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SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900 @THEDAILYTEXAN | THEDAILYTEXAN.COM
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 139
N E WS
O PI N I O N
S CI E NCE &TE CH
S P ORTS
LIFE&ARTS
Facebook faces backlash all week long, UT expert weighs in. PAGE 2
Perspectiva Mexicana en UT: building a cultural community. PAGE 4
UT engineers develop a method of using solar energy to purify drinking water. PAGE 5
Baseball travels to Norman for Red River Rivalry weekend series with No. 16 Oklahoma. PAGE 6
Austin Poetry Slam chooses final five competitors for national competition. PAGE 8
CAMPUS
CAMPUS
Sparse amount of students utilize UHS SAFE service By Allyson Waller @allyson_renee7
juan figueroa | the daily texan staff Orlando Beckum II, a psychology and government freshman, left, and radio-television-film freshman Paris Vincent both identify as non-binary, a term to describe gender identities outside of the traditional male or female gender.
Non-binary students find comfort at UT Non-binary students reflect on their campus experiences. By Tiana Woodard @tianarochon
T
hough radio-television-film freshman Paris Vincent was assigned female at birth, being called a girl never felt completely right. Vincent was labeled a tomboy by their peers and struggled with their gender identity throughout their childhood. It wasn’t until a light-hearted conversation with friends at UT that Vincent finally found an answer to their questions. “My two best friends would make jokes about being gay as an umbrella term, and one day, they joked about bringing me over to the ‘darker, non-heterosexual side,’” Vincent said. “After thinking about it, I didn’t think that my gender identity was aligned with male or female.” Vincent now identifies as non-binary. Non-binary is typically used as a catch-all term for gender identities outside of the traditional gender binary of male and female, but some non-binary students believe this definition is too simplistic. Vincent explained their non-binary gender depends on their mood. “Most days, I’m usually leaning towards one or the other, not being those two gender constraints,” Vincent said. “I operate in the middle more often.” Studio art sophomore Melissa Garcia said they think of their non-binary identity like their pansexuality, a sexual orientation in which an individual is attracted to members of all genders.
“I don’t feel like I’m just a girl, I don’t feel like I’m just a boy,” Garcia said. “I don’t feel like I could just identify with they/them (pronouns), and I don’t feel like I could identify as neither.” While Vincent has known since last semester that they are non-binary, they haven’t told their parents yet. Other non-binary UT students, such as psychology and government freshman Orlando Beckum II, experienced acceptance from their family after coming out. “There are so many people who are not heterosexual in my family, and my mom accepts all of them because she grew up around people who weren’t heteronormative,” Beckum said. While Garcia has not come out to their parents, they said their mom often questioned their decision not to act feminine. “The first time I cut my hair short, she got angry and asked me why I was acting like a boy, and I just said, ‘I like it,’” Garcia said. “Anytime I would not look super feminine, she would say the same thing.” Though Vincent doesn’t know how their parents will react, Vincent has had positive and encouraging experiences openly expressing themself with their peers at UT. But Vincent said they’re still afraid that people will treat them differently once they find out they’re non-binary. “I’m afraid that someone is very cool with me, understands me, realizes I identify how I do, and then from that, realizes that they have to think all these certain things about me,” Vincent said. “(Introducing) yourself with your pronouns is something that people can use to categorize you as, ‘You must be this, this and this.’” On the other hand, Beckum said internalized homophobia negatively affects their perception of everyday occurrences, recalling a time when they wore a dress on campus and a group of men
Gender Non-Binary Terms agender
does not identify as having a gender at all
bigender
person encompasses both male and female genders
gender fluid
does not have a fixed gender
gender queer
identifies as neither/both male and female genders
gender non conforming does not conform to social expectations
nearby started laughing. “I didn’t know if they were actually laughing at me, but I felt that this was society laughing at me,” Beckum said. Garcia explained that despite not facing any major challenges in regards to their gender, they have experienced some mishaps in
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Since 2015, University Health Services has facilitated only six sexual assault forensic exams, despite a recent UT survey showing approximately 4,600 students reported being raped since enrollment at the University. “While we’ve only had six cases of SAFE (Stop Abuse for Everyone) Alliance coming out and doing a forensic exams, that doesn’t mean (UHS is) only seeing six students (for sexual assault),” said Kathy Mosteller, director of Nursing Services for UHS. “It means only six wanted to go through with the evidence collection.” The 2017 Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments, or CLASE, report, said nine percent of the UT community reported being raped while enrolled. As reported by The Austin Chronicle, UHS announced in 2015 it would be facilitating sexual assault forensic examinations on campus. The facilitation permits sexual assault nurse examiners from SAFE Alliance, an Austin nonprofit for victims of violence and abuse, to conduct forensic exams for student sexual assault victims. Although exams are free for UT students, and student exam information is kept confidential, Mosteller said many students are still hesitant to go through with the process. “The majority of students that reach out to us (about sexual assault) are not interested (in the exam),” Mosteller said. “They all have their own reasons for that and we support them.” According to UHS, getting an exam does not require sexual assault victims to report to police. Students have up to five days after the assault to receive an exam if they prefer police involvement and up to four days if they wish not to report the incident to police. If a student reports to law enforcement, their exam, or rape kit, will then be tested. Students who wish not to talk to police
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HEALTH
University offers professors, staff mental health services By Mason Carroll @masonccarroll
The University offers numerous mental health resources for students on campus, but that doesn’t mean faculty and staff mental health is overlooked. In a given year, one in five adults experience some type of mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Health. The team at the Employee Assistance Program is the resource faculty and staff in distress can turn to for support with any kind of mental problems. EAP Director Susan Harnden said the program promotes wellness and collaborates to develop solutions for staff and faculty. Harnden also said the University provides an insurance plan, which includes mental and
behavioral health coverage for faculty and staff. “We have a great opportunity at the EAP to make a difference,” Harnden said. ”I have worked at the University of Texas at Austin for the past 25 years, and I have had the privilege to help and work beside committed and gifted individuals who are making a great contribution to our society.” Harnden said a professor’s mental health is important because they are in direct contact with students and often have a great deal of influence over them. “If they are taking care of themselves, they are more available to students and are powerful role models for career and lifestyle success,” Harnden said. English sophomore Jordan Toomey said she thinks mental health is a necessity for both students and professors, and she is
relieved there is place on campus for professors to get help. “It’s important for professors, as people, because I think we should care about everyone one campus, not just students,” Toomey said. “When you’re trusting someone to teach you information and you’re paying a lot of money, you want them to be mentally there.” Harnden said approximately 63 faculty visited the center on average 3.5 times last year to discuss concerns such as depression, anxiety and other issues outside of teaching. “Staff and faculty are concerned about their students, and in recent years they have helped students directly affected by tragic events on campus as well as by Hurricane Harvey,” Harnden said in an email. “A significant
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hannah simon | the daily texan staff Dr. Christopher Beevers, director of the Institute for Mental Health Research and psychology professor, champions the importance of self-care for students and professors alike.
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