Serving The University Of Texas At Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Volume 121, Issue 50
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
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Students pulled an all-nighter on West Mall to encourage early voting.
UT should provide students with fully-functioning digital ID technology.
Longhorns continue to win, but comatose defense is cause for concern.
“An Uncomfortable Woman” director Meghan Ross talks diversity and inclusion in production.
UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY
Survey shows increased awareness of sexual assault resources By Lauren Grobe @grobe_lauren
The University did not participate in this year’s Association of American Universities’ sexual misconduct survey, and officials cite the UT System’s own study in 2017 as the reason why. The 2019 Association of American Universities Campus Climate Survey is a follow-up to the 2015 Campus Climate Survey and found that nonconsensual sexual contact rates and knowledge of school resources have increased on college campuses. The University participated in 2015 alongside Texas A&M but was one of few who did not participate this year. Melanie Susswein, Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault director of marketing and communications at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, said the UT System preferred conducting their own study because they could control how it was conducted and get specific information on UT schools. UT’s report, Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments, found 39% of sexual harassment victims and non-victims know campus resources for interpersonal violence. Similarly, the Association of American Universities’ report found that about a third of students know where to find interpersonal violence resources and how to report an incident. “You have so much information thrown at you at orientation, and it’s just one of those things you don’t pay much attention to,” said Kierstyn Gallegos, Voices Against Violence co-president. “It’s one of those pamphlets that you get home and you toss to the side and never look at it again.” Public health junior Gallegos said she acknowledges the University’s efforts, but the awareness around sexual assault and harassment could be improved. “The University is trying, A S S A U L T PAGE 3
emma overholt
/ the daily texan staff
Report reveals inequalities Hispanic professors form Independent Equity Committee, emphasize disparities.
By Laura Morales @lamor_1217
n 2016, psychology professor Francisco Gonzalez-Lima was awarded the top amount of grants in his department with more than $7 million, was among the top published professors in his department, with 23 articles, all while teaching six courses.That same year, when the psychology department’s Merit Review Committee scored the professors, his white counterparts received a score of “exceeds expectations,” yet his merit score only reached “meets
expectations.” While his colleagues received promotions and merit pay raises, Gonzales-Lima continued to be paid one of the lowest amounts in his department. “The main issue is a glass ceiling,” Gonzalez-Lima said. “You can go in, but you cannot go beyond. There is a resistance to continue regardless of your merit as a professor.” The Independent Equity Committee, formed by eight Hispanic professors, quantified inequalities for Hispanic students and faculty at UT. They compiled their research into a report and sent it to the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost on Oct. 8. The committee is still waiting to hear back about a meeting date
to discuss the findings. “The report is grotesque,” said history professor Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra, a committee member. “It shows the degree of inequities that you can see at all levels of the University.” Of the 1,706 tenure and tenure-track professors, only 119 were Hispanic — 48 of which work in the College of Liberal Arts. 21.4% of all UT students are Hispanic, compared to the state’s 46% of 18 to 24-year-olds, according to the report. White employees at UT Austin were paid on average 49% more than Hispanic employees in 2017. Hispanic professors were paid an average of $167,095, more than $25,000 less than white professors.
Female hispanic faculty were found to be paid the least out of all minority faculty, at $160,356 for professors on average. According to the report, out of 929 campus-wide teaching awards issued since 1958, 30 have gone to Hispanic professors. Sociology professor Gloria González-López said she questioned whether her own issues or the system’s inequalities hold her back from achieving at the same level as some of her white colleagues. She said contributing to the report helped her realize this was not just her problem. “With women, the picture becomes E Q U I T Y PAGE 2
CAMPUS
CAMPUS
Beauty salon to open in Dobie Mall
Pet fish population in Waller Creek increases
By Sara Johnson @skjohn1999
Austin-based bridal hair and makeup company LoLa Beauty completed the approval process last Wednesday for a new location inside the Dobie Mall. Owners and stylists Lauren Parker and Lorena Guadarrama Molano founded the company in 2013 and currently operate out of a salon owned by an associate on West Koenig Lane. Their new location on the Guadalupe and 21st Street building’s second floor will be their first salon in Texas they’ve owned and operated alone. “We’d been working together for a while, and starting a salon together just seemed like the most natural thing to do,” Guadarrama Molano said. “When we started LoLa, it made so much sense because of the way our work complemented each other.” Parker and Guadarrama Molano focus on bridal hair and makeup, often traveling to wedding locations, in addition to their studio work. Parker said their business presence would be improved by having their own salon. “Lo and I have been really lucky to be able to use
By Laura Morales @lamor_1217
ella williams
the location we’re at now,” Parker said. “Without it, we wouldn’t be as successful as we have been so far, but it’s going to be really nice to have our own space.” The move into Dobie Mall is LoLa Beauty’s second business expansion. In
2017, Guadarrama Molano and Parker opened a location in Denver, a move Guadarrama Molano felt was the pair’s first big risk. “We’ve both got really strong industry experience, so I knew if we both agreed, we could handle it,”
/ the daily texan staff
Guadarrama Molano said. “I’m lucky because I have a partner that trusts me the same amount I trust her. When we were talking it out, it felt right, even if it seems a little weird to lay down roots out of state before you can L O L A PAGE 2
Colorful aquarium fish have invaded Waller Creek. The creek’s population of platy fish, native to northern Mexico, has reached the thousands according to research done by environmental science senior Han Ooi. Adam Cohen, a UT ichthyology collection manager, said many students keep these colorful fish as pets because they are relatively easy to take care of, but these students often try to find ways to get rid of them at the end of the semester. “After the semester changes or the summer starts, most students wonder what they are going to do with their fish,” Cohen said. “The creek is right there, so they drop them in there. Most of the time the fish die, but every once in a while, this happens.” Biology freshman Elizabeth Clark said she is familiar with what it takes to raise a fish. Clark’s sixth-grade science project turned into a small ecosystem of over a hundred live-breeding fish at home. She said she took none of them to UT because she expected it to be hard to take care of them while in college.
“It’s nice to have something to care for,” Clark said. “It can really distress you at times, but you have to think of how stressful it is on the fish to be moved between home and dorm. People really don’t know what they are getting into when they get a fish.” Ooi is studying the platy fish population in Waller Creek as part of his capstone
People throw what they don’t want in (Waller Creek), including plants and animals. It is kind of a mixture of everything.” HAN OOI
environmental science senior
research project. He said normally this species would not be able to survive the cold winters, but the urban environment creates optimal conditions in the winter. “My hypothesis is that there are warm water F I S H PAGE 2