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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2018
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NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
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A UT senior’s recent startup offers rides to other Texas cities in a Tesla Model X. PA G E 2
Student parents at UT need a program for their individual needs. PA G E 4
Sam Ehlinger returns from injury as Texas faces Oklahoma State. PA G E 7
Austin Detours provides murder mystery experience for local thrillseekers. PA G E 5
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CRIME
Title IX Office reports increase in 2017–18 academic year
UNIVERSITY
After getting caught What happens if a student gets a citation for underage drinking?
By Meghan Ngyuen @ultravioletmegs
The University of Texas at Austin’s Title IX Office received 508 total reports of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment and sex discrimination during the 2017–18 academic year, up from 445 reports the previous academic year. The majority of complainants were from students. Of the 508 reports, 105 were made in August, September and October, during the “red zone,” or the time at the beginning of the school year when a disproportionate number of campus sexual assaults take place. The Department of Justice has identified this period as the stretch of time when a student is more likely to be assaulted than at any other point in his or her college career. Student body president Colton Becker said Student Government focused its sexual assault awareness efforts on OU weekend in October because the weekend posed a significant risk. “We spearheaded a coordinated effort to educate students about consent and sexual violence,” Becker said. “In the past, there have been a spike in instances of sexual assault on that weekend in particular.” Reports filed with the University have increased by six times since the 2012–13 academic year, when 69 such reports were filed. The highest number of reports during the 2017–18 school year occurred in April 2018, with 57 reports being filed. Shilpa Bakre, Title IX communications strategist, said UT
TITLE IX
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By Megan Menchaca @meganmenchaca13
tudents cited for underage drinking violations can face a wide range of penalties at both the University and state level, but there are also multiple resources available to them to manage these penalties. If a student is suspected of an underage drinking violation, UTPD officers will issue a citation or refer them to the Dean of Students, said David Carter, the University of Texas Police Chief. “It could be either one depending on circumstance,” Carter said. “If it was an aggravated situation, the officer has the discretion to issue (a citation) but they can also refer them to the Dean of Students.” UTPD made seven arrests and referred 110 students to the Dean of Students for on-campus liquor law violations in 2017, according to the 2018 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. These violations include three class C misdemeanors — minor in consumption of alcohol, minor in possession of alcohol
and misrepresentation of age. Sylvia Holmes, assistant director of Legal Services for Students, said students have three options: deferred disposition, plead guilty or plead not guilty and go to trial. Deferred disposition is offered to everyone after their first underage drinking offense and involves paying up to $125, taking an alcohol awareness class and doing up to 25 hours of community service. A guilty plea involves paying up to $500, taking an alcohol awareness class, doing up to 40 hours of community service and temporarily losing one’s drivers license. “Students take the deferral 99 percent of the time,” Holmes said. “Unless my student is innocent, there is zero reason to go to trial. And if they’re innocent, we can almost always prove that in other ways.” Holmes said students who go through the deferred disposition process can ask to get a ticket expunged two years later so all court records of the charge are erased. Andel Fils-Aime, director of the Office of Student Conduct
DRINKING
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lauren ibanez
| the daily texan staff
CITY
CITY
Water donations pour into animal shelter
APD graffiti videos star shelter dogs
By Raga Justin @ragajus
As Austin residents woke up Monday to the city-wide boil water notice, leaders at the Austin Pets Alive! animal shelter were already worried about the long days ahead. The no-kill shelter keeps each of its dogs and cats supplied with a full bowl of clean water at all times, a policy made difficult by the boil water notice, communications manager Katera Berent said. At any given moment, the shelter holds around 200 dogs and 300 cats at its three locations. “We just didn’t have the means to boil all the water necessary, at which point we made the decision to put the plea out into the community on our website and social media,” Berent said. Berent said the initial goal on Monday was to just get through the day. They were not prepared for the response, which was “totally overwhelming,” Berent said. “It was absolutely amazing … there were people donating gallons and truck beds full of water,” Berent said. “There were offers that came in from people with over 500-gallon water tanks they wanted to drop off. People drove in from Houston, Dallas,
San Marcos, just to bring these animals water.” Berent said by late Monday afternoon, the shelter ran out of storage space for water donations. Berent estimated the shelter currently has nearly 1000 gallons of water, providing its dogs and cats enough drinking water “for the foreseeable future.” “That’s their life source, to always have replenishable water is so necessary,” Berent said. “They’re not able to speak for themselves and tell you what they need, so it’s our job to figure it out.” Finance junior Jemma Nazarian said she donated bottles after seeing news articles about Austin Pets Alive’s cry for help. “I was just thinking of puppies not having water to drink and it made me so sad,” Nazarian said. “I was like, ‘I have to help them.’” Neuroscience and Plan II honors sophomore Haven Erengil is currently fostering Amber, an Austin Pets Alive dog. She said boiling drinking water for even one dog can be difficult. “It’s really a big task,” Erengil said. “I can’t imagine having to do it with even more than two dogs.” The donations mean shelter employees and volunteers can spend less time boiling water
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By Sami Sparber @samisparber
copyright katera berent, and reproduced with permission After asking for help supplying water for animals on its website and social media, local animal shelter Austin Pets Alive! received hundreds of donations.
and more time caring for the animals, Berent said. “To say we’re thankful for the community would just be such
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“Barksy, you’ve been caught red-pawed,” an Austin police officer said to the four-legged mastermind behind a recent string of graffiti tags. The pooch is one of the Austin Animal Center’s adoptable dogs that will be featured in a series of videos to educate residents on the city’s graffiti policies. The series is comprised of eight episodes that follow Barksy’s journey through the city’s justice department. Every role — from judge to emergency call center operator — is portrayed by one of the city’s adoptable dogs. “We wanted to bring more attention to our graffiti efforts here in Austin so we can address the issue as a community,” city spokesperson Aly Van Dyke said. “We also knew the city’s animal center has been full for a couple months now, so we thought if we could get some dogs adopted and
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an understatement,” Berent said. “It really restores your faith in humanity, just because of how wonderful everyone is.”
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educate people about graffiti in the process, why not try it?” City officials have been working on updating Austin’s graffiti procedures since early 2017. This followed the City Council’s request that Austin’s processes be reviewed against other cities for best practices, Van Dyke said. The city defines graffiti as marks on public or private property without the property owner’s consent. The first video will be uploaded by December, and episodes will be released on a weekly basis, Van Dyke said. The series walks residents through every step of the city’s graffiti policies, from how to report graffiti to what happens to the person responsible, said Sammi Curless, co-director of the city’s graffiti steering team. “The videos are serving as a vehicle to make sure people are calling the city of Austin to report graffiti they come across or witness
GRAFFITI
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