The Daily Texan 2018-11-02

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018

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119,

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NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

LIFE&ARTS

Faculty Ambassador Program showcases UT to potential international students. PA G E 2

Native identity is not dependent on your DNA, it is something more meaningful. PA G E 4

Former Aggie joins Longhorns’ women’s basketball team.

PA G E 6

“La Vida de los Muertos” uses improve to celebrate Latinx culture. PA G E 8

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CAMPUS

Remembering

Nicky Cumberland

eddie gaspar | the daily texan staff UT students and friends of Nicky Cumberland mourn his passing in front of Gregory Gym on Thursday evening. He passed away on October 30th after spending four weeks on life support following a car accident.

Students gather at the Tower to mourn the loss of UT junior who died after car accident.

By Meghan Nguyen @ultravioletmegs

icholas Cumberland, radiotelevision-film and finance junior, spent his nights studying at the Perry-Castañeda Library. However, without fail, Cumberland would leave at 9 p.m. to listen to the Tower bells play “The Eyes of Texas.”

On Tuesday night, the bells rang again — but this time, it was in honor of him.

“The sentiment of it all gave him a sense of peace,” said Clio Harralson, Cumberland’s girlfriend and management information systems and Plan II junior. “It made him feel like part of a community. A community of scholars, leaders and innovators all loyal to these 40 Acres like

he was.”

Hundreds gathered at the Gregory Gym Plaza Thursday night to honor Cumberland, who died Tuesday.

Several of Cumberland’s friends spoke at the vigil, including civil engineering senior Jacob Roschmann and economics junior Ben St. Martin.

“I’m absolutely overwhelmed by the turnout tonight,” Roschmann said. “This crowd perfectly demonstrates the amount of lives that Nicky touched.”

Cumberland was a member of the Tau Chapter of Kappa Sigma, Phi Chi Theta and Texas Cowboys. He was a committee member of Genesis, Chase the World and the Student Consulting Initiative, and a member of the National Outdoor Leadership School and UT Cheer.

“Nicky quickly fell in love with the

CAMPUS

@savanaish

Although the boil water notice has lifted, the effects of the last two months of heavy rainfall have extended beyond the water supply. The increased humidity created a mold problem in the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering building.

Central Texas reached near record levels of rainfall this September and October, which led to flooding in Austin that caused water contamination and resulted in a weeklong boil water notice.

It was during this period of heavy rainfall University staff began noticing mold growth

VIGIL

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2

UNIVERSITY

Engineering building grows mold after rains

By Savana Dunning

University of Texas and fell in love with everything that it offered,“ St. Martin said. “Despite his hectic schedule, he always took the time to befriend anyone and everyone.”

Following a car crash Sept. 30, Cumberland sustained brain damage and was on life support for four weeks. During that time, a GoFundMe was created to cover his medical expenses and raised $150,000 within a month.

“When people pass, their reputations tend to be polished with absolutes,” St. Martin said.

“People use words like ‘sweetest and smartest’ to describe them. But Nicky did not need to pass to earn this description. If you asked those who knew him before the accident, I guarantee the vast majority of them would describe him as the most kind, social and hardest working person

inside the CPE. “There was a problem that surfaced because of certain conditions. We identified it, we figured out some solutions and now we’re implementing plans to get it corrected,” said Michael Carmagnola, director of Project Management and Construction Services.

The CPE’s 32-year-old air conditioners are original to the building. The air conditioners bring in air from outside, dehumidify it and send it inside. But due to the recent increase of water in the air, the air conditioners were unable to dehumidify it all, causing increased humidity in the building.

BUILDING

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2

UT enforces policy for guest speakers

By Neelam Bohra @_neelam_b

The University has recently started enforcing regulations for approving guest speakers for student organization events.

Registered student organizations and sponsored student organizations need advance permission from the Dean of Students for guest speakers, according to the Office of the Dean of Students. However, the policy was not enforced in previous years, said Sara Kennedy, spokesperson for the Office of the Dean of Students.

“Our office received guidance from University legal affairs about this policy and has adjusted our enforcement of this rule to reflect that

SPEAKERS

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gabriel lopez | the daily texan file U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) speaks to students and University Democrats members inside the Welch Auditorium Sept. 2, 2016.

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bixie mathieu

| the daily texan staff

Graduate School funds international recruiting

By Laura Morales @lamor_1217

UT’s Graduate School launched the Faculty Ambassador program Oct. 18 to expand international recruiting efforts.

The program allocates additional funding for a faculty member’s existing international travel plans, such as guest lecturing, research and collaboration with international institutions. Although the program will not provide funding for the whole trip, it will provide funds to extend the faculty member’s stay to host University-related events, such as meeting with potential students and speaking on behalf of the University.

“The program is fairly flexible on

who we would include,” said John Dalton, the assistant dean of the Graduate School. “We just want the faculty to talk about the University, our programs, the city of Austin and Texas.”

The Graduate School currently attends fairs and visits colleges mostly around the United States to recruit graduate students. Dalton said there is an effort this year to expand the recruitment internationally, which inspired the creation of the program.

“This program was created because we have hundreds of faculty who are traveling around the world presenting their research or talking to their colleagues,” Dalton said. “It just made a lot of sense for us to try to engage them to be ambassadors of

the campus.”

The program advertises an opportunity for faculty to extend their visits to international institutions and grow their networks for collaboration and research recruitment.

Nicolas Hundley, program coordinator and director of communications of the Graduate School, said an expanded applicant pool can also add to the diversity of the UT community.

“International students play a key role at the University,” Hundley said. “They provide unique perspectives and approaches to intellectual and academic challenges and enhance the learning environment for all graduate students.”

The program is in collaboration with several University

departments, schools and offices, including the International Office.

Teri Albrecht, the interim executive director of the International Office, said she initially learned about the program through a faculty-wide email and saw it as an opportunity to expand the University’s brand internationally.

“The more that the University is known and there is awareness within the world about the University of Texas at Austin, we will be able to capitalize on that,” Albrecht said. “The more that UT is positioned in the world then we are able to collaborate with corporate partners, non-profit foundations, etc. We will become more interconnected to provide more opportunities for our students and our faculty.”

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“Because of the air requirements in that building and the high level of research, that system is not able to keep up, particularly with the high humidity levels at that time,” Carmagnola said. “They do need to be replaced, and that’s exactly the plan. Once those units are replaced, then we’re able to go in and remove all of the mold.”

The mold that grew in the CPE’s air conditioners and around the building is the same kind of mold that grows outside during storms. It develops from mold spores in the air that, when given the right temperature and humidity level, can grow within 24 to 48 hours of exposure.

John Salsman, director of Environmental Health and Safety, said the CPE’s mold poses a minimal health risk and would mostly affect people with mold allergies, who might

vigil

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1

they knew.”

During his time at Memorial High School, Cumberland was valedictorian, class vice president and a cheerleader. He was heavily involved, and was a part of the debate team, made videos for the broadcast journalism class and played on the rugby team.

“Nicky was someone who treated everyone with the utmost respect,” said Jake Groesbeck, Cumberland’s childhood best friend. “It didn’t matter how long he knew you. He would treat you as if he had known you his whole life.”

Other speakers included Cumberland’s cheer stunt partner Margaret Martin, his pledge brother Brandon Chi and Texas Cowboy

experience symptoms ranging from runny nose to chest tightness.

“It’s really depends on the person,” Salsman said.

“People who are bothered by mold in Austin right now are probably going to be bothered whether they go into the CPE or not because the mold levels are high from all the rain we’ve had recently.”

Chemical engineering senior Kyrene Moe and other students who frequent the building said it has not been noticeable.

“I don’t think I’ve noticed,” Moe said. “The weather has been changing though over the past couple of days, so indoors feels a little different around campus in general.”

Carmagnola said the building will be sectioned off into 18 sections, corresponding to the building’s 18 mechanical units, that will be tackled one by one.

The old air conditioning units will be replaced and the mold in the area will

Connor Rennick.

A scholarship fund has been created in Nicky’s honor. An email account, fornickyandclio@yahoo.com, was started so people could send Cumberland’s family and girlfriend memories and stories to read. A drop box in the Business Honors Program Office, CBA 2.312, has been designated for letters to the Cumberlands.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, Nov. 3, from 1–3 p.m. in Chapelwood United Methodist Church at 11140 Greenbay St., Houston. Following that, there will be a celebration of life from 3–5 p.m. at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Dr., Houston.

“Nicky was filled with a contagious joy,” Harralson said. “Loving like Nicky will always change the world for the better.”

erika ramirez | the daily texan staff Central Texas reached near-record levels of rainfall this September and October. It was during this period of heavy rainfall that University staff began noticing mold growth inside the CPE.

be removed by the end of next summer.

“It will take a little time to get each of those done,” Carmagnola said. “We’ll only impact a small por-

tion of the building at any one time.”

Even though she has not encountered the mold problem, Moe said the news is unsurprising.

“This building is one of the older buildings on campus.” Moe said. “If it’s not dangerous it doesn’t concern me. I don’t feel threatened by it in any way.”

courtesy of sue harralson

Nicky Cumberland would leave the PCL, where he studied regularly, every night at 9 p.m. to hear the Tower bells play “The Eyes of Texas”. The bells played the song in honor of him at the vigil Thursday night.

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018

CAMPUS

eilish o’sullivan

| the daily texan staff

Students fill the Student Activity Center Auditorium for a screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which features a live performance.

‘Rocky Horror’ returns to UT

Annual cult favorite screening at SAC keeps film alive.

By Savana Dunning @savanaish

tudents lined up in front of the Student Activity Center auditorium, some clad in fishnets and corsets, to receive a bag of assorted props before the movie started. When it began, the room erupted with call out jokes, the buzz of party blowers and dancing.

“I remember being so captivated by it and so absolutely in awe,” psychology freshman Michael Williams said. “It’s so much more than a film, it’s an experience.”

Every year around Halloween, UT Creative Arts and Theatre and Campus Entertainment and Events’ Showtime hold a screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, a campy science-fiction horror-comedy musical from 1975, which

features live performers acting along with the movie and interaction with the film through call outs, props and dances.

Theatre studies junior Amena Masswi directed the shadowcast for this year’s UT Rocky Horror screening, which was held Wednesday evening. Masswi said the production always garners a full house.

“It’s one of our most attended shows because so many people are familiar with it and love it,” Masswi said. “Even if you’re not a moviegoer or a theater person, it’s still a fun thing to do.”

This interactive screening experience is a tradition dating back to the film’s first release. Originally a parody of sci-fi horror films, Rocky Horror gained a cult following of fans who created rituals and gags to perform during the movie, such as throwing cards, dancing to the famous song “The Time Warp” and shadowcasting the film.

Radio-television-film professor Suzanne Scott, an expert on fan communities, said the participatory screenings became popular because the rituals were easy to follow and created a sense of community.

“The community and the community practices are still so robust and enjoyable for people,” Scott said. “A lot of the traditions and call back motifs that people see at Rocky Horror Picture Show are things people can very easily pick up in

the moment.”

Forty years later, theaters across America still show the film every week. Popular culture has also re-introduced a new generation of high school and college students to the film and its fan rituals through shows and movies such as “Glee” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”

“A lot of it just has to do with the age of college students,” Scott said. “It’s that age where you’re just starting to figure out who you are, and that movie is so much about figuring out who you are in particular ways that I think there’s something generational there.”

Williams, the shadowcast of the main character Dr. Frank-N-Furter, said he has been going to Rocky Horror screenings since his freshman year of high school. He said for students like him, the community and culture surrounding the film is what has made it remain relevant to students today.

“Absolutely nothing else has been able to recreate the feeling that you get when you go to any of these showings,” Williams said. “It really has become a rite of passage for myself and countless others. There’s such a bond in the room. In that moment, you’re all here, you’re all part of the same group, you’re all here for one reason and that’s to see this production.”

LABELHEAD

speakers continues from page

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guidance,” Kennedy said.

University Democrats president Andrew Herrera said he hosted Dyana Limon-Mercado, Travis County Democratic Party Chair, as a featured guest speaker at this year’s first University Democrats meeting but did not gain permission from the University to host her. After the meeting, Herrera received an email saying University Democrats must report all future guest speakers or lose some privileges.

“In the past, we’ve not necessarily always approved our speakers, the University has been a lot more relaxed,” government junior Herrera said.

“Now, they’re cracking down.

But it’s a public university, and we’re all over 18. We should be trusted to make our own decisions in terms of what dialogue we try to start on campus.”

The issue affects all political organizations on campus, Herrera said.

“It’s not a partisan issue,” Herrera said. “It’s regulations like this that actually put free speech in jeopardy on college campuses. A lot of them stem from the 1970s. It’s just a lot of policies that are archaic that we don’t really need on campus.”

Saurabh Sharma, a biochemistry senior and chairman of the Young Conservatives of Texas, echoed that the newly-enforced rules hinder civic engagement.

“The University has insisted

it can now micromanage every meeting groups have,” Sharma said. “That is ridiculous, and we won’t be shy about presenting legal challenges to fight it.

I understand rules for speaker events with massive crowds, but enforcing these rules on general meetings is pretty absurd.”

From now on, Herrera said, his organization will be more careful when inviting guest speakers.

“We were lucky to know how to get everything passed and approved,” Herrera said. “There was really no orientation for that. If I hadn’t known about the policy from offices before me, that could’ve seriously put our organization in jeopardy.

I’m sure it could put other orgs in jeopardy as well.”

RECYCLE

your copy of jacky tovar

| the daily texan staff

Engineering Council, food bank host virtual food drive

By Tehya Rassman @tehyarassman

The UT Student Engineering Council and the Central Texas Food Bank teamed up this October for an annual Halloween food drive. This year, they went digital.

Traditionally, the food bank and council collect nonperishable canned food donations.

This year the council transitioned to collecting money to support the food bank.

“Students are leading the way in the new, modern, virtual food drive,” said Kimina Jamison, Central Texas Food Bank community engagement coordinator. “We’ll keep using the Student Engineering Council as an example of how students have really mobilized.”

Jamison said every dollar donated online can provide four meals. The food bank receives a discount from the government to purchase food for those in need.

“Given that we are in Austin and there are many students here, it’s perfect that the Student Engineering Council decided to do a virtual food drive,” Jamison said. “You all have such a large impact in the community, and you have so many resources.”

The food drive started at the beginning of the month and ended Wednesday at midnight. By Wednesday evening, the council raised $7,062.33, surpassing their original goal of $3,000. In total, they raised enough money for about 28,249 meals.

“They’ve raised past what we had expected,” Jamison said.

“With what they’ve raised so far, we’ll be able to provide (more than) 13,717 meals.”

Out of the 33 teams that signed up, the Undergraduate Business Council raised the most money, $409.20, and will receive a trophy. Teams from the Engineering Council, other college councils and engineering student organizations

also participated.

Last year, the food bank distributed approximately 46 million pounds of food.

Chemical engineering senior Jeffrey Ha, one of the four event organizers, said he joined to get event planning experience but got more than he expected.

“I couldn’t have imagined it was going to be this rewarding,” Ha said. “Seeing all of these kids from not only engineering, but across UT, donate and give to this cause — it’s been really rewarding.”

Mechanical engineering sophomore Michael Nie, another event organizer, said he counted cans for last year’s food drive and was inspired to do more by leading the food drive this year.

“We had the back corner of (a large room) just totally full of cans,” Nie said. “It was really awesome to see how the community came together and tried to make such a big impact on people they don’t necessarily know.”

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LIZA ANDERSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @TEXANOPINION

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018

COLUMN

COLUMN

UTPD should educate students on how to interact with transients

By Julia Zaksek Columnist

brittany le

| the daily texan staff

To respect Native students, throw out ideas of DNA and race

By Kateri David Columnist

When I tell students I am Cherokee, they inevitably ask how much. For many, there’s an inherent need to measure my “Indian-ness.”

In contrast, when I return home to Oklahoma and introduce myself to tribal people, I am inevitably asked who my family is.

This difference highlights a fundamental divide between common and Native thinking about collective identity. As a Cherokee woman, I possess a dual identity as a citizen of a sovereign nation and membership of a shared culture and heritage. I am not a blood fraction, though this seems to be the only thing non-native students are concerned with.

Misconceptions of Native identity likely stem from apathy. One survey conducted by the Reclaiming Native Truth project indicates that 40 percent of Americans believe Native people no longer exist inside the U.S., and at UT, American Indians comprise less than 1 percent of the student body.

Despite the dismal campus representation, the fact remains: We still exist, our identities are complex, and we deserve your recognition.

Starting at UT, we can work to reverse the erasure of Native peoples by respecting Native students’ unique tribal identities.

The government and American public’s

tendency to racialize Native status was revealed when U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren fell prey to Trump’s race-baiting and released her DNA test results, which were meant to verify her claims to Cherokee selfhood. In doing so, she confused genetics with tribal heritage to conclude that she’s Native despite her lack of cultural or ancestral ties. The effects of this mindset are felt by Native students at all levels of college experience.

“For (Warren) to come out and descend a claim to heritage based upon a test that is fundamentally about DNA and biology, it reinforces fractionated understandings of Native identity,” said Kirby Brown, UT alum and Native American literatures professor at the University of Oregon.

Similar to Warren — who was denounced by Cherokee Nation representatives — many students claim partial Indian status due to having a distant Cherokee relative, despite not knowing the culture or ancestral descent. Given they are an already underrepresented student demographic, students shouldn’t discredit Native identity by asking what percentage Cherokee they are or falsely claiming Cherokee identity because of DNA tests. The ease with which students can claim Native identity as a racial category is especially concerning. When applying to UT, students need only click the “Native American” box when selecting their race.

Unlike the Cherokee Nation, UT has no means

of checking the veracity of these claims.

“The Cherokee nation is tired of being appropriated; it’s another form of dispossession,” said Dr. Kelly McDonough, a Native American and Indigenous studies faculty.

Like me, Brown is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. “This is a claim I make based upon family, history, culture, place,” Brown said.

“But it not enough to say ‘I am Cherokee,’ there has to be a community, whether a cultural or political, that recognizes you.”

The Cherokee nation does not require blood quantum as a category for citizenship. Rather, tribal enrollment is based on descent from an ancestor on the Dawes Roll. Because of this, it’s a racially diverse community based on kinship.

Conversely, for students to be eligible for Native American scholarships through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), they must provide documentation, typically in the form of a Certificate of Indian Blood (CDIB) document. This is a federal construct that has no basis in the customs of any North American tribe, although it wrongly validates people such as Warren.

UT students can push against this thinking by understanding Native students through a political or cultural lens — one acknowledging our distinct tribal identities — rather than reducing us to a single race.

David is a rhetoric and writing sophomore from Allen.

COLUMN

Let’s improve access to resources for women in tech

By Abby Krishnan Columnist

Earlier this semester, The Daily Texan shed light on the gross underrepresentation of women in computing by writing about the mere seven female freshmen in the computer science honors program. Women continuously struggle to find a strong voice in the computer science community at UT. There are programs set up to assist women in computer science. Women in Computer Science is a student-led organization that seeks to provide mentorship and assistance to women throughout their academic career. However, the program fails to maintain a high level of active membership and should improve efforts to develop a tech community for women.

In order to strengthen their efforts to support women in computer science, the Department of Computer Science should consider partnering with other female-centric groups in colleges on campus. By working alongside the Women in Engineering Program within the Cockrell School, they can help to provide a more inclusive and robust community of female engineers.

Lisa Yu, a WiCS officer, said they try to keep the events as inclusive as possible to foster active membership, but often, participation can fluctuate and become quite low. According to computer science sophomore Sri Chappidi, when school gets busy mid-semester, she doesn’t have the same motivation to attend events because of the organization’s lack of strong community.

Additionally, the core of many events put on for women by the Department of Computer Science revolves around career recruiting. In October, every major event offered by WiCS was a social event put on by corporate sponsors. While the focus of these events is often social, they aren’t the best environment to create a supportive community because they’re often facilitated by representatives from a company.

Ana Dison, the director of the Women in Engineering Program (WEP), said the core mission of the WEP program lies on three pillars — outreach, retention and career success.

One way they’re able to find strong membership for each of these initiatives is through the WEP Leadership Collaborative (WEPLC), which helps to support the individual student-run organizations for women within the Cockrell school.

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.

Dison said that this initiative has been successful for the student organizations in the WEPLC because they’re able to interact with like-minded students from different fields.

This provides them with alternative perspectives on the issues and experiences faced by women in underrepresented fields. Taking part in WEP activities would help overcome issues that WiCS sees due to their lower active membership.

WEP, unlike WiCS, is not entirely student-run and has a four-person full-time staff and one half-time administrative associate, a factor Dison cites as a reason for their success.

Because the Department of Computer Science is housed in the College of Natural Sciences, they currently do not receive the same assistance from WEP. However, according to Dison, WiCS is more than welcome to become an organization under the WEPLC in order to leverage the resources WEP wields.

Ultimately, it is important for the Department of Computer Science to understand that community building happens outside the corporate sphere. By partnering with other female-centric organizations, WiCS can become a much stronger force for women in tech.

Krishnan is a computer science sophomore from Plano.

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You’re still in your first or second year at UT. You feel you know the campus well enough that you can get home alone after dark. As you walk, a figure rises from the sidewalk and asks you if you have any spare change. You freeze. What do you do?

Austin’s transient population numbers over 2,000. Students can expect to see transients near the UT campus, often asking for aid. However, many UT students are unsure of how to react in these situations, especially those who are not from areas with large transient populations. Despite the prominence of violent incidents between students and transients, there are no resources available to students pertaining to this prevalent issue.

UTPD needs to offer students instruction on how to safely and respectfully interact with transients either by sharing the information at orientation or creating an accessible, informative resource.

“We don’t really have someone to look out for us, to tell us what to do in certain potentially sensitive situations like a transient asking you for money,” social work sophomore Anahi Esparza said. “When a homeless person asks me for money, I really don’t know what to say. I want to help them, but I’m afraid of what they’ll say or do if I do offer them money or if I don’t offer them enough money or if I don’t have any cash on me.”

This year, students have received two official crime alerts from UTPD involving transients on campus and four alerts via social media concerning crimes potentially involving transients around campus. In 2016, the transient-related murder of freshman Haruka Weiser shook UT’s campus.

Behaving respectfully or staying inside by nightfall won’t necessarily guarantee safety and is unrealistic for many college students.

These instances give students enough reason to worry about violent interactions with transients. For students who have little experience with large transient populations, that fear is often greater.

“My hometown is super small, so I’d never really interacted with transients before I came here,” psychology freshman Madison Wood said. “I didn’t know what to do when they approached me, so I just tried to avoid them.”

Freshman orientation offers students information about UTPD as well as general safety tips. UTPD Lt. Darrell Birdett said new students are told to call UTPD during an emergency and avoid walking alone after dark. This isn’t enough.

The orientation program does not present any advice about transient populations nor does the UTPD website include any information on the topic.

“If a homeless individual comes up to you, just interact with them as you would any other person,” Birdett said. “If there’s a problem, call 911.”

Behaving respectfully or staying inside by nightfall won’t necessarily guarantee safety and is unrealistic for many college students.

Birdett said most transients are not violent. However, past incidents prove that there is a clear risk of harm to students. Students need to be aware of how to mitigate that risk while still treating transients with respect.

UTPD needs to teach students how to respond when asked for money or stopped in the street by a transient. Students need to know when to say yes, how to say no and what they should or should not give transients.

If an interaction seems to be approaching a violent turn, students need to know how to de-escalate the situation on their own and when to call for help if they cannot. UTPD needs to teach students this vital information to students at orientation or through their website.

Everyone on and around UT’s campus deserves to feel safe and respected, whether they are a student at the University or a member of Austin’s transient population.

Zaksek is a Plan II and women’s and gender studies major from Allen.

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Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it.

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SARAH BLOODWORTH SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR @THEDAILYTEXAN

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018

TECHNOLOGY

Ballot box blues

Machine error, poor user interface shouldn’t deter potential voters, UT experts say.

By Sunny Kim @sunny_newsiee

few days ago, people claimed their straight-ticket votes were incorrectly changed to someone in the opposite party, according to the Texas Tribune.

It happened with the Hart InterCivic eSlate voting machines, which are used in 82 of Texas’ 254 counties, including Harris, Tarrant and Travis counties, according to technology publication The Verge. State officials said this incident is due to user error, not because of broken or malfunctioning machines.

UT computer science professor Hovav Shacham specializes in computer and voter security. He said the recent issues with the machines has to do with a poorly designed user interface by which people and computer systems interact with each other. Examples of user interface include display screens, keyboards and a mouse.

When voters use the machine to record their results but touch the screen while the page is still loading, it can change their ballots without notifying the user, according to The Verge.

Shacham said the voting machine technologies need to become easier to use.

“Even if it is user error, that’s still very unfortunate,” Shacham said. “Machines used in elections should not have unexpected user interface ‘gotchas.’ Anytime you start saying, ‘Well, the users did something wrong and that’s why this

happened,’ your user interface is not good enough.”

On top of that, there have always been existing flaws in the design and programming of voting machines that allow an attacker to replace the software on the machine to make it misreport votes, Shacham said.

“The specific machines that we’ve studied, including these eSlate devices from Hart, have flaws that make it easier for the attacker to replace the programming on the machines with different programming that steals votes without having to do some sort of super-sophisticated James Bond villain kind of attack,” Shacham said.

Computer science senior Aishwarya Shashidhar is taking two classes at UT related to security. She said there will always be issues with technology, whether it’s a simple device or a voting machine. As voters, we should be aware of potential user errors to make sure we are casting the right ballot for the right candidate, Shashidhar said.

“Technology is never perfect and can always be improved, but we also expect our information to be respected and protected,bsespecially for the voting system,”

Shashidhar said. “If voters are aware that this is an issue, they need to be diligent to check their final ballot.”

Shacham said reports concerning voter security issues are things that experts must be aware of in order to provide a better system for the public. However, this shouldn’t deter people from voting, he said.

“It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t vote,” Shacham said. “We should vote to represent all of our best interests.”

TECHNOLOGY

Dating app for dog lovers to launch in Austin this month

By Rahi Dakwala @RDakwala

Dating might get less “ruff” for dog-lovers with the launch of DigThe Dog Person’s Dating App. The app will allow users to set dog-walking dates, give suggestions for local dog-friendly places and connect with dog lovers around town. Dig will launch in Austin on Nov. 8.

Siblings Leigh and Casey Isaacson, founders of Dig, said the idea for the app originated from an effort to prevent incompatibilities in pet preferences. Drawing from her own experiences in relationships, Casey Isaacson wanted to develop an app that helped dog lovers get connected to each other.

Haley Fanucchi, a biology sophomore, said she liked the idea of the app because hound-haters are a deal-breaker.

“Dogs are part of your family, and if whoever you are dating doesn’t love your family, then the relationship is not going to work,” Fanucchi said.

The app goes beyond making sure the people are compatible, as it also ensures their furry friends will get along.

“Dig lists whether or not users have dogs,” Leigh Isaacson said.

“If your dog is afraid of other dogs, then you can find a person who does not own a pet and then go from there. You can search users based on dog size, and each profile has a section dedicated for the dog

where you can describe it, show photos of it, etc.”

Along with providing general information about people and their dogs, Dig helps to create a dog-friendly environment.

“The app provides tips and tricks of the day from vets and trainers to help you care for the dog and to ensure that dates go smoothly,” Leigh Isaacson said. “You can search for dog-friendly locations near you, such as a dog park, so that the dogs can come on the first date and even interact with each other.”

The app is designed not only to enhance people’s experiences but also the dogs’ experiences, Leigh Isaacson added.

The app has already launched in New Orleans, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Detroit, Leigh Isaacson said.

The launch event in Austin will take place Nov. 8 at WeWork Barton Springs. It will feature local dog businesses in an effort to celebrate the Austin dog community and to promote the app.

Leigh Isaacson said she expects the launch here to be the biggest yet since Austin is such a dog-loving city.

In addition to having major demand in Austin, the app may have potential at UT, Fanucchi said.

“It could help students by taking pressure off a first date because through the app, you could meet, at a dog park and just talk about dogs,” Fanucchi said. “It will be especially beneficial for students who own dogs on campus.”

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2018

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Friday, November 2, 2018

Crossword ACROSS

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Suzanne Somers’s role on “Three’s Company” 8 Wind River tribe 15 Cornmeal treat 16 Crescentshaped 17 Called things off 18 Star-studded event held annually at the Anna Wintour Costume Center in New York 19 Highway divider 20 Marriott competitor 21 “You ain’t ___!”

22 Six-time All-Star Ron 23 Where college students might take a stand?

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Mercedes line 2001 Destiny’s Child #1 hit with the lyric “I don’t think you ready for this jelly” Notoriously spoiled sort Figures in the Edda Peak that marks the eastern boundary of Yosemite Natl.

Park LP, e.g.

Dennings of “2 Broke Girls” Apple picker Writer whose room at the University of Virginia is now a mini-museum Big name in house paint Gizmodo or Engadget

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE T O F U

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T S H T E B L R Y E E N A R G R A O E T H S E A E L A T A H E L A R B S

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Autobiographer who wrote that tennis is “the loneliest sport” Preferred seating, for some Wreck Colorful beach sighting Started fuming King’s staff Marched

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DOWN Place to get solutions, in brief 2 Spy who trades sex for secrets, informally 3 User of a popular social news site 4 Strand during the winter, say 5 Actress Thompson of “Family” 6 Hide 7 Besides 8 Revlon cosmetics brand 9 Wanted to take back, say 10 Not having 11 Boxers 12 Setting for the 1996 best seller “Into the Wild” 13 Symbols of innocence 14 Jungle swingers, for short

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Certain adopted pet Salon jobs Vacuum brand Super-super Does some computer work Like the equation ax3 + bx2 + cx + d = 0 What the Clintons each took before they met, in brief

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___ steak Nonmainstream Store that really should have a spokesperson “Why not!”

Zebralike Olympic marks Network V.I.P. Call Remote button The assassin Sparafucile, in “Rigoletto”

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Online lead-in

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One who’s “knackered” when exhausted, informally

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Drill master: Abbr.

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Longhorns Look Out for Each Other

98% of Longhorns disapprove of pressuring others to drink more than they want.

@UTBruceTheBat 2018 UT-Austin National Social Norms Center Survey

7

ALEX BRISEÑO & ROSS BURKHART SPORTS EDITORS @TEXANSPORTS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018

FEATURE

Danni Williams

Betting on Burnt Orange Graduate transfer Danni Williams sets sights on upcoming year.

By Donnavan Smoot | the daily texan file Graduate transfer Danni Williams comes to the Longhorns after three years at Texas A&M. She is expected to be a key contributer this season.

@Dsmoot3D

elias huerta

hen Danni Williams graduated in May, many of the people who crossed the stage with her were preparing for the next phases of their lives. They were going to move around, get jobs, and most of them were done with school. However, Williams was returning to school, even if it was a different one.

As a sharp-shooting graduate transfer from Texas A&M, Williams had the option between Texas and perennial Final Four participant University of Connecticut. While both programs offered winning situations, Texas got the leg up — to the surprise of many.

“Ultimately, I just wanted to be closer to my parents,” Williams said. “They spent three years at (Texas) A&M going to every single home game, and I didn’t want (in) my fourth year — my last year — for them not to be able to travel to all of the games.”

For her parents, College Station is already an eight-hour, 500-mile trek from their home in Clovis, New Mexico, a small town near the border of New Mexico and Texas. Despite the distance, her parents traveled to all 52 of her home games.

“Her freshman year was challenging,” said Regan Williams, Danni’s father. “She wasn’t playing as much as she

had hoped. Her mother and I just wanted her to know that, ‘Whether you play or not, we’ll be there for you.”

The tight-knit family environment surrounding Williams is something she has felt since childhood, when her family would drive across the country racing dirt bikes. Her older brothers rode before she did, but she was always around it.

“My wife worked 12 hours, so I took her in a baby carrier,” Regan said.

Once she was old enough, the racing bug hit her as well.

“Her brothers got bikes for Christmas,” Regan said. “We couldn’t leave her out.”

Danni excelled in motocross. According to her father, she won two national championships when she was 9 and 11 years old.

Despite the success, basketball took precedence for one simple reason.

“There just aren’t women making a living racing motorcycles,” Regan said. “We realized she could get her college paid for playing basketball.”

The decision to stick with basketball led to a three-year career at Texas A&M, one that included three appearances in the NCAA tournament and the single-season record for three-pointers made in a season.

Now at Texas, Williams finds herself on a retooled Longhorn roster. It has five freshman added to the roster trying to replace three seniors, two of which were drafted to the WNBA. “With the loss of Brooke (McCarty) and Ariel (Atkins) from last year, I think that it was timely for her to come and be a part of our program,” head coach Karen Aston said.

While the season hasn’t officially started, Texas is setting its sights on a Big 12 championship. With the addition of Williams, the perennial championship aspirations have been spread from the team to Williams.

“I’ll be lying if I said I didn’t want to win the Big 12,” Williams said. “That’s what we work for every day.”

The Big 12 championship is on her mind, especially with Texas entering the season at No. 11, behind Baylor. For her, all her energy will be focused on helping Texas claim its first conference title since 2004, considering it’s her last run in the NCAA. However, she made it apparent that her basketball career doesn’t end after this season.

“If I’m able to play, God willing, (I will) play in the WNBA,” Williams said. “If not, I would definitely try to go play overseas somewhere. I want to continue playing basketball, wherever that takes me.”

FOOTBALL

Texas looks to bounce back following second loss of the season

By Ross Burkhart @ross_burkhart

Last season during this time, the Longhorns were looking at each of their final four games as must-win scenarios in order to reach bowl eligibility. The scenarios are the same this time around, but the stakes are much different.

At 6–2, Texas controls its destiny the rest of the season. Picking up wins over the final stretch of the season will secure a spot for Texas in the Big 12 Championship game in December, but before fans can book their hotels in Dallas, the Longhorns must overcome one of its most difficult tests this season — West Virginia.

“I think our guys are so dialed in we’ll play them (WVU) in the parking lot,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said after practice Thursday.

“We’ll play them in front of nobody.

We’ll play them regardless of their record because, at the end of the day, they realize it’s about us and our preparation and our ability to go execute the game plan with a supreme amount of confidence and technical ability.”

The Longhorns’ greatest struggle last season was their inability to close out games, losing four matchups in the fourth quarter and

overtime after leading previously.

The late-game heartbreaks became a Sunday morning headline just waiting to happen.

As a result, Herman began placing an added emphasis on how important it was for the Longhorns to finish football games. Going into Week 10, Herman is sticking to the message that has propelled Texas to this point.

“One of our mantras the entire offseason had been to finish,” Herman said. “We’re basically in the fourth quarter of this season, and we plan on attacking that as such.”

It’s been five seasons since Texas found itself in position to win the conference at this point during the season. Still, the Longhorns are choosing to live and die by the 1–0 motto that Herman has plastered across the locker room.

“You know what the big picture is, but do you speak on it? No, because again, we’re still on the mantra of ‘One day at a time,’” senior defensive end Charles Omenihu said. “Now looking ahead, we have West Virginia, so that’s what our mindset and our thought process is on.”

West Virginia enters Saturday’s game in Austin with the 15th ranked offense in the country. It’s led by quarterback Will Grier, who began this season as a top Heisman candidate and still remains one of the top passers in the nation.

katie bauer | the daily texan file Head coach Tom Herman has the task of refocusing the Longhorns following a 38-35 loss to Oklahoma State. The loss ended a six-game winning streak, the first in Herman’s tenure as coach of the Longhorns.

Just as the Longhorns have done in other ranked games against USC, TCU and Oklahoma, they’ll need to have a stellar performance to beat the

No. 13 Mountaineers.

“I think we’re a team that’s still learning,” quarterback Sam Ehlinger said. “We’re continuing to get better

and understanding that we control our success. When we play to our standards and we prepare like we should, it’s really hard to stop us.”

8

TIANA WOODARD & JORDYN ZITMAN LIFE & ARTS EDITORS @THEDAILYTEXAN

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2018

THEATER & DANCE

samantha dorisca

| the daily texan staff

The fully Latinx cast of “La Vida de los Muertos”perform at Austin’s Hideout Theratre Oct. 27.

Improv show stars Latinx cast

‘La Vida de los Muertos’ boasts nearly sold-out run at Austin’s Hideout Theatre.

By Savannah J Salazar @savannahjai

ía de los Muertos is a time for celebrating loved ones through food, altars, music and now improv.

Hosted at Austin’s Hideout Theatre, the fully-improvised show “La Vida de los Muertos” has been over a year in the making, directors Cat Drago and J.R. Zambrano said. The show was inspired

by Grim Fandango, an adventure video game focused in the Land of the Dead.

From the very beginning, the duo knew they wanted an all Latinx cast to share their stories about Día de los Muertos.

“The thing that I have fallen in love with about improvisational theater is that everything is so different and we get to discover new things, but it also really takes into account everyone’s experiences, feelings and backgrounds,” Drago said. “We cast this show showcasing some amazing talents from the Latinx community, and we all have different experiences to pull from.”

Rosemarie Frezza, cast member and UT alumna, has practiced improv for approximately six years. Finally starring in a show with an entirely Latinx cast is exciting, Frezza said.

“The theater has never really had a show that’s been culturally inclusive and so focused on Hispanic culture, so we feel this is really contributing to the community,” Frezza said. “(This cast) feels like familia. They just intrinsically understand something about the way you

were raised. It’s an interesting form of innate closeness.”

Though people may consider improvisational theater as a more comedic effort, improv is able to be emotional as well, Zambrano and Drago said. “La Vida de los Muertos” has attracted audiences from various backgrounds. Nearly every show has sold out during its two-month run this year. During the performance, the audience reacted with laughter and tears. Audience member Adrian Villegas said seeing an all-Latinx cast tell their stories was powerful to watch.

“It’s great that it’s a group of Latinos who are taking ownership in a really imaginative way of something from our culture that, in a large way, has been co-opted for a long time,” Villegas said.

Besides the Hideout Theatre, Zambrano and Drago said they have seen a recent push for more inclusivity in other local improv theaters. Local comedy club ColdTowne Theater hosts a show called “LatiNacional” put on by another Latinx

group, the Prima Doñas.

“It feels like we’re sort of riding the crest of a wave that’s been coming,” Zambrano said. “There have been people before us making sure that we see both more women and minorities on stages around town, and hopefully, we can pave the way for the next set of folks to follow.”

Drago said the support they’ve felt from the community and show have been humbling. Not only is the whole cast Latinx but the crew is as well. Both Zambrano and Drago say that the improv community’s eager acceptance of “La Vida de los Muertos” has helped the show thrive.

“The joy and the heart that is involved in (Día de los Muertos), this time of celebrating life and death in such a joyful and colorful way, has been incredible,” Drago said. “For us to be able to be the stewards of telling that story has really been such an honor.”

ART

Museum commemorates work of feminist sculptor Elisabet Ney

By Anna-Kay Reeves @annakay_reeves

In the early days of settlement in Texas, it took grit to make it for men and women alike. German-American sculptress Elisabet Ney had enough grit to not only make it, but make beautiful art as well.

The Elisabet Ney Museum at 304 44th St. is a testament to Ney’s often-difficult, but productive life. An early feminist and political refugee, Ney’s life maintains relevancy even today. The work displayed in the museum as well as at the State Capitol and several sites on campus are proof of the life she lived in defiance of discouragement and discrimination. “(Ney) went on a hunger

strike to get into art school,” museum docent Suzanne Kelley said. “Her parents didn’t think it was right for a girl to go, but she was determined.”

When Ney’s family called a priest to soften her resolve, he told them she was “an immovable object” like the sculptures she so desperately wanted to make. So, by force of will, Ney began her artistic journey.

Ney went on to be commissioned to sculpt royalty and dignitaries in Germany before leaving everything behind to come to America. Ney fled after suspicion arose that she was a political spy for the unification of Germany.

“She came here and people thought she was a witch,” Kelley said. “She kept her hair short, wore leggings instead of dresses and didn’t ride side-saddle. This

was the 1800s. People thought she was crazy.”

Gallery attendant Amy Andrews said Ney’s art created a stir as well. She was a realist sculptor, not sparing even powerful subjects their imperfections. The Ney holds many pieces that prove this fact, including her famous sculptures of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin. “(The statues) are literally life-size, -actually these men’s heights,” Andrews said. “Austin’s family had an issue with that, because Austin was only 5-feet-7 inches. They asked Ney why he wasn’t taller, and she told them to take it up with God.” In addition to Ney’s work, the museum also keeps a gallery of contemporary work selected for its relevance to Ney’s life and mission on rotation. Andrews

said it’s usually a female artist or female-focused work in keeping with Ney’s feminist legacy.

For museum site coordinator Oliver Franklin, Ney’s life and work are a story that has remained relevant over the years as marginalized groups fight for representation and appreciation. “(Ney) suffered a lot in her life,” Franklin said. “Even in Germany, which was a bit more liberal at the time, she was seen as very strange. Then here, she was in a different country on top of being this very hardcore uncompromising woman who had never even taken her husband’s last name. People were suspicious of her and it made it difficult to find a community here.”

Franklin said the museum is working to have events that help Austinites become aware that the

copyright ney mueseum, and reproduced with permission Feminist and artist Elisabet Ney’s legacy is strong in her Hyde Park studio-turned-museum.

castle-like house in Hyde Park is more than just nice architecture.

It’s the oldest art gallery in Texas and full of not only fine art, but a story of perseverance.

The Ney is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. with no entrance fee and optional donations.