Serving The University Of Texas At Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Friday, March 6, 2020
Volume 120, Issue 115
PROJECT
Students, not soldiers UT’s student veteran community is small but supportive during the transition from military to college life. By Hannah Ortega @_hannahortega_
eddie gaspar
t 29, firstyear student Axton Vorpahl sits at the front of classes filled with students potentially a decade younger than him. While most freshmen have likely only ever known their high schools and college, Vorpahl saw much of the world during his five-year career as a builder in the Navy. Now studying civil engineering at UT, Vorpahl likens his unconventional college experience to “Billy Madison,” a 1995 movie starring Adam Sandler. “He’s a grown adult, but he has to go back and redo … (years at) his elementary schools,” Vorpahl said. “That’s kind of what it feels like. You’re just this grown adult with 18, 19, 20-year-olds. It’s different.” Despite making up less than 0.4% of the total campus population — roughly 425 students — UT’s student veteran community is “a huge fraternity of brothers and sisters” who support and lift each other up, said Jeremiah Gunderson, director of Student Veteran Services. “We’ve all seen and experienced so much, whether it has a bad effect on us or a good effect,” Vorpahl said. “We look at life a lot differently than the majority of the people that go to this school because … they haven’t seen what’s actually going on out there where most of us have, and so it’s nice to be able to be surrounded by similar-minded people in that aspect.” Student veterans at UT, 65% of whom are first generation, face the challenges of integrating back into civilian life while learning to navigate college and manage their time. They are often older,
/ the daily texan staff
Axton Vorpahl, a Civil Engineering freshman and Navy veteran, has found a community among the roughly 425 UT student veterans.
emma overholt
& megan fletcher / the daily texan staff
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UT Farm Stand hosts “Pick Local, Chews Local” students make salads.
UT needs to provide LSAT and MCAT prep courses to help more students succeed.
NCAA football transfer portal provides opportunities for players who wish to play elsewhere.
have families of their own and must take care of financial responsibilities without the support of parents. Student Veteran Services offers several resources to student veterans like Vorpahl, such as a mentor program and veteran-focused orientation. UT was recently named the best college for veterans in Texas, a state with many military residents, and ranked No. 6 nationwide. Eighty percent of student veterans at UT complete their degree, and 77% go on to earn more than $28,000 a year after attendance, according to career website Zippia. “The main goal of ours is to help (student veterans) understand that you have to transition into a world that’s different,” Gunderson said. “You can’t continue to operate like you did in the military and be successful as a civilian, so it’s really focused on transition.” Vorpahl said the relationships he has with student veterans at UT are comparable to the ones he had in the Navy — they joke and talk about similar topics. At the Student Veteran Center, where Vorpahl often spends time studying, students and office staff have a fellowship built on shared experiences. “We call it gallows humor, but … joking about things that other people don’t is a way that a lot of veterans cope with high-stress environments, so it kind of carries over here,” Gunderson said. Vorpahl said his wife encouraged him to go back to school, but he misses the structure of the Navy. When he was building, Vorpahl would wake up, drive to the project site, come back around 6 p.m., eat, exercise and go to sleep. During deployments, he worked anywhere from 12 to 17 hours a day. Sometimes, he worked 24-hour shifts with few P R O J E C T PAGE 2
Student makes GoFundMe for trip to powerlifting contest in Czech Republic.
CAMPUS
CITY
Texas Brain Exercise Initiative volunteers aim to fight Alzheimer’s
The Wall Street Journal ranks Austin best city for job market nationwide
By Sana Hameed @sana21hameed
Members of the new organization Texas Brain Exercise Initiative began volunteering last month with people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at a senior living community near campus, Brookdale Westlake Hills. The 74 members utilize activities meant to stimulate the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which controls higher cognitive functions such as memory and verbal ability. According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, 46 million people worldwide are affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia-related diseases. Thao Le, president of the initiative, said her grandmother’s diagnosis inspired her to pursue a capstone project in high school to re-
search treatments for Alzheimer’s. Her research eventually led her to the Brain Exercise Initiative. “We often view Alzheimer’s as something that is incurable, untreatable,” said Le, a biology and neuroscience sophomore. “There’s no medication for it. But from research that has been shown over in Japan, there are preventative measures that can be done to help alleviate this disease. If there’s any sort of way to help it, by all means, we should go ahead.” The brain exercises, developed by neuroscientist Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, are broken down into three components: math, writing and reading. First, Le said residents are challenged to complete simple math problems quickly and without worrying about accuracy.
“If you go through it slowly and actually take your time, it works a different part of the brain,” volunteer Nathan Hardham said. Hardham, a chemical engineering freshman, said the residents then rewrite questions without answering them and practice reading aloud. The exercises are followed with opportunities for volunteers to catch up and bond with the residents. “It’s more clinical than just volunteering or hanging out with the elderly,” Hardham said. “At the same time, we’re still working on maintaining a good connection with them.” Samantha Lazenby, resident programs coordinator at Brookdale Westlake, said while some residents were apprehensive about participating in the program, the reception so far has been B R A I N PAGE 2
By Austin Martinez @austinmxrtinez
While the weather in Austin is pretty hot, The Wall Street Journal said the city’s job market is even hotter. For the second year in a row, Austin ranked No. 1 in the United States for its job market, said Eric Morath, labor and economics reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Morath said the Journal ranked metropolitan areas with more than 1 million people using five metrics: unemployment, labor force participation, job growth, labor force growth and wage growth. Rankings were based on data collected by financial intelligence company Moody’s Analytics. “The great thing about Austin is it’s a pretty diverse economy,” Morath said. “It’s well-known for its tech scene and of course its music scene
… There’s a number of industries from construction to health care that are growing.” Morath said Austin topped the rankings because of its low unemployment rate of 2.7% in
The great thing about Austin is it’s a pretty diverse economy. It’s well-known for its tech scene and of course its music scene.” ERIC MORATH
labor and economics reporter for the wall street journal
comparison to the national 3.6% rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Journal ranked Austin No. 3 in the country for wage
growth because of its 5% pay increase since 2019. Michael Powell, director of the Engineering Career Assistance Center, helps students with career planning and development. Powell said Austin has a vibrant employment scene with leading companies such as Apple, Dell and Oracle. “We have a lot of prominent employers … that get a lot of attention, do a lot of hiring and are doing quite well in this economy,” Powell said. Powell said the University is an attractive destination for employers. “When employers come here, they know they’re going to get high-quality students in terms of the education they’re getting and the ambition they have,” Powell said. Austin’s job market benefits students and graduates with great internship and T O P J O B PAGE 2
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/ the daily texan staff
Lauren Garcia, government and history junior, picks fresh produce at the Jester Garden on Thursday. Students cut their own lettuce and salad toppings fresh from the garden behind Jester Center to create their own salad.
Students collected their own salad ingredients from the Jester Garden on Thursday at the UT Farm Stand’s Pick Local, Chews Local event. With help from Farm Stand employees, students cut their own greens for personal salads from a variety of healthy toppings. The Farm Stand is a branch of University Housing and Dining, but Farm Stand employee Elena Adams said it is largely student-run. This is the Farm Stand’s third Pick Local, Chews Local event, which they have hosted once a semester since spring 2019. “UT Farm Stand’s mission is to educate the UT community on the importance and value of local, sustainably grown healthy foods,” said Neil Kaufman, Farm Stand staff adviser.
“How do we shorten the space between a plant being grown and a plant being eaten? We realized we have it all here. We can do it ourselves.” Students picked different greens and herbs, including lettuce, spinach and basil, from the garden located outside Jester East Residence Hall. The Farm Stand provided other toppings such as corn, chickpeas, mushrooms and dressings. “For the Farm Stand, we want every aspect to be educational and to be open to students,” biology sophomore Adams said. “We love to have events like this where we essentially welcome students into our process to learn more about sustainable foods and how they’re grown.” The Farm Stand’s garden team maintains the Jester Garden on a daily basis. Jester Garden coordinator Austin Vargas, who plans workdays where stu-
dents volunteer in the garden, said the team added planter boxes to the garden this semester. “It’s really the garden interacting with the community,” architectural engineering sophomore Vargas said. “Education is our biggest thing. (We’re) showing people not only that we produce things, but we produce plants and vegetables that grow here in the (city), where you don’t often see plants being grown.” In addition to hosting events, the Farm Stand sells their produce and other local foods at their biweekly market, located outside Jester Center. “In college, a lot of times, everyone’s going at a really fast pace, so people don’t think a lot about what they’re consuming,” computer science freshman Esther Yoon said. “This tries to bring awareness to the things we put into our bodies and the things that we throw out and consume and produce.”
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Texas Brain Exercise Initiative officers Ethan Meilinger, Rachel Sattler, Morgan Hagood, Thao Le, Rowan Mitschke and Samad Ashraf pose for an officer photo.
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breaks in between, he said. “It’s constantly going, but you don’t have to really time manage everything because that is all your time,” Vorpahl said of the Navy. “Some people might (have), in their military career, tried (to) take classes. I didn’t have time for that. So time management in the Navy was pretty easy because the Navy was your time.” After 26 years in the military, where each day was carefully planned, student veteran adviser David Lessenberry said he struggled to budget his time at UT, so he turned to the Sanger Learning Center and younger peers for help. Now, he helps Student Veteran Services’s mentor program and a work-study program. “I also learned to leverage the traditional students … because … they know this material a lot fresher than I did,” Lessenberry said. “But then I offered them a lot because they … always asked me life questions. So it’s mutually beneficial for a lot of people, and I think that’s a unique thing that veterans bring to campus that a lot of people don’t realize.” Gunderson said Lessenberry himself helped inspire the men-
tor program because, as a UT student, Lessenberry would stay late in the Student Veteran Center to explain the registration process to incoming students. Vorpahl is not participating in the mentor program, but he said he and practically all other UT student veterans go to Lessenberry with their questions. It’s this kind of interconnectedness and unwavering support that motivates Gunderson to do his job well, Gunderson said. “We had a veteran … (whose) wife came up to me at an event just like, ‘Thank you so much for helping him graduate because he struggled hard here,’ … and I can say without a doubt without our office, he wouldn’t have made it,” Gunderson said. “I think when you help one veteran, you help all of them.” Gunderson said student veterans should be thought of as students, not soldiers, and emphasized that the Student Veteran Center is not the military or Veterans Affairs — it’s so much more. “We’ve lost a lot of people,” Gunderson said. “Obviously, that’s what happens in our world, but we think of it as an opportunity, and that’s why we encourage veterans. You’re here, (and) you have this opportunity a lot of other people didn’t get.”
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full-time job opportunities, Powell said. “Austin’s job market certainly makes it attractive to UT students,” Powell said. “A lot of UT-Austin students don’t come from Austin, (but from) other parts of Texas. When they get to Austin, a lot of those students fall in love and decide they wouldn’t mind staying.” Coming from Dallas, business freshman Nandini Patel said her parents encouraged her to apply to UT because of Austin’s successful job market. “My parents were like, ‘Wow, Austin is a great place for you to start a future,’” Patel said. “Most students end up staying in Austin because they feel they have better job opportunities here.”
Charisse Bodisch, senior vice president of economic development for the Austin Chamber of Commerce, said Austin’s culture helps her bring employers to the city. “We have a wide diversity of jobs and a wide diversity of industries,” Bodisch said. “Because of that, more people have the opportunity to get a job regardless of what their skill set or educational levels might be.” Patel said she would be interested in staying in Austin for accounting or real estate jobs. She also said Austin is attractive to job seekers because of its unique culture. “What sets Austin apart is it has that sort of ‘It Factor,”’ Morath said. “It also has points of stability, like a big research university and a state capital. It’s no doubt that Austin is on the map as a place for people to move.”
amna ijaz
/ the daily texan staff
Austin is ranked at No. 1 for the second year in a row within the United States for its job market. According to Moody’s Analytics, Austin’s diverse economy played a big role in its high rankings for low unemployment.
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FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020
alice liu
| the daily texan staff
Artist Evan Wagoner skates in front of the UT Tower on Sunday. He frequently skates around open areas on campus.
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CAMPUS
Longhorn Gaming celebrates 10 years, looks to future of org
kara howley
/ the daily texan staff
David Willis, head esports coach for St. Edward’s University, speaks on an panel about the importance of esports. The panel was held to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Longhorn Gaming, a UT organization devoted to casual and competitive gaming. By Lawson Freeman @lawsonmfreeman
To celebrate a decade of esports at the University, Longhorn Gaming held a panel of esports professionals, game demonstrations and a gaming giveaway Thursday. Longhorn Gaming is a UT organization dedicated to creating an on-campus community of gamers that hosts events to encourage both competitive and casual gaming, according to its website. UT Esports: 10 Years of Longhorn Gaming was hosted at the B. Iden Payne Theatre in the F. Loren Winship Drama Building. It was the organization’s biggest event since the UT chapter of Texas eSports Association was rebranded to become Longhorn Gaming, the organization’s president Austin Espinoza said. “We are trying to educate and spread the word about what (Longhorn Gaming is) doing behind the
scenes, which is trying to get our student organization sponsored and trying to make esports a legitimate activity on campus that the University is aware of and wants to promote,” Asian studies senior Espinoza said. “It’s a whole new form of school pride when maybe you’re not a student that’s interested in watching some of the traditional sport games.” The event’s panel included an esports coach, a competitive esports player, a leader of UT’s Brawl Stars team and the president of the Electronic Game Developers Society at UT. The panel discussed experience level, the future of the esports industry and the current esports community on campus. Espinoza said the event promoted Longhorn Gaming’s goal to create a varsity program for esports at UT. “There’s a very distinct difference between a program that has that varsity status (with) the admin-
istration supporting them and club programs that are run completely by students that are trying to navigate things themselves,” said David Willis, head coach of esports at St. Edward’s University and UT alumnus. “UT has a lot of ... talent that they can tap into if they were willing to create a (varsity) program.” The event also explained the growth of esports at UT and as an international industry. “I wanted to see more of what the (esports) industry is like,” said JoDei Pasasadaba, management information systems junior. “It’s just a great place for people to get together and do stuff that they really love.” The giveaway included gaming equipment such as headsets and keyboards. Panelists and Longhorn Gaming members demonstrated games including League of Legends, Overwatch and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
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FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020
COLUMN
OPINION
UT needs to provide LSAT and MCAT prep courses By Anna Marlatt Columnist
While preparing for a recent trip to Boston, I sat my boyfriend down to develop a shared Google Doc that would not only function as our hourly itinerary but also as a budget for every meal. I’m not proud of it, but hear me out: While I may be that irritating friend who is unnaturally — possibly emotionally — attached to a color-coded to-do list, planning ahead is a useful skill. So far, I think it has worked to my advantage. But graduate school admissions? Even I, a self-proclaimed agenda-holic, am intentionally ignoring the planning for it all, as I know the preparatory process will be mentally draining come junior year. And I’d argue that most students who are currently preparing for the Medical College Admission Test or the Law School Admission Test can attest to their difficulties. Which leaves me wondering: What more could the University offer to help students who are preparing for medical and law school? As of now, students receive no credit for the prep work they do. Even worse, students are caught in an impossible bind to find a low-cost, quality preparatory company that is also close to campus. Students need UT to step in and offer pass/fail MCAT and LSAT preparatory courses that qualify for the Quantitative Reasoning Flag. Students, then, must turn to outside test prep companies for help before taking the MCAT and LSAT. While these companies offer expertise and students find them helpful, going this route is often a hefty additional expense. These steep costs are especially common for test prep companies near campus. MCAT preparatory courses at The Princeton Review, a conveniently located test prep company in Dobie Center, can range from $1,500 to more than $3,000.
At Kaplan Test Prep on Guadalupe Street, in-person MCAT prep classes start at $2,499 and LSAT classes start at $1,299. So while companies such as The Princeton Review and Kaplan Test Prep offer physical accessibility, they do not offer financial accessibility. Reflecting on her own experiences with a South Austin commute to Test Prep Guy, Saamia Imtiaz, a Plan II and international relations and global studies junior, agreed that the University should offer prep courses. “I think it would be great to have some (prep classes) here that are more affordable and accessible to students,” Imtiaz said via email. “A lot of people I know ended up not doing (Test Prep Guy) — or any test prep — because they had to be able to be near campus for work or class.” If students were able to take a prep course through UT, it would not add an additional financial burden. Per UT’s tuition FAQ web page, the cost for any hours above 12 is the same fixed rate for all undergraduates. As a result, if UT offered its own preparatory course on campus, it would not cost full-time students a penny more to enroll. Brent Iverson, dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies, presented an interesting counterproposal to my own. “Students learn most, if not all, of the content that is covered on these exams in their required courses,” Iverson wrote via text message. “What they don’t get (are) test-taking strategies and practice taking the actual exams. Those seem more appropriately considered academic support than course material.” While the Sanger Learning Center’s Student Advisory Board is working on providing MCAT and LSAT preparatory workshops and practice tests, it still isn’t enough. The center wouldn’t be able to offer credit for MCAT and LSAT prep work. If UT itself offered prep classes with a Quantita-
isabella hollis
tive Reasoning Flag, students could fulfill a flag and stay on track to graduate. “The College of Natural Sciences offered an MCAT content review class over the summer in 2012,” Iverson said. “It was a lot of work for the students, and many said it covered what they pretty much already knew.” While it is true that the content tested on the MCAT is covered in most science courses, this doesn’t eliminate the need for a UT preparatory class. Students still need practice tests and test-taking strategies, and they still deserve credit for the work they do in the form of a fulfilled
COLUMN
/ the daily texan staff
flag requirement. Moreover, there are institutions that already carry out what I am advocating for. The University of Illinois provides a course with homework and exam problems taken directly from the LSAT and MCAT. The University of Houston-Downtown also provides an LSAT exam prep course that includes 30 hours of classroom instruction from experienced exam preparation professionals. UT, let’s catch up. Marlatt is an international relations and global studies freshman from Missouri City, Texas.
COLUMN
UT students deserve a twoweek add-drop period
“Having only the first five days to waitlist, add and drop puts a lot of pressure on students to decide which classes to take,” Adil said. “Some classes only occur once a The beginning of the semester is rough for week, so we can only attend one class before everyone, and it often takes more than just we have to make a decision as to whether or the first week to really get into the groove of not we want to stick with it for the rest of things. Between student organization meetthe semester.” ings and swapping the classes you hastily One major concern about increasing the added last semester for slightly more useful length of the add/drop period is that stuones, it can sometimes feel like you’ve been dents will not be able to catch up in the dropped in the middle of a battleground. classes that they added toward the end of The five-day add/drop period is nowhere the period. near long enough for students to decide what “If you had a longer add/drop and a Monthey want the rest of their semester to look day-Wednesday-Friday class, in theory, you like, especially when they’re already stressed could miss six classes and still be allowed to trying to readjust to their new schedules. add,” said Brenda Schumann, director of reIn the first week of the secords and registration and mester, professors spend the deputy registrar. “Could bulk of their time reviewing you catch up if you’ve alsyllabi, resulting in no subready missed, in essence, six stantial learning of course hours of lecture, not countcontent. Additionally, the ing the hours you spend Students have to first five class days are always on assignments outside split by a weekend, renderof class?” decide between ing them even less represenWhile this is a valid conadding and droptative of students’ average cern, most students are genworkload and schedule furping classes without erally aware of their limits ther along in the semester. and likely would not take on having an accurate more than they can handle. As a result, students have to decide between adding and picture of what their In addition, we can look to dropping classes without other schools as examples semester will look having an accurate picture of to determine if this policy what their semester will look like going forward.” could work for UT as well. like going forward. UCLA and UC BerkeTherefore, students ley have had success with would benefit from an eximplementing a two-week tension of the current add/drop period to add/drop period. Harvard University also 10 class days, as it would give them more provides its students with a two-week add/ time to try different classes and get a betdrop that incorporates a “shopping week” ter grasp of the time commitment each during which students are encouraged to try one requires before finalizing their schedout different classes before deciding which ules. This could reduce the total number ones to commit to. At these schools, students of Q-drops requested per semester, giving seem to have benefited from the longer periUT administration more time to focus on od of flexibility without experiencing much student enrichment instead of processing difficulty in making up missed coursework. Q-drop requests. Extending the add/drop period would not I know I am not the only person who reonly provide more time for students to finalpeatedly feels blindsided by the end of our ize their schedules but also reduce student woefully short add/drop period. Kelsia Adil, a and administration stress, and it is a policy finance and international relations and globchange I strongly hope to see enacted during al studies freshman, has also found herself my time at UT. struggling to make decisions among course Chen is a Plan II and business freshman options within such a narrow time frame. from Austin, Texas. By Tanya Chen Columnist
isabella hollis
/ the daily texan staff
Instead of asking for someone’s major, try something new By Maria Sailale Columnist
We are used to getting asked about our majors by our parents, distant relatives who want to live vicariously through us and random adults who insert themselves to dish out unsolicited advice. We can agree that these scenarios elicit a sinking feeling in our chest because the question never really feels like it’s about our major. This probing question instead seems to ask us to reveal our major as a neatly wrapped package containing everything we aim to do for the rest of our lives. I think that is a bold ask. Truthfully, most of us don’t know what we’re having for dinner the next day. Yet while we frequently suffer at the receiving end of this inquiry, we are also often the perpetrators. Almost every time I am in a setting where I have to introduce myself to other students, I am expected to attach my major to the end of my introduction as if it is a part of my identity. We need to stop insisting on constantly interrogating each other in this way. “People ask me about my major probably once per three people I meet,” undeclared freshman Kadi Morales said. “It’s anywhere I go on campus. If I meet someone in a dining hall or in a classroom, they always ask.” Of course, our chosen course of study says something about us, but in reality it’s very little. We may use it to form what appears to be reasonable assumptions about a person’s strengths, passions and interests. But in making these flawed deductions, we sometimes lazily infer a direct relationship where one may not exist between a person’s major and certain aspects of their life or personality. Perhaps we ask about our majors because they are the obvious reason we’re here. They affiliate us with communities. They serve as a jumping-off point toward lofty aspirations. They indicate what we value. On the contrary, they
could just as well be placeholders, unreliable identifiers, a second thought to our many other undertakings as students. Part of the issue stems from enduring years of indoctrination in a society that reinforces the notion that a specific major leads to a specific outcome. We have been spoon-fed stereotypes about liberal arts and STEM majors alike, that the former faces stark job prospects and the latter only aspires to be a doctor or engineer. While we have yet to enter the workforce, asking someone what their major is almost feels like asking them what they do for a living. On the receiving end, we may feel inclined to explain our major and justify pursuing it. “I don’t think it’s a good conversation starter because, at least for me, it’s difficult to have to explain what Asian studies is and what jobs are available,” Asian studies freshman Sam Hernández said. Sometimes we genuinely want to get to know each other or are pressed for options when it comes to instigating small talk. More often, we are like pesky relatives than we would like to admit. I think we can do better. “I think you could say what are you working towards,” Morales said. “You could say what are you interested in, what brought you here or what’s keeping you busy around campus.” We should aim to be better conversationalists. A major doesn’t have to be all you learn about a person. It shouldn’t just be the beginning and end of a conversation. It can be much more engaging to ask about someone’s interests or their experience as a student at UT. Try to get to know someone based on traits other than their major, at least when you first meet them. I don’t think it is feasible or necessary to avoid the question all together. We should simply give it less precedent. One easy rule of thumb: If it’s not branded on their forehead, let it go. Sailale is an undeclared PACE freshman from Dallas.
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/ the daily texan staff
LIFE&ARTS
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T R I N A DY J O S L I N
Life&Arts Editor | @TRINADY05
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020
CAMPUS
UT powerlifter raises funds Bella Vargas of Longhorn Powerlifting team seeks support to attend international competition in Czech Republic. By Bithia Dantoumda @bithiaaa
t 5-foot-1 with a pink bow in her hair and a deadlift weight record of 380 lbs, Bella Vargas is an underdog in many ways. Vargas, a communication and leadership sophomore, is a member of Longhorn Powerlifting, the University’s official powerlifting team. Despite qualifying for an International Powerlifting Federation contest, she cannot afford to travel to the competition in Pilsen, Czech Republic, in mid-May. Vargas began her athletic career as a cheerleader in high school but did not realize it would lead to her career in powerlifting. “The male coaches in the athletic department saw me picking up the girls on my own without having the support of
mary orms
/ the daily texan staff
Bella Vargas poses with a weight rack in Gregory Gymnasium sporting one of her signature bows, on Feb. 20. the other girls and thought, ‘OK, we’ve never seen a girl do that. That’s pretty cool. Let’s recruit her,’” Vargas said. As a high school sophomore, she took powerlifting athletics classes. As she learned
The male coaches in the athletic department saw me picking up the girls on my own without having the support of the other girls and thought, ‘OK, we’ve never seen a girl do that. That’s pretty cool. Let’s recruit her.’” BELLA VARGAS
communication and leadership sophomore
techniques to lift the bar and got used to holding more weights on her back, she earned a spot on the official high school team. After moving to UT, Vargas joined Longhorn Powerlifting. She placed second overall in her weight group at the 2019 Collegiate Nationals, qualifying her for this year’s international event. “(The national competition) was probably the most emotional meet,” Vargas said. “It’s always been hard for all my family to go to meets. Seventeen family members all came (from Chicago) to my competition last year. They made these
little cutouts of bows, so when I came out my whole team and my family was chanting, ‘Fear the bow.’ I think that’s what really pushed me.” Because the team is recreational, Vargas said all trips except for nationals come out of students’ pockets. In order to attend the international contest, Vargas is fundraising the $3,000 she needs. Eric Jin, teammate, boyfriend and nutrition sophomore, said he’s confident she’ll be able to raise enough money to make it to the competition. “Her work ethic is beyond great,” Jin said. “She has a lot on her hands this semester in
terms of academics and other leadership positions. I think regardless of what she does, she’s going to go far.” Vargas’ GoFundMe campaign has raised $915 at the time of writing. She also said she will be selling T-shirts with her signature phrase, “Fear the bow.” “(‘Fear the bow’) is definitely a good motto just because in the years past, even at nationals, we’ve used that to cheer her on,” teammate and kinesiology sophomore Keith Jackson II said. “Even now, it really holds a lot of weight to her accomplishments and what she can do.”
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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
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020
SUDOKUFORYOU
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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.
Longhorns Stay Longhorns Stay in in Control Control 68% 68%
of of Longhorns Longhorns drank 0-3 drinks last time they went out. @UTBruceTheBat 2019 UT Austin National Social Norms Center Survey
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MARCUS KRUM
Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020
FOOTBALL
Sideline
Transfer portal provides opportunity
Games to check out this week.
Men’s Basketball Sat, Mar 7
vs Women’s Basketball Sun, mar 8
vs MVP of the Week
joshua guenther
/ the daily texan file
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte walks on the sideline during a Texas football game. Del Conte, in addition to other athletic directors across the country, have commented on the transfer portal since its creation in 2019.
joshua guenther / the daily texan staff
Matt Coleman III
Junior Matt Coleman banked in a 3-point shot to give the Longhorns a 1-point win over the Oklahoma Sooners, keeping the team’s NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
Quote of the Week “It’s about letting your nuts hang. At the end of the day, it’s about making plays.” -Matt Coleman after hitting a game-winning 3-pointer to beat Oklahoma on Tuesday
After the transfer portal was created in 2019, many athletes have had the opportunity to play elsewhere. By Wills Layton @willsdebeast
very offseason, NCAA football coaches will leave a program in the middle of their contracts without penalty. This leaves the program in a tricky position. That program has to find a new coach on the fly, assuage recruits that things will still be stable and usually implement new systems into the playbook during the offseason. However, a recruit who was brought in by the departing coach can’t do the
same. A perfect example of this dilemma occurred last offseason, and it involved the Longhorns. Last year, former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury left USC after only a month as the offensive coordinator for a snazzy new NFL job as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Bru McCoy, a five-star wide receiver who had been recruited by Kingsbury, was having second thoughts. The transfer portal, which launched in 2019, opened the door for players like McCoy to seek new opportunities. “The transfer portal is something new for all of us,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said at the Big 12 spring meetings in May 2019. “Our coaching staff and (the) University of Texas want Bru McCoy to be at the University of Texas. We’re just saying, ‘Hey, we want you.’” McCoy ended up transferring to UT before shifting gears and returning to the Trojans. But before, Texas was waiting on the NCAA to determine whether McCoy would be able to play or not. To recap, a student-athlete who was recruited somewhere by a coach who left almost immediate-
ly after had ineligibility hanging over his head, but the coach who left faced minimal penalties. That is inherently unfair. This kind of a situation happens all over the country with coaches and players from various programs, and most players who transfer are forced to sit out one year. There are exceptions to this. Graduate transfers do not face such penalties and have benefited Texas several times in the past several seasons. Parker Braun, a starter on last season’s offensive line, transferred in from Georgia Tech and played a key starting role. Texas frequently searches for transfers from junior colleges or smaller schools to fill remaining holes after the end of the recruiting cycle. “It depends on how many years he’s got left, what are the odds of immediate eligibility in terms of a waiver, the need on the roster and how good is the guy and how that affects us,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said in December on what the team looks for in a potential transfer pickup. But there doesn’t need to be SOFTBALL
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Longhorns will try to keep streak alive against OSU By Stephen Wagner @stephenwag22
What looked like a lost season that could have cost Texas head coach Shaka Smart his job may turn into his best coaching performance ever. Just over two weeks ago, the Longhorns were 14–11 coming off a 29-point road loss to a struggling Iowa State team that had been lingering at the bottom of the Big 12 standings. Junior guard Jase Febres had just been presumably sidelined for the year with a knee injury. To make matters worse, junior forward Jericho Sims, undoubtedly Texas’ most valuable player, had been listed as out indefinitely with a back injury. Then Texas started winning. The red-hot Horns are on their longest Big 12 winning streak since the 2013-14 season, knocking off TCU, Kansas State, West Virginia, Texas Tech and Oklahoma to fight back into tournament contention. On Saturday against Oklahoma State, Smart and the revamped Longhorns will have a chance to further cement an NCAA Tournament bid.
“(I’m) really proud of the fact that our guys have not flinched when we’ve had any adversity,” Smart said after the upset win against Texas Tech. “We’ve had some injuries, we’ve had some games that didn’t go our way, but our guys have responded really, really well.” It’s a response no one saw coming. Texas was forced to play with only eight scholarship players following Sims’ injury, including three freshmen who up to that point had mostly contributed in limited roles off the bench. But it hasn’t mattered to Texas’ on-court leading guard trio of junior Matt Coleman, redshirt sophomore Andrew Jones and sophomore Courtney Ramey. Smart says the team has seen past the bad luck and said, “Win anyway.” It also helps when a team has a consistent offensive output. At least one member of that trio has had a career night in each of Texas’ first three games of the winning streak. Coleman hit his first game-winner as a Longhorn on Tuesday night against Oklahoma. Jones tied his career high in back-to-back games last week and won Big 12 Player of
exceptions. Athletes who wish to transfer should be able to move freely if they choose that route, and the coaches who publicly criticize the portal are speaking from a place of privilege. Success stories from the transfer portal are everywhere you look and include former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts transferring to Oklahoma, Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow transferring from Ohio State to LSU, where he led the Tigers to a national championship, and Shane Buechele, who transferred from Texas to SMU. Buechele was a starter during his freshman season at UT but eventually lost his job to current starting quarterback junior Sam Ehlinger. Buechele was able to get out from behind Ehlinger on the depth chart and lead the Mustangs to their most successful season since the 1985 “death penalty.” In addition to the NCAA voting on measures that would allow student-athletes to profit off of their own likenesses last October, this move is another step in the right direction for the world of college sports.
the Week honors. “I feel good,” Jones said. “I’m starting to find my footing a little bit. I’m starting to get my feet underneath me again. My body is starting to feel really good, and the coaches are starting to put a lot of confidence into me to be myself and be confident.” Opposing coaches have noticed it too. Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard called Texas “one of the hottest teams in college basketball,” and took note of how Jones has led the team in its last few games. “He’s one of the best players in the Big 12,” Beard said following the loss to the Longhorns at home. “He’s playing like an all-conference player. He’s a guy that I’ve always pulled for.” While Beard may be pulling for Jones on Saturday, he’ll be hoping for an Oklahoma State upset. The Longhorns and the Red Raiders are tied for third in the Big 12, and Saturday’s results will have a direct effect on seeding for the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City next week. If the Longhorns can just manage one more win, the light at the end of their tunnel should be shining bright.
jack myer
/ the daily texan file
Redshirt sophomore Andrew Jones drives to the basket against a TCU defender Feb 19. Jones has helped lead the team on offense during the five-game winning streak.
Texas looks to continue historic start to the season
joshua guenther
/ the daily texan file
Junior utility player Lauren Burke focuses on making the out at first base against Oklahoma last year. Burke has performed well in the team’s hot start to the season. By Seth Forman @_SethAForman
Not since the height of Texas’ first head coach Connie Clark’s program has the Texas softball team reached such heights. The team will try to continue that level of success in the 2020 Longhorn Invitational, which starts Friday. Over the course of the last eight days, the No. 3 Longhorns defeated the No. 1, 2, 10 and 13-ranked programs in the country to push Texas to a record of 4–1 against ranked teams so far in their strong start to the season. Last week’s wins brought the Longhorns up to 174 runs scored in their first 23 games, which averages out to about seven runs a game. This staggering figure broke the previous record by 15 runs and is just one of the reasons Texas has been able to hold its own against the nation’s elite. Texas’ 20–3 start to the season has been led in part by junior utility player Lauren Burke and junior infielder Janae Jefferson, who are now the
Big 12 leaders in doubles and hits, respectively. “(Lauren) struggled to start the season,” Texas head coach Mike White said in an availability last week. “But I know Lauren … I know what she can do. She’s a streaky kind of player, and I rode that streak (last week) ... and she made me look good.” At the Texas Invitational this weekend, the Longhorns will play four games at home, none of which will be against teams with winning records. While Texas has yet to fall to such a team this season, this weekend will test the team’s ability to remain focused on winning even with the hype surrounding this program. “That’s what you’re afraid of,” White said. “Like I told the ladies … we don’t want to work this hard, get this far and then all of the sudden stub our toe … But we want those expectations. We want that pressure.” Each weekend, a different Texas player has found a way to stand out. Last week, freshman pitcher and utility player Courtney Day seemed to shine, hitting two home runs against Fresno State on Saturday. Burke also
looked spectacular, with five runs scored and 11 hits on the week. Senior pitcher Miranda Elish, despite picking up her third loss in the circle, showed no signs of slowing with 11 strikeouts against Fresno State. With many players still battling for positions, it’s never certain who will get the chance to perform. For example, earlier this season sophomore infielder McKenzie Parker played a fantastic game in an exhibition match against the Mexican Olympic team in Puerto Vallarta. She wound up batting 2-for4 with three RBIs, two runs, a triple and a home run. As a result of her performance, Parker earned time last week against Boise State and Fresno State. As lineups shift and the hype continues to mount, Texas will have to stick with what they know to avoid falling short in a weekend full of opportunities to slip up. “You can’t look at any of that stuff because you don’t want to get in your head,” sophomore pitcher Shealyn O’Leary said. “Don’t let it. Just go out there and have fun.”
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