Serving The University Of Texas At Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Volume 121, Issue 55
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
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The chemistry department recieved $2.5 million in funding to create a new chair position.
UT must respond to last Friday’s sit-in themselves, not through the Texan.
Texas looks to move past a loss to TCU and enjoy its second bye week this season.
What makes a taco “authentic?” Students weigh in on best and worst taco joints.
CAMPUS
CAMPUS
Texas Union building closed due to flooding in Underground
Students protest pro-fossil fuel lecturer
By Laura Morales @lamor_1217
The Texas Union will be closed until Sunday due to a water leak that flooded the Union Underground. James Buckley, director of facilities and operations for University Unions, said the Union noticed the leak on Friday, and the Union’s facility operators worked over the weekend to uncover the cause of the water leakage. The Mechanical Distribution division of UT Utilities and Energy Management operates and maintains a network of distribution piping around campus. Buckley said the division eventually shut off the water Monday at 9 a.m. to prevent further flooding. “As of right now, (the source of the leak) is unknown,” Buckley said. “We have a lot of people working on it to determine the cause and rectify it. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of jack myer
Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of details besides we got a problem, and we are working on it.” JAMES BUCKLEY
university unions facilities and operations director
details besides we got a problem, and we are working on it.” Mechanical Distribution has been pumping water out of the Underground, but the division has not assessed the damage to the building, Buckley said. Buckley said University U N I O N PAGE 3
/ the daily texan staff
Students gather and protest Alex Epstein’s lecture in the Engineering Education & Research Center on Oct. 28, 2019. Epstein came to UT to support the use of fossil fuels and advocate against alternative forms of energy.
Environmentalists push back, protest against lecturer Alex Epstein. By Graysen Golter @graysen_golter
rotesters stood outside the Mulva Auditorium Monday holding signs reading “People and Planet Before Profit” and “100% Renewable” in protest of a fossil fuel industry supporter’s guest lecture. The UT Center for Enterprise and Policy Analytics at the McCombs School of Business hosted the lecture
in the Cockerell School of Engineering, where Alex Epstein spoke to a full Mulva Auditorium about the risks in using alternative means of energy and why he supports the fossil fuel industry. In the small hallway outside, about 30 students and environmental activists advocated against Epstein’s claims against the efficacy of renewable energy. Epstein, the president of the Center for Industrial Progress, said during the lecture that he supports alternative energy such as
nuclear power but said they are not reliable enough to support billions of people. He said fossil fuels accounted for 80% of U.S. energy consumption in 2018, claimed fossil fuel is the world’s fastest growing source of energy and said radical change in energy usage with methods such as solar and wind would result in catastrophe. Protest organizer Kerry Cook said the protest saw the attendance of community environmental groups such as the Austin Sierra Club, Environment Texas and the
Citizens’ Climate Lobby, as well as student groups, such as the Extinction Rebellion ATX and Students Fighting Climate Change. Cook, a UT geological sciences professor, said she organized the protest to push back against lectures like Epstein’s, which she said often go without fact-checking or moderation. “The overall goal is general education but also pushing back against this kind of self-interest,” Cook said. “(It comes) in the face of all the P R O T E S T PAGE 2
CITY
CITY
APD unit aims to reduce Riverside crime
New census bureau offices promote participation
By Lauren Girgis @laurengirgis
A new Austin Police Department unit created last month is hitting the streets of Riverside to reduce crime in the neighborhood through large-scale projects. RISE, which stands for Region 3 Innovative Safety Engagement, was created as part of the Riverside Togetherness Project. In April, APD received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to launch the long-term program, which examines crime in a two-square-mile area of Riverside, where roughly 4% of all crime in Austin occurs. “We looked at the different hot spot areas in Austin, and we compared current data to historic data and located several hotspots and determined that the most competitive area would be Riverside,” APD grants manager Kyran Fitzgerald said. “Then we met with community members and stakeholders and determined that we would go ahead and submit an application (to the Department of Justice, and) it was successful.” RISE is a six-officer unit attached to a regular patrol unit, said senior police officer John Nelson. Each of the six officers has one area of responsibility. The six areas are accountability, business engagement, enforcement, community engagement, environmental issues and public relations. Nelson said instead of constantly responding to 911 calls in the area, the RISE unit officers will examine issues, speak with community stakeholders, review crime and call data to identify crime patterns in their area of responsibility. “In the sector that I worked before, I can go call to call all night long,” Nelson said. “We’re very busy, we’re shortstaffed, and we’re dealing with a lot of
By Victoria May @toricmay
steph sonik
issues. If I have to run and go to the next (call), frequently we’ll try, but I don’t have time to sit with somebody and provide longer term care.” Nelson’s area of responsibility, environmental issues, requires that he examine landscaping, lighting and building features that don’t offer natural surveillance or create areas of concealment where illegal activity may occur. “We’ll go meet with business owners in an area where we’re noticing a high level of crime, and they can talk about whether or not they have
/ the daily texan staff
security measures in place (or) if they want to improve their lighting in a back alley,” Nelson said. “That’s obviously an environmental issue as well.” Nelson said part of the unit’s responsibilities include increasing trust between law enforcement and the immigrant population through outreach events that educate immigrants of their rights when calling 911 and reporting crimes. Alex Meed, a public affairs graduate student and Riverside resident, said he A P D PAGE 2
Inaccuracy in the upcoming census count could potentially cost the state millions of dollars, so Travis County is increasing outreach efforts, Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said. The U.S. Census Bureau has opened offices in Travis County, among other locations, just in time to conduct the 2020 Census, which will begin on April 1. The new U.S. Census Bureau offices opening in Texas will manage operations and community involvement across 20 surrounding counties. Despite offices opening in two counties, Texas lawmakers have not set aside any money to ensure all residents participate, DeBeauvoir said. The census is used by the federal government to allocate more than $675 billion to state-funded resources such as infrastructure, education and healthcare on a state-by-state basis. Bruce Elfant, Travis County tax assessor-collector, said although he would have appreciated monetary support from the state, he is proud of Travis County’s efforts to raise money to support an accurate census count through private donations. So far, the county has raised over $600,000. “Greater census participation
means a more accurate account of the demographics within the state,” Elfant said. “A more accurate count of the residents within Texas potentially means receiving an even greater sum of money from the federal government. This is money we’re entitled to. This is money we could be using to better our community for all residents.” DeBeauvoir said Travis County is putting a premium on census participation, especially since typically underserved communities can experience even greater inaccessibility to essential resources. Even an undercount of a fraction of a percent could warrant the loss of millions of dollars, DeBeauvoir said. DeBeauvoir also said people across the nation will now be able to complete the census online, making it even easier to get involved. “We don’t necessarily have a blank checkbook, but Travis County is really trying to step it up in terms of community members’ involvement and the census,” DeBeauvoir said. “The opening of a census office in Austin just exemplifies the kind of attention we are giving to greater participation. Given the potential funding from the government for programs that everybody uses, such as Medicare or the public school system, participation in the census C E N S U S PAGE 2