The Daily Texan 2018-09-26

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serving the university of texas at austin community since

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1900

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018

volume

119,

issue

NEWS

OPINION

LIFE&ARTS

SPORTS

Counseling and Mental Health Center hosts 10th Suicide Prevention Week. PA G E 3

University needs to bring more public charging stations to campus. PA G E 4

UT business alumni share tips for starting a business as a student. PA G E 8

After back-to-back statement wins, the Longhorns are finally showing jubilation. PA G E 6

CAMPUS

UNIVERSITY

UT investigates state senator for sending explicit messages

College to Career initiative calls for student participation

Grad student reports Charles Schwertner after summer encounter.

By Katie Balevic @KatelynBalevic

The College to Career Governing Committee in the Provost’s office is working to increase student awareness of career services on campus since finding that many students do not engage with the offices. “The College to Career initiative is really focused on making sure that students are aware of resources that are available to them on campus,” said Rachelle Hernandez, senior vice provost for enrollment management. Career services coordinates career fairs, performs mock interviews with students and advises them on their career trajectory. Last October, the CtC Task Force released findings about students’ lack of engagement with career services offices. “Several students said they weren’t aware of the resources,” said Hernandez, head of the (College to Career) Governing Committee. “Our goal is to make it easy for students to access … both those resources that are available to students in their home colleges as well as resources that help facilitate those connections in the colleges.” Government junior Conner Vanden Hoek is one of the students unaware of the career advising offices in each college. “The thing that’s a little bit concerning is I was an (orientation advisor), I’m involved in student government stuff and I’m not even 100 percent sure about if we have that student resource or not,” Vanden Hoek said. The University needs to increase advertising of career advising resources if it wants more student engagement, Vanden Hoek said. Richard Hogeda, assistant dean for student affairs in the College of Education, said the college has raised awareness for services by emailing weekly bulletins, sending representatives to classrooms and displaying recruiting events on TV monitors. However, Hogeda said students

CAREER

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joshua guerra | the daily texan file The University is investigating Texas State Sen. Charles Schwertner after a graduate student accused him of sending her explicit text messages and images after they met on campus this past summer.

By Gracie Awalt @gracieawalt5

T is currently investigating an allegation made against state Sen. Charles Schwertner that claimed he sent a sexually explicit image and text message to a graduate student he met this past summer at an on-campus event, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Gary Susswein, chief communications officer for UT, said in a statement that he cannot confirm the story, which is based off of three unnamed sources, and that the University does not discuss active investigations to protect their integrity. “The University of Texas takes all allegations of wrongdoing

seriously and encourages members of the campus community to report them immediately,” Susswein said in the statement. “We strive to investigate complaints thoroughly and quickly while respecting the confidentiality of students and employees who file complaints and those accused of wrongdoing. UT is strongly committed to fostering a safe campus environment and to providing needed support and resources to victims.” According to the Statesman, two UT officials said when the student met Schwertner, a Georgetown Republican and UT alumnus, at the summer event, they exchanged LinkedIn information and then began text messaging. After a professional exchange centering on networking advice, the

student said Schwertner wrote, “I just really want to f---- you,” followed by an image of his genitals in the shower. A UT official has seen the photo and said the image does not include Schwertner’s face. UT officials said the student told Schwertner the image was inappropriate and then Schwertner did not respond. The student reported the behavior to the school, prompting the investigation. According to the Statesman, Schwertner’s spokesperson said he “categorically denies any knowledge of the accusations” and will cooperate with UT’s investigation. “The Senator is eager to cooperate with the University of Texas and hopes to make clear he played no part in the behavior

described,” said Tom Holloway, Schwertner campaign spokesman in a statement Tuesday. UT officials declined to reveal the identity of the student to honor a confidentiality promise made to her by the University when she reported the incident. If the allegation is true, Schwertner could be banned from campus. The University is also considering hiring additional legal counsel to investigate further, according to UT officials. Susswein said the University will not be discussing an ongoing investigation “to protect the integrity of the investigative process.” University spokesman J.B. Bird was unable to clarify what office at UT was conducting the investigation.

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CAMPUS

On-campus dining halls promote sustainability By Sara Schleede @saraschleede

CAMPUS

UT campus construction waves through the years By Savana Duning @savanaish

From pizza slices to cobbler to untouched plates of Caesar salad, students eating at J2 and Kinsolving dining halls threw away over 30 tons of edible food last school year, according to data from University Housing and Dining. Forty percent of UT’s waste could be composted but is instead sent to landfills, according to the Office of Sustainability. Since 2008, students have conducted plate waste research to learn more about why people are throwing away their food and how to reduce it. When studies began 10 years ago, 53 tons of food was wasted, and numbers have declined every year since.

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hannah simon | the daily texan staff Students drop off their plates at the rotating carousel in J2 Dining Hall. On the other side, student volunteers collect and weigh the food waste.

W.R. Woolrich (WRW) Laboratories, home of the aerospace engineering department, will be demolished in 2019. The 60-year-old structure was built during one of the biggest waves of construction in campus history and is one example of how development trends shape the life and death of buildings on campus. “I have mixed feelings,” said Drew McNeely, an aerospace engineering graduate student. “This building has a lot of history. I know it’s not the greatest building in the world, but a lot of people that I admired once walked these hallways.” WRW was built in 1958

during a 30-year trend in campus building construction that produced half of all buildings on campus. Since the building of the original 40 Acres in 1883, peaks in building construction have formed over time, shaped by both American and architectural history. The first peak was in the 1930s after an increase in funds allowed for campus expansion. This initiated the creation of the Paul Cret Campus Master Plan which quintupled the size of campus and included the construction of the Main Building and the Texas Union building. The next big waves, which were responsible for half of the campus buildings,

WAVES

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