Serving The University Of Texas At Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Volume 120, Issue 93
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
PAGE 2
PAGE 4
PAGE 6
PAGE 8
New Atari video gamethemed hotel plans to open in Austin.
Lending libraries with free books make classes more accessible to students.
Service connects students to short-term babysitting and tutoring gigs.
After a busy offseason,Texas tries to recover from disappointing 2019 season.
NATION
UTPD
Marijuana regulations persist UTPD will still issue citations, fines, arrests for marijuana possession despite City Council resolution.
By Lauren Grobe @grobe_lauren
By Brooke Ontiveros @Brookexpanic
he University of Texas at Austin Police Department will still issue citations, fines and arrests for low-level amounts of marijuana possession following Austin City Council’s resolution last month, which stopped funding the Austin Police Department to test whether a substance is marijuana or hemp. Hemp, which is similar to marijuana, has a lower percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and is now legal in Texas. UTPD can continue to test with the use of state funds because it’s a state-funded department, UTPD Sgt. Chris Vela said. However, Vela said state labs typically only conduct tests for felony cases of possession, which are defined as larger than four ounces. “All of our officers are state peace officers, so we’re going to enforce state law,” Vela said. Vela said individuals found with two ounces or less of marijuana can incur a Class B misdemeanor, which can result in up to 180 days in jail or a fine of up to $2,000. He said a Class A misdemeanor could
I
be issued if two to four ounces of marijuana are found, and this can carry a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Anything greater than four ounces is considered a felony. “If we find somebody that’s in possession of a suspected drug, the think it’s difficult for students officers are going to understand how to to seize that item … then most of the navigate ... marijuana laws time, that’s going changing a lot.” to be sent over to a lab to test if we’re going to end up ALLYSON TODD trying to charge co-president of ut students for sensible somebody with it,” drug policy
Iowa caucus results for Democratic Party still delayed
steph sonik
Vela said, “If an officer seizes the drug but they don’t choose to file charges, meaning give them a citation or arrest them, that’s within the officer’s discretion.” Lab tests can take several weeks to several months, Vela said. James Lee, co-president of UT Students for Sensible Drug Policy, an organization that works to reform drug policy, said sending in all low-level possession tests would prove difficult. “It would be ridiculous for them to send all (possession cases) for testing,” Lee, a philosophy and sociology senior, said. “I think they’re just trying to scare people.”
/ the daily texan staff
UTPD may also defer to the University for cases of drug possession, Vela said. “(If) somebody doesn’t have a criminal record … the officers can still seize that drug and take it into evidence, but instead of charging somebody, we can use the UT administration avenue of having a conversation with them versus having to go to court,” Vela said. Vela said UTPD might also issue a citation and release for misdemeanor possession, which has individuals sign that they will appear in court at a later date. MARIJUANA
The results of the Iowa caucus are still unclear after a historic delay in vote counting Tuesday night. The Iowa caucus is the first primary election, kicking off the election season. At the time of print, only 62% of Iowa’s counties reported results with no update as to when the rest of the results would be released, said Mandy McClure, Iowa Democratic Party communications director, in a press release. Votes were counted on an app created by tech startup Shadow Inc., which was hired by the Iowa Democratic Party to record election results. The delay was due to inconsistencies between results reported on the app and on paper, McClure said. Because of an error in the app’s reporting system, the app was only reporting partial data, said Troy Price, Iowa Democratic Party chair, in a statement. “This is simply a reporting issue, “ McClure said in a statement on Twitter. “The app did not go down, and this is not a hack or an intrusion.” Josh Blank, director of research at the Texas Politics Project, said the delay in results itself is not as significant as how the campaigns spin the results in favor of their candidate. “The most important thing is for them to get the results right,” Blank said. “(The candidates) want to be able to use Iowa as the springboard to move on to New Hampshire
PAGE 3
I O W A PAGE 3
UNIVERSITY
School of Geosciences receives $10.5 million endowment By Neha Madhira @nehamira14
The Jackson School of Geosciences received $10.5 million last week from The Munib and Angela Masri Foundation to create an endowment that will support graduate studies at the school. The organization was founded by a UT alumnus in 1970 as a humanitarian assistance organization for Palestinians. Now the foundation is expanding its outreach to UT. The donation will establish Masri fellowships for Jackson students with undergraduate degrees from Palestinian, Jordanian and Lebanese universities to support their education and research, according to a UT press release. The school also named its courtyard on the East Mall after the Masri Foundation to honor the endowment, according to the press release. UT alumnus Munib Masri said he owes his success in business and philanthropy to the University. “(I created the endowment) to support education and research on water, land use, energy, climate and environmental resilience,” Masri said. “(Therefore) the effects of human activities on habitat, water and energy resources and climate can be accurately predicted and the man-
agement of natural resources can be optimized.” Former geosciences dean Sharon Mosher said the fellowship process will be similar to the admissions process for other graduate students. Mosher said graduate students will apply for the fellowships, indicating what they are interested in doing and who they may want to work for. “Starting next fall, there will be enough funding for one (student), but over a period of years there will be funding for even more to come,” Mosher said. “It is a fairly prestigious fellowship, so there will be competition for that.” Masri said the fellowships complement the school’s 10-year strategic plan to help the success of the school’s enterprises. The plan includes research initiatives such as Planet Texas 2050, which finds solutions to aid Texas’ gradual process of population growth, according to its website. “The most important thing is to bring the world together, and I believe the Jackson School of Geosciences has a lot to offer to the (Middle East),” Masri said. Mosher said the University and the Masri Foundation will also advertise this program to universities in the Middle East. “One of the things that we are hoping for is that this will build
aria jones
/ the daily texan staff
The Jackson School of Geosciences is renaming its courtyard in the East Mall to “The Munib and Angela Masri Family Courtyard.” The Munib and Angela Masri Foundation gifted the school $10.5 million last week. stronger collaborations between UT and those other universities,” Mosher said. Geological sciences gradu-
ate student Omar Alamoudi said this endowment may encourage students with diverse backgrounds to apply and be a part
of Jackson. “(The endowment)
provides
E N D O W M E N T PAGE 3