The Daily Texan 2020-11-03

DT Volume 121, Issue 31 Tuesday, november 3, 2020

paying homage on dĂ­a de los muertos rocky higine / the daily texan staff

PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Emily Caldwell Managing Editor Megan Menchaca Assoc. Managing Editors Jason Lihuang, Trinady Joslin Director of Digital Strategy Michael Hernandez Director of Diversity & Inclusion Angelica Arinze Collaborations Director Neelam Bohra Internal Relations Directors Areeba Amer, Ariana Arredondo Assoc. Editors Abby Dasgupta, Hannah Lopez, Julia Zaksek, Sanika Nayak Forum Editors Daisy Kielty, Maria Sailale Illustration Coordinator Abriella Corker News Editor Emily Hernandez Assoc. News Editors Neelam Bohra, Lauren Girgis News Desk Editors Areeba Amer, Hannah Williford, Lauren Grobe Beat Reporters Andrew Zhang, Anna Canizales, Amanda FigueroaNieves, Brooke Ontiveros, Samantha Greyson, Neha Madhira, Lauren Goodman Life&Arts Editor Ariana Arredondo Assoc. Life&Arts Editors Aisling Ayers, Grace Barnes Sr. Life&Arts Writers Jennifer Errico, Anissa Reyes Sports Editor Myah Taylor Assoc. Sports Editor Stephen Wagner Senior Sports Reporters Nathan Han, Carter Yates

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

opinion

Today’s election day. Make sure you make time to vote if you haven’t already!

07

life & arts

Students celebrate Día de los Muertos with dorm room ofrendas and altars.

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04

(512) 471-4591

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International students face lack of available testing for English proficiency.

10

sports

Sophomore opposite hitter has found her voice as an activist on social media.

TOMORROW Nov. 4

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

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CAMPUS

UT community petitions to bring Vietnamese language classes back to campus

By Andrew Zhang @andrewczhang

Although Vietnamese is the third-most spoken language in Texas, UT has not offered classes for the language since spring 2010. Some community members want the classes back on the course schedule, as a petition urging UT to fund Vietnamese language classes has accumulated more than 300 signatures in a week.

The petition, addressed to Daniel Jaffe, interim executive vice president and provost, Donald R. Davis Jr., department of Asian studies professor and chair, and others, asks UT to help create Vietnamese language classes with additional funding to the Department of Asian Studies or an endowment.

The petition also asks for the creation of a permanent Vietnamese research position so the program is not at risk of being cut again. Additionally, the petition requests UT create future courses focusing on Vietnamese culture and Southeast Asian languages and cultures.

“As noted in the petition, budgetary and programmatic limits forced the difficult decision to stop the Vietnamese program,” Davis said in an email. “Unfortunately, the uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 public health crisis only make the budgetary situation worse, and the shortterm prospects for reinstating Vietnamese are not good.”

Davis said expanding Southeast Asian studies to offer more variety in courses on culture and history

is “regrettably unrealistic in the current environment,” but a concerted effort to reestablish language courses could facilitate a broader expansion in the future.

Biochemistry senior Tracy Nguyen, who signed the petition, said having Vietnamese classes would help her and other students understand their cultural heritage.

“I’m conversationally fluent (in Vietnamese), like I can speak to my parents,” Nguyen said. “But when it comes to reading and writing, I’m screwed. But I would really love to have that part of being Vietnamese.”

Nguyen said she thinks having Vietnamese in the curriculum would also help cement the presence of Vietnamese culture on campus.

“To see Vietnamese not represented in our curriculum, but seeing (other languages have) so many classes that so many people can participate in and learn, it’s like, ‘Why can’t we also get that?’”

Nguyen said. “We grew up in America, but … there’s only so much we learn from our parents.”

Petition creator Adebayo Gbakinro said he started doing research on the history of Vietnamese classes at UT after he wondered why they were not offered.

“We have a ton of language programs here, but we don’t have Vietnamese,” said Gbakinro, a computer science, Spanish and French senior. “I found out that around 2010, UT actually cut Vietnamese from the

University due to budget cuts against student advocacy. I was like, ‘Why not try and get it back?’”

Gbakinro said he met with Davis, who mentioned creating a petition to collect student interest.

David Ochsner, director of public affairs for the College of Liberal Arts, said in an email that the college supports adding Vietnamese classes in the future if there is student demand, but would have to consider available budgetary resources.

UT alumna Katrina Tran said having Vietnamese classes would reflect the growing Vietnamese community on campus and in Austin.

“It’d be nice to go back to the University and say … ‘I’m so proud to be coming from a university that kind of recognizes my culture,’” Tran said.

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NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

CAMPUS

3

Language testing requirements pose admissions barriers

By Hairuo Yi @hairuoyeet

A lack of available standardized testing for English proficiency in other countries has led to technological and financial challenges for international students applying to UT and other colleges in the U.S. Testing centers for the Test of English as a Foreign Language, the preferred English proficiency test for UT admissions, closed testing sites around the world due to COVID-19 in March. This closure reduced opportunities to take the test for those who wanted to take it last spring.

Depending on the country and testing center, some locations have decided to reopen for in-person tests. However, students who live in countries where centers have not reopened must search for alternatives and support from prospective universities.

“English proficiency exams are important to assessing a student’s ability to manage the coursework if admitted to UT,” said Robert Watkins, special assistant to the director at the Graduate and International Admissions

Center. “The graduate and international admissions center is not providing financial aid as grants for taking English proficiency tests as this would be the purview of the testing agencies. Technologically, there is nothing our office can do to interdict the testing procedures of outside entities.”

The price of TOEFL ranges from $160 to $300 depending on the country. UT admissions also accepts the international English Language Testing System, another English proficiency test set up similarly to the TOEFL with a price range from $215 to $250.

While cheaper and more accessible alternatives to these two tests exist, Watkins said they are not widely accepted.

Arthur Freitas, a mechanical engineering senior from Brazil, said he is part of a mentor program for other Brazilian students looking to study abroad and recently, taking the exam has become challenging for his mentees. “(A mentee) was going to take the TOEFL last weekend, but they canceled it, so he had to reschedule for next month,” Freitas said. “He thought about taking it at home, but he was very scared that he might

lose internet connection, which leads to losing the test.”

ProctorU, the proctor system used for TOEFL tests, requires “a strong and stable internet connection to support screen sharing and remote proctoring software,” as well as a moveable camera and speaker, according to their website.

The test center availability page on the TOEFL website shows no available seats in any testing center in Brazil for the next two months.

Manas Kale, a graduate computer science applicant from India, said being able to take the test in the testing center in the summer of 2019 helped her concentrate.

“Personally, I think the testing center helps with your concentration compared to home,” Kale said.

There is only one testing center open in India for the test in the next two scheduled months, according to the TOEFL website.

“Applicants should choose the best options among the tests we require (TOEFL or IELTS), locality, distance to nearest test site and dates most convenient to their own personal situation,” Watkins said.

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Editor-In-Chief E M I LY C A L D W E L L TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

EDITORIAL

OPINION

vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote

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NEWS

5

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

CAMPUS

UHS flu shot campaign changed to accomodate COVID-19 concerns, social distancing

By Sheryl Lawrence @sheryl_rence

Every October, University Health Services hosts a month-long campaign for students, faculty and staff to receive flu shots on campus.

This year, the campaign administered 8,093 shots while accommodating social distancing guidelines.

Sherry Bell, consumer education and outreach

coordinator for UHS and the Counseling and Mental Health Center, said many of the changes this year eliminated face-to-face contact between clinicians and UT community members, such as filling out appointment forms online.

“We would have loved to have immunized more people,” Bell said. “We had the appointments in our schedule to immunize more

people, but I think that there are just a lot of people who weren’t on campus (and) weren’t in Austin.”

Bell said the campaign administered 12,654 shots in 2019, but the difference can mainly be attributed to the number of UT community members studying and working remotely.

Faculty and staff insurance is accepted at almost every pharmacy because

getting a flu shot is a preventive measure, Bell said.

If a faculty member is living and working remotely away from campus, they are more likely to go to a pharmacy closer to them, Bell said.

Bell said in previous years, locations around campus included the William C. Powers, Jr. Student Activity Center, Gregory Gym, the McCombs School of Business and surrounding

rocky higine

/ the daily texan file

area, and two locations in the Texas Union. This year, locations included the Texas Union, the JJ Pickle Research Center and the Frank Erwin Center because the large spaces allowed for social distancing, Bell said.

Victoria Donaho, a human development and family science senior, said this was her first time getting a flu shot at UHS, and the streamlined process made her more comfortable receiving her flu shot at UHS over other pharmacies.

“They had a very good process in place to help with social distancing,” Donaho said.

“Masks were required, (and) you

had to set up an appointment, which prevented people from arriving randomly and clustering in a group waiting.”

Michael Byers, an accounting and business honors sophomore, said he does not usually get a flu shot, but felt it was more important this year.

“Being on campus (and) being around so many people, with COVID especially, I don’t want to risk getting the flu and then possibly getting COVID at the same time,” Byers said.

Students, faculty and staff can still make an appointment with UHS online to receive a flu shot.

6

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

NEWS

RESEARCH

UT-Austin researchers discover absence of permafrost in artic lagoon, evidence for climate change

By Amanda Figueroa-Nieves analyzed in her study @amandafn02

New research from the Jackson School of Geosciences found an absence of permafrost under the seafloor along the coast of northeastern Alaska, according to a press release.

The finding countered the conventional idea that permafrost extended offshore in a gentle slope from the coast, project lead author Micaela Pedraza said. The beach and seafloor appeared to be icefree for at least 65 feet, according to the press release.

“We saw an abrupt absence of ice, which resulted in unfrozen sediment,” Pedrazas said. “I think the biggest implication of our research is that now we have this potential pathway … for carbon to end up in the atmosphere.”

The team mapped the subsurface beneath the Kaktovik Lagoon over three years using a geophysical technique called electrical resistivity imaging, according to the press release. This technique injects an electrical current into the seafloor and measures how much each level of the subsurface resists the current, according to the study in ScienceAdvances.

Pedrazas said when the pores of the subsurface are filled with ice, as in permafrost, it resists the current.

Pedrazas said the coast

eroded at an average of 0.6 meters per year between 1947 to 2010, with a maximum of 4.5 meters lost per year.

In addition, the erosion could result in loss of cultural heritage items from the local Inupiat community, which are sometimes stored in underground ice cellars, Pedrazas said. The Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope is a Regional Alaska Native tribal government, according to their website.

“The mission of ICAS is to exercise its sovereign rights and powers for the benefit of tribal members, to conserve and retain tribal lands and resources including subsistence and environmental issues,” according to the ICAS website.

Pedrazas said the copyright micaela pedrazas, and reproduced with permission erosion has led to dam- An absence of permafrost under the seafloor in an arctic lagoon was found in research by the Jackson School of Geosciences. Through a aged infrastructure, in- geophysical technique, the team mapped the subsurface beneath the lagoon over three years. cluding the loss of the airport landing strip in the said one of the biggest chal- sea levels have caused coastspecific site.”

Indigenous communities in city of Kaktovik. line collapse and permafrost lenges of studying the Arctic James McClelland, profesthe Arctic.

“Knowing that permafrost is a lack of understanding of degradation, which could sor at the UT Marine Science “Understanding better what is thawing, that land is sublead to changes in the food how the ecosystem functions.

Institute and co-author of the supports the food webs there siding … that their village web, according to a 2017 “Especially up there where study, said the study alerts helps us understand how is essentially being pushed climate change is rapid- research paper published in scientists that what’s going changes … could potentialfurther inland is a source of Nature Climate Change. ly altering how things are, on under the sediments bely alter the ecosystem funcconstant preoccupation for McClelland said the we don’t know what new neath the coastal ocean and tion, including species that them,” Pedrazas said. “So is and what normal is,” big-picture questions about what’s going on underneath are particularly relevant to we wanted to understand renutrient input are particuMcClelland said. the tundra near the coast their subsistence lifestyle,” ally what’s happening at this larly relevant to the coastal Arctic warming and rising is not separate. McClelland McClelland said.

LIFE&ARTS

7

Life&Arts Editor A R I A N A A R R E D O N D O TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

STUDENT LIFE

Keeping the tradition alive Students and organizations find remote ways to celebrate Día de los Muertos and loved ones who have passed.

By Miranda Garza @mirandagarzza

photograph of Genesis Palos’ abuelo, her grandfather, sits on a table surrounded by conchas, a Mexican sweet bread, one of his work shirts and a rosary. Palos created her own altar in her dorm with these items to celebrate her grandfather’s life.

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday celebrated from Nov. 1 to Nov. 2. Families set up ofrendas, or altars with offerings, every year, decorating them with food and photos of loved ones who have passed away. Visiting gravesites, festivals and parades are also common traditions.

While there wasn’t a parade in the streets of Austin this year, students are finding safe ways to celebrate the day while continuing to honor the lives of those who have passed.

For Palos, this will be the first time she celebrates the holiday away from her family in Plano, TX. “When I moved out, I realized how

important family is and how much I do miss my family,” psychology freshman Palos said.

Growing up, Palos spent her Día de los Muertos watching television specials, attending mass and decorating her grandfather’s burial site with items he loved during his lifetime. She said the holiday is a day for her to remember her grandfather.

“My abuelito would always eat conchas, so we would bring him some for his (offering),” Palos said.

This year she plans on going to a Catholic church service near campus to pray and reflect. Back home in Plano, her family will also be attending mass.

“It makes me think of him in a happy way instead of how he passed away,” Palos said.

The Latino Studies department celebrated the day with a Día de los Muertos themed episode on their LatinXperts podcast Oct. 15. On the podcast, Rachel González-Martin, associate professor of Latina/o and Mexican American studies, gives an in-depth history of Día de los Muertos and how it is celebrated.

González-Martin said individuals

rocky higine

should continue with their traditions safely and use social media to share their altars and offerings with others.

González-Martin, who has celebrated Día de los Muertos since she was a child, said it is important to create a community that can remember those who have passed.

“If you want to speak to your grandmother again, or if you want to communicate with your antepasados (ancestors) and that is a need you feel you have, that’s a small candle, that’s a picture, that’s some flowers, that’s a glass of water. It doesn’t have to be grand,” González-Martin said.

Last year, the Latinx Theatre Initiative set up a community ofrenda in the F.L. Winship Drama Building.

Students left photos and offerings like food and flowers in remem-

/ the daily texan staff

brance of their loved ones.

This year, the initiative made the altar and ofrendas digital on their Instagram. Students submitted photos of loved ones that were edited into a cartoon ofrenda. The organization also posted a digital information guide that includes the cultural history of Día de los Muertos, along with various traditions and recipes.

The social media coordinator for the initiative, Manuela Guerra, said they want to emphasize the importance of sharing Latinx cultures with those willing to participate.

“In such a period of grief with such negative things going on, this is actually the perfect moment to keep this going and keep these traditions alive,” theater and journalism senior Guerra said.

8

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

LIFE&ARTS

CAMPUS

Students talk returning to campus after Thanksgiving

By Zoe Tzanis @ZTzanis

When Fariha Irfan arrived on campus a month after the first day of school, she felt no first-day jitters or excitement. She was full of regret.

After spending more than a month taking her classes at home, Irfan thought living on campus would be a relief. But when she arrived, she realized it wasn’t what she had hoped for.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to be here.

Living alone in San Jacinto Residence Hall, Irfan said she felt isolated and unmotivated. As an out of state student from Alabama, she had a difficult time making friends and building connections with classmates.

“I was feeling trapped, studying in my room all day,” biochemistry freshman Irfan said. “At home, I had my own office, so I felt like I made the wrong choice coming on campus.”

With Thanksgiving approaching, Irfan said the decision to stay home after the holiday was a no-brainer. As of now, she won’t return to campus until the spring semester begins Jan. 19.

University Housing and Dining said students living on campus have the option of either returning home after Thanksgiving break or staying on campus until Dec. 17, when the fall semester officially ends. If students stay home after Thanksgiving, they will “receive an adjustment to their housing bill” for the remainder of the semester.

Students currently living on campus are debating whether spending time with family after Thanksgiving will outweigh the struggle of taking final exams from home.

Though Irfan said she is happy to return home, she said she’ll miss using on-campus libraries and study spaces.

Since exploring spaces outside of her dorm, Irfan said campus has started to feel a bit more like home, and she’s grown to love it.

While she believes studying in Alabama will likely be more productive for her, some students who plan to stay home for the holiday season have

emma george

the opposite concern.

Neuroscience freshman Emma Babaian said staying home in Sugar Land, Texas, after Thanksgiving made the most sense for her and her family.

“I have immunocompromised family members and going back and forth doesn’t make much sense,” Babaian said.

While Babaian said she’s excited to spend time with family, she thinks it’ll be difficult to study at home.

“I think it’ll be way harder,” Babaian said. “I’m actually kind of concerned about my testing environment at home.”

Biology freshman Cara Fonken said

while saving money was a factor, she is choosing to stay home after Thanksgiving break to see family.

“I want to be able to see my grandmother and not worry about the possibility of giving her COVID,” Fonken said. “Now, I can have a transition period of staying away from her, quarantining for some time, and then I can spend as much time with her as possible, which I’ve really wanted to do for a while.”

However, Fonken is worried about how productive she will be studying for exams at home.

“Studying in my dorm room has been pretty distracting,” Fonken said.

/ the daily texan staff

“But, when I’m on campus, I have a routine. It helps when I go to the Life Science Library in the UT Tower to study.”

At home, she said she expects to get easily distracted, so she plans to make a study schedule: work a few hours each day and avoid cramming at all costs.

“It’s gonna make me really happy to see my family, especially my grandmother,” Fonken said. “However, when everyone around me, friends, classmates are studying, it motivates me to get organized and work hard. I think I’m really gonna struggle without that environment.”

LIFE&ARTS

9

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

FEATURE

Student opens coffee shop to help pay for ticket

By Leni Steinhardt @thedailytexan

During the last 15 minutes of her eight-hour road trip back from Big Bend National Park Sept. 20, Henna McRae got a $336 speeding ticket. Unsure of how she would pay off the ticket, McRae started brainstorming.

The international business sophomore decided to combine her love of coffee with concepts she learned in her business classes to create “The McRae Cafe,” a coffee business run from her West Campus apartment.

“I had very few people that thought it would actually work,” McRae said. “But I had an espresso machine here that I use every day for myself. I know this coffee is better than what other people are drinking.”

After buying disposable coffee cups, syrups and more espresso grounds, McRae set up an Instagram, @TheMcRaeCafe, and began advertising her coffee shop.

Because the cafe doesn’t function like a brick and mortar shop, orders are sent via text and are picked up at the door of her apartment, during which both she and the customer wear masks.

“She was making 20 lattes all the time,” McRae’s roommate Macy McFarlin said. “She was just running around like a chicken with her head cut off.”

McRae said she makes just about every type of coffee drink, from pumpkin spice lattes to espressos and iced coffees. She calculated that it would take about 112 drink sales to meet her goal of $336.

Neuroscience sophomore Robert Scott Wheeler said he found out about McRae’s Cafe when he saw fliers around the apartment building advertising the business. Since then, Wheeler said he has ordered from McRae’s numerous times.

“My go-to order at the cafe is definitely the salted caramel latte,” Wheeler

said. “It’s by far my favorite.”

For eight days straight, McRae made and sold coffees from 8 a.m. to noon to reach her sales goal and pay off her ticket.

“I think I made a good cup of coffee, but I paid that off in eight days because of how incredible my community is,” McRae said. “They really showed up for me, all these people I’d never expect from buying coffee.”

Each night, McRae’s roommates sat around the apartment coffee table to write and draw funny jokes and images on the coffee sleeves for the next day’s cups.

“I’m not a barista,” said McFarlin, a human development and family science sophomore. “I can’t make coffee. But I can write some jokes. So my roommates and I googled different Halloween jokes and made up random things.”

Although McRae doesn’t plan on going into business in the future, she said this experience helped her learn more about customer service and accounting.

She said it even helped her practice for her accounting test.

“But then I started practicing accounting by tracking my inventory and doing journal entries for the McRae Cafe,” McRae said. “This is the very first time I’ve ever felt like what I’m learning is actually applicable to real life.”

McRae hopes to one day turn the cafe into an opportunity to raise money for charity. She plans on participating in Texas 4000, an organization that hosts a 4,000+ mile bike ride from Austin to Anchorage, Alaska to raise money for cancer research.

McFarlin said she isn’t surprised to see how much success McRae has had so far.

“She paid off the whole thing, which was so cool,” McFarlin said. “I was surprised, yes. But also, seeing her working on it all week and the support from our friends and roommates, I knew it was gonna get done fast. She’s so loved and just so supportive, which is so sweet to see.”

copyright mary mcfarland, and reproduced with permission

International business sophomore Henna McRae started a coffee business from her West Campus apartment. “The McRae Cafe” receives orders via text and orders can be picked up at the door of her apartment.

10

Sports Editor M Y A H T A Y L O R TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

SPORTS

BLM

‘Being Black in America’: Skylar Fields makes an impact The sophomore outside hitter continues to advocate for Black Lives Matter on social media.

By Daniela Perez @danielap3rez

kylar Fields shines as a key piece of the Texas volleyball team on the court. Off the court, the sophomore opposite hitter uses her social media platforms to spotlight topics that matter to her.

Fields began using her social media this summer to express her opinions and advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement. Over quarantine, the sophomore from Missouri City, Texas, said she found her voice when issues of racial injustice dominated the national conversation and she saw other athletes speak out.

“I was kind of nervous to do it at first because I was just afraid of what other people were going to say,” Fields said. “But then I realized people are going to say what they want to say regardless. So, I think that for me standing up for what I believe in is really big for myself.”

jack myer

/ the daily texan file

Sophomore opposite hitter Skylar Fields and her teammates don facemasks and Black Lives Matter t-shirts before an Oct. 8 match against the Iowa State Cyclones. Fields is second on the team with 119.5 points, but she is making perhaps a bigger impact off the court with her activism for BLM on social media.

The biology sophomore penned a poem called “Being Black In America” and posted it to her Instagram June 1. The piece, which received 1,682 likes and 94 comments, implores her audience to think about racism in America and encourages them to educate themselves on Black history.

“To my Black kings and queens, now we stand as one.

They hated us back then, will they hate us for years to come?”

Fields’ poem reads. “They love our culture, but dislike us as a whole, EVERYONE should fight for justice, that should be the goal.”

Her audience applauded her for the poem in the comments, and her posts did not end after the summer. Fields continues using her platform and

routinely reposts pictures on her Instagram story that deal with relevant social topics.

Fields said in a teleconference Oct. 20 that she puts a lot of thought into each post and saves many pictures to repost when she feels it is an appropriate time.

Many Texas volleyball players have been active on social media and in their day-to-day lives

in tackling racial injustice. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Asjia O’Neal attended a protest in Southlake, Texas, and junior outside hitter Logan Eggleston is currently taking a psychology of race and racism class she said has been especially pertinent in navigating today’s world. Fields said her teammates have been receptive and have supported one another’s opinions.

“Everyone just decided to educate themselves and not take it the wrong way,” Fields said. “My team and I talk about (BLM) quite frequently honestly. We try to figure out what we can do as a team and what we can do on an individual basis to help others learn about what we’re feeling and how they can educate themselves and become better on the topic.”

Known for her jump-kick celebration on the court, Fields has also seen success in her performance for Texas. She has played in every set this season and has accumulated 108 kills and 119.5 points, second on the team behind Eggleston. She said the celebration started in high school when a teammate would score an ace, but now she uses it on the Texas court to boost team energy.

“I like to (bring the energy),” Fields said. “I feel like if one person gets it started, everybody else will follow along with it. So, if I can find the energy wave, I want everybody to find it, too.”

COMICS

Comics Editor

B A R B R A D A LY

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020

SPORTS

FEATURE

Standout brothers foster competition with each other

By Brittany Archer @brittanyarcher_

Carson and Jake Foster began their journeys in the pool because their parents wanted to teach them water safety. Today, the Texas standout swimmers are two of the biggest names in the sport.

Along with their older sister Hannah, sophomore Jake and freshman Carson began to take swimming seriously when they moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“We grew up playing other sports, but (Hannah) was on the swim team and we got dragged along,” Jake said.

Even while exploring other sports, Carson rose to prominence when he was 10 years old after beating one of Michael Phelps’ 100-meter butterfly National Age Group records.

“It was around 2012, which was peak olympic year,” Carson

said. “I was 10 years old. I did not have an idea of what a realistic goal would be. I just wanted to get the record because it was held by Michael Phelps.”

The Foster brothers found out early on that they both trained better together. This competitive fire and urge to push each other drove both of the brothers to the Forty Acres.

“The competition we have between each other is really healthy,” Jake said. “If we did not have each other to push each other, I don’t think that we would be at the level that we are with swimming. The competition was one of the big reasons wvhy we both ended up coming to Texas.”

Once Jake committed to Texas, it didn’t take long for Carson to do the same.

“We took all of our visits together, and Jake decided to commit to Texas because that is where he felt

copyright texas athletics, and reproduced with permission

Sophomore Jake Foster comes up for air as he pushes for first place. As a freshman, Jake won the 400-yard individual medley at the Big 12 Championships.

copyright texas athletics, and reproduced with permission

Freshman Carson Foster flashes the “Hook ‘Em” sign towards his teammates after setting the record for the 400-yard individual medley in the national 17-18 age group on Oct. 16.

most at home and would better his future,” Carson said. “After he did that, it did not take me long at all to think I love Texas.”

When Jake headed down to Texas last fall, Carson lost his best training partner for the first time ever. While that loss was only for a season, both brothers noticed that their training was different because of it.

“I was lucky to have a really good training group at home, but to lose your best training partner and best friend is hard, and I had to really focus on pushing myself and relying on my coach,” Carson said.

While his best training partner was back in Ohio, Jake found it to be an easier adjustment thanks to the brotherhood on the Texas swim team.

The brothers have made a large impact on the program. In his first meet as a Longhorn, Carson broke

the 400-yard individual medley national age group record.

Their hard work and dedication to the Texas program has not gone unnoticed.

“No one in their right mind picks swimming, it picks you,” Texas head coach Eddie Reese said.

“It’s a really hard sport physically and mentally. Both of the guys fit the bill.”

While Carson has aged out of breaking national age group records, both brothers are ready for the rest of the season.

“We had a chip on our shoulders because we were coming in not as the defending champions, we were coming back to reclaim the title,” Jake said. “To have it taken away was hard but brought everyone together. It’s a continuation of last year, we still have things that we can prove to other people and we are the best.”