The Daily Texan 2020-02-20 by The Daily Texan

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

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Volume 120, Issue 104

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

LIFE&ARTS

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Expert in education access Edmund W. Gordon speaks on achievement gap in schools.

Editor-in-chief candidates discuss how they will work to make the Texan more inclusive.

512 Rage Room supplies constructively destructive outlet for Austin residents.

Softball remains undefeated after 3-2 walk-off victory over North Texas.

CITY

UNIVERSITY

Senate surveys students Preliminary UT Senate survey results find students unhappy with tuition increase, but explanation of money allocation lowers the disapproval rating.

Travis County breaks voter registration record By Austin Martinez @austinmxrtinez

dan martinez

By Anna Canizales

@annaleonorc

n anonymous biennial Senate survey on tuition allocation suggests students oppose the recently announced 2.6% tuition increase. The final results have not yet been processed for the survey sent last Thursday by Senate President Elena Ivanova, but initial responses also suggest students want their

tuition money to go toward scholarships and other initiatives rather than infrastructure. UT System Chancellor James Milliken said the increase is set to match the 2.6% inflation rate in a November meeting previously reported on by the Texan. “Students are not happy with the tuition increase, which is definitely expected,” Ivanova said. “There are various perspectives being presented in the responses, (including) students who are paying out of pocket costs

/ the daily texan staff

for supplies … and how this increase is going to affect them personally.” The survey received over 2,000 responses. 97% of students said they were against the tuition increase at first, but when told how UT planned to use the tuition money, the number went down to about 40%, said Usmaan Hasan, Undergraduate Business Council president. “When you give students concrete reasons for the tuition increase, they understand a little bit more,” finance

senior Hasan said. “The tuition increase that UT has proposed is mostly being spent on faculty salaries, Wi-Fi infrastructure, mental health services and student success initiatives.” Ivanova, a public health, government and Plan II senior, said these are preliminary observations. Once the College Tuition Budget Advisory Committee gets the survey results, they will S E N A T E PAGE 2

Voter registration in Travis County hit an all-time high with 95% of eligible voters being registered, said Bruce Elfant, Travis County tax assessor-collector and voter registrar. Travis County has over 822,000 registered voters, about 50,000 more since the last election, Elfant said. “We’ve never had this many people registered before,” Elfant said. “It’s the highest registration rate of any urban county in Texas.” Elfant said he hopes Travis County will also have the highest voter turnout in Texas. “This is our democracy, and that’s why we’re so aggressive in registering voters,” Elfant said. “There’s not another county that has 4,000 volunteer deputy registrars like we do.” As a volunteer deputy registrar, government sophomore Hector Mendez helps eligible Travis County residents become registered voters. “It’s absolutely fantastic that there are so many eligible voters now registered to vote,” Mendez said. “It shows people are paying attention now. They’re waking up and realizing voting is important.” Mendez, who is also a member of University Democrats, recommended residents become trained VDRs to get involved in the voting process. “I was registered for the first time by (University Democrats) when I was a freshman,” Mendez said. “I became a VDR so I could give that same opportunity to students who want to participate in electoral politics.” Mendez said students should vote regularly to select candidates who represent V O T E R PAGE 3

CAMPUS

CITY

Frozen student orgs frustrated by HornsLink notification process

Draper Startup House entrepreneur hostel gets ready for opening in Austin

By Mikayla Mondragon @ miki_mondragon

Every fall, student organizations have to complete a “Safety Education Leadership Workshop” to maintain their active status on HornsLink. Some organizations are frustrated with this requirement and said they did not receive adequate notification to attend the workshop until after their status was frozen, and they were unable to reserve rooms to meet. The Safety Education presentation “connects student organizations to prevention resources, by engaging with bystander intervention and risk reduction practices, in order to shift the campus culture,”

according to the event website. All student organizations are required to send their president or primary contact to complete it. Student organizations such as Har-D-Har Improv had trouble receiving a notification for the required training and were frozen last semester. Government sophomore Tejas Tuppera said he does not think they got an email about the training, but if they did, it got lost among their other HornsLink emails. “There’s a lot of HornsLink emails, and I don’t read all of them,” Tuppera said. “It felt like minimal warning with minimal information. We only realized (the training was required) after it was too late.” O R G S PAGE 2

By Hannah Williford @HannahWillifor2

The Draper Startup House, a hostel which caters to new entrepreneurs and students, will open this March in Austin, marking its first location in the United States. The Draper Startup House will be located on 6th Street and will include a working space, areas for conferences, a podcast space and a hostel-style living area for 70 people to stay, co-founder Katie Russel said. In addition to being a place to stay, the location will host lectures from different businesses the public can attend for a fee. Draper Startup House D R A P E R PAGE 2

Austin welcomes the first Draper Startup House in the United States. It will serve entrepreneurs and students with various working spaces.

S AVA N A D U N N I N G

News Editor | @THEDAILYTEXAN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Spencer Buckner

Digital Designer Emma Overholt

Managing Editor Lisa Nhan

Video Editor Faith Castle

Assoc. Managing Editors Kirsten Handler, Brittany Miller

Assoc. Video Editor Jackson Barton

Director of Digital Strategy Megan Menchaca Director of Diversity and Inclusion Tiana Woodard Collaborations Director Lauren Girgis Internal Relations Director Angelica Arinze External Relations Director Divya Jagadeesh, Meghan Nguyen Assoc. Editors Abby Dasgupta, Abby Springs, Hannah Lopez, Sanika Nayak Forum Editors Julia Zaksek, Maggie Lazaroski Illustration Coordinator Abriella Corker News Editor Savana Dunning Assoc. News Editors Emily Hernandez News Desk Editors Hannah Ortega, Lauren Girgis, Neelam Bohra, Areeba Amer, Aria Jones Beat Reporters Hannah Williford, Anna Canizales, Austin Martinez, Laura Morales, Brooke Ontiveros, Lauren Grobe, Nataleah Small, Neha Madhira Projects Editor Sami Sparber Projects Reporters Chad Lyle, Neelam Bohra, Hannah Ortega Copy Desk Chiefs Jason Lihuang, Jimena Pinzon Associate Copy

Desk Chiefs Phoebe Hayes, Megan Shankle, Irissa Omandam Design Editor Christiana Peek Associate Design Editor Reneé Koite Senior Designers Sierra Wiggers, Maria Perez, Christina Peebles

ISSUE STAFF Comic Artists Leslie Tang, Emily MacCormack, Valeria Trevino Copy Editors Chloe Roman, Minka Atkinson Designers Mckenna Lucas L&A Reporters Hannah Heckman,

Senior Videographers Brendan Long, Jennifer Xia, Shelby Woods Photo Editor Amna Ijaz Assoc. Photo Editors Presley Glotfelty, Blaine Young Senior Photographers Jamie Hwang, Jacob Fraga, Eddie Gaspar, Joshua Guenther, Jack Myer Life&Arts Editor Trinady Joslin Assoc. Life&Arts Editors Brooke Sjoberg, Ariana Arredondo Sr. Life&Arts Writers Aisling Ayers, Noah Levine Sports Editor Marcus Krum Assoc. Sports Editor Donnavan Smoot, Alex Briseño Senior Sports Reporters Myah Taylor, Stephen Wagner, Wills Layton Comics Editors Alekka Hernandez, Barbra Daly Assoc. Comics Editor Steph Sonik Senior Comics Artists Rocky Higine, Dan Martinez, Destiny Alexander Social Media Editor Rebeccah Macias Assoc. Social Media Editor Michael Hernandez Senior Social Media Staffer Haley Riley, Katya Bandouil Events Director Sarah Kate Scribner Senior Events Planner Vanessa Ruiz Newsletters Editor Chase Karacostas Audio Editor Sara Schleede Audio Producers Divya Jagadeesh, Harper Carlton, Aurora Berry Editorial Adviser Peter Chen

Carlie Whisman, Avery Wohleb, News Reporters Mikayla Mondragon, Samantha Greyson, Sanjna Reddy Sports Reporters Nathan Han, Carter Yates

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Spencer Buckner (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com

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

NEWS OFFICE

(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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The Daily Texan, a student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin, is published by Texas Student Media, 2500 Whitis Ave., Austin, TX 78712. The Daily Texan is published daily, Monday through Friday, during the regular academic year and is published once weekly during the summer semester. The Daily Texan does not publish during academic breaks, most Federal Holidays and exam periods. News contributions will be accepted by telephone 2.120). Entire contents copyright 2020 Texas Student Media.

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Mayuri Raja, a producer for Foot in the Door theater group and a leader for embrACE, a discussion group for asexual and aromantic people, said her organizations had a similar problem. “For whatever reason that semester leading into my junior year, I didn’t get any emails about it,” computer science senior Raja said. “My email was hooked up to HornsLink, and we had the embrACE email hooked up as well, and we never got any emails about safety training.” Raja said she did not realize embrACE was frozen until she tried to add members to HornsLink. “One of the things that I wish they did was actually tell you if your org is suspended,” Raja said. While suspended, Har-D-Har Improv, embrACE and Foot in the Door could not reserve campus rooms to hold organization meetings. All three had to occupy empty classrooms to continue regular meetings. “Luckily, there’s plenty of unused rooms,” Raja said. “But when you do want to an event that actually has a certain room capacity or you want to advertise before it happens, that stuff is just impossible.” Jenny Walker, prevention and risk management coordinator in the Office of the Dean of Students, said all messages regarding required workshops and status of organizations go through HornsLink. Shel Peyton, Beauties and the Beat music director, said she got an email notification for the training and completed it right away but could understand why it can be confusing for other organizations. The email went to her personal email instead of the organization email. Walker said organizations

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identify main priorities and present them to UT administrators to influence budget decisions. Ivanova said the primary focus of the survey is to align next years’ budget allocations with student feedback. In response to the survey, one student said “education, fair wages, and access

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currently has hostels in Indonesia, India, Estonia, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines and Portugal. Co-founder Daniel Wiegand said they chose Austin for their ninth location because they wanted to expand the access to entrepreneurship opportunities outside of tech communities like Silicon Valley, a location that is not feasible for smaller startups. “When we were evaluating cities in the U.S. to start, Austin was at the top of our list for a number of reasons,” Wiegand said. “There’s a growing tech scene here as well as a growing startup scene that we saw as very attractive. … The amount of colleges nearby was also very attractive to us because we are targeting … young entrepreneurs who are kind of just getting their feet wet, and we saw that as a great opportunity for us to kind of get into this market.” Wiegand said the house will allow students to see what it is like to be an entrepreneur and if it is the right path for them while also learning from people currently working in the industry. Russel said the classes will also provide more handson experience and get people who have not yet started a business out of their comfort zone.

destiny alexander

shouldn’t panic if they become frozen because there are makeup opportunities for the workshops throughout the semester until a certain date. “We don’t want groups to be frozen,” Walker said. “Our goal is to make sure that all students get

to affordable housing are all interrelated and should be the main concerns of the University.” Students also said if tuition cost was going to increase, the University should work to decrease housing costs. The majority of the responses came from the McCombs School of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Fine Arts, according to survey results. “A large majority of students said that they

“It’s great to have college students coming through because it does build their network as well as help our entrepreneurs staying in our building to meet new people and understand different perspectives and what college students are going through,” Russel said. Computer science sophomore Shalin Gadhavi, co-founder of business networking startup Colanse, said although there are other areas to interact with entrepreneurs, the hostel aspect is new to him. “There are definitely places where you can meet other co-founders,” Gadhavi said. “But most of them don’t have a 24hour living experience, which is interesting to see. It might bring a new kind of client base which would be more creative, especially because most startup (founders) are sleep-deprived people.” Wiegand said hostels have a negative connotation in the U.S., but he wants to create a place people can visit consistently and know what kind of quality they are going to get. “That’s another large reason why we chose Austin,” Weigand said. “I think people in Austin are more open-minded. They’re willing to try new, quirky and weird things, so for us it’s a great test point to change the mindset … in the U.S. before we expand to bigger cities.”

RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE your copy of your copy your copy of your copy of your of your copy copyof of

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this training. The biggest thing is to make sure (student organizations have) their HornsLink up to date and to make sure they have the right officers and the right contact information.” Raja said having both of

believe they’ll lose out on educational opportunities because of work … because of this tuition increase, and therefore might not have as much time to take classes or do research,” said Zoe De Beurs, Natural Sciences Council president. De Beurs, a physics and astronomy senior, said in past years administration consulted the students’ survey responses before setting tuition for the next year, but this year they did not.

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her organizations frozen was disheartening. “At this point like, if my org was to be suspended again, I’m not sure I would even care because it’s not like being suspended has helped,” Raja said.

“It would be really great if a concerted effort is made to ensure student priorities are evident and clear before the tuition setting process begins,” De Beurs said. “Initially, we were told that they would need the results by February of this year, but then they ended up setting tuition in November.” Ivanova said there should be increased conversations between the administration and student body on determining tuition

increases and how that will affect other high cost items such as housing, food and textbooks. Hasan said the College Tuition Budget Advisory Committee’s goal is to increase student involvement in the tuition allocation process. “We know that tuition raises are inevitable, but if it’s going to happen, at least we’re spending money on things that are impactful to students’ lives,” Hasan said.

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NEWS

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NEWS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

UNIVERSITY

Edmund W. Gordon speaks about academic achievement gap By Sanjna Reddy @sanjna_reddy5

Psychologist Edmund W. Gordon spoke about the academic achievement gap in the American education system Wednesday in the Gordon-White Building named in his honor. As this year’s W.E.B Du Bois Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Black Studies, Gordon discussed how factors outside of schooling can impact students’ ability to learn. About 40 people attended the event, said Shaleiah Fox, director of external relations for Black Studies at UT. “Learning how to listen, learning how to learn, learning what to appreciate, learning what to pay attention to are not the things you go to school to learn, but they are learned with the significant adults in your life,“ Gordon said. “If I go back to the beginning, I’m arguing that school is important, but it is not the end of education, nor is it the beginning.” Gordon shared insight from his over 70-year career during his talk and explained how academic achievement gaps form through the lens of educational psychology.

Fox said having Gordon’s support at UT is an extremely valuable asset to the University. “Dr. Gordon’s legacy and contributions to the field of educational psychology and even how we define education attainment cannot be overstated,” Fox said. “So, to have his support, to have his papers here at UT, to have his name on our building (are) really ways to make UT part of a national conversation.” Alice Strenger, curriculum specialist at Round Rock ISD, attended the talk to learn about providing more equitable teaching and learning experiences to students. She said it’s important for educators to explore what it means to be Black and Brown students in the community. “We want to make sure we have our eye on what’s happening with all of our kids and all of our students, but especially pay attention to what’s happening with those who are traditionally marginalized,” Strenger said. Loriene Roy, professor at the UT School of Information, said the event appealed to her for multiple reasons, one of them being that Gordon’s son is also a current professor at UT and her colleague. “This was his father speaking, so I

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would get insight into my colleague, and it was a wonderful way to celebrate something that we share in

terms of concerns about education, especially kids education,” Roy said. “(Gordon’s) attention over … the

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Psychologist Edmund W. Gordon discusses the gap in academic achievement among students at the Gordon-White Building on Wednesday afternoon.

reneé koite

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their interests because elected officials make decisions that directly affect them. The county’s registration rate could rise to 96% with an additional 30,00040,000 registered voters for the general election, Elfant said. Mendez said he will continue helping with voter registration to increase the county’s rate. “I wish registering people to vote would be easier,” Mendez said. “In an ideal world, we’d have online voter registration, and we’d be able to register so many more people.” Ric Galvan is a VDR and campus organizer for Texas Rising at UT, a nonpartisan organization at college campuses across Texas that encourages young Texans to be politically active. “We want to ensure people are registered to vote because it’s kind of a burden to do in Texas by yourself,” history sophomore Galvan said. He said Texas Rising registered over

productive lifetime and perspective was a wonderful opportunity to hear from.”

1,700 voters on Feb. 3 while working with the Civic Engagement Alliance. Galvan said the next step for registered voters is to make time to vote. Early voting started Feb. 18 and ends Feb. 28. Students can vote on campus 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Perry-Castañeda Library and the Flawn Academic Center. “It’s one thing to be registered, and it’s another thing to actually get out to the polling location,” Galvan said. “I suggest going to vote early. Don’t wait until election day when there will be long lines.” Public health sophomore Gabi Antuna said her first voting experience in 2018 encouraged her to become a VDR. She said UT makes the voting process accessible with resources such as VDR training, on-campus polling locations and various nonpartisan and partisan organizations. “I felt like the person I was voting for made an effort to represent me and my community,” Antuna said. “This is something many people should be a part of and experience.”

CAMPUS

Cockrell School of Engineering hosts 6th annual space traffic conference

Congratulations, UT Graduates

COME TAKE YOUR FREE

GRADUATION PICTURE FOR THE CACTUS YEARBOOK!

haley bell

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Paul Liias, expert in space technologies and policy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications for Estonia, speaks at the sixth annual Space Traffic Management Conference at the James J. And Miriam B. Mulva Conference Center on Wednesday. By Samantha Greyson @GreysonSamantha

Experts from around the world gathered to promote safe access and operations in outer space at the Cockrell School of Engineering on Wednesday. The Cockrell School of Engineering and the Strauss Center’s Space Security and Safety program partnered with the International Academy of Astronautics to host the 6th Annual Space Traffic Management Conference, which ends Thursday afternoon. This is the second year the Space Traffic Management Conference has been held at UT. “The idea is to bring together a variety of perspectives on the current state of space traffic management and what concerns to look at for future iterations of space traffic management,” said Victoria Samson, the Washington office director of the Secure World Foundation. “How do you

make sure space is usable for all, and how do you bring in various perspectives on this issue?” Space traffic management and the environmental effects of an increasing amount of technology in space were discussed at the event. Moriba Jah, co-chair of the event and aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics associate professor at UT, said the relationship between space traffic and the environment is important. “Right now, we keep track of about 20,000 objects in space,” Jah said. “Most of that is junk and debris. Basically, what we’ve done to our oceans with plastics, we’re doing to space. So, it’s very critical that as a global community we talk about norms of behavior that would help the space ecosystem be sustainable for future generations.” Jean-Michel Contant, secretary general of the International Academy of Astronautics, called for

further action to be taken in ridding the atmosphere of old space debris. “We have to find a way to modify the rules,” Contant said. “There are already existing rules for space debris organized by the United Nations, like a 25-year maximum (orbit), but that is not enough. We need rules. We have only one Earth. This is a real problem we need to investigate more clearly.” The conference not only focused on the environmental effects of space traffic, it also featured a variety of panels and sessions devoted to topics such as space security, space safety and space sustainability. “Space traffic management is becoming a very important thing,” conference attendee Jose Miguel Lorenzo said. “Last week there were two hearings, one in the Congress and one in the Senate, about this. It is a real problem that we are trying to solve.”

Thursday, February 20 2–6 p.m. Friday, February 21 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Saturday, February 22 11 a.m.–4 p.m. HSM Building Lobby 2500 Whitis Open to all fall 2019, spring and summer 2020 graduates, including graduate-level degrees. No appointment necessary. Business Casual attire recommended. Receive a $10 discount off of the Cactus Yearbook with your picture.

SPENCER BUCKNER

Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

OPINION

diane sun

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Help decide the Texan’s future Editor-in-chief candidates Emily Caldwell and Abby Springs discuss fostering a representative and inclusive newsroom at The Daily Texan.

he Daily Texan will soon be under new management. Since 1900, the editor-in-chief of The Daily Texan has been an elected position, based on the idea that Texan leadership must answer to the students they strive to represent. What does the editor-in-chief do? As the official representative of UT-Austin’s largest student newspaper, the editor is tasked with representing student voices and leading discussions on issues that most intimately affect students. The editor-in-chief directly oversees coverage in the Texan’s opinion department, most notably through

serving as the voice of the paper and as head of the editorial board. In addition to writing editorials, the editor oversees all content submitted to the Texan, including the weekly forum page, as well as all staff-written columns. The editor-in-chief is also the public representative of the Texan and leads recruitment for new staff across the paper. The term lasts from June 1, 2020 to June 1, 2021. On the ballot this year are Emily Caldwell and Abby Springs. Caldwell is a former associate editor and Springs is a current associate editor. Given the Texan’s current efforts to create a more representative and

inclusive newsroom, both candidates were asked to respond to the following prompt: The Daily Texan has for years struggled to represent the UT community in both the demographics of our newsroom as well as in our content. What does a representative and inclusive newsroom look like, and how will you work to achieve that as editor-in-chief? Read their visions below, and pick up next Thursday’s paper to learn more about their platforms. Voting will take place on Monday, March 2 and Tuesday, March 3. All UT-Austin students are eligible to vote.

GUEST COLUMN

To foster a more inclusive Texan, I want to hear from you

Listening, accessibility vital in improving Texan’s diversity

By Emily Caldwell

Editor-in-chief candidate

“I think the biggest aspect of actually getting better newsrooms is valuing a person for what they bring and not just for the fact that they’re there. It’s one thing to have a Black person in the room or something like that, but if they don’t feel the ability or the room to kind of maneuver and do exactly what it is they want to do, then it doesn’t mean anything. And just in general, with all writers, enabling people to write their experiences is really important.” — Jade Fabello, journalism and communication and leadership senior. “I think a diverse and inclusive newsroom is one that includes members of the UT community, or whatever community they’re working in, and actually represents them. That means having a diverse staff, having more people of color, or people from groups like the LGBTQ community. As far as inclusion, it also means that this diverse staff isn’t just there but they’re actually given the time and space to do meaningful work representing the communities they might be familiar with or tied to, without getting pushback.” — María Méndez, former Daily Texan reporter and UT alumna. “A lot of newsrooms lack diversity, and that really shows not only in silencing and making particular stories invisible but also not adding important perspectives into existing stories. If you focus your attention on those stories that are not being talked about, you will find those people that you need to include in your space. You won’t see those needs, you won’t understand those communities, unless you include those people.” — Dominique Montiel Valle, journalism Ph.D. student. “You don’t get paid at the Texan. When I was working there, I was getting paid what came out to two dollars an hour. You have to be able to afford to work at the Texan, otherwise you can’t. If the Texan is only accessible to people who can afford to be paid $2 an hour while giving their entire time, energy, blood sweat and tears and whatnot, then the work is going to reflect that.” — Sarah Tang, radio-television-film and

sociology senior and former Daily Texan video editor. “I feel like people forget that it was only in 1956 when Black people were admitted into the University. Having Brown people writing stories and leading these organizations, and Black people, and transgender people, and nonbinary people, is huge. Don’t put people in a box. It makes organizations and stories just so much more powerful and more inspirational and world-changing. Isn’t that what UT wants to be, a place that changes the world?” — Callie Blake, journalism senior. “You have a more fully dimensional product, whether it’s editorial or an article, when diversity is part of the picture. Your work is now informed by more perspectives. You get pitches you might not have thought of before, you interview people you might not have interviewed before. It’s not just writing stories about diversity but including diversity in all aspects of the news production process.” — Kathleen McElroy, director of the School of Journalism. It was clear to me from the beginning of my campaign I couldn’t do any of this alone — especially something as critical as fostering a representative and inclusive newsroom. This is advice I’ve received from peers, mentors and friends on how to best approach something the Texan has struggled with since its inception: representation. Gathering and incorporating input from marginalized voices in our community is the first step toward building a diverse staff and expanding our coverage of different groups on campus. I will use input like this when formulating editorial topics and goals for the opinion department, and I will always look for more feedback throughout my time as editor-in-chief. My platform is built around making the Texan more accessible, and with your help, we can change the way the Texan represents this campus — for the better. Please feel free to submit any thoughts, questions or feedback you have for me through the following form: http://bit.ly/emilyforeditor I can’t wait to hear from you. Caldwell is a journalism and Latin American studies junior from College Station.

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.

As editor-in-chief I would listen to and follow the example of these Texan leaders to ensure that diversity and recruitment efforts in the opinion department are being The Daily Texan isn’t perfect. done in a respectful and inclusive way. I I’m not the first to say it, and I won’t be the would also try to seek out and encourage the last. We’ve gotten things wrong, we’ve misrefeedback of other Texan staffers working ported and we’ve failed communities on this in this space. Because representation isn’t campus to who we have a duty to serve. just about having diverse voices. It’s about Like most newsrooms across the counactively listening to, working with and try, the Texan is not as diverse as it should promoting them. be. When we lack diversity, we miss imOn the broader, administrative side of portant facts, stories and context. We make the Texan, the editor-in-chief also has the damaging and harmful mistakes that hurt power to advocate for new opportunities marginalized students. for Texan staffers. A representative newsThe Daily Texan, and the room isn’t possible when opinion department specifnot all students are able to ically, needs more diversity work at the Texan, as is the with a staff that represents case for many low-income students from all backstudents today. grounds. As editor-in-chief, Working at the Texan I intend to listen closely Breaking down barri- takes time and energy, and and fight hard to help get half of our staff ers to accessibility is roughly us there. spends hours per week an important step in working for the paper for no In day-to-day work, the editor-in-chief is in charge making sure that all pay. Like most unpaid work, of the content that runs it’s a luxury, one that many students can work in low-income and working on the opinion page. From hiring columnists, to buildstudents can’t afford. the newsroom.” ing the editorial board, to To remedy this, I intend soliciting op-eds, the edito establish a program that tor-in-chief makes decisions allows Texan staffers to ABBY SPRINGS that shape what the opinion claim course or internship editor-in-chief candidate page looks like. credit for working at the Diversity is an essential Texan. I hope that this propart of the opinion page. gram lets students take a Without it, we fail at our lighter course load during duty to advocate and call out injustice on a semester for the same credit hours, alcampus, because we aren’t listening to the lowing them to dedicate time to work at the people affected by those injustices. paper and gain valuable experience for their I believe diverse voices come from diverse future careers. backgrounds, and I can guarantee that in my Breaking down barriers to accessibility is hiring practices, promotion decisions and an important step in making sure that all stucampus engagement efforts, representing dents can work in the newsroom, no matter all of UT will always be at the forefront of their socioeconomic status. my mind. Lastly, if you’ve ever felt hurt by Daily However, creating an inclusive newsroom Texan reporting, if you’ve felt like this paper isn’t a one-woman job, nor should it be. isn’t a space for you, I want to apologize. We Texan staffers have done, and are currentcan’t change our past, but as editor-in-chief, ly doing, hard work to create a more incluI want to listen closely and fight hard to sive newsroom, improving connections with make sure we are representing you in campus communities and platforming unthe future. derrepresented voices. They deserve all the Springs is a government and political credit — credit that I can’t take. communication sophomore from Dallas. By Abby Springs

Editor-in-chief candidate

SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | Email your Firing Lines to editor@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.

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SPORTS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

BASKETBALL

Freshmen flash glimmer of hope for Texas’ future

jack myer

/ the daily texan staff

Freshman forward Kai Jones pulls up for a shot during Texas’ 14-point win over TCU at the Frank Erwin Center on Wednesday night. Jones shot 3-for-3 in a 10-point, six rebound night. By Wills Layton @willsdebeast

With three starters out after a slew of injuries and an NCAA Tournament appearance likely out of reach, the Longhorns seemingly had little to play for on Wednesday night other than pride. Yet that pride proved to be a big enough motivator as Texas took care of business at home in a 70-56 victory over TCU. The injuries to the trio of juniors — forward Jericho Sims along with guards Jase Febres and Matt Coleman III — meant that there would be inexperienced players playing substantial minutes. This opened the door for three freshmen to take the court at the same time, as freshman guard Donovan Williams as well as freshmen forwads Kai Jones and Will Baker played valuable minutes early in the contest. “We’ve always been a talented group,” redshirt sophomore Andrew Jones said. “One through 15, everybody on the team is really talented. It’s just about next man up, staying confident, staying ready and stepping up to the big moment.”

baseball

continues from page

The Longhorns faced their biggest adversity in the seventh inning. With a seemingly comfortable 6-0 lead, Pierce opted to bring in two freshmen making their Longhorn career debuts. Right-handed freshman Will Swope allowed the only run of the game, and lefthander Sam Walbridge was inserted to face left-handed hitter Reese Durand. He then walked Durand to load the bases and was immediately

Baker, who scored just 16 points all season prior to Wednesday’s matchup, drained two early 3-pointers along with a putback to help the Longhorns out to an early lead. “It felt good to get those off,” Baker said. “I just stayed ready and kept working on my shot and my time came.” Not to be completely outshined, Jones played a complementary role, grabbing rebounds and even scoring on a put back of one of Baker’s misses. He chipped in 10 points while also pulling down six rebounds in the contest. Redshirt freshman forward Brock Cunningham also came off the bench to provide high quality defensive minutes. After sitting out last season and getting very little playing time thus far this season, his contribution was unexpected but welcome. “A lot of the stuff I do doesn’t show up on the box score, but it’s something I pride myself in because it goes in the winning,” Cunningham said. “It helps the other guys be better when we’re on the court together.” To be down by just two at halftime was a testament to the contributions made from players who usually remain on the

end of the bench. Thanks to the youth on the roster, the team was able to remain competitive. After about six minutes into a back-and-forth second half, the Longhorns were nursing a slim lead. Baker continued his accuracy from the three-point line, and Andrew Jones led the team in scoring with a career-high 21 points. The entire performance was easily the most consistent of the season. Even without several starters or depth on the bench, the Longhorns found a way to stay competitive and generate offense, while staying fundamentally sound on defense. Texas closed out the game strong en route to its first victory in the last five games. “Can you guys step forward and find a way to win?” Texas head coach Shaka Smart said. “It’s not about making excuses. It’s not about saying, ‘OK, this guy’s not on the floor or that guy.’ It’s about win anyway.” While this season can largely be considered less than ideal for fans who expected to make the NCAA Tournament in the fifth year of Shaka Smart’s tenure, Wednesday was a glimmer of hope toward a future that is seemingly brighter than the present.

Will Baker shines in breakout night By Stephen Wagner @stephenwag22

Compared to some of Texas’ great teams of the past, this year’s squad has left much to be desired. It’s hard to remember that Texas was once a Final Four team with, at the minimum, expectations of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Even after a 70-56 win over TCU Wednesday night, Texas’ hopes of clawing back into tournament contention all but rest on winning the Big 12 Tournament. But there are pieces of the 2003 Final Four team sticking around the Frank Erwin Center. One, to be exact. James Thomas, one of the stars from Texas’ 2003 Final Four squad, is back at UT taking classes. Monday morning, two days before Texas’ matchup with TCU, Thomas dropped by Texas head coach Shaka Smart’s office to chat. Aware of Texas’ mounting injuries and dire frontcourt situation, he recalled some of the injuries that threw him into a playing role early in his career. Smart said Thomas told him that he grabbed hold of the opportunity and never looked back.

“Sometimes guys are ready to do that, and sometimes they’re not,” Smart said. “It’s one thing to have a conversation, but then, when the opportunity presents itself, either you grab hold of it or you don’t.” Smart defended his frontcourt rotation of junior forward Royce Hamm Jr., sophomore forward Kamaka Hepa and

The last thing you want to do is judge anyone from one game.” SHAKA SMART head coach

freshman center Will Baker after Saturday’s jaw-dropping 81-52 loss to a sub-.500 Iowa State team. “The last thing you want to do is judge anyone from one game,” Smart said, adding that his coaching staff would try to simplify the game plan for a frontcourt with just 11 combined starts between them. Following a career performance from Baker on Wednesday night, it’s starting to look like Baker is ready to grab hold

of the opportunity Thomas alluded to. “We knew that a game like tonight was coming at some point, (but) we didn’t know when,” Smart said. “With the guys that we had out, we told Will, ‘Be aggressive and let it fly.’ And he did a great job.” Baker’s foot was the perfect fit for the glass slipper of injured junior center Jericho Sims. After going 1-for-25 from beyond the arc in his first 17 games, the former five-star recruit connected on three 3-pointers in the first half and nearly doubled his career point total. He finished the night with 20 points in a career-high 20 minutes. “It felt good to get those off,” Baker said. “It was frustrating when I was missing those shots, but the coaches just told me to stay with it. I tried not to think about (shooting struggles).” So what’s Baker’s next step after a career night? “Continuing to make progress with self-determination,” Smart said. “He’s made progress and that’s why he played well tonight, because it was him making the choices to do the things that we needed him to do for our team.”

jack myer

/ the daily texan staff

Freshman center Will Baker goes up for a layup during the Texas’ 70-56 win over TCU at the Frank Erwin Center. Baker hit four 3-pointers during his career-high 20 point performance.

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pulled for freshman Andre Duplantier II. “Swope was a little nervous,” Pierce said. “He’ll be fine, but he didn’t look the same out there.” But then the man with “ice in his veins,” as Pierce called him after Sunday’s win against Rice, struck out Lamar pinch-hitter Cole Secrest to get out of yet another bases-loaded jam. The Longhorns will stay at home and try to preserve their undefeated record in a weekend series against Boise State starting Friday at 7 p.m. at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

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Help Wanted BookSpring is Now Hiring!BookSpring is a nonprofit supporting our community. We are now hiring a Family Literacy Program Aide. The position entails fun and engaging tasks coordinating literacy events. Pay is $15 an hour, up to 15 hours per week, during the Spring semester. The position is expected to resume in Fall 2020 on an ongoing basis. Please submit a cover letter expressing your interest in this position and a resume to workstudy@bookspring.org.

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Reduce • Reuse • Recycle ADVERTISING TERMS There are no refunds or credits. In the event of errors made in advertisement, notice must be given by 10 am the fi rst day of publication, as the publishers are responsible for only ONE incorrect insertion. In consideration of The Daily Texan’s acceptance of advertising copy for publication, the agency and the advertiser will indemnify and save harmless, Texas Student Media and its offi cers, employees and agents against all loss, liability, damage and expense of whatsoever nature arising out of the copying, print-ing or publishing of its advertisement including without limitation reasonable attorney’s fees resulting from claims of suits for libel, violation of right of privacy, plagiarism and copyright and trademark infringement. All ad copy must be approved by the newspaper which reserves the right to request changes, reject or properly classify an ad. The advertiser, and not the newspaper, is responsible for the truthful content of the ad. Advertising is also subject to credit approval.

MARCUS KRUM

Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

SOFTBALL

Longhorns remain undefeated

It took a walkoff victory in extra innings, but the Longhorns’ 11-0 record is their best start since the 2013 season. By Carter Yates @ Carter_Yates16

he No. 4 ranked Longhorns needed all seven innings and then some to defeat in-state foe North Texas in a thrilling 3-2 walk-off victory. The Longhorns trailed 2-1 in a game that seemed all but over heading into the bottom of the seventh. Then, Texas manufactured a run when freshman infielder Camille Corona came off the bench as a pinch runner and came home on a wild pitch by North Texas pitcher Hope Trautwein. Corona’s headsup play tied the game at 2-2 and sent the game into extra innings, where Texas won on a walk-off single to right field by senior outfielder Shannon Rhodes in the ninth inning. This marks Texas’ second win despite trailing with just three outs left. In last weekend’s Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, the Longhorns erased Utah’s 2-1 lead after a walk-off double by sophomore first baseman Colleen Sullivan. Similar to that contest, the Longhorns were able to scratch and claw their

andre fernandez

/ the daily texan staff

Senior outfielder Shannon Rhodes makes contact with a pitch during Texas’ 3-1 win against Baylor at McCombs Field on May 5, 2019. Rhodes delivered the walk-off single to seal the Longhorns’ 3-2 win over North Texas on Wednesday night, improving them to 11-0. way back into a game that was not going their way once again. “We kind of had to pick ourselves up,” Rhodes said. “It’s hard coming from a long weekend, to a midweek game, to another long weekend.” Despite a quiet night offensively, Texas gave itself a chance to win in the bottom of the seventh due to gutsy pitching by sophomore pitcher Shealyn O’Leary, freshman pitcher Courtney Day and senior pitcher Miranda Elish. The trio combined to hold North Texas to just two

runs off of five hits. Elish was nearly perfect in relief of both O’Leary and Day. The Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week threw four frames after coming in during the top of the sixth inning, working out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the eighth to keep the Longhorns tied. O’Leary struggled with control early, partially due to a constant drizzle and 40-degree weather during first pitch. The 2019 National Freshman Pitcher of the Year gave up two runs in the first inning before bearing down and shutting

out the Mean Green in the

“She never gives in. She keeps working hard, she keeps trying to be a better pitcher.” MIKE WHITE head coach

next two innings. Entering the game with a 0.45 ERA

and 2–0 record, O’Leary responded valiantly to the first taste of adversity she’s faced this season. “She never gives in,” Texas head coach Mike White said. “She keeps working hard, she keeps trying to be a better pitcher.” The game was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination. Texas managed only six hits the entire contest, committed two errors and left countless runners stranded in scoring position. The Longhorns, however, still found a way to win the opener of their seven-game homestand.

Now, 11–0 and two games away from tying the school record for the best start to the season, which was set in 2013, Texas will get an off day before competing in the Texas Invitational throughout the weekend. Only time will tell how far the 2020 Longhorns can go, but Texas is already showing the ability to win big and win ugly. “We need to go out and give every team our best game,” Rhodes said. “Because they’re coming in here to give us their best game.”

BASEBALL

SOFTBALL • TEXAS INVITATIONAL

FRIDAY, FEB. 21

VS. LIPSCOMB • 9 A.M. VS. NORTH DAKOTA STATE • 4:30 P.M.

Longhorns cruise to 5-0 start with easy victory over Lamar

SATURDAY, FEB. 22

VS. LIPSCOMB • 5 P.M. VS. DUKE • 7:30 P.M. SUNDAY, FEB. 23

VS. WEBER STATE • 12:30 P.M. R E D

C H A R L I N E

M C C O M B S

F I E L D

joshua guenther

/ the daily texan staff

Freshman shortstop Trey Faltine hustles down the first base line during Texas’ 6-2 win over UTSA at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Faltine drew two walks and recorded a hit along with two runs in the Longhorns’ 6-1 win over Lamar on Wednesday night. By Nathan Han @NathanHan13

TEXAS BASEBALL

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It would be an understatement to say that Wednesday’s 6-1 win over Lamar wasn’t played in the greatest of conditions. The game had everything from an early afternoon start and chill temperatures to mild rain and wet fields. It was a reminder that baseball season is truly underway. “People are driving down the freeway going, ‘How are they playing baseball out there? It’s nasty, and it’s drizzling,’” Texas head coach David Pierce said. But the Longhorns didn’t let the dreary weather or early start time affect their play as they improved to 5–0 on the season. “It’s very early,” Pierce said. “But what I like about it is we earned that 5–0. The three teams that we played didn’t really give us the ball game.” Senior outfielder Austin Todd had the big play of the game in the second inning. With Lamar pitchers

struggling and the bases loaded with no outs after three consecutive walks, the Longhorns looked poised to jump out to an early lead. But then, Lamar’s junior pitcher Jack Dallas settled down and struck out Texas infielders freshman Brenden Dixon and junior Murphy Stehly. Todd, however, came through in the clutch with two outs and hit a double to right field to score three runs. That would be all the Texas pitching staff needed to win the game. “That was a huge momentum swing,” Pierce said. Sophomore pitcher Kolby Kubichek picked up the win after throwing three scoreless innings with two hits, two walks and three strikeouts. He worked his way out of two runners-in-scoring-position situations in the first and third inning. But the right-hander, still recovering from a minor ankle sprain, needed 51 pitches to work himself out of the jams. Enter sophomore pitcher Owen Meaney. In his season debut, the right-hander

pitched three innings of nohit ball. He picked up three strikeouts along the way and looked to be in a groove as he worked through his pitches at a fast pace. “(Meaney) has a different demeanor,” Pierce said. “He knew that coming into the fall, he was a guy that was going to have to perform. So he did, and won a job in the late fall. He’s attacking with secondary pitches and pitching backwards. The key is that (hitters) start sitting on his change-up and then he throws his fastball.” With Meaney on the mound, the Longhorns continued to add insurance runs. The theme of the game for the Texas lineup was patience. Texas only had five hits all game, but six walks were a big contributor to the offense. Longhorn batters worked their way to threeball counts 11 times the entire game, and those extended at-bats made Lamar bring in eight pitchers in total to pitch nine innings. B A S E B A L L PAGE 5

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

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 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 Thursday, February 20, 2020

Crossword ACROSS

27 Language that’s the source of “gesundheit” 32 Uber 5 Green bits of alternative? ornamentation 35 Pint-size 11 Masala ___ (hot 36 ___ Day and the beverage) Knights (“Animal House” group) 15 Bestower of 40 Suits the Movies for Grownups 42 “___ it!” (“Hush!”) Awards 43 Place for a bench 16 Keep the beat, in 44 Ancient name for a way Ceylon 17 Parts of a nuclear 45 Terse rebukes reactor 46 Invite to the roof, say 18 Where Miners 47 Like a desk that’s have majors a sign of genius, 19 Type of fluffy it’s said wool 49 Gobbledygook, 20 ___ surgeon metaphorically 50 Flight schedule 21 Word following abbr. sing or play 51 The mister, 23 Furrowed affectionately feature 56 N.L. East city, on 25 Wait on scoreboards 26 Tribal leaders 58 Lithuanian, e.g. 1 White pizza topping

SUDOKUFORYOU 6 4 7 5

9 8 2 9 8 4 6 7 5 3 5 4

6 2 3 5 3 1 2 9 8 8 9 5 6 3 4

Today’s solution will appear here next issue

8 2 4 5 7 3 1 6 9

3 6 9 4 8 1 2 5 7

5 7 1 6 9 2 8 3 4

2 9 3 7 1 5 4 8 6

6 5 7 8 3 4 9 2 1

1 4 8 9 2 6 5 7 3

7 1 2 3 5 9 6 4 8

9 8 6 2 4 7 3 1 5

4 3 5 1 6 8 7 9 2

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE S C H U S S

C H I M P S

O A T B A R

T H A T

H A T H

E N T R

P U L A V O C A G

T A I L B E L E R R R I D E R I G L O G S K O W I L O L L O N I D E Y

C E R O W E O W T H A A N G P A O L E S T U V E S A P A N I O S K N T H E L E S P U T H U G S E T H

S M E A R

P A B S T

I E D C E D E L T

N A A N N R E O S Y T T O W E N O N C H U I E T

E N U F

R O L F

M E L E E S

C L A S S Y

60 In the worst way 61 Neighbor of an Arkansawyer 62 It has cork and a bell 63 1950s-’70s football star nicknamed “The Golden Arm” 64 Part of a pot 65 Bra brand 66 Stop waffling 67 Fight protractedly 68 E, F and G, but not H 69 Opposite of the point? 70 Collectors’ goals

Edited by Will Shortz 1

24 26

27 32

36 42

45 47

50 58

DOWN 1 Animals, collectively 2 Face-plant, say 3 Ice cream cone, e.g. 4 Breakfast cereal in a green box 5 Routine activity? 6 Beer ___ 7 On the ___ (frequently, in slang) 8 Skater Midori 9 Attire 10 “I don’t want to hear it” 11 Sounds made by fans 12 Lena of “Cabin in the Sky” 13 Firefighter Red 14 Lands in the sea 22 Hawaiian fish with a palindromic name 24 Ending with pay

No. 0116

51 59

49 52

PUZZLE BY ERIK AGARD AND JEFF CHEN

28 Squiggle on a musical score 29 Ends up with 30 Sci-fi forest dweller 31 Trees with red berrylike fruit 32 Funnyman Brooks

37 What five answers in this puzzle do phonetically, in defiance of their clues? 38 Language of the Canadian Arctic 39 Conciliatory gesture

41 Window frame 33 Piece of furniture 43 Trim often covered 48 “Sup, bro!” with crinkly paper 49 Yellowstone 34 Study of rocks attraction

50 Work on a tablet 52 Bay Area athlete, for short 53 Kane of “All My Children” 54 Sightings in the Himalayas 55 Oar 57 English city where the Who once recorded a top 5 live album 59 11-Across and others 61 Bumbling bunch

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

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

CITY

LIFE&ARTS

Rage out at 512 Rage Room

Rage Room offers unconventional stress relief, letting visitors exercise their destructive urges on trash. By Hannah Heckman @slightly_stable

ne man’s trash is another man’s treasure. At 512 Rage Room, that trash becomes another man’s therapy. From smashing cars with a sledgehammer to throwing axes at painted targets, 512 Rage Room is a safe and social space for destructive behavior. “I would say over 99% of our customers don’t have any visible anger or rage,” owner Damon Fogley said. “They’re just here to have a good time.” As a veteran, former paramedic and business owner, Fogley is no stranger to innovation. His entrepreneurial ventures began with JDog Junk Removal & Hauling, a veteran-run disposal service, which led to the creation of the 512 Rage Room in April 2019. After visiting other rage rooms in Texas and Las Vegas, Fogley said he built 512 based on what the others lacked, specifically windows. “A lot of them don’t have windows, so I planned a very open layout with space to watch while you’re waiting,” Fogley said. Some of the junk, Fogley said, is supplied by his junk removal service. Instead of taking the trash to the landfill, Fogley has profited off of it. “It’s really not rocket science,” Fogley said. “We tear stuff apart, salvage what we can and repurpose it.” Most of the 512 Rage Room’s idiosyncratic interior consists of repurposed material. The front desk is made from an old bus found in New Braunfels and the counter from a surfboard.

emily august

/ the daily texan staff

512 Rage Room founder Damon Fogley poses with a dummy Feb. 13 at the Rage Room. The 512 Rage Room allows people to destroy household and random items in a safe and social environment. “We’re saving the environment while also creating a social space where people can come and have fun,” Fogley said. While the majority of the Rage Room’s customers are just there for a good time, Fogley has faced some altercations surrounding the idea of “destruction therapy.” “I’ve gotten some hate emails,” Fogley said. “Some people believe that this contributes to violence, which is totally not the case.” Fogley said the psychological benefits of raging lie within its physicality and instant gratification. He also said raging satisfies three of the five senses: the sensation of the sledgehammer coming down on an old computer, the sound

of beer bottles smashing against the wall and the rewarding sight of the shrapnel-covered floor at the end of the session. “I think it could be more therapeutic than talking to a counselor or even doing yoga,” Fogley said. Anger management specialist Bernard Golden said rage rooms provide a quick fix but provide “no insight into the wounds or inner pain that can make us vulnerable to anger arousal.” Regardless, many customers appear to agree with Fogley’s philosophy. Bianca Delmar, owner of ATX FYI, a brand dedicated to finding Austin’s hottest spots, strongly

endorses 512 Rage Room. She said it’s an especially great location for date night or even a large party. “After the session, I felt invigorated,” Delmar said. “I had the opportunity to smash a truck window. That felt incredible. It was absolutely a stress reliever.” Delmar isn’t the only 512 Rage Room patron who left with a sense of relief. As an employee, Trace Grossman said his favorite part about the job is seeing how peoples’ attitudes change after experiencing the rage room. “You can see that a weight has been lifted from their shoulders, they’re less stressed and more open,” Grossman said.

MUSIC

DIY student record label aims to expand Austin music scene By Carlie Whisman @ummcarlie

From the outside, nothing marks the Porchfire House in West Campus as any different than the student housing it’s surrounded by. On the inside, it’s a student-run record label. Austin’s do-it-yourself music scene was the inspiration behind Porchfire Records, a music label and media organization aimed at giving up-and-coming artists unlimited autonomy. Porchfire was started in 2017 by arts and entertainment technologies senior Ally Brown and four other UT students. Brown said she saw an opportunity to start a record label when she began booking shows at Eden Co-op her sophomore year. A musician herself, Brown said Austin’s DIY community and her love of autonomous punk bands are what moved her to start an independent label. “TC Superstar was the first band we started working with,” Brown said. “They told me they were looking for a label to help them, and I had wanted to start one. It happened just

like that.” Now Porchfire has six local bands under their name, including Brown’s own band Merry Jane & The Fondas. Although Porchfire is a label, crew member Skyler Frost also describes them as a music-based media production company. From booking to producing, Porchfire provides artists with more than just representation. “What we focus on most is live event production,” said Frost, a radio-television-film senior. The label hosts donation-based concerts in crew member Will Clark’s house, called the Porchfire House, and at local venues like Hotel Vegas and Swan Dive. Across campus in Frost’s living room, they record Transient Sessions, which are live music sessions they later upload to YouTube. Sticking with their DIY roots, Porchfire’s production is completely independent. “We’ve been doing shows for over a year now without any outside intervention or sponsorships,” Frost said. With a recording space and the technology to master fulllength albums and produce live events, Porchfire offers

services to bands outside their organization as well. “(We’re) like an a la carte label,” Frost said. “A band comes to us and says they need live sessions and tour booking, we’ll do that. If they want live sessions and no tours, that’s okay. The bands can pick what they want.” Brown said Porchfire is meant to be an inclusive space for all artists to express themselves. “We want Porchfire to be a platform where people can put out their art and it can be accessible to people, (with) no limitations to what the art is,” Brown said. “Our main goal is just to support live music.” Clark, a radio-television-film senior, said the crew’s basis of friendship and shared love of music encourages a collaborative effort between them. “We all do a little bit of everything,” Clark said. “That’s part of what makes us DIY.” The Porchfire crew plans to carry on business after they graduate, with goals to collaborate with other DIY organizations in Austin and expand their label to new artists. “We want to keep everything as organic as possible,” Frost said. “Our goal is to keep it word of mouth and truly DIY.”

The Porchfire Crew: Skyler Frost, Will Clark, Caden Westmoreland, Roman Parnell and Ally Brown.