Serving The University Of Texas At Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Volume 120, Issue 92
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
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New School of Architecture display opens, combines AI with building design.
For students with anxiety, the CMHC needs an online form to book appointments.
Jester staff member draws whiteboard art to boost resident morale.
Courtney Ramey and Elijah Joiner share special moments on the hardwood.
CITY
WEST CAMPUS
Graffiti Park relocates
Austin Planning Commission proposes replacing Graffiti Park with condos.
Abstract Longhorn mural adds color to West Campus By Nataleah Small @nataleahjoy
blaine young
/ the daily texan staff
The HOPE Outdoor Gallery is closed and may be replaced by residential condos. The gallery, called Graffiti Park, will be relocated to Carson Creek Ranch near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. By Austin Martinez @austinmxrtinez
ustin Planning Commission voted last week to propose replacing Graffiti Park, a popular tourist destination that closed in January 2019, with two separate properties where 22 residential condos will be developed. Austin City Council will vote on the proposal at their Feb. 20 meeting. The park, officially named HOPE Outdoor Gallery, opened in 2011 on Baylor Street but is relocating to Carson Creek Ranch near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, according to the gallery’s website. Austin-based artist Helena Martin said the park’s closing has
impacted many local artists. “It scattered all of us,” Martin said. “It was a cultural epicenter where we could all meet and catch up with each other. We would plan loosely to be there at the same time, and we could all vibe off each other that way.” Martin said the park influenced her to move to Austin in 2014. She said she owes Graffiti Park for launching her career as an artist because it gave her a space to sell art prints and T-shirts of her work while making connections with clients and other artists. “Austin really embraces art more than most cities,” Martin said. “People in Austin don’t judge so much, and that’s kind of what the Graffiti Park was. It was just this very colorful, rough around the edges playground for adults and children.” English freshman Claire Rudy said she enjoyed bringing friends to the park when they visited Austin because it had a beautiful view of downtown.
“The park represented the large creative influence in Austin,” Rudy said. “It brought travelers to see what made Austin such an artsy city.” The new park will include amenities not found in the original, such as parking, bathrooms, a cafe and art classes, according to KUT. Rudy said she will miss the original park because it was an Austin landmark. “I was not a fan when I heard that the park’s closing was to provide more estates,” Rudy said. “I know there was definitely a bunch of outrage from artists because it’s illegal to do graffiti on public buildings. This was a public space where everyone was free to create whatever art they wanted to, so this takes away a creative outlet.” Jeremy Ukazim, a 2018 UT alumnus, said the park was popular among students and served as a fun meeting place for his student organizations.
“It was a place for creativity and inspiration,” Ukazim said. “It was a relaxing place to get away. There was never bad energy at Graffiti Park.” Ukazim said Graffiti Park is just as important to Austin as Zilker Park and Lake Travis when it comes to capturing the creative and unique culture of the city. “Austin is a weird city and Graffiti Park is where you can see that weirdness placed in art,” Ukazim said. “People will miss having an outdoor place where anyone can go. There was no age limit, and it was free.” Martin said the best part of the park was feeling like she had a voice as an artist. “I’m just glad we had it as long as we did, and I’m even more grateful HOPE, the nonprofit that ran the park, has taken the initiative to make another park,” Martin said. “I feel very indebted to HOPE.”
A multicolored, abstract mural of a longhorn will soon brighten the north wall of The Castilian above the sidewalk on 24th Street. American Campus Communities, which owns The Castilian, commissioned Austin-based artist Micheline Halloul to paint the colorful piece. The West Campus location was chosen to pay tribute to school spirit at the University, Gina Cowart, vice president of branding, marketing and communications strategy for American Campus Communities, said in an email. “American Campus Communities believes in investing in the communities where we have a presence, and that includes working with local artists to showcase their work at our residential communities,” Cowart said in an email. The mural is being painted above the doorway of The Castilian’s north stair to create an “Instagrammable” space, Halloul said. “We placed it right above the doorway so that people could stand toward the edge of the sidewalk and take a picture,” Halloul said. Halloul said she began collaborating with American Campus on the mural design last fall but didn’t start painting until late January. Halloul said she is not a professionally trained artist, but this project marks her first year as a muralist. Halloul said she saw a post for the project on Thumbtack, an online service that matches customers with local professionals, such as painters and personal trainers. “The Thumbtack post had an image of an iPhone text message bubble,” Halloul said. “(It had) some sort of phrase referring to UT, and then it had a hook ‘em emoji. That was American Campus’ idea for the building.” Cowart said American M U R A L PAGE 3
CAMPUS
CAMPUS
Impostor syndrome burdens students, affects mental health
Students advocate for University parental accomodations, policies
By Anna Canizales @annaleonorc
College students from underrepresented communities often feel burdened with feelings of not belonging, said the director of UT’s Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis on the Jan. 27 episode of the National Public Radio podcast “The Academic Minute.” Impostor syndrome, or impostor phenomenon, is a psychological feeling that causes a person to doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as a “fraud” in their community, according to the American Psychological Association. Kevin Cokley, a professor in the department of educational psychology, described impostor syndrome as a sense of “intellectual phoniness.” “It’s basically this idea that people who are very competent and accomplished and smart nevertheless feel like they are frauds,” said Cokley. “They feel like in spite of their achievements and their competence, they have managed to fool people into thinking they are more intelligent and accomplished than they believe themselves to actually be.” Cokley said these feelings are especially high among students during final exams because of the sense of competition on campus. “There’s something about impostor syndrome that works or applies to everybody to some extent,” said Richard Reddick, an associate dean for equity, community engagement and outreach
in the College of Education. “If you belong to a marginalized identity group, it’s something that you probably feel very astutely and constantly.” Reddick said the feelings of impostor phenomenon greatly affect first-generation students and those who come from minority backgrounds because they have to work harder than other students to prove themselves
I feel out of place, not knowing what I’m really doing here. It would be easier to deal with the feelings we’re feeling if we knew that other people had them, too, and we could all help each other cope with them.” EVA PEREZ freshman
and are not as well represented in their field. “Knowing that these perceptions exist about (minorities having unequal opportunities) can also heighten feelings of being an impostor among students of color,” Cokley said. Undergraduate studies freshman Eva Perez said these feelings are very I M P O S T O R PAGE 3
barb daly
By Laura Morales @lamor_1217
The Graduate Student Assembly and Texas Horns for Life are crafting University policies to assist student parents with balancing family care and studying. Only six colleges at UT have an official parental leave policy. Christina Baze, president of the
Graduate Student Assembly, said she wants to gain more representation for student parents because they are often not considered a priority. “I do get the sense that students who are parents are not often considered when decisions are made and policies are implemented,” Baze said. “It really impacts a student’s career when there is a lack of support for parents.” As a student parent herself, Baze said the most pressing challenges
/ the daily texan staff
student parents face are child care and academic leave. She said she can balance school and child care because her husband works from home and her children are older, but many parents do not have the same support system. Baze said common University accommodations for student parents include a maximum of two semesters of leave and one-semester extensions on assignments, and teaching P A R E N T A L PAGE 2