The Daily Texan 2019-03-12

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TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

Counseling and Mental Health Center dispels rumors of session limits, explains resource constraints.

By Kayla Meyertons @kemeyertons

ike most college freshmen, Blaire Kelley pulled all-nighters in her first semester — but for weeks on end.

Kelley quickly developed anxiety-induced insomnia and knew seeking treatment at UT’s Counseling and Mental Health Center was the next step.

Kelley’s pursuit of treatment came to a halt when she was only scheduled for a single counseling session after her initial consultation.

“It felt like complete and utter disappointment,” Psychology freshman Kelley said. “I don’t think they have the resources to provide long-term treatment, and it would have been a lot less disappointing if they had conveyed that (more clearly).”

So, how many sessions are UT students allowed at CMHC? What’s the session limit? The idea of a session limit, or a maximum number of counseling appointments, is a common belief UT students hold. According to CMHC Clinical Director Marla Craig, it’s nothing but an age-old campus rumor.

After an initial assessment, CMHC will put a specific number of sessions into a student’s schedule to ensure follow-up appointments are in place, Craig said. The number of sessions students are allotted is often thought of as a limit, but Craig said students always have access to crisis counseling or walk-in appointments.

“I hear it all the time,” Craig said. “We (initially) do try to schedule students with so many in a row so that they know when they’re coming. That doesn’t mean it’s a limit. That just means we want to make sure it’s in their schedule.”

Some students will be given more scheduled sessions than others, Craig said, based on severity of symptoms, approach to treatment and other factors. Because CMHC

is a short-term care facility, these scheduled sessions are designed to address the student’s symptoms until longterm outside treatment can be established.

Factors such as urgency of care, severity of symptoms, family support, if the student has ever sought help, access to transportation and health insurance are taken into account when scheduling the quantity of sessions, said Katy Redd, director of outreach for CMHC. “We don’t have limits because the truth is that everybody gets something different,” Redd said. “The truth is that we’re a short-term counseling center. It’s not like we have the ability to provide every student on campus with an infinite number of sessions.”

Echoing Craig’s statement, Redd said one student calling with a particular set of symptoms and access to resources would inevitably receive a different treatment plan from another student walking in with different concerns.

“No matter who calls us or when, we’re always going to do a brief assessment with them to see what’s going on and make an assessment from there (about) which of our services or services in a community are going to be the best fit for them,” Redd said.

Redd said the initial assessment of sessions could change after a student meets with a counselor to discuss treatment. In addition, if an off-campus referral does not work for a student, students are welcome to call CMHC again and work with a case manager to create a new plan.

“Sometimes there are better options than (us), and I think sometimes people don’t want to hear that all the time,” Craig said. “They want to stay right here.”

‘We do the best that we can’ For any short-term counseling center, there are obstacles. When fully staffed, CMHC has four psychiatrists and about 40 counselors, which includes social workers, psychologists and licensed professional counselors.

When Kelley sought treatment at CMHC mid-semester, she encountered a fully-booked staff and no available group therapy.

“They should provide that information that ‘we may be full, we may be booked up and you may not be able to get treatment upfront,’” Kelley said. “It’s not as easy and open and available as they convey it.”

Computer science sophomore Ella Robertson experienced another adverse effect of a short-term treatment center: building trust with a health care practitioner only to have that connection broken.

“It’s messy,” Robertson said. “You get … six or so

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CLAIRE ALLBRIGHT NEWS EDITOR @THEDAILYTEXAN

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

This issue of The Daily Texan is valued at $1.25

PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Liza Anderson Managing Editor Forrest Milburn Assoc. Managing Editors Catherine Marfin, Andrea D’Mello Director of Digital Strategy Alexandria Dominguez Assoc. Editors Bella McWhorter, Emily Caldwell, Angelica Lopez Forum Editors Jennifer Liu News Editor Claire Allbright Assoc. News Editors Anna Lassmann, Sami Sparber News Desk Editors Gracie Awalt, Meghan Nguyen, Meara Isenberg, Hannah Daniel, Raga Justin Beat Reporters Chase Karacostas, Tien Nguyen, Chad Lyle, Katie Balevic, Hannah Ortega, Savana Dunning, Rahi Dakwala, Mason Carroll, Nicole Stuessy, Jackson Barton, Emily Hernandez Projects Editor Ellie Breed Projects Reporters Maria Mendez, London Gibson, Lisa Nhan, Morgan O’Hanlon, Kayla Meyertons Projects Designer Rena Li Copy Desk Chief Kirsten Handler Associate Copy Desk Chiefs Jason Lihuang, Brittany Miller, Jimena Pinzon, Haylee Reed Design Editor Mireya Rahman Associate Design Editor Renee Koite Senior Designers Christiana Peek, Kendall Jordan, Nila Selvaraj

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CITY

SXSW increases traffic, inconveniences students

Photo Editor Katie Bauer Assoc. Photo Editors Anthony Mireles, Carlos Garcia Senior Photographers Eddie Gaspar, Angela Wang. Joshua Guenther, Ryan Lam, Pedro Luna Life&Arts Editors Tiana Woodard, Jordyn Zitman Assoc. Life&Arts Editor Brooke Sjoberg Sr. Life&Arts Writers John Melendez, Landry Allred, Trent Thompson Sports Editor Ross Burkhart Assoc. Sports Editors Steve Helwick, Keshav Prathivadi Senior Sports Reporters Robert Larkin, Donnavan Smoot, Cameron Parker Comics Editors Channing Miller, Bixie Mathieu Assoc. Comics Editor Lauren Ibanez Senior Comics Artists Alekka Hernandez, Andrew Choi Social Media Editor Ryan Steppe Assoc. Social Media Editor Tirza Ortiz Engagement Editor Megan Menchaca Newsletters EditorPeter Northfelt Sr. Digital Staffers Iris Bilich, Alexis Green Audio Editors JT Lindsey, Morgan Kuehler Audio Producers Sara Schleede, Eric Kiehnau Editorial Adviser Peter Chen

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AUSTIN WEATHER TODAY Mar. 12

HI LO

76º 56º

samantha dorsica | the daily texan staff Austinites are spotted along Guadalupe Street, where many are crowding around due to the festivities of South by Southwest. Students are being impacted by the heavier traffic due to spring break not being aligned with SXSW’s schedule.

By Nicole Stuessy & Jackson Barton

@nicolestuessy, @jackson_brton

As thousands of people gather in downtown Austin for South by Southwest this week, UT students will have to navigate heavier traffic, crowded buses and closed-off streets.

Because the festival normally lines up with UT’s spring break, a large population of students who are usually out of town will still be commuting around Austin. CapMetro began planning for this year’s event immediately after SXSW was over last year since they anticipated heavier ridership

and fewer buses available to them, said Jennifer Golech, CapMetro bus operations and service coordination director.

“We normally have the entire fleet of buses that we use for the UT routes available to us during SXSW to use to support all the other routes, and that wasn’t the case this year,” Golech said. “We’ve just had to be very specific about where we’ve added service to support the event.”

While route 20, which traverses Riverside and the University, has seen minor delays from heavier traffic out of the airport, there have not been any significant delays from SXSW yet, Golech said.

“don’t worry, the surgery will get kristen.”

Linguistics senior Riley Pruden said although she is from Austin, this is her first time having to plan around traffic from the festival.

“I’ve always avoided SXSW completely before,” Pruden said. “I left for my bus 15 minutes earlier today to be here on time for my first class just in case, and I’m already having to plan how I’m going to make it home.”

The traffic doesn’t just affect downtown streets. Sustainability studies junior Aylin Castro said she noticed much heavier traffic heading into Austin after going home for the weekend.

“I usually come back early

in the morning because I know traffic can get a little wild,” Castro said. “Even in the early morning on my way back, there were a lot more cars than usual, which added about 30 minutes.”

Poore said she thinks the heavier SXSW traffic is a direct result of UT students not being on break.

“I have lived here for most of my life, and I would say (traffic) is worse,” Poore said.

“In the past, I tended to not be in town, or because my parents live here I tended to just stay at home in South Austin and avoid downtown at all costs.

That’s not an option this year.”

CAMPUS

New meal plan to give students unlimited swipes

By Hannah Ortega @_hannahortega_

TOMORROW Mar. 13

HI 80º LO 53º

“We’ve pretty much been able to keep buses on time,” Golech said. “We’re monitoring route 20 very, very closely to be able to take action in case we do see delays on there.”

Riley Poore, a Middle Eastern studies junior, said she takes the 671 or 672 routes to and from her apartment in Riverside.

“In the morning it’s not a huge deal because I feel like most of the SXSW stuff usually isn’t at 8 a.m., so it isn’t bad,” Poore said. “If I’m leaving — either driving or taking the bus — for one of my afternoon classes, I do have to accommodate 15 or 30 extra minutes leaving earlier.”

Students who live on campus will receive meal plans with unlimited swipes for the all-you-care-to-eat dining halls next semester.

The plan will allow students to visit Kinsolving Dining and Jester 2nd Floor Dining as many times as they wish during operating hours. Dining director Rene Rodriguez said the plan is meant to reduce food insecurity.

“We do surveys with our students and things like that, and one of the biggest issues … was that our students — our resident students — were telling us that they were running out of money,” Rodriguez said. “They didn’t have enough money to eat all year long. We did feel that our meal plan did not address three meals a day, seven days a week.”

In an email, Rodriguez said the new meal plan “is covered through University Housing and Dining redirected funds.”

In addition to unlimited swipes, on-campus students will be given 300 Dine in Dollars each semester and 200 Bevo Bucks. This year, students received 1800 Dine in Dollars and 200 Bevo Bucks. “(I struggle with) the Bevo Bucks more, but the Dine in Dollars I feel like there’s … enough,” biology sophomore

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sessions with a therapist and you have that bond and you trust them, and then they say, ‘Actually you should start looking elsewhere,’ … So you’re stuck.”

The reality of university counseling services is that the demand for student mental health care has increased year after year at universities all across the nation, Redd said.

“The majority of college counseling centers are grappling with the same issue, which is how to provide services to an increase in demand when you may not

Mariela Villarreal. “Toward the end of the semester, it gets a little (more difficult).”

Students living off campus will be able to purchase an unlimited meal plan for $2,850.

Currently, off-campus students can buy the Longhorn 25 plan, which costs $225 and offers 25 meals in Kinsolving and J2 and $25 flex dollars for à la carte locations, or the Longhorn 50 plan, which costs $400 and offers 50 meals in Kinsolving and J2 and $50 flex dollars for à la carte locations.

“I am currently not living on campus, so I’m using a commuter meal plan,” vocal performance sophomore Nicholas Ryland said.

“Unfortunately, on Friday, I ran low on swipes at J2 Dining. What I’m really looking forward (to) the most with this unlimited plan is I can just go whenever, and I won’t have to be restricted to a plan (where) I have a certain number of swipes.”

The new meal plan will also bring changed operating hours to the all-you-care-to-eat dining halls next year. Jester 2nd Floor Dining and Kinsolving

have a corresponding increasing number of counselors,” Redd said. “We do the best that we can.”

Robertson sought counseling in the spring of 2018, when CMHC first started having free counseling services, and said CMHC was caring and receptive to her needs. Robertson went toreceived six sessions in addition to extended care while seeking outside referrals.

“I think the staff really cares,” Robertson said. “Everybody who I’ve met there is great, and they are really genuinely helpful.”

Even if counseling appointments and group therapy are full, the center is

Dining will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

“Breakfast will be what we’re calling an ‘enhanced continental breakfast,’” Rodriguez said. “It’s not going to be a full-blown breakfast, but we will have a couple of hot items and coffee, pastries … because most students are kind of in a hurry.”

Rodriguez said the increased hours will

“benefit the whole operation” because more students will be able to apply for jobs and part-time staff will have the chance to seek full-time positions.

“We’re going to have to hire a lot more employees, there’s no doubt about it,” Rodriguez said. “With extended hours … we have a campaign to increase the number of our employees. But it also opens up an opportunity for us to hire more student employees.”

sammy jarrar

always available for walk-in crisis support, Redd said.

“The way that our system is structured is so that anybody in a crisis can be seen immediately,” Redd said. “We always want you to give us a call.”

In the 2017-18 academic year, 28,097 students attended counseling sessions, 6,890 of which contacted assessment counselors seeking services.

In addition to counseling and psychiatric services, CMHC offers 96 counseling groups ranging from mindfulness and meditation to support groups for anxiety, grief and interpersonal trauma.

Outside of short-term counseling,

| the daily texan staff

the center offers a variety of services in the community, Redd said, including a free mobile app, peer educators, a student-run CMHC organization and mental health workshops around campus.

Students can make short-term individual counseling appointments in person by walking into CMHC or by calling 512471-3515. CMHC also offers same-day walk-in crisis counseling services and a 24/7 Crisis Line at 512-471-CALL (2255) for UT students only.

A list of off-campus counseling and mental health resources can be found at https://cmhc.utexas.edu/counseling_ resources.html.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

STATE

Texas educators rally for funding Teachers show up at Texas Capitol to show solidarity for public school staff.

By Jackson Barton @Jackson_Brton

uring her time teaching in San Antonio, Gabrielle Garcia said she often supported her students struggling with financial hardship.

“We just had to go and buy shoes for two of my students because their shoes were completely destroyed,” Garcia said. “A lot of the times, we’ll go out and buy things in the beginning of the year and then just keep them in the closet.

We’ll keep snacks in case a kid tells us they’re hungry and they haven’t eaten all weekend, or basic things like that.”

On Monday, Garcia joined thousands of demonstrators from cities as far as El Paso to stand in solidarity at the Texas Capitol with school staff and lobby for more funding for public schools. The rally was organized by the Texas American Federation of Teachers and the Texas State Teachers Association, two of the largest teacher unions in the state.

This is the first time the two unions worked to plan the biennial lobbying rally together. Ray McMurrey, Texas American Federation of Teachers secretary-treasurer, said the goal of the rally was to show solidarity and unity for school staff.

“For too long, families, the community, school employees (and) state leaders have not been on the same page with public education,” McMurrey said. “What you’re seeing coalesce is a strong

amna ijaz | the daily texan staff Students and educators gathered around the Capitol on Monday afternoon to protest the current state of the Texas public education system.

movement to come together and unify and really make sure the Legislature hears us.”

The rally comes one week after Senate Bill 3, which would increase annual teacher and librarian salaries by $5,000, passed in the Senate. McMurrey said while members appreciate the raise, they want to see all school faculty, including support staff, receive a pay raise.

“We want (raises for) our bus drivers, our food service workers, our counselors,” McMurrey said.

“We want all school employees to get the raise they deserve.

Garcia said her school district, San Antonio Independent School District, could only afford to hire four carpenters, who serve as support staff, to service the district’s more than 90 campuses. “(The district) doesn’t have the money to take care of the district itself,” Garcia said. “A lot of our schools are older and not in newer buildings, so if a window is busted, (the carpenters are) backordered ridiculously.”

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What you’re seeing coalesce is a strong movement to come together and unify and really make sure the Legislature hears us.”

R AY M C M U R R E Y

TEXAS AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS

McEntee said.

McEntee said that while his high school and middle school teachers never allowed their own struggles to bleed into the classroom, his friend has given him a glimpse into what could be going on behind the scenes.

“What I’ve seen her struggle with the most is how much love every teacher has for their students,” McEntee said.

“For her, it’s watching her struggle with, ‘How can I be the best for them when I can’t even be the best for myself?’”

WEST CAMPUS

American Campus plans to tear down, replace Goodall Wooten 1

APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 15

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armin panjvani | the daily texan staff Purchased by American Campus last year, the Goodall Wooten on Guadalupe, is the site of a proposed new housing development, just steps from campus.

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Texas educators earn over $7,000 less annually than the national average, according to a 2018 study conducted by the National Education Association.

Ian McEntee, humanities and sociology senior, is working on a thesis on educational inequality. He said his longtime friend is a teacher at James Bowie High School in Austin. “(I’ve watched her) struggle to provide for her students and struggle to be the best she can be because the resources provided to her are just abysmal,”

By Elexa Sherry @ElexaSherry

Last July, American Campus Communities purchased the 2100 block on Guadalupe Street, which includes the Goodall Wooten, a former student residential building.

Now, American Campus is planning a student housing community that will replace the Goodall Wooten and have ground floor retail.

Last spring, the roughly 60 residents of the Wooten were given a month’s notice to move out of the dormitory building, as reported by The Daily Texan.

American Campus, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, invests in dormitory housing for students across the country. Some of their properties in West Campus include The Callaway House, The Castilian and The Block. Nearly 5,000 students in Austin, including hundreds of UT students, live in

American Campus housing, said Gina Cowart, vice president of marketing communications and brand strategy for American Campus.

“Our mission is to consistently provide every resident with an environment conducive to healthy living, personal growth, academic achievement and professional success,” Cowart said.

The project is in the early stages of conceptual design, said Chuck Carroll, vice president of development for American Campus. The company chose to develop the Goodall Wooten property because of its location across the street from the University, Carroll said.

“I walk down 2100 Guadalupe Street every day to class and have never had a second thought about that building and thought it was just a rundown apartment complex,” business freshman McKenna Granberry said.

Cowart said when American Campus purchased the property, the

Goodall Wooten had significant maintenance and safety issues in the confinements of the residential portion. American Campus was not comfortable allowing the building to continue to operate as student housing, Cowart said.

Carroll said the company has no definitive timeline for the redevelopment of the property as there are city codes and ordinances that “heavily regulate” what can be done.

The building will most likely be demolished and rebuilt, but it will have to fall within the City’s height restrictions of approximately 60 feet for that particular zone, which is regulated by the University Neighborhood Overlay, Carroll said.

Cowart and Carroll said this project is a great opportunity to bring the space “back to life.”

“We recognized that it was is an incredible location for students on the Drag adjacent to the University,” Carroll said.

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4

LIZA ANDERSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @TEXANOPINION

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

COLUMN

Shut down ‘boy talk’ when you hear it

By Kateri David Columnist

If you’re in tune with college Twitter culture, you know the prevailing opinion on males as a group can be summed up in three words: “Men are trash.” At this point, the tagline has become more of a meme than a spiteful declaration; an exhausted response whenever a headline breaks describing yet another contemptible act committed by a man. It’s a way for me and the people around me to collectively sigh, point and say, “There they go again.”

As a woman whose closest friends at UT are mostly men, I sometimes find these condemnations unfair and far too broad. I prioritize mutual respect in any relationship and can say with confidence that my male friends have always treated me with kindness.

Even so, whenever I’m in a male-dominated space, I overhear “boy talk” — those misogynistic jokes and sexist comments men often make when they’re comfortable among peers. In the past, I would shrug off these comments as harmless, albeit tasteless. Now, in light of our national reckoning regarding sexual assault, “boy talk” takes on a sinister weight and cannot be dismissed. If we truly care for our male friends and wish to see them improve, we need to call out sexist remarks.

Confronting sexism, especially when it comes from people we care about, can be filled with anxiety and emotion. Last week, when a male friend made a joke comparing sleep deprivation to being “roofied,” I instantly snapped at him to shut up. Looking back, I wished I had voiced my full concerns since he didn’t understand how he trivialized what is a grim reality for many female students.

Margaret Bassett, deputy director of UT’s Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, points out that most sexism stems from ignorance and can be rooted out with constructive dialogue. “These

charlie hyma n

| the daily texan

staff

are hot-button top ics,” Bassett said.

“While it’s necessary to have conversations wi th privileged m friends, you need ale to be respectful.

The goal isn’t to shame anybody.”

But this goes bo th ways. Men ne ed to listen to women’s experie nces and worries . At the momen our male peers ha t, ve a reputation for speaking over us rather than with , us.

“In discussion-b ased classes, mos t guys interrupt the women in th e class whenever we’re debating an issue,” biology so phomore Krystal Virk said.

When women ar e more likely to be victims of sexual assault, objec tified in advertise ments and discri inated against in mthe workplace, m isogynistic remar hit far too close to ks home. Whether th e speaker intends to or not, sayin g such commen ts demean wom Regarding the eff en. ects of “boy talk,” Bassett said the psychological im pact “can be harm ful.”

Because sexist tal k plays into large r societal issues, feedback is imperative. Whe n men understan the potential im d pact of their wo rds, they’re mor likely to change. e If you don’t know how to confront male friends, cons ult the UT Bysta nder Intervention Initiative’s Be Vo cal website, wh ich has abunda resources for addr nt essing concerning behavior.

“We need to tak e the risk of sp eaking up and speaking from th e heart,” said M elanie Susswein director of mar , keting and co mmunications the Steve Hicks in School of Social Work. “Ask oth er people to ex amine their beha vior and examine your own.”

Being “one of th e bros” doesn’t m ean being OK with sexist behavio r. Rather, it’s abou t caring enough to educate, to co nnect that objec tifying joke a gu friend makes to y broader issues. As a result of weeding out “boy talk,” we ensure our m ale friends treat women at UT an d beyond with res pect.

David is an adve rtising sophomor e from Allen.

COLUMN

CAP enrollment system must adapt to fit increased demand

By Abby Springs Columnist

Each year, tens of thousands of students apply to UT-Austin dreaming of higher education on the Forty Acres. Each year, tens of thousands of students are denied.

But there’s another route to UT. The Coordinated Admission Program, or CAP, allows eligible in-state applicants to spend their freshman year at another UT System school.

If they complete the coursework requirements and maintain a 3.2 GPA, UT guarantees admission into most majors in the College of Liberal Arts. If not, they can choose to stay at their UT System school.

As the number of applicants to UT increases, the number of in-state students offering CAP increases as well. As a result, choosing a CAP school has become a first-come, firstserved lottery system. Texas Admissions must take steps to improve the CAP enrollment system to ensure each student has a fair shot of getting into the CAP school of their choice.

This year, the CAP application form was released in early February. Most colleges don’t notify students of their decisions until March, meaning students who are on the fence about CAP must fill out the application even if they aren’t sure they want to commit to UT. Jeffrey Wang, a computer science and business honors freshman, created r/UTAustinAdmissions, an online forum to discuss UT admissions. He said he has seen firsthand the problems with the CAP enrollment process.

“This is a huge issue because people will pre-emptively select their CAP school and then drop out of the CAP program and go to another school that accepted them,” Wang said. According to Wang, this takes away spots from other students.

In an email, the admissions office wrote, “The online system does not allow a participant to switch campuses,” and “additional spots do not become available” due to yield rates. If a student cannot get the CAP school of their choice, they cannot switch even if a student at another school drops out.

Because all prospective CAP students fill out the application at the same time, high demand CAP schools such as UT-San Antonio fill up quickly. To compensate, the website must be able to handle the heavy load — a task it failed at this year.

greyson rauscher

Luke Walker, a high school senior from Coppell, Texas, decided to enroll in CAP for the 2019-2020 school year. But when he went to select his top choice, UTSA, he faced website crashes and technical issues.

“I submitted the first form in about 27 to 28 seconds,” Walker said. “I let it load, and then about a minute after loading, I hit refresh. It said it had crashed and that it was experiencing issues. When I went back and refreshed the other screen, the UTSA option had disappeared.”

Walker was forced to choose UT-Arlington, his second choice. He isn’t alone — one parent on an admissions blog commented that

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.

their son “clicked his choice and submitted the page within mere seconds, only to receive a server timeout error. By the time the page refreshed, his choice of CAP school was gone — all seats filled.”

However, when asked about website problems, the admissions office wrote, “We did not witness, nor were we notified of, any technical issues with the system for the fall 2019 selection process.”

To improve the CAP process, Texas Admissions should delay the application date until April. This would ensure only students who want to participate in CAP enroll, giving students a fair shot at getting the school of

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.

| the daily texan staff

their choice.

If this isn’t possible, the infrastructure must be improved to detect and solve technical issues. Texas Admissions could handle applications similar to how freshman class registration is handled — give students different application times and proportionally reserve seats in the different schools.

No matter which solution works best, Texas Admissions must take steps to improve the CAP enrollment process. Otherwise, well-qualified Texas students may just take their talents elsewhere.

Springs is a government freshman from Dallas.

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Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

SXSW

SXSW

Beto O’Rourke campaign documentary debuts at SXSW

By Brooke Sjoberg @Sj0b3rg

In the 2018 midterm elections, one Texan gained supreme star power by campaigning in all of the state’s 254 counties and understanding social media. David Modigliani’s “Running with Beto” is an up-close view of the politician’s journey through the state.

The access Modigliani had to create a documentary this different from typical political pieces is absolutely mind blowing. A majority of political film is from the outside looking in, or a supposition of what it must be like on the inside. Rarely do filmmakers get this kind of closeness to their subjects.

The choice to feature Facebook Live footage of O’Rourke and his family in the film is a modern twist on documentary, one which is hopefully repeated by other filmmakers.

This footage gives the storyline of the campaign real grit and character, making the subject more relatable and human.

An interesting Easter egg within the film is the camera literally going on a run with O’Rourke. A clever play on words, the film’s name is a double entendre and exemplifies the creative approach of Modigliani to filmmaking and O’Rourke to campaigning.

Featuring O’Rourke’s family is the most unique aspect of the documentary. Few have examined the effect of running for national government on the families of those who

Running with Beto SCORE

spend so much time away from home, as a public figure.

The film is not only impactful, it is visually stunning.

Wide, overhead shots of the varied Texas landscapes take the viewer so far along with O’Rourke, to impress upon them the breadth of his campaigning.

Conceptualizing traveling Texas in its entirety is not difficult with this help of this film.

“Running With Beto” will hopefully be the first of many in-depth, honest looks at what it means to be a politician in America.

carlos garcia | the daily texan staff Josh Rubin, founder and editor-in-chief of the independent design and technology publication “Cool Hunting,” moderates rapper A$AP Rocky, center, and Chief Design Officer of Daimler AG Gorden Wagener, right, as they talk about how luxury cars, music and design culture can come together to generate unique products at the Austin Convention Center during SXSW.

A$AP Rocky, Gorden Wagener talk blending fashion, luxury in design

By John Melendez @mister_melendez

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copyright live action projects, and reproduced with permission The documentary, “Running With Beto,” which premiered at SXSW, is an honest look at what it means to be a politician in 2019.

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Rap listeners, luxury car enthusiasts, fashion followers and everyone in between gathered for one of Monday’s featured sessions, “Using Design ‘Differently’ to Make a Difference.”

The session, held at the Austin Convention Center, was a conversation between acclaimed hip hop artist and global apparel designer A$AP Rocky and Gorden Wagener, chief design officer at Daimler AG. His design team is responsible for all brands and products within Daimler AG, including Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks. The East Coast rapper has previously worked with Mercedes-Benz, starring in the “Get a Job” ad campaign for the CLA Coupe.

The discussion touched on the intersection of luxury cars, music and culture in the space of design and was moderated

by Josh Rubin, founder and editor-in-chief of Cool Hunting, a Webby Award-winning independent publication that covers innovation in design, technology and culture.

Rubin opened up by asking Wagener about the challenges of the current design landscape in the automotive industry. Wagener said the rise of autonomous driving vehicles will lead to a different way of identifying with cars.

“Design stages technology in a way to make it an experience and to take our luxury model and move it into that new era,” Wagener said.

“That means from a design point of view, the meaning and understanding of luxury will change.”

Rocky was asked to talk about his design process in designing music videos, stages or merchandise. He said each project is different and could take a day or a year to design.

The crash test dummy aesthetic Rocky adapted for his last album, “Testing,” was also talked about. The design style is a metaphor for a person who pioneers, he said.

“People such as myself and other artists are like the crash test dummies for those to come,” Rocky said. “We test products, lanes, make sure that it’s safe.”

When asked about what

type of design culture exists at Mercedes-Benz, Wagner said too many people’s input can hurt a design.

“We do decisions in a small circle,” Wagener said.

“Design is not democratic.

Some people have to have a vision.”

In the last 15 minutes of the session, the audience had a chance to submit questions for the guests. Wagener was asked what the term “luxury” will mean in the future. He said luxury is consciously different from the mainstream.

Love, respect, ease and trust are the parameters that will guide the future of luxury and Mercedes-Benz, he said.

Both guests were asked what advice they had for young designers trying to push their vision forward. Wagener said it’s important for designers to keep a spirit of playfulness and always have fun.

Rocky said young designers need to stand by their vision at all times because it might take a long time to catch on.

“Stick to your guns,” Rocky said. “Don’t compromise at all because it’s not going to be easy.”

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6

ROSS BURKHART SPORTS EDITOR @TEXANSPORTS

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

FOOTBALL

Texas gears up for spring practice Herman gives update on new faces, program changes at first spring practice of the season.

By Keshav Prathivadi @kpthefirst

nter Sandman,” Metallica’s timeless jam, has always been a signature for closers walking out to the mound to finish a game.

On a crisp Monday morning at the Frank Denius Fields in Austin, the Longhorns kicked off their first spring practice of the year just as any closer would.

“It felt really good to be back out on the field,” head coach Tom Herman said. “You could see guys that are hustling, guys that play with great effort, guys that make good decisions, and we saw a lot of that today.”

Through the blaring music, whistles and air horns at practice, here are a couple of takeaways as the Longhorns get ready to push through another spring:

Laying out the to-do list

Despite one of the more successful seasons in recent memory, Texas still has a laundry list of items to take care off before the 2019 season kicks off. Herman’s wish list included leadership on defense, a consistent offensive line and spreading out the ball to skill players.

“Learning how to practice is one of the biggest goals, especially for some of these young guys,” Herman said. “(They’re) now running with the 1s and 2s and they’re used to staying on the sideline

angela wang | the daily texan file Texas head coach Tom Herman watches from the sideline during the Longhorns’ 28-21 victory against the Georgia Bulldogs in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 in New Orleans. The Longhorns returned to the practice field for the first time this spring Monday morning.

for most of practice, and so they’re retraining themselves.”

The Longhorns lost several key defensive starters from last season, making way for a new group of vocal leaders. To help out on the defensive end and in general, Herman brought in former North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora as an analyst and former Texas defensive back Nathan Vasher as a volunteer coach.

New faces impress

Texas had 10 early enrollees from its 2019 recruiting class arrive this

spring, and they got their first glimpse of the field Monday morning. Among the newcomers are highly touted prospects wide receiver Bru McCoy and running back Jordan Whittington, and it didn’t take long for Herman to be impressed. “(McCoy’s) not afraid to work,” Herman said. “He’s so versatile. Just a great kid that also happens to be a five-star athlete too. I’m (also) excited to see (Whittington) in pads ‘cause he looked very natural back there in the backfield.”

While McCoy, a transfer from USC, still awaits a decision from the NCAA on a waiver to be eligible to play this year, he will continue to practice with the team through spring. Like many freshmen, McCoy will be susceptible to mistakes, but Herman believes there are many veteran players who will help correct the errors before he can.

“Nowadays, I do a lot less running,” Herman said. “It’s not me running after the perpetrator, it’s usually some player, so that’s pretty cool to see.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

BASEBALL

Lack of focus, energy hurt Longhorns’ NCAA hopes

After weekend setback, Texas looks to rebound against Texas Southern

By Daniela Perez @danielap3rez

joshua guenther | the daily texan staff Forward Dylan Osetkowski attempts a shot over a defender during the Longhorns’ 69-56 loss to TCU on March 9 at the Frank Erwin Center.

By Robert Larkin @r_larkintexas

This was supposed to be Texas’ chance to end the year on a positive note. An opportunity to solidify its NCAA Tournament chances was on the table. The feel-good narrative of sending out seniors Kerwin Roach II and Dylan Osetkowski on Senior Day offered a compelling headline.

Instead, the Longhorns put together their most uninspiring performance of the season against TCU in a 69-56 defeat that now leaves their tournament hopes hanging in the balance.

“I’ve never been as disappointed as I am right now,” Texas head coach Shaka Smart said.

“This isn’t who we prepared to be. This isn’t how we practiced the last three days.”

Despite knowing the magnitude the game carried, the Longhorns came out flat against the Horned Frogs. TCU killed Texas in the rebounding department, winning it by a 35-24 margin.

And while the Longhorns struggled to shoot the ball against an active TCU defense, especially behind the 3-point line, they failed to play tough defense at the other end.

TCU exploited a defense which left players open on the perimeter and couldn’t solve the pick-and-roll game the Horned

Frogs used. As a result, Texas allowed a 54 percent shooting percentage from the field and 53 percent from three.

The performance stemmed from a lack of desire and energy Smart has always urged his team to play with.

“We just didn’t have that spark and sense of urgency we usually played with,” Osetkowski said.

Forward Jaxson Hayes added, “We didn’t keep the same intensity we had.”

Both Texas and TCU knew its tournament chances hinged on what would occur on the floor.

The Horned Frogs are firmly on the bubble, according to multiple projections, while the Longhorns teetered on the edge of securing an at-large bid thanks to a mediocre overall record.

But Texas didn’t look ready to play like a team with desperation. TCU did. More than anything, the Horned Frogs carried a do-or-die attitude into the Erwin Center, and the Longhorns left theirs in the locker room — a main reason why Smart was so disappointed following Saturday’s game.

“We talked about the fact that they were going to have urgency, even desperation,” Smart said.

“We wanted to play with the same or more aggression and fight. We didn’t have a collective spirit that we needed to have.”

Now, Texas finds itself in a situation where it will likely need

With a new crop of players to develop, Herman and his staff will have to not only work on new plays, but also finding and reinforcing a sense of leadership in more experienced players.

“We need more (leadership) on defense not cause they’re not good kids, they’re just not used to that role,” Herman said. “Everybody knows the expectations. … We talk about leadership being a transfer of belief and I think we’ve transferred out belief system to most of these guys.”

to take down Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament in order to successfully resurrect its tournament hopes. If the Longhorns really want to secure their spot, it may even require a two- or three-game winning streak in Kansas City.

To do that, the Longhorns feel they need to go back to their game-by-game attitude and block out the noise about their postseason prospects.

“Today was a tough one for us, but we got to prepare for Kansas,” guard Courtney Ramey said. “We can’t focus on NCAA this, this and that. We need to focus on the main goal, which is winning the next game.”

With a 16–15 overall record and a dismal last week of the regular season, selling Texas to the selection committee has become a harder task. Fans can feel that too.

At the two-minute mark, a large contingent of Texas faithfuls streamed toward the exits, disappointed at what they saw.

Students and burnt orange-clad parents groaned at Texas’ inability to score points in the game’s final minutes and its missed chances to grab rebounds.

The reality of missing the tournament started to sink in.

“We’ll see,” Smart said of Texas’ tournament chances. “We’re going to find out in Kansas City.

We obviously have to play a lot better than we did today.”

Following the Longhorns’ 10-6 loss on Feb. 27th to UTSA — a team Texas had beat 25 out of 30 times — head coach David Pierce came to the team’s Thursday meeting ready to help his team forget about the loss.

“Coach came out there. He’s got his notes, his box scores, his papers and stuff,” catcher Michael McCann recalled after game three of the LSU series. “He came out with a lighter and a little metal bucket and said, ‘You see this?’ (He) lit it on fire and let it burn in the bucket.”

Following the motivational display, Texas went on to sweep the No. 1 team in the country. But the glory was short lived as the Longhorns are now coming off a three-game losing streak against Stanford, which included a 9-0 blowout.

Texas has also seen sudden departures from key members. The Longhorns lost catcher DJ Petrinsky to a labrum tear, and pitcher Beau Ridgeway suddenly left the program last week. Catcher Michael McCann missed two out of the four games against Stanford with an injury.

These crucial losses may be to blame, but Texas may need another one of these box score burnings before their Tuesday game against Texas Southern. After the Longhorns face the 2–10 Tigers, they are slated to face another powerhouse, No. 13 Texas Tech.

In their 11 meetings against the Tigers, the Longhorns have won every single game. However, it wouldn’t be the first time this season if the Longhorns fell when heavily favored.

In a postgame interview with assistant coach Sean Allen following their Stanford series loss, Allen told Texas Sports the team is looking to regroup before the weekday matchup.

“We’ll get back to home and just get better,” Allen said. “It’s all we can do, … and we have to find a way to learn from it — there is no question.”

The last time the Longhorns faced Texas Southern was during their first regional game of last year’s postseason. Beating them 10-0 was a stepping stone that allowed them to later advance to the NCAA College World Series.

Another win this time around against Texas Southern could be a stepping stone for the Longhorns as they look to turn around their losing streak before going into the weekend against Texas Tech.

Could another box-score burning be the answer the Longhorns need to forget their 3–1 series loss to Stanford? Following their UTSA loss, McCann said Pierce’s ceremonial demonstration helped him find closure after a “brutal” loss.

“We literally burned the papers — box scores — all that from that night and said, ‘It’s over with, it’s done, forget it,’” McCann said. “I think that was a great thing for us because it forced us to let it go.”

eddie gaspar | the daily texan file Catcher Michael McCann walks back to the dugout during Texas’ 7-6 victory against the LSU Tigers on March 3 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Tuesday, March 12, 2019

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1 Leg muscle, in sports slang

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Today’s solution will appear here next issue

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SUDOKUFORYOU

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62 Mornings, for 48 Slumbering no short 12 Sword’s name more 30 Biles of the 2016 with two accents Olympics 49 Piece of a mosaic 63 Court divider 14 “Four-alarm” food Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past 17 Org. for the puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Indiana Fever Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay. and the Atlanta Dream

8

TIANA WOODARD & JORDYN ZITMAN LIFE & ARTS EDITORS @THEDAILYTEXAN

TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

SXSW

Abrams talks voter suppression 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate reflects on election, national disillusionment.

By Tiana Woodard @tianarochon

he most memorable moments of the 2018 primaries are embedded in this year’s SXSW Interactive track. Congress rookie Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared her opinions on “The New Left” this past Saturday, but Monday morning at the Hilton Downtown, 2018 gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, D-GA, took center stage.

Abrams made history last year by becoming the country’s first black female gubernatorial candidate of a major political party. After losing the Georgia governor race to incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp, R-GA, the Georgian politician created more buzz as reports of nonwhite voter suppression came in from around the state.

In addition to promoting her latest book “Lead from the Outside,” Abrams used her featured session to discuss the topics of political responsibility, voter disillusionment and personal struggle.

To begin her interview, PBS NewsHour White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor commented on Abrams’ disappointment in the 2018 election results. Abrams expressed her resentment towards the status quo, but more so, she’s upset by the lack of closure the campaign’s conclusion presented.

“Usually in an election, people just tell you they don’t like you, and you move on with your life,” Abrams said.

“In this case, I don’t know if they didn’t like me because we didn’t get a

copyright john bazemore, and reproduced with permission Former gubernatorial candidate for the state of Georgia, Stacey Abrams (D-GA) spoke with PBS NewsHour White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindo at SXSW on how voter confusion and suppression affected the results of the 2018 gubernatorial race for Gerogia.

fair election.”

Abrams clarified that election error is not a case of voter fraud as president Donald Trump claimed with the 2016 race, but rather, one of voter confusion and suppression. The former candidate said mistakes arise because voting laws often vary from county to county, and systems are put in place to prevent citizen ballots.

“We have real time records of what happened with voter suppression, not only in Georgia but nationwide,” Abrams said. “The difference is I’m right, and (Trump’s) wrong.”

Though the path of the discussion aligned for Abrams to comment on Trump’s role in America’s current challenges, Abrams said that little action from Congress is at fault.

“When you’re focused on your enemies, you’re ignoring your allies,” Abrams said. “(Trump’s)

symptomatic of the problem, but he’s not the problem.”

Reflecting further on government errors, Abrams said Democrats didn’t lose the 2016 race because of the “the genius of Trump,” but instead due to limited community interaction.

Abrams then explained the persuasion turnout mindset, in which candidates categorize voters based on prior loyalty. To stop the cycle in 2020, Abrams said the party must speak to all citizens regardless of current political affiliation.

“You need to be persuaded that the whole system matters, and we have to treat every single community group as a persuasion (group),” Abrams said.

Another problem presented during the discussion was Democrats’ response to disillusioned voters. Abrams said politicians are easily distracted by political and racial divides, when

voter concerns should supercede such divisions.

“I ran in one of the most diverse states in the nation but I had the same conversation (with voters) whether it was in North Georgia, Atlanta or Albany,” Abrams said. “What didn’t change was what I talked about but how I talked about it.”

Though initially hesitant on the topic, Abrams couldn’t help but clear the rumors on her potential bid to run for president in 2020. The former Georgia minority leader said after serving in more positions, she is set to take on the challenge in 2028.

“I don’t think we should use jobs as stepping stones. We should use them as opportunities to learn, but more importantly, to serve,” Abrams said. “(By 2028), I will definitely have done the work necessary to carry that out effectively and well.”

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