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
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NEWS
MEGAN MENCHACA
News Editor | @THEDAILYTEXAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019
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UNIVERSITY
Faculty weighs in on UT’s future at forum By Aria Jones @ariajonesetc
UT staff members listed student employment after graduation, stress culture management and increased collaboration between departments as potential goals for the University’s next ten years at the Council for TEXAS Impact staff engagement forum Monday. UT President Gregory Fenves announced TEXAS Impact in fall 2019 as a council to research the University’s priorities for the next 10 years. There are two University staff members, three students and more than 20 faculty members on the council. More than 30 staff members gathered at the McCombs School of Business for the third and final broad invitation staff TEXAS Impact forum. Staff were asked to answer questions about UT’s impact on the world, how the college is preparing students and research ideas that will make UT a global leader of change. Sandra Catlett, chair of the staff council, said the initiative is exciting because staff aren’t always included in this type of future planning initiative. “It’s really special to me that we were invited to participate in this process,” Catlett said at the meeting. “If they ask for our opinion, then we need to tell them
jack myer
/ the daily texan staff
UT staff members gather in the McCombs School of Business to brainstorm and discuss what they want to see the University achieve in the next decade on Monday, Nov. 4, 2019. because otherwise they’ll stop asking.” Larrimie Gordon, chair of staff council operations, said he wants to see staff work more collaboratively with other employees at the college. “It’s great that we’re part of this process, but it still does seem a little bit lopsided in the council itself,” Gordon, employee engagement
coordinator for Facilities Services, said at the meeting. “There are over twice as many staff as there are faculty (at UT). Administrative staff in all of the academic units have probably just as much impact, if not more in some cases, on the students that come to campus.” Gordon said forums like the one Monday should
happen more often, so staff members from different parts of the University can be more aware of what’s happening on campus as a whole. Melissa Taylor, a member of the council and assistant dean at the College of Natural Sciences, said she has seen several themes reiterated at meetings with staff, including the need for equity and
access, concerns over the climate crisis and sustainability and UT as a model for the city, state and country. “I was intimidated to lead these conversations because it is so broad and vague and thought that would be paralyzing, but people have no problem jumping in and thinking, ‘10-year goal? I’ve got ideas,’” Taylor said.
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Faculty members gathered at a panel Monday to discuss the challenges they faced as women of color in academia and how they persevered through systematic obstacles in their careers. Presented by the UT Senate of College Councils Faculty Affairs Committee, the panel served to educate and inform students on the experience of women of color in academic careers spanning from sociology to journalism. All of the professors that volunteered to speak at the panel shared their life stories. Kathleen McElroy, former New York Times journalist and director of the School of Journalism, said being a woman of color definitely comes with its struggles when institutions are based on white patriarchy. “I am always aware of what it is to be the other,” McElroy said. “When I was starting out, I never had a professor of
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brittany mendez
/ the daily texan staff
From left, Ph.D. candidate Natassja Gunasena, assistant professor of African and African Diaspora Studies, Mónica Jiménez, journalism director Kathleen McElroy, and Liberal Arts Honors associate director Monique Payne Pikus discussed in a panel on Nov. 4, 2019 on being a woman of color in professional academia. color, and I never had a woman professor of color at all.” McElroy said she is in academia to let students know it is important to see those with and without privilege find
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lack of alternative diagnoses. She said 25% of the 165 Texas cases were minors, 75% were males and 9 out of 10 of the patients reported using THC and marijuana. “Almost all (the people in these cases) were hospitalized, and many required intensive care,” Anton said. “These (symptoms) develop very rapidly.” Austin City Council member Kathie Tovo said after having
common ground. She said it is a powerful thing to be a woman of color in academia, especially since it is a predominantly white, male field. Sharmila Rudrappa,
sociology professor and researcher, talked about her background in India and the pressure immigrant culture still places on students to pursue fields in the sciences.
Rudrappa talked about how she switched from studying medical science to studying social science and the struggle that came with that decision. “My parents were really worried I was going to be jobless because I wanted to become a sociologist in America,” Rudrappa said. “But parents worry for you because they want a better life for you … it does shape one very strongly, being a woman of color.” Vivek Pokkula and Kevin Kim, co-chairs of the Faculty Affairs Committee, said one of the things they lacked in events last year was representation for minorities. Pokkula, a finance and government sophomore, and Kim, a psychology and neuroscience junior, said the Senate of College Councils wanted to promote diversity. “It’s a really good way for students to get experience and interact with professors and talk to them about their experiences, especially if they’re interested in academia in the future,” Pokkula said.
banned e-cigarettes where normal cigarettes were banned and having raised the tobacco purchasing age to 21, she would be open to expanding local education outreach efforts and the city budgets to further cut down on e-cigarette use. She said she would be investigating to make sure Austin Public Health is working closely with UT to bring the same vaping education to students. “It’s important for (UT) and the other colleges in this area to also be aware … of the dangers,” Tovo said.
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copyright md anderson cancer center, and reproduced with permission President Trump announced his intent to nominate Stephen Hahn of University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as FDA commissioner.
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/ the daily texan staff
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position to serve for no more than 210 days, which was Friday for Sharpless. According to an Health and Human Services statement Friday, Sharpless will be returning to his role as the director of the National Cancer Institute. Hahn specializes in lung cancer and sarcoma, according to MD Anderson’s website. He served as the chair for the department of radiation oncology, or radiation therapy for cancer, from 2015 to 2017 and
was appointed as deputy president and chief operating officer in 2017. He was promoted to chief medical executive a year later, according to the website. Hahn is credited with pulling the center out of financial loss and ethical controversies caused by former president Ronald DePinho. According to MD Anderson, DePinho resigned in 2017 after the 2016 UT System Monthly Financial Report found the center lost $405 million over 10 months. Hahn has not yet been confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and it is not clear when the confirmation will occur.
NEWS
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019 STUDENT LIFE
North campus taqueria closes after 20 years By Sara Johnson @skjohn1999
A local taqueria in North Campus will close on Nov. 14 after 20 years of service to UT students. Changos Taqueria, located at 3023 Guadalupe Street, opened in 1998 as a fast, casual branch of its parent restaurant, Manuel’s. Co-owner Jennifer McNevin said she and two others made the decision to close to pursue more wide-reaching business opportunities. “It’s not that we didn’t want to keep Changos open because we really did,” McNevin said. “It was a tough call to make. Ultimately, it came down to what we thought would be best in the long run, and that meant closing Changos.” McNevin said the biggest opportunity for Manuel’s after Changos closes will be to start packaging their authentic Mexican food to be sold in Austin grocery stores. “We’ve toyed with the idea for a while, going off what we’ve been hearing about how much people in Austin love local food,” McNevin said. “We thought if we could take that and reproduce it in a way that people could have access to our food in their own home, that’s kind of like getting to take the Austin food scene home with you.” Manuel’s opened in 1984 and now operates locations on Congress Avenue and in Great Hills. McNevin said they emphasize more authentic Mexican-style recipes rather than Tex-Mex, and
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“We’ve seen a lot of growth for the city overall over time. If we address the housing need and none of the other parts of living
jamie hwang
Changos Taqueria, a local Mexican restaurant along Guadalupe Street North of campus, is closing. the owners tried to translate that into Changos’ casual format. Changos’ menu, according to their website, features specialized tacos, appetizers called botanas and housemade aguas frescas. “The blending of Mexican cooking into the Tex-Mex style has made people in America more aware of what food and shared meals mean in Mexican culture,” said Martha Menchaca, a professor in UT’s Center for Mexican American Studies. “It’s
in a metropolitan area, we’re not doing our job to make sure Austinites are smooth-sailing in day-to-day life.” Karla Taylor, the Austin Transportation Department chief of staff, said one of the primary concerns for her
still important to make it clear they’re two different things. You won’t find some foods served the same way in Mexico as you would here in Texas just because the regions have history that overlaps.” North Campus resident Emily Wilson said she liked the convenience of Changos and is disappointed it’s closing. “It’s easy to grab a quick bite to eat if I don’t really have the breakfast at home, and then stop by Wheatsville
department is figuring out how to expand city transit without disrupting traffic flow. She said she supports the route expansion because it is largely focused on moving citizens more efficiently. “Any move for bigger buses on
UNIVERSITY
UHS appoints chief medical officer after almost yearlong selection process
gabriel lopez
/ the daily texan file
University Health Services has chosen Dr. Terrance Hines to serve as the new chief medical officer. By Brynne Herzfeld @brynneherzfeld
After searching since early 2019, University Health Services has chosen a new chief medical officer, who assumed the position Monday. Dr. Terrance Hines, a clinical assistant professor of Population Health, replaced Dr. Melinda McMichael, who served as interim chief medical officer for the past 18 months. “We were really looking for someone with both strong leadership skills who can manage a large and complicated university medical clinic and also somebody who has excellent clinical skills,” said Chris Brownson, director of the Counseling and Mental Health Center and ast sociate vice president of student . affairs. “He’s somebody who l cares immensely about the pao tients that are under his care.” As chief medical officer, Hines’ e l g d director m continues from page 1 d r Pikus said she is familiar with the feeling of exclusion as a d rwoman of color. She said she remembers feeling excluded while
role combines administrative work with medical practice. He is responsible for budgeting and operational duties at UHS, as well as seeing students in clinics for medical visits, Hines said. “I’m very excited about joining UHS and being part of the University of Texas,” Hines said. “Professionally, it is an opportunity that I think will allow me to grow and to use the skills I’ve gained over the last few years in a new and exciting way.” Brownson assembled the selection committee to carry out the search for the new chief medical officer. Led by Dr. Elisa Spradlin, the committee consisted of staff members, administrators and students. Once the committee narrowed the selections to three finalists, the finalists were invited to the University for interviews, Brownson said. “During those interviews on campus, we involved a variety of campus stakeholders,” Brownson said. “We had sessions with
students, sessions with different parts of the University Health Services staff, sessions with campus partners that UHS works closely with … We really got broad input from all over campus in making this decision.” One of the students involved in the committee was Omar Vayani, president of the UHS Student Health Advisory Committee. As part of the committee, biochemistry senior Vayani helped vet and interview the applicants. Vayani said one of the important traits the committee looked for was someone with an efficient, open and welcoming leadership style who is able to take different ideas into account. “We also wanted somebody who can be a friendly face, somebody who can connect with the student body, understand their concerns and understand what we are going through as students on campus,” Vayani said. “Dr. Hines seems to fit the role perfectly.”
working toward her undergraduate degree at Duke University when peers and mentors would ask her, “Why are you here?” “That was the first time when I felt like I didn’t belong,” Pikus said. “It stuck with me. I asked myself, ‘Why are you stopping
me? I am a student just like you. I am not doing anything suspicious.’ I don’t want our students to have that feeling, and if they do, I want them to feel comfortable to come to me so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
(Co-Op) for groceries or maybe share some queso with my friends,” said Wilson, a youth and community studies sophomore. “It’s not like there’s no way to do that in Austin anymore, but it sucks that it’s not going to be right there anymore.” McNevin said although the restaurant is leaving North Campus, she hopes whatever ventures they make next will still appeal to students. McNevin said she wants to “keep in touch with that friendly
these routes would take up more space on the roads, which I don’t think anyone wants,” Taylor said. “This is still going to increase capacity in a way that spreads it over more space, which should be a lot healthier for traffic overall. More approachable.”
/ the daily texan staff
and welcoming community” of students. “It says a lot to me that this has been able to last as long as it did, and I’m thankful for how enthusiastic everyone has been about Changos all this time,” McNevin said. “Students are a really loyal customer base. When they love something, they love it, and they’re vocal about it, and if whatever happens next brings us back to them, that’ll be a win in my book.”
Shaw said all amendments are still being discussed by the Planning Commission and will be passed on to City Council for approval at a later date. He said he hopes whatever is finally approved by the council is something citizens will find useful.
“That’s why we’re all here, really,” Shaw said. “We’re here to make Austin better, so we always have to keep the people in mind and make sure we’re thinking not just as city leaders, but as people who live here.”
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SPENCER BUCKNER
Editor-In-Chief | @THEDAILYTEXAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019
COLUMN
OPINION FORUM
helen brown/ the daily texan staff
UT still has work to do to combat bisexual erasure By Jazzlynn Derrick Contributor
coleen solis
/ the daily texan staff
UT cannot continue to exploit, overwork student-athletes By Neelesh Rathi Columnist
Who’s still peeved that we lost to TCU? Who’s hyped to crush Kansas State on Saturday? Who’s frustrated that instead of compensating student-athletes who work so hard in those games, UT is spending $175 million to expand the football stadium they play in — $175 million more than those students get for their efforts? The most common refrain favoring the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s treatment of student-athletes — treatment that nets the organization approximately a billion dollars a year — appears on their website: The collegiate sports system provides benefits to student-athletes. Chief among these “benefits” is attending college often on scholarship, the argument goes. However, this “benefit” is limited. “Being an athlete affects which academic career you want to pursue because of the rigorous schedule,” said Jase Febres, a UT communication studies junior and shooting guard, who’s on a full scholarship. For Febres and other student-athletes, college has strings attached. If they choose classes over athletics, they lose their scholarship. If they choose athletics over classes, they lose their education, followed by their scholarship. “You can’t truly put 100% into one because the other will drop, so it depends on what you value more — sports or education,” Febres said. The current system treats student-athletes like they’re not human, like they don’t have reasonable limits on their time and abilities. The NCAA allows 20 hours per week for “countable athletically related activities.” But this “limit” doesn’t include hours of strength and aerobic training exercises or
hours of travel time for away games, said Febres and Dr. Devin Walker, the director of Global Leadership and Social Impact at the UT Division of Diversity and Community Engagement and an organizer for the Black Student-Athlete Summit. Walker said these loopholes are constantly exploited in order to further overwork the students.
The current system treats student-athletes like they’re not human, like they don’t have reasonable limits on their time and abilites.” Student-athletes work for no pay, so they can keep going to classes, which take up even more time and effort. Furthermore, they can’t take full advantage of these classes because they’re so burdened by the college sports system. And this is exactly why the NCAA concocted the term “student-athlete.” Perhaps the cheapest refrain of supporters of the current system is, “Student-athletes are students; they are not employees.” This interpretation, from NCAA president Mark Emmert, is purposefully misleading. UT refers to its employed students as “student employees” and pays them nonetheless. The label intends to hide the fact that these “student-athletes” are human beings and thereby justify treating them as less than human. All people deserve to be paid for their work. Last week, the NCAA voted to allow student-athletes “to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness … in a manner consistent
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.
with the collegiate model,” which is a troubling caveat. As with the term “student-athlete,” the NCAA chose its words carefully: “The collegiate model” is the current, “amateur” model. “Compensation for athletics performance or participation is (still) impermissible,” meaning the profits from student-athletes’ labor still accrue to the NCAA, not them. So in addition to academics and athletics, if student-athletes want to take advantage of this change, they’ll have to self market — even more work. This remedy is further flawed because most student-athletes can’t even profit from self-marketing because they’re not well-known, Walker said. Walker and others anticipate the profits will largely accrue to the bestknown sports, such as football and basketball, which are the most profitable for the NCAA and college athletics departments. Then the profit will further fracture, and most of it would go to the best-known athletes within those sports. This could divide student-athletes when they should be united in their shared struggles. Sports are entertainment, and entertainment is a business. Businesses pay their employees for the value of their work. The massive revenue some UT coaches and the University have gained has to be redistributed to fairly compensate student-athletes, and there are UT organizations well-positioned to negotiate what’s truly fair if the profiteers will come to the table. But if the NCAA and college athletics departments, including UT’s, refuse to even consider fair, proportionate compensation, remember that you — the spectator and fan — are the engine that keeps this machine chugging along. You provide the value, and you determine who gets it. Neelesh Rathi is a Black Studies senior from Austin.
GALLERY
charlie hyman
/ the daily texan staff
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Early in my freshman year, one of my first lesbian friends at UT said to me in the Gender and Sexuality Center, “If you slept with a man, that means you’re not Gold Star anymore.” I had been out as a lesbian for three years before then, but upon joining a new and exciting queer community, I began to understand that my attractions were broader than I had previously believed. I confided in my queer friends, who I expected to support me. Instead, I found I had been judged as a less valuable queer person because I had done something they perceived as “straight.” I was no longer golden. I had been tarnished in their eyes. The LGBTQ community at UT has been central to my experience here. My queer friends have shown me the depth and value of platonic love, grown with me and supported me, and I’ve tried to do the same for them. However, it’s this same vibrant community that has also at times erased and degraded the identities of bisexuals. I’ve been told by members of our queer community that bisexuals are “straight-passing,” and therefore don’t experience as much discrimination as gay men and lesbians. I’ve heard from members of our community that someone is not really bisexual if they haven’t had sex with men and women. I’ve been told that bisexuals are transphobic, and only pansexuals are trans-inclusive. All of these things are false.
We must ask ourselves what our queer community loses when it excludes the breadth of bisexual experience.”
To clear things up, it’s a form of oppression for bisexuals to move through the world with their identity denied or unacknowledged, not a privilege. To be assumed straight by anyone is erasure, but it’s particularly egregious when this comes from within our queer community. Bisexuals are bisexual regardless of who they’ve had sex with or been in a relationship with. A bisexual who is in a relationship with someone of a different gender is not in a heterosexual relationship, they’re in a relationship. Calling it anything else erases their queerness. Bisexuals can be more attracted to certain genders over others or attracted to all genders equally, and none are more or less valid as queer folks as a result. Bisexuals aren’t inherently transphobic because trans men are men and trans women are women. Bisexuals can be attracted to gender nonconforming folks too because the “bi-” in bisexual doesn’t refer to there only being two genders — similar to the way the “bi-” in bilingual doesn’t refer to there only being two languages. Implying that bisexuals are only attracted to cismen and ciswomen erases the vast range of attractions we experience. I know dozens of bisexuals, and none of them can say they’ve never felt pressure to conceal their bisexuality in queer spaces — queer spaces at UT included. We’ve felt pressure to avoid mentioning different-gender partners. To over rely on our same-gender loving experiences to relate to our queer peers. To overemphasize our dislike of men. To treat our different-gender loving experiences as embarrassing mistakes. These are examples of ways we’re asked to participate in our own erasure, and the reason why I believe we struggle so hard to foster a thriving bisexual community. The cumulative stress we carry from this stigma is probably why we’re more likely than our gay and lesbian siblings to have considered or attempted suicide. Despite the fact that we are the largest group of the LGBTQ acronym, we experience erasure so strong that we sometimes ask ourselves if we really exist. I love UT’s queer community with my whole heart, but too often I don’t feel that it loves me back. I hope for a queer community where bisexuals can be open about our experiences and still be loved and respected, where we can find each other because we aren’t being erased. We must ask ourselves what our queer community loses when it excludes the breadth of bisexual experience. As we continue work to cultivate our queer community, my hope is that we can be more mindful of the ways we perpetuate erasure and stigma against our bisexual comrades. Derrick is a sociology senior.
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LIFE&ARTS
Life&Arts Editor | @JORDYNZITMAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019
CAMPUS
FILM
UT alum debuts film at Austin Film Festival Charlie Pearce reflects on UT’s influence on his filmmaking career following premiere of his first feature film. By Mackenzie Dyer @mackdyerr
harlie Pearce’s filmYneeded work. After turning in his firstYYproject in a UT production class junior year, Pearce’s professor told him to make it in the industry, he needed to improve. “That hurt, but it opened my eyes to what filmmaking takes,” Pearce said. “I learned how to think critically and objectively about my work.” After graduating in 2014 from the University with a degree in photojournalism and radio-television-film, Pearce has since worked as a director of photography on several feature films. Most notably, he worked with Duncan Coe on “A Room Full of Nothing,” which officially premiered at the Austin Film Festival in October. “This was the first feature film I ever shot,” Pearce said. “I’ve shot three since then, but ultimately my goal was to shoot a feature and learn and grow from it.” The story of “A Room Full of Nothing” comes from a personal place for co-director, actor and producer Coe. The narrative follows an
copyright duncan coe, and reproduced with permission
Charlie Pearce, UT photojournalism and radio-television-film graduate was known on the set of “A Room Full of Nothing” for his willingness to do anything to get the shot. artistic couple who, after receiving scathing reviews of their work, wish for everyone in the world to disappear. They wake up to find they are the last two people on Earth. “(The film) goes from this sort of ‘sarcastic look at the life of struggling artists’ to this psychological drama of ‘be careful what you wish for,’” Coe said. Coe and Pearce met while working as crew members on a local film and worked together on many other sets. “It seemed to be in this genre-fluid area I could relate to and make cool cinematography with,” Pearce said. “(Coe) hit me up to see if I would donate, and I (said), ‘I’ll do more than that. I want to shoot your movie.’” As director of photography, Pearce worked with the lighting team, production designer, Coe and his
co-director Elena Weinberg to “take (their) vision and translate that into technical aspects.” “(Pearce) has an eye for what filmmakers want,” said Ivy Meehan, the female lead of the film. “Most importantly, he can achieve it in what appears to be an effortless manner.” This effortless manner of delivering a visual result comes from listening to cast and crew, Meehan said. In addition to working on and learning from the project, Pearce said getting into this year’s festival felt like an accomplishment that would make his past professors proud. “UT gave me a network of people I still work with,” Pearce said. “It also gave me the self-awareness and objectivity of my own work and realizing there’s a certain standard I need to reach.”
Students find relief in comedy on campus By Catherine Cardenas @c_aaattt
Getting a laugh out of an audience may seem like a challenge to master for some, but for students in the Har-D-Har improvisation troupe, it’s their weekly therapy. Luis Frasson-Nori, supply chain management senior, founded Har-D-Har in spring of 2017 and has seen membership grow from just three students to over 20 in the course of his time at UT. Frasson-Nori said he originally started doing improv in high school to impress a girl he had a crush on. “When we started Har-DHar my freshman year, I only knew the basics, but now it takes up a good part of my life,” Frasson-Nori said. “It’s become a much bigger part of my life than trying to impress a cute girl.” Now Frasson-Nori said he uses it as a way to escape the normality of being a business student and step outside of the box others put him in. “In the business world, we’re kind of expected to do (our) job and go home and not bring your whole self to
“Improv is a lot more forgiving than stand-up because with stand-up you have to have material, and it has to be good,” Rodriguez said. “If it doesn’t get any laughs, it’s because it’s not good, or you didn’t deliver it correctly.” Frassoni-Nori said the inspiration behind improv scenes tends to come from current life experiences, and stand-up tends to derive from crazy personal stories. “(The show being) grounded in the reality of our lives, as it’s happening now, allows for better comedy,” Frasson-Nori said. Despite the competitive element that normally exists within comedy, Frasson-Nori said the troupe couldn’t care less about competition — they’re just there for the laughs. “There are teams that win and teams that lose, but no one cares,” Frasson-Nori said. “The point isn’t winning, it’s having fun. That culture attracts a certain group of people that just doesn’t exist, in my experience, anywhere else on campus or in any other group I’m involved in.”
conor duffy
/ the daily texan file
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work,” Frasson-Nori said. “Improv allows you to bring your whole self.” English sophomore Emily Froelich said after she realized she liked public speaking in high school, despite being more introverted in classes. Improv was a natural next step. “I really like the spontaneous sort of reactions that take place in improv,” Froelich said. “The connections and the chemistry you have with other people on stage is going to result in a scene that’s never been done before and will probably never happen again.” Froelich said she prefers improv over stand-up because of the more relaxed nature of improv. “I worry that whenever I write jokes, it may be funny to me, but if I tried saying it to a group of people, it wouldn’t work,” Froelich said. “With improv, it’s a lot more laidback. I like bouncing off these manic ideas with my friends.” Sociology senior Jacob Rodriguez said part of the fun in improv is the unplanned nature and dynamic of the performance.
Audience member Connor Carter, seated, joins Jacob Fanning, left, and the rest of the Har-D-Har improv group during a skit during their show on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019.
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COMICS
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CHANNING MILLER & LAUREN IBANEZ
Comics Editors | @THEDAILYTEXAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 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 Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Crossword ACROSS 1 Travel aimlessly 5 Melville captain 9 Credit alternative 14 ___-Defamation League 16 Loud public argument
8 4 6 5 1 3 1 9 6 7 8 9 4 6 7 9 2 4 8 1 9 1 2 4 2 3 4 8 7 6 1 2 5
8 3 6 4 9 5 1 7 2
4 2 1 3 8 7 9 6 5
9 7 5 1 2 6 4 8 3
7 4 3 6 1 2 5 9 8
5 6 8 9 7 3 2 4 1
1 9 2 8 5 4 6 3 7
2 8 7 5 6 9 3 1 4
6 1 4 2 3 8 7 5 9
65 They may protect diamonds
37 Echelons
67 They usually attract (not in this puzzle, though)
42 Sky hue
69 Visually assess
42 50
25 $$$ pro, for short
55 General whose orders are sometimes carried out?
27 Hippo campus?
56 “Plot twist!”
29 Vexation
58 “How you livin’?”
30 This-and-that dish
59 Midmonth occasion
L A I R A L O E P A N P T C L A I D O L L R O D E O N E M S N B O S C A B P U T D O T O O T I L L S E L E
P A I P R A M A R B R I C A H E O W L E E D S
C H E S S U P T U R N
S A O S M H P I A L T U S R G T I D E N S T A S R O O B L A Y A K S R S
C R O C
A I R K I E S V S E T B O L A T S S T E D
P O T U S
1 Sashimi, e.g.
I R O N S
2 The slightest amount 3 Map books 5 Updo styled with an elastic band
G O R E S
S E N S E N O T S O
O F F R I E E N Y
43
10
26 32
22 27
13
40
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29 34
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4 “Cool” amounts
E L O P E
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57 63
58 64
74 Part of BFF DOWN
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE
31
38
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8
19
25
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72 Papa
7
21
30
71 “Dibs!”
24 What Apple’s mobile devices run on
6
18
24
50 What’s hung on a clothesline
23 “Nope!”
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No. 1001
15
70 Weirdo
73 Airport approximations: Abbr.
4
20
46 Singer Eartha
54 Kitchen counter crawler
3
17
19 Lovers’ rendezvous
53 Don’t go
2
14
45 Seabird of colder climes
21 Pop hit?
3 5 9 7 4 1 8 2 6
63 Not perfectly round
36 Only four-term prez
1
17 Device for tapping groundwater
20 Debacle
Today’s solution will appear here next issue
61 Some party hirees, for short
35 This-and-that dish
38 Period after a championship
15 ___ gras
SUDOKUFORYOU
32 In disguise for a mission
Edited by Will Shortz
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PUZZLE BY ERIK AGARD
18 700, in ancient Rome
6 ___ polloi 7 Is down with something
26 No ifs, ___ or buts
8 Its capital is Belmopan
28 Prefix meaning “eight”
9 Spring forward/ fall back inits.
31 Fingerprint shape
11 Fans of singer Knowles, collectively 12 Actuary’s employer 13 Holds in place
68
70
22 Word before “favor” or “ejemplo”
10 Beigeish shade
67
69
33 Really not look forward to 34 Sounds from a sty
39 Abbr. between two singers’ names 40 Surrounding glow 41 Signature shots of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 42 Looked forward to 43 One-named star of HBO’s “Euphoria” 44 Said aloud 47 “Dead even!” 48 Loses slack
49 Prepare for printing 51 Amer. currency 52 “Seriously!” 57 Crunches work them 60 Tater 62 Help out, as a bench-presser 64 Partner for life 66 Do recon 68 Rocket’s escape vessel
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.
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D O N N AVA N S M O O T
Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019
FOOTBALL
Horns prep for K-State
Refreshed after much-needed bye week, Longhorns turn attention toward Wildcats. By Daniela Perez @danielap3rez
resh off the bye week, head coach Tom Herman met with the media Monday to discuss the state of the team following a gameless Saturday. Now heading toward Kansas State, Herman said the bye week was a great time for the team to regroup and relax. In his press conference, Herman touched on injury updates, how team relationships have improved and the team’s confidence. Injury Update: Some players are still question marks for Saturday
Herman said the bye week was a great chance for Texas’ roster to heal but especially those who have been out with injury. Senior linebacker Jeffrey McCulloch, who has been out with a shoulder injury, was on a positive trajectory for this upcoming week, but it didn’t keep progressing. Herman said it’s probable he will practice on Tuesday or Wednesday. Like McCulloch, sophomore defensive back Demarvion Overshown is still showing weakness in his shoulder but has been cleared to practice. Herman hopes the upcoming 24-48 hours will speed up his recovery. Herman said sophomore defensive backs B.J. Foster and Caden Sterns are probable. Fans may be seeing the return of freshman running back Jordan Whittington this weekend too, as he practiced Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Though these players are coming off of injury and weeks without being on the turf, Herman still has high expectations for their return. “If they’re cleared, then they’re
anthony mireles
medically cleared, so I don’t know what would be the hold-up,” Herman said. “I had the expectation that if you play in the football game for the University of Texas, you’re going to go out and be able to play at the standard that is expected around here.” Team relationships have improved
On Wednesday, Herman spoke about how the team was in need of relationship building. Herman said he took the first steps over the weekend with the class of 2019 by creating a 10-20 play cut up for each player and meeting with them
for 30-45 minutes. Herman said he felt his relationships with those players got better and they reaffirmed their commitment to the rest of the season. “As a head coach, I miss coaching players,” Herman said. “It was really good to reacquaint myself with those guys. All of them are in great spirits. In terms of moving forward, they’ve all assured me that they understand that they’ve got to fight through this. I think the off week really, really helped.” Confidence remains high
Even with a close win against
BASKETBALL
Longhorns move past 2018-19, look forward to new faces, new season By Wills Layton @willsdebeast
angela wang
/ the daily texan file
After two medical redshirt seasons, cancer survivor Andrew Jones is finally clear to play in the 2019-20 season. Jones was a top scorer before his diagnosis in 2017. @stephenwag22
After 23 months of waiting, Andrew Jones is ready to go. While Texas’ tip off to its 114th season is the first matchup between UT and Northern Colorado, the center of the Longhorns’ focus will be on the Texas bench — specifically on
He’s earned the right, through the way he’s played and practiced, to be in our top six guys. He’s going to play a significant amount (as of the Northern Colorado game), and we’re excited about it.” SHAKA SMART
basketball head coach
Jones, who has missed most of the previous two seasons for leukemia treatments. “He’s earned the right, through the way he’s played and practiced, to be in our top six guys,” Texas head coach Shaka Smart said of Jones, who finished his last cancer treatment in September. “He’s going to play
Kansas and loses to TCU and Oklahoma, Herman said team confidence has not been shaken whatsoever. Texas understands what it needs to do to get better in order to get the job done this weekend. “I don’t think anybody’s oblivious to what’s in front of us in terms of our only long term goal, which is competing for and being in the mix for our conferences championship … We’ve left the margin of error very slim, and that’s okay,” Herman said. “Everybody’s pushing in the same direction, saying we want to fight our way off the ropes, and it’s been a really good week and a half.”
BASKETBALL
Andrew Jones to return against Northern Colorado
By Stephen Wagner
/ the daily texan file
Texas enters Kansas State week fresh off of its second bye week of the season. The Longhorns have won both of their last two matchups against the Wildcats and open as favorites ahead of Saturday’s matchup.
a significant amount (as of the Northern Colorado game), and we’re excited about it.” Jones is expected to be fully available Tuesday night for the first time since December of 2017, before he was diagnosed with leukemia after suffering a wrist injury. The redshirt sophomore guard played 11 total minutes in two early-season games last year, recording three total points from the free throw line. Jones received a medical redshirt for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons following his diagnosis and recovery from leukemia. “When he goes in the game (Tuesday) night, it’s going to be very emotional,” Smart said. “It’s going to give, I think a lot of us, a feeling of appreciation and enthusiasm for (Jones) being back out there, doing what he loves.” Jones’ minutes in his return may be aided by an injury to sophomore forward Gerald Liddell, who is working back from a concussion. Liddell was listed as a projected starter against Northern Colorado, but his status is uncertain as of Monday. But Jones’ presence isn’t the only thing Smart is excited about in Texas’ season-opener against the Bears. With the clock in the Longhorn locker room counting down the days, hours and minutes until the next game ticking down ever rapidly, Smart said that while Jones is still building strength, he hasn’t lost any of his basketball IQ or shooting touch. “With how to handle (Jones’ return), there’s no manual,” Smart said. “But, in some ways he’s better. He’s wiser, his understanding of certain things is more. He’s earned the right to go in the game and play significant minutes.”
Last season, the Longhorns won one of the more disappointing national championships in Texas sports history. A season filled with March Madness expectations ended without an NCAA Tournament berth but with an National Invitational Tournament title. While Texas won the final game of their season, something a small percentage of college basketball teams can accomplish, there was a clear lack of satisfaction from the NIT Champions. “I don’t think any of us want to play in the NIT anymore,” sophomore guard Courtney Ramey said. “Me personally, I didn’t come to college to play in the NIT. The NCAAs are why people play division one basketball. We wear Texas across our jerseys not to play in the NIT.” This season, new faces on the coaching staff could make the difference in establishing more consistency and developing a winning culture. Notable additions include strength and conditioning coach Andrea Hudy and associate head coach Luke Yaklich, who came to the program from Kansas and Michigan, respectively.
Hudy helped Kansas head coach Bill Self craft his players into fighting shape and has brought elements of the perennial powerhouse to Texas. “Hudy’s been terrific,” head coach Shaka Smart said. “She’s been as good as anyone there is in that position. She’s really able to connect. That’s been the best part of what she’s brought to our program. She has a very different philosophy when it comes to strength training, and we’re very excited to have her at Texas.” Yaklich comes to Texas with a track record of success at all of his previous stops in his twenty-year coaching career. In his first year with Michigan, he revamped the team’s defense and helped lead the Wolverines to a national championship game. In his last year at Michigan, the team reached the Sweet 16. “It comes down to the culture with coach (Yaklich),” sophomore forward Brock Cunningham said. “You encourage us to do it every day, and then it just takes with certain guys, and when it takes to certain guys it starts to spread. His toughness is spreading throughout our team, and I think we’re in a good place to capitalize on that.”
As a defensive focused coach, Yaklich has been tasked with helping the team improve on that side of the ball after a season where the defense showed unable to play consistently. The Longhorns have a list of things to improve on but expect a spike in their defensive performance. “I think defense will be our biggest improvement,” Cunningham said. “There were several games last year (where) we let teams get into the 80s and 90s. I’m not saying that won’t happen this year — we just have so much pride in our defense this year. Coach (Yaklich) has revamped our defensive schemes this year.” The fruits of the coaching staff’s labor and the players’ time in practice will be on display on Tuesday against Northern Colorado. While the game will be the first real game action for the team since the NIT Championship game, it’s an excellent opportunity to get the season off to a good start. “We’ve got to take it day by day,” Ramey said. “I can’t say we’re a national championship contender off the first riff. Each and every game is going to be an opportunity for us to get better.”
joshua guenther
/ the daily texan file
Texas head coach Shaka Smart prepares for a conference game against TCU in 2019.