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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2018
STATE This issue of The Daily Texan is valued at $1.25
Statewide candidates, students come together at town hall
PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Laura Hallas Assoc. Editors Liza Anderson, Jaree Campbell, Cuillin Chastain-Howley, Josie Maclean Senior Columnists Elizabeth Braaten, Laura Doan, Noah Horwitz, Caleb Wong, Ryan Young Forum Editors Vik Shirvaikar, Janhavi Nemawarkar, Liza Anderson
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On Sunday, Democratic candidates running for office in Texas came together for the first time to answer questions from Latinx youth. “We are the least likely to have health care in the state, we are the least likely to go to good schools,” said Cristina Tzintzun, founder and executive director of Jolt. “We are the least likely to graduate college. We are the most likely, among with our African-American brothers and sisters, to have the power of our voice and vote suppressed.” Jolt Texas, an organization focused on giving Latinxs a voice in Texas politics, hosted the town hall to energize young Latinx voters ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm elections. The town hall participants included Miguel Suazo, Andrew White, Lupe Valdez and U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rouke, D-El Paso, who spoke to a crowd of about 100 people. Suazo, an energy attorney, is running for Texas Land Commissioner, which manages state land to raise money for public schools. “These people are underappreciated, our schools are underfunded and our current land commissioner is not getting the resources … that they need in order for us to have a thriving educational system,” Suazo said. During the event, an audience member asked gubernatorial candidate Valdez if she would continue what they referred to as “anti-immigrant” policies from her time as Dallas County Sheriff,
ashley nava | the daily texan staff Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew White answers questions posed at the town hall put on by Jolt Texas on Sunday. Jolt announced its endorsement of White over Lupe Valdez after the event. accusing her of being compliant with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns on immigrants in the area. “I’m going to fight for as much immigration as I can,” Valdez said. “I believe in a comprehensive immigration reform.” On Sunday evening, Jolt endorsed Valdez’s competitor White for governor. At the event, White said he is tired of
the “extremism” coming from current administration’s rhetoric surrounding issues such as immigration reform. “Let me tell you something, facts always beat fear,” White said. “This extremism has … been sort of a gift to our party. The blue wave is happening and it’s happening here in Texas.” When asked about the children of undocumented immigrants in America, O’Rouke said he supports initiating an
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SCOOTERS
Sports Reporters Henry Corwin, Robert Larkin, Keshav Prathivadi
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anthony mireles | the daily texan file English sophomore Robert Thompson rides a Bird scooter. Stationless scooter companies have suspended their services following a city council ordinance that requires the companies to obtain permits.
The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com.
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easier path to citizenship. “(Undocumented immigrants) are already working the toughest, the most essential jobs that no native-born American is willing to do,” said O’Rourke, who is running for Texas Senate against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. “Imagine what they could contribute if they were here as full U.S. citizens actively engaging in civil life, just like we are doing right now.”
responded, telling them to send their music to one of their talent buyers. Kelly, a journalism and Plan II senior, later went with
a talent buyer to one of their South By Southwest shows in March. “They played kind of an impromptu show at Corner Bar downtown,” Kelly said. “It was so much fun. There was a lot of energy and our
talent buyer was there and saw the set and talked to me after the show. I said, ‘Yeah, these are my friends. They’re really great.’ And then he said they would work on booking them.” Finding Euphoria is a
Elliott McFadden, executive director of Austin B-cycle, the city’s current station-based bike system, said he feels like the permitting process has been rushed, and in the process the city has disregarded the community’s feedback. “Bird and Lime … didn’t want to wait for the process set up back in February,” McFadden said. “We’re doing all this stuff and rushing for a couple of bad players.” James Lentz, president of the Campus Bike Alliance at UT, said he supports the city’s decision to introduce the permit process. Lentz said so far he has heard from students that the scooters are occasionally blocking bike racks but he has not seen any significant problems result from them being on campus. “I think (the city’s) response is pretty reasonable,” Lentz said. “It seems to be aimed at keeping the right of way safe and accessible for everyone, which is obviously needed.”
festival that embraces the Austin community and especially likes to connect to UT, Kelly said. Vail and Kimm, who have gone to Euphoria for years, said being invited to perform there is one of their
biggest accomplishments. Being in Austin has been beneficial to the duo in general, Vail said. “There’s just so much room for an aspiring artist to grow,” Vail said. “So many crazy opportunities in this city.”
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more to cancer research than any other academic health system and leading the way in to preventive neurohealth, while UT Health San Antonio works to cure Type 1 diabetes, McRaven said. Nine months after Hurricane Harvey struck Texas, McRaven said UT Health Houston is still working to expand healthcare to the storm’s victims. “I will never ever forget the heroic performance of everyone at UT’s three Houston-area health centers during the aftermath of that terrible storm,” McRaven said. After UT-Rio Grande Valley researchers helped confirm Einstein’s gravitational waves, McRaven said UT-Austin astronomers at the McDonald Observatory are using that research to “unlock the greatest and fundamental mysteries to mankind.” UT-Austin’s supercomputer Stampede 2 is also tackling climate change, while the Cockrell School of Engineering works to increase safe, clean drinking water. Led by
juan figueroa | the daily texan staff UT System chancellor William McRaven speaks at his final State of the System address Friday afternoon. McRaven was honored with an endowment in his name for future chancellors to use. UT’s Clements Center for National Security, McRaven said the System’s new Texas National Security Network will promote American safety. In his parting thoughts,
McRaven said when he first became chancellor three years ago, he called the UT System to lead in every way possible. He said UT institutions visibly heeded the call
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but students and families also taught him about leadership. “I used to believe what real courage looked like was on the battlefield … but in this job I’ve seen another side of
courage,” McRaven said. “The courage of students first in their family to attend college, the courage of their parents … and the courage of a family fighting cancer together.”
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MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2018
CAMPUS
UT class ring marks milestone, opens door to Texas Exes network By Rebecca Stanley @sissyphus_
Hundreds of UT students gathered at the Texas Exes Alumni Center, where some embraced their parents and others celebrated with friends as they picked up their UT class rings this past Friday. The celebration was full of photo opportunities, snacks and a surplus of school spirit. The rings, ordered during ring week in February, mark a milestone for many students nearing graduation. For psychology junior Adeteju Adeniji, a UT class ring is how she commemorated her college experience. “I think it’s symbolic of the time you’ve spent here,” Adeniji said. “It’s the only gold ring you’ll ever buy for yourself in life — or that your parents will buy for you — that you’re gonna be like, ‘Wow, I really wanna keep this forever,’ and it’s always going to mean something to you.” Wearing a class ring is one of the easiest ways students can connect with fellow UT graduates, said Courtney Roehling, vice president of engagement with the
Texas Exes events team. “We like to say it’s like wearing your degree on your hand,” Roehling said. “So wherever you go,
It’s the only gold ring you’ll ever buy for yourself in life — or that your parents will buy for you — that you’re gonna be like, ‘Wow, I really wanna keep this forever,’ and it’s always going to mean something to you. Adeteju Adeniji, psychology junior
as long as you have that ring on, people know that you graduated from the University of Texas. It’s a great way for alumni to connect
just by sight.” Some ring recipients are also first-generation college students. For them, the ring is symbolic of a broader journey, which their whole family is a part of, Roehling said. “A lot of the people who purchase the rings are first-generation college students, so it’s so important for them for their parents to come and witness it,” Roehling said. “It’s a way for them to introduce their parents to, ‘Hey, I’m about to join this tradition.’ (They’re) putting on this ring that showcases all the support the families have given them to get them to this point before graduation.” Some students, such as petroleum engineering sophomore Alana Callahan, decide to get their rings as soon as they reach the required 75 credit hours. For Callahan, the ring is an exemplar of who she became while attending the University. “I was excited to get it early so I could have more time to wear it while I’m at UT,” Callahan said. “I feel like I’ve changed a lot here, so it was really important for me to set that in stone by getting the ring.”
pedro luna | the daily texan staff Social Work junior Magaly Maldonado, left, watches her mother, Magaly Lopez, put her ring on for her at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center on Friday.
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jessica joseph| the daily texan staff Mia Goldstein, radio-television-film and Plan II junior, is the student coordinator for the Interpersonal Violence Peer Support Program. Goldstein is just one of many student volunteers who undergo training to help support and provide resources for survivors of interpersonal violence.
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office at the beginning of this semester and has already begun training another class of volunteers for next year. Smith said each survivor’s experience is unique and should be treated as such. “We also learn a lot about how being a survivor of (interpersonal violence) can sort of interact with other identities that people hold,” Smith said. “There are different experiences of folks based on racial bias or homophobia — the catchall word we hear is ‘intersectionality’ … each experience is going to be unique and there are definitely factors that will make accessing resources more difficult for some people.” Peer supporter Abigail Kuchek said there are different ways to support the students who come in for appointments with IVPS. Kuchek said this could be listening to someone, offering to help and empowering them to make the decisions that are best for them. “Supporting others isn’t about always knowing the right thing to say or exactly how to fix everything,” humanities sophomore Kuchek said
in an email. “When someone has experienced violence, believing what they tell you and reminding them that what happened isn’t their fault can make a big difference.” In order to assist students effectively, peers are required to go through over 40 hours of training which covers an overview of sexual assault and interpersonal violence. Experts from different agencies such as the Counseling and Mental Health Center, SAFE alliance and the Gender and Sexuality Center train peers. IVPS student coordinator Mia Goldstein said she wants to continue spreading awareness about the program. Goldstein said she wanted to also have an educational component where IVPS goes to different student organizations to talk about the program and methods of prevention. “On a campus with 51,000 people it’s hard to do the outreach that enables everyone to know about the resources,” said Goldstein, a radio-television-film and Plan II Honors junior. “My main goal for next year is to increase our outreach, make sure as many people as possible know about it and just keep doing what we’re doing as a program.”
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JANHAVI NEMAWARKAR, VIK SHIRVAIKAR, LIZA ANDERSON
MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2018
FORUM EDITORS | @TEXANOPINION
Student voices push for change, look to the future By Janhavi Nemawarkar, Vik Shirvaikar, and Liza Anderson
This semester, The Daily Texan Forum has had the privilege of pulling together a wide array of voices from the university and its surrounding community. The Daily Texan has its limitations as an organization, and through our page each week, we strove to spotlight fresh perspectives from outside of our own staff. We’ve featured expert faculty opinions on key news developments. We’ve spoken to community organizers and politicians about their events. We’ve highlighted student opinions on the highs and lows of campus climate, from SG elections to racial history.
However, throughout the year, one constant has been the tireless efforts of students from all corners of the 40 Acres, perpetually pushing the university and its administration to better accommodate student needs. In that vein, for the last Forum of the year, we turn our attention to various student initiatives that highlight the best of our campus, from our entrepreneurs to our creative minds to our student activists. Daniel Miyares, director of the Longhorn Entrepreneurship Agency, makes the case for entrepreneurship organizations to diversify their membership and engage students beyond the traditional set of business and computer science majors. He argues that diversity is both a significant asset and a core responsibility for these
groups, and provides a number of ways that any student at the university can get involved with startups and new business ventures. Francesca Reece examines the issues surrounding sexual harassment perpetrated by faculty and staff, from unclear accountability to problematic power differentials. She points out that little to no progress has been made on the action items from last spring’s CLASE survey, and calls on UT to implement these promises, require further training for employees and provide more transparency for students. Priyanka Mara reflects on her experience as a student looking to create change on campus. She calls on us all to maintain perspective and remember that our efforts make a difference, and
GUEST COLUMN
do not start or end with our time on the 40 Acres. Abigail Melvin, in a letter to the editor, voices her concern with the lack of protections for transgender students at UT. She argues that the University must provide adequate facilities for these students and develop a more comprehensive policy to ensure they are protected from discrimination. While this is The Daily Texan Forum team’s last page for the year, we still want to hear your perspectives, and you can always email us at thedailytexanforum@gmail.com. Nemawarkar is a Plan II and government junior from Austin. Shirvaikar is a math and economics junior from Frisco. Anderson is a Plan II and history sophomore from Houston.
GUEST COLUMN
Entrepreneurship is for everyone
One year after CLASE, university must do more
By Daniel Miyares
By Francesca Reece
forum contributor
forum contributor
“Hey man, you interested in startups?” That is all it took to get me hooked. Two years later, I would become the director of the Longhorn Entrepreneurship Agency, LEA, completely consumed by buzzwords and catchphrases that are all too familiar to me now. “Student-run entrepreneurship ecosystem,” “making our student entrepreneurs as celebrated as our student athletes” and “entrepreneurship is for everyone.” That last one still gives me pause because I want to believe it more than anything — it aligns with LEA’s mission and that of every other entrepreneurial student organization out there. The problem is that it isn’t true — not yet, at least. At every LEA, Convergent, Blackstone Launchpad, Herb Kelleher Center and Genesis Program event, program and competition, there are twice as many men as women. Even on our own teams, which prioritize diversity in the selection process, that ratio holds. Our events, while completely open to the entire student body, are attended by majors from the business school, CS and — that’s about it. We rarely see a design major, much less a student from a health-related field or the performing arts.
“The teams that succeed are the ones that have multiple majors, diverse skills, and divergent backgrounds represented.”
Diversity at these events is not an empty statistic — it matters. I could quote acclaimed business writer Stephen Covey and say “strength lies in differences, not in similarities” or cite dozens of studies which demonstrate that diversity and inclusion drive innovation and early venture growth. The truth is, I don’t need to — just think of the most stereotypical McCombs snake with a million-dollar app idea who is just one developer working for free away from becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg. That was me in freshman year, so I won’t pretend that students like me don’t exist. Over and over, at startup competitions and pitches for funding on campus, the teams that succeed (and go on to build cool things) are the ones that have multiple majors, diverse skills and divergent backgrounds represented on their teams. These teams can rely upon each other to fulfill the distinct roles of proto-startups, selling and building, rather
geo casillas | the daily texan staff than relying upon outsourcing or never building anything at all. “But wait, why can’t I just handle the business side? I’m no good at coding,” the aforementioned McCombs snake might add. First, I might direct him to the lovely Facebook group, “I can handle the business side,” which points out the most hilarious examples of suits seeking code monkeys. Next, I might let him know that the majority of minimum viable products (the first thing a startup might show prospective customers) take no code at all and can be spun out of landing pages and toolkits designed for people with limited programming experience. But most importantly, I would return to the crux of the issue — entrepreneurship should be for everyone. It must be the core responsibility of each one of the organizations in our vibrant ecosystem to do more to make entrepreneurship more inclusive, if only because entrepreneurship is at its best when it includes every kind of individual. Entrepreneurship is for designers interested in how users interact with products, MBA candidates who want to open a food truck, engineers tinkering with running shoe implants, kinesiology majors who want to educate elementary school students, CS students interested in venture capital and yes, McCombs students who like to sell things. Perhaps most importantly, entrepreneurship could be for you. You don’t have to want to be the next Steve Jobs, or even want to join a founding team — you just have to be interested in helping to start something here that changes the world. The individuals who make our ecosystem so vibrant often don’t have companies of their own; they’re simply committed to helping the teams who do and inspiring the dreamers who might one day. Consider joining the Genesis Program, a new organization which provides mentorship and up to $5,000 in non-dilutive grants (Read: free money!) to student-led startups. Come to an LEA event. We hosted over 55 entrepreneurship events in the span of five days last month. Head to the CoLab, UT’s first coworking space that’s open 24/7, at 2609 University Avenue, to connect with student entrepreneurs. Stop by the new Blackstone Launchpad in the FAC to meet with student and professional mentors. Check out the list of dozens of other organizations and departments devoted to entrepreneurship that the Herb Kelleher Center compiled online. So, the next time you see a friend post about an event that you are at least the slightest bit interested in, go. Entrepreneurship is for everyone, and I know there’s a place for you in our community. Miyares is a business honors junior.
How do you fell an untouchable foe? The #MeToo movement answered that question for many with the descent from grace of powerful men like Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly and Charlie Rose. However, answers for students at our university remain elusive. UT has released no plans for changing its policies regarding reporting and punishing inappropriate faculty behavior. Unclear chains of command, an environment rife with power differentials and the anonymity of a large population are still keeping many victims in the dark. What is UT doing to stop this abuse? UT released the findings of its Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments (CLASE) study in spring 2017. It reveals that 20 percent of student respondents reported “having experienced faculty/ staff-perpetrated sexist gender harassment” since their enrollment. That number is 30 percent for just graduate students. Within those numbers, 1 percent experienced “faculty/staff perpetrated sexual coercion harassment.” The perpetrators are overwhelmingly male (81 percent) and overwhelmingly faculty (64 percent) (Professor or TA). Most incidents occurred on campus (84 percent). Unaddressed in the CLASE report is why faculty-perpetrated harassment is so prevalent yet goes largely so unnoticed. One, the chain of command is blurry. Department chairs largely oversee the academics of a department and will simply report allegations upward. Deans oversee the academics and student life of their colleges and will likewise simply report upward. Firing decisions involving tenured professors usually go up to the University President or even the Board of Regents. Even then, the grounds for firing must be solid to avoid a lawsuit or censure. What student would know what route to take to ensure the right person hears them?
“UT must make plans for implementing the other immediate actions and future steps found in CLASE.”
Two, higher education environments are a hotbed for relationships with power differentials. This means faculty have leverage over students — grades, research positions, letters of recommendation — all things which affect futures. Reporting could be a career-ender, not just as a student at
jeb milling | the daily texan staff this university but as a job prospect going forward. Further is the question of who will ultimately be believed. Some faculty have resided at UT for decades. Students are transient. With whom would sympathies lie? Finally, anonymity plays into faculty/staff harassment at UT. A large, bustling population of 50,000 makes it so that individual incidents easily go unnoticed not only by the institution but also other students and professors. A Title IX investigation takes 45–90 days to complete. Imagine that number if every incident was actually reported. The manpower for support is simply not present, scaring many students from disclosure. UT faculty already must retake sexual harassment and abuse training courses every two years. To some, this may seem sufficient. However, the number of harassment incidents reported in CLASE implies that “develop(ing) a collaborative, robust and comprehensive faculty and staff education plan” and “implement(ing) a strategic education plan targeted for teaching assistants” will not be enough “immediate action” going forward. Training clearly has not been working. UT must make plans for implementing the other “immediate actions” and “future steps” found in CLASE. The CLASE report called for establishing a faculty liaison within departments to serve as a Title IX deputy as well as establishing a centralized location for reporting all harassment and assault allegations. No noticeable progress has been made on these initiatives, nor have plans for “additional … research to gain greater insight into … faculty/staff harassment” been released. CLASE lists many student-run initiatives which aim to reduce the prevalence of student sexual harassment and assault through awareness, education and active intervention. By contrast, there are very few mentions of attempts on behalf of university administration to meaningfully reduce faculty/staff-perpetrated harassment. Students must see more answers lest we organize to make them ourselves. As studies show, we’re quite good at that. Reece is a Plan II and government junior.
LETTERS
To the University administration,
To students of color trying to change campus,
I am writing to express my concern about the lack of existing policy at the University of Texas at Austin related to how administrative staff and other professionals protect transgender students at the university. I am fortunate that I am able to work and learn alongside individuals that fit this identity. However, what is unfortunate is that I have been informed on multiple occasions that the university does not have an existing policy to set guidelines for ensuring that discrimination does not ensue. In particular, I have been informed that these individuals struggle even to find a bathroom or changing room that they are “allowed” to use without receiving criticism, or far worse. Failing to provide adequate facilities for any individual goes beyond an issue of discrimination and becomes an issue of safety. As much as the University and the greater Austin area would like to believe it is a safe haven from transgender crimes, protecting the safety of all individuals on campus is paramount and the University has failed to ensure this. I request that the University of Texas at Austin develop a policy related to how staff protect these students at this University. Abigail Melvin is a social work graduate student.
One of my favorite professors once told me that the University as an institution is a beast, and it will chew you up and spit you out. Seems accurate. To students interested in creating a change on campus, the task of even finding the right person to email is a feat in and of itself. On top of that, you’re on a clock. The average student has four years here, including summers where the student population disperses and any momentum for change you had created disperses with them. But you know that. None of this is revolutionary. You don’t need to change a world, an institution and a system that has been built against you all by yourself. You can’t. And when the four years are over and the clock has timed out, be proud of what you have accomplished and know that you are more than what you do here. Your work is important and is making someone’s life on campus better and that is the most important part. Your work meant something, and it paved the way for the next girl after you to pick up your sword and continue the fight. You see something broken and think to yourself, “Someone has to do it, and if I don’t do it no one else will.” You are so used to giving everything in yourself to everyone around you, but how are you supposed to change the world if there’s nothing left inside of you? You are underpaid, underappreciated, but never unworthy because you are complex. You are angry, you are aggressive, you are powerful. You are important, you are formidable, you are glowing, you are happy. You deserve to be happy. Priyanka Mara is a humanities and government junior.
LEGALESE | Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the Editorial Board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.
SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | Email your Firing Lines to editor@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.
RECYCLE | Please recycle this copy of The Daily Texan. Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it. EDITORIAL TWITTER | Follow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter (@TexanOpinion) and receive updates on our latest editorials and columns.
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LIFESTYLE
Move over, goat yoga: horse yoga is trotting into town By Hailey Howe @howehailey
Forget going through your sun salutations on a mat in a sweltering hot studio — try doing a crow pose sitting on a horse amidst the scenery of Bear Creek Stables. One UT informal class offers horse yoga to students with instructors Linda Dovers and Susie Winfield. For $179, students can participate in the unique yoga course offered at the Bear Creek Stables for an hour on Sunday mornings for four weeks. The new class, which will be taught by both Dovers and Winfield, will have a maximum class size of eight riders. The biggest goal of the class is to foster a bond between the horse and the rider in order to not only enrich the yogi’s practice but also to release stress in less conventional way. Horse yoga is essentially partners yoga. The rider is paired with a horse to create a partnership for the duration of the class. In the class, the
BEAUTY
continues from page 8 to different physical traits has helped them view their appearance more positively. Despite recognizing that UT has made her journey towards beauty acceptance easier, Tan doesn’t wish that such change would have come into her life earlier. “Even if I had been exposed to the things I have
student will cycle through a series of Asanas, or yoga poses, into which they sink their breath. The poses are done either on the horse’s back or standing next to the horse. The in-saddle poses are generally more simpler and focus on hamstring stretches, eagle poses and triangle poses. The concept of horse yoga was created by Dovers and Winfield as a means of combining two of their greatest passions: horses and yoga. Dovers is the owner of Bear Creek Stables and a teacher for various equestrian-related informal classes for UT students, including Western and English horseback riding. Meanwhile, Winfield works for UT as an event manager in the Cockrell School of Engineering and is a lifelong horseback rider and yoga instructor of 10 years. She has been riding at Bear Creek with Dovers for some time and said that the horse yoga class was a natural combination between Dovers’ experience in horsemanship and her own experience as a yoga instructor.
“We love horses and we love yoga, so we said let’s try to make this happen. Susie has been riding with me out here and so we decided to combine the two,” Dovers said. Although horses and yoga may not seem like the most likely combination, Winfield argues that the two go hand in hand because both horses and yoga can be therapeutic, and that being around horses is especially beneficial for UT students, who are very busy and stressed. “We know that people from all walks of life contact Bear Creek Stables to find new opportunities to connect with and experience horses. People are actively wanting to interact with them,” Winfield said. “We all know that for many people being around animals is cathartic, so taking your yoga practice and doing it around a horse just enhances what we are already doing when we are practicing yoga, which is to cultivate strength and peace of body and mind.” Dovers explained that this
mel westfall | the daily texan staff informal class is different because it focuses on the connection between the horse and rider instead of just cultivating the rider’s skills through traditional means.
“One of the key components of being able to cultivate (peace) is to be 100 percent in the moment,” Winfield said. “It’s a living creature that you’re partnered with.”
BOOK REVIEW | ‘CHASING HILLARY’ at a higher institution, I wasn’t mature enough (in the past) to interpret it the way I have now,” Tan said. Franco called her evolving beauty perceptions “a work in progress.” “I think I’m very pretty now that I look like myself and surround myself with people who don’t care what I look like,” Franco said. “I’m peeling back layers of what I’ve felt over the years to (reveal) who I truly was.”
UT alumna tracks Hillary’s ‘death march to victory’ CHASING HILLARY
By Collyn Burke
PAGE COUNT: 400 SCORE:
@_collyn_
When Amy Chozick paid a visit to UT in spring 2017, she described former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s second presidential run as “a death march to victory.” Chozick, UT alumna and reporter for The New York Times, followed Clinton on both her 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns. In the past two years, Chozick has come under fire for her coverage of Clinton by both Democrats and Republicans, each saying she had a bias for the other. In her debut book, “Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling,” Chozick reveals what went into her 10 years of Clinton campaign reporting. The book packs over a decade’s worth of events into a meager 400 pages and does exactly what Chozick’s coverage of Clinton did: it agitates and aggravates both Republicans and Democrats. Chozick’s book feels like it’s less about Clinton herself and more about Chozick, her time on the campaign trail and the overwhelming sense she had that Clinton would not succeed. In fact, Chozick was only allowed a few personal interactions with the fiercely private Clinton, one of which included Clinton walking in on Chozick in an airplane bathroom. Throughout the book, Chozick recounts the odd dance she and Clinton seemed to be locked in — Clinton always keeping Chozick and the rest of her largely female press corps at
copyright harper, and reproduced with permission Released on April 24, UT alumna Amy Chozick’s debut book “Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling” follows Chozick’s journey covering both of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns. arm’s length. What makes “Chasing Hillary” stand out from the likes of other political tell-all books, such as “A Higher Loyalty” and “Fire and Fury,” is Chozick’s immediate willingness to qualify herself. Before the book even begins, Chozick attempts to prove its truth — she hired a fact-checker, she admitted this book is not a complete work of journalism, she got her information firsthand and kept notes
on almost everything` and what she didn’t have written down she reconstructed from memory. Although there’s no way for the reader to check the validity of this, it’s reassuring to have her address this from the beginning. Chozick’s presentation of her qualifications makes her feel like a more reliable narrator. Coupled with her witty and, at points, comical narration, Chozick wooes the reader almost as soon as the book begins. Chozick’s narrative
voice is so charming that, at points, you lose yourself in the book and stop being critical of the information Chozick is giving you, willing to drink the kool-aid. Without such a poignant and entertaining voice, “Chasing Hillary” may have been doomed from the start. If you don’t walk into “Chasing Hillary” with some interest in the world of journalism or politics, the book can feel like it drones on endlessly, saved only by insignificant but humorous interactions popping up along the way. Chozick’s book is not perfect, and neither was her coverage of Clinton’s campaign. Chozick owns that. Her honesty and self reflection gives “Chasing Hillary” a genuine and near heart-breaking tone. Chozick not only reflects on how her occasionally negative coverage of Clinton shaped the election but on how the elections shaped Clinton. Chozick reckons with the different versions of Hillary Clinton she has met and which she will choose to hold onto and pass down to her kids. “Chasing Hillary” encapsulates the fear and anguish that was the 2016 election for Clinton and her supporters, melding it with an in-depth behind the scenes look at the election from an uninvolved onlooker. Chozick’s retelling may be flawed at points, but it’s one hell of a story.
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not be appropriate to every discipline or field of study. “A student can think about switching it up for themselves,” Brandt said. “If you’re somebody who’s like ‘I always do flashcards,’ maybe you think of another way because I think novelty is really something our brains kind of latch onto.” 3. Make the material your own. Courtney Sviatko, a Sanger Learning Center learning specialist, said reforming the information learned in lecture and readings in one’s own interpretation could also improve retention of information. Having to reinterpret information and become familiar with it will help students internalize the information as opposed to experiencing it through rote memorization. “In each new learning situation, in each new class, students could try out a variety of ways of making the material their own,” Sviatko said. “So when they take their lecture notes and review, maybe try rewriting the notes a different organizational format or talking it out with a study group.” 4. Reach out to professors and teaching assistants. In order to understand the applications of different styles of teaching to different fashions of studying, Sviatko said she
victoria smith and rachel tyler | the daily texan file Students can avoid last minute cramming and anxiety by meeting with a Sanger learning specialist to discuss their study habits or even their professor to discuss their performance on past exams. suggests students approach their professors and TAs about exams or course concepts when they are having trouble as opposed to trying to figure it out themselves. Speaking to people with experience in their
field about concepts which are unclear can do wonders in enhancing their own understanding of the issue at hand. “Maybe they can try some similar things and if that doesn’t work, perhaps go to
meet with their TA or professor and say, ‘Here’s the way I’ve been studying, but your tests are a little bit different than what I’m used to. What would you recommend I do differently?’” Sviatko said.
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TRENTON DAESCHNER
SPORTS EDITOR @TEXANSPORTS
MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2018
FOOTBALL
Texas makes splash in 2018 NFL Draft
katie bauer | the daily texan staff Former Longhorn Connor Williams flashes the hook ’em sign as he stands on the stage at the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium moments after getting selected by the Dallas Cowboys.
Williams, Longhorns continue their dream after getting selected in the NFL Draft. By Alex Briseno & Keshav Prathivadi @alexxbriseno @kpthefirst
A
RLINGTON, Texas — Before prospects had their names called at the NFL Draft this weekend at AT&T Stadium, prospects such as safety DeShon Elliott took to Twitter to anticipate their landing spot as well as their career goals. Elliott, as always, kept it short and sweet — “I swear.” That was the former Longhorn’s response to a tweet predicting multiple Pro Bowlers would be selected on the second day of the draft, showing the confidence each prospect brought into the three-day event. Elliott was the final Longhorn selected in the draft, and he didn’t take it for granted. Elliott, among several other Longhorns, remained on the board for a while. But as his name read atop the “Best Available Players Remaining” list, the Baltimore Ravens selected the safety in the sixth round with the No. 190 overall pick.
“My family and friends just started yelling and getting excited, and they were videoing me, grabbing on me, loving me, and they had been spending all day with me,” Elliott said. “They went through the whole process with me, and I really appreciate that.” By the end of it, Elliott and three other Longhorns — left tackle Connor Williams, linebacker Malik Jefferson and punter Michael Dickson — had been drafted. Six more Longhorns quickly signed undrafted free agent contracts, bringing the total number of Texas players headed to the NFL to 10. Williams was the first Longhorn off the board, getting picked up by the Dallas Cowboys during Friday’s second round with the No. 50 overall pick. Williams, a Coppell, Texas, native, found himself right at home. “I honestly wore blue because I’m from Dallas and I love Dallas,” Williams said. “I wanted to represent the Cowboys. I didn’t say it, but I wanted to be a Cowboy. It was all worth it, and I’m happy.” Williams, who earned first team All-American and first team All-Big 12 honors as a sophomore — only the fourth sophomore to do so in Texas history — got the ball rolling in the draft for the Longhorns. The Cincinnati Bengals used their
third-round pick on Jefferson, who was named Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-Big 12 after leading the Longhorns with 110 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and four sacks last season. “Malik is a guy who not only has all of the skill and athletic ability you’re looking for in a great linebacker, but he’s a tremendous leader,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said. “Cincinnati got both a great player and an unbelievable person who will be a star on the field and a pillar of the community.” Next, arguably Texas’ biggest secret weapon in recent years, Dickson, or “The Punter,” was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round. Dickson did nothing but improve his stock in 2017 after winning the Ray Guy Award, which is given to the nation’s best punter, in addition to being named a unanimous first team All-American and winning MVP of the Longhorns’ Texas Bowl win over Missouri in December. As the NFL Draft concluded, several Longhorns remained on the board. But, that did not last long. Soon after the lights shut out at AT&T Stadium, news broke that an additional six former Texas players signed with NFL organizations as undrafted free agents. Defensive back Antwuan Davis (Detroit
gabriel lopez | the daily texan staff Linebacker Malik Jefferson chases down a Kansas State running back during Texas’ 4034 victory at home on Oct. 7. Lions), defensive tackle Poona Ford (Seattle Seahawks), wide receiver Armanti Foreman (Minnesota Vikings), safety Jason Hall (Seattle Seahawks), cornerback Holton Hill (Minnesota Vikings) and linebacker Naashon Hughes (Green Bay Packers) increased the number of Texas players heading to the NFL to 10 — the most in the state of Texas and tied for most in the Big 12. ** Check out Tuesday’s paper for the behindthe-scenes feature on Connor Williams’ special moment from the 2018 NFL Draft.
SOFTBALL
TENNIS
Texas comes up short in Norman, falls to Sooners in extra innings
Longhorns secure Big 12 title with victory over Baylor By Henry Corwin
By Robert Larkin
@henrycorwin1
@r_larkintexas
For a brief moment, the Longhorns felt like their efforts would be enough. The two-out rally. Senior captain Randel Leahy’s clutch single. Malory Schattle’s towering home run. It all pointed to an effort that should have propelled them to a seminal win over No. 3 Oklahoma. Instead, the Sooners crushed the Longhorns’ hopes in a matter of minutes, using a two-run eighth inning to rally past Texas, 5-4, in extra innings on Sunday afternoon. Like Saturday’s game, the Longhorns (28–21,10–6 Big 12) jumped out to an early lead over the Sooners, a powerhouse squad that hasn’t given up a game at home this season. With a runner on first base after a one-out walk by freshman third baseman MK Tedder, senior designated player Paige von Sprecken crushed a hanging breaking ball from Oklahoma All-American Paige Parker to give the Longhorns an early 2-0 lead. For three innings, von Sprecken’s home run separated the two teams. But Oklahoma’s Jocelyn Alo finally got to redshirt junior pitcher Erica Wright in the fourth when she launched her second home run of the series to cut the deficit in half. Following Alo’s home run, junior pitcher Brooke Bolinger entered the game and delivered two innings of scoreless relief, notably out-dueling Alo in the fifth by causing the freshman to strike out with runners in scoring position. But Oklahoma first baseman Shay Knighten swung momentum back in the Sooners’
brooke crim | the daily texan file Senior right-handed pitchter Paige von Sprecken swings at a pitch during Texas’ 10-2 victory over Kansas at McCombs Field on March 23. favor in the sixth, teeing off on a pitch by Bolinger for a solo home run to tie the game at 2-2. After a pitching change to insert von Sprecken, the Sooners claimed their first lead of the afternoon when Nicole Pendley smacked Oklahoma’s third solo home run of the day for a 3-2 lead. Down to their final three outs after the Oklahoma rally, Texas ignited a rally of its own after Tedder and freshman second baseman Janae Jefferson knocked consecutive singles. But after a rundown nabbed Jefferson at third and sophomore catcher Taylor Ellsworth grounded into a fielder’s choice, Texas came down to its final out. That’s when senior right fielder Randel Leahy rose to the occasion, outlasting Oklahoma’s Paige Lowary in an 11-pitch at-bat to line a ball through the middle of the infield to tie the game, 3-3. Following a scoreless inning of relief work from Wright, Schattle reclaimed the lead for Texas when she pulled an inside-pitch from Lowary over the left-field fence to give the Longhorns a 4-3 lead in
extra innings. But, Alo promptly tied the game on the very first pitch she saw from Wright in the next frame, smacking her second home run of the day over the center-field wall. After a double and a failed fielder’s choice put two runners on base, the Longhorns inserted von Sprecken back into the game in an attempt to escape the inning. While the senior induced a double play to get two crucial outs, von Sprecken couldn’t find a way to get out of the inning, as Oklahoma catcher Lea Wodach singled to left field, allowing Pendley to score the game-winning run from third for the Sooners. After dropping their first two games against the Sooners by a combined score of 13-1, the Longhorns’ loss on Sunday marked the fourth consecutive season where they have been swept by Oklahoma, this time as a result of a one-run defeat in extra innings. Texas returns to action on Wednesday in a home double-header against Incarnate Word.
The Longhorns came into this year’s Big 12 tournament hungry. After a bitter loss in last year’s tournament to rival Oklahoma, the Texas men didn’t want to accept anything less than a victory this time around. Despite a tough road to get there, the Longhorns claimed their first Big 12 title since 2010 on Sunday. “They wanted a ring this year,” Texas head coach Michael Center said. “It’s hard to win this conference.” The road to the Big 12 championship began with a semifinal match against Oklahoma on Saturday. It was the second match against the Sooners in two weeks and the second year in a row the Longhorns faced the them in the Big 12 tournament and Saturday’s match had no shortage of intensity and chippiness. The Longhorns jumped out to an early lead by clinching the doubles point thanks to wins by the duo of junior Colin Markes and sophomore Yuya Ito, as well as juniors Leonardo Telles and Adrian Ortiz. “I think (the doubles play) set the tone for the match,” Center said. “That put a lot of pressure on (Oklahoma).” Singles play was no different, as the Longhorns continued to jump on the Sooners early and never looked back. After impressive wins by Ortiz and Ito, the match was ultimately clinched by No. 103 junior Rodrigo Banzer with a 6-2, 6-4 win at fifth singles. After No. 5-seeded Baylor stunned No. 1-seeded TCU in the tournament, the championship match was set between the Bears and Texas, with the Longhorns getting to play for a title on their own turf. The Longhorns didn’t get off to the start they wanted, though. Despite being point of strength all year, the men couldn’t secure the doubles point and fell down, 1-0, early. After later falling behind 2-1, Texas
needed some momentum to get back in the match before it was too late. Texas’ prayer was answered by its No. 3 singles player, junior Harrison Scott. In a year where he’s seen highs and lows, Scott gave the Longhorns perhaps their most important spark of the season with a hard-fought 7-6 (2), 7-5 win over Baylor’s Will Little to even the score at 2-2. A win by the No. 91-ranked Telles put the Longhorns ahead 3-2, and the match was ultimately clinched by Banzer with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory. “(Banzer)’s been clutch for us,” Center said. “And he was clutch again today.” The win snapped the Longhorns’ 10-match losing streak to Baylor at home. Texas has nearly two weeks off before it begins play in the NCAA tournament on May 11.
juan figueroa | the daily texan staff Junior Harrison Scott prepares to return the ball during Texas’ 4-0 victory over Oklahoma at the Texas Tennis Center on Saturday before winning the Big 12 Championships on Sunday.
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MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2018
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CHARLES LIU & CHRIS DUNCAN
LIFE&ARTS EDITORS @THEDAILYTEXAN
MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2018
LABELHEAD LIFESTYLE COLOR
rachel tyler | the daily texan staff
UT students redefine racial beauty standards Students compare ethnic background with personal style. By Tiana Woodard @tianarochon
J
ournalism sophomore Alecsandra Franco faced many bewildering situations in her childhood but having a boy deem her “too fat” to sit beside at lunch sticks with her most. “I remember that I looked down, and I was like, ‘Really? Am I fat?’” Franco said. “Just because you don’t shape your eyebrows, you don’t shave or you’re a size 6 and not a 0 — all these superficial things in my (Latinx) culture
would completely outweigh everything else.” Franco’s unforgettable memory is only a snippet of what many students undergo everyday. While many students struggle to understand their race’s beauty standards, UT is a turning point in some students’ journeys toward realizing they don’t fit in traditional ideals. Students point to different reasons for their backgrounds’ ideals. Biomedical engineering senior Gabby Tan, who is half-Chinese and half-Sicilian, tied her two races’ preferences for pale skin to a desire for association with the upper class. “(For Asians, pale skin) is a sign that you don’t have to work in the sun all day,” Tan said. “For Sicilians, it’s a matter of wanting to pass off as a different
(Italian) background.” Kialond Bronson-Smith, an African-American theatre and dance freshman, explained her culture’s fixation on hairstyles stems from a yearning for loose curl patterns. In her predominantly black neighborhood, most girls possessed curlier hair. “(The boys in my community) wanted mixed girls because, to them, that’s who had the ‘good hair,’” Bronson-Smith said. Regardless of reasons behind their community’s ideals, all three students said fitting these standards as a child was no simple task. Franco said she tried mimicking the seductiveness of Sofia Vergara and the contagious energy of Selena Quintanilla-Perez. “It’s sad to think that at such
a young age, (these perceptions) were so instilled into my experiences,” Franco said. For Tan, matching her cultures’ expectations meant parting ways with some of her most-enjoyed childhood activities. To have lighter skin and silence her family’s comments, Tan stopped swimming. “Careless remarks left an impression on me that if I wanted to be pretty, I needed to look like my (white) mom,” Tan said. Because her ex-boyfriend preferred longer, wavy hair, Bronson-Smith recalled walking on eggshells just to achieve her perfect look. “I wanted to know and make sure that (my ex-boyfriend would) still like me regardless of how (my hair) looked,” Bronson-Smith said.
Coming to UT broadened all three student’s beauty perceptions. Franco specifically remembers freaking out when she saw Latinxs on campus clash with her community’s beauty standards. “I’d see them walking around and instantly respond in my head, ‘Oh, my god! Why are you walking around like that?’” Franco said. “(Now,) I just see everyone living their truth.” Following the lead of other students, Franco now embraces her formerly suppressed attributes, including her curly hair. “I used to hate my curly hair to the core,” Franco said. “Now, there’s so many variations and definitions on what is beautiful.” All three said UT’s openness
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STUDENT LIFE
Cast your fears aside: four tips to survive finals By Brooke Sjoberg @sj0b3rg
With final exams creeping on the heels of students, the mounting pressure to succeed may drive students to study according to a “learning style” they have been assigned earlier in their education — but UT learning experts say this may not benefit students at all. In elementary and high school, it is not uncommon for students to take a test defining their “learning style” as either visual, auditory, reading or kinesthetic. The Daily Texan spoke with experts from the Sanger Learning Center, as well as Teaching and Learning Services within the university libraries to find four solutions for students who find themselves in an academic rut.
1. Get ready to get messy. Attention to detail can be helpful in class but can ultimately cost students precious points on an exam.
It’s easier to study those discrete facts that we know, than to maybe tackle something a little bit messier.” Sarah Brandt, librarian
Sarah Brandt, librarian for first year programs at the PCL, said many students fall into the trap of focusing
on facts, rather than more complex themes and concepts which are easier to memorize. Getting caught up in the minutia of an assignment or concept can be a roadblock in understanding the bigger picture. “Sometimes we get caught up in memorizing discrete facts, rather than thinking about the connections between things,” Brandt said. “It’s easier to study those discrete facts that we know, than to maybe tackle something a little bit messier.” 2. Try something new. After reviewing endless notes, flipping through flashcards and revising until their eyes are sore, students may find themselves in an academic rut because they’ve been trying the same method repeatedly, unsatisfied with their results. Brandt said this is because specific methods of studying may
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