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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
Bad composting habits on campus cause materials to be sent to landfill instead. PA G E 2
UT’s undocumented students deserve specialized careeer services. PA G E 4
Plethora of untimely penalties cause Longhorns to fall short against Oklahoma. PA G E 6
Local showcase provides opportunity to change homeless perception. PA G E 8
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Dining halls serve romaine after CDC lifts recall By Neelam Bohra @_neelam_b
When Claire Eckardt entered Littlefield Patio Cafe last week, she noticed there weren’t many salads available. “I was looking around, and I get salads pretty often, so I wondered what had happened,” said Eckardt, human development and family sciences freshman. “I feel like romaine lettuce is a staple of my diet, so when it wasn’t available, it definitely affected me.” On Nov. 20, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a statement to University Housing and Dining to dispose of all romaine lettuce after it was linked to 32 people across 11 states contracting a strain of E. coli. Rene Rodriguez, director of dining for University Housing and Dining, said this notification launched a protocol University Housing and Dining uses whenever the CDC issues a food recall. “We removed it all and disposed it all right off the bat,” Rodriguez said. “I always err on the side of safety. None of our suppliers said their lettuce was affected, but we still pulled it. We notified (University Health Services), Student Affairs and (Environmental and Health Safety). All of that has to be done within an hour, otherwise we wouldn’t be preventative.” On Nov. 27, Rodriguez said he received an all-clear notification from the CDC, as they had traced the infected romaine lettuce to farms in California. The suppliers for the dining halls, Rodriguez said, were farms in Texas. “We have timelines of everything, including when we destroy things, how much we destroyed, and usually, we re-sanitize each location,”
ashley ephraim | the daily texan staff UT System Chancellor James Milliken talks about the goals and steps he is taking to implement his ideas for the various schools in the UT System in his office on December 3, 2018 in Austin, Texas. Milliken took office Sept. 17, 2018.
New Chancellor settles in By Katie Balevic @KatelynBalevic
fter nearly a semester on the job, UT System Chancellor James Milliken has settled into his new position advocating for Texas’ future. As chancellor, Milliken oversees all 14 academic and health institutions in the UT System, a task he calls the perfect job. “I consider, in 2018, the University of Texas system as clearly one of the most exciting places to be for higher education in the country,” Milliken said. The Chancellor took office Sept. 17 after former Chancellor William McRaven stepped down in May 2018 for health reasons. In his first months on the job, Milliken traveled to the institutions he oversees and met with legislators and supporters of the UT System. He said the sense of optimism he saw about the future of Texas was unparalleled.
“That sort of optimism, that sense of the integral role of higher education in the state’s future — it doesn’t exist everywhere,” Milliken said. As he makes decisions that impact Texans across the state, Milliken said he seeks recommendations from institution presidents as well as the Board of Regents, faculty and students at universities. “I’m sort of a believer in participatory leadership and the idea that you consult broadly, invite participation and respect people’s input,” Milliken said. “At the end of the day, because of where I sit I will either be making a decision or, if appropriate, making a recommendation to the Board of Regents.” On his first day on the job, Milliken received a report from a task force of the Board of Regents recommending the System cut 70 to 110 jobs from its Austin administrative offices. But he said reports like this are not uncommon in public higher education systems, and he
will release his plan of action by the end of the year. “This is not a new discussion,” Milliken said. “It’s only two-anda-half months old to me, but other people have been discussing it for some time. I think that the 30 years of experience I have has put me in a position to be able to jump in now, get up to speed and take the necessary actions on the work that’s been done so far.” As the legislative session approaches in January 2019, Milliken said he hopes to inspire confidence that the UT System is worth the funding it’s asking for. “I want to demonstrate for the people of Texas and for the political leadership that they should have confidence in this University and what it does for the state,” Milliken said. “The better I can communicate that, the better environment we can create for support for the institutions of the UT System.” The System will be asking for in-
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Study reveals need for $1.7 million in lighting upgrades for West Campus
UT students make up majority of B-cycle ridership in Austin
By Megan Menchaca @meganmenchaca13
By Nicole Stuessy @nicolestuessy
West Campus needs at least $1.7 million worth of lighting upgrades, according to a study presented by the Austin Transportation Department on Monday. In May 2017, after months of lobbying by campus safety groups, the Austin Police Department, Austin Energy and Austin Transportation Department (ATD) began studying lighting and pedestrian safety in West Campus. ATD pedestrian coordinator Joel Meyer said their consultant estimated a need for $580,000 in lighting improvements and more than a million dollars in installation costs. “There were a lot of concerns around safety generally in West Campus because of the heavy concentration and density of students in that area,” Meyer said. “Installing better lighting in West Campus will help people feel safer and more comfortable walking at night.” Meyer said the study, which was presented during the monthly meeting of Austin’s Public Safety Commission, found that 20 percent of lighting in West Campus is deficient. Meyer said these deficient lights include lights that are burned out, obstructed by trees or vandalized. “We see a really big opportunity to improve lighting in the neighborhood just by fixing some of the existing lights,” Meyer said. “It’s really important that we improve the safety of the built environment so people feel safe and comfortable
nikita sveshnikov | the daily texan staff Austin’s Public Safety Commission found that 20 percent of lighting in West Campus is deficient during a meeting Monday. They will be giving recommendations to the Mayor and City Council to consider for a vote in a few weeks.
walking to school.” Allie Runas, an electrical and computer engineering senior, is working toward organizing a West Campus neighborhood association to advocate for improving issues impacting residents. Runas said she has noticed many dark places during her walks throughout West Campus and believes lighting additions are necessary for the area. “Improving the lighting will not only improve personal safety for residents, but I also do feel strongly that it will improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety as well,” Runas said.
Along with the six-month study, ATD also accepted public recommendations through in-person meetings and an online survey. Meyer said 80 percent of respondents to the survey said lighting in West Campus was not adequate for people walking at night. “We found that there is a big concern about lighting and safety in West Campus, but we also found that a substantial number of people thought that lighting could be a solution to those concerns,” Meyer said. “A lot of different
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While Austin B-cycle, the City’s bike share program, has seen a drastic decrease in use since dockless scooters and bikes were introduced across the city, ridership on UT’s campus has not seen this same trend. Elliott McFadden, executive director of Austin B-cycle, said UT students make up around two-thirds of the nonprofit’s total ridership. Last spring, over 134,000 trips were taken at the 11 stations around campus, and B-cycle expects to reach 100,000 trips in the fall, McFadden said. “There is a little bit of a decrease, but not the sort of impact we are seeing in our downtown system,” McFadden said. “We are finding that, among our existing riders, they are riding as much as they were in the spring.” After B-cycle launched on campus in February, the nonprofit entered an 18-month partnership with UT and the City of Austin to give students access to free rides for up to one hour. McFadden said
because of this, many students still opt for B-cycles over dockless scooters. “As a former UT student, I know that watching your penny day to day is a big deal,” McFadden said. “If you’re riding a scooter every day, that adds up.” Mathematics freshman An Tran said he has used both B-cycles and dockless scooters to travel around Austin. “The bikes are convenient when there’s a rack nearby, but if you are going to somewhere without a rack it’s much easier to use a scooter,” Tran said. “Sometimes the racks are full, so you can’t return the bike when you need to.” McFadden said these docked locations prevent riders from needing to search for a B-cycle. Nursing sophomore Matthew Tran said B-cycles provide him with a quicker way to get to class. “There is a B-cycle station right near my apartment in West Campus, so it’s super convenient for me,” Matthew said. “I get to go to class in five minutes instead of walking 20
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