general, including ecological degradation, racial injustice, economic inequality and so forth. I encourage students, staff, faculty and alumni to reflect on the consideration of Rex Tillerson as chancellor and, if selected, the impacts his leadership may have on university life. In particular, I urge faculty, especially tenured faculty, to voice their opposition to this appointment and organize towards an alternative. Tenured faculty members across disciplines, who have self-selected for careers in the academy, bear a responsibility to use their highly developed skills in observation, analysis, speaking and writing to voice opposition when these poorly conceived decisions are on the table, which further illustrate the erosion of pubic, higher education. Furthermore, tenured faculty are privileged with job security, in contrast to many staff, adjuncts and graduate student instructors, and thus, hold greater power. Costigan is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Psychology.
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GUEST COLUMN
Scientific funding problems have solutions By Griffin Glenn guest columnist
21st century science takes money — in most cases, lots of it. In the United States, a significant portion of the funding supporting basic research in the sciences is supplied by the federal government, particularly the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). These agencies disburse billions of dollars each year, with a funding system that depends heavily on peer review in academic journals. Journal peer review is generally considered the “gold standard” of good science, the self-correcting aspect of the discipline that makes it uniquely qualified to discover nature’s secrets. Unfortunately, deeply-rooted incentives in the funding system tend to worsen preexisting problems in science publication, and the overall process warrants a closer look. Perhaps the most insidious of these problems is publication bias. Publication bias appears when researchers do not publish negative results, focusing instead on promoting research that indicates some sort of positive result. By and large, scientific journals only publish positive results, meaning that researchers whose work demonstrates a negative or inconclusive result may just move on to a new research question, making it unlikely for anyone else to ever learn about the “unsuccessful” experiment. This practice also disadvantages researchers who produce negative or inconclusive results, since they will generate fewer publications and be less competitive for future grant funding. Since proposals to the NSF or NIH are required to cite published work to make their case, they rely on literature that is already subject to publication bias. This means that researchers might unwittingly propose research that has already been done or that is based on an inaccurate scientific consensus. If the project is funded, it may well go on to experience the same difficulties as similar previous projects — difficulties that were never communicated because they were never published. These scenarios could happen over
and over, needlessly duplicating effort and wasting scientists’ money and time. Additionally, the length and content of papers published in journals has changed over time. Research papers have become shorter and more focused, sometimes providing less supplemental background information in order to save space. Proponents argue that these papers are easier and faster to read and write, helping scientists communicate results more quickly. However, briefer papers with a decreased emphasis on methodological details make it more difficult for researchers to replicate their peers’ work. The trend towards publishing many shorter papers also puts more pressure on journals and reviewers, driving acceptance rates down and encouraging researchers to pump out ever-more papers in the hopes of publishing at least a few of them in high-impact journals.
“The journal peer review system is far from perfect, and deeply-rooted incentives in the funding system tend to deepen preexisting problems in science publication.” Funding agencies encourage this problem. The NSF, for instance, allows researchers who generate a large number of publications from a particular grant to access a streamlined “Accomplishment-Based Renewal” application
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for funding, rather than forcing them to go through the standard renewal process. If the number of publications generated per grant is the metric for success, researchers are encouraged to write shorter papers covering increasingly narrow topics. These papers often sacrifice data quantity and methodology to achieve their brevity, working to the detriment of the overall research community. These problems are deeply rooted in the systems we use to fund and communicate science. They are not, however, untreatable. Strategies exist and can be implemented to address both the problems themselves and their consequences. For example, we could establish journals explicitly dedicated to publishing negative results. They would be well-situated to combat publication bias and would slot easily into the current systems of proposal, publication and peer review. This has worked in the past; in 2002, the Journal of Negative Results in BioMedicine (JNRBM) started taking submissions. Unfortunately, it was shut down in September 2017, with its website claiming that it “succeeded in its mission” by encouraging other journals to publish more articles reporting negative or null results. Clearly, this isn’t enough. Each field needs to have a journal that is widely accepted as a credible source of negative or null results, and publications in that journal should be considered just as impactful as publications in any other journal. This culture shift would dovetail well with a change from major funding agencies in favor of disclosing negative results. For example, the NIH currently requires a “Research Progress Performance Report” with an “Accomplishments” section that discusses how a given research project has accomplished its major goals. If this report additionally encouraged or required researchers to describe their negative results, there would be at least some record of projects that did not succeed and reasons why that might have been the case. Researchers could even phrase their responses on these sections positively, since negative or null results would still be valuable to their fields. We might also be able to achieve these goals by making targeted changes to the funding process. In particular, we could increase funding
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mel westfall | the daily texan staff for high-risk, high-return research, since this is exactly the type of research that the current paradigm tends to work against. The NIH has taken some steps in this direction; in the 2009 stimulus package, for example, Congress gave the NIH $200 million for “challenge grants” intended to funnel money into new, risky areas of research. This sounds great at first, but the NIH received over 21,000 applications for just 200 of these grants. In order for high-risk, high-reward research to be sufficiently supported to make an actual difference, funding agencies must allocate significantly more resources towards such projects. In all, the problems with journal peer review presented above are significant but treatable. With an increased acceptance of publishing or promoting negative results, researchers will be able to reduce their odds of mistakenly duplicating others’ unsuccessful work. More importantly, a marked increase in science funding would free researchers to pursue high-risk, high-reward research that would otherwise have been avoided. These actions are possible inside currently existing frameworks and would be excellent steps toward better journal publications and superior science. Glenn is a physics and Plan II junior.
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CAMPUS
Environmental center encourages green living Sustainability Showcase highlights mindful waste on campus. By Grace Speas @gracespeas
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brooke crim | the daily texan staff Geosciences junior Rachel Breunig speaks to visitors of the Sustainability Showcase on Friday at Gregory Gym. Breunig spoke to them about changes she is making to reduce the use of plastic bottles in her own organization, the Longhorn Band.
TUITION
continues from page 1 said. “That’s why students come to the University to learn from great faculty.” UT President Gregory Fenves implemented a $20 million budget reallocation last summer to help fund salary increases based on merit. But faculty and staff salaries remain the biggest cost for the University, amounting to $151 million or 51 percent of the University’s $3 billion budget for the 2017–18 fiscal year. For the 2017–18 fiscal year, $445 million from tuition helped
GRINDR
continues from page 1 awareness surrounding HIV. “Nobody wants to find out, and then if they do end up finding out that they tested positive, they’re worried (thinking), ‘Bye-bye sex life,’” Tamayo said. According to the CDC, 1 in 6 gay and bisexual men living with HIV are unaware they have it. So Cavanagh said
pay for University salaries, benefits and infrastructure. This did not include Fenves’ salary, which is funded through state funds, gifts and interest from temporary investments. But UT is not the only university increasingly using tuition to cover costs, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Twenty-five states, including Texas, relied more on tuition than state funding, according to SHEEO’s report for 2017. State support for universities has increased over the last five years but remains lower
than before the 2008 recession, according to the report. Andy Cohen, SHEEO’s vice president of finance policy, said Texas universities relied slightly less on tuition than other states in 2017. If these trends hold, Cohen said universities will have a harder time educating traditionally underserved populations, such as black or Latino students. “These students traditionally have higher costs and are less likely to afford tuition increases,” Cohen said. “(The trend) is potentially creating a significant issue that states are going to have to address.”
efforts like Grindr’s are essential to reduce the stigma surrounding testing. “Would people be ashamed if everyone knew they had cancer?” Cavanagh said. “That this is even a story reminds us of the stigma that still exists around HIV and that this is not just any other chronic condition.” Cavanagh said Grindr also creates an environment that encourages casual sex,
“concurrent relationships” — having multiple sexual partners at a time — and intergenerational sex, behaviors that increase the risk of contracting HIV. “In terms of the sort of moral responsibility of a place like Grindr, given that it’s designed to exploit this piece of gay culture, which is the hook-up culture … then having this public health piece built into it makes a lot of sense,” Cavanagh said.
iving green can feel like a global challenge, but sustainability can also serve as a personal mantra, said Brianna Duran, the campus environmental center coordinator. Student leaders gathered for a Sustainability Showcase on Friday to share how their organizations are being mindful of waste on campus. Duran organized the event and said getting connected to waste efforts can prevent negligence. “Students, in general, want to find ways to give back and it’s just about getting them to see there are opportunities,” Duran said. “It doesn’t have to be 15 hours a week to do something. You can
volunteer at Microfarm one Sunday even if you only do it once in the whole academic year.” Duran said students sharing their experiences with others can also increase mindfulness. Those researching and volunteering to reduce campus waste are more aware of their own consumption of food and energy, according to student leaders at the showcase. Biochemistry senior Hye Jeong Lee got involved with Longhorn Lights Out, a group that spreads awareness on energy waste by turning off lights in UT buildings once a month, even before it officially became a registered organization. Lee said it seems the U.S. uses more energy than most countries because of the culture of mass consumption. “(A sustainable mindset) is just not embedded in our culture,” Lee said. “We are in the era of mass consumption, so I think we’re more used to consuming more, because we have the money.” Green Corps has a similar goal
as Longhorn Lights Out but with food mindfulness. The organization conducts “Plate Waste” studies at main dining halls to track food waste and hosts a “Pick Local” event, where students can make their own salad using ingredients grown by UT students. Duran said the most important thing for students to realize is that living a sustainable lifestyle is not a big change. Geosciences junior Rachel Breunig, who is in the Longhorn Band, said the band is making this change toward sustainability. Breunig said the band is working toward using less plastic bottles by implementing Gatorade stations for the water pouches band members currently carry during game day. “When the band heard about this, everybody’s first question was, ‘Am I still going to get my favorite (Gatorade) flavor?’” said Breunig, who is leading the efforts on getting the change approved. “And the answer is yes.”
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TRENTON DAESCHNER
SPORTS EDITOR @TEXANSPORTS
MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2018
BASEBALL
Longhorns sic Bears in dominant series victory Chase Shugart and Blair Henley shut down Bears in series sweep. By Shane Lewis @shanelewis4204
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fter a frustrating series against Kansas State last weekend, head coach David Pierce laid down the gauntlet, challenging his group of starting pitchers to raise their level of play. Pitching wasn’t perfect this weekend, but the improvement was noticeable as Texas surged to a three-game home sweep over Baylor, culminating with a 4-1 win Sunday and two strong performances from pitchers Chase Shugart and Blair Henley, who helped carry the team to a sweep. “Chase (Shugart) really stepped up and Blair (Henley) was outstanding,” Pierce said. “It was a good job going out and getting a sweep in the Big 12 because it’s tough. I tip my hat to the team, the support staff and the coaches because everyone’s been locked in all weekend.” Henley rebounded strongly from a turbulent start against the Wildcats last week —where he was bounced after giving up nine hits and four runs in 3.1 innings — by throwing seven solid frames and giving up only one earned run in Sunday’s win. Henley’s one run came after giving up a solo home run in the second inning, but Henley said he locked in the rest of the way. “Nobody likes home runs and when I gave it up I realized that pitch was right down the middle,” Henley said. “I can’t do that. I started mixing up my pitches better and not throwing it down the middle.” With the effort from Henley, Texas needed only one big inning to capture a victory. That inning came right
anthony mireles | the daily texan staff Redshirt freshman designated hitter Zach Zubia prepares to swing at a pitch during Texas’ 9-5 game one victory against Baylor at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday night. Zubia knocked a two-run home run Sunday afternoon, his sixth of the season, in the Longhorns’ 4-1 game three victory to seal the series sweep. away, when the Longhorn’s scored three runs in the first inning. Junior outfielder Tate Shaw led off the game with a walk, and junior infielder Kody Clemens brought him in with a single. The next batter, redshirt freshman designated hitter Zach Zubia, hammered his sixth home run of the year to put the team up 3-0. “For a young hitter, (Zubia’s) a very smart hitter,” Pierce said. “The (home run) he hit into left-center, I don’t know if you can hit it any harder.
“(Zubia’s) a very smart hitter. The (home run) he hit into left-center, I don’t know if you can hit it any harder.” David Pierce, head coach
He’s powerful.” On Saturday, Shugart provided another solid pitching performance, tossing seven shutout innings as Texas hung on for a 2-0 victory. Clemens was the only offense the team needed, as his solo home run in the first inning proved to be enough. The team also scored an unearned run thanks to a Baylor error. Friday saw the Longhorns trail for the only time in the series. Baylor jumped on junior pitcher Nolan Kingham early, hitting a two-run home
run in the first inning. Things didn’t fare any better for Kingham the rest of the way, as the pitcher was pulled after giving up three hits and two more runs in the second inning. The short stint marked back-to-back two inning starts for the righty. “Not our best outing from Nolan, and we all know that,” Pierce said. “It wasn’t because of effort. His preparation was good. When things don’t go our way we just have to attack it.” Despite trailing 4-0 early, Texas clawed its way back
into the contest. In the bottom of the third, junior catcher DJ Petrinsky cut the deficit in half with a two-run shot to left field. In the fifth, Texas rallied for four runs to grab a lead it wouldn’t relinquish en route to a 9-5 victory. The schedule now heats up for Texas. On Tuesday, the team travels to College Station to take on former Big 12 rival Texas A&M. The Longhorns then prepare for a weekend series at Oklahoma against a Sooner team currently undefeated in conference play.
SOFTBALL
katie bauer | the daily texan staff Senior right-handed pitcher Paige von Sprecken winds up in the circle during Texas’ 15-2 victory over Samford at Red and Charline McCombs Field on Friday night. Von Sprecken also had four RBI in the win.
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Texas brings out the broom yet again with third-straight sweep By Wills Layton @willsdebeast
The Longhorns’ brooms are getting a lot of work so far this season. Texas completed its third series sweep in a row with a 4-0 victory over Samford on Sunday. The consistency on offense and strong pitching performances have helped make the team hard to beat — Texas has 11 wins in its last 12 matchups to prove it. “I think we have high expectations,” Texas head coach Connie Clark said. “I think they have a good sense of reality and understand that it’s about the whole season, not what we are going to do this weekend or the next two weekends.” In Sunday’s game, the team continued the trend of scoring in the first inning. The team has done so in seven of the past eight games, creating early momentum for the offense and a sense of security for the pitching staff. “I think we are being a lot more aggressive at the plate,” sophomore Malory Schattle said. “We’re getting a lot of
walks, but we’re also attacking first pitches as well. When we do that, we really put a lot of stress on the other team’s pitchers, so it forces them to be a little wild or throw it right down the middle.” Sophomore catcher Taylor Ellsworth and senior pitcher Paige von Sprecken both hit home runs during the contest, with Ellsworth’s three-run shot in the bottom of the first, getting the Longhorns out to the early lead. Von Sprecken added her solo shot in the bottom of the third, further cementing her status as a star two-way player at the plate and in the circle. “We came out really strong,” von Sprecken said. “So we just need to make sure we come out strong and fight through every one of our games. It was a good three wins for us.” In the circle for the Longhorns was junior ace Brooke Bolinger, who pitched a strong five innings and collected nine strikeouts while allowing only a single hit. Junior Erica Wright came into the game to close out the victory, pitching two
scoreless innings and striking out three batters. Throughout the series, a total of five pitchers made appearances — almost the entire pitching staff. The depth the team boasts played a large role in the final two shutouts that concluded the series. Both of the team’s aces, von Sprecken and Bolinger, started in games two and three, while the third-best pitcher on the team, Kristen Clark, started the first game which ended in a 15-2 blowout. “I think it’s definitely an advantage that we have six pitchers,” senior captain Randel Leahy said. “Having six pitchers allows us to take someone out of the bullpen and have the opponent not know what to expect.” The sweep brings the team’s record to 23-14, including a perfect conference record of 6-0. The team will travel to San Marcos to face No. 25 Texas State on Wednesday. “Just the confidence piece of getting the sweep,” Wright said. “Confidence is a huge deal so taking that away from a sweep will be great moving forward.”
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MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2018
FOOD
Revival Coffee serves beverages with side of community benefit
ryan lam | the daily texan staff Baristas Mike Kiddoo, left, and Merrin Duhe prepare drinks and talk to a customer at Revival Coffee.
By Brooke Sjoberg @sj0b3rg
Now under new ownership, the former Vintage Heart Cafe has found life as Revival Coffee. With community-oriented
business practices, Revival Coffee partnered with Austin Pets Alive, Casa Marianella and Explore Austin in a donation pledge. Customers can choose from the three charities when purchasing their coffee or tea, with one beverage equating
one vote. At the end of the quarter, Revival Coffee will donate ten percent of its net proceeds to the charity with the most votes. The process will be repeated each fiscal quarter, with three new charities selected each time. Revival Coffee owner Alyse Bordelon said the concept of the shop was inspired by a charity bar in Houston which routinely donated profits and saw great success with its sponsorship. In a city with so much wealth, Bordelon said she believes people want to help their community but may not know how to. This is where Revival Coffee comes in. “We’ve got extremely wealthy people coming into our shop every day, and then we have very underprivileged people walking by our shop every day,” Bordelon said. “I think a lot of our wealthy population, especially the people who have the luxury of spending four dollars on a coffee, they want to
contribute and sometimes they don’t know how. This is a way they get to contribute without making any effort.” Bordelon hopes to improve the lives of animals and said the mission behind Austin Pets Alive meshes well with the culture of the shop, where everyone loves dogs. Austin Pets Alive deputy development director Anne Helmick-Lyon said she believes the campaign of Revival is a great way to do business, no matter who wins, but APA stretches every dollar to help the animals under their care. “If the award comes to us, money is going to go to one of multiple programs,” Helmick-Lyon said. “We have certain special innovative programs which are resource intensive, that animals are usually euthanized for. Money that comes here goes to those programs and
those animals, but we do it really cost-effectively.” According to Helmick-Lyon, the rescue organization boasts a 99 percent adoption rate. However, where the welfare of humans is concerned, Bordelon selected Explore Austin and Casa Marianella because she said she wanted a diverse group of organizations for customers to choose from and that the mission of Explore Austin was similar to her own love of the outdoors. “I read this article about a company (Explore Austin) that takes kids who have lost their fathers in war, and takes them on camping trips, Bordelon said. “They just talked about the whole process and the sort of things these kids learn on the trips, from their mentors who are father-like figures, and I just thought the benefits were astounding.” Casa Marianella, a shelter
created specifically to aid recently arrived immigrants and asylum seekers, is currently in the lead with the most votes at Revival. Current tensions surrounding immigration and international relations are what Bordelon said caused her to choose the shelter as her third charity. Jennifer Long, Casa Marianella’s executive director, said she believes the work being done by Revival Coffee forces people to engage with difficult issues, which she calls “fabulous.” “I think Casa Marianella is a really appealing charity because almost all of our staff is volunteers who get paid a stipend,” Long said. “They’re generally from AmeriCorps, or Jesuit volunteer corps or people that are idealistic young people that are working for very little money. We have almost no overhead because all of us who work here do shifts and do direct service.”
FOOD
Two brothers cook up taste of border in Hyde Park By Liliana Hall @ lilihallllllll
From working on a marijuana farm in California to zigzagging the border in a van from San Diego to the Gulf of Mexico, Miguel Cobos’ life centered around a passion for making tacos like the ones he grew up with. “Everything we are doing is not new, but it is simply the best representation of what the culture that we were surrounded by, grew up in, contributed to, is,” Miguel said. “It is a homage to the border culture and we do it through our food.” Located in Hyde Park by way of Duval Street, Vaquero Taquero is owned and operated by Miguel and Dani Cobos, two brothers from South Texas. They started Vaquero Taquero in 2016 as a modified paleta push cart outside of the Mexic-Arte Museum. Woody Brown is a resident of Hyde Park and one of Vaquero Taquero’s oldest regulars. Brown, who lived
abroad for six years, said he struggled to find authenticity behind the taco selection in Austin until he discovered Vaquero Taquero. “There are many tacos in Austin, but there is only one place I think has the passion to make tacos worth your attention,” Brown said. “Easily every taco is better than I’ve had in Korea, but (Dani and Miguel) wanted to simply make the best tacos I have experienced. The breakfast tacos are the only in town that haunt my dreams.” At Vaquero Taquero, you won’t find nontraditional tacos like migas. Miguel and Dani Cobos prepare homemade tortillas on a tortillero, al pastor on a trombo and carne asada fresh off their grill. Miguel Cobos said too many people in Austin capitalize off a culture that is not theirs, so the entire point of their taco project was not only to defend their culture but to also make good tacos. Before making the step towards buying a food truck, Miguel and Dani decided to
expand their taco supply from only breakfast tacos to tacos al pastor, pork that is flameseared on a vertical trombo. They brought a trombo over from Mexico and decided to test their success on the Austin based La Chachara, a marketplace on Facebook. “We posted ourselves on La Chachara and we started to get a lot of business on the weekends just for parties in people’s backyards,” Miguel Cobos said. “Everyone wanted to have a party for their 3-yearold’s birthday and invite all of their family.” After the two found success in their growing business model, they saved some money and got a food truck with only $9,000 to their name. “It was very humble beginnings, my brother and I started the food truck and we didn’t have an AC or a vent and it would get up to 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the truck,” Miguel Cobos said. “I don’t know how we didn’t pass out or die, but we pushed through because we are hard workers that come
from a migrant family.” Miguel Cobos said the two decided to park their food truck in Hyde Park because they keep seeing new developments in the Mexican community and other Hispanic neighborhoods are being pushed out of the city. “We saw gentrification ourselves,” Miguel Cobos said. “There used to be many pulgas, which are flea markets, and we used to eat there on the weekends. They are basically nonexistent now.”
Miguel Cobos said by being located in Hyde Park, they are taking a cultural stance against gentrification and the displacement of Latino communities because it is a predominantly white neighborhood. “We chose to bring the culture that is being pushed out of the city, into the city,” Miguel Cobos said. “We try our best with the few things we have. We always say we are a small pocket operation with a very big heart.”
copyright jagjaguwar, and reproduced with permission Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s latest LP Sex and Food, delivers social commentary with funky groove.
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anthony mireles | the daily texan staff Dani Cobos prepares a taco in a taco truck Thursday afternoon. Located at the intersection of E 43rd and Duval street, Vaquero Taquero delivers traditional tacos to Austinites.
with an emotionally relatable and vulnerable moment. Perhaps Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s finest album yet, Sex and Food shows Nielson’s successful evolution as both writer and musician. Just about every song is dense with lyrical commentary but done in such a way that the song’s content doesn’t distract from the music. Whether you want to just veg out or fall into an introspective meditation on the world, Sex and Food is enough to satisfy most listener’s appetites.
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