Serving The University Of Texas At Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Monday, October 21, 2019
Volume 121, Issue 49
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
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Sanger Learning Center celebrates 70 years of assisting students on campus.
Students discuss struggle with accomodations and navigating campus with a disability
Students and a professor talk intersections of identity, fashion and hijabs.
Texas defense remained unimproved in its game against Kansas on Saturday.
FOOTBALL
STATE
Early voting starts for Texas amendments, propositions By Tori May & Graysen Golter
@toricmay @graysen_golter
With 498 amendments passed since 1876, Texas voters can approve up to 10 more Texas Constitutional amendments starting Monday. These amendments, which were proposed during last year’s legislative session, include policy changes on sales taxes, state income taxes and cancer research funds. Along with the amendments on the ballot, Austinites will also be voting on two city propositions. The first city amendment, Proposition A, would require a City Council supermajority and voter approval for the use of cityowned land for sports and entertainment facilities. Proposition B would require voter approval for Austin Convention Center additions exceeding $20 million, and the proposition would limit the amount of Austin’s hotel tax revenue used for the improvements to 34%. Austin City Council approved an ordinance Thursday that designates November election days as “Let Texas Vote Day.” Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza said the city is now working to make election day a paid city holiday starting in 2020 to give city staff administrative leave to vote in federal, state and local elections. Garza said it is important for Texas to overcome its history of voter suppression and allow the community to become more engaged in politics. Proposition 4, a state amendment, would make it more difficult for future legislators to enact an individual income tax. Instead of requiring a majority of legislators to pass and a majority of voters to approve an income tax in a statewide referendum, the amendment specifies two-thirds of the House and Senate must vote to approve proposals. V O T I N G PAGE 2
Saturday Night Scare joshua guenther
/ the daily texan staff
Sophomore kicker Cameron Dicker kicks the game-winning 33-yard field goal on Saturday against the Kansas Jayhawks. This will go down as Dicker’s second biggest kick, only behind his game-winner against Oklahoma in 2018.
Though the Longhorns beat Kansas 50-48, they struggled to tame the Jayhawks offense. By Donnavan Smoot @dsmoot3D
onghorn fans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium put their hands above their heads in angst as (2-4) Kansas took a 48-47 lead with 1:11 left in the game. The Jayhawks and Longhorns spent the majority of Saturday night trading blows as Kansas racked up
to exhale. 569 total yards and 48 points. Texas’ Dicker, who rarely gets rattled, lined lackluster defensive performance put up and simply did what he does every all of the pressure on the Longhorn offense, who calmly Tuesday in practice: marched down, leavstepped up and sent ing the the outcome the kick through of the game to a 33the uprights. yard field goal from “I love kickers,” I had full belief in sophomore kicker head coach Tom Cameron Dicker. him that he was go- Herman said. “I’m In unison, 90,000ing to make that kick. glad we’ve got the plus people raised one that we have and He’s a good kicker.” the snapper and the their hands and formed the hook ‘em holder and all of that sign, hoping to sum … We do a two minDEVIN DUVERNAY up a collective mojo to wide receiver ute scenario where will the ball through the one offense goes the uprights. The against the two defense, and they crowd, which had gone from stunned need a field goal to win. So these guys and silent as Kansas took the lead just have a ton of reps at that scenario, a minute before to noisy and raucous as and (I) was really proud of the way the Longhorns drove the ball into field they executed.” goal range, collectively went quiet with Dicker has been in that moment their breaths held waiting for a moment before. He’s won games for Texas with
CAMPUS
his leg before, most notably in the 2018 Red River Showdown. And Saturday, Texas needed him to do it again. He said he felt comfortable from 50 yards, but all he needed to avoid a disaster was a 33-yarder. While everyone looked toward the north end zone awaiting the deciding kick trying to wonder how the game had gotten to this point, Dicker’s teammates were on the sidelines knowing they had done their job by giving Dicker a shot for the win. “Doubt? Nah,” senior wide receiver Devin Duvernay said. “I had full belief in him that he was going to make that kick. He’s a good kicker.” Dicker’s kick not only saved the night, but also saved the Longhorns’ season. A home loss to an unranked opponent would not only have effectively ruined their chances of getting back to the Big 12 F O O T B A L L PAGE 3 UNIVERSITY
Texas Supreme Court dismisses negligence case By Emily Hernandez @emilyhernandez
adnrea muniz
/ the daily texan staff
Members of UT’s Garba dance team, Dirty South Dandiya, perform for Navrati at the Recreational Sports Center on Friday, Oct. 18.
HSA hosts cultural festival Navratri to celebrate women’s contributions to society By Jennifer Xia @JenniferXia7
More than 1,300 students dressed in traditional Indian attire and danced barefoot to live music on-campus Friday evening at the cultural festival Navratri. The Hindu Students Association hosted the festival at the Recreational Sports
Center to celebrate women’s contribution to society, according to the event’s Facebook page. Navratri is a nine-day festival to celebrate the nine forms of Devi, a goddess who represents the female energy, according to the page. “One part of (our event) is educational, so people understand the history of it and the different ways it’s celebrated,” association media chair Abhay
Ram said. Along with dancing, students also received free Indian food and had the opportunity to write down the names of women they admired. “You’ll see a lot of diverse people coming out with their friends, because the main part of the event is dancing, and dancing is a language that everyone can speak to some extent,” said Ram, an arts and entertainment
technologies junior. The first dance was Garba, where students clapped in circles around idols of goddesses placed under a tent in the center of the room. The idols were surrounded by candles, which students offered as part of a Hindu religious ritual of worship called Aarti, association co-chair Neha Irrinki said. H S A PAGE 3
Non-University affiliates can be considered trespassers if they engage in recreational activities on University property, according to a Texas Supreme Court opinion issued Friday. The highest court in the state dismissed Austin resident April Garner’s case, who claimed the University was liable for her injuries after a University employee backed a truck into her as she rode her bike on a private road, according to the opinion. The road is often used by the general public as a shortcut to avoid Lake Austin Boulevard, according to the suit. However, because she was not a University student, employee or invited guest, the court agreed with UT’s argument that she was a trespasser and that UT could only be held responsible for intentional injuries. According to the suit, Garner claimed the University’s immunity from the suit was dismissed under the Texas Tort Claims Act, which waives “sovereign immunity” for claims involving injury in motor vehicle accidents caused by negligence by a government employee. The University and Garner’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The University initially filed a motion to dismiss Garner’s case, claiming it was not liable because Garner was a trespasser on private property under Texas common law and did not have permission to be there. The district court dismissed the motion, allowing the case to proceed. In 2017, the University appealed the case and claimed Garner was a civil trespasser under the Recreational Use Statute. Garner claimed UT’s interpretation of the statute was so broad, anyone on University property, including students, faculty and staff, would be considered civil trespassers because activities such as hiking and biking are recreational under the statute. The statute protects landowners’ liability when allowing the public to use land — including government property — recreationally. Under the statute, Garner would have implicit permission to be on University property. However, she would also be considered a civil trespasser and would need to prove the University harmed her intentionally or through gross negligence. Justice Bob Shannon in the 3rd District Court of Appeals wrote an opinion in favor of Garner, stating because the University did not open the private road for public use, the Recreational L A W S U I T PAGE 2