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serving the university of texas at austin community since
@thedailytexan |
thedailytexan . com
1900
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
CMHC individual counseling visits increased in the 2017-18 academic year. PA G E 2
Extending the deadline for Q-drops would help students succeed. PA G E 4
McCombs students create online shop geared toward college women. PA G E 8
Texas plagued by poor shooting once again, falls to VCU in low-scoring affair. PA G E 6
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UNIVERSITY
UTLA director continues in role despite sexual misconduct 2013 report outlines inappropriate touching, comments. By Katie Balevic @KatelynBalevic
T Los Angeles director Phil Nemy was found guilty of sexual misconduct by a University investigation in June 2013. Five years later, Nemy is still the director of UTLA. The allegations against his included nonconsensual touching and inappropriate
sexual comments directed at female students. The Office of Institutional Equity’s 2013 report, obtained by The Daily Texan through a public information request, recommended the University consider taking action to prevent further incidents. As of press time, Nemy could not be reached for comment, despite calls to three different phone numbers and one request via email. University spokesman J.B. Bird said Nemy received counseling after the investigation. “He was reprimanded and received counseling consistent with the University’s approach at the time,” Bird said in a statement to the Texan. “Had this situation occurred to-
day, the University might have responded differently, given changing norms and the University’s evolution in responding to such incidents. This is an area where we continue to seek improvement. We encourage students to report inappropriate behavior, and we take such reports seriously.” In its investigation, the office interviewed four former female students of the UTLA program and a member of the UTLA staff. The names of the participants of the investigation were redacted before being sent to the Texan. One former female student said she avoided Nemy because he flirted with students and made them uncomfortable, according to the report. “The student states she has
heard some girls complain about him touching them, lingering with his hands on them and making them feel uncomfortable,” the report said. “However, the student did recall one incident where another female student directly told her that Mr. Nemy had licked the other female student’s hand.” At a beach party for UTLA students, Nemy made several lewd comments to female students, according to the report. One former female student said that as she changed from a shirt into a sweatshirt, Nemy said, “No one would mind if you stayed in a bikini.” The same student said Nemy approached another student who was adjusting her shirt and said, “Are you looking at your boobs because everyone else is doing that for you.”
Students in the UTLA program spend a semester in Los Angeles taking courses and participating in internships. Nemy has been director of the program since 2005 and teaches an internship course that meets several times a semester. The office began the investigation on June 24, 2013, after the Moody College of Communication received a complaint from a former UT-Austin employee. The former employee said Nemy made sexual comments toward students, allowed students to consume alcohol at UTLA-sanctioned events and drank with students, all in direct conflict with University policies. As part of the investigation, the office sent Nemy the complaints from the former em-
ployee. In July 2013, Nemy submitted a 12-page response. “To my knowledge, I have never made an inappropriate comment or joke towards any of the women attending the program,” Nemy said. “There have been times when female students have attended my class dressed in skimpy clothing making it difficult to teach the class … I may have commented to (redacted) about this and how their choice of dress made it difficult for me to lead class. If it is inappropriate to say that to (redacted), then I am guilty of this.” Nemy denied allegations of drinking with students. Another former female student said there were several
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CAMPUS
UTPD district representative shares daily job duties 7:00 a.m.
By Meghan Nguyen @ultravioletmegs
Officer Dustin Farahnak used to spend countless nights studying on the UT campus as a law student. Now, as a district representative for the UT Police Department, Farahnak is in charge of keeping students on the same 40 Acres safe. District representatives are UTPD officers assigned to specific areas to engage directly with the community. As a representative for District 2, Farahnak patrols an area that stretches from Speedway to Guadalupe Street, which includes the Perry-Castañeda Library, the Blanton Museum of Art and West Mall. Because his district borders West Campus, Farahnak also spends some time there. “The basic concept underlying a district (representative) is communication,” Farahnak said. “District reps provide a lot of communication to the community and in a couple of forms, through the email system and by giving presentations to the University community.” A typical day for Farahnak includes patrol duties, responding to service calls and communicating with students and staff.
5:45 a.m.
Farahnak commutes to work and attends a briefing. His supervisors give him
The basic concept underlying a district (representative) is communication.” D U S T I N FA R A H N A K
UTPD DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE
information on be-on-the-lookout warnings and University events occurring for the day.
5:55 a.m.
Farahnak finds the night shift patrol officer and asks him for an update. Farahnak then gets into his patrol vehicle and conducts a basic inspection of his equipment.
6:00 a.m.
Farahnak begins patrolling his district. “Staff and students are nine out of 10 of the people I interact with,” Farahnak said. “I’m on day shift, so I interact with a lot of students who are studying. I do try to cover West Campus pretty well as well. I know a lot of the homeless in that community and I talk to them try to make sure that we’re on each other’s radar. I think that that avoids a lot of problems down the road.”
Farahnak rewards himself with a cup of coffee and begins doing his “homework,” which consists of checking Tableau, a site used by UTPD for crime statistics, writing the latest Campus Watch report and checking his emails.
8:00 a.m. – 3:55 p.m.
Farahnak shifts back to his patrol duties and responds to calls for service. “That’s what I love about my job,” Farahnak said. “You never know what those calls are going to be today. It could be a mental health call, it could be a serious crime, it could be a drunk driver. It’s almost like an adventure every day.”
4:00 p.m.
Farahnak thinks about duties to give to night shift officers. He finishes his police reports for the day and ensures they’re approved by his supervisor. 5:45 p.m. Farahnak meets with the night shift officers about his concerns. “The best thing law enforcement can improve on is communication,” Farahnak said. “Right now we need to make sure that our community and our fellow officers can talk to us … All the district representative program really does is take what a good beat cop already does and make it a little more accessible, with better communication and more consistency.”
copyright noelle newton, and reproduced with permission UTPD Officer Dustin Farahnak is one of UT’s district representatives and is responsible for engaging directly with the UT-Austin community.
STATE
CITY
Bills proposed to loosen marijuana regulations
Project SEED researches health in bilingual homes
By Chad Lyle @lylechad
By Sara Schleede
In a state historically strict when it comes to marijuana use and possession, two Texas state lawmakers have proposed bills designed to soften that stance. Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat from District 78, is seeking to change the penalty for those caught in possession of small amounts of marijuana. Currently, anyone possessing less than two ounces risks being charged with a Class B criminal misdemeanor. Moody’s proposition, House Bill 63, would remove the possibility of criminal prosecution from those caught with less than an ounce of marijuana, recategorizing it as a civil offense. “We’re just taking this out of the criminal arena,” Moody said. “It’s still not lawful, but we’re not going to create a criminal history. We’re not going to arrest you, we’re not going to take you to jail, you’re not going to go to the criminal court system. We’re going to have you pay a fine, and if you’re unable to pay a fine, you can do community service.” Moody said the current laws surrounding marijuana possession disproportionately
Project SEED has been tracking the emotional, social, physical and educational health of Mexican children who translate for their Spanish-speaking parents since 2006. Now in its third wave, the project studies more than 600 families from the Austin area. A child is defined as a language broker when they have translated something for their parents at least once in the past three months. Children may need to translate anything from medical documents to phone calls to handouts or emails from their school. “It’s a large population of people that this is affecting, and there’s not a lot being done at this moment, and not a lot is even known,” said Jordan Mendez, student research assistant for Project SEED. “It’s important to start getting these results now so we can start working toward change.” Su Yeong Kim, human development and family sciences professor, started Project SEED after noticing the
@saraschleede
ella williams
affect young people and damage the economy. “This really does have a negative impact on our economy,” Moody said. “If you saddle young people with this type
of criminal history that has all these collateral consequences, it makes it harder to get jobs. It has a ripple effect throughout our economy.” Sen. José Menéndez,
| the daily texan staff
a Democrat from District 26, is looking to change a different portion of the law, advocating for more freedom
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textbooks she read rarely included narratives about those experiencing language barriers. Kim grew up in Los Angeles, but both of her parents emigrated from South Korea, and she often served as their language broker. “When students feel like their experiences aren’t represented in textbooks, they may not feel visible,” Kim said. “I really wanted to change that perspective and do research on a population that is almost invisible.” Student research assistant Vanessa Ruiz said language brokering can be difficult due to the large amount of vocabulary the child must understand in two languages in addition to the potential emotional impact. “If your entire home life is based around Spanish and the entire Mexican culture, it can be hard to fit in as well in the (United States),” undeclared sophomore Ruiz said. The study has found language brokering can make children from adverse communities feel alienated or burdened, which worsens their social, emotional and educational health. However,
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