The Daily Texan 2020-10-06

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Volume 121, Issue 23 tuesday, october 6, 2020

nowhere to land dan martinez / the daily texan staff

PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Emily Caldwell

Projects Editor Sami Sparber

Managing Editor Megan Menchaca

Projects Reporters Marcus Krum, Nicole Stuessy, Meara Isenberg

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ISSUE STAFF Columnists Yliana Roland

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“i only went out once today, but it was nice for those few seconds”

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Texas Athletics persists without varsity gymnastics nearly 40 years after the program was cut.

opinion

The Longhorn Band should not require its members to play “The Eyes of Texas.”

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life & arts

21st birthday celebrations avoid 6th Street and focus on smaller get-togethers.

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Austin Public Health released report on UTEP football game safety plan provisions.

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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Former volleyball player Blair Westerlund details her fight with anxiety and depression.

Emily Caldwell (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com

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Contents:

CONTACT US

UT-Austin students experience delay, confusion after coronavirus tests

BUSINESS & ADVERTISING (512) 471-8590 advertise@texasstudentmedia.com Director Gerald Johnson Business/ Operations Manager Frank Serpas III Advertising Manager Emily Cohen Assistant Advertising Manager

By Anna Canizales @annaleonorc

Some students are receiving their COVID-19 test results and contact tracing notifications days later than the University promised, leaving students to figure out their own plans for action.

University Health Services makes test results available through the MyUHS portal one to two days after testing, said Susan Hochman, associate director for assessment, communications and health information technology for UHS. UHS calls people whose results are positive or inconclusive immediately, Hochman said in an email.

Business freshman Rahil Jagetia said he got tested off campus after being in contact with a friend who later tested positive for COVID-19. When the test came back negative, he decided to get a second test through the Proactive Community Testing program to confirm.

Jagetia said UHS told him he would know his results in one to three days and would receive a phone call if he tested positive. When three days passed and he was not called, Jagetia assumed he tested negative. However, four days after his test, he received an email from UHS telling him to check his portal, which showed a positive result.

“I didn’t get a call. No one told me anything,” Jagetia said. “I didn’t know what to do at first because I wasn’t contacted (over the phone).”

Jagetia said he went to a city of Austin isolation facility almost a week after he tested positive. He said he called UHS for clarification on what he should do multiple times, and he was not called for contact tracing until after his time at the isolation facility was over.

“Luckily, I did (contact tracing) on my own, but I don’t think most UT students do that,” Jagetia said. “It was so far out that everyone I came in contact with pretty much already got two negative tests

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Hochman said the majority of test results are reported within two days after collection.

“Previously, delays occurred if a barcode was not read correctly or pending due to other reasons,” Hochman said. “This process has recently been improved. In these circumstances, we make every effort to rectify these before asking a participant to come in for recollection.”

Hochman said if UHS is unable to reach an individual by phone, they will send them a secure message with positive results through the MyUHS portal.

“Rather than rely on an individual to check for their results in the portal, we reach out to them immediately if

they are positive to ensure there is no lag time between when they begin their self-isolation,” Hochman said.

Business freshman Ethan Milos said he was in contact with Jagetia in San Jacinto Residence Hall, but the University did not contact him until 10 days after Jagetia tested positive. He said he didn’t get an email from San Jacinto until two days after Jagetia tested positive.

“There’s just no point in that because it’s too late,” Milos said.

Jagetia said the University did a good job of handling procedures such as transportation to the isolation facility.

“UT handled everything well,” Jagetia said. “The problem was everything was just delayed.”

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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. Our work is made possible by support from our advertising partners and donors. To provide individual support, please visit The Daily Texan page at supportstudentvoices.org. To highlight your business, please email advertise@texasstudentmedia.com. The Daily Texan does not publish during academic breaks, most Federal Holidays and exam periods. News contributions will be accepted by telephone (471-4591), or at the editorial office (HSM 2.120). Entire contents copyright 2020 Texas Student Media.

NEWS

News Editor E M I LY H E R N A N D E Z TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020

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COVID-19

APH says UT enforced 6 of 10 safety provisions at UTEP football game

By Andrew Zhang @andrewczhang

T-Austin enforced six out of 10 COVID-19 safety plan provisions at the football season opener versus UT-El Paso, according to a report released by Austin Public Health.

According to the report, UT went to “considerable lengths” to implement COVID-19 control measures, including testing students prior to the game, canceling Bevo Boulevard, prohibiting mobile food vendors, having concessionaires submit compliance plans and prohibiting tailgating.

Game attendance was below 25% during the Sept. 12 game, with 15,337 fans sitting in the 100,000-seat Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. However, mask wearing, social distancing and on-site sanitation were inconsistent, according to the report.

APH, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, was unable to determine if concession employee temperatures were taken. Texas Athletics did not respond to multiple requests for comment by publication.

APH officials have seen indications that the first football game is connected to some case clusters, while a University spokesperson said UT contact tracers have seen no evidence of transmission among students, according to previous reporting by The Daily Texan.

APH observed that food staff did not change gloves between customers and did not observe sanitation of payment station screens, according to the report.

“The high-touch surfaces such as handrails and tables were not being regularly cleaned throughout the game,” the report said. “This was also confirmed by discussing it with an on-site UT custodian staff member.”

APH took three random samples to observe face mask compliance. At 6:06 p.m., staff observed an 88% compliance rate, an 82% rate at 7:40 p.m., and 1% rate at 8:30 p.m., according to the report.

“Face covering compliance started at a very high rate (estimated at 85-90%) but steadily decreased to widespread noncompliance as the game progressed,” the report said. “However, in some cases, masks might not have been required due to fans eating or drinking at their seats.”

According to the report, APH observed one instance of mask compliance enforcement. APH staff saw improper face mask use by concession stand workers, according to the report.

The stadium jumbotron frequently displayed reminders to wear masks, and many social distancing reminders were posted, according to the report.

Many sanitation stations were placed throughout the stadium, and water fountains were closed, according to the report.

Andrea Meador-Safont, a Plan II and government freshman, attended the first game and said she feels secure knowing UT tested the student body inside the stadium before the game. Meador-Safont said the limited 25% capacity of the stadium stuck out to her, but mask wearing and social distancing varied based on different sections.

“Wherever you looked inside the stadium, you could find one group following all the rules and another group right beside them doing the opposite,” Meador-Safont said. “The social responsibility of protecting others is a duty some students take very seriously and others are oblivious to, but the stadium staff … did a very good job of enforcing (rules).”

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Texas football fans walk to the stadium before the Longhorns’ Sept. 12 victory over UTEP.

4

Editor-In-Chief E M I LY C A L D W E L L TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020

OPINION

COLUMN

Let them sit this one out

Longhorn Band members shouldn’t be required to play ‘The Eyes of Texas’ at events.

By Yliana Roland Columnist

“

hen the Longhorn Band performs, it will be expected to perform The Eyes of Texas,” Douglas Dempster, dean of the College of Fine Arts, said in a memo to Longhorn Band directors Sept. 24.

This announcement came only two months after UT President Jay Hartzell pledged to “own, acknowledge and teach about all aspects of the origins of ‘The Eyes of Texas’ as we continue to sing it.”

How can we continue to sing a song with such blatantly racist origins?

There is no excuse for blindly prioritizing tradition and forcing band members to play a song that many do not feel comfortable playing. “The Eyes of Texas” shouldn’t be our school song in the first place.

“There has never been any suggestion from the faculty and staff directing the Longhorn Band, or from any other faculty or administrators, that students refusing to play ‘The Eyes of Texas’ as a matter of conscience

might be punished or penalized,” Dempster said in an email.

“That has always been the case and continues to be so.”

However, that contradicts the assertion that band members will be “expected to play ‘The Eyes of Texas.’” How will they enforce this expectation without penalties?

Additionally, there’s already a common understanding within the band and in the greater student community that “The Eyes of Texas” was coined by Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general who fought for slavery to be maintained in the south. We also know the song was performed by people in blackface at minstrel shows.

“I just think that if you’ve acknowledged it, then why aren’t you taking the steps to actually fix it?” one band member, who requested to remain anonymous, said.

Longhorn Band members and parent organizations were instructed to redirect the press, and those asking questions, to band directors and other officials, hence the anonymity.

“We got told, essentially, not to talk to people about it,” the student said.

This might just be UT’s attempt to keep media pressure off of students, but students shouldn’t feel as though they are jeopardizing their position in the Band just because they want to speak out about issues that concern them.

If UT’s goal is to take into account the perspectives of students in redefining the meaning of a racist song — as asserted by the messages from Dean Dempster and President Hartzell

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.

carlyssa phoon

— UT shouldn’t silence these same students.

Another Longhorn Band member who requested anonymity expressed that they don’t know anyone who’s going to play the song just because UT told them to.

“I think if there are any penalties for people, it’s going to cause an even bigger problem than what they’re trying to avoid,” the student said.

Additionally, most Longhorn Band directors refused interview requests, which defeats the purpose of redirecting the press to keep the pressure off of students. The only correspondence

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.

returned was a single sentence from Mary Poole, director of the Butler School of Music, via email, who previously told band members that no one is expected to perform the song if it goes against what they believe in.

“Here’s my comment: I continue to support our students 100%,” Poole said.

I don’t think everyone at UT who is fighting to maintain “The Eyes of Texas” as the alma mater intends to perpetuate racism, but what they’re essentially saying is that keeping this song in place is more important than the harm it’s causing. I think UT cares

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Please do not leave your copy behind or return it to its rack.

/ the daily texan staff

more about putting a Band-Aid over this issue than actually tending to the wound. Current policies are silencing students, not supporting them.

UT says mixed feelings about the song are causing division in the band and greater community.

If that’s the case, then maybe it’s time for the song to be replaced by a tune that doesn’t silence anyone’s voice.

Maybe it’s time for “The Eyes of Texas” to cease its withering gaze upon us.

Roland is a radio-television-film freshman from Houston, TX.

EDITORIAL TWITTER | Follow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter (@TexanOpinion) and receive updates on our latest editorials and columns.

NEWS

5

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020

CAMPUS

Survey shows professors’ concern over fall semester

By Andrew Zhang @andrewczhang

A majority of instructors said classes were going “very well” in an anonymous UT survey about professor concerns, instructional progress and course issues administered to faculty Sept. 2-6.

The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost collected 1,223 survey responses — about half of teaching faculty this fall. According to the survey, 176 instructors reported classes were going “extremely well,” 613 reported classes “very well,” 379 reported “moderately well” and 45 reported classes were “slightly well.”

Nine professors reported classes were going “not well at all,” the lowest satisfaction option.

“We are constantly learning, adjusting and improving to address a number of concerns and issues that arise throughout this crisis,” Kathleen Harrison, communications manager for the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, said in an email. “Part of that process included the faculty survey that we conducted to pursue improvements during this difficult time.”

Approximately 47% of responding professors reported having technology issues ranging from internet outages to difficulties navigating breakout rooms.

“I felt completely unprepared and also unsupported through this transition (online),” one anonymous professor said in the survey. “It was a struggle to get even basic questions answered — like how do I set up the class meeting on (Zoom)? I was sent to dozens of useless websites that took hours to go through.”

As professors adjust to online teaching, Faculty Council chair Anthony Brown said most council meetings this fall

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will cover “best practices” for virtual teaching.

“We recognize that it’s not even just about teaching in an online setting, it’s about teaching in an online setting in the context of COVID-19,” said Brown, a curriculum and instruction professor. “For the most part, faculty are very open and are willing to make adjustments.”

Harrison said training workshops have been offered to professors on virtual instruction through colleges and the Faculty Innovation Center.

Many professors said they put in extra work over the summer to transition fall classes online, and they started the semester exhausted.

Harrison said professors must normally prepare for classes in the summer, but UT will try to recognize these contributions when reviewing faculty.

“Some of us on nine or 10-month salaries worked all summer without a break or additional compensation,” one anonymous professor said in the survey. “We are exhausted and more and more and more keeps being asked

/ the daily texan file

of us.”

Many professors also said they were concerned about faculty and student mental health.

Harrison said UT has shared messages with faculty about student wellbeing, such as accommodations during Hurricane Laura. The Employee Assistance Program also offers faculty self-care resources including support groups and well-being training.

Several professors said UT should not have opened campus or offered in-person classes, and others said they were concerned about a lack of testing and information about testing. According to a Sept. 28 Faculty Council letter, UT has not reached its goal of 5,000 weekly proactive community tests because fewer than 5,000 people are willing to get tested each week.

“From what I can glean from the University reports, UT is still not doing anything approximating the 5,000 tests per day that we were promised,” one anonymous professor said in the survey. “My wife says she feels like she is sending me off to war every day.”

Exploring your next steps beyond graduation can be overwhelming. If you’re trying to narrow down your Graduate School options, we can help.

Learn more about graduate degree programs at schools around the country, and connect with their recruiters by requesting more information through an online interest form.

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6

Projects Editor S A M I S P A R B E R TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020

PROJECTS

GYMNASTICS

UT lacks women’s varsity gymnastics After a 1993 Title IX lawsuit, UT continues without its gymnastics program despite an in-state talent pool.

By Marcus Krum @marcuskrum

riley Casanova was raised as a gymnast. Before she was 2 years old, Casanova was on the mat with her parents and a growing adoration of the sport she would go on to compete in for decades.

Years of hard work motivated Casanova, 25, to take the next step to the college ranks, but there was no option for her to remain close to home and compete in one of the nation’s top conferences.

Three Big 12 schools — Oklahoma, Iowa State and West Virginia — sponsor varsity women’s gymnastics programs. Texas Woman’s University, competing in the Midwest Independent Conference, is the only in-state school to house a program. The University of Texas at Austin has not fielded a varsity program since 1981.

For Casanova, this meant moving more than 1,000 miles north to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to compete at the University of Michigan in 2013. She loved her four years with the Wolverines, competing among the country’s best in the Big Ten, but she said she would’ve liked to have a strong collegiate option in Texas.

Interest in collegiate gymnastics has increased in recent years. In 2019, University of Utah, University of Alabama, Louisiana State University, UCLA and University of Georgia — all teams who finished in the

Top 10 in the final rankings — averaged at least 10,000 spectators at their events, up from just two schools that did so in 2015.

The only Texas sport to average more than that many fans in 2019 was football.

Even with a rich in-state talent pool and national interest, UT-Austin — the university with the state’s foremost collegiate athletics program — hasn’t participated in gymnastics in decades.

The landmark 1993 Title IX lawsuit filed against the University tells a big part of the story as to why.

UT’s Title IX showdown

Donna Lopiano knew it was coming.

From her first year on campus in 1975, the former UT women’s athletics director was convinced the University wasn’t Title IX compliant. In fact, she said one of the first things she did in her 17-year tenure was go to former Texas Athletics Director Darrell K Royal and ask for change.

“I said, ‘Guys, we don’t have any money, and you guys have a lot of money, and I think we should merge the departments,’” Lopiano said. “(That request) ensured that it would never happen until recently.”

Gymnastics was a varsity sport when Lopiano arrived at UT, but she said she had to cut the program in 1981 partly because funding of the women’s athletics program didn’t allow for it. According to Austin-based lawyer Diane Henson, there were more than three times the number of male participants than female participants at the time.

Lopiano said several times a year, someone would come into her office and ask what it would take to expand the women’s athletics programs. She said she kept a box underneath her desk with copies of Title IX investigator manuals and business cards for Henson, and each time a parent or coach would come ask her for

change, she would give them one of each.

Lopiano left the University in 1992 and was replaced by women’s basketball coach Jody Conradt. One of the last people to whom Lopiano handed Henson’s business card was club rowing coach Jeff Gardner, who reached out to Henson to file a lawsuit.

When you’re as rich as Texas, you recruit the best gymnasts in the United States. …

There’s no excuse.

If they want to do it, they can.”

DONNA LOPIANO

former ut women’s athletics director

Henson found there were significant disparities in both the funding and resources given to male and female programs at UT. So, in the summer of 1992,

she partnered with seven female students, including three club gymnasts, and began the Title IX suit against the University.

After several hearings in federal court, UT decided to settle the case out of court. After what both Lopiano and Henson described as two grueling days of mediation, the University decided to add softball and soccer as varsity sports. Rowing would also be added several years later.

The settlement was a landmark victory for equal opportunity at the school — increasing the number of female athletes from 23% to 44% after all three new sports had officially begun — and set off dominoes for similar suits around the country.

Gymnastics still had not returned as a varsity sport 27 years later. Instead, UT offers a club team that competes against other collegiate teams, but does not have varsity status or receive funding that a varsity team would.

Henson said she thought the three gymnasts named as plaintiffs in the suit had shown the sport’s advantages, but the school still had its reservations.

Conradt said that softball, soccer and rowing made the most sense for UT. The cost to build facilities was relatively

low, the sports would add the proper number of participants, and UT could recruit from varsity high school teams, not independent gyms.

A Texas Athletics spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

“Any time we add a sport, we have to consider, ‘Where are we going to do it? And how are we going to build infrastructure?’”

Conradt said.

The decision to keep gymnastics as a club sport remains to this day.

“There’s no excuse”

With Division II Texas Woman’s University as the state’s only gymnastics program, the state’s top young gymnasts are left with no choice but to compete around the country if they want to compete at a Division I level.

Meanwhile, three of 16 women’s senior USA national team members and five of 11 junior national team members train in Texas. Gyms like Texas Dreams Gymnastics in Coppell, Texas, and Casanova’s WOGA Gymnastics in Frisco, Texas, constantly produce young talent who go on to compete at the collegiate and international levels.

“Most of the world’s best train

7

in Texas and grow up here and develop their skills,” Casanova said.

“It’s such an advantage that we have going on here.

We have this pool of great coaches and great opportunity in this state.”

The University would already have an advantage in the program’s funding. According to USA Today, UT brought in the most revenue of any collegiate athletics program in the 2018-2019 year. If a varsity gymnastics program were to be started, the resources would be in place for a consistent national title contending team, Lopiano said.

“When you’re as rich as Texas, you recruit the best gymnasts in the United States,” Lopiano said. “You get the best coach. You get full scholarship allowances.

You could be an immediate contender for a national championship. … There’s no excuse. If they want to do it, they can.”

Casanova participated in dozens of meets in her four years at

copyright briley casanova, and reproduced with permission During high school, Briley Casanova competed with WOGA Gymnastics in Frisco, Texas, in August 2010.

Michigan, competing in meets everywhere from Cancun, Mexico, to the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor.

The lifelong gymnast and Texan said there’s one thing that connects the sport and would make it an instant success at an athleticsdriven school like UT: The raucous crowd,

combined with the level of competition at the collegiate level, makes for an atmosphere that few other sports rival.

“It’s just electric,” Casanova said. “It’s so enamoring to watch athletes do this crazy stuff with their bodies and make it look so easy. I think there’s something magical about it.”

copyright briley casanova, and reproduced with permission Briley Casanova moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2013 to compete at the University of Michigan.

UT-Austin has not fielded a varsity gymnastics program since 1981.

sierra wiggers / the daily texan staff

8

Life&Arts Editor A R I A N A A R R E D O N D O TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020

LIFE&ARTS

STUDENT LIFE

UT students celebrate 21st birthdays during pandemic

Trying to keep people safe, students spend time with friends and family or have small gatherings.

By Lauren Castro @laurrncastro

yra Syed assumed her 21st birthday on Aug. 26 would be just another day stuck inside her apartment during the pandemic. As a gift to herself, she took a day off from schoolwork while her roommates planned a surprise for later that night.

One of her two roommates made Syed stuffed grape leaves, a Palestinian dish arranged to look like a cake. Syed said her day was more meaningful because of the effort her roommates put in.

“Even though we’re all kind of struggling because we just paid a bunch of money for furniture and all that stuff, we (were) still able to get the little bit (of money) that we had left and have a tiny birthday, which I’m so grateful for,” said Syed, an international relations and global studies and

government junior.

While taking online classes and adapting to life with COVID-19 restrictions, some students are celebrating their 21st birthdays differently than they imagined by spending time with family or having small gatherings.

“My roommates went above and beyond,” Syed said. “They tried to do their best with the resources they were given because of the pandemic to actually let me have a good birthday.”

Steven Morvant, a radio-television-film and journalism junior, celebrated his 21st with family and a night out to Pluckers where he had his first legal drink — the psychedelic frog.

“I consider (turning 21) a big thing,” Morvant said.

“It’s kind of a rite of passage in America.”

After being in quarantine for so long, Morvant said he wasn’t surprised he had to alter his Sept. 24 birthday plans. Morvant said he was happy with what he was able to do even though he didn’t get to celebrate like expected.

“Obviously, I wish things were more normal,” Morvant said. “I don’t want to be a spreader (of COVID-19). I want to stay safe (and) I want the people around me to stay safe.”

Finance junior Kayson

Craig said her celebration came with a higher risk due to her mother’s immunocompromised system. Making sure everyone washed their hands and didn’t walk through her house, her friends met in her backyard to have a cottagecore themed picnic.

They enjoyed cupcakes and

a charcuterie board while “Twilight” played on a blowup screen.

“I definitely had plans before the pandemic to go out with friends and go bar hopping,” Craig said. “Obviously, that’s too much of a risk right now. I’m not willing to take that.”

In addition to being safer,

Craig said she believes staying in with friends was more meaningful and wholesome than going to 6th Street.

“You really (can tell) how much you miss your friends (because of) the pandemic,” Craig said. “I hadn’t seen any of my friends until my birthday.”

As students find creative

ways to make their birthday special, Craig said she would rather take as many safety precautions as possible than put anyone at risk.

“You just kind of have to suck it up and deal with it,” Craig said. “You can always celebrate next year because there’s always more birthdays.”

nat hadaway

/ the daily texan staff

LIFE&ARTS

9

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020

MUSIC

More than 45 local artists come together to release “Walk With Me Austin” benefit song on YouTube

By Miranda Garza @mirandagarzza

Over a montage of murals, photos and videos centered around the fight for racial justice, more than 45 local Austin artists performed the song “Walk With Me Austin” on a YouTube livestream Sept. 24.

The idea for the song came when more than 20 musicians with ties to Louisville, Kentucky, created “Lift Up Louisville,” a song meant to inspire the people of Louisville and benefit the One Louisville COVID-19 Response Fund. The song aims to unite Austin against racial injustice with lyrics like, ‘We will rise in this together if you walk with me.’

In early June, Austin Mayor Steve Adler asked Adrian Quesada, an Grammy-award-winning musician, composer and producer, to take charge of the project.

Quesada contacted various Austin-based artists, gave them a basic instrumental demo and asked them to help write what would eventually become the song, “Walk With Me Austin.”

“Walk With Me Austin” profits benefit the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, an organization that works toward giving Austin’s low-income musicians access to affordable health care.

The nationwide initiative was taken up by Adler and is supported by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Americans for the Arts.

“In Austin, people are struggling, and venues are dying,” said Gina Chavez, a singer-songwriter and UT alumna who collaborated

on the song. “It is going to be a different landscape, and we need to support our creatives.

Chavez, who was nominated for a Latin Grammy Sept. 29, said it has been difficult for musicians in Austin to not perform at gigs.

“I love being around people,” Chavez said. “They give me energy, and they inspire me.”

The song was written by nine artists, including Blackillac and Kelsey Wilson, and features the vocals and instruments of more than 45 different artists. It was composed, produced and mixed

by Quesada, with additional help from Tee Double, Abhi the Nomad and DJ Orion.

“I tried my best to have a good cross selection of Austin music,

with gender balance, racial diversity and multiple genres and generations,” Quesada said.

Quesada said he gave the artists creative freedom but wanted to make sure that the song had a message of unity, hope and diversity. He also wanted the song to discuss systemic racism.

After months of writing and composing, Quesada asked each

artist to go to his studio in Austin to separately record their part on the track. All the vocals and instruments were then pieced and edited together.

Terrany Johnson, also known by his stage name, Tee-Double, was featured on the song, and he helped write and produce it.

“The process was really everyone putting into it what they felt

in their hearts and minds at the time,” Johnson said. “We let the music guide our artistry.”

Johnson said he and other artists use music as a coping mechanism.

“Music teaches us how to take a breath, especially with this song, and just listen,” Johnson said. “No talking, no arguing, just listening as one body: Austin.”

copyright cristian sigler, and reproduced with permission

Grammy-award-winning producer, musician and composer Adrian Quesada contacted local musicians to create “Walk With Me Austin,” a song to share a message of unity.

10

Sports Editor M Y A H T A Y L O R TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020

SPORTS

VOLLEYBALL

A new identity off the court Former Texas volleyball player Blair Westerlund discusses her mental health after a career-ending injury.

By Stephen Wagner @stephenwag22

Editor’s note: This story discusses suicidal thoughts, depression and anxiety. If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24-hour support at 1-800-273-8255. lair Westerlund’s life may look perfect from a distance, but most people don’t consider the toll losing the sport she loved took on her mental health.

The former Texas volleyball player announced her medical retirement from the sport in May 2019 due to complications from an ACL tear she suffered as a freshman in 2016. A month later, she decided to speak out in a series of blog posts about the damage complications from her injury had caused to her mental health. “(After I tore my ACL in 2016) I was like, ‘What do I do?

What am I good at? Where do I go from here?’” Westerlund said. “I had lost the one thing I had always prided myself on and the thing that always brought me confidence and got me through the day. And

so when I hit that dark tunnel it was like, ‘What do I even look forward to at this point?

I might never play volleyball again, so where’s the light at the end of the tunnel?’”

Westerlund said she was not used to not being the best athlete on the court when she first came to UT, much less only appearing in three games in her first season. She said she experienced a loss of identity after she tore her ACL and meniscus before Texas’ 2016 Elite Eight game, and she began having suicidal thoughts.

“You look in the mirror, and you don’t recognize yourself anymore, and you don’t really know the purpose that you’re living for,” Westerlund said. “I had all these expectations, and then it all just came crashing down, and I did not have a purpose anymore, in

I think asking for help and telling your story makes you stronger than almost anybody.”

BLAIR WESTERLUND

former volleyball player

my mind. That was probably the lowest it ever got, when I could look in the mirror and say ‘You mean nothing right now.’”

Although Westerlund was able to move forward by working on herself mentally, she fell into another depression after her second knee surgery in November 2018. She said she was not suicidal, but she dealt with more anxiety attacks and a further loss of identity as she realized her volleyball career may be over.

Texas offensive lineman Sam Cosmi, who Westerlund had only been dating for a few months at that point, didn’t know how to respond to her struggles. Cosmi said he often became frustrated that he couldn’t help her, and he didn’t understand why she couldn’t stop having anxiety attacks. It took months for Cosmi to understand how to help.

“She told me to just tell her it’s going to be okay,” Cosmi said. “‘Whatever you’re going through, it’s going to be okay. Don’t try to solve the problem.’ I figured out that’s the best thing, because what they’re going through, it’s already in their head and I can’t tell her to stop thinking about it.”

Westerlund still has anxiety attacks, but said she feels OK because her loved ones see she

copyright kelsey applebaum, and reproduced with permission

Blair Westerlund throws a double Hook ’Em after graduating from the University of Texas with a degree in youth and community studies. The 2020 grad medically retired in 2019 due to multiple knee surgeries.

struggles and still accept her.

She said she thinks people look at her as strong, rather than weak, because she takes medication, gets help and wants to continue advocating for mental health.

“We just want to be

accepted and seen and not looked at as less because we need extra help,” Westerlund said. “I think asking for help and telling your story makes you stronger than almost anybody, no matter what. I would say that’s how I’m okay now.”

COMICS

Comics Editor

B A R B R A D A LY

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020

11

12

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020

SPORTS

FOOTBALL

Fans’ patience thins after devastating TCU loss

By Myah Taylor @t_myah

Eric Loop said he was pumped when Texas hired Tom Herman as its new head football coach in 2016.

“This offensive guru from Houston was coming in,” finance senior Loop said. “He was going to infuse the team with his awesome leadership style. I was really excited for what the future might hold.”

Loop is not as high on Herman these days. He said the last two years have been a roller coaster for Longhorns fans.

Unranked TCU defeated thenNo. 9 Texas Saturday in yet another game fans feel the Longhorns should have won.

Texas lost to Maryland in 2017 and 2018. Kansas, the Big 12’s perennial loser, nearly left Austin last year with a win, and the Longhorns barely escaped Texas Tech in Lubbock a little over a week ago.

Longtime Texas fan Justin Lilly said it seems like the Longhorns’ coaching staff doesn’t “go for it.”

“They have a very conservative game plan,” Lilly said. “It feels like they’re playing not to lose instead of playing to win.”

When Lilly watched Alabama’s game against Texas A&M Saturday night after Texas’ loss, he said he noticed the Crimson Tide didn’t take its foot off the gas — even with a 21-point lead.

“Alabama was already preparing to play a team in the National Championship,” Lilly said. “Texas feels like they’re playing a game against the team they played last week instead of the team they’re playing on the field.”

Despite these critiques, Herman’s Longhorns have won bowl games against ranked opponents in Georgia and

joshua guenther

/ the daily texan file

Tom Herman gathers his team for a pregame speech before the Texas Longhorns’ football game against the LSU Tigers Sept. 7, 2019. Hired as head coach in 2016 with high expectations, Herman has coached the Longhorns to a 27–16 record.

Utah. They also beat rival Oklahoma in 2018 en-route to a Big 12 Championship appearance, and Texas played LSU, the reigning National Champions, closer than any opponent last season.

Lilly said Herman game plans well against elite opponents, and he’s as good as any coach in the country when he has time to prepare. Herman is also a great recruiter, but his reliance on his roster’s talent might work to the team’s detriment, Loop said.

“When they just go out on the field and expect to beat

TCU, sometimes that can be just a really toxic environment,” Loop said.

UT alumna Meredith Lavallais attended the University during the Colt McCoy era, so she became accustomed to seeing Texas consistently win.

“I think we just got really comfortable with winning, and so that’s made our expectations really high,” Lavallais said. “My expectations have changed now that it’s been 10 years.”

Herman said in a Monday teleconference that he knows more about the health of the

U.S. President Donald Trump, who was recently diagnosed with COVID-19, and celebrity gossip than the fans’ reaction after Texas’ loss. He said it isn’t productive to subject himself to outside noise, an idea he carried into the TCU game after Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gave him some advice. “‘It’s not the water outside the boat that sinks ships. It’s the water that you allow inside the boat that does,’” Herman said. “Our guys, they know what they signed up for. So do I. When you come to a place like Texas, there’s going to be

very high expectations and a lot of people who think they know how to do your job and play your position.”

Herman’s replacement if Texas doesn’t meet expectations isn’t clear, but Lavallais joked about one potential candidate.

“I don’t want to endure another three or four years trying to rebuild with a new coach, and possibly losing recruits that we have, but seeing how well Mack Brown’s doing at North Carolina, that thought has definitely crossed my mind,” Lavallais said.