The Daily Texan 2020-01-29 by The Daily Texan

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

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Volume 120, Issue 88

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

LIFE&ARTS

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Local bakery brings authentic New York-style bagels to campus dining halls.

The town hall was the culmination of everything wrong with how UT handles misconduct.

Christian-Green Gallery and IDEA LAB exhibit features Afrofuturistic photos.

Texas searches for consistency ahead of road matchup with TCU in Fort Worth.

STATE

CITY

APD accepts unwanted guns

HB 2140 requires TASFA to be online for fall 2021 By Laura Morales @lamor_1217

evan l’roy

/ the daily texan staff

Austin Police Department officers inspect surrendered firearms brought in as a part of their first quarterly “no questions asked” gun surrender service at the Robert T. Martinez Central East Substation on Jan. 28.

At its recent gun surrender event, APD offered a safe way for civilians to dispose of firearms and ammunition. By Brooke Ontiveros @brookexpanic

he Austin Police Department hosted its first free gun surrender event on Tuesday, allowing community members to dispose of their guns safely without any questions or paperwork. The event was held at the Robert T. Martinez Central East Substation and will occur four times

a year at the same location to make it convenient for citizens, APD Lieutenant Gizette Gaslin said. Gaslin said APD hopes the gun surrender program will help decrease crime. “We saw an uptick in violent crime … We realize a lot of this crime involves weapons, and so we want to be part of the solution,” Gaslin said. “I was concerned for the community and us. We want to make sure to get unwanted guns off the streets, so people who have guns sitting in their home that they don’t want anymore, or they got them as an inheritance, could have us dispose of the guns for free for them.” Citizens could unload their guns and leave both the firearm and ammunition in the trunk or back seat of their car, come inside without the weapon and have an officer retrieve the gun. Individuals could also walk in with a

discharged gun and ammunition in separate bags. “I’m turning in my gun because it is old and no longer functional,” event attendee Robert Stephens said. “(This event) was the most convenient way to dispose of it, and I couldn’t think of a better way than coming down here.” After APD collected the guns, officers secured a zip tie around the trigger to ensure safety. The firearms and ammunition will have their serial numbers scanned to determine if they were stolen and, if necessary, returned to the owner. If the items were not stolen, both the ammunition and gun will be shredded, said Dana Kadavy, the executive director of the APD Forensic Science Bureau. The gun surrender event is not a buyback, and citizens will receive no compensation for G U N S PAGE 2

Students will no longer have to mail state financial aid applications once the application goes online, starting in the fall of 2021. The Texas Application for State Financial Aid is currently submitted through a mailed paper form to a specific university, even if a student is applying to multiple universities. House Bill 2140, which was passed during the 2019 legislative session, mandates the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to create a website for the TASFA application. At their quarterly meeting last Thursday, the board appointed a committee composed of representatives from universities and nonprofit organizations to create the website. Jerel Booker, the board’s assistant commissioner for college readiness and success, will direct the committee and present the website to the board. He said the application will have the same questions as it does now, but it will make sharing data between institutions and the state much easier. It will mainly serve as an online database of institutions that accept state financial aid. Booker said he hopes this will encourage both students and institutions to use the state’s aid. “It is going to be easier to track data and encourage the usage of aid,” Booker said. “(Students) will be able to fill it out and submit one application to multiple institutions. It will give them more bites of the apple to go to the institution of their choice.” State financial aid accounts for 9% of financial aid in Texas, and the rest comes from institutional and federal sources, according to the board’s 2018 financial aid report. TASFA is recommended for students who are not eligible to apply for federal aid, such as those who are not United States citizens but have Texas residency. T A S F A PAGE 3

UNIVERSITY

Fenves sets deadline for misconduct policy recommendations focus groups with the attorneys, starting this week and continuing into February. Students can sign up on the Misconduct Working The law firm reviewing the UniGroup website. versity’s sexual misconduct polFenves also announced in the icies will provide recommended email that UT will be hiring two changes by Feb. 28, according to more investigators for the Title a campuswide email UT President IX Training and Investigations at Gregory Fenves sent Tuesday. the Office of the Dean of Students, At Monday’s forum on sexual which handles Title IX cases filed misconduct, students expressed against University students. their frustration with the UniverThe Office of the Dean of Stusity’s handling dents currently has of Title IX cases six Title IX invesand faculty sexual tigators and the misconduct poliOffice of Inclusion cies. Fenves and and Equity, which Provost Maurie handles Title IX McInnis said they cases filed against expected recomstaff or faculty, has mendations from three investigalaw firm Husch tors, said UniverBlackwell by spring sity spokesperson break. Fenves said Shilpa Bakre. he asked the firm Monday’s foto expedite their rum came after work after hearing months of student GREGORY FENVES from students at protests asking for ut president the forum. the termination of “It was an improfessors found portant conversation, and the in violation of sexual misconduct actions today are a beginning,” policies and for more transparenFenves said in the email. cy around employee sexual misThe University hired Husch conduct. The Misconduct Working Blackwell in November and preGroup, formed by the University in viously provided no deadline for November to address the policies the firm’s recommendations. Husand improve communication bech Blackwell also reviewed Texas tween students and the University, A&M’s Title IX policies in 2018, is working with Husch Blackwell. according to Husch Blackwell’s So far, Fenves has not attended report on A&M’s policies. any of the working group’s meetHusch Blackwell is hosting stuings. When asked about his abdent listening sessions, which are sence by a student at the forum, By Lauren Grobe @grobe_lauren

By the fact that you are here, and you’re telling us your stories, yes, we have failed you.”

eddie gaspar

/ the daily texan staff

UT President Gregory Fenves answers student questions during the Open Dialogue with UT Leadership about Sexual Misconduct Policies & Practices alongside Provost Maurie McInnis, right, and Dean of Students Soncia Reagins-Lilly, not shown, at the Belo Center for New Media auditorium on Monday, Jan. 27. Fenves said he would attend the next meeting. “We are listening to your recommendations,” Fenves said. “We may not do them, but that’s just part of the process.” In an interview after the forum, Fenves said the University is currently reviewing its sexual misconduct policy and the Title IX investigation

process. The University is also reviewing sanctions for violating sexual misconduct policies and deciding whether to release the names of policy violators. “I know this is what the students are asking for,” Fenves said. “Once there is a finding of a violation, will we publish the names? That’s going to be something that we will be

looking at very carefully.” Multiple students at the forum asked Fenves, McInnis and Dean of Students Soncia Reagins-Lilly if the University had failed students through mishandling sexual misconduct cases. “By the fact that you are here, and you’re telling us your stories, yes, we have failed you,” Fenves said.

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CAMPUS

Professor analyzes parallel election cycles By Neelam Bohra @neelambohratx

As the last day to register to vote in the primary election (Feb. 3) approaches, history professor Leonard Moore has emphasized in his classes the parallels between the 1972 and 2020 elections. Moore, who serves as UT’s vice president for diversity and community engagement, explored these parallels in his 2018 book “The Defeat of Black Power,” but he said its message is more important because of the upcoming election. “In 1972, the Black community was at a crossroads,” Moore said. “(Former president Richard) Nixon was in oﬃce, and many people saw his election as a backlash to the civil rights movement. We see similar parallels to (former president Barack) Obama being in oﬃce and (President Donald) Trump coming in on his heels.” Moore said the Black community accomplished tangible goals of voting rights and integration in 1968 but did not know where to go from there. He said the community feels the same way now because it does not know what it wants. “If you put 10 Black people in a room and ask them what

the most important issue facing Black America is right now, you would get 10 diﬀerent answers,” Moore said. The media views the Black community as one monolith with the same views, Moore said, but numerous factors, including economics, divide the community. Black leaders held a convention in 1972 to set a national political agenda for Black people, Moore said. He said a similar convention in 2020 would help address these divides. “In 1972, there wasn’t a clear African American spokesperson,” Moore said. “(Martin Luther King Jr.) died in 1968. And no matter what people thought of him, they respected him as this symbolic head of this movement. Even in 2020, people are looking for the Black spokesperson, for direction.” Moore said many Black citizens will vote for Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential primary candidate, or for Trump. He said these people strongly value economic impacts. Zaria El-Fil, a psychology and African and African diaspora studies senior, said the elected primary candidate and president will not matter because voting does not work for the Black community. “I can conﬁdently say

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MANAGING EDITOR Lisa Nhan (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com

By Hannah Williford @HannahWillifor2

Republican candidate Gary Gates won the 2020 special runoﬀ election for Texas House District 28 on Tuesday. The special election comes after Republican incumbent John Zerwas stepped down last year. The race gained national attention after

(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.

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(campaigns) are a matter of who has enough money and who has enough persuasiveness to garner support,” El-Fil said. “Many white candidates go to Black barbershops … or dance to rap music to give us some semblance of connection and support that they don’t plan to carry on in action.” Business freshman Kamryn Rudison said she plans to vote

in the 2020 elections because of Moore’s lectures. “I don’t think I would have registered,” Rudison said. “I wouldn’t have thought about it, but (Moore) said it’s important, and we need to get more into politics because it aﬀects us.” Moore said the primary and general elections are important, but so are elections on local levels. “If you look at inner-city Black

America, the municipal court judge has more of an impact on Black life than Donald Trump,” Moore said. “In 1972, there was an interest in Black people running for political oﬃce on the local, county and state level that was equally important. And I would tell people to look to the book because Black people need a strategy before we go into the primary elections.”

STATE

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke and Gov. Greg Abbott placed their support behind the candidates. Joshua Blank, the research director for the Texas Politics Project, said the involvement from political ﬁgures is not normal in state House elections. Blank said the election became a show of political strength for both parties. “What you’re seeing here

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History professor Leonard Moore explores challenges of the Black Power movement throughout American politics in his recently published book, The Defeat of Black Power.

Republican candidate wins House District 28

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returned guns, Kadavy said. Although there was a “Guns 4 Groceries” program in 2012 that people to trade their guns for grocery store gift cards, this event and future events are drop-off only. If community members cannot attend any of the gun surrender events, they can call 311 any day of the year and an officer will be dispatched to their home, Kadavy said. Individuals calling 311 will also

have to unload their firearms and store them in separate bags or boxes before an officer picks them up. APD also offered free gun locks, police stress balls, cup holders and a drawstring bag to those who attended the event, Gaslin said. The next gun surrender event will occur on April 28, according to the City of Austin website. “If you have something you don’t want in your home and you feel unsafe or just don’t need it anymore, we are offering a safe way to dispose of it,” Kadavy said.

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… is that partisans on both sides, and in particular, the media, look to these special elections as harbingers of what is going to happen in the upcoming general election,” Blank said. “The reality is that there’s little connection between the two because these special elections are such unique (phenomena).” Because House District 28 contains the suburbs of

Houston, UT student groups were excited about what either outcome could mean for the state. Abdullah Adi, vice president of the College Republicans at Texas, said he does not think the national influence is good because the people who are giving their opinions are not from Texas. “People in Texas, voters in Texas, volunteers within the

state of Texas are more aware of the issues they’re facing, and are more honest whenever they’re going and engaging with voters about the issues they face in the community,” economics junior Adi said. “While outsiders … (are) basically utilizing Texas as a tool for them to fulﬁll (whatever) goals they have.”

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020

CAMPUS

New York-style bagels offered in dining halls By Lauren Grobe @grobe_lauren

Over the past few semesters, a University Housing and Dining staff member noticed a trend in dining halls: Students were not eating the bagels. Erich Geiger, senior director of dining and catering at UHD, said he wanted to change that. “When I was upstairs having breakfast here at Jester, I was in line and I was talking to students,” Geiger said. “I would ask, ‘How are the bagels?’ ‘They’re okay.’” After reaching out to a couple companies, Geiger said UHD decided to partner with Wholy Bagel, a local bakery that makes authentic, New York-style bagels. A New York-style bagel is made fresh and boiled, while a conventional bagel is frozen and baked. The bakery’s products started selling on campus on Jan. 21 after the University committed to buying 50 dozen bagels per weekday and 25 dozen bagels per weekend, Geiger said. The bagels are sold at $1.39

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Mason Tyndall, College Republicans at Texas president and economics junior, said multiple College Republicans joined campaigning efforts for this race from Austin while others made the trip to Houston. The race gained attention because there was no incumbent in the House seat, giving Democrats an opportunity to flip the seat, Blank said. Democrats flipped 12 House seats in the 2018 election and need to flip nine more seats in November to gain the House majority. University Democrats President Alex Meed said

TA S F A

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and oﬀered in University residential dining halls, convenience stores and coﬀee locations, Geiger said. Since he’s from the North, Geiger said it was important to him that students had access to quality bagels. “I was told that when I got I started talking about it originally … the kids really don’t eat a lot of bagels,” Geiger said. “I’m like, ‘They would if they were good’.” Wholy Bagel co-owner Richard Spiegel said he was surprised by the demand for bagels as they are typically more popular in the Northeast. “There’s an interesting dynamic here in Texas,” Spiegel said. “People who are not as familiar with bagels have recognized there is a difference in quality and gravitated toward us.” UHD registered dietitian Lindsay Wilson said Wholy Bagel was chosen because of the quality of the bagels and the bakery’s producing capacity. “Most of the companies, with being local, were those smaller, mom and pop shops,” Wilson said. “Fifty dozen a day is definitely a

flipping the seats in November is important to Democrats because new voting districts will be created in 2021. Meed said Austin is currently divided among six districts. “Austin is the largest city in the United States that doesn’t have an anchored congressional district,” Meed said. “There’s no one person in the U.S. Congress whose job it is to represent our interests, the interests of the people of Austin.” In the 2018 elections, the majority of District 28 voted for Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke in the U.S. Senate elections. However, the majority had also voted for Republican incumbent John Zerwas for

large quantity to increase their normal production by.” Spiegel said he was looking to grow the bakery while still staying local to Austin. “We know this is giving us an opportunity to gain exposure to students,” Spiegel said. “Hopefully they enjoy our products and continue to consume them after they’ve left school.” Geiger said UHD looks to bring specific brands on campus based on student feedback on what they would like to eat. “We’re not brand specific — we’re quality and experience driven,” Geiger said. “You’re trying to get something everyone likes.” Along with the introduction of Wholy Bagel, UHD also added 400 new recipes across dining locations and expanded the hours of operation this semester, Wilson said. “(We went) into the dining locations (and listened) to student feedback and that was one of those areas where students were underwhelmed,” Wilson said. Wilson said UHD makes changes to the dining options based on student feedback they get on

the Texas House of Representatives seat, according to the Fort Bend County government website. “(District 28) was a more reliably Republican district in the recent past,” Blank said. “But like many of the counties that are adjacent to some of the largest urban counties in the state, as urban areas continue to expand and population continues to grow, what you’re seeing is a change … in these suburban counties which are becoming less reliably Republican.” The seat will be up for grabs in the November elections, and the rest of the term will take place while the House of Representatives is out of session.

DAN MARTINEZ

comment cards and from student organizations. Geiger said it is important for the University to offer quality dining options to students because eating

/ THE DAILY TEXAN STAFF

together can improve students’ time on campus. “We’re part of the experience at UT,” Geiger said. “People break bread. This is where they make friends.”

CHRISTIANA PEEK

/ THE DAILY TEXAN STAFF

Texas Rep. Victoria Neave submitted HB 2140 in the last legislative session. As a first-generation student herself, she remembers how difficult it was for her to navigate financial aid. Neave said she sponsored the bill to make the process easier for noncitizen and first-generation students, especially Dreamers who fall under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, to access higher education. “This was an idea that came from a ‘Dreamer’ on our staff who told us how difficult it was for them to apply,” Neave said. “We want everyone to have access to higher education. There is money out there that is for them, and this is removing a barrier for students.” Aerospace engineering junior Kalman Mahlich’s parents have been working in Texas for several years since they moved from France.

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college is more diﬃcult for him than his peers. “I can’t apply to a lot of scholarships and aid because of where I am from,” Mahlich said. “Unfortunately, I am being excluded from a lot of these opportunities, which makes the situation harder.”

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This qualiﬁes him as a Texas resident. He has been applying to TASFA since his sophomore year but has not yet received aid from the state because of his parent’s income threshold. Despite his higher income level, Mahlich said aﬀording

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Editor-In-Chief | @THEDAILYTEXAN

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020

OPINION

EDITORIAL

ericka suarez

/ the daily texan staff

Yes, you have failed us. We needed answers at Monday’s town hall on sexual misconduct. Instead, we got nonresponses, dodged questions and a lack of empathy.

By The Daily Texan Editorial Board You said it yourself, President Fenves. You have failed us. At Monday’s town hall on sexual misconduct, we needed answers. Answers for why, after months of protest, there has been so little progress. Answers for a broken Title IX system. Answers for the pain of a student body in which one in five students have reported experiencing sexist gender harassment from faculty or staff. Instead, we got hollow apologies for survivors courageously sharing their stories and non-responses to almost everything else. The town hall was the culmination of everything wrong with the way UT handles misconduct. The panelists — President Gregory Fenves, Provost Maurie McInnis and Dean of Students Soncia Reagins-Lilly — told students to trust administration and faculty. It’s hard for us to trust an administration that says it hears us, but never seems to actually listen. The University touts the Misconduct Working Group as proof that they are listening to students. The group, comprised of administrators, faculty and 10 students, was assembled late last semester to plan the town hall and provide feedback on current sexual misconduct policies. The problem is that University leadership can veto anything the working group proposes — and they have. Having the town hall before winter break? UT leadership, including President Fenves, vetoed that in late November. Booking a larger auditorium? After speaking with administration, student body president Camron Goodman told us the William C. Powers Student Activity Center and Hogg Memorial Auditorium “weren’t even on the table” for the town hall, in part because they were too large. BMC 2.106, which was used for

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.

the town hall, has a capacity of 295. It was full, and there were two overflow rooms. Goodman called BMC 2.106 a “compromise pick” — organizers told us that UT originally supported hosting the event in rooms as small as 50 people. Preventing cops from being inside of the auditorium? Multiple members of the working group told us that UT leadership vetoed the measure without informing them. As students shared stories about experiences with inappropriate police conduct, two uniformed officers watched.

To us, the working group looks like nothing more than a cop-out for when administrators are asked if they’re listening to the student body.” Allowing cameras inside the auditorium? UT leadership vetoed that four days before the event, and claimed it was what students in the working group wanted. It wasn’t. The decision was reversed, and cameras were allowed. UT leadership — including Fenves’ office — had the final say on every decision about the town hall. Fenves, however, hasn’t attended any working group meetings. It’s not like he couldn’t fit it into his schedule, either — he meets monthly with Student Government leadership and he certainly has time to meet donors and big names. To us, the working group looks like nothing more than a copout for when administrators are asked if they’re listening to the student body.

What you saw on Monday was the administration’s event — not the students’. The town hall should have been in an auditorium that could fit everyone who wanted to attend and share their stories with administration. It should have been a completely safe space, without police. Most importantly, administrators should have been able to answer our questions. Instead, we got an event where, when asked why professors who were guilty of misconduct were not fired, Fenves said he believed there weren’t any faculty in the classroom that students should be scared of. Where the administrators played defense and refused to admit fault until a student asked them point blank if they had failed us. It was only then that Fenves admitted they had. McInnis and Reagins-Lilly didn’t give a direct answer. The panelists also would not commit to any change in policy. Fenves said that he would attend a single Misconduct Working Group meeting, and Reagins-Lilly promised to help guide a student through her nightmarish Title IX case, but that was it. Nobody mentioned changing the policies that make Title IX cases at UT nightmarish to begin with. Last night, President Fenves sent out an email announcing that the University will hire two new Title IX investigators, and that Husch Blackwell, the firm reviewing UT’s misconduct policies, will submit their recommendations by late February. Students shouldn’t have had to put themselves in such a vulnerable position in front of the President for the Title IX office to hire more investigators. It shouldn’t have taken a town hall that was disastrous for UT’s public image in order for the bare minimum to happen. It’s too little, too late. It should never have come to this. The editorial board is composed of associate editors Abhirupa Dasgupta, Hannah Lopez, Sanika Nayak, Abby Springs and editor-in-chief Spencer Buckner.

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SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020

consistency continues from page

need for better consistency in practice. “If you do what you set out to do, then those things get a little bit better and you try to do it again.” The importance for a quick turnaround to save the season isn’t lost on the players. Earlier in the season, sophomore guard Courtney Ramey said he didn’t come to Texas to win the NIT Championship, which Texas did last year. Redshirt sophomore guard Andrew Jones and junior guard Matt Coleman III also expressed how great the need for a turnaround is after Saturday’s loss to LSU. “The biggest thing is not finding but understanding what it takes to win,” Coleman said. “And just playing for the guy next to you with

the message of, ‘Just lose yourself in the game.’” Coming off a loss to LSU where a miraculous 16-point second half comeback effort fell just short, Smart can’t emphasize enough the need for passion and a competitive spirit. He says the team analyzed what caused the deficit to the Tigers and what allowed Texas to seize a lead late in the fourth quarter. Marching into Ed & Rae Schollmaier Arena on Wednesday night, Smart and the Longhorns understand the team objective to steal a win in Fort Worth. “Some of them are basketball X’s and O’s, and some of them are fight, aggressiveness and assertiveness,” Smart said. “That’s who we have to be for 40 minutes if we want to go on the road and beat a good team in TCU.”

streak

continues from page

points per game, had just 11 on Tuesday night. She attempted just six shots while playing a complete 40 minutes, a far cry from her average 12.9 shots per contest. “(A)bove anything else, I would say it wasn’t even necessarily the way we were guarding her,” Aston said. “It was the way everybody was committed to helping each other that made the big difference because you can spend too much time paying attention to one and let others break free.” The Longhorns have a massive game coming up on Friday against the visiting No. 2 Baylor Bears, who come in with an 18–1 record and an 11-game win streak of their own. But the Longhorns’ biggest conference game of the year wasn’t on anyone’s mind Tuesday night. “I’m proud of our group for their focus today,” As-

jack myer

/ the daily texan file

Fifth-year senior Lashann Higgs drives toward the rim during the Longhorns’ 85-77 win over Kansas on Jan. 22, 2019. Texas is currently on a five-game winning streak. ton said. “I was concerned about the game, our team obviously is affected, as everyone is, by the tragedy. I

just thought that we had a hard time the past couple of days really just focusing, and I didn’t know what to expect

today and I thought they really rallied around each other and helped each other get focused.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Texas faces uphill battle to return to NCAA tournament By Wills Layton @willsdebeast

Texas began the year with a four-game winning streak, including a win over thenranked Purdue on the road. It seemed as if after several years of mediocrity the Longhorns were finally living up to their potential. After finishing the nonconference schedule with 10 wins, many thought the team’s success would translate to the Big 12 slate.

So far, it hasn’t. In the first six games of Big 12 conference play, the Longhorns have missed opportunities to pick up key wins against ranked opponents, given up leads at home and have been blown out on the road, leading to a 2–4 record. Inconsistency has plagued Texas throughout the start of conference play. In some instances, the Longhorns have let first-half leads slip away. In others, Texas has rallied from double-dig-

it halftime deficits only to come up short. With injuries in the frontcourt piling up — sophomore forwards Gerald Liddell and Kamaka Hepa are out indefinitely — Texas will have to work harder to compensate. “It’s easy when you get to this time of year to just start to think about the next game, but we have to really put the deposits in,” Texas head coach Shaka Smart said at a press conference on Monday. “With a couple of guys banged up, we’re

playing some lineups that haven’t played a lot together. So we have to really, really have a great day today and then build on it and be better tomorrow.” However, despite riding a three-game losing streak into Fort Worth, there is still a glimmer of hope and a clear path to the NCAA Tournament for the Longhorns. There is an opportunity to get back on track and collect résumé-boosting victories, but it has to start now. “The more we grow, the

more we learn day by day and we need to put it all together,” redshirt sophomore guard Andrew Jones said. “It’s still a long season. We’ve still got enough time to flip the script, but we need to do it now. We’ve just got to do it now.” With a record of 12–7 and likely needing to get to at least 20 wins to make the NCAA Tournament as a low seed, the Longhorns need to start taking care of business against teams in a similar position. Winnable games against TCU and Iowa State are on the docket, and before heading into a critical stretch in the season, Texas must win both games. The three games following Iowa State are against No. 3 Kansas in Lawrence, a Texas Tech team at home that is receiving votes in the AP Poll and a home game against the No. 1 Baylor Bears. To be

seriously considered for the NCAA Tournament, they will need to pick up at least one of those three games. Past those games are three more winnable games against Iowa State, TCU and Kansas State. Pulling out two of those three would give Texas a record of 17–10 before heading into the final four games of the regular season. Those final four games see West Virginia at home, Texas Tech and Oklahoma on the road, then Oklahoma State in Austin. Again, it won’t come down to beating the traditional powerhouses of the conference. Texas’ path is there. If Smart’s Longhorns can begin pulling out wins against closely matched opponents, Texas will have more than an outside shot of hearing its name called on Selection Sunday.

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Redshirt sophomore Andrew Jones rises up for a jumper during Texas’ 69-67 loss to LSU on Jan. 25, 2019. Jones finished the game with 20 points on 50% shooting from the field.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Longhorns look for consistency

Texas travels to Fort Worth and tries to get back on track to get back into the tournament picture. By Stephen Wagner @stephenwag22

ours before each game, Texas head coach Shaka Smart makes time for a quick workout either right before or right after the team meal. Then Smart waits, patiently but anxiously, for the game to start. Smart says he’s kept up this tradition since his days as an assistant — before his 2011 VCU team became one of three No. 11 seeds to ever reach the Final Four, before he led the Rams to their highest AP ranking in school history and before then-athletic director Steve Patterson

hired him to succeed Rick Barnes at Texas. Now, leading into a key matchup at TCU on Wednesday and with the Longhorns on track to miss the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years, Smart is desperately trying to right the ship in search of the consistency that has been absent in his time at Texas. “It’s better if you address it than leaving it unsaid,” Smart said. “Our guys are very aware of records and standings, and our guys talk about it. We need to completely immerse ourselves in the current moment … our preparation for TCU.” The Longhorns currently sit at 2–4 in conference play — tied with Iowa State for seventh in the Big 12 — and have lost three games in a row, including a devastating 69-67 loss to LSU in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. But even with the Longhorns running out of time to turn the season around and Smart’s seat gradually getting warmer, the fifth-year Texas head coach is still emphasizing the same values to

joshua guenther

/ the daily texan file

Texas head coach Shaka Smart looks on during the Longhorns’ 66-57 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks on Jan. 18, 2020. Texas is 2–4 in conference play and travels to face TCU today. his team — growth, passion and aggression.

“Any time you’re not as consistent as you want to

be, that means you’re just not all the way there yet,”

Smart said, emphasizing the

C O N S I S T E N C Y PAGE 5

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Longhorns trounce rival Oklahoma in Norman, extend winning streak to five By Robert Trevino @robtrev22

In a season where the Longhorns have had a fair share of sluggish starts, Tuesday night’s road trip to face the rival Oklahoma Sooners proved to be the exception rather than the rule. Texas took control of the game early in the second quarter and never looked back, beating Oklahoma

in Norman for the fifth straight year, 70-53. “I’m really proud of our team’s start to both halves,” head coach Karen Aston said. “We’re a team that is a lot better when we start well and don’t necessarily put ourselves in a hole.” After dropping a heartbreaker to West Virginia on Jan. 12 and falling to 1–2 in conference play, Aston’s team has put together an impressive stretch of five consec-

utive wins to put her team back firmly in the conversation for an NCAA Tournament bid. However, Tuesday’s game was played underneath the shadow of the tragic death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant who, along with eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, died Sunday in a helicopter crash. The Longhorns wore burnt orange Kobe-edition Nike shoes pay tribute to Bryant and his daugh-

ter. Team members wrote No. 24, No. 2, and “Mamba Mentality” on their shoes in honor of the two. “Especially in the basketball world and the world of sports, he had such a big impact on the game, and he contributed so much to the game,” senior guard Lashann Higgs said. “It’s just a terrible tragedy. You know, times like this you just got to appreciate every moment, live every moment day-by-day.”

Higgs, who led the team in scoring with 19 points coming off the bench, was just one of four Longhorns in double-digits. The two teams traded blows early on, with the Sooners leading 15-13 late in the first quarter, until the Longhorns went on a 16-0 run, limiting Oklahoma to just eight second quarter points and taking a 14-point lead into the half. “I just thought we increased our ball pressure. Again, we were

really active in the first half … and our bench did a really good job when they did,” Aston said. “Obviously, Lashann, she’s a sixth starter so to say, and I thought (sophomore guard Audrey Warren) really was active defensively for us.” Texas did a good job holding Oklahoma’s star guard Taylor Robertson in check. The sophomore, who has averaged over 20 S T R E A K PAGE 5

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COMICS

A L E K K A H E R N A N D E Z & B A R B R A D A LY

Comics Editors| @THEDAILYTEXAN

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Crossword ACROSS

27 It’s an affront

1 “Yo — check this out!” 5 Laze in the rays 9 ___ colada 13 Kind of palm 14 Subject taught in a madrasa 16 Endmost compartment in a till

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

4 7 5 3

4 1

5 4 1 9 2 7 8 2 1

5 2 9 6 1 8 7 3 4

7 6 4 3 2 5 1 9 8

3 8 1 7 4 9 6 2 5

1 5 8 9 7 6 3 4 2

4 3 7 5 8 2 9 6 1

2 9 6 4 3 1 8 5 7

6 7 2 8 9 4 5 1 3

8 4 5 1 6 3 2 7 9

9 1 3 2 5 7 4 8 6

29 Latin gods 32 Lasting mark 35 Kind of fatty acid 38 What Santa said when the reindeer went on strike on Christmas Eve? 42 Get a hurry on

17 What Santa said when his sleigh touched down?

43 Norse god with a hammer

19 Singer Redding

45 Sporty car roof

20 “Jingle Bells” or “White Christmas”

47 ___ soup

21 Special treatment, for short

Today’s solution will appear here next issue

28 Slightly

22 “Damn Yankees” vamp 23 What Santa might say on his North Pole hotline?

44 ___ Beta Kappa

50 What Santa said when going down a chimney that had a lit fireplace? 56 State firmly 57 Tidbit in vegetable soup 58 Reason for hoarseness 60 Zig or zag

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE D E F M O L I C O L D G R A D L S T I E W I N D I B M M I E N S A M E O W B A R B O R I O S T A R H Y M N

R A Y E R E C U T B I E A S G O W T N E A B U B T S E R S L E S M A N A L

H E E S I X P A R E O N D E R C E T H A A L S R I M L M E T M P E R C W U H A T S E A H O P I Q U A R U N W E E K E D

H A L L E B E R R Y

A C A I

W K R P

C A N O E

S N A P S

S T A B

L A E T V E Y

61 What Santa says around dawn on Christmas Day? 64 Red Muppet 65 Loop with a slipknot 66 Menu bar heading 67 “God ___ Ye Merry, Gentlemen” 68 What you may call it 69 Lawman Eliot

Edited by Will Shortz 1

41 43

45 50

26 28

31 39

27 30

19 21

9 15

DOWN 1 ___ verde (desert tree) 2 Where shampoo is applied 3 Place to get a C.D. or an I.R.A. 4 Spruces (up) 5 Part of a dating profile, for short 6 All the dirt on Santa? 7 A deadly sin 8 Mexican artist Frida 9 Place where one might hear “That’s my cue!” 10 Past the point of no return 11 Sam of “Jurassic Park” 12 Syria’s Bashar al-___ 15 Coffee shop order 18 Mend 24 Part of a window thrown up in “A Visit From St. Nicholas” 25 Florida theme park

No. 1225

47 52

58 62

63 66

PUZZLE BY BRUCE HAIGHT

26 Nebraska county named for an indigenous people 29 Talk trash about 30 “Blah, blah, blah …”: Abbr. 31 Weather map lines relating to temperature 33 Something to say to a doctor 34 Parts of guesses in Clue 36 Kinda sorta

37 Onetime CBS forensic drama 39 Rhyming question of attractiveness 40 “However …,” in texts 41 Partner of proper 46 Drop by unexpectedly 48 C-worthy 49 “Sure, if that’s how you feel …” 50 Sharp critic

51 Undeveloped egg cell 52 Air freshener scent 53 Country bumpkin 54 Get washed away 55 Round of four 59 Favorites 62 Buckeyes’ sch. 63 French ___ (bird in “The 12 Days of Christmas”)

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.

T R I N A DY J O S L I N

Life&Arts Editor | @TRINADY05

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020

ART

LIFE&ARTS

Afrofuturism: Merging narratives “In Their Own Form” explores Black identity across mediums through time travel and alternate realities. By Grace Barnes @gebarnes210

hrough the lens of contemporary photography, “In Their Own Form” reimagines the transnational Black experience and what it might look like without the burden of racism and oppression permeating Western culture. The exhibition, located in the Christian-Green Gallery and the IDEA LAB, was curated by Sheridan Tucker Anderson, a former curatorial fellow for diversity in the arts at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. The exhibition features 13 artists from across the African diaspora, including Ghana, France, Brazil and South Africa. Anderson said she had the freedom to make the exhibition her own, so she took the opportunity to bring a wide range of artists’ narratives together. She said that she was interested in supporting emerging artists who might do things differently as well as more recognizable artists. “I wanted to make sure that the collection had a more holistic and cohesive understanding of contemporary art, but I also wanted to take the opportunity to build connections, or start relationships between the museum and emerging artists that

jamie hwang

/ the daily texan staff

Kendyll Gross, coordinator of education and visitor services for the Art Galleries at Black Studies, gives a tour of the exhibition to second graders from the St. Francis School. The “In Their Own Form” art exhibition takes place in the Christian-Green Gallery and the IDEA LAB at the Beauford H. Jester Center from Jan. 21 to May 16.

they hadn’t already known about,” Anderson said. The photos seek to reimagine the Black experience by exploring time travel and the concept of alternate realities. Anderson said these themes are rooted in Afrofuturism — a historical movement that encompasses non-Western mythologies and Egyptian characteristics, combining elements of science fiction, fantasy and escapism.

“We all kind of share this connection of travel, being from one place but experiencing completely different understandings of the world,” Anderson said. “That is the one tie that binds us all.” Cherise Smith, executive director of the Art Galleries at Black Studies, helped bring the exhibition to UT. Smith is an avid lover of contemporary photography and Afrofuturist works, and said the exhibition engages visitors with different ideas about time

and reality. “For me, what is significant is the emphasis on imagination and on how these artists are imagining alternate realities and alternate futures for Black people,” Smith said. “I want people to just come for the art, but while they’re there, see some very interesting uses of costumes, thinking about alternate realities, whether they’re real places or imagined places.” Lise Ragbir, director of the Art Galleries at Black

Studies, said the exhibit’s wide range of narratives highlight the differences across the Black diaspora. “This show in particular looks at certain experiences — Black experiences — and how we might imagine ourselves or our places in the future,” Ragbir said. “So when we’re considering narratives that affect us all now, we can’t overlook questioning what our future might also reveal.” Ragbir said she is excited

to be able to feature such a far-reaching exhibition like this on UT’s campus and hopes students will come and appreciate the works. “It’s always encouraging to see how artwork from around the world can end up on UT’s campus, and that’s really a testament to the value of the space, and even how UT is able to bring narratives and artwork from so far beyond to students right here in Austin,” Ragbir said.

BUSINESS

McCombs students create Manda’s Garden skincare line By Catherine Cardenas @c_aaattt

Upon learning their mothers were looking for new skincare regimens but could not find something close to home, Michael Neiswander and Albion Zogaj decided to take matters into their own hands. Manda’s Garden is a skincare company developed by Neiswander, a business honors sophomore, and Zogaj, a marketing sophomore, in February 2019. It is based around the use of the Golden Osmanthus flower, which is known for its anti-inflammatory benefits and is native to Eastern Asia. Neiswander’s mother was looking for an eye mask that would reduce puffiness, while Zogaj’s mother wanted a product that used the Golden Osmanthus flower. The duo decided to satisfy both needs by curating their first product, a cold-activated Golden Osmanthus eye mask. “We kind of just put

two and two together,” Neiswander said. “It would kind of be the best of both worlds in that regard.” After the initial idea was formed, the next step for the pair was to create a prototype and test it on consumers. “When we got feedback that (the eye mask) was really successful for reducing under-eye puffiness, that’s when it clicked that we should really be focusing on this,” Zogaj said. Once the eye mask was fully developed and a strong relationship with a manufacturer was formed, the pair decided to branch out and develop new products, Neiswander said. “We decided to create our brand around the Golden Osmanthus flower and the cold activations,” Neiswander said. “We had a face mask, and then we got an essential oil lotion and it kind of all just like started from that eye mask.” The pair decided to partner with a charity based in China called Pandas International, which cares for the endangered Giant Panda, Zogaj said. After every quarter, a

percentage of their revenue goes to Pandas International. “We figured that a percentage of our proceeds going to a cause like that essentially gives back to the communities that we get our products from,” Neiswander said. “We thought that was just a good way to conduct business.” Microbiology sophomore Aaliyah Francois worked as a brand representative in the beginning stages of production. The charity aspect of the company was part of the reason she chose to work with the pair. “Since they’re kind of still a startup company, I thought it was pretty interesting that even though they’re still in the beginning phases, they’re already giving back,” Francois said. The pair has had to shift their focus from internships and summer jobs to Manda’s Garden exclusively, making it very important that the project goes well, Neiswander said. “A lot of people at this time are out, you know, getting

Business honors sophomore Albion Zogaj, left, and marketing sophomore Michael Neiswander developed their own skincare company, Manda’s Garden. internships, planning … to get their jobs after college, and we definitely sacrifice a lot of that because over the summers we’ll be working on our own business,” Neiswander said. As the company progresses,

the duo has high hopes that running Manda’s Garden will turn into a full-time job. “Our big goal for Manda’s Garden is to have it sustain us post-college,” Neiswander said. “It’s terrifying

sometimes, but … it’s also exciting. It’s some adrenaline, you know, because it’s kind of like we’re setting ourselves up in such a way that it kind of has to work — it’s high stakes now.”

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