Serving The University Of Texas At Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Volume 121, Issue 60
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
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Taqueria closes after 20 years of serving students in North Campus.
UT must fairly compensate its student-athletes for the work they do on and off the field.
Tom Herman discusses injuries, team bonding and confidence ahead of KSU.
“A Room Full Of Nothing” photography director talks post-grad progress.
NATION
CITY
UT medical executive to be nominated for FDA commissioner
New bus routes approved Planning Commission approves proposal for high-frequency transit. By Sara Johnson @skjohn1999
By Emily Hernandez @emilylhernandez
President Donald Trump announced Friday his intent to nominate an executive at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as the 24th commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration, according to the White House website. Stephen Hahn, a chief medical executive, would be taking the place of former commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who left in April. By intending to nominate Hahn, Trump is passing over Norman Sharpless, who has received support to be the next commissioner from four past commissioners in a September letter addressed to Trump. Sharpless has been serving as the acting commissioner. As FDA commissioner, Hahn would oversee policy for current health issues, such as the opioid crisis and recent cases of lung disease from vaping electronic cigarettes, as well as the regulation of everything from food to medical devices to over-thecounter drugs. Hahn has no policy experience, but several groups and authorities have commended his nomination. “I’m pleased that @POTUS has announced his intent to nominate Stephen Hahn to lead the @US_FDA,” tweeted Alex Azar, the secretary of Health and Human Services. “Stephen is a talented, experienced leader whose scientific accomplishments make him well prepared to lead FDA in its vital public health mission.” Azar also tweeted that while Hahn prepares for the position, assistant secretary for health Brett Giroir will act as the FDA commissioner. The Federal Vacancies Reform Act requires those serving in an acting
u st i n Ci t y Council’s Planning Commission passed a proposal 11-1 last week that would increase high-frequency bus routes. At a special called meeting over Land Development Code Revisions, planning commissioner Todd Shaw promoted the increase of high-frequencybus routes fromm
four routes to 11 routes as “a way to ensure our (new) corridors are successful.” “The goal is to have robust, high-capacity transit in these areas,” Shaw said at the meeting. “For that to work, you’re going to need the density. (The proposal) is really trying to make that a reality, no matter what part of town you’re in.” According to a map of the proposed new routes, two of the routes would run along Guadalupe Street,
which would allow for more reliable transportation for students who travel across the city to get to class. Neuroscience senior Lara Cangir lives near where one of the lines would run, and she said having more reliable transportation would make her more comfortable while going about her day. “My classes and work have a lot of very involved and intensive parts to
them that I sometimes have to be on campus for,” Cangir said. “It’s hard work, and I don’t want to be waiting a really long time for a bus to get home.” Cangir said she would like to see stop times decreased across all transit and thinks diversifying the kinds of transportation used will help do that. “If it were easier to use smaller things that don’t need to take up too much of the road like bikes and scooters, that’s more space for buses to run in the city instead, and it would be healthier for the air,” Cangir said. Shaw said the increase of transit accessibility, which is a goal of CapMetro’s Connections 2025 plan, would help decrease problems increased population density might cause. “More people are coming into Austin,” Shaw said. M E T R O PAGE 3
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barb daly
/ the daily texan staff
UNIVERSITY
CITY
COLA appoints first diversity director
Austin launches webpage to track e-cigarette injuries
By Laura Morales @lamor_1217
By Graysen Golter
The College of Liberal Arts, UT’s second largest college, created a new position this semester as a mediator for faculty and staff and to promote diverse recruitment. COLA dean Ann Huff Stevens appointed Monique Pikus as the inaugural director of diversity and organizational climate, who will also serve as the college’s Title IX and Office for Inclusion and Equity liaison. Pikus is responsible for communicating the best practices for diverse faculty recruitment and providing consultation to faculty search committees. Stevens said they needed a mediator to coordinate all the diversity efforts for the college’s more than 500 tenure-track faculty and 10,000 students. “This position was needed to help us better track and address diversity and climate issues across such a large organization,” Stevens said. “Monique is uniquely qualified to help our college continue to build a more equitable working and learning environment and aid our efforts to retain and recruit diverse faculty and student cohorts.” As Title IX liaison, Pikus said she will be keeping track of ongoing investigations and making recommendations to the dean based on patterns of behavior she sees. She said she is currently meeting with the Lib-
The Austin Public Health department launched a webpage on the Austin government website last Wednesday to track the current trend of lung injuries related to electronic cigarette. According to the webpage, Austin Public Health has reported 13 cases of lung injuries in the Travis County area, doubling from the six reported last month. There are currently 165 reported cases and one death in Texas, while there are almost 2,000 reported cases and 37 deaths nationwide. Anna Lassmann, a public information specialist at Austin Public Health, said she created the webpage and will update it every Friday to provide a hub for statistics, public recommendations and other education resources for residents. She said the data comes from collaboration with partners such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and local hospitals. “We were receiving quite an influx of interest (and) inquiries about updates on it, so I thought it’d be a good idea to have a central resource hub to provide those updates,” Lassmann said. Lassmann said Austin
@graysen_golter
copyright kaitlyn trowbridge, and reproduced with permission
Monique Pikus was appointed as the inaugural director of diversity and organizational climate for the College of Liberal Arts this semester. eral Arts Council and conducting focus groups and surveys of faculty and students to gather information about the college’s concerns. She said she is open to concerns, suggestions and requests for conflict resolution from the liberal arts community about issues of diversity. “I don’t believe (in) going into a position and assuming that I know where the work needs to be done,” Pikus said. “I want to take the time to listen to the members of the community.” Pikus has also been meeting with faculty to discuss issues they have seen and is coordinating the
different departments in their approaches to promoting diversity. David Schnyer, professor and chair of the psychology department, said he has already worked with Pikus to promote diverse research and faculty recruitment. Schnyer was appointed to chair this semester and has established a departmental diversity committee, which has spoken with Pikus about recruitment efforts. “We definitely need to increase our hiring among minorities, and part of that is to make sure they are treated fairly when it comes to promotion,
tenure, salaries and evaluations,” Schnyer said. For the past two years, Pikus was a lecturer and the associate director of the Liberal Arts Honors Program. She has done academic research over educational and professional inequities and said she not only wants to increase diversity but increase equality in experience and opportunities. “Its not just about the numbers,” Pikus said. “It’s about the inclusions and making sure everyone feels like they belong.” D I R E C T O R PAGE 3
Public Health will launch a campaign this week that will push back on the online e-cigarette advertisements people see. Lara Anton, press officer at the Texas Department of State Health Services, said the department is tracking vaping-related injuries, which are not technically reportable conditions, by hav-
Almost all (the people in these cases) were hospitalized, and many required intensive care ... These (symptoms) develop very rapidly.” LARA ANTON press officer
ing local medical professionals and health departments report patients with symptoms fitting the case definition, including coughing, shortness of breath and chest pain. The case definition criteria includes e-cigarette use within the past 90 days and a E - C I G PAGE 2