SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900 @THEDAILYTEXAN | THEDAILYTEXAN.COM
MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2018
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 150
N E WS
O PI N I O N
LI FE&A RTS
SPORTS
Friends and families gather at Alumni Center to celebrate studnets earning class rings. PAGE 2
Student activists push for change on campus. PAGE 4
Students reconcile differences between personal style and racial beauty standards. PAGE 8
Williams leads the pack as Texas sends 10 Longhorns to the NFL. PAGE 6
UNIVERSITY
CITY
Interpersonal Violence Peer Support Program hits year mark By Tehreem Shahab @ turhem
Since its opening last fall, the Interpersonal Violence Peer Support Program has had 15 peers volunteer for the program. For next year, the program will see a slight increase in the number of volunteers who are already in the process of being trained, at 17 people. One of the program’s distinct qualities is its confidential support system for survivors, which is run by student volunteers, also known as peers. These volunteers are trained to provide students with different resources available on or off campus when it comes to dealing with interpersonal violence, giving survivors other options in addition to filing official reports. Austin Smith, a government and economics senior and current IVPS peer volunteer, said with 70 hours of training completed, he is now more aware of the different options available on and off campus. “There are different resources we have at our disposal here,” Smith said. “I think one of the biggest issues right now is that survivors don’t always know about the different resources that are around and that’s obviously not their fault. It’s just hard to get that information to the folks that need it.” IVPS has been in operation since it began training its first 15 peers last spring, who have been volunteering this school year. The organization got its own
Dockless scooters temporarily removed New city ordinance suspends dockless scooters until companies obtain proper permits. By Meara Isenberg @ mearaannee
S
tudents opening their Bird or LimeBike dockless electric scooter apps over the weekend were not greeted with the usual flood of icons signifying available scooters in the campus area. In response to a city ordinance passed at an Austin City Council meeting that ran from Thursday into the early hours of Friday morning, the stationless scooter companies have suspended their services until obtaining a permit the new ordinance requires. “From the beginning we have respected the rule of law and we will not operate outside the boundaries of the ordinance just passed,” Bird spokesperson Kenneth Baer said in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with the Austin Transportation Department to obtain a permit as soon as possible.” At the meeting, council members voted unanimously to pass an ordinance that added to existing city law, making it more clear that it is illegal for scooters or bikes for rent to be left in on city streets, alleys or sidewalks without a permit. LimeBike spokeswoman Mary Caroline Pruitt said in a statement the company will be immediately removing its scooters from Austin streets while it applies for a permit. The statement also said both dockless bikes and e-assist bikes will also be returning. The new permitting process begins May 1 and can take up to two weeks,
according to the Austin American-Statesman. Officials during the meeting said permits will last for a six-month period. Bird and LimeBike scooters landed in Austin in early April while the city was still engaging in conversations about how best to bring the dockless vehicles in. Once the new permitting process was decided on, the city gave both companies 24 hours to take their vehicles off the streets or risk impoundment. The new permitting process would allow for multiple other forms of dockless vehicles to apply for permits, including local Austin-based companies such as GOAT, a dockless scooter company. GOAT owner Michael Schramm addressed the Council during the meeting and said his company has waited patiently during the city’s dockless forum process and now faces an uphill battle to compete against two already widespread companies in the dockless scooter market. “Please consider the damage done to local companies who have patiently waited, who have patiently been working with the city, to enter the market at the right time, in the right way,” Schramm said during the meeting.
SCOOTERS page 2
IVPS page 3 CITY
SYSTEM
Student DJ duo Auxymorons added to lineup at Finding Euphoria music festival
McRaven delivers final State of System address, honored with endowment By Maria Mendez
Student DJ duo Auxymorons only started playing at informal “aux” parties a little over one year ago. Now taking the next step in their music careers, they are playing sets at concerts and festivals, including Austin’s upcoming Finding Euphoria. Former roommates and UT seniors Aaron Vail and Matt Kimm began playing for crowds individually during their junior years. Almost accidentally, Kimm said, they found their niche for electronic music and decided to collaborate. “We both got hired to play at Sigma Chi’s Halloween party last year and we ended up on stage the entire time just helping each other out,” advertising senior Kimm said. After that party, they were continuously being booked and named themselves the Auxymorons, engineering senior Vail said. They have since played upwards of 50 shows together, Kimm said. Recent performances include playing seven sets during Round
@maria_mendez
copyright aaron vail, and reproduced with permission The Auxymorons pose with a crowd during an electric music performance. The student DJ duo will perform at the upcoming Finding Euphoria festival.
There’s just so much room for an aspiring artist to grow ...” Aaron Vail,
engineering senior
Up, a weekend they consider one of their biggest challenges yet. The Auxymorons have also played downtown and at other universities across Texas. Finding Euphoria booked Auxymorons after Vail direct messaged Euphoria Festival on Instagram. “I DM’ed them over Instagram something pretty
QUARTERS ON CAMPUS West campus living redefined
• 1-4 bedrooms • 2-4 blocks from campus
• 24hr fitness center • business center
• 6 locations • Swimming pool
512-531-0123 quartersoncampus.com 2222 rio grande st | austin, tx |78705
sarcastic,” Vail said. “Something along the lines of, ‘Thanks for inviting us to the lineup. We can come play if you insist.’” Hannah Kelly, content and marketing intern at Euphoria and friend and fan of the Auxymorons, saw the direct message and
DJ page 2
UT System chancellor William McRaven, who is leaving office in May, was honored with an endowment in his name during his final State of the System address on Friday. McRaven, who joined the System in 2015 after retiring from the U.S. Navy Seals, and his wife Georgeann McRaven were surprised with an endowment to honor their work. The endowment, at the value of “$500,000 and growing,” was created by close friends of the McRavens for future chancellors to use strategically. “This endowment will allow future chancellors to lead with a bold vision,” said John Rathmell Jr., chairman of the Chancellor’s Council. “We weren’t necessarily looking for a role model in our chancellor, but we certainly found one in McRaven.” McRaven thanked the Chancellor’s Council, made up of donors to the System, for the endowment before giving his final annual update on the System. “I was so overwhelmed I
couldn’t speak,” McRaven said. “(The endowment) will go a long way to help the young men and women of the University of Texas System.” In his final state of the system address, McRaven emphasized the strength of UT institutions and the courage of students and families. He said this strength comes from the leaderships of the System’s university presidents, faculty, staff, administration and its students. “We are strong because we have students who come from all over Texas, the nation and the world who come to our institutions to make a better life for themselves,” McRaven said. Across Texas, UT institutions made breakthroughs over the last year, which McRaven said are helping address local and global problems. “Anything and everything that is of importance to humanity is being studied, researched, taught or confronted somewhere in the UT System,” McRaven said. The UT System’s six health institutions are contributing
MCRAVEN page 2