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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018
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NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
UHS now offers gender care services for students considering hormone therapy. PA G E 2
Students’ political engagement shouldn’t end with the midterm elections. PA G E 4
Temporary housing situations become permanent option for students. PA G E 5
Roach continues to impress and develop in his final year on the 40 Acres. PA G E 8
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CITY CAMPUS
CapMetro to change 25 routes, increase efficiency By Neelam Bohra @_neelam_b
Scooter safety: Respect the ride Dockless scooters face scrutiny, safety efforts increase for student riders. By Jackson Barton @Jackson_Brton
am Landingham remembers the Monday afternoon when he rode home from a friend’s house on a Lime scooter. Cruising at 15 miles per hour without a helmet past the San Antonio parking garage, Landingham said he didn’t see the car pulling out of the garage until he was airborne rolling onto the hood. “All I could think about was being in shock that this actually happened,” history sophomore Landingham said. “My second thought was, ‘Oh my god, my foot hurts like it’s never hurt before.’” X-rays at St. David’s Medical Center revealed Landingham broke his foot in the crash. According to a report released by University Health Services, scooter accidents that result in an injured rider occur almost daily. Dockless scooters first arrived
in Austin this spring before being temporarily banned by the Austin City Council and then brought back under greater regulation. But recently, as scooters face scrutiny over safety issues, companies like Bird and Lime have revamped safety efforts for riders. UHS treated 80 scooter-related injuries from when they began collecting data in September to the first half of this month. Dell Seton Medical Center treated 39 “severe” scooter-related injuries, or those that required an emergency room visit, between May 28 and Nov. 18. Dell Seton does not track injuries treated outside of the ER. “Because of the perceived increase in motorized scooter accidents, University Health Services began tracking injuries that were associated with this type of scooter in September of this fall semester,” said Sherry Bell, UHS’ consumer education coordinator. In a presentation published on Oct. 11 by the Austin City Council Mobility Committee, between May 7 and Sept. 28, there were 37 motorized dockless scooter crashes. This data was collected by emergency medical services,
TOP:
emma overholt | the daily texan staff
History sophomore Sam Landingham broke his foot riding at 15 miles per hour on a LimeBike scooter. University Health Services has treated 80 scooter-related injuries from when they began collecting data in December. brittany mendez | the daily texan staff BOTTOM:
which is different from how UHS collected their data and how the city tracks other accidents. The city tracks car crashes and bike wrecks using the Crash Record Information System. Scooter accidents are not currently tracked by this system. In the 37 scooter incidents where EMS was dispatched, 31
required an involved party to be transported to the ER. However, the city data leaves out less serious injuries where EMS was not dispatched and the individual went to a hospital or medical clinic on their own. “It’s probably a dramatic
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Daniel Porter rides the CapMetro buses to and from work every week, and he often runs late when a bus does not show up on time. “It’s very hit and miss,” government junior Porter said. “Most of the time the bus is there when it’s supposed to be, but there are enough times when it’s not. That’s definitely an issue.” As of 2019, CapMetro will make changes to solve these inefficiencies and build on the CapRemap program, according to the CapMetro website. CapMetro communications specialist Peter Partheymuller said around 25 routes will be affected. Most of the routes will stay the same, but their running times will change. “There are a lot of routes affected, but the changes are fairly minor,” Partheymuller said. “We’ll just be changing schedules and running times for each route. These adjustments are to improve the reliability and on-time performance.” Partheymuller said UT students will have to prepare for the change. “Students will have to use our trip planner to use the routes they take every day,” Partheymuller said. “They need to make sure if they take a bus every day, they’ll need to check the trip planner to see when they need to show up. But most of the actual routing isn’t changing in any way.” Bus route 315 used to stop at a closed part of the Austin Community College campus but will change routes and no
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NATION
WEST CAMPUS
Flavored Juul pod price spike due to retail suspensions
All-female dormitory bans resident’s girlfriend, guests following complaints
By Sami Sparber & Will Kosinski @samisparber @willkosinski
Students hooked on mango Juul pods must now pay more to get their nicotine fix in West Campus after Juul Labs announced Nov. 13 it stopped accepting retail orders for its flavored pods. The decision, part of a nationwide initiative to curb smoking and vaping among young people, came after the Food and Drug Administration said in September it would give the market’s top five e-cigarette manufacturers 60 days to submit “plans” to address widespread use by minors. “Our intent was never to have youth use JUUL products,” Juul Labs CEO Kevin Burns said in a statement. “But intent is not enough, the numbers are what matter, and the numbers tell us underage use of e-cigarette products is a problem.” Per the FDA’s request, Burns’ plan included suspending sales of its mango, fruit, creme and cucumber flavored pods and eliminating its social media accounts.
By Megan Menchaca @meganmenchaca13
Bikram Bk, employee at the Shell in West Campus, said retail prices for flavored Juul pods have increased since retailers must now order through third-party suppliers, rather than from Juul itself. Bk said before Juul’s announcement, a pack of mango Juul pods at Shell cost $15.99. Now, that same pack costs $22.99. Whatever pods retailers currently have will be sold until they run out. “The wholesale suppliers are charging us more because they know the supply is limited,” Bk said. “We used to pay between $75 and $77 for six cases of mango (Juul) pods, and now we have to pay $120. We have to make a little money, so that means we increase the price customers pay in store.” Billy Marsden, owner of The Glassmith truck in West Campus, said approximately 50 percent of his revenue comes from Juul products, almost exclusively from mint and mango pods. Marsden said he’s now charging $20 per flavored pack, compared to $15 before Juul’s announcement.
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Kaj Baker used to spend nights studying in Scottish Rite Dormitory with her girlfriend. But now, her girlfriend is no longer allowed in the dorm, as first reported by Texas Student Television. After spending a few late nights studying with her girlfriend in the SRD lounge, Baker was asked to attend a meeting on Nov. 14 with SRD Director Mary Mazurek and SRD registrar Meshelle Bourne to discuss guest rules. During the meeting, Mazurek told Baker some of the residents in the dorm were not comfortable with her sexual orientation. Bourne said Baker was no longer allowed to bring in guests for the rest of the semester. “We’re trying to make sure that everybody — all 315 residents — feels more comfortable,” Mazurek said in her meeting with Baker, based on a recording given to The Daily Texan. “And sometimes that takes compromise on both sides to do that.” SRD is a private off-campus dorm that only houses female students. According to the SRD contract, which was provided to The Daily Texan by Baker,
sarah el-zein | the daily texan staff Communication sciences and disorders freshman Kaj Baker is a resident at Scottish Rite Dormitory. Baker now feels uncomfortable staying in her dorm after being told she cannot bring her girlfriend in as a guest anymore.
male guests are only allowed in the hall from noon to 10:00 p.m on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There are no restrictions on female guests unless they stay overnight. “Scottish Rite Dormitory strives to create an environment which allows our residents to focus on completing their higher education goals while meeting our parent’s expectation of creating an
atmosphere that fosters the growth and well-being of their daughters while attending the University,” Mazurek said in a statement to the Daily Texan. Mazurek declined to comment further. Baker, a communication sciences and disorders freshman, said people had complained about her and her girlfriend wearing pajama pants in the halls, studying late in
the lounge and brushing their teeth together in the bathroom. According to the contract, none of these actions are against the rules. “I think it’s unfair because they told me that (their decision) wasn’t based on a rule at all,” Baker said. “They backed up their decision with us being gay. That should have never
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