Serving The University Of Texas At Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Volume 121, Issue 40
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
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Students can donate blood inside We Are Blood trucks through Friday.
Apartments must be completely transparent about housing ownership changes.
Skip ACL Weekend One? Here’s everything you need to know.
Tom Herman discusses how Red River Showdown compares with other rivalries.
UNIVERSITY
Q&A
John Zerwas discusses plans as new executive vice chancellor
Disability graduation expands
By Areeba Amer @areeba_amer
Former Texas state representative John Zerwas assumed his new position as executive vice chancellor for health affairs for the UT System Oct. 1. As part of his new position, he oversees and provides guidance to the system’s six health institutions. The Daily Texan sat down with Zerwas to discuss his plans for the health institutions. The Daily Texan: What are
your goals in the new position?
John Zerwas: My focus is
going to be how the Health Affairs Office and I can contribute to these already exceptional institutions and bring to a higher level … whether that be … quality and clinical performance … attracting additional research dollars, or (attracting) the best of the brightest to go into these various health institutions. DT: How does your prior expe-
rience in the Texas Legislature guide your new role?
Zerwas: I found the back-
ground of serving in the legislature excellent preparation for assuming this kind of a role. Ultimately, the University of Texas is, in essence, an agency of the state, and the legislature has responsibility for a lot of aspects of (the system). DT: What do you hope to im-
prove about the workings of the Office of Health Affairs?
Zerwas: (I am going) to look
at what I can do to bring … C H A T PAGE 2
barb daly
/ the daily texan staff
Services for Student Disabilities plans to grow ceremony, outreach for spring 2020. By Sabrina LeBoeuf
@_sabrinakaye
ervices for Students with Disabilities is planning a spring 2020 graduation celebrationmmfor disabled students. The program’s assistant director Emily Shryock said the ceremony is still in the early stages of development, so details have yet to be decided on. Shryock said the graduation will offer an opportunity to celebrate disabled students, acknowledge that they are part of UT and that they often face unique barriers and challenges. “Disability graduation is the time to really recognize and honor
certainly (the students’) accomplishment of graduating, but then also celebrating what they brought to our campus and wishing them well,” Shryock said. There are currently other graduation ceremonies that celebrate specific identities on campus, including Black Graduation, Latinx Graduation and the Lavender Graduation for LGBTQ students. At these student-planned graduation ceremonies, students wear regalia unique to the celebration and listen to speakers. Leslie Blair, the executive director of communications for UT’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, said having students plan their own graduation ceremonies allows them to have a bigger role in their graduation. “It’s just a way for the groups of
students to come together to celebrate their achievements and put their own special brand on the celebration, since they do all the planning for it,” Blair said. Students who need accommodations at the University’s main commencement ceremony can make accommodation requests up to five business days in advance, according to UT’s website. Emeline Lakrout, Disability Advocacy Student Coalition president, said she and her friends already have concerns about navigating the main ceremony. “I’m going to have to talk to somebody about figuring out exactly where you’re supposed to walk and where you’re supposed to stand because I’m blind, so I can’t watch the people in front of me doing that,” Lakrout said.
Marketing senior Lakrout said she decided to be one of the students volunteering for the program’s graduation because she wants to help create an accessible ceremony. “Something like (Services for Students with Disabilities) graduation — that’s not going to be a headache for anybody,” Lakrout said. Lakrout said the planning committee is raising awareness about the ceremony after only one student attended the graduation reception last year. She said she is excited to attend a graduation with other disabled students. “I think it’s another step in the right direction of defining disability as a culture on campus, as an identity on campus (and) not just like a condition,” Lakrout said.
CAMPUS
WEST CAMPUS
Students register to vote before deadline
Mongolian Hot Pot shuts down after three years
By Sara Johnson @skjohn1999
State Sen. Kirk Watson and UT civic engagement groups gathered at the UT Tower Monday night to register students before the midnight deadline to vote in the November election. As members of TX Votes, University Democrats, Texas Rising and other groups registered students, Watson spoke to students about the power he said their votes have. “The way you’re helping others will be very important,” Watson said. “Student engagement is rising for a variety of reasons, and I think it’s because your future depends on it.” TX Votes president Anthony Zhang said the various organizations started registering students early in the day and would continue until the midnight deadline. During the event, student registrars played music from Hamilton
By Sara Johnson @skjohn1999
jack myer
/ the daily texan staff
Members of the University Democrats help register voters at the base of the UT Tower on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. Travis County saw record-breaking registration numbers last summer, and the trend has continued into this year. and offered free Pizza Press pizzas to registered students. “We like to have guest speakers and dance parties to get people out and engaging
with us,” Zhang said. “We’re all people people, so we’ve got a lot of energy to keep this going. It’s not going to fizzle out at 10 p.m.”
Watson said voter registration efforts by student registrars during the 2018 midterm V O T I N G PAGE 2
Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot closed its location on Seton Avenue and West 24th Street last Thursday after over three years of serving West Campus. Manager Johnny Vuong said a decline in revenue and the arrival of newer Asian restaurants contributed to the decision to close the restaurant, which is part of a Northern Chinese franchise based around a broth bowl menu. “We don’t have the luxury of being right along Guadalupe Street where most students pass by,” Vuong said. “It’s difficult to bring in new customers in a market that has expanded as quickly as (the Asian cuisine market) has in the area when we’re not as visible.” Vuong said he is thankful for all the patrons who
supported the restaurant up until its closing, especially the students he opened the franchise to serve. “The student community welcomed us when we opened and has been a big number of our most frequent customers,” Vuong said. “Working closely with customers was a priority of mine when I opened, and I’ve seen a lot of familiar faces come through here in the last three years.” Radio-television-film sophomore Ainsley McClain said she will miss the friendly service at Little Sheep, where she often ate with friends. “Everyone was always so nice there,” McClain said. “The staff always made sure everything was made right, and sometimes Johnny (Vuong) would come around and see how things were going.” McClain said she has eaten H O T P O T PAGE 2