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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
Students, faculty discuss plans to redesign Walter Cronkite Plaza. PA G E 3
UT should expand group study rooms to buildings beyond the PCL. PA G E 4
Nate Boyer and Ibtihaj Muhammad talk social justice in sports at LBJ Library PA G E 6
Students weigh in on their experieces with internalized homophobia. PA G E 8
CAMPUS
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CAMPUS
Zero Waste Workplace
Creators for Cause fosters student ethical innovation By William Kosinski @willkosinski
anthony mireles | the daily texan staff Chemical engineering sophomore Ritu Shirali, left, and electrical engineering junior Samir Riad walk past one of many Student Services Building’s recycling and trash bins. The SSB is a role model among UT’s facilites to reach the University’s zero waste goal by 2020.
New program hopes to make UT more sustainable. By Savana Dunning @savanaish
he Student Services Building is UT’s first Zero Waste Workplace, a new program working to reach UT’s sustainability goals. Launched by UT Resource Recovery in May, the program aims to shift building infrastructures on campus
toward more sustainable waste diversion practices, such as composting used restroom paper towels and posting signage to promote proper recycling. Robert Moddrell, UT Resource Recovery manager, said the SSB was chosen as the first Zero Waste Workplace due to its staff’s dedication to sustainability over the years. “Any sustainability program is going to rely on the participation of individuals, because we each impact the waste stream,” Moddrell said. “SSB had been doing a lot of work toward sustainability programs already … They were a natural choice for us to go to because of the activity of the
occupants of the building.” Resource Recovery and the sustainability department have been working toward zero waste on campus since 2012, with hopes of reaching 90 percent waste diversion by 2020. A 2017 audit by students working with Resource Recovery estimated campus waste diversion was at around 38 percent. UT Sustainability Director Jim Walker said although UT might not reach its goal by 2020, programs like Zero Waste Workplace have been launched to help reach the target.
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As a textiles and apparel senior, Jihyo Kim was exposed to unethical aspects of the fashion industry. During her summer in South Korea, she created her own clothing brand, named “Ledoubles,” to circumvent these amoral societal and environmental impacts. Now, Kim is translating this mindset to Creators for Cause, a new student organization connecting students from all majors across campus to create sustainably sourced and ethically produced innovations for real world issues. Kim said the organization will brainstorm, produce and market one product every semester to benefit society. “There are charity organizations who try to solve a problem by directly helping those in need, which is really a good thing to do, but we’re looking at a problem in a different way,” said Kim, president of Creators for Cause. “We’re trying to come up with a product or idea that can solve the problem in a more creative way.” Vice President Ji Min Bae was involved in the creation of Kim’s fashion brand and said she decided to help her establish Creators for Cause after realizing the necessity and potential of collaboration. “Every individual, even if they may be in the same major, has different perspectives page
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CITY
Habitat for Humanity fights for Austin affordable housing
UGS department seeks dedicated meeting area for undeclared students
By Laura Morales @lamor_1217
In advance of the Nov. 6 election, UT’s Habitat for Humanity is campaigning for students to vote for a $250 million bond that aims to make Austin housing more affordable. Proposition A allocates the majority of the bond to land acquisition and
rental assistance programs. Ashish Chowdary, advocacy chair for UT Habitat for Humanity, said the proposition is likely to help student renters. “I know everyone likes to complain about how West Campus costs are ridiculous,” biology junior Chowdary said. “If Proposition A were to pass, that has a possibility of reducing some of the rent.” Chowdary said the UT
branch will be hosting phone banks, conducting door-todoor campaigning and tabling around campus in hopes of raising awareness to students. The city-wide campaign efforts have been led by Austin’s Habitat for Humanity and Keep Austin Affordable, an education initiative for affordable housing in Austin. Greg Anderson, director of community affairs
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ashley ephraim | the daily texan staff Graduate assistant Patrick Eubanks leaves the undergraduate studies office after completing his day of work on Sept. 19, 2018.
By Gracie Awalt @gracieawalt5
Although there are 1,187 students enrolled in the School of Undergraduate Studies, students within UGS do not have a centralized place on campus to call their own, unlike students in most colleges. Dean of the school, Brent Iverson, said he is currently
working on detailed proposals to create a space on campus for his students. He said dedicating an area on campus specifically for UGS is a complicated process, and no specific location has been determined yet. “It just has to happen, and we’re doing everything we can to make it happen,” Iverson said. “A year from now, we probably can talk in detail about what we’re
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gonna do. We’re in the process of thinking this through.” Molly Gully, director of the Vicks Center for Strategic Advising and Career Counseling, said a student’s major is a strong identifying piece of information that connects students with like-minded peers. She said before UGS freshmen transfer to other colleges,
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| the daily texan staff