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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2018
volume
119,
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NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Environmental group makes application open for increased diversity. PA G E 2
UT needs to be more open about professor sexual harassment. PA G E 4
Discover where to get the best ice cream and then where to run off the calories after. PA G E 6
In an attempt to revitalize homefield advantage, Texas plans game day changes. PA G E 8
STATE
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CITY
Parked wrong? Pay $150 fee.
Local waterways contain high levels of fecal bacteria By Raga Justin @ragajus
Austinites using Texas waterways as a cool escape from the burning heat might want to consider cleaner options. A report released Thursday by Environment Texas, an environmental advocacy group, compiled 2017 water testing data and found nearly half of 1,450 freshwater sites in Texas showed unsafe levels of fecal contamination, falling short of statewide water quality standards. During the tests, 60 percent of testing locations at Austin city creeks showed unsafe levels of fecal bacteria at least once last year. “Austin has made great strides over the last 15 years or so with water quality in our creeks,” said Luke Metzger, the executive director of Environment Texas. “But the data shows there’s a lot more work to be done.” According to the report, swimming in contaminated water comes with health risks such as gastrointestinal illness, respiratory disease, ear and eye infections and skin rashes. Waller Creek, Walnut Creek and two Colorado River sites were all found to be unsafe on at least one occasion in 2017. Waller Creek cuts right through the University, and environmental science classes often take students down to its banks to gain field experience. Environmental science
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anthony mireles | the daily texan staff Runners run past and over a parked electric scooter in the middle of Speedway Mall on Tuesday afternoon near Gregory Gym. Scooter companies are working with UT Parking and Transportation Services to educate the student body about the proper parking of scooters.
UT may begin charging fees for improperly parked dockless scooters. By Gracie Awalt @gracieawalt5
Bird and Lime dockless scooters help students navigate the puzzle that is campus transportation. But if students aren’t more careful about where they park their scooters before rushing to class, they may have to pay.
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UT Parking and Transportation Services is working with the scooter companies to educate the student body about proper riding and parking procedures on campus, specifying that all motorized scooters need to be left near bike racks on campus. If these efforts do not succeed in the near future, there will be a $150 impound fee for misplaced scooters. Bobby Stone, director of Parking and Transportation Services, said he has staff members relocating scooters to bike racks around
campus without charging fees so students will follow by example. “If we find that the community doesn’t react to the education process, then we’ll have to start impounding scooters because this conveys a strong message,” Stone said. “Our hope is that it solves our problems and everyone learns.” Stone said once a scooter is impounded, the corresponding company will be notified of the fee and will be responsible for charging the last scooter user.
CITY
@turhem
While brainstorming ideas with UT-Austin’s social work students and doing research, UT alumna Ana Hernandez realized people in the immigrant community often struggled to access resources such as healthcare or legal services. So in spring 2017, Hernandez coordinated with social work students and University Leadership Initiative, a UT group which advocates for the rights of undocumented immigrants, to create a website called Navegando Austin. A few months later, the website was launched, listing resources such as legal, financial, healthcare and mental health services in English and Spanish. Hernandez, Navegando Austin’s project coordinator, said one of the obstacles immigrants face includes lacking a social security number. “There’s also residency requirements and other things that are tied to that same social security number … so if you don’t have a social security number or you don’t have a work permit, it can create barriers,” said Hernandez who graduated from UT with a master’s in social work and Latin American studies. Other barriers include fear of being discriminated because of their status, language barriers
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CITY
TABC cracks down on fake ID usage around city
Community effort helps immigrants By Tehreem Shahab
“My assumption is that (Bird and Lime) would have to pass that fine down to whoever the last scooter user was,” Stone said. “They have a GPS system and things of that nature, so they’re going to know exactly who that last user was.” Collin Morgan, Lime general manager for Austin and San Antonio, said in a statement that as well as working with the Parking and Transportation Services
By Megan Menchaca @meganmenchaca13
and using transportation. “People either don’t fully realize what they’re able to access or they find that they called 10 different places … and for some reason they are unable to get to that resource, and that can be a frustrating process,” Hernandez said. Hernandez said these resources have been vetted to ensure they serve undocumented individuals. “We called agencies, we looked on websites and sometimes we would go to the agency itself,” Hernandez said. “We made sure they were accessible to undocumented folks, so you don’t have to have a social security number or a work permit to access them. We also asked about language access, if they had bilingual service providers, and we also looked to make sure we had the most updated information for that service.” Hernandez said Navegando Austin is currently not a funded project and exists because of contributors from UT, St. Edward’s University and Austin Community College. ULI member Estefania Ponce, an American Sign Language sophomore at ACC, said she primarily worked on obtaining reliable resources for the website. “To me (the website) means access, it means opportunity,” Ponce said. “It allows the
SOCIAL
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STEER CLEAR!
TEXAS ATHLETICS GAMEDAY CLEAR BAG POLICY
Editor’s note: Some last names have been omitted to protect the identity of the sources. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has begun its annual crackdown on underage drinking. Chris Porter, public information officer for the commission, said TABC will be working with law enforcement to identify fake IDs at popular alcohol retailers around UT and other college campuses, including bars on Sixth Street, liquor stores and convenience stores. Penalties vary case-by-case, but minors can face up to a $500 fine if convicted of possessing a fake ID. “People who are underage who use fake IDs to obtain alcohol, not only is that against the law, but also it’s a public safety concern,” Porter said. “We don’t want young people drinking alcohol and then going out on the roads and either causing accidents … or falling victim to assault or sexual assault.” Porter said TABC will also have minors from high schools, who volunteer through the program, attempt to purchase alcohol at these retailers. An individual can face a $4,000 fine and up to a year in jail if convicted of selling alcohol to a minor. “We’ve found over the years that alcohol retailers, particularly those in commu-
lauren ibanez
nities where colleges are located, see a much higher tempo of activity as students return to class,” Porter said. “We’re taking this time to let retailers know that even though it’s getting busy, you still have the obligation to protect the public safety by refusing sales of alcohol to minors.” Porter said while these operations will be conducted yearround, TABC is making con-
centrated efforts now to help retailers with increased business during the beginning of the school year. “When businesses obtain their alcoholic beverage permit, they agree to basically prevent these types of sales to underage folks,” Porter said. “So we’re helping them to comply with their agreements as part of their responsibility selling alcohol in Texas.”
APPROVED BAGS • Bags that are clear plastic and do not exceed 12” x 6” x 12” • One-gallon clear resealable plastic storage bags • Small clutch bags or purses that do not exceed 4.5” x 6.5”
PROHIBITED BAGS • Backpacks, purses, diaper bags, cases (camera, binocular, etc.), fanny packs, printed pattern plastic bags, reusable grocery totes, mesh or straw bags, duffle bags, large totes
TexasSports.com/clearbag
| the daily texan staff
Theatre studies sophomore Dani Consoldane, who worked at the 7-11 on the intersection of 26th and Guadalupe Streets, said it was a popular place for anyone living near the Drag to buy alcohol. “We had to scan IDs (of everyone attempting to buy alcohol) on our registers and if they didn’t scan, we couldn’t sell them alcohol,” Consoldane said.
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