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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Main building construction silenced UT Tower bells in late October. PA G E 3
In-class presentations unnecessarily restrict students with anxiety. PA G E 4
Local musician provides soundtrack for Austinites’ morning runs. PA G E 5
Texas’ backfield continues to make big strides as newcomers find their groove. PA G E 6
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STATE
Voter turnout in 2018 Texas midterms exceeds 2010, 2014 elections
FI
UT
By Sami Sparber
FIRST-GEN
@samisparber
At both county and state levels, this year’s voter turnout surpassed that of the 2014 and 2010 Texas midterms and came close to that of the 2016 presidential election. In 2014, 41 percent of registered voters in Travis County cast ballots, up from almost 40 percent in 2010. This year, 61 percent of registered voters in Travis County cast ballots, not far from the 2016 election’s turnout of 65 percent. This year, 53 percent of registered Texans cast a ballot. This is 19 percentage points more than the last Texas midterms in 2014, and 15 more than in 2010. In the 2016 presidential elections, 59 percent of registered Texans voted. The surge in turnout was largely due to Dem. Beto O’Rourke’s “spirited, though ultimately futile” campaign to become the next U.S. Senator from Texas, said Joshua Blank, manager of polling and research at UT’s Texas Politics Project. “Unlike most Texas elections in which the outcome is predetermined in favor of Republican candidates, this time the outcome was far less certain, and more people took the opportunity to vote,” Blank said in an email. Blank said the increase in turnout across the state likely reflects a changing political landscape. “It’s hard not to look at the election results and determine that Texas has changed,” Blank said. “The Democratic candidate at the top of the ticket lost by 22 points in 2014, nine points in 2016 and somewhere between two and three points in 2018. Three makes a trend. And that trend points to more competitive elections from here on out — if Democrats continue to recruit quality candidates.” First-time voter Sean Tucker said O’Rourke’s campaign motivated him to become civically engaged. “There was so much on the line
VOTING
RST GEN
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‘I deserve to be here just like everybody else’
Javonna Hamilton is the first in her family to earn a college degree. It hasn’t been an easy journey. Editor’s note: This is the third installment of the semester-long, collaborative series “First-Gen UT,” which shares the stories of first-generation Longhorns. Stories are produced in partnership with UT’s chapters of the Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Lesbian Gay Journalists Association
By Taylor M. Smith @_taylormms SMITH IS A MEMBER OF NABJ
Javonna Hamilton’s 2014 began with a gift she will never forget: her acceptance letter to the University of Texas at Austin. While her excitement was still high, she became overwhelmed once she started her undergraduate career. “I honestly didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” said Hamilton, who is now an education psychology graduate student. “I never had that experience of
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my people coming before me to a four-year university, and no one could tell me how college was.” As a first-generation graduate, Hamilton became the first in her family to earn a college degree last May. This was a huge accomplishment — but it wasn’t an easy journey for Hamilton. She had to rely on herself to find help.
Becoming a firstgeneration student
Hamilton remembers her career counselor in high school being there to help her apply for college and fee waivers, but they didn’t offer much guidance in selecting a school. “My counselor would just say, ‘It’s whatever you want to do,’” Hamilton said. “It wasn’t like I had this knowledge of where I wanted to go, so I kind of just did it on a whim.” Researching colleges fell on Hamilton and her mother, Patrice Edmond. Because Edmond had not attended college, Hamilton also had to educate her mom on college life to prepare their family for
juan figueora | the daily texan staff Javonna Hamilton is a first-generation college student on her way to wearning a graduate degree in education psychology.
her future. “She was so responsible. She was finding out everything on her own,” Edmond said. Even with all her preparation, Hamilton had trouble adjusting to her first year as a psychology student at UT, especially with school work. “I felt unprepared,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t feel like my high school science classes prepared me for the college ones.” To cope, Hamilton started visiting the Sanger Learning Center for tutoring almost every day after her afternoon classes and often stayed there until the center closed. Soon Hamilton’s grades improved,
FIRST-GEN
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CAMPUS
Trees maintained for historic, aesthetic appeal to community By Gracie Awalt @gracieawalt5
Thousands of students have relaxed underneath the ancient branches of the live oak trees on Main Mall or walked amongst the fallen leaves on sidewalks around campus. The UT Landscape Services Team is responsible for protecting, beautifying and trimming the trees on campus in an effort to maintain UT’s urban forest landscape. The UT campus is a member of Tree Campus USA, which is a designation awarded by the Arbor Day Foundation to campuses that maintain trees by following certain guidelines. To keep this status, landscape services manager Jim Carse said the Landscape Services
Team has to hold a Texas Arbor Day event, dedicate a budget to tree care, have a specific tree maintenance plan, hold service learning events and have a Tree Campus USA committee. “The landscape is the front door to the University,” Carse said. “When you come to a campus, we know that the people are looking, playing, sitting and eating in the landscape. It’s the first thing you see.” When the team maintains trees, Carse said they prioritize safety. If a tree is located in a highly-populated area and the limbs could potentially fall or the trunk is unhealthy, the landscaping crew will cut and remove trees and limbs when necessary. Jim Carse said two of the largest trees on campus are located near the Steve Hicks
School of Social Work and next to the Barbara Jordan statue. The cedar tree located in front of the Littlefield House is the second largest cedar tree in the state of Texas and was brought from Pakistan by George Littlefield, Confederate Army officer and UT donor. “The oldest tree is probably a couple hundred years old, maybe approaching three hundred,” Carse said. In honor of Texas Arbor Day on Friday, Nov. 2, UT Landscape Services held a tree planting and tree giveaway at the UT Orchard, which is located at the intersection of San Jacinto and East 24th streets. “We lose trees due to old age and weather events like Hurricane Harvey, so spaces open
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kasim kabbara | the daily texan staff The UT Facilities landscape crew has been pruning, protecting and beautifying the oak trees on campus such as the ones on the Main Mall.
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