The Daily Texan 2019-10-25 by The Daily Texan

Serving The University Of Texas At Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com

Monday, October 28, 2019

Volume 121, Issue 54

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Texas has been riddled with defensive issues. Against TCU, it was same song different verse.

Kanye’s Jesus is King is both self-serving and spiritual in approach.

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Culture Shock talent show brings African American student community together.

UT must provide more resources for genderqueer students and inclusive training for staff.

LIFE&ARTS

UNIVERSITY

FOOTBALL

longhorn letdown

Students protest professors guilty of misconduct By Lauren Grobe @grobe_lauren

eddie gaspar

/ the daily texan staff

Junior wide reciever Jordan Pouncey and senior center Zach Shackelford exit Amon G. Carter Stadium after their loss to Texas Christian University. The former No. 15 team in the country has dropped out of the polls after the 37-27 loss.

After a 37-27 loss to TCU, Texas finds itself unranked in the AP Poll — a long shot from the Big 12 title. By Daniela Perez @danielap3rez

n the sea of purple on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium, a TCU fan sported a white Longhorns jersey that was mangled with cuts on its shoulders and stomach. The

front of the shirt was covered in spray paint that had the appearance of purple blood. In a way, that jersey represented the Longhorns and their hopes for a Big 12 title after a 37-27 loss to the unranked Horned Frogs: mangled and battered. TCU quarterback Max Duggan had the best performance of his young career, but the Horned Frogs were also aided by the Longhorns’ severe offensive and defensive mistakes. “Obviously really disappointed in the red zone execution on offense,” head coach Tom Herman said. “Their quarterback, had a great game, made a lot of plays. The game went a bit differently than we had thought on that side of the ball.” Texas took an early lead after a field goal from kicker

Cameron Dicker during their first drive. Though they got on the board, Texas had four downs in the red zone, but they failed to get into the end zone. This trend followed Texas into the second quarter as the Longhorns failed to capitalize on a massive opportunity. With Texas and TCU knotted at 10-10, the Horned Frogs fumbled a kickoff return, which the Longhorns fell on just 26 yards away from the end zone. Texas could have stretched its lead to 17-10, but instead, Dicker lined up for another field goal — wide left. “We’ve been so good at scoring touchdowns in the red zone for three years here and credit to their defense,” Herman said. “Again, they didn’t do anything cosmic, and we’ve got to really analyze where we could have

gotten better down there in the red zone to punch the ball into the end zone.” However, even those extra points could not have tamed Ehlinger’s performance in the second half. Ehlinger finished with a 45.8% pass completion rate and a career high four interceptions. Three of his four interceptions resulted in 13 points for TCU with his fourth and final pick coming with one minute remaining, which all but ended the game. Senior center Zach Shackelford doesn’t blame Ehlinger for the interceptions, though, spreading the blame across the entire offense. “It’s not all him … He puts the F O O T B A L L PAGE 2

Chants of “Actions, not words” and “No excuses for abusers” echoed through the halls of the Tower during a sit-in outside the provost’s office Friday. Dozens of students at the Sit in for Student Safety protested English associate professor Coleman Hutchison and Sahotra Sarkar, integrative biology and philosophy professor, staying on the University’s spring course schedule after they were found guilty of misconduct by UT. Students lined up outside University Provost Maurie McInnis’ office door for six hours and held signs which read, “UT Austin promotes sexual violence” and “UT protects abusers.” A University investigation found Hutchinson violated the University’s sexual misconduct policy in 2018 for making sexual comments to students and failing to disclose a relationship with a graduate student. Sarkar was suspended for one semester in 2017 after a University investigation found he violated UT’s Title IX policies by making inappropriate comments to students , according to the Austin American-Statesman. Protest organizer Alyssa Ashcraft said students organized the sit-in to show the provost’s office how many students are concerned about faculty continuing to teach after being found guilty of misconduct by the University. “This is not something P R O T E S T PAGE 3

STATE

UNIVERSITY

Over half of Texas incoming freshmen not found college-ready

UT ranked No. 34 university in the world by U.S. News & World Report

By Areeba Amer @areeba_amer

Only 58% of first-time Texas college students were considered college-ready in fall 2018, according to a report presented at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board meeting Thursday. According to the report, 85% of students entering universities and 37% of students entering two-year colleges were considered college-ready. To be considered college-ready, students must reach minimum scores on their SAT, ACT, AP tests and other college level equivalents, said Suzanne Morales-Vale, the board’s director of developmental and adult education. If students do not meet the minimum scores, Morales-Vale said they must take the Texas Success Initiative Assessment, which tests reading, writing and math skills. She said students who score too low in a subject area within the assessment may have to take an extra year or more of developmental courses in that subject before enrolling in a college-level class. Board commissioner Harrison Keller said developmental education makes students pay for courses that may not advance their degree progress. “You may have to take and pay for and take out debt for essentially high school courses before you are even able to earn credit (toward your degree) at all,” Keller said. Morales-Vale said fouryear universities typically have

a larger percentage of students who are college-ready because they have stricter admissions standards. Morales-Vale said to improve college readiness, Texas institutions should implement co-requisite courses, which combine developmental education with the corresponding college-level class. For example, she said college-level math class may require a student to stay an additional hour to ask questions about the material and receive help. “After taking the developmental education courses semesters ago, now you’re in the college-level course,” Morales-Vale said. “Do you actually remember the material from previous courses? Those connections prevent students from getting behind.” Keller said while the co-requisite courses may be more expensive for the state to implement, it will be more costeffective for students. “It dramatically increases the amount the student is able to progress in their program,” Keller said. The 85th Texas Legislature passed a law requiring at least 25% of institutions to use co-requisite courses during developmental education by fall of 2018, and Morales-Vale said 75% of institutions should meet the benchmark by Fall 2020. She said in Fall 2018, institutions who met the benchmark had 26% more students considered college-ready than institutions who R E A D I N E S S PAGE 3

By Emma Gueorguieva @emmagueorguieva

U.S. News & World Report ranked UT as the No. 34 university in the world on its Best Global Universities list last week. The report considers 1,500 universities from over 81 countries and uses 13 indicators to measure regional and global research, publications and research collaboration, according to the website. UT was the only Texas university ranked in the top 100, according to the report released Oct. 22. The University also received top-50 rankings in 12 academic areas in the report, such as computer science, mathematics and electrical engineering. “This is very consistent with other global rankings we’ve seen ... so it’s not a surprise in any way,” University spokesperson J.B. Bird said. “(The ranking) really reflects the University’s stature as a research powerhouse.” Unlike the report released last week, a U.S. News & World Report released last month only evaluated undergraduate programs and ranked UT as the No. 48 university nationwide and the No. 14 public university in the country. Bird said the previous ranking did not reflect the strength of all of the University’s programs and schools. “I think the global

christiana peek

ranking is reflecting the things that are really unique about UT: The strength in our research and professional schools,” Bird said.

Two other Texas universities were also ranked in the report, including No. 108 Rice University and No. 134 Texas A&M. Bird

/ the daily texan staff

said Rice University tends to rank higher than UT R A N K PAGE 2

MEGAN MENCHACA

News Editor | @THEDAILYTEXAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019

This issue of The Daily Texan is valued at $1.25

UNIVERSITY

NEWS

PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Spencer Buckner

Video Editor Faith Castle

Managing Editor Catherine Marfin

Assoc. Video Editor Jackson Barton

Assoc. Managing Editors Alex Briseño, Lisa Nhan

Photo Editor Eddie Gaspar

Assoc. Editors Angélica López, Emily Caldwell, Abby Springs, Sanika Nayak Forum Editors Julia Zaksek, Kateri David News Editor Megan Menchaca Assoc. News Editors Gracie Awalt, Savana Dunning News Desk Editors Hayden Baggett, Nicole Stuessy, Jackson Barton, Hannah Ortega Beat Reporters Neelam Bohra, Lauren Grobe, Laura Morales, Emily Hernandez, Lauren Girgis, Sara Johnson, Graysen Golter, Tori May, Areeba Amer Projects Editor Chase Karacostas Projects Reporters Trinady Joslin, Tiana Woodard, Savana Dunning Projects Designer Emma Overholt Copy Desk Chiefs Jason Lihuang, Brittany Miller Associate Copy Desk Chiefs Lawson Freeman, Irissa Omandam, Jimena Pinzon Design Editor Christiana Peek Associate Design Editor Renee Koite Senior Designers Kendall Jordan, Nila Selvaraj, Sierra Wiggers

ISSUE STAFF

Comic Artists Laura Gomina, Joe Wallace, Leslie Tang, Esther Wang, Adria Twyman Copy Editors Meena Anderson, Marian Navarro, Audrey Snow Designers Minka Atkinson, Jamie Hwang L&A Reporters

Assoc. Photo Editors Anthony Mireles, Joshua Guenther Senior Photographers Amna Ijaz, Ryan Lam, Brittany Mendez, Blaine Young Life&Arts Editor Jordyn Zitman Assoc. Life&Arts Editors Trinady Joslin, Brooke Sjoberg Sr. Life&Arts Writers Noah Levine, Mackenzie Dyer Sports Editor Donnavan Smoot Assoc. Sports Editor Wills Layton Senior Sports Reporters Daniela Perez, Myah Taylor, Stephen Wagner, Marcus Krum Comics Editors Channing Miller, Lauren Ibanez Assoc. Comics Editor Alekka Hernandez Senior Comics Artists Ella Williams, Rocky Higine, Barbra Daly, Steph Sonik Social Media Editor Rebeccah Macias Assoc. Social Media Editor Michael Hernandez Newsletters Editor Taylor Leen Audio Editor Sara Schleede Audio Producers Divya Jagadeesh, Harper Carlton Editorial Adviser Peter Chen

Avery Wohleb, Katya Bandouil, Nataleah Small News Reporters Aria Jones, Emma Gueorguieva, Claudia Ng, Hannah Williford Photographers Jacob Fraga Sports Reporters Aneesh Namburi

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Spencer Buckner (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com

MANAGING EDITOR Catherine Marfin (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com

NEWS OFFICE

(512) 232-2207 news@dailytexanonline.com The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com.

AUSTIN WEATHER TODAY Oct. 28

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TOMORROW Oct. 29

HI LO

71º 57º

no gina, don’t go ur so sexy aha

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eddie gaspar

/ the daily texan staff

Chairwoman of the Organizing Committee of Planet Texas 2050, Dr. Heather Houser speaks at UT Austin’s 8th Sustainability Symposium held at the Mulva Auditorium on Oct. 25, 2019.

UT officials discuss University’s sustainability practices during 8th annual symposium By Emma Gueorguieva @emmagueorguieva

Energy consumption in UT buildings could be cut by an estimated 30-50% by 2030, a University official said Friday during an on-campus Sustainability Symposium. During the 8th annual symposium in the Mulva Auditorium, speakers discussing University research projects addressed water management, air quality testing and energy efficiency. “We, in Austin, live in this modern, consumer-oriented experience,” said Lynn Katz, engineering professor and director of the Center for Water and the Environment. “Right now, we use about 40% more resources than we put back,

so if we put more back, we would be a lot more sustainable.” Michelle Addington, dean of the School of Architecture, said buildings could be made more energy efficient if current technology was implemented during their construction. “It’s clear we know what we need to do,” Addington said. “We just need to make people do it. Rather than focusing on single issues ... we want to look at things through different lenses.” Juan Ontiveros, associate vice president for Utilities, Energy and Facilities Management, said the combination of aging infrastructure, rising rates, water scarcity and environmental pressure will change water management at the University. “We use a lot of water, 320 million

gallons in the plants and 320 million in the buildings and irrigation systems,” Ontiveros said. The Sustainability Master Plan, which aims to incorporate sustainable practices into University life, was unveiled during the previous symposium in 2016. While speaking at the 2019 symposium, Walker said updates to the plan are expected to provide experiential learning opportunities for students. “(With the Sustainability Master Plan), we’re not telling anybody what to do,” Walker said. “We’re encouraging them to think about what they’re doing.” The symposium was hosted by the President’s Sustainability Steering Committee, which was appointed by former University President William Powers

to advance sustainability initiatives on campus. “The reason why we do things like (the symposium) is to get students, faculty and staff who are doing cool stuff on their corner of campus to meet each other,” said Jim Walker, UT’s director of sustainability. Kate Bomar, architecture and architectural engineering junior, said she attended the event because she was interested in hearing about Addington’s research. “(Sustainability) is important because it’s our job to take care of our world, and a lot of people aren’t doing it, so it’s good to talk about it in an academic setting,” Bomar said. “I’m learning a lot. I’m happy to be here.”

CITY

Intersex Awareness Day rally takes place at City Hall By Claudia Ng @ClaudiCaroline

Dozens of intersex individuals and allies chanted “Change our hearts, not our parts” at an Intersex Awareness Day rally Saturday. During the rally, attendees advocated for bodily autonomy, adequate healthcare and representation of intersex people at Austin City Hall. Intersex is a term for people who are born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that are not typically female or male, according to the Intersex Society of North America. Intersex activist Alicia Weigel said she organized the rally, which featured speeches from Mayor Steve Adler, medical practitioners and intersex individuals. Adler said Oct. 26 will be recognized as Intersex Awareness Day by the City of Austin in the future. According to Human Rights Watch, 1 in 2,000 babies is recommended surgical intervention to make the body appear more in line with gender binary expectations. Weigal, who is intersex, said she struggled to conform to society’s rigid gender binary. “When the doctors decide which of the two boxes to put intersex kids into ... often times a choice is made that doesn’t align with that person’s gender identity,” Weigal said. Weigal, who was born with XY chromosomesand is phenotypically, said she also underwent nonconsensual removal of her reproductive organs when she was an infant. Students who worked with Weigal attended the event, including government and sustainability studies junior Lindsey Asis. Asis said she became an

p u a e p

E a l b e s claudie ng

/ the daily texan staff p

Over one hundred people gather at Austin City Hall where Mayor Steve Adler declared Oct. 26 as Intersex Awareness Day and recognized by the city. advocate for intersex awareness after hearing Weigal’s story. “It’s our duty as students to be there for as many people as we can, especially those who are marginalized,” Asis said. Weigal said doctors often classify intersex identity as a “disorder” and lack legitimate medical reason for surgery besides coordinating biology to gender appearance. Charles Osterberg, chief of

urology at Dell Seton Medical Center, said the medical community fails to care for intersex individuals. “Surgery has lifelong ramifications for patients which may contradict the patient’s gender identity later in life,” Osterberg said. Robyn Foley, youth member of the intersex advocacy group InterACT, said although doctors told them that they

C s were not “really a boy,” they considerfi themselves lucky. They said some peopleo

are born with visible intersex traits that b are instantly “corrected” for sex classifiy cation purposes. “If we stay this course, v intersex people will continue to be mutilated and fall victim to this idea that ourB bodies are meant to be shamed and showcased in biology textbooks as disorders,” Foley said.

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COPYRIGHT Copyright 2019 Texas Student Media. All articles, photographs and graphics, both in the print and online editions, are the property of Texas Student Media and may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without written permission.

The Daily Texan, a student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin, is published by Texas Student Media, 2500 Whitis Ave., Austin, TX 78712. The Daily Texan is published daily, Monday through Friday, during the regular academic year and is published once weekly during the summer semester. The Daily Texan does not publish during academic breaks, most Federal Holidays and exam periods. News contributions will be accepted by telephone 2.120). Entire contents copyright 2019 Texas Student Media.

football

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ball in the position and the receiver has gotta make the play too,” Shackelford said. “So, it’s not all Sam, you know, probably some of the times we could’ve protected it better as well, so (I) don’t blame Sam for all those.” Though Texas’ offense left points on the field, the Longhorn defense’s collapse in the second half also played a role in the loss. Duggan was nearly unstoppable in the second half with 181 passing yards and two touchdowns as the Horned Frogs recorded 435

total yards. Most importantly for TCU, Duggan took advantage of every red zone opportunity, getting points on the board in each of the five times his team was inside the 20. “He made plays,” senior captain Malcolm Roach said. “He made more plays than our defense did.” TCU fans stormed the field when the clock hit zero, leaving Texas with one question: What could have been? Not only what could have been on Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth, but what could this 2019 season have been? Texas is now going into a bye week, one they desperately need, unranked and tied for third in the Big 12. For now, the Longhorns will

spend the bye week getting healthy before they host No. 22 Kansas State. With three losses to their name, Texas now faces the undeniable truth that there are already serious questions surrounding Tom Herman and his coaching staff. Now, the veterans on this team look to get the younger players prepared for the most important portion of this season. “(The young guys) are going to be down in the dumps by their performance and certainly by the outcome,” Herman said. “But, that’s our job as coaches and teachers and mentors, and our leaders’ job to teach them, educate them on how to respond to very adverse situations like this.”

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when only measuring undergraduate programs. “When you look at the full breadth of research, graduate programs (and) professional programs, UT is the strongest institution in the state,” Bird said. The University moved up two spots on the list from No. 36 since last year’s report. “We’re in a very educated, appealing city and we have an easy time (picking) graduate students,” Bird said.

Biology senior Cole Sorrels said he feels proud to hear about the University’s international rank. “I think UT’s great in so many ways,” Sorrels said. “There’s a lot going on here and I love being part of it. I love being a student here.” Business junior Emery Saenz said she hopes to see the University rank even higher in the future. “Seeing (the University’s) global effect is really prideful to me,” Saenz said. “It’s the best school in Texas, and maybe one day, it’ll be the best school in the world.”

NEWS protest

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MEGAN MENCHACA

News Editor | @THEDAILYTEXAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019

that only a few students are concerned about,” said Ashcraft, government and humanities senior. “The entire student body is concerned about the fact that these abusers have access to students.” Ashcraft said the organizers asked for a meeting with the provost and a University-wide communication that lists all faculty found guilty of sexual misconduct. She said the University said it would be sending a message Monday about the sit-in and Student Government said it would be holding a town hall on Nov. 8 to address student safety concerns. Delaney Davis, a government and Spanish junior, said she saw Hutchinson’s upper division liberal arts honors course while registering, but no information about his previous misconduct. At the time of publication, Hutchison and Sakar had not returned multiple requests for comment from the Texan. “It’s problematic, especially for people like freshmen, who didn’t hear about all this stuff flast year,” Davis said. During the protest, Rose Martinelli, chief of staff of the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, said the University would be meeting with protest organizers. “We have to get together to create an understanding on s what actions need to be taken,” Martinelli said. “That’s e ff h r

eddie gaspar

what we’re committed to do.” Sociology sophomore Madeline Diamond said it was important for the University to hear student voices. “It is my right as a student to voice my need for

protection on this campus from professors such as Coleman Hutchinson and (Sahorta) Sarkar,” Diamond said. In a statement provided to The Daily Texan, University spokesperson Shilpa Bakre said the University has

listened to students’ concerns and urges them to report any misconduct. “What we heard from students today is that they have concerns about their safety,” Bakre said in the statement. “This is always our top

priority. We take misconduct seriously and investigate every complaint that is reported.” Diamond said she believes the University can take more action to be transparent and address student concerns.

CAMPUS

Culture Shock talent show celebrates UT’s black community

e d d ” m

By Hannah Williford @HannahWillifor2

aria jones

/ the daily texan staff

Mechanical engineering alumna Cassandra DeLeon Kemp brought her family to the World of Engineering event where they play with building toys on Oct. 26, 2019.

World of Engineering aims to spark interest, increase diversity in STEM @AriaJonesetc

Kids dropped paper parachutes and made slime Saturday as part of an event aimed at increasing diversity among engineers and inspiring youth to pursue STEM careers. During the World Of Engineering event, elementary and middle school students from low-income Austin-area schools built structures and tried different activities with engineering student volunteers at the event. Shelby Todd, student program coordinator for the Cockrell School of Engineering, said the event was held for the first time in 15 years to provide outreach to younger students. “They’re having a good time building stuff, which is what you really want to see,” event volunteer Olivia Bradshaw said. Civil engineering freshman Bradshaw said the event could

“I went to this University because it was the best option I could imagine,” Diamond said. “There are thousands of people in the class behind me thinking the same thing and they don’t know jack about what’s going on.”

CAMPUS

d , e t

By Aria Jones

/ the daily texan staff

Title IX coordinator Adriana Alicea-Rodriguez takes questions from sit-in attendees on Oct. 25. 2019 outside of the provost’s office in the Main Building. The sit-in protests came as a response to professors, guilty of violating the University’s sexual misconduct policies, are to continue teaching.

influence whether the students decide to major in engineering. She said she did not decide to major in engineering until she was filling out college applications because the major can be intimidating. “Instead of thinking of engineering as really complicated physics and something that’s really hard to do — that not a lot of people can do — you can think of it as something that’s just fun,” Bradshaw said. “You can go and build these really cool things and go and really enjoy yourself.” According to enrollment and graduation data from Cockrell’s website, 14.5% of 2018-19 undergraduate degrees were awarded to underrepresented minorities. Todd said the event was hosted by Equal Opportunity in Engineering, a program that promotes the recruitment of underrepresented student populations. She said the organization aims to make Cockrell as diverse as the Texas student population.

Mechanical engineering alumna Cassandra DeLeon Kemp, who brought her kids to the event, said she is glad the event is back. As an engineer, she said the event allows her to show her children what she does at work. “For them, they get to see it, they get to build it and they get to see the passion and love,” DeLeon Kemp said. DeLeon Kemp said her father also studied engineering at the University in the ‘70s, and she said she believes the program has become increasingly diverse over the years. When diversity increases in the field, she said the world benefits. “Our problems aren’t … simple (enough) in this world to be able to solve in just one frame of mind,” DeLeon Kemp said. “Bringing everybody together really gives us a better chance to solve some of our design dilemmas out there and bigger issues with space, pollution and renewability.”

Students rapped, stepped and delivered spoken word pieces Friday night for Culture Shock, a talent show that celebrates the black community. Culture Shock featured acts such as a solo dance performance with a slideshow of the civil rights movement and a rap performance backed by videos of police brutality. The Campus Events + Entertainment’s African American Culture committee hosted the annual event in Hogg Memorial Auditorium. Committee event coordinator Kuukuwa Koomson said Culture Shock is a way to showcase talent at the University while bringing together the black community at UT. “(I) want (the audience) to be able to see their friend or someone who they don’t even know and be like, ‘Wow, this is my community,” psychology junior

Koomson said. “We’re doing things, we’re making moves and we’re empowering each other. Whatever that talent is, being able to cater it to your experience and then give it out back into your community.” Faith Avery opened the show with a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which is also known as the Black National Anthem. Avery, a communication and leadership and African and African diaspora studies sophomore, said she attended the show last year and was asked to perform this year. “It was really something that made me feel proud to be a part of black UT, and just proud to see our student body showcase our culture in such a great way,” Avery said. “Even if I wasn’t singing, I would still come just because I love seeing the talent that black UT has.” Committee president Brianna McBride said E+E has a budget to host

performances in Hogg Memorial Auditorium, which provides students with performance opportunities they might not otherwise have. “(The committee) really wanted to take on that responsibility of being able to do this type of showcase at this type of capacity to give people … everything they need … to put on these performances,” said McBride, a communication and leadership junior. “It’s just been a hit every year.” One of the other acts included a ball culture performance, where participants dressed within a theme, walked and posed for a panel of judges. McBride said E+E wanted performers to go out of their comfort zones. “Culture Shock is not necessarily … just black people doing whatever,” Koomson said. “It’s more of expressing yourself and being free to be who you are without judgment from anybody else, and just supporting your community.”

readiness

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did not meet this benchmark. There were about 11,500 more first-time college students in fall 2018 that were considered college-ready compared to fall 2017, according to the board meeting report. Morales-Vale said the board should work to have all institutions providing corequisite courses by fall 2023. Board member Welcome Wilson said this program is crucial to the success of 60x30TX, a program created by the board to ensure 60% of Texans have a degree by 2030, according to its website. “We have to tackle this issue at this level ... so I would encourage (the board) to push this program,” Wilson said.

jacob fraga

/ the daily texan staff

Dance senior Nick Muckleroy performs a Civil Rights movement-themed routine for Culture Shock in Hogg Auditorium on Oct. 25, 2019.

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SPENCER BUCKNER

Editor-In-Chief | @THEDAILYTEXAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019

FORUM

helen brown / the daily texan staff

UT must provide resources for genderqueer students, educate faculty and student body By Kateri David and Julia Zaksek Forum editors

In the last 20 years, the University has greatly increased the number of resources for LGBTQ+ students. In 2004, UT established the Gender and Sexuality Center as a space for LGBTQ+ clubs and conferences and to provide information about gender and sexuality identities for students. In 2014, the College of Liberal Arts created a transcript-recognized certificate in LGBTQ+ studies. There are more opportunities than ever for students to learn about LGBTQ+ identities. However, in discussions about the LGBTQ+ community, sexuality is

often at the forefront while gender identity and expression is still often overlooked. The struggles of members of the community that identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual often receive more attention and consideration than those that identify as genderqueer, transgender, nonbinary, intersex and other genders that are not encapsulated in the commonly used acronym. When discussing the challenges faced by all members of the LGBTQ+ community, we cannot exclude or marginalize the experiences of people who are trans, nonbinary or otherwise exist outside the gender binary. Queer students at UT face unique obstacles that can interfere with their schedules, social lives and sense of belonging on campus. A limited number of gender inclusive restrooms, difficulties finding a supportive community and inadequate or

outdated information can negatively impact students’ college experience. UT must provide resources and accommodations for students of all gender identities. American studies junior Abi Wernsman describes her experience taking her first LGBTQ+ studies class and encourages the University to offer more classes on queer topics in order to make a more welcoming space for students of all gender identities and sexualities. Alex Yoon, content creator of the Transgender Education Network of Texas explains why colleges need to increase their resources for genderqueer students and suggests possible programs. As always, if you have any thoughts on this topic or any other, please feel free to reach out to us at thedailytexanforum@gmail.com

FORUM

Finding community: why UT needs more LGBTQ+ classes

The future is fluid: The importance of nonbinary inclusion

By Abi Wernsman

studied and hung onto every word of the openly queer professor. Nault was instrumental in the creation of the community in our class. He is kind and caring, and made all of us feel heard and As a queer girl from a small high school, I seen. Nault is also incredibly enmeshed in was predictably excited to come to the UniAustin’s queer culture. He heads multiple versity of Texas. I thought that I would finally find the queer community I never had events, including OUTsider fest, a queer art and music festival that he gave us all free in high school. However, I found it incredibly diffi- tickets to as a field trip. We also visited the Blanton as a class, and cult to find an entry to this community. I some of us even met him at a queer event to made a handful of queer friends and could see through Twitter that others had found celebrate the end of the semester. To merge LGBTQ+ groups, but I still felt incredibly these experiences with our academics, Nault’s syllabus essays analyzing the events separated and distant. and spaces, and in the Then, junior year, I took case of the Blanton, we my first queer studies class, wrote about how to queer Queer Art and Activism, the museum. with lecturer Curran Nault. Being with my queer It was clear on the first day, classmates on these trips with the classroom full of But in Queer Art gave me the community I cuffed jeans and hair that and Activism, there had been searching for, and covered the spectrum of Nault provided the framethe rainbow, that the class was an unspoken work for us to not only was majority LGBTQ+. level of care that learn from each other, but I had never been in a enjoy the process as well. made even the class like this one. Reading, writing and In my other classmost difficult topics learning about queer actives, even at such a liberists and artists who fought manageable.” al university, I have felt for queer liberation made uncomfortable disclosme feel like part of the ing my queerness. As an community and empowered American studies student, to follow in their footsteps. the topic of the LGBTQ+ All students can benefit from queer classcommunity would occasionally arise. And es, but for LGBTQ+ students they can when it did, I would feel intense anxiety, be vital sources of community and hope. worried that my classmates would be carelessly, or worse aggressively, homophobic Our history is a long and fascinating story of hardship, exclusion, violence, and at or transphobic. But in that class, there was an unspoken the core of it all, the unique love that is queer camaraderie. level of care that made even the most diffiProfessor Nault’s class changed my percult topics manageable. It was a space we spective on so much, but most importantly he could be ourselves, discuss our history and founding mothers like Marsha P. Johnson made me proud to be part of this history. We need to provide more explicitly queer and be openly and academically queer. I believe queer studies classes are vital spaces classes at UT, along with more resources of community and growth for queer students. and opportunities for queer professors and students to create welcoming spaces. Not only did I learn more about queer history, activism and art than I could have Queer classes expand the scope of acaimagined, I grew as a young queer womdemia for our university, providing a new an. I felt welcomed and accepted by my perspective for all students. The academclassmates, felt empowered to tell stories ic advancement will be as valuable as the about ex-girlfriends, gay bars and other emotional and societal benefits. queer hijinks, saw myself in the figures we Wernsman is an American Studies junior. Contributor

LEGALESE | Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the Editorial Board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.

By Alex Yoon Contributor

Our society is becoming increasingly aware of gender and how we interact with it in our dayto-day lives. Gender norms are always changing, but in past generations that change has looked more like redefining something as masculine that used to be feminine — or vice versa — instead of shifting away from strictly upheld gender roles altogether. Amidst this gradual generational shift, the transgender community has become more visible than ever before. In 2011, the Williams Institute estimated 0.3% of American adults identify as transgender. Eight years later in 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1.8% of high school students identify as transgender, meaning more people in Generation Z identify as transgender than any other generation before. For colleges, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. While most colleges have some form of diversity and inclusion office, only a portion of them have staff specifically employed to support LGBTQ+ students. Even within the offices that are LGBTQ+ competent, the majority have only undergone LGBTQ+ competency training that put sexuality at the forefront and treated gender identity as a footnote. Colleges now find themselves unprepared to deal with the sudden increase of trans students needing support. Without proper trans competency training, administrators can end up doing more harm than good to the students they’re trying to help. Nonbinary students often find their requests for their pronouns to be respected brushed off or viewed as optional. This causes nonbinary students to feel unsupported by their colleges and binary trans students to feel they can’t rely on the administration to fully support them either. Being non-binary is a gender identity that’s always existed and not a trendy affectation invented by young people to feel different compared to their peers. The refusal to understand or acknowledge nonbinary people’s needs stems from transphobia and harms students, which highlights the need for in-depth trans competency trainings for all campus staff in order to meet the needs of a growing demographic of students. The denial of support to nonbinary students perpetuates two assumptions that are

SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | Email your Firing Lines to editor@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.

incredibly harmful to the entire transgender community. The first assumption is that transgender people need to medically transtion in order to qualify as transgender, which is rooted in the idea that all transgender people hate their bodies. In reality, being transgender simply means that someone identifies with a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth. There are plenty of reasons why transgender people can’t access or choose not to undergo medical transitions, and transgender people who don’t medically transition aren’t any less trans than those who do. The second assumption is that cisgender people — people who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth — can accurately differentiate transgender people from cisgender people. This assumption is rooted in the myth that binary trans people who don’t reveal their gender identity are deceitful and stand apart from “real” men and women. Therefore, nonbinary people who present as their assigned gender are perceived as faking it and nonbinary people who are visbly gender nonconforming are perceived as attention seeking. At best, being invalidated by their college’s administration puts nonbinary students through unnecessary distress. At worst, dealing with a college that is under-informed about the current needs of the trans community can cause all LGBTQ+ students to feel they can’t trust their college to support them. Lack of support is shown to negatively impact everything from academic performance to mental health. Without in-depth, standalone trans competency training, colleges are setting a growing demographic of students up to fail. LGBTQ+ affirming spaces cannot afford to keep treating the transgender community as a footnote if they truly want to be LGBTQ+ affirming. Even if they don’t receive support from their college, transgender and nonbinary people will not cease to be transgender or cease to face hardships due to the stigma surrounding their identities. Colleges can either choose to be informed enough to support a new generation of students or cause needless suffering by holding onto outdated misconceptions about the transgender community and ignore the growing need for trans competent college staff. Yoon is the content creator of the Transgender Education Network of Texas.

RECYCLE | Please recycle this copy of The Daily Texan. Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it. EDITORIAL TWITTER | Follow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter (@TexanOpinion) and receive updates on our latest editorials and columns.

LIFE&ARTS

J O R DY N Z I T M A N

Life&Arts Editor | @JORDYNZITMAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019

STATE

Students raise awareness about splitting of voting districts By Katya Bandouil @kat372

An invisible line runs through Guadalupe Street. Every day students walk to class and cross it. Government senior Hamza Sait said it divides the 21st and 25th Congressional Districts — and the student vote. “There is a very clear injustice going on,” Sait said. “Students have a vote that doesn’t count. For me, that was compelling enough to say, ‘I’ve got to do something about it. I’ve got to start something.’” In the fall of 2019, Sait founded Over District Lines to bring attention to the issue. Currently, West Campus is represented by the 21st Congressional District, which spans over Fredericksburg and parts of San Antonio. A couple of streets away, North Campus and on-campus housing are represented by the 25th Congressional District, which includes parts of South Dallas and Cleburne. “These are essentially giant rural areas cutting slices of the students’ votes onto their side,” Sait said. “We aren’t one giant voting block that is going to have our voice (heard) in the national legislature.” Ben Burke, political communications freshman and communications director of Over District Lines, said the organization’s ultimate goal is for the district line that runs through Guadalupe to be moved to 15th Street instead, which would incorporate West Campus into the 25th congressional district. “The concrete goals we hope to achieve are first, educating the student body about the situation and second, pressuring elected officials to openly advocate for fairly drawn congressional districts,” Burke said. Every 10 years, district lines are redrawn based on the census, which

current

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veers off into stories of trade fairs and electric chairs that feel

will be taken again in 2020. Over District Lines aims to return student voters to a unified congressional district in the next drawing. “When they are reapportioning, we think (the Texas state legislature) should essentially make it the Austin district,” Sait said. “We are basically demanding that you can’t cut congressional lines through house district lines.” Mariam Ali, math sophomore and social media director for the organization, said now is the time for students to pay attention to the issue because whatever lines are drawn will be the ones students have to live with for the next 10 years. Over District Lines also works to raise awareness for this issue by tabling on Guadalupe Street, lobbying and creating a strong social media presence. Partnering with the app Blue Squad, Over District Lines uses the communication software to find unregistered voters and help spread their message through automated texts. “We have a unique way of going about solving it in this sense that we have this collective identity as students who are being gerrymandered,” Sait said. “We’re trying to approach this from a software perspective, legislature perspective and a campaign perspective.” Over District Lines is planning a student protest on Nov. 3 to bring attention to how the issue affects students and the impact of their vote. “We look at this as a civil rights issue,” Sait said. “We think this is a clear violation of student’s right to have a voice.” Ali is a green card holder and cannot vote. Despite this, she is passionate about ensuring a fair voting process for those who can. “This whole organization technically doesn’t make a personal difference for me,” Ali said. “Since I can’t (vote), the least I can do is make a difference in another way.”

underdeveloped within the plot. By the final scenes, the movie feels like an attempt at reading an entire history textbook two hours before an exam and ultimately failing. The soundtrack offered no help to

the jumbled plot. Nearly every scene was accompanied by intense music, making it hard to distinguish which scenes were climactic within the film. For most of the two hours, it feels as though the movie is building

ella williams

to one pivotal moment that would merge the plots together, but ultimately the outcome is painfully underwhelming and unsuccessful. Overall, the entertainment value of the movie is lost within a

/ the daily texan staff

boring production. Frustrating to watch “The Current War” has the potential to be great but just isn’t, leaving audiences with a story about electricity with no stable current.

D O N N AVA N S M O O T

Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019

FOOTBALL

Longhorns’ doomed defense

Texas’ defense continued to struggle in its matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday. By Donnavan Smoot

@Dsmoot3D

y the time sophomore kicker Cameron Dicker hit the game-winner against Kansas a week ago, the damage had already been done. Dicker’s kick won the game for Texas, but the 48 points the Longhorns gave up were more than enough to generate questions regarding the state of the program. “Understand that the sky is not falling,” head coach Tom Herman said Thursday. “We are plenty good enough that if we play our best in Fort Worth, we’re plenty good enough to win the game.” The Longhorns saved one of its worst performances of the season for Saturday and, as a result, dropped the TCU game after barely surviving against Kansas last week. Texas’ defense, which has been on pace to finish as one of the worst units in school history, once again failed to come through with stops when they were needed the most. TCU’s second-quarter touchdown drive was indicative of Texas’ defense this year. Senior defensive lineman Malcolm Roach had back-to-back tackles for losses, leaving the Horned Frogs with a third-and-17 — the same down and distance LSU converted to ice the game in

eddie gaspar

/ the daily texan staff

Defensive lineman Malcolm Roach battles against the TCU offensive line. The senior captain leads the young defense on and off the field. Week Two. Unfortunately for Texas, history repeated itself as freshman quarterback Max Duggan found sophomore tight end Pro Wells streaking down the middle of the end zone. “It’s always pretty tough and, you know, as a defense you want to be able to get three and out on offense you want to be able to put points on the board at the end of the day,” senior safety Brandon Jones said. “Those guys are on scholarship, and they scheme

and game plan just the same way we do. So, at the end of the day, we just have to make more plays.” “Making plays” has been a common phrase from many of the players. To them, it’s not a matter of scheme or being an underdog against any team they face. It’s simply a matter of doing their job when the time comes. “Everybody keeps talking about how we’re not good and we’re not this, and if you watch film, we actually do good,”

freshman defensive lineman Keondre Coburn said. “It’s just that they make better plays when they’re supposed to.” To Coburn’s credit, he was correct. Texas held TCU to 13 points in the first half. It wasn’t until the second half — when TCU scored on four of its six drives — that the Horned Frogs took the lead. However, this is the fifth consecutive week Texas has given up 30 points to an opponent. The Horned Frogs scored

24 of their 37 points in the second half alone. Texas’ inability to stop teams in critical moments not only hurts the team on the field, but also its leaders and captains. “I take every game personally,” Roach said. “I’m a leader in that locker room. I’m a leader with defense. So I feel like I have to do something better for the team to get better. So I’ll take it very personally.”

Texas heads into the bye week 5–3 hoping for key starters to make their much-needed return with Kansas State waiting on the other side. There’s a laundry list of things Texas can work on during its off week, but the defense is the top priority. Herman realizes that and is very aware of the condition of his defense right now. “We’re not good,” Herman said. “And we need to be better.”

SOCCER

Texas’ Senior Day ends in 2-1 overtime loss to Texas Tech

By Aneesh Namburi @AneeshNamburi

After defeating Iowa State 3-2 on a delayed Friday morning start, a beautiful Sunday afternoon tilt against Texas Tech on Senior Day provided the perfect backdrop to end Texas’ Big 12 home stretch. For the first 88 minutes, winning seemed like a real possibility for the Longhorns as they led the Red Raiders 1-0. That was until a Texas Tech goal sent the Longhorns into overtime before the Red Raiders sealed the deal with another goal. In the end, Texas’ senior day ended with a 2-1 victory for Texas Tech. “Those types of games are gut-wrenching,” Texas head coach Angela Kelly said. “I thought we did some good things and we created enough opportunities, so it’s just going to be a tough one to swallow.” Texas’ weekend started innocently enough, despite the thunderstorms that delayed Thursday’s match against Iowa State

until Friday morning. During the game, sophomore midfielder Julia Grosso, sophomore forward Mackenzie McFarland and junior midfielder Haley Berg all scored in order to get a win and focus on the real draw of the weekend: Texas Tech. A victory against Texas Tech would give Texas sole command of second place in the Big 12 and an opportunity to grab the Big 12 title, while defeat would take away the potential of a trophy with Texas’ name on it. “We always go hard with Tech,” senior defender Atu Mshana said. “There’s always some great competition between us.” The game started out physical right out of the gate, with both teams vying to break the ice and get the first points on the board. Over the course of the game, Mshana, Berg and Sydney Nobles left with injuries, but all returned shortly after. “That’s just hardworking girls,” sophomore forward Cameron Brooks said. “It’s what we stand for as a collective, that we’re not going down without

a fight.” Brooks has been key for the Longhorns since joining the front line and was extremely productive Sunday. Her cross in the 61st minute was redirected into the Tech net by Texas Tech’s Amanda Porter for an own goal. As the match drew to a close, the Red Raiders looked to steal an opportunity that could stretch the game a little further. In the 88’, Charlotte Teeter was able to find the net out of the chaos of a corner kick. And in the overtime period, Macy Schultz was able to grab pass from the top of the 18 into the left side of the box and fire a clean shot past senior goalkeeper Savannah Madden, giving Texas another heartbreaking overtime loss. “At the end, we just need to continue to focus,” Brooks said. “I know sometimes when we get into those deep minutes, we lose focus thinking we have the win, but we can’t let anyone else beat us like that.” For graduating seniors, a 10-minute period during Sunday’s match put a damper on their last weekend at home as current

joshua guenther

/ the daily texan file

Goalkeeper Savannah Madden clears the ball during Texas’ 2-1 loss to Texas Tech on Sunday. Madden had a career-high 10 saves against the Red Raiders. Longhorn athletes. Despite the disappointment, Kelly said they were able to make their mark on the Forty Acres over these past four years both on and off

the field. “This senior class leaves here with a host of accolades both on the academic and athletic side,” Kelly said. “They’re just

wonderful young ladies who are about to graduate here with a top degree. I’m sorry that today’s result didn’t turn out different today.”

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COMICS

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Comics Editors| @THEDAILYTEXAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Monday, October 28, 2019

Crossword

SUDOKUFORYOU 2

1 3 5 4 8 6 4 2 1 6 5 2 9 8 1 7 7 5 1 2 9 3 8 5 9 8 6 9 9 3 2 7

Today’s solution will appear here next issue

5 3 6 9 2 7 4 1 8

9 7 2 1 8 4 3 6 5

1 4 8 3 5 6 7 2 9

7 6 3 5 9 1 2 8 4

Lorem ipsum

8 9 1 7 4 2 6 5 3

2 5 4 8 6 3 9 7 1

4 8 7 6 1 9 5 3 2

6 2 5 4 3 8 1 9 7

3 1 9 2 7 5 8 4 6

ACROSS 1 Lion’s hair 5 Film reel 10 “The King and I” setting 14 One who might be caught off base 15 Squabble 16 Sharp side of a blade 17 One who yaks, yaks, yaks … 19 Passion 20 Big Band ___ 21 Finish line ribbon 22 Prevent from happening 24 12th grader 26 Supreme Court justice ___ Bader Ginsburg 27 … yaks, yaks, yaks … 33 Product Pittsburgh is famous for 36 One fighting the status quo

37 The “G” of L.G.B.T.Q.+ 38 Old-time N.B.A. great Chamberlain 39 Hellos and goodbyes, in Italy 40 Lose one’s footing 41 Sheryl Crow’s “___ I Wanna Do” 42 Museo in Madrid 43 Fashion 44 … yaks, yaks, yaks … 47 Guns, as an engine 48 “Whatever you want!” 52 African nation whose name consists of three U.S. state postal abbreviations 55 Wine holder 57 Museum curator’s deg. 58 Makes the most of

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE T R I B E C A

R E M O R A S

A P P E A L S

M A L W A R E

A G E N D E R

J A B B I N G

C A R U S O

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D O W N R S H O S S I V O P A R I F I C C A M E C I A L I N G I T E A N E L B A C O A R K U N T T H E

P E L L A L R A I S N K E S U R S E A K M A

D I S T R I C T T R I N I S

E A T O V E R

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59 … yaks, yaks, yaks 62 [Ah, me!] 63 Otherworldly 64 Place to order bagels and lox 65 “No problemo” 66 Long, tedious trip 67 Puts two and two together DOWN 1 Aussie pals 2 On the ball 3 Christopher who directed the “Dark Knight” trilogy 4 Member of a benevolent order 5 Vegas casino named for an African locale 6 Comedian’s visual 7 Eye amorously 8 Sí: Spanish :: ___ : French 9 Professors’ addresses 10 “Oh yeah? You and what army?” 11 What a light bulb represents in the comics 12 Culture medium in a lab 13 Disappear, as snow 18 Island with a reef 23 Web programming inits. 25 “Yeah, sure!” 26 Make again, as hotel plans 28 Brambles

Edited by Will Shortz 1

47 53

26 28

No. 0923

61 64

PUZZLE BY ANDREA CARLA MICHAELS

29 Some hippie neckwear 30 Like a fairy tale duckling 31 Horse’s “fly swatter” 32 Bumped-up publicity 33 Q-tip tip 34 Cash register drawer 35 Jazzy Fitzgerald 39 Small fissures 40 Cherry throwaway

42 Expression of relief 43 Something stuck through a vampire’s heart 45 Extremely lowbrow 46 Marching synchronously 49 Plant deeply 50 “Too rich for my blood” 51 Cabs 52 Creative inspiration

53 Home to more than 4.5 billion 54 Turkey drumsticks 55 Baseball Hall-of-Famer Yastrzemski 56 End in ___ (be deadlocked) 60 Little chuckle 61 Abbr. on a food label

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

J O R DY N Z I T M A N

Life&Arts Editor | @JORDYNZITMAN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019

LIFE&ARTS

ALBUM REVIEW | ‘JESUS IS KING’

‘Jesus is King’ worth the wait

Jesus is King

Kanye West’s lastest album fuses gospel and hip-hop genres, creating spiritual experience for listeners.

GENRE

SCORE

By Nataleah Small @nataleahjoy

raise be. Kanye West finally released his latest album, Jesus is King, on Oct. 25. The 27-minute composition weaves together gospel melodies with introspective rap lyrics to create a work of art that feels both spiritual and self-serving. To fully appreciate Kanye’s latest compilation, it is important to consider how the rapper who brought us “Gold Digger” in 2005 is now releasing spiritual odes to Chick-fil-A in 2019. As a musician, Kanye presents himself as a brash, highly opinionated visionary. He is well-known for his most controversial moments, such as his vocal support for President Donald Trump. However, he has also shown vulnerability by speaking openly about his personal struggles. His 2018 album ye is a 23-minute musical explainer about his battle with bipolar disorder. This year Kanye took an intentionally spiritual approach to music. According to Fader, on Jan. 6 he began hosting Sunday Service. During these events, attendees wear Yeezy-designed outfits and sing modern adaptations of classic gospel tunes. Based on the Instagram

Hip-Hop/Rap 27 minutes

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Kanye West dropped Jesus is King on Oct. 25, nearly one month after its scheduled release date. The album combines gospel melodies with introspective raps to create a Sunday Service everyone can attend. videos, the gatherers look like sweatsuit-wearing cult members latching onto every word from their obsessive-compulsive leader. But no one’s complaining, so it must be fun. Jesus is King provides everyday listeners with a front-pew seat at these services.

The album opens with the song “Every Hour,” performed by the Sunday Service Choir. The song is an invocation to worship that could easily fit into a gospel church service. The choir sings the lyrics “Sing till the power of the Lord comes down” with such gusto, it feels like

something magical is bound to take place. The high-energy opener is juxtaposed by the somber opening organ chords of the next song, “Selah.” Kanye begins painting the song with Medieval imagery by calling God “King” and his followers

“the soldiers.” The song quickly snowballs with energy as Kanye quotes Bible verses referencing freedom from bondage followed by an energetic chorus of “hallelujahs” sung by the choir. The chorus is belted with such strength and conviction it

feels cinematic. Then the album takes a turn for the worse with “Closed on Sunday.” Kanye performs spoken-word poetry over melancholy guitar chords as he compares his wife, Kim Kardashian, to a popular restaurant chain. He croons, “Closed on Sunday, you my Chick-fil-A/Hold the selfies, put the ‘Gram away.” The metaphor makes sense, but it’s overly simplistic. It feels like Kanye wants to remove all social media distractions and connect with his spiritual side in order to have a meaningful spiritual experience. But using a restaurant name as a pivotal component of the song’s rhyming scheme feels uncreative. The song “On God” is the prosperity gospel according to Kanye. The controversial belief that God will bless the faithful with wealth and success is accepted by some Protestant Christians. Kanye sings, “‘How you get so much favor on your side?’ ‘Accept Him as your Lord and Savior,’ I replied.” He then lists his many accomplishments. Rappers sing about their successes all the time, so this move feels true to form. But people of faith who have not been “blessed” monetarily as a result of their faith might be turned off by this song. That being said, Jesus is King is the best album Kanye has released since The Life of Pablo in 2016. The music is well produced, the lyrics are honest — albeit self-centered at times — and the album is long enough to present a coherent message and short enough to remain interesting. It was worth the wait and definitely worth a listen.

FILM REVIEW | ‘THE CURRENT WAR’

Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon play legendary inventors in “The Current War.”

‘The Current War’: A movie about electricity with no spark By Avery Wohleb @averywohleb

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For a movie about electricity, it certainly lacks a spark. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, “The Current War” is an attempt to tell the story of when two legendary inventors begin to clash. Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, rival creators and the two biggest names in the early electricity industry, battle to secure their spot as the best in the business. Right from the start, the fluidity of the film is tarnished when abrupt scene editing and awkward camera angles become distracting. Although the cinematography is overall pleasant and consistent in tone, certain shots transition so frequently it leaves many scenes difficult to navigate. There are several moments where characters are awkwardly zoomed in on, which becomes unflattering and silly in a way that minimizes the importance of many scenes. The quick pace and unusual cinematography make the material hard to digest.

Shining through a messy narrative is a talented cast. Benedict Cumberbatch gives a dramatic performance as Edison, fully selling each aspect of the inventor’s broad emotional spectrum, which ranges anywhere from intense grief to triumph. Through each obstacle Edison faces — both as an inventor and a father — Cumberbatch is convincing and raw, partially making up for the jumbled plot crashing around him. Michael Shannon does what he can as Westinghouse, a relatively dull character whose emotional capacity hardly extends beyond his bottled frustration. The film’s writing placed a strong emphasis on Westinghouse’s ability to remain calm under any circumstances. Despite his critical importance to the story, Westinghouse is ultimately an uninteresting character. Westinghouse seemed to exist in the plot for no purpose other than to be Edison’s rival, which is horribly invalidating to the legacy of a man who won the war of currents. Tom Holland is able to

The Current War GENRE

Drama 1 hr 47m

RUNTIME SCORE

bring some clarity to a movie that otherwise lacks it. Portraying Edison’s young secretary and personal confidant, Holland perfectly encapsulates a youthful energy while remaining perhaps the wisest character in the film. Embodying a sense of humanity that is otherwise absent, Holland sells his performance as a figure of humility, successfully contrasting the headstrong inventors who begin to lose sight of it. The biggest flaw in the movie comes from its inability to clarify an already -complex time in history. The film lacks cohesive storytelling and instead focuses on several unnecessary subplots. Rather than emphasizing the primary story of Edison and Westinghouse’s competition over the mass distribution of electricity, the film C U R R E N T PAGE 5